Exams

Final Exam

Results:

You can now check your final exam score on MyUW (see instructions). Your exam wil be available to pick up from the CSE front office starting at 9am on 3/21. Please pick up your exam before asking grading questions.

The average is 75% and the median is 78% — well done! Scores will not be adjusted.

Stats:

grade adjusted% of class
As (90-100) 114 24%
Bs (80-89) 105 23%
Cs (70-79) 95 20%
Ds (60-69) 70 15%
Es (0-59) 84 18%
question average raw score
Q1 (Binary Tree Traversal) 5.7 / 6
Q2 (Binary Search Trees) 3.8 / 4
Q3 (Collections Mystery) 3.1 / 5
Q4 (Inheritance Mystery) 13.2 / 15
Q5 (Binary Tree Programming) 7.6 / 10
Q6 (Collections Programming) 7.8 / 10
Q7 (Comparable) 7.4 / 10
Q8 (Binary Tree Programming) 11.6 / 20
Q9 (Linked List Programming) 13.9 / 20
Qx (Extra Credit) 0.9 / 1

Regrades:

If you believe that one or more problem was incorrectly graded and you would like Hélène to regrade it, you must:

  • Type in the problem(s) to a Java file exactly as it appears on your exam (for mechanical problems, a text file is ok).
  • E-mail Hélène a detailed description of why you believe your problem(s) were graded incorrectly. Attach the Java file with your code.
  • Give Hélène your original final either in person or slide it under her door in CSE338.
  • All regrade requests must be received by Wednesday, April 10th.
  • Hélène will regrade your entire exam meaning that your exam score may go down as a result of a regrade request (capped at -2).

Practice Exams:

We strongly suggest that you try to solve all of these problems yourself, on paper, without a computer, and without looking at the answer key until you're done. You may also want to time yourself to practice your pacing.

icon practice final exam (key at the bottom)

Our actual final exam will be most similar to the practice exam above. Additional practice problems can be found in Practice-It or in the PDFs below:

The questions on the final exam will be selected from the following. Each question will be worth between 5-20 points:

  • Collections mystery: Trace the execution of code that includes Sets and/or Maps.
  • Binary search trees: Given a set of values, add them to a binary search tree. Then perform traversals in the three standard orders on that tree.
  • Polymorphism mystery: Given a set of classes with inheritance relationships, a set of variables declared using those classes, and a set of method calls made on those variables, write the output. (similar to section 19 problems)
  • Inheritance/Comparable programming: Given an existing class, write a complete subclass of it that adds certain features. Also make the class Comparable based on a given set of comparison criteria. (similar to section 18 problems)
  • Collections programming: Write a method that uses one or more class from the Java Collections framework (with focus on Sets and Maps).
  • Binary tree programming: Add a method to the IntTree class from lecture. (similar to section 15, 16 problems)
  • Binary tree programming: Add a method to the IntTree class from lecture. Similar in spirit to the previous question but harder (likely involves modifying or building a tree).
  • Linked list programming: Add a method to the LinkedIntList class from lecture. (similar to section 7, 17 problems)

The following topics are guaranteed NOT to be explicitly tested on the final exam:

  • detailed knowledge of Big-Oh (some questions may ask you to solve them within a certain big-Oh limit, but mainly this is just to ward off extremely inefficient answers)
  • detailed knowledge of search/sort algorithms
  • recursive backtracking (recursion will definitely be needed, but not specific backtracking problems)
  • writing code with 2-D arrays
  • catching exceptions
  • priority queues
  • input/output streams
  • abstract classes
  • inner classes
  • implementing an Iterator class
  • implementing a "generic" class (one that accepts type parameters such as <T>)
  • hashing

Midterm Exam

Results:

You can now check your midterm score on MyUW (see instructions). Your exam wil be returned to you in section on Thursday. Please wait to receive your exam before asking grading questions.

Shift: The score listed on MyUW is your raw score. There will be a +5 point shift added to everyone's score. However, the maximum possible midterm score is 100. So, for example, if you got 99 on the exam, your score maxes out at 100, not 104.

Stats:

stat raw adjusted
MEDIAN 73 78
AVG 71 76
grade adjusted% of class
As (90-100) 116 24%
Bs (80-89) 111 23%
Cs (70-79) 112 23%
Ds (60-69) 66 13%
Es (0-59) 86 18%
question average raw score
Q1 (ArrayList mystery) 11.8 / 15
Q2 (Recursive tracing) 12.6 / 15
Q3 (Collections) 13.8 / 20
Q4 (Stacks and queues) 10.5 / 15
Q5 (Linked lists) 14.42 / 20
Q6 (Recursion) 6.9 / 15

Low Grades: some students ask about how much effect a lower midterm score will that have on their grade, or what are their options, etc.? Most of the information to answer this can be found on this web site. The course syllabus lists the relative grading weight of homework vs. midterm vs. final exam, so you can use that to compute the rough effect on your grade of a particular midterm score. You may want to use our new Grade-a-nator page to help you compute your approximate grade. Also look at our FAQ page for info about S/NS grading options, drop dates, and other information.

Regrades:

If your exam score was simply added up incorrectly, take it to your TA and they'll fix it for you.

If you believe that one or more programming problem was incorrectly graded and you would like Hélène to regrade it, you must:

  • Type in the problem(s) to a Java file exactly as it appears on your exam.
  • E-mail Hélène a detailed description of why you believe your problem(s) were graded incorrectly. Attach the Java file with your code.
  • Give Hélène your original midterm either in person or slide it under her door in CSE338.
  • All regrade requests must be received by Thursday, February 28th.
  • Hélène will regrade your entire exam meaning that your exam score may go down as a result of a regrade request (capped at -2).

Time/Place:

  • Date: Friday, February 15, 2013
  • Time: 50 minutes; you MUST attend the lecture you are registered for
  • Place: in normal lecture room (GUG 220)
  • Cheat sheet (will be stapled to your exam)

Practice Exams:

The actual midterm exam will have 6-8 total problems. Those problems will be selected from the following kinds of questions:

  • ArrayList "mystery" (look at a piece of code that uses ArrayLists, and write its output -- video)
  • ArrayList programming (write a method that uses ArrayLists)
  • ArrayIntList programming (add a method to the ArrayIntList class from lecture)
  • Collection programming (write a method that uses Java collections such as Lists, Sets, and Maps)
  • stack and queue programming (write a method that uses Stacks and Queues)
  • linked list node manipulation (write a few lines of code to change a "before" picture of some linked nodes into an "after" picture -- video)
  • LinkedIntList programming (add a method to the LinkedIntList class from lecture)
  • recursion tracing (look at a piece of recursive code, and write its output)
  • recursion programming (write a method that uses recursion)
  • The following topics are guaranteed NOT to be required to solve any problem on the midterm:
    • Java I/O, file processing, Scanner
    • programming with inheritance (extending a class, etc.)
    • writing an interface (though you might have to write a method that accepts a parameter of interface type, such as List, Set, Map, etc.
    • testing, debugging, commenting
    • grammars
    • Iterator

Additional Sample Problems:

If you are a real practice problem junkie and want even MORE problems, here are links to a few other past exams. They don't exactly match the current exam format, and they are not in our Practice-It system, so they may be of limited use. Some of the problems on these tests don't match the topics, difficulty level, and/or type of questions we currently plan to ask. (For example, a lot of these exams ask problems about inheritance and about arrays.) These links are provided merely as a convenience and as another study aid.

Rules and Information:

  • You must show your UW Student ID card to a TA or the instructor for your submitted exam to be accepted.
  • You will have 50 minutes to complete the exam. You may receive a deduction if you keep working after the instructor calls for papers.
  • The exam is open-book for the Building Java Programs textbook, but closed-notes and closed for all other resources. You may not bring or use any other books or printed materials such as handouts, slides, or practice exams. (A "cheat sheet" of necessary syntax will be given to you at the exam.) You must work alone and may not use any computing devices of any kind including calculators. Cell phones, music players, and other electronic devices may NOT be out during the exam for any reason.
  • Unless a question specifically mentions otherwise, your code you write will be graded purely on external correctness (proper behavior and output) and not on internal correctness (style). So, for example, redundancy or lack of comments will not reduce your score.
  • You don't need to write any import statements in your exam code.
  • On the exam it will be allowed to abbreviate S.o.p for System.out.print and S.o.pln for System.out.println. Otherwise do not abbreviate any code on the exam.
  • Please be quiet during the exam. If you have a question or need, please raise your hand.
  • Corrections or clarifications to the exam will be written at the front of the room.
  • If you violate the University Code of Conduct during the exam, you may receive a 0% for the exam and possibly further punishment.
  • When you have finished the exam, please turn in your exam quietly and leave the room.
  • If you enter the room, you must turn in an exam paper and will not be permitted to leave the room without doing so.