-----------------------------------------------------------------------
               Information about the first mid-term exam
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
The first midterm examination is on Thursday, April 30, 1998, and 
will carry a 20 percent weight.  Here are some guidelines for it.

WHAT TO STUDY:
You are responsible only for the topics covered in class.  Read Chapter
1, Sections 2.8 & 2.9, and Sections 3.1 through 3.8. There are several sample
questions in the text book.  In Chapter 2, do the exercises on hypothesis
testing and confidence intervals, the ones marked with a dagger. Their
answers are in one of the Appendices.  Do the same in Chapter 3.  For
last quarter's 120B exam #1 questions click Page 3 or  Page 4.
Try all the Practice Problems in the book.  Some of them have answers in
the Appendix.  Answers to the other Practice Problems can be obtained from
Soft Reserves.

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 SINGLE 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 calculator that does basic arithmetic functions.  If you bring a
   solar calculator, sit below a 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, the messages, and
all the assignments posted on the computer.  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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------