First, 4 quick reminders/updates:
- Tomorrow (Saturday, 12/10) is the last day to take the final exam. More final exam information is at the end of this post/message. If you haven’t already taken it, still wish to take it, and cannot take it Saturday please contact me as soon as possible.
- I have returned your unit 5 exams by email
- Information about the end of the semester, final grades, etc are below.
- I will send out one more update/message when all final grades are posted. If you don’t see or read that one, know that I’ve enjoyed working with you this semester and wish you the best for the end of the semester, the Holiday Season, and in your future endeavors!
End of Semester Info/timeline for grades, etc.
Saturday 12/10:
- I will pick up the final exams Saturday afternoon. I will begin grading them. If you are taking the exam late Saturday afternoon, it probably won’t be available to me until Monday morning
- I will begin grading exams
Sunday 12/11:
- I will be grading your exams, but I will also be grading assignments from my CHEM 262 class. I will post grades on D2L as I finish them, so they may appear Sunday but it will more likely be Monday
Monday 12/12
- I will pick up exams completed late Saturday afternoon and grade them.
When will final grades be available?
The college deadline is Wed 12/14 by 8am but I hope to beat that. As I complete grades, I will release the final grade to D2L and put the final course grade in the D2L gradebook as well. Before I do that, you should be able to calculate your course grade by putting in your final exam score and looking at the grading scale in the syllabus.
I know many of you are anxious about/and to know your grades – that said, please see the next paragraph 🙂
About emailing me
For the next few days as we wind up the semester, I’ll get a lot of email. And I’m totally good with that – I enjoy working with and hearing from each of you and assisting you as you learn! And I take questions about the course seriously. But as I have four sections of students and get a lot of email volume at the end of the semester I prioritize them as I can’t get back to everyone quickly and complete grading. So I will not answer emails in the order received, rather I will answer them in this order:
- Questions about chemistry course material that students need to understand concepts and prepare for finals (I also have two in-person classes that have finals Monday) come first. They will move to the front of the line immediately.
- Questions calling my attention to any errors I made in grading (or possible errors) come next.
- I won’t look at emails asking me to round up grades or if any other work can be done to improve your grade until I’ve answered all the emails above and completed all of my grading for all my courses. This allows me to get grades back to everyone as soon as possible! Also, in most cases, the answer will be no.
- I will ignore emails asking when items will be graded or final grades will be posted. The college deadline is Wed 12/14 by 8am but I hope to beat that. I know you want to know your grades, and I want to complete them too! Rest assured I’m doing it as quickly as I can, while taking breaks to answer student questions. Again, this allows me to get grades back to all of you as quickly as possible!
As always, contact me if you have questions about the class or have any last minute questions about the material before beginning the exam.
Final Exam Info
The final exam will also be a pencil and paper exam in the Testing Center. The exam will be available Thursday 12/8 – Saturday 12/10 (note no Monday availability).
The exam is a proctored, pen/pencil and paper exam. It is not offered online on D2L. The exam will be taken in the testing center of your choice (like the five unit exams).
The exam is comprehensive, covering the entire course. It will be very similar to the unit exams (a mix of multiple choice questions, short answer questions, and problems), It is different in the unit exams in a few ways:
- It is longer. You will have one hour and 40 minutes (100 minutes) to complete the final exam
- The problem questions will be worth 10 points rather than the typical 8 points on the unit exam
- You are allowed to take a 3″x 5″ index card for use on the Final Exam. You can write anything you wish on the card to use as notes. It must be handwritten (not typed on computer) but you can use both sides.
- You will be provided the same resources you got on all the unit exams throughout the course:
- The units 1-3 periodic table for exams (found in the Unit 1, Unit 2 or Unit 3 folder on D2L) or at this link
- The units 4 and 5 periodic table for exams (found in the Unit 4 or Unit 5 folder on D2L) or at this link.
- The list of solubility rules found in the Unit 2 Folder on D2L or at this link
“What should I study?”
Students often ask me what are good things to study to prepare for the final. That is a difficult question as it depends on how you learn. A big part of success in college is figuring out what study approaches work for you! That said, many students have told me that looking over their old exams, the practice quizzes, and the practice exams has been very helpful to them — them going back and studying the items they do not understand-can’t answer. So if you are unsure that might be a good thing to do.
Also remember to see the Bruce’s notes on this website for each topic to help and that you can always contact me or the Learning Commons tutors for help. The general Fall 2022 Chemistry Tutoring Schedule is at this link.
Below are links to general information about the testing center and the exams (the same info I posted for earlier exams)
Testing hours and locations are at this link
There is detailed information about the exams at this link. Please read it carefully – it contains the answers to many frequently asked questions. Let me know if you have additional questions after reading it.
