No clicker girls

You two young ladies wo had to borrow iCLickers from me today: please report back to me in Webcourses course mail. I forgot to write your names down! No clicking points without your names!!!

Shut down on bonus points Discussions area

I will be shutting down the bonus point area of Discussions at about 5 PM or so. Get your question posted, but make it a good one.

Mega-office hours til noon

I am holding mega-office hours 9 AM until noon today.

Stop in and double check any concept or calculation that is still on your mind.

Your Mega-review combo assignment is now ready.

You can now tackle the Chuck Norris Mega-Combo Review assignment in Webcourses. It will be converted to one or two bonus points and is a great study tool.

Note: you only get three attempts, so make them your BEST work.

Chuck Norris Mega-Combo Review assignment

I am working on your Chuck Norris mega-combo review assignment in Webcourses. I've set the release date to Dec. 3rd, for now, but I expect to release it sooner than that. Be ready to spring like a tiger!

It is at the top of the Assessments page, and it's linked to the home page, too.

Chuck Norris blurb sheet

You can double-check your answers to the Chuck Norris Mega-Review sheet by looking in the Exam Blurbs folder in Webcourses.

Schedule change for SSG signups

I have been battling some technical issues with the SSG signup sheets. Sorry for the delay. I will now make the signups run differently:

1. from 9 PM tonight until 9 AM tomorrow for the first group, and
2. from 9 AM until full for the second group.

More SSG times

You can view more sessions, seven in all. See if one of them meets your schedule, then be ready to jump.

SSG look up

You can start looking over the SSG schedule now. Look for the blue and white SSG icon. Not all of the groups are on the schedule yet, but I will be adding them in tonight, step by step, so keep your eye on it.

Signups will start sometime Thursday.

iClicking pointage situation

I am working on iClicker activity from yesterday. I expect to post your points shortly.

That being the case, you can now start estimating your iClicker pointage for the semester, viz.

1. If you have 58 or more questions answered, you automatically get 20/20 regular points on your semester grade.
2. If you have fewer than 58 answered, you must calculate your pointage as outline on the syllabus.
3. If you have 51 or more questions correct, then you have earned the iClicker bonus pointage →→ 4 bonus points for your semester grade. Nice.

HW 17 is ready.

Your last regular homework assignment of the semester is now ready. It brings the total homework points to 196. That is a LOT of homework.

A most interesting contribution to our generalized study guide

iClicker data update

The iClicker data are now caught up to yesterday's lecture, L26. Total iCLicker 2 questions to date is 58, but we have two more regular lectures ahead of us:

1. L27 on Tuesday, Nov. 20, regular lecture on chemical compounds and bonding, after which we break for Thanksgiving Day, then
2. L28 on Tuesday, Nov. 27, concerning the structure of water, retinal and DNA.

Each will have some clicking to do.

Exam 3 and the best two midterms

Exam 3 totals are now UP.

ALSO: your new row with best two out of three midterms is now available in Webcourses on your My Grades page. It is the sum of your two best scores.

iClicker data are up

I just posted the ..Exam 3 clicker scores, with some comments for a few of you.

Still waiting for the scantron data.

Grades

I will be posting your scantron scores about 5 minutes after I get them myself. I hope that will happen before class on Thursday.

See you in lecture on Thursday.

And, as always, keep your eyes on the skies.

Bonus point opportunity

Bonus point opportunity:
Post a question in Discussions:Create a question for Exam 3 that you create, based on your lecture notes, readings or other materials.

Here are the rules:

1. Create a multiple choice question with four or five options.
2. Indicate the correct option with an * asterisk.
3. In the Subject box, type in a short phrase that describes your question.
4. Below your question's options, skip a few lines and type in the date of lecture or page in the textbook where another student can study up on the correct concept.
5. Dr. B will comment or maybe ask you to revise the question.
6. If your question is good enough to use on the exam, you will earn one bonus point.
7. Take a look at the example question.

The bonus questions can make a nifty study guide, too. Plus, if you have studied it and I choose one or two of the questions, you will already know the answer for those questions on exam day. Handy!

Sorry: No office hours today.

NO OFFICE HOURS TODAY for PSC1121, 10:00 - 11:00 AM.

Dr. Brueckner has a family emergency.

We will have regular lecture meeting on Thursday morning.

Vote

I was on line Saturday afternoon for four hours so that I could vote early and teach all day tomorrow, Tuesday.

Make sure to get your vote cast tomorrow, if you have not already done so! This is a big election. Voting is good.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…

Homework 14 is ready now.

There is a fairly short but powerful homework assignment available now. GO! GO! GO!

HW 12 is ready.

Homework 12 is now ready for your studying pleasure. Work on it carefully, because it leads to HW 13 over the weekend, in which I plan some major brain burning activity.

No drop ins today. Sorry.

I was hoping to have some time for students to drop in to my office today, go over exams etc. Unfortunately, due to some "unusual" techniques

at my dentist appointment this morning, my mouth is semi-paralyzed for a few hours, and I am feeling a bit poorly. So I will try to get to lecture tomorrow EARLY EARLY EARLY and stay after, plus regular office hours on Wednesday.

The iClicker 2 data are up to date.

So far, we have had 48 iClicker 2 questions in regular lectures. Your iClicker 2 data is now up to date. You can look at your My Grades page in Webcourses.

On Tuesday, I will go through the effect of this data on your semester grade. For now, though, you can re-read the syllabus and sort it out.

Image: Michael Faraday, the son of a blacksmith and England's great genius of physics.

Blurb files are UP. Also homework.

Your Exam 2 blurb files and Homework 11 are now UP.

GO! GO! GO!

Exam 2 iClicker data are UP.

I just uploaded a bunch of data from your iClicker 2 activity yesterday. Your Exam 2 score is now complete.

Unless you messed up your NID or test form on the scantron, or unless your iCLicker 2 is not registered.

Exam 2 scantron scores are UP.

WOW! That was fast. Your Exam 2 scantron scores are up.

I am still working on clicker data, but hopefully by class time tomorrow, that will also be in place.

No office hours this week only.

Being as how we just had a big midterm, and on account of it not being scored yet, we will not have Wednesday office hours this week.

I will see you at 10:30 AM, Thursday for an electromagnetism lecture.

Combo Homework 10 is ready.

You are now GO for launch with combo homework #10.

Keep your eye on Godzilla's fastball.

More homework

Homework 9 is now ready. It is also due tomorrow, 10:30 AM.

GO! GO! GO!

Homework 8

I finally got the homework ready, Homework 8.

However, on account of its lateness getting out to you, I have shifted the due date to Thursday, for safety.

We will also have more homework assigned on Tuesday, so be ready.

NOT was:About the examination

WHOA! Cancel that announcement. That was supposed to be for my afternoon lecture, PHY2048!!

False alarm!

Midterm Exam today

60 points

15 multiple choice type questions for scantron AND iClicker 2

Three written problems, each with a few parts backed up to the iClicker 2.

Be ready to get seated rapidly asap.

HW 7 now ready

You can now tackle HW 7.

Homework

I have been dealing with a family emergency since yesterday. I will try to get the homework up right now.

Doc cam files

You can now view the PDF scan of what we did yesterday on the document camera. Look for the doc cam folder on the Webcourses home page.

Power rates

I just looked up the power rates from Progress Energy. This works out to about $0.11 per kWh. That is about what I mentioned off the top of my head in lecture today.

The iClicker 2 data re now caught up.

The class participation data for iClicker 2 activity are now up to date. Please refer to your My Grades page.

I will try to get the early iClicker bonus squared away next.

Homework 6 is ready, and it is a DOOOOOZY!

Be ready to work your calculator to the proverbial bone in Homework 6.

Exam 1 scores UP

Your Exam 1 scores are now UP. Look in the Exam 1 row of your My Grades page in Webcourses.

The main Exam 1 score is posted along with the two subscores:

1. "..Exam 1 scantron" = how many points you got from the scantron questions, and
2. "..Exam 1 clicker" = your points from the iClicker 2 calculation.

I also included two rows lower down that show the actual number you entered for question 38 and another row for a comment about your #38 answer.

The average is about 70%, C+ or so if I were to give it a letter grade.

P.S. It looks like a few of you forgot to bubble in the PID or test form, so there are a few zeroes for students who clicked in answers for #38 but do not have a scantron score. This means I have to dig your scantron out of the pile and grade it by hand. Big disaster. It'll take time, maybe next week.

Fixing up gradebook

I have the data from Exam 1 now. Amazingly fast. Good.

That being the case, I have been fixing up the grade book a bit. So... expect to see rows vanish, re-appear and vanish again a few times this morning. It's normal.

Exam 1 scores tomorrow

It' been a long day.

I will be posting Exam 1 scantron scores tomorrow. Also, the iClicker 2 scores should be ready tomorrow.

Stay alert.

Homework 4 is ready.

Are you ready to get to the HW?

Homework 4 is ready for you, in the George McFly folder in Webcourses.

GO! GO! GO!!

S.I. schedule

Here is the schedule of Supplemental Instruction, S.I., for this semester, with S.I. Leader Brandon McMillan.

Monday

2:30 - 3:20 PM

BHC-126

Tuesday

3:00 - 3:50 PM

BA-207

Wednesday

12:30 - 1:20 PM

CNH-204

Thursday

12:00 - 12:50 PM

CL1-112

More homework

Homework 2 is ready. Due on Tuesday at the beginning of lecture, 10:30 AM.

Homework 1 is ready.

You can now take a try at Homework 1. Look in Webcourses for the George McFly folder.

You have four attempts, so work carefully.

By the way, on the calculation exercises, be mindful that the Webcourses server randomly changes the numbers each time you attempt the assignment, so the numbers you calculate with in Attempt 1 might be different from the numbers in Attempt 2.

Podcast is UP. Homework for Thursday.

Today's lecture podcast is now available in iTunes U.

ALSO: Look for our first homework by lunchtime tomorrow, if not sooner. It will be in Webcourses.

Bonus pointage, early iClicker 2 registration in Webcourses

As is my custom, I reward students who hustle and get the iClicker 2 registered in Webcourses before the deadline. About 50 of you had registered as of yesterday, so you earned a bonus point.

There are two more days, tomorrow (Thursday) and next Tuesday, on which to snag a bonus point. Every lecture prior to 8/30, next Thursday, that you've registered your iClicker 2 in Webcourses, you earn a bonus point.

The official start of regular iClicker 2 pointage is Thursday next week, 8/30/2012.

Remember:

1. Only the iClicker 2 with display screen may be used; the older versions -- just 6 buttons -- will not be counted.
2. You must register in Webcourses, nowhere else, if you want to earn pointage for your semester grade.

iClicker 2 registration proceeding

It is great that you all are getting registered with iClicker 2. Several dozen of you are no on the roster. Excellent.

Working on total semester points

I am working on your total points for the semester, on which I will decide your semester grade. It is not finished yet, but it is in place and calculating.

So it might change, disappear, reappear, etc. etc. etc. Continue to be patient while I work like a subhuman maniac on grades.

iClicker points are UP.

I decoded all your sentences and assigned 0, 1, 2 or 3 points, base don whether

0. it was wrong, 0 points;
1. partial credit, 1 point;
2. correct but trivial (like, "the truck has speed."), 2 points;
3. correct and interesting, 3 points.

So all your exam points are up now.

I will still be messing around with odds and ends in the grade book, so be patient for another day or two.

Scantron portion of your grade is UP.

I just posted your scantron scores in Webcourses. Go have a look.

Also, I have posted the final exam bonus point question pointage.

I am still fussing with the codes on iClicker from yesterday. So keep your eyes open and stay alert.

No scores yet

No news yet on scantron scores. :( I will be working on the iCLicker data today as soon as I get up to campus.

Be on the lookout for Chuck Norris concepts!

Seen recently at the UCF library...

Or, as we used to say in my old stomping grounds, the French Himalayas, EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED!

And I tip my hat to Christina C. :D

Extra office hours for TA Chloee'

Chloee' will have office hours tomorrow (Friday) from 12:30 - 6:00 PM. She will be able to hand back exam printouts, go over the actual exam questions with you and help you calculate your grade status.

The doctor is IN

I am now available for office hour consultation: concepts, exam papers, grades etc.

Chuck Norris mega-review

You can now view the Chuck Norris Mega-Review data from lecture session yesterday:

1. the handout, all 24 questions, from class,
2. the solution set, and
3. how the calculation went for #24, the heat-melt-heat example.

All of them are in PDF. I will be converting your performance to bonus points later this week.

GO! GO! GO!

We must crush the final exam with impunity! BAM!

Mega office hours Tuesday

Tuesday (tomorrow) I will have mega office hours in PS156, my office in the Physical Sciences building, from 8 AM until maybe 4 or 5 PM. Drop in to double check exams, pick up papers etc.

Combo review homework is now ready!

The Chuck Norris Mega-Combo Review homework is now ready in Webcourses. I will convert your performance to one or two bonus points.

For some extra inspiration, here is a YouTube of Chuck Norris visiting some of the true tough guys: the US Marines!

So crush this review, use it for a study tool, and then crush the final examination.

S.I. final exam review schedule is set.

Here are the full specs for Devin's S.I. final exam review.

S.I. Final exam review

Devin Erickson

Pegasus Ballroom, Student Union

Sunday, April 29

1:00 - 2:30 PM

Extra office hours today

I will have office hours today from 10 AM til 3 PM, room PS158 in the Physical Sciences building. Come by and double check your grades situation if you like.

Homework 18 is ready.

You can now work on homework 18 in Webcourses.

Image: palmitic acid.

Exam 4 up

I just placed your Exam 4 data into the Webcourses grade book. There is the scantron portion (35 points possible) and the clicker portion (5 points possible).

I am still working on the code statement, getting it decoded and then grading each one. So you might get one or two of the bonus points from Exam 4 clicker question 3. I will announce it here when that data is ready.

Interesting electronegativity specs at Webelements.com

There is an interesting list of Fluorine electronegativity specs at Webelements.com to look at.

CRUSH exam 4

Test taking strategy: Perhaps you need a pair of boots for Exam 4...

Bonus points opportunity

You can contribute a multiple choice question for Exam 4 in out newly opened discussion area, "Bonus question for midterm 4."

TA Chloee' and I will eyeball your questions, maybe suggest an amendment or correction. If your question is good enough to use on Exam 4, you will have earned a bonus point for your semester grade. On Exam 3, I used several, so give it a shot for this exam!

HW 17, one more time.

Your HW 17 is now re-activated, with 5 attempts allowed, due Friday AM as usual. Go give those Planck's constant wavelength calculations another shot!

I will see you on Friday!

Standing waves

If you want to review the standing wave demonstrations in YouTube, here they are:

Study homework

I am having some difficulty with today's podcast, and it might have to be re-recorded. By scientific deduction, I attribute this to the nefarious work of Magneto, of course. Either that, or my MacBook is having electronic indigestion.

In the meantime, here is the study homework assignment:

1. Study sec. 8.3, Quantum Mechanics. Your study target is to get a feel for Fig. 8.14
   
2. Also, 8.5 on periodic table, esp. p. 218
   
3. Plus 8.6, on metals, esp. p. 218

There will also be a regular homework assignment in Webcourses, by lunchtime Tuesday if not sooner.

HW 16 is going.

You can now try out a brain burner deluxe in Homework 16, due on Monday.

Homework 15 UP.

Homework 15 is now available. However, since it is late, I will make it due on Monday, 10:30 AM.

Office hour this morning

We will have office hour this morning, 10 to 11 AM, room PS158 in the first floor of the Physical Sciences building (PS), right by the main entry.

Homework 14 is running.

Your next homework assignment, #14, is now running. It is due on Wednesday, 10:30 AM.

Your clicker points are UP.

There were plenty of students who got the clicker calculation correct yesterday, for 3 points. The answer was 1815 calories to prepare that nice cup of tea.

Also, after eyeballing every answer, I decided to award 1 or 2 partial credit points, depending on what you sent in for an answer.

All of this is now posted in Webcourses, on your My Grades page, including whether you got partial credit or not.

Bonus points question opportunity

For those of you that would like to try to earn another bonus point, the discussion area for that is now open in Webcourses. If your questions is good enough to include on Exam 3, then you will earn a bonus point.

Dr. B highway disasterness, but Exam 3 on schedule for Wed.

Sorry that I had to cancel lecture today. My vehicle had a slight disaster on the highway on the way to campus.

We will have Exam 3 on Wednesday according to the normal schedule.

Look in Webcourses for a review sheet -- we were going to do it in lecture today using iClicker, but you can use it on your own as a study sheet.