ENGG1811 Computing for Engineers

1. ENGG1811 Computing for Engineers Course Wrapup and Exam Structure

2. Course objectives From the course introduction: After completing this course, students should be able to • use applications such as spreadsheets and databases to effectively solve computational problems in science, engineering, commerce and humanities. • design, program, document and test Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) programs that accurately comply with a given set of requirements. • gain an understanding of the limitations/advantages of some of the emerging IT technologies, and how to exploit them in solving engineering problems.

3. How are these goals measured? • Laboratory work – most skills developed here • Assignments – more extensive exploration of some aspects • Mid-session exam – limited in scope and primarily for progress feedback • Final exam – broad and intensive, determines final grade in most cases Non-linear summation (see next slide) Labs (10) Other (40) Exam (60) Assignments (18) Mid-semester Test (12) Final Mark (100)

4. Final Mark Calculation • If your exam is OK (more than 20/60) you get the sum of the component marks • If your exam is not OK (not more than 20/60), then Final = 3.75 * Exam * Other / (Exam + Other) • Your mark can’t exceed 50, but… • You may be eligible for a PC, depending on your average mark for all courses in the term • (type pc waminto the UNSW search engine)

5. Exam format • 2 hours (plus 10 minutes reading time) • Three kinds of questions reflecting and testing different levels of understanding • Multiple choice • Short answer • Programming exercises • Approx 50% VBA-related (lecture material for week 5 to 10), and yes! approx 50% non-VBA related (lecture material for weeks 1 to 4, 11 and12) • No supporting materials (but table of VBA functions provided) • Paper isn’t released

6. Exam structure Important:If you answer questions in the wrong sheet/paper/book, you run the risk of the marker not finding them!

7. Section A • Each question has 4 possible answers • 1 mark for a correct answer • 0 marks for a missing or incorrect answer • Erase any old answer completely • Double-check that your student ID is clearly shaded in the right boxes and is 100% correct • Double-check that your name is clearly written and shaded • This section is scanned, not human-marked Topics: • 18 questions on general computing topics and use of Excel, Access (the lecture material from weeks 1 to 4, 11 and12) • 6 questions on VB rules, algorithms, programming principles (the lecture material from week 5 to 10)

8. Section B Each question requires a few lines only • varies from 1 to 5 marks per question • allow only a bit more than 1 minute per mark • keep within the limited space, don't waffle Topics: • 12 questions (30 marks) on general computing topics and use of Excel, Access (the lecture material from week 1 to 4, 11 and 12) • 4 questions (10 marks) on VB rules, algorithms, programming principles (the lecture material from week 5 to 10)

9. Section C Programming exercises, 4 questions Answer any 3 questions only • All answers fit on about half a page, don’t look for a complicated solution, most require only one to three decision control structures and one procedure • VBA details are not critical, you are being assessed on your ability to devise algorithms and express them in a formal notation • Sketch out your solution first, present (relevant!) pseudocode if you are running out of time • A thoughtful attempt at two questions is better than an incomplete, hurried go at three questions

10. General exam approach • Use reading time to plan (also for writing name etc on answer sheet and books) • Plan your use of the available time! • Answer straightforward questions first • Watch the time! • If you're hoping for just a pass, concentrate on using the time to produce reliable answers to a majority of questions, not necessarily all of them • Watch the time! Unfortunately, "I ran out of time" doesn't get you any sympathy marks • Again remember, if you answer questions in the wrong sheet/paper/book, you run the risk of the marker not finding them!

11. How to prepare Lecture notes • Review and properly understand the material • Concentrate on examples (mainly for VBA) Lab exercises • Attempt any exercise you didn't quite get to • First exercise is generally more relevant for VBA labs • Lab 13 is especially valuable practice! Sample exam • Attempt under exam-type conditions if possible • Solutions available a few days before exam (Tue 15 June) Forum and consultations (see schedule)

12. Exam Guide: Week 11 Onwards • Only Multiple Choice + Short Answer questions for this part of course • Questions will only test general knowledge of lecture material • Content of lecture slides is sufficient • No examination of formulas or algorithms for this part of course • E.g. you will not be asked to encode/decode messages, or generate or use a decision tree • But you will be expected to be able to explain what such kinds of things and processes are, and in what way they are useful

13. What if I’m sick? • Only attend the exam if you are functioning fairly normally • Get a medical certificate on the day • Submit Application for Special Consideration to Student Central (opposite Library) • Supplementary assessment is not automatic, depends on reasonable effort in other parts of the assessment Supplementary Exam • Time/Date: 8.45am, Wednesday 14 July 2010Location: Rex Vowels Theatre (Elec Eng LG1) • Please reconfirm the time, date and location of the supplementary exam by visiting the class web page after the final exam and just before the above date. • There will be NO further supplementary dates. • Similar format, but may have less VBA choice • No additional consultation or help

14. Extra Help • There will be exam consultations, mainly courtesy Steve Cossell, up to the final exam • Next Wednesday (02/June/2010) Steve will run summary and problem solving classes at 10am and 3pm in CLB-7, including the exercises overleaf

15. More VBA examples • Write a function to calculate the final mark given exam mark and coursework, both expressed as percentages • The cosine of an angle  in radians can be derived from the series Write a VBA function that calculates an approximation to cosine using the first few terms of the series, stopping after including the term where k is equal to n ( and n are parameters to the function). Hint: consider what you have to multiply each term in the series by to get the next term.

16. Feedback (1) From Sarah, a 3rd Year Petroleum Eng student (excerpts) “…Prior to this course [ENGG1811 07s2] I had no idea that VB existed or that I would ever be capable of writing my own subprograms or functions, or the applications these had in my life. “I spent S1 of this year on exchange at the University of Texas, Austin and […] decided to take a graduate subject. I did not know that coding ability was a prerequisite, so you can imagine my relief when coding VB for Excel was the recommended way to go about solving our weekly assignments. The assignments given were by no means trivial and I spent a hefty portion of time on them each week, using the knowledge that you imparted to write my own simulators with which to analyse field data. I held my own in a class full of PhD students with vastly more experience and knowledge than I. “Your course gave me confidence in my ability to code and most certainly saved me in Texas. I thought you might also like to know that during the 2 internships I have done, Excel has been used very heavily and being able to understand VB has helped me understand a subprogram that even my supervisor had been using blindly.

17. Feedback (2): We want to hear from you! • Provide us feedback using the on line CATEI survey forms: one form for the course, and a form for each lecturer • Completion rates in Engineering are below UNSW average: fuels the impression that ‘injuneers’ can’t be bothered! • We do seriously consider your feedback • So tell us - what you liked and disliked about the course • Thanks!