All my lecture examinations -- midterms and finals -- are closed-book, closed-note tests. Although you are encouraged to thoroughly prepare for each exam, and to write out practice versions of the essay exams, you will not be allowed to use any notes while taking the exams.
      The Final will determine two-fifths of your semester grade. There is also an extra-credit Final, which may be used to replace one of your midterms, providing that improves your grade. The required Final consists of three essay questions out of those questions which were NOT covered on the midterms. The extra-credit Final consists of two essay questions out of those questions which were covered on the midterms, although not necessarily the same questions as were actually on any particular midterm exam. ANY of the questions relevant to the Final or extra-credit Final could be on your particular exam, and if you do not study one of the questions, you may regret it when you get your exam. You should prepare at least a minimal answer for every one of the questions. Any question which is not answered earns an F-minus grade for that question. I do not allow students to answer one question with the answer to another one, or to skip a question, or to hope that one of their essays will be dropped, because that would allow them to ignore some of the material they were supposed to study. If you do not study one of the questions, and answer a different question in the hope that I will give you partial credit, you will still receive an F-minus for the unanswered question, and will not receive any credit for the unasked question.
     The reading assignment for the required Final is that part of the regular and online texts which was not covered on the midterms. In Fraknoi, this is chapters 14 - 28 for all classes, and videotapes 5 - 15 for the telecourse. In the online astronomy text, this is the pages about the Sun, stars, stellar evolution, galaxies and the Universe. The essay questions covered on the regular (required) final are 9 - 15. For the extra-credit (optional) Final, the material and questions to be covered are the same as for the midterms, namely essay questions 1 - 8.
     When answering the questions, your answers must cover every part of each question in as much detail as possible, given the time constraints. Your answer should be as detailed, thorough, complete, and well organized as possible, particularly if you want a high grade, as I grade you only on what you put down, and if you leave things out, you will receive a lower grade, regardless of why you left them out. Since you know all the questions in advance, you should be able to prepare answers which cover everything, but are sufficiently concise that you have time to complete them. Do not make the mistake of spending too much time on one question, then running out of time for other question(s).
     To help you finish, you may use tables, diagrams, and any abbreviations of words and grammar which do not make your discussion difficult for me to follow. You do not have to use a standard English essay structure. Do not waste time writing down the question. Do not waste time stating general background for the question, then going over it in more detail, or summarizing what you already wrote. Put down as much as you can, but only put it down once, then go on to other material.
     I do not grade answers on the basis of length, as there is a tremendous variation in the nature of the presentation written by different students; but in general, you should expect to write 3 to 4 pages for each answer if you are shooting for a C, 4 to 6 pages if you are shooting for a B, and 6 to 8 pages if you are shooting for an A. Some questions are longer and more involved, and may require even longer answers, and others are shorter and less involved, and may not require such a long answer, but this is about what other students have done, in the past. In particular, answers which are substantially less than 3 pages long are rarely good enough to earn a passing grade.
     When you receive your exam, there will be notes at the top of it which contain important instructions. Be sure to read those notes; if you do not read them, you could make a fatal mistake on your exam.
      Try to arrive early for the exam, so that if something untoward happens and you are delayed in getting here, you can still be here in time to take and finish the exam. If you are late arriving, I will allow you to take the test, but you will not be given any extra time to make up for your late arrival.