20 Minute Quizzes	13 @ 20 points	260 points
Selected Homework		20 - 40 points
Labs		100 points
Final Exam		150 points
Total		550 points

• Homework assignments and lab assignments are for the purpose of learning material, and will generally receive comments and a grade, but will not be a large component of the grade.  Good performance on home problems will particularly affect those on a grade boundary.  What I normally do is to compute the grade on the basis of Weekly Quizzes and the Final Exam and Labs.  Then I add in the home problems to determine if the grade changes.  With two grades in hand (with homework and without homework), you will receive the higher of the two.
• 20 minute quizzes will count heavily, and will usually be based on the home problem(s) for that week.  If you miss a quiz it will count as a zero.  You can be excused for health reasons or for job interviews.  Otherwise, if you must be absent for a quiz, check with the instructor in advance to determine how the absence will be treated.  I keep an e-mail file on absences, so if you are going to be absent for any reason, send me an e-mail to that effect.  I will let you know if the absence seems reasonable.  (And, note that if you are sick, I generally get an e-mail from the dean's office, so if you are sick, be sure they are notified since that factors into the decision.)
• Letter grades are determined from numerical grades using the following rules.
• As - in the 90s
• Bs - in the 80s
• Cs - in the 70s
• Ds - in the 60s
• Fs - below 60
• With this scheme there are two things to note.
• You know where you stand grade-wise if you average your quizzes.
• There is no quota of As, etc.  Everyone can get an A.  That's the good news.  The bad news is that everyone can get an F.  In my experience, grades are higher with this scheme.  On the other hand, if you meet the expectations, you get the grade.