<p>Ok so I am taking chem 3B and well i got a pretty low score.... 163 out of 250. Volhardt is my teacher and well my question is Does he curve the final grade?</p>
<p>Mt1: 250
Mt2: 250</p>
<h2>FE: 500</h2>
<p>1000 ...</p>
<p>I wanted to get at least a A- but i just ***k it up. My change is studying my ass off and would say B+ ... hardly but yeah does he curves?</p>
<p>Sorry for my colloquial language =)</p>
<p>every big lecture class curves.</p>
<p>What was the average and standard deviation?</p>
<p>Average was 155, SD was 43. I’m also curious, is a 165 still salvageable for an A given these conditions?</p>
<p>it really depends on what the remaining exams end up like. If the remaining exams had low averages (like this one), with huge SD and you end up at least +1 SD above mean, then I’d say you have a shot
but if the mean goes up, and everyone else does well… then hmmm
remember, the classes are usually set so that the mean is the dividing line between B- and C+</p>
<p>basically you have a mid-high B right now. Like an 86% if you wanna use that scale. take that for what you will, but no matter what, you can’t get an A if you don’t do well on the next test, no matter the curve.</p>
<p>You’ll be having multiple MT1s in the class??</p>
<p>^Right, but if I do do well on the next midterm and decently on the final, this score won’t keep me from getting an A, correct?</p>
<p>Or is this now an unrealistically uphill battle?</p>
<p>I think you still have a good chance. </p>
<p>Make sure you really study for the final exam and understand what you’re doing. The final will be a culmination of 200+ reactions; many students won’t fare well and the curve will probably be quite low. So if you can get ahead of the curve for midterm 2 and, more importantly, the final, then you’ll be in good shape.</p>
<p>On a side note, the Chem 3B textbook/course doesn’t seem to emphasize mechanisms heavily, which is so sad because it basically turns ochem into a memorizing course. It might be helpful to look more in depth into the mechanisms and thermodynamics, analyze why reactions go this way and not that, etc. so that you can really understand what you’re doing.</p>
<p>it’s doable. i took it with pedersen, i only got a few points above the mean on MT1 but studied for MT2 (1SD above mean) and final (knew everything and did really well, probably well more than 1SD above average) and pulled off an A. </p>
<p>@Rigoletto: i disagree on knowing mechanisms for chem3a/b. it’s helpful if you really want to know the stuff but for getting the grade it’s unnecessary. most people taking 3a/b are premeds who aren’t going to take orgo past 3a/b anyways.</p>
<p>Ok so seems like its possible. Thank you for your help!!! Good luck hmmmmmm !</p>
<p>you did better than me…but i’m glad there are ppl out there around my score! lol so if i got lower than him, am i lookin at a C? again…?</p>