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Galaxy NGC4414 from HST Astronomy 162:
Introduction to Stars, Galaxies, & the Universe
Prof. Richard Pogge, MTWThF 9:30

In-Class Quizzes, Study Guides & Results

This page provides a schedule of the in-class quizzes, summaries of the quiz results, and study guides.

In-Class Quizzes Schedule

There will be four in-class quizzes in addition to the Final Exam. The schedule of quizzes is below. See the Course Syllabus for a description of the quizzes and the course grading and makeup policy.
In-Class Quiz 1: Friday, January 20
In-Class Quiz 2: Friday, February 3
In-Class Quiz 3: Friday, February 17
In-Class Quiz 4: Friday, March 3

Final Exam: Wednesday, March 15 9:30-11:18am

All in-class quizzes are held at the normal class time, 9:30-10:18am in Evans 1008. You will have the entire class time to take the quizzes. The Final Exam is in the same classroom from 9:30-11:18am on Wednesday, March 15.


Quiz Study Guides

The study guides list the topics that will be covered by each of the four in-class quizzes and the last weeks of class following Quiz 4. Taken together they constitute the study guide for the Final Exam, so no separate final exam study guide needs to be provided.
Quiz 1 Study Guide
Quiz 2 Study Guide
Quiz 3 Study Guide
Quiz 4 Study Guide
End-of-Quarter Study Guide
The links above will become accessible during the week before each scheduled in-class quiz.

How do you use these study guides? See How To Study for the Quizzes, which is some general advice that past students of mine have found useful.


Exam Results

Below are statistical summaries of the results of the in-class quizzes and the final exams. Letter grade ranges are not divided into +/- grade boundaries (although +/- grades will be computed and reckoned as part of the final grading). In general, the top quarter of each range is +, and the bottom quarter is -, but this can vary a little from exam-to-exam.

Federal Law requires that all individual students records be kept confidential, and as such individual test scores are not available electronically or by phone. Please see the professor or the TA in-person to retrieve your quiz and score sheets and so learn your grade.

For those of you wondering what all of the numbers mean, how the divisions among scores was derived, and how your grade is actually computed, see these additional pages:


Quiz 1: Friday, January 20

50 Questions, multiple-choice
Statistics [Raw (Percent out of 50)]:
Mean: 32.88 (65.76%)
Median: 34 (68%)
Spread: 6.93 (13.86%)

Grade Cutoffs [Raw (Percent out of 50)]
A: 41-50 (82-100%)
B: 34-40 (68-80%)
C: 27-33 (54-66%)
D: 22-26 (44-52%)
E: 0-21 (0-42%)

Grade Curve Plot (37k JPEG)
The red arrow shows the median score and the green arrow shows the mean score. Note that 1 question is worth 2%.

Quiz 2: Friday, February 3

50 Questions, multiple-choice
Statistics [Raw (Percent out of 50)]:
Mean: 38.74 (77.48%)
Median: 40 (80%)
Spread: 7.37 (14.74%)

Grade Cutoffs [Raw (Percent out of 50)]
A: 43-50 (86-100%)
B: 36-42 (72-84%)
C: 29-35 (58-70%)
D: 24-28 (48-56%)
E: 0-23 (0-46%)

Grade Curve Plot (37k JPEG)
The red arrow indicates the median score. Note that 1 question is worth 2%.

Quiz 3: Friday, February 17

50 Questions, multiple-choice
Statistics [Raw (Percent out of 50)]:
Mean: 38.12 (76.24%)
Median: 40 (80%)
Spread: 8.02 (16.04%)

Grade Cutoffs [Raw (Percent out of 50)]
A: 43-50 (86-100%)
B: 36-42 (72-84%)
C: 29-35 (58-70%)
D: 24-28 (48-56%)
E: 0-23 (0-46%)

Grade Curve Plot (38k JPEG)
The red arrow indicates the median score, the green arrow indicates the mean score. Note that 1 question is worth 2%.

Quiz 4: Friday, March 3

50 Questions, multiple-choice
Statistics [Raw (Percent out of 50)]:
Mean: 36.36 (72.72%)
Median: 37 (74%)
Spread: 6.74 (13.5%)

Grade Cutoffs [Raw (Percent out of 50)]
A: 43-50 (86-100%)
B: 36-42 (72-84%)
C: 29-35 (58-70%)
D: 24-28 (48-56%)
E: 0-23 (0-46%)

Grade Curve Plot (37k)
The red arrow indicates the median score.

Final Exam: Wednesday, March 15

100 Questions, multiple-choice
Statistics [Raw/Percent]:
Mean: 73.28%
Median: 74%
Spread: 14.65%

Grade Cutoffs [Raw (Percent out of 50)]
A: 86-100%
B: 72-85%
C: 58-71%
D: 48-57%
E: 0-47%

Grade Curve Plot (42k)
The red arrow indicates the median score. Dotted lines indicate the +/- boundaries of each grade zone. Note that OSU does not grant a grade of D- or A+

Legal Statement

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) prohibits me from posting any individual's results to the web. Instead, you will need to pick up your quiz results in-person after class during the week following them quiz. Graded tests will be brought to class every day for the week after, starting on Tuesday, and then will only be available by request during office hours, or during the following in-class quiz.


Return to: Astronomy 162 Homepage
Updated: 2006 March 17
Copyright © Richard W. Pogge, All Rights Reserved.