How to improve your chance of getting a good grade.

 

Below is the 2012 grade distribution.

grade

#

2012 min score

A+

6

0.917172101

A

16

0.845599638

A-

11

0.818516304

B+

5

0.809721014

B

8

0.799757

B-

9

0.784056

C+

13

0.756682971

C

10

0.721811594

C-

14

0.692509058

D

6

0.628556159

F

7

0

dropped

3

 

total

108

 

 

Many students will do well in this class; others may be very disappointed in their grade.  Yet, a number of students show problems with poor lecture attendance, poor lab preparation, and poor or incomplete work on problem sets. These simple suggestions are offered in the spirit of trying to reduce the number of students so disappointed.  Your actions will have great control upon your class grade.

Study Hard.

You need to devote a minimum of 3 hours of studying for each hour of lecture (including time working problem sets).  To do reasonably well, it is probably a good plan to devote 3.5 hours.  Do the math: If  you are taking 18 units, it might be a good plan to study a minimum of 8 hours per day, 7 days per week.  This is in addition to your time attending lectures.

Problem sets.

Turn in every problem set. Make sure your answers are correct. Do not work in groups---do the work yourself. Work the problems over until you understand them perfectly and can solve them quickly: the exams are usually very similar. If you skip the problem sets, or if you copy another student's work, you will not learn the material, and you will do badly on the exams. Skipping more than one problem set, or working the problems carelessly, almost always leads to a C- , D, or F in the class.

Lectures.

Attend every lecture: It is hard to keep up with the material if you don't.
Read each day's on-line lecture notes before you come to class: It will be hard to follow the lecture if you don't.
Take notes. 
Each lecture day, read the same material in the class textbook. The textbook covers the material differently: it helps to have several perspectives.

Labs.

You will not understand the lab if you must learn the material at the same time you are doing the experiments: study the lab assignment before you come to the lab.
Work the pre-lab carefully.

Exams.

Read the class notes. Read the text.  Work all the problem sets over again. Work all the old class exams posted on-line. Make sure that you understand the old posted exams. Make sure you can  work these old exams for practice in the  amount of time you will be given for the class exam.