<p>Do the highest grades on the tests receive A's? or is what you get on the test final?</p>
<p>I heard class averages can be as low as 50s and I don't see how anyone could get out a slump like that.</p>
<p>Depends on the Prof.</p>
<p>Most will grade on a curve determined by the highest grade in the class.</p>
<p>Others will have a set curve/scale; 70+ is an A, 50-70 is B, etc.</p>
<p>Tests rarely receive letter grades, just scores. If you stay around the average you are generally fine, unless it's a weeder course or professor.</p>
<p>Also, don't let curves or scales determine how you study or feel you have done on a test. They can always fail you and often times do.</p>
<p>some teachers curve and others just set an absolute grading scale, which can go pretty low. a C- in one of my classes is set at somewhere around 52%.</p>
<p>i see...so basically its based on how others do compared to u...</p>
<p>Really, really, really depends upon the university/class/professor.</p>
<p>All I was saying in the other thread was that if you <em>think</em> you bombed the first exam, start stepping up your studying as soon as you get back to your room, but don't automatically assume that you're doomed. But no, not all profs curve their exams, and for those who do curve, some don't curve every test.</p>
<p>In my experience, tests were only ever curved <em>up</em>, and only if the average was something ridiculous like a 10%.</p>
<p>But no, don't assume that someone will get an A, and that you'll just have to aim for however well the best person in the class did...</p>
<p>It varies from school to school, prof to prof, etc. Some curve, some don't. Some will even fail many students who do poorly on an exam with a low mean. At my undergraduate, there is the occasional prof who will flunk more than half of the first semester freshman physics class.</p>
<p>I remember once thinking I'd failed a midterm and would have to drop the class. Turns out the mean was a 40. I got a 37. There were some honors coop students who scored in the single digits.</p>
<p>does anyone have an example of a difficult physics problem on a test/hw...High school physics is EXTREMELY easy for me...how much different could college physics get?</p>
<p>(From a physics exam at Rice) A 10-turn wire loop measuring 8.0 cm by 16.0 cm carrying a current of 2.0 A lies in the horizontal plane and is free to rotate about a horizontal axis through its center. A 50-g mass hangs from one side of the loop. A uniform horizontal magnetic field is also present, parallel to the horizontal plane. What magnetic field strength is required to hold the loop in its horizontal position?</p>
<p>8.012 is generally considered the most difficult first semester freshman physics option at MIT.</p>
<p>"how much different could college physics get?"</p>
<p>Way, way, way different.</p>
<p>At least 3x harder.</p>
<p>My ceramic and materials engineering class last year had one of the most massive curves I have ever seen in my life. The teacher was a research hotshot who decided to put PhD level stuff on our exams (it seemed like that anyway)</p>
<p>First Test: Online, Open Book Exam! Class average: 32%.</p>
<p>Second Test: Class Average 43%</p>
<p>Third Test: Class Average 52%</p>
<p>I think the final curve was like a 62% or above was an A (I think the best grade I got on any assignment in that class was like an 83%, the grading was insane on everything. You pretty much expected to fail everything by the end). </p>
<p>It really depends on the class. Most of my professors go for a 70% average and curve accordingly.</p>
<p>Most of my physics exams had averages in the mid 30s. Anything above a 50 was amazing.</p>
<p>My recent physics E&M exam had a 52 average, and it's higher than I thought it would be.</p>
<p>wow, for an aspiring engineer (HS senior) this is very discouraging :(</p>
<p>
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My recent physics E&M exam had a 52 average, and it's higher than I thought it would be.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I just got my first E&M exam back and the class average was 69% (one of the highest the prof has seen), getting an A was at 90%. I ended up with an 82% which was the very low end of an A/B.</p>
<p>
[quote]
wow, for an aspiring engineer (HS senior) this is very discouraging
[/quote]
It's hard on all of us, but our interest keeps us going. Even though engineering is tough, the material is still interesting to learn; it's just that it can make you go crazy at times.</p>
<p>the thing is in engineering, at the beginning, when you get a crappy grade, you have a tendency to believe others did better, when it's very likely that others did worse. </p>
<p>Michigan, most of my classes were B-/B averages (2.7-3.0), upper level classes can be B+ occasionally... For most exams, A's were 80+, B's and C's were between 80 and 40. Most exam averages are in the 55-70% range. Sounds easy, but it's very easy to get a <em>gasp</em> 20!</p>
<p>THe bigger problem of concern is professors who dont care about the course and are lousy teachers.</p>
<p>I had one whose notes on the overhead projector appeared to be written with a dull Sharpie will he was on crack.</p>
<p>Whether we like it or not, professors' main concerns are research and NOT teaching.</p>