The first midterm examination is on Wednesday, April 30, 2003. Here are some guidelines for it. Sample questions and answers are posted on the internet. Check out the link for old exams and homeworks and print out all the pages contains answers. Save them for future use.
WHAT TO STUDY:
You are responsible only for the topics covered in class. That is,
it is the intersection of what was done in class and what is in the
two handouts.
In the probability theory part of the course, set theory operations
using Venn diagrams, definitions of probability, conditional
probability, independence, Bayes theorem, and deriving expected values
are all fair game. In your text, these are in
Handout #1: All of Chapter 2 and Sections 3.0 through 3.5 (skip 3.4).
You should be able to do all the Chapter 2
exercises except 2.10, and Exercises 3.1 through 3.7.
Handout #2: Sections 2.1 and 2.2 .
You should be able to do Exercise 2.1 through 2.12. The ones
marked with a dagger in Handout 2, has answers at the end. Study them.
Some of you wanted references to other books. As I mentioned in class, none of the other books parallel what I will be doing. However, if you wish to look at them anyway, go to Class Reserves in the Geisel library. Search Roger under course reserves, department, and Econ 120A.
WHAT TO BRING:
1) Pen(s) to write. If you use a pencil, you forfeit the right to
complain about the grading, unless you pick up the exam from the TA's
office and take care of grading complaints before leaving his/her office.
You need not bring paper or blue book because you will be writing the
answers on the paper itself.
2) A 4 inch by 6 inch index card or paper on which you should copy down
all formulas and any other information you think you would want to
reference. Note that the index card should be handwritten and not
photo copied from the book. The idea is that, in the process of
deciding what to copy and actually copying, you would have learned the
material and wouldn't need to look at the card except for messy
formulas.
3) A simple basic calculator. If you bring a solar calculator, be sure
to sit directly a below light.
TIME LIMITS: You are not allowed to turn the cover page to look at the exam until everyone has received the papers and I signal that you may start writing. Also, you must stop writing when asked to. You will, however, be given a two-minute warning so that you can wrap things up. TEN POINTS WILL BE DEDUCTED FOR EACH MINUTE OF EXTRA TIME IT TAKES YOU TO STOP WRITING. If you need help with difficult material, feel free to ask for help. Remember what I said, "One person can lead a horse to the water, but 20 cannot make him drink." There is no sense in going to the exam feeling frustrated about materials you haven't understood. In this course you will not be able to study the day before an exam and expect to do well. You should be in constant touch with the material, and the messages. We are here to help as much as possible, but you should do your part. Doing the homeworks will be of great help. Don't expect any sympathy from me if you don't turn in homeworks.