Exams
Information on exam will be posted here as they approach. In general, they are all open-book, open-notes. The only things you can't use are laptops, cell phones and other stuff like that.
Midterm
Some basic information on the midterm.
- Format. The midterm format will be open-book, open-notes.
- Question types. There will be a page of short answer or short calculation problems. At least one will be from the "other readings". It will be easy enough that if you actually read it, you will be able to answer the question. You did abstracts on two readings but you need to read them all. There will also be 3 to 5 other problems that require you to work out solutions and show your work.
- Bring your textbook. I will expect you to have your textbook with you because you will need the tables in it to figure some things out (such as the vertical curve design tables). I do not have any extra textbooks, so you really need to bring one.
- Other material. It is an open-book, open-note test so you can bring your notes, etc. However, please be respectful of other's space. You will likely want to bring your Horizontal curve design table and WSDOT pavement design tables too. If a problem requires you to use them, I will provide the appropriate table, but you may want to bring your own since it may have some of your notes on it.
- Advice on time. It's an open-book, open-note test so, conceivably, if you didn't study you could figure everything out during the test. If you use this approach, you will run out of time and not complete the test. There is simply not enough time to "learn" stuff during the test. So, studying really does pay off. At least, that's been my experience.
- Other advice. Please, write something down for each answer. Lisette and I really do want to give you partial credit. We also carry your error forward: if you make an early error in your calculations, you only lose credit for that error; subsequent stuff you do with that original wrong answer can receive full credit. Thus, it is possible to get an answer horribly wrong and still get most of the credit. If you notice your answer is horribly wrong but cannot fix it, stating so may help you a bit because at least you demonstrate a feel for typical answers.
