<p>Hey guys,</p>
<p>So I just got my midterm grade back and it was baad, like really bad as I scored a 76/160 points which is not so great considering I did study a lot for the midterm. ;( I just don't know where I went wrong...Like I went back and looked over the test as it's pdf online, and I noticed that mostly I did get the concept right,but got partial credit due to my explaining of details :( That's like the worst feeling ever....I just don't know what to do and I wish I could get some support on what I should do?</p>
<p>Should I even think about passing the next test, will I? I'm definitely failing the class? I;m doing pretty well on the hw and iclicker quizzes,but I just got really screwed up on the midterm? Any other people who also got screwed up on the midterm? ;(</p>
<p>You need to look at the class average, some classes curve. My daughter thought she failed one class but it turned out she had nearly an A-. </p>
<p>I’m taking chem 1A right now too, though I did do pretty well on the first midterm. I talked to my GSI ahead of time asking how the midterms were graded, and he explained that we must include certain terms for full credit. So while I was taking the test, I made sure to include related terms that we learned in class. The next midterm will be heavy on calculations (I assume, based on the homework), so that might work better for you if you are not big on explaining in words. The last midterm average was a 108 (68%) with a standard deviation of 26, so things are not looking too good for you right now, but you can still save yourself with the next few exams.
I don’t know if you are going to office hour, but it’s very helpful. Read at home and do homework at the GSI’s office hour helps much more than just studying on your own. I would do a whole bunch of practice questions this week to prepare for next week, also go to mock exam. I also find Dr. Marsden’s office hours very helpful, you can also go to him for help.</p>
<p>Where did you find out what the class average was?</p>
<p>On bCourses, you click on your exam’s grade and it shows the average, lowest and highest grades (and sometimes the mean if the highest wasn’t 100%, as well as SD).</p>