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Homework:

• The purpose of homework is to encourage you to learn how to do problems.  Doing problems is critical to understanding physics and is what is tested in examinations. Working with others, and indeed getting help from any useful source, is encouraged.  Sources of help can be the text, the associated CD,  other  books, your classmates, the (optional) recitation sessions, office hours, e-mail to me, the Physics Help room, or any other mechanism you find useful. 
• Though help in understanding can take many forms, you should always be sure to go one step further ... Make sure that you are able to do each problem on your own as the last step. (Of course, doing additional problems on your own cannot hurt.)
• There will be 10 homework assignments over the semester.  Each assignment will consist of about 6 - 10 problems.  Homework will be collected in class before lecture on the due date.  No late homework will be accepted.  See the webpage Homework details for more discussion.
• Each Problem Set will be given two grades:
• One problem will be graded in detail on the basis of ten points. This problem will be chosen at random, but will be the same problem for all students. Partial credit will be given.
• A separate grade will reflect an evaluation for the remainder of the problems. This will consist of one point per problem where there is evidence that the problem has been seriously attempted.
• The total homework grade will be the sum of the two grades above.
• Clearly show your work for all problems. Show you know how to do the problem - do not simply write down the correct answer. (This is also good practice for exams, where partial credit will be given in some cases where the correct answer is not found. However, the grader must understand your thinking and logic.)
• Details on homework assignments are available on the Homework details web page.

Exams:

• There will be two 75 minute Midterms in the lecture hall.
• The Final Exam will be three hours long, will be in the lecture hall, and is scheduled by the registrar. If the time conflicts with the final in another course, you should arrange to take the other exam at a different time. The Physics 1401(1) final cannot be given at any time other than that scheduled by the registrar.
• Exam schedules are fixed and given on the Lecture schedule web page.
• About a week before any examination, a practice exam (with solutions) will be made available.  You may find this as one useful tool during review of the material.
• You should bring your Columbia ID, writing instrument, and a calculator with you to any exam.
• You will also be allowed to bring to exams one 8 1/2 x 11 note sheet.
• The note sheet must be in your handwriting and must be an original copy (no Xeroxes).
• You may write on only one side of the paper for the midterms and on both sides for the final.
• The note sheet must be handed in with the exam blue book.
• No other papers or books may be used.
• When the graded midterms are handed back in lecture, the statistics (mean, distribution) of the student grades will be discussed and available.
• When the exam grading is complete, the exam and solution will be available. All this and the statistics of the grades will be accessible at the Exam specifics page.

Regrades:

• Mistakes in grading homeworks and midterms have been known to happen (shocking but true!). Keep in mind that the total homework grade counts only 10% of your grade, so a single homework set is worth of order 1%, and a single problem is worth about 0.1%.  Hence, your grades in exams, where a single problem averages of order 5-7% of the final grade, are much more important - by a factor of order 50.  If you have a question about the recording of your homework grades, check with the grader. The procedure for all petitioning regrades of exam problems is as follows.
• You have two weeks from the time that a midterm is returned to request a regrade of a problem that you think was graded incorrectly or to report any substantive difficulty you perceive on your exam.
• Keep in mind that there is some judgement involved in giving partial credit. If the grader used specific partial credit criteria during grading of the exams, in the interests of fairness he or she will not change a criterion for one person later. Petitions should reflect genuine perceived errors in grading rather than disagreements over consistently applied criteria for allocation of partial credit.
• To request a regrade, see the Undergraduate secretary in the Department office and obtain a "petition for regrade". Read this and follow the instructions.

Absences:

• No late homeworks will be accepted.
• If you miss an exam, you must have your Dean send a note (by letter or e-mail to Prof. Sciulli) indicating that you had a valid excuse, in the Dean's opinion. Without such a note, a grade of zero will be recorded for the exam.
• There are no makeups for missed midterms. If you were unable to attend a midterm and have been excused by the Dean, that midterm will not be counted in your final grade.  This means that the other midterm and final will be counted proportionally higher.
• The Final Exam is required to be taken in order to pass the course.