Examples

  1. Find the link to the course syllabus and review the grading information found there.

    Calculate the final percentage for a student with the following scores:

    ItemScoreMax Possible
    Exam 14860
    Exam 24360
    Exam 35460
    Homework 12432
    Homework 22932
    Homework 33232
    Homework 42732
    Homework 53132
    Homework 62632
    Quiz 01010
    Quiz 19.510
    Quiz 2910
    Quiz 31010
    Quiz 4910
    Quiz 57.510
    Quiz 68.910
    Quiz 79.310
    Quiz 87.310
    Quiz 99.210
    Quiz 101010
    Quiz 111010
    Quiz 128.510
    Quiz 139.910
    Quiz 146.310
    Team Labs2828

    Hint: Use your calculator to compute the average percentage earned for each type of grade and then weight that percentage according to the percentages listed for that component. The percentages for each component are found on the course syllabus.

    ExamPerc = (48+43+54)/180
    The answer is 0.8056

    HomePerc = (24+29+32+27+31+26)/(32*6)
    The answer is 0.8802

    QuizPerc = (10+9.5+9+10+9+7.5+8.9+9.3+7.3+9.2+10+10+8.5+9.9+6.3)/150
    The answer is 0.8960

    TeamLabPerc = 28/28
    The answer is 1

    Now, compute the weighted average of those percentages according to the grading information found on the course syllabus. For example: If Exams are worth 54%, Homeworks 18%, Quizzes 14%, and Team Labs 14%, then the final percentage is calculated as:

    FinalPerc = ExamPerc*60/100+HomePerc*14/100+QuizPerc*12/100+TeamLabPerc*14/100

    The answer in this case is 0.8541 or 85.41%.

    What letter grade is that?

    In CS310, students tend to perform at or near the standard grade levels, so there is usually not much of a curve. Though, we do curve some each semester based on the overall performance of students during that semester. These cutoffs are close to those actually used in previous semesters.

    A92 - 100%
    AB88 - 92%
    B80 - 88%
    BC76 - 80%
    C68 - 76%
    D60 - 68%
    F 0 - 60%

    So, the student in the above example would receive a B in the course. Typically, 20-35% of the students recieve A or AB, 40-50% receive a B or BC, 10-20% get a C or D, and less than 2% fail the course.

  2. If the lowest quiz score is dropped, what is the final percentage for the student in the above example?

    To drop a quiz score, remove it from the sum of quiz scores and remove its total from the total possible for quizzes, then recalculate the QuizPerc and the FinalPerc.

    QuizPerc = (10+9.5+9+10+9+7.5+8.9+9.3+7.3+9.2+10+10+8.5+9.9)/140
    The answer is 0.9150

    FinalPerc = ExamPerc*60/100+HomePerc*14/100+QuizPerc*12/100+TeamLabPerc*14/100

    The final percentage is 0.8563 or 85.63%. The letter grade is still a B in this case.

  3. Calc 1 and Calc 2 are prequisites for this course. Be sure to review your study of these topics so that you are prepared to solve the problems using a tool used in the course.

    The tools do not tell you what to do next, students need to understand that part. The tools simply provide another way to compute the calculations besides doing them by hand or on a calculator. The tools we use in this course also provide ways to automate (or program) solutions to complex problems.

    Some things you should recall (or be able to figure out) from Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry, Calc 1 and Calc 2 are:

    • How to compute the area of a circle.
    • How to compute the slope of a curve at a particular point.
    • How to compute the area under a curve.
    • How to compute the volume of revolving a curve about the x or y axis.
    • How to compute the surface area of a cylinder.
    • How to find the minimum or maximum of a function or expression.
    • What it means to integrate. (Not so much, how to integrate by hand, but what the integral result means).
    • What linear regression is.
    • What the rectangle and trapezoid methods are for finding the area under a curve.
    • How to multiply two matrices together using Matrix Algebra.
    • How to solve a system of two or three equations.
    • What is means to solve a system equations.

    If you do not know any of these items, please start reviewing your previous math courses now and ask for assistance in relearning the concept. We will assume that you know or can figure out what each of these and other earlier math concepts mean, in our presentation of problems on labs, homeworks, and quizzes.

  4. Find the max value of the function f(x).

    f(x) = -(x-3)2+3x+11

    Recall from Calc 1, to find the min or max of an expression:

    1. Find the derivative of the expression that computes the function, with respect to the independent variable.
    2. Create an equation with the derivative on one side and 0 on the other.
    3. Solve that equation for the independent variable.
    4. Plug the variable back in to the expression to compute the min or max value.

    Also, it's nice to plot functions (or expressions) over some range to "see" the minimum or maximum that you are seeking. Later, we will learn how to plot with the tools we are using in the course.

    Here's a solution to this problem:

    1. deriv = 9 - 2*x
    2. xAtMax = 9/2
    3. maxFX = -(9/2-3)^2+3*(9/2)+11
    4. maxFX = 22.25