Your grade depends on two things: weekly in-class quizzes, and weekly lab reports.  All papers that are handed in on time will be graded and returned within one week.  I do not post grades to Blackboard because this course has a bajillion little assignments, and the TA's would spend all emester doing data entry.  Instead, I will post an Excel Grade Calculator on the Freebies page during the week of Experiment 3, when you will get your first graded assignments back. This way you can keep track of your grade throughout the semester.

Click here for a complete point breakdown of all the points on all the labs (pdf).

The quizzes given during the lecture periods will make up 30% of your final grade. The lowest quiz grade will be dropped. Each of the remaining 8 quizzes will count as 3.75% of your final grade.

Your laboratory work and reports will account for the remaining 70% of your grade. The experiments are weighted slightly differently:  Experiments 1, 5, 6, 9, and 10 are each worth about 6% of your final grade, and Experiments 2, 3, 4, 7, and 8 are each worth about 8% of your final grade.  No lab report grades are dropped. Everything you do in the lab counts toward your grade.

Each lab report consists of 5 pre-lab questions (worth 5 points), 5 post-lab problems (10 points), and the Report/Discussion (40 points).  In addition, your TA will award you an additional 0 to 3 points each week starting with Experiment 2 based on your preparedness, technique, safety considerations, and whether or not you clean up your balance and lab space before you leave.

At the end of the semester you will have to submit your lab notebook to your TA for grading.  The TA will be checking to make sure the notebook is a complete record of the work done during the semester, and may recheck any data or conclusions that came into question after a particular lab was graded and returned.  You can earn up to 5 additional points for having your notebook in order.  You can reclaim your notebook after final grades are submitted.

There is no end of semester final exam in this class. There will be no curve. The grade breakdown is as follows:

        90% and higher A
        80% - 89.9%      B
        70% - 79.9%      C
        60% - 69.9%      D

If you have any questions about how grades are calculated, feel free to ask your TA or Dr. Anderson.