Math 461 Midterm Exam 1 solutions, results, and grading information

General grading information

• Course Information Sheet. The yellow handout distributed at the beginning of the semester. Refer to this page for the complete grading policies.
• Online Scores. Log in with your NetID and password to view all your scores in this class, and your current points total. Most of the notation is self-explanatory. An asterisk (*) indicates an excused score (see the Course Information Sheet for a detailed explanation of an "excused" score). A double dash (--) indicates an assignment that has not been turned in; this counts as 0 points.
• Discrepancies in score display: If you notice any errors in the score display, such as an incorrectly entered or missing hw score, let me know right away and show me the assignment in question.
  Deadlines for reporting score discrepancies: The deadline for reporting errors on assignments prior to, and including, exam1, is Friday, February 27. (You must show me the assignment in question.) For future assignments/tests, errors must be reported within one week from the date the test/assignment is given.

Exam 1 information

• Exam 1 Syllabus. The exam information/syllabus page posted before the exam.
• Exam 1 Solutions. Complete solutions, with score breakdown per subproblem, and detailed comments on incorrect approaches and common mistakes. Check here first before asking questions about the exam.
• Exam 1 statistics: The maximal score was 150, the median score 114, the average 110. Individual scores ranged from a perfect 150 to 32. For the score breakdown per problem see the above solutions.
• Letter grade correspondence: For your information, here is an approximate letter grade correspondence for the exam scores: A score in the 130-150 range corresponds to an A grade (A-, A, A+), a score of 110-130 is a B; 80-110 is a C; and 50-80 is a D. (This correspondence is for your information only and will not directly enter the final grade computation. The course grade will be determined by converting the point totals accumulated at the end of the semester (not the individual grade components) to a letter grade.)
• Percentage of course grade. This exam contributes approximately 1/6 to the course grade. The current maximal points total (based on one midterm and three hw assignments) is 210 points; this represents about 20 - 25 percent of the points total at the end of the semester. For the complete grading policy, see the Course Information Sheet handed out the first week of class.
• Grading appeals. In case of a simple accounting error (such as an incorrect addition of scores, or discrepancy between your score on the exam and the score on the computer grade report), let me know, and I'll likely take care of it on the spot. If you have a question/complaint about the grading itself, see me after the 10 am class, or during office hours. Most errors were not unique, and were graded uniformly; see the Exam Solutions for some common mistakes in combinatorial problems. Note that, as pointed out on the cover sheet, correct answers alone are not sufficient; appropriate explanations have to be given, and the notation used must be mathematically correct and meaningful (the latter especially in connection with Problem 1).
  Deadline: All grading appeals must be made within one week of the date of the test. For exam1, the deadline for appeals is Friday, February 27.

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