Guidelines for study and for exam preparation
The guidelines listed here are to be read in conjunction with
those in the Syllabus.
Goals of Exams
* To consolidate the important knowledge taught in the
course;
* To promote the learning of the course material through
a reward system.
General Study Guidelines
* Students need to spend 12 to 15 hours (including the time
attending Classes & Discussions) according to the Carnegie-unit rule
for a 4-unit course (see the Syllabus), and also according to the guideline
given by TB1, p.xxvi.
* Read the Reading Assignments before each class.
* Check the Class and Discussion web pages
(which gives preview of the coming class) on the Course Web, before
each class
* Take lecture notes.
* After each class, review and organize your lecture own
lecture notes.
* Then, compare your notes with the Class and Dicussion
page (which gives highlights for each Class and Discussion) and
the 10C list pages in the Course Web. The Class web pages give a chronological
documentation of the material taught. The 10C list pages give a logical
summary of the important contents of the course.
* Do the HWs, and make sure to understand all the problems
and answers before handing them in.
* If there is anything unclear to you, ask Professor
Chau right away during the class, or right after the class before the
blackboard is erased, or send her an e-mail anytime.
* Only those course materials in writing (during the
lectures, in the class highlights, HWs, TB1 and TB2) will be in the
exams. Materials in TB1 and TB2, but not written down in the
lectures and not in HWs, will be less than 20% of the contents of exams.
(Hopefully, with this clarification, students will enjoy more during the
lecture, and will not feel pressured by those web links on Chau's course
web. However, as in all learning, such culture, "peripheral view," is important
for enhancing true learning and making learning enjoyable.)
Exam Study Guidelines
* A pyramid approach:
** Top: HWs & 10C lists;
** Second to the top: lecture notes &
class web pages;
** Third to the top: TB1 [The important
Math Insights in TB1 are those covered in lectures and HW's. Dr. Chau
always try to simplify them and make them more precise and up-to-date.]
** The bottom: TB2 & class demos, movies,
and web culture links.
* With the understanding of the Top, you should get most of
the exams. So, the items in the Top are your first priority,
especially if you are short of time. However, we all know that we can
not cramp knowledge. The brain needs time and varied stimulus to soak
in knowledge and, more importantly, to apply knowledge. That is why students
should read assignments first, then participate in class, start homework
early, ask questions by sending Chau e-mails, attend discussion sessions,
work out and finally finish HWs in a neat fashion.)
During the Exam Guidelines
* Read the exam carefully. If you need clarification,
go to the front to ask Professor Chau. (Needless to say, no answers
to exam problems will be given.)
* The problems in exam are always such that no calculators
are need. (Tables will be provided if necessary.) Therefore, the feeling
that you need a calculator may well be a signal that you are on a
not-so-good track.
Quiz 1, 2/2/05, 4:40-5:30pm
* Lectures and Discussions which covered the following materials.
TB1:
Week-1 (1/6 - 1/9),
* p.A-4 to A-12; Appendix
of TB1: Powers of 10, Significant Figures,
and Units;
Week-2 (1/9-1/15), * p.2-25, Chpt 1 of
TB1 : Our Place in the Universe;
Week-3 (1/16-1/22), * p.56-85, Chpt 3 of TB1:
The Science of Astronomy; .
* p.114-128, Chpt 4 of TB1
: A Universe of Matter and Energy.
TB2:
Week-2 (1/9-1/15), * Starting page to p.xv and
p.3-p.20 of Prefaces and Chpt 1 of TB2: Tied Up with Strings
;
Week-3 (1/16-1/22), * p.23 -.52 , Chpt 2 of TB2: Space,
Time, and the Eye of the Beholder;
* HW1, HW2, and HW3;
* 10C-0.
Quiz 2, 2/24/05, 4:40-5:30pm
It is accumulative. The new material are the following.
* Lectures and Discussions which covered the following materials.
TB1:
Week-4 (1/23-1/29), * p.129-151,
Chpt 5 of TB1: The Universal Laws of Motion ;
Week-5 (1/30-2/5 ), * p.152-171,
Chpt 6 of TB1: Light: The Cosmic Messenger;
Week-6 (2/6 -2/12), * p.432-452,
S2 of TB1: Space and Time;
* p.453-476,
S3 of TB1: Spacetime and Gravity;
TB2:
Week-4 (1/23-2/29), * p.53 - 84, Chpt 3 of TB2:
" Of Warps and Ripples";
Week-5 (1/30-2/5 ), * p.85 - 131, Chpt 4 of TB2:
"Microscopic Weirdness";
Week-6 (2/6 -2/12), * No reading assignment
of TB2;
* HW4, HW5, and HW6;
* 10Cs: C0, C1, C2-3, C4-5.
Quiz 3, 3/15/05, 5:00-5:50pm
It is comprehensive. The new materials are the following.
* Lectures and Discussions which covered the following materials.
TB1:
Week-7 (2/13-2/19) *
Building Blocks of the Universe; Read p.476-493, S4 of
TB1.
Week-8 (2/20-2/26)
* Part of Chapter 15 of TB1, Our Star, p.496-508 (15.1
to 15.3) & summary pages.
* Fig. 7.20 on p.186 and
its explanations; Fig. 11.8 on p. 304 and its explanations;
Fig 15.23a,b on
p.516 and their explanations.
* Chpt 16, p.521-542, of TB1,
"Properties of Stars".
Week-9 (2/27-3/5 )
*Part of Chapt 18, p. 574 -588, of TB1, The Bizarre Stellar Graveyard
;
*Part of Chapt 20, p. 632 -648, of TB1, Measuring the Cosmic
Distance and Age.
* Fig. 17.26 & its explanations.
TB2
Week-7 (2/13-2/19),
p.117-165, Chpt 5 "The Need for a New Theory: General Relativity
vs. Quantum Mechanics ,"
p.135-p.165, Chpt 6 "Nothing but Musics: The Essentials
of Superstring Theory."
Week-8 (2/20-2/26),
p.166-p.183, Chpt 7 of TB2, "The 'Super' in the Superstring";
Week-9 (2/27-3/5 ), p.183-p.211,
Chpt 8 of TB2, " More Dimension Than Meet the Eye";
* HW7, HW8, HW9;
* 10Cs: C6-7-8, C9-10.
Final Exam, 3/19/05, 10:30-12:30am
It is comprehensive. The new materials are the following.
* Lectures and Discussions which covered the following materials.
TB1
Week-10 (3/6 -3/12 )
·
Part of Chapter 22 of TB1, "Dark Matter and the Fate of the Universe
," with emphasis on the following:
· ·
Figs. 22.9; 22.10; 22.12; 22.17; 22.18 & their explanations.
·
Part of Chapter 23 of TB1, "The Beginning of Time," with emphasis
on the following.
· ·
Figs. 23.2; 23.4; 23.7; 23.8; 23.16; & their explanations.
TB2
Week-10 (3/6 -3/12 ), P.373-387,
Chapter 15 of TB2, "Prospect."
* HW10.