Midterm Instructions

  • We believe we have designed the exam in a way that offers you the best circumstances to demonstrate your learning. If you have a documented need, we can modify any of these exam rules to support you. Please let us know if that is the case, well before you take the exam.
  • A rule of thumb for working on this exam is “spend about one minute per point”. Adding a few extra minutes for contingencies, we expect the exam to take you less than 90 minutes to complete. However, to remove time pressure from the exam, the official time limit is three hours. Reading these instructions beforehand does not count towards your time (but otherwise there is no pre-exam reading period).
  • During the exam period, you may use your course materials from this semester (your notes, the quiz questions, your repository, the wiki, and any handouts distributed in class). Your computer may only be used interactively as a browser, and only to read the course notes and to view your code on GitHub (and only in your browser, not via the git command).
  • During the exam period, you may not use any other books or documents, and you may not use a computer (or equivalent device) for any other purpose than the ones outlined above (e.g., you may not look at checked-out copy of your CS 131 repository, browse files on your disk, modify the quiz questions, run any Haskell code, search the web, etc.). You may, however, leave other programs running in the background, provided that they remain hidden and untouched during the exam, and are unrelated to this class. For example, you’re allowed to set a music player playing a music playlist before the exam. But the only program you may see or interact with during the exam is your web browser.
  • Note that the rules about resources mean that you won’t be able to email us to ask questions during the exam. If you have questions, or if you make assumptions on which your answer depends, write us a note on the exam.
  • If a question refers to obscure languages you are unfamiliar with, everything you need to know and can assume about that language is given in the question—no additional knowledge of those languages is necessary or useful.
  • Your writing must be legible and your intent clear. We will unfortunately have to ignore anything that cannot be readily understood. Unless otherwise stated, your answers should be justified.
  • All exams must be completed by 9:00 am on Monday, March 9.
  • When you finish your exam, return it to its envelope and seal it shut.
  • Keep your completed exam safe. Bring it to class on Monday, March 9. Your exam should be present at the start of class—take whatever steps are necessary for your exam to be there on time.
  • If you are unsure about any rule, ask, before you start the exam.