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Bad ideas for a quiz
Sep. 24th, 2010 05:04 pmWould someone care to explain to me how making fully half of a quiz concern a topic from a full year ago (hence a different course in the department), applied in a nearly completely non-intuitive manner, that has absolutely nothing to do with the topics the quiz ostensibly covers, seems to be a good idea?
How a solar sail works. Very quantum-mechanics-y. Except for the bit where it requires dredging up an equation that hasn't been used since physics 211 (a full year ago - I'm now in physics 214) and applying it in a way never even hinted at in either course. And at no point did this have anything to do with the topics we've covered in the course this week (which is what the quiz was supposed to be about). The only idea that came close to touching on the course we're in was using a laser to provide momentum, which is a basic subject covered weeks ago now and is only tangentially relevant to the process of solving the problem.
How a solar sail works. Very quantum-mechanics-y. Except for the bit where it requires dredging up an equation that hasn't been used since physics 211 (a full year ago - I'm now in physics 214) and applying it in a way never even hinted at in either course. And at no point did this have anything to do with the topics we've covered in the course this week (which is what the quiz was supposed to be about). The only idea that came close to touching on the course we're in was using a laser to provide momentum, which is a basic subject covered weeks ago now and is only tangentially relevant to the process of solving the problem.
