Homework Assignments

Date assignedAssignment and ResourcesDue dateSolutions
Tue, May 17 Homework 1 Tue, May 24 by 2pm EDT Solutions
Tue, May 24 Homework 2
Old review video (log into Canvas first)
Thu, 2 Jun by noon EDT Solutions
Tue, Jun 8 Homework 3 Thu, 9 Jun by 11:59pm EDT
(but preferably before class!)
Solutions
Thu, Jun 9 Homework 4
switches.c
Tue, Jun 14 by 2pm EDT Solutions
Tue, Jun 21 Homework 5 Thu, Jun 23 by 11:59pm EDT
(but preferably before class!)
Solutions
Thu, Jun 23 Homework 6 Tue, Jun 28 by 11:59pm EDT
(but preferably before class!)
Solutions
Thu, Jun 23 Homework 7 / Practice Exam 2 Thu, Jun 30 by 11:59pm EDT
(but preferably before class!)
Solutions

Submitting your work

At the end of a given lecture, a homework problem may be assigned. Homework assignments will be due within one or two lectures of their assigned date. The main idea is to give you time to practice with the problems before we discuss them in class. Note that multiple problems assigned at once: for example, a problem may be assigned at the end of lecture 1, and another assigned at the end of lecture 2, with both problems due at the start of lecture 3.

All homework must be submitted to the respective assignment on Canvas before the start of the live lecture on which it is due.

In general, your homework may be handwritten or typed. If you write out your homework by hand, you can submit it on Canvas in any of the following ways:

  • Scan it, or take a picture with your phone
  • Use a mobile app that can “scan” a page using a smartphone camera by performing some postprocessing (examples include CamScanner and others)

Overall, the format for your submission is not a high priority, so long as your work is neat and legible. These submissions are not intended to be as formal as large-scale homework assignments.

If possible, please submit your work as a PDF. Try to avoid submitting raw images (jpg, png, etc), or Word documents (doc, docx) when possible, as this makes grading easier.

During the lecture when the assignment is due, we will discuss the assigned problems in class and (usually) develop solutions. You are encouraged to review your work during class as part of the discussion.

How grading works

Homework problems are designed to encourage you to engage with the lecture material and prepare for further discussion in class. As such, it is not expected that you have a totally-correct understanding of the concepts in homework problems. Instead, your work will be graded by assessing how well you are utilizing the concepts we discuss in lecture to work toward a solution.

With this in mind, you should keep to the following guidelines when working on assignments:

  • Always show your work! This is how we can tell if you are using the correct concepts.
  • If you don’t know exactly how to find an answer, feel free to write out what you are thinking, or what steps you would take to solve a problem for partial credit (as you might do on an exam).
  • As in all engineering work, always give units for numeric answers where applicable.

For most problems, a grade will be assigned on a five point scale:

  • 5: Using concepts correctly, answers are mostly correct
  • 4: Most concepts used correctly, some issues with execution
  • 3: Some issues selecting or applying appropriate concepts
  • 2: Major gaps in recall of concepts and their application
  • 1: Little to no indication concepts are being recalled or applied

Problems with more substantial content may be graded out of 10 or 15 points, using this scale to evaluate different parts of the problem.

At the end of the term, your lowest homework grade will be dropped.

Solutions and late policy

Solutions to homework problems will be developed (at least partially) in class on the lecture they are due. Full versions of the solutions will be posted in the lecture notes. For this reason, late homework submission are not generally accepted. If you have any issues submitting a particular assignment, please contact the course instructor.