CS240E, Winter 2024: Testing/Exams

Final exam

Date:	Tuesday, April 16
Time:	4:00 PM to 6:30 PM
Location/Seating:	MC 4042. You are assigned a seat and you must use your assigned seat (the exam will be pre-stamped with your name). Look up your assigned seat here.
Reference sheet:	Students are allowed to bring one double-sided 8.5x11" sheet of paper with anything of their choice written on it.
Bring:	Pens, pencils and eraser. A pen is needed for signatures (a signature list that the proctor will bring around and your signature on the front page of the exam). The exam will be hand-written on paper; you are encouraged to use pencils (bring more than one in case one breaks) so you can erase in case of minor errors. If you choose, you are also allowed to use any kind of pen to write your answer as long as it will be visible on the scan; do not use colours other than blue or black. You must bring your Watcard. You are permitted to bring in a clear water bottle, but remove its label. Food is not allowed.
Coverage:	Notes about coverage: The exam covers everything that was covered in class, with a very strong emphasis on post-midterm material, Chapters 7 - 11. The exam covers all assignments (excluding bonus questions). Be aware that we have not been following the course notes exactly. Anything that was not covered in class will not be asked about on the exam. Specific topics: Competitive analysis is not covered. Analysis of hashing with uniform probing is not covered. Details of Karp-Rabin runtime are not covered. Any algorithms for prime numbers or number theory are not covered. Details of computing the good-suffix array are not covered. Details of FFT are not covered. You only need to know as much about FFT as was required for A5. Optimal binary search trees are not covered. LSM-trees is not covered. However pre-emptive splitting and B+ trees are covered. Extendible hashing is not covered. However external hashing is covered. You do not need to memorize Morse code or ASCII. External sorting is not covered. Error correcting is not covered. As with the midterm: Splay trees are not covered. Sumset is not covered. Bonus questions from assignments are not covered. Any additional data structures/results from tutorial are not covered (see piazza@187) Van Emde Boas trees are covered. Note that you are allowed to use any of the excluded material if you would like. For example, even though all recurrences in the MT can be solved without Master Theorem, you can use still use it to solve recurrences if you want to. Be aware that we have not been following the course notes (textbook) exactly. Anything that was not covered in class will not be asked about on the exam. In general, we don't answer questions like "Do we need to know about XYZ for the midterm?" or "Do I have to memorize ABC?". You must use your judgment in deciding what to study. We will say, however, that the focus is less on memorizing and more on understanding and applying the concepts you learned in the course. Also, for any question where you do not know the exact formula or details of a pseudocode, you can state your assumptions with your solution. You do not need to know any specific details about C++. Any design question will specify all the things we want you to provide (pseudocode, English description, correctness, running time analysis, etc). If nothing is specified, then include everything as per assignment guidelines.
What to expect at the exam and after:	Masks are recommended. Students will be let into the room 5-10 minutes before the exam starts, depending on when set-up is ready. Do not enter the room until proctors let you in. Before entering, verify on the posted (outside the room) seating list (by ID #) that this is the correct room for your exam. Also note the seat (given as row and column when facing the front of the room). Once let into the room students may not leave the room unless during specified periods (see below) or unless being escorted to the bathroom (i.e. before entering, go to the washroom). Students may arrive up to an hour late but no extra writing time will be given - everyone ends at the same time. Find your exam (it will have your name and photo on it) Put your photo-ID WatCard, pens, pencils, erasers on the desk and put your backpack, bags, hats, etc. under the desk, closed, clear from the aisle and out of sight. Read the instructions on the first page and sign anywhere on the front page in pen. Read the blackboard/whiteboard instructions and listen to instructions from the proctor(s). Do not start until the proctor tells you to. Stop writing at the end when the proctor tells you to. Failure to stop when told to will lower your mark. You may not leave during the first hour of the exam or within the last 10 minutes. At the end, remain seated, until the proctors have collected all exams and tell you that you may leave. During the exam, a proctor will come around with a signature (attendance) list that you must sign in pen. Proctors will also look at your WatCard to verify you are writing the right exam and check that you have signed the front page of the exam. Write your answers legibly and clearly. If graders cannot read your answer, they cannot mark it. Also do not answer close to a paper's edge or faintly since this may not be picked up by the scanning done to upload your exam to Crowdmark for marking (i.e. graders will not see it). Raise your hand if you think there is an error on the exam or if you have need for a washroom break or if you need to get something out of your bag/backpack after the exam has started. Once you are allowed to leave and have received permission from the proctors to do so, leave the room promptly. Marking will take a few days. There will be an announcement and post mortem released when grading is ready and you will get an email from the Crowdmark mailer with the link to your marked exam.
Blank exam:	The final will be similar in layout to the midterm. See the blank midterm below.
Front page:	final_front_page.pdf
Group consulting hours:	Please see piazza@188.
On the day of the exam:	The deadline to ask questions on Piazza/by email on the exam day and expect to receive a response from course staff is 1:00pm, as from then on course staff will have to prepare for proctoring.
Final review session:	Please see piazza@181 for time and place. Problems and solutions will be released shortly.
Incompletes:	Students who cannot attend or finish the final exam due to illness or other reasons beyond their control must follow the procedure to request an Incomplete (INC). Requests will be not be granted automatically.
Grades and exam viewing:	Grades (for the entire course, not just for the final) will begin to appear on Quest on April 27, 20234. Course personnel is not allowed to share grade information with you before this day. Final exams are primarily diagnostic tools for evaluating how well the course material was learned and understood at the end of term and are not intended as learning tools. As such, solutions are not provided and the marked exam is not released to students. Exam viewing sessions will take place at the beginning of the next term. Please contact Karen Anderson at the beginning of Spring 2024 if you would like to view your exam.

Midterm

Date:	Thursday, February 29, 2024
Time:	4:30PM - 6:20PM
Location/Seating:	The locations(s) of the midterm will be posted once the details are finalized. You will be assigned a seat and you must use your assigned seat (the exam will be pre-stamped with your name). Look up your assigned seat here. (The seating assignment should be available at least 3 business days before the exam.)
Reference Sheet ~~(will be provided in exam)~~:	Students are allowed to bring one double-sided 8.5x11" sheet of paper with anything of their choice written on it.
Bring:	Pens, pencils and eraser. A pen is needed for signatures (a signature list that the proctor will bring around and your signature on the front page of the exam). The exam will be hand-written on paper; you are encouraged to use pencils (bring more than one in case one breaks) so you can erase in case of minor errors. If you choose, you are also allowed to use any kind of pen to write your answer as long as it will be visible on the scan; do not use colours other than blue or black. You must bring your Watcard. You are permitted to bring in a clear water bottle, but remove its label. Drinking with a straw is preferred so you don't have to entirely remove your mask. Food is not allowed.
Coverage:	Notes about coverage: the midterm covers everything up to and including Chapter 6 that was covered in class the MT covers the following assignments: A1, A2, PQ1, and A3 (except A3Q5(c)) van Emde Boas trees are covered Specifically excluded topics: splay trees are not covered sumset is not covered bonus questions from assignments are not covered any additional data structures/results from tutorial (e.g. Master Theorem, multi-way trees, Morris' counter, stars, Fibonacci heaps) are not covered Note that you are allowed to use any of the excluded material if you would like. For example, even though all recurrences in the MT can be solved without Master Theorem, you can use still use it to solve recurrences if you want to. Be aware that we have not been following the course notes (textbook) exactly. Anything that was not covered in class will not be asked about on the exam. In general, we don't answer questions like "Do we need to know about XYZ for the midterm?" or "Do I have to memorize ABC?". You must use your judgment in deciding what to study. We will say, however, that the focus is less on memorizing and more on understanding and applying the concepts you learned in the course. Also, for any question where you do not know the exact formula or details of a pseudocode, you can state your assumptions with your solution. You do not need to know any specific details about C++. Any design question will specify all the things we want you to provide (pseudocode, English description, correctness, running time analysis, etc). If nothing is specified, then include everything as per assignment guidelines.
What to expect at the exam and after:	Masks are recommended. Students will be let into the room 5-10 minutes before the exam starts, depending on when set-up is ready. Do not enter the room until proctors let you in. Before entering, verify on the posted (outside the room) seating list (by ID #) that this is the correct room for your exam. Also note the seat (given as row and column when facing the front of the room). Once let into the room students may not leave the room unless during specified periods (see below) or unless being escorted to the bathroom (i.e. before entering, go to the washroom). Students may arrive up to an hour late but no extra writing time will be given - everyone ends at the same time. Find your exam (it will have your name and photo on it) Put your photo-ID WatCard, pens, pencils, erasers on the desk and put your backpack, bags, hats, etc. under the desk, closed, clear from the aisle and out of sight. Read the instructions on the first page and sign anywhere on the front page in pen. Read the blackboard/whiteboard instructions and listen to instructions from the proctor(s). Do not start until the proctor tells you to. Stop writing at the end when the proctor tells you to. Failure to stop when told to will lower your mark. You may not leave during the first hour of the exam or within the last 10 minutes. At the end, remain seated, until the proctors have collected all exams and tell you that you may leave. During the exam, a proctor will come around with a signature (attendance) list that you must sign in pen. Proctors will also look at your WatCard to verify you are writing the right exam and check that you have signed the front page of the exam. Write your answers legibly and clearly. If graders cannot read your answer, they cannot mark it. Also do not answer close to a paper's edge or faintly since this may not be picked up by the scanning done to upload your exam to Crowdmark for marking (i.e. graders will not see it). Raise your hand if you think there is an error on the exam or if you have need for a washroom break or if you need to get something out of your bag/backpack after the exam has started. Once you are allowed to leave and have received permission from the proctors to do so, leave the room promptly. Marking will take a few days. There will be an announcement and post mortem released when grading is ready and you will get an email from the Crowdmark mailer with the link to your marked exam.
Blank midterm:	blank_midterm.pdf Note that this is intended to give you an idea of the kinds of questions that are being asked; it is not a sample midterm. Not all these kinds of questions will be asked, and there may be some questions that do not fit the blank midterm.
Front page:	front_page.pdf The front page of the midterm with instructions.
On the day of the MT:	There will be no lecture on Thursday, February 29. Armelle will have office hours during the usual lecture time: 11:30am - 12:50pm (in-person only, in DC2130) The ISA's office hours will run as usual: 10:00am - 11:00am (in-person and online, in MC 4065)
Midterm remark requests:	Deadline: see the form. Remark requests will only be accepted using this form (authentication is required to ensure requester is on the classlist).
Post-mortem	midterm_pm.pdf

Crowdmark Note:

We will usually use Crowdmark for grading our exams and distributing midterm results to students. For this course (and many others) Crowdmark associates an exam with a student by their Quest Username (maximum 8 characters) @uwaterloo.ca email. When Crowdmark sends exam results to this email address it is resolved by your Mail Routing Address in WatIAM. If you have more then one email account in Crowdmark then you can merge the accounts so that all your Crowdmark assessments are visible under any of your Crowdmark accounts; follow account merging instructions.