Examinations

The exams will be closed-book, but you will be allowed to use one "cheat sheet" if you like (one sheet of 8.5" by 11" paper with anything you like written on it -- ideally, things you're likely to forget, or examples of syntax for queries, etc.; you can use both sides). You can also use a calculator if that makes you happy. Suggestions for studying: review questions/answers for the homework assignments, study lecture notes, re-read the textbook, and pay close attention to any reviewing, etc. we do during class.

Closer to the time of each exam we will post some sample questions on this web page.

Here are some questions from the textbook that reflect the kinds of questions that might appear on the midterm; these questions all have answers available at the book's web site: 1.1, 1.3, 2.7, 3.5, 3.7, 3.17, 4.5 (1-5, 11), 5.3 (1, 2, 5, 6, 11). Naturally, these are just sample questions; anything we have covered up through the Monday 1/31/2000 lecture is fair game on the exam. You may also want to examine questions from last quarter's midterm and its solutions. Bart will hold a question and answer session for midterm review on Saturday February 5 from 10:30-11:30 in EE1 037.

There will be an in-class midterm on Monday February 7. The midterm questions and answers are now available, as are some statistics on the midterm grades.

There will be a cumulative final examination 2:30-4:20PM on Wednesday March 15, 2000, in the regular classroom (EE1 045).

On the final exam, you can expect a question regarding the project. This means that you should be familiar enough with the work done by your partner(s) to be able to answer general questions about it. As with the midterm, you may bring one sheet of paper (8.5" by 11", and you may use both sides). A calculator may also be helpful, but you can only use it to do arithmetic.

To prepare for the final, we suggest you review class notes, the textbook readings, homework questions and answers (both yours and ours), the midterm questions and answers, the suggested midterm study problems from the book (see above), and the following additional suggested study problems from the book (all of which have solutions available at the book's web page, linked from the course home page):

Ch 7: 5, 7, 9, 13
Ch 8: 3, 5
Ch 9: 1 (for deletions, just give a legal B+ Tree, don't worry about how the deletion algorithm actually works), 5 (Part 2)
Ch 12: 1 (Parts 2, 7, 10), 5 (Parts 1, 2)
Ch 13: 1 (Parts 1-3, 7)
Ch 14: 1 (Parts 3, 4, 5), 7 (Parts 1, 3)
Ch 19: 3 (2PL, Strict 2PL, and Conservative 2PL only; Parts 1, 2, 4, 5, 7), 5
Ch 20: 1 (Parts 2-5), 3, 5
Ch 25: 1 (Parts 1, 8, 9)

Anything we have covered in class, in the readings, or in the course work (homework and project) this quarter is fair game for the final exam.

The examination questions and answers will be available on the web after the exams are over.

Here are the final exam questions in Word.

Here are the final exam questions in postscript.

Here are the final exam solutions in HTML.