This page is complete (I hope). Links for both
recommended problems from old midterms
and their answers/solutions have been listed below.
Three additions/changes made on 2/11 are marked and dated below.
Please email me if you think you spot any errors. If I make
any corrections, I will note it here.
Basic information.
The test will be given in lecture (11:30-12:20), in usual lecture room,
on Wednesday, February 13, and will be a full 50 minutes long.
It will cover the material we have studied in Chapters 10, 12, and 13 in
the Stewart text. (More details below.)
No homework will be collected on test day.
You do not need to bring a bluebook or even paper to write on.
There will be room on the test paper to do your work, and you may ask
for extra blank paper if needed. Be sure to read the "Instructions
for test day" below before the test.
Added 2/11:
There may be two versions of the test, so do not worry if you happen to
see an answer on another paper that is different from yours.
Calculators: The questions will be designed so that you do not have to have a calculator to take the test. In particular, you may leave the answers in "exact form," that is in terms of pi, square roots, etc., not decimal approximations, and you do not need to simplify complicated algebraic expressions. If you wish, you may use a non-graphing calculator; see the Math 126 calculator Policy. If you do any simplifying or decimal approximations of answers, be especially careful to show your steps and reasoning clearly so we can follow your work.
Notes: You may bring one notebook (8.5 by 11 inches) sized sheet of handwritten notes. The main reason for allowing notes is to encourage "top down" studying (organizing your thinking about the material, identifying common themes, etc.) and, conversely, discourage "bottom up" studying (merely memorizing formulas). Handwritten notes are required so that you have to think about the material to produce the notes, which is also a good study technique. It's OK to write on both sides of the paper, but it is in your interest to summarize thoughtfully, so you are not spending precious exam time reading through detailed notes.
Topics covered by the Midterm:
In the Stewart text, Sections 10.1-10.3, 12.1-12.6, 13.1, 13.2,
and just the topic of arclength in section 13.3.
Study suggestions:
==> Instructions for test day: The test will be handed out before the bell rings, but will have a cover sheet with instructions not to open the test and begin before the bell rings. If you come before the bell, leave the seats in the front row and near the left aisle empty for late comers. If you come after the bell, go directly to a seat in the front or on that aisle, I will make sure you have a test. When the bell rings at the end of class, pass your test to the right (window) wall, and leave promptly. ==> Seating chart: During the test, a seating chart may be passed along your row. When you get the chart, on the next blank line, print your name (so I can read it) and sign with your usual signature, also, then pass to the next person. I will collect the chart at the end of the row.
Some general test taking advice: Instructors usually put questions that they think are straight forward and not too long first, then harder or longer problems later. But sometimes their judgement is bad, and some students prefer to tackle the problems they find hardest first. Work the problems in any order you like, but don't get bogged down in a problem you find hard or confusing when there are other problems you haven't started or on which you would be likely to accomplish more. Come back to the hard one if you have time.
Lay your work out in a logical order. For instance, avoid the "spiral" style in which you write your first steps in the middle of the work area, then circle later steps around them. Use English as well as symbols to make your reasoning clear to the grader.
If you need more space than is available on the page with the problem, give clear instructions about where your work continues (e.g., "cont. back of p. 3" or "Rest of Prob. #2 is after #4"). If the test is printed on one side of the paper only, the back of the previous page is the best place to continue, because then you (and the grader) can see all your work at once, without flipping a page over. (For the first page of the exam, use the back of the cover sheet, if there is one, or the back of the last page if there isn't.) In any case write the problem number at the top of the new page of work.
Read instructions carefully, so you don't do more work than you have to. Don't simplify a complicated algebraic expression unless told to (or if it's easier because you need it for the next step). It's said that first guesses on tests are usually better than second, so once you have an answer, don't change it without good reason. What if you have a reason for thinking the answer is wrong, but can't find your error? Say exactly that! For instance, write "The velocity should be negative because the ball is going down, but I can't find my mistake." I sometimes partially forgive errors that are accompanied by such reasoning. But if you arbitrarily change an answer from positive to negative, with no comment, I'm tempted to take off extra even if the correct answer is negative.
If you do change your answer, cross out rather than erasing. It's quicker, and sometimes your new reasoning is easier to follow if we can glance at what you tried first.
Return to the Math 126C Homepage.