| A | Fully understands the material covered in class, and in the homework; can extend ideas to new situations and more complex problems; successfully combines techniques to solve problems not demonstrated in class; work is of a consistently high quality. |
| B | Understands most material presented in class and in the homework; correctly applies formulas and procedures to problems similar to those demonstrated in class and in the homework; often successful in combining techniques to solve problems not demonstrated in class; work is of moderate to high quality. |
| C | Understands much of the material presented in class, but is weak in some areas; can solve most problems similar to those done in class and homework; sometimes applies ideas incorrectly or incompletely; needs more practice in some areas for full proficiency in the material; quality of work is moderate or inconsistent. |
| D,F | Has serious difficulty with much of the material from class and the homework; consistently misapplies procedures or fails to complete the solutions to problems, even those that are similar to the ones covered in class and on homework; quality of work is inconsistent. |
Generally, I try to produce assignments where the grade ranges are approximately 85 to 100% for an A, 70 to 85% for a B, and 55 to 75% for a C, though this varies from assignment to assignment and from class to class.
To obtain an A in this course, you will need to be able to do nearly all the problems on the homework, make significant contributions to the in-class discussions, and perform well on the exams and final project.
To obtain a B in this course, you will need to make some progress on most of the on the homework problems, but you may not be able to complete some of them. You should be able to make significant progress on all but the hardest exam problems, and your final project should be of high quality and free of most errors. Class participation may be a significant factor in distinguishing among B-, B and B+.
To obtain a C in the course, you must be able to do at least some of the homework and exam problems completely and nearly correctly, though you may not be able to do some of them at all. Your final project must be complete, but it will likely contain oversights or errors that you should have been able to avoid. You must attend class, but your participation may be minimal.
To obtain a D or F, you will be unable to complete most problems on your homework and exams. Turning in problems late (or not at all) and excessive absences from class can also lead to these grades.