CS 121 Midterm Exam Overview

Format

Closed book, 10 multi-part questions with relatively short (5-50 word) answers, plus one extra-credit question.

Scope

Entirely drawn from the key learning objectives for the first fifteen lectures (introduction through design).
Most (75%) of the questions focus primarily on concepts and issues. Less focus on techniques (which are covered in the projects) and representations (which are pretty simple).

Difficulty

• 3 simple "do you remember" questions, comparable in nature and difficulty to quiz questions.
• 5 moderate "can you describe/contrast/apply" questions, comparable in nature and difficulty to in-class discussion questions.
• 2 moderate "consider this" questions, asking you to find answers not specifically discussed in class.
• 1 philosophical extra credit question, related to key concepts, but un-related to any reading or in-class discussion.

Suggestions for study

Different study techniques are more effective for different people. This is a general suggestion for review, that is meant only to guide your own study efforts:

• Start by reviewing the key learning objectives.
• If there is a concept, issue or technique that you don't think you could talk about for five minutes, go back and review the lecture notes.
• If anything in the lecture notes (including the discussion points) is not completely obvious, go back and review the related reading.

Last updated: March 6, 2007