Hey guys, I have a chemistry final exam in two days, but just recently found that i am failing the course. i thought that the final exam was worth 40% (mixed up with another course) so i thought it was worth studying because i could still pass the class. i found out that the final exam is worth only 20% two days before the exam, so there is no way in passing unless i get a 120% on the exam. Do you think I should still study for the exam or not.
Still study for the exam. Maybe if you do well there is a slim chance that the professor will see your improved effort and pass you??? You never know how each professor grades or what they are thinking at that moment. It may be worth it to study since you have to sit and take the test anyway.
Personally, if I had no chance of passing the class no matter how I did on the final – and if I had other finals to study for – I probably wouldn’t even take it.
But that’s considering that a lot of my professors say in the syllabus that whatever grade you get is what you earned. If there is a chance of a grade change based on effort/improvement, I would follow the advice in post #1.
Lots of professors curve the whole class at end - study for it. Are you sure about failing? Some professors grade on the deviation from average or whatever and you may be doing better than you think. If it’s a class you’ll have to retake, you have to learn it eventually.
OP, are you currently at about 58% in the course? If the professor curves a lot at the end, and you do WAY better on the final than usual (say an 90%), you may be able to pass. But if studying for chem causes you to fail other classes that you have definite chances of passing, you should study for your other classes instead. If you thought you had a chance of passing when you thought the final was 40%, then you must be confident enough in the material to get an A on the final… if not, you’re unlikely to learn a semester’s worth of material in 2 days.