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Guide Read this closely. Then re-read It after exploring Enforceable_ These tips will help you succeed in FIN 3001 Finance is a difficult subject. Everyone struggles with the material initially. I can guarantee you that everyone else In the class Is reading the text, working through the homework problems for the first time, and thinking, “l am so lost! I have no idea how to work these problems! ” Everyone feels that way at first. I felt that way when I took my first finance class. The only way to get over that is to re-read the text and work the problems… Over and over again.
It will start to come together after a while, but It takes A LOT of repetition. There is no other way around it. This is a problem based class. If you want to do well in Finance 300, you have to practice the problems over and over again. In fact, you have to work the problems so many times that you can quickly and accurately complete them using nothing but the official formula sheet, an approved calculator, and blank scratch paper. That is all you will have access to in an exam. The formula sheet you will have for the exams is available in the “Document Sharing” section of Imbalance.
Use it while you study the problems so you get used to using the formulas you will have In an exam. The old rule of thumb Is that for every hour you spend in class, you should spend two to three hours studying outside of class. The face-to-face version of this class meets 2. 5 hours each week. That means you should spend another 6 – 7. 5 hours studying on your own each week. This assumes that you are strong In all of the prerequisite areas, Including math (especially algebra), accounting, and economics. If you struggle In some of these areas, expect to spend even more time each week.
If you are in the online section of this class, expect to spend even more time since you do not have the in class lecture to help explain concepts for the first time. No matter what version of the class you are In, you will need to reread the text several times on some topics. Although you may not have needed this much time for other classes, you will need it for FIN 300. Many students do not believe they will need to put this much time into the class. As a result, the average number of attempts at FIN 300 at SUM Is three. That means that students take this class three times. N average. Before passing with at least a D. Even if all you are looking for from this class is a C to get out and move on to other classes, it will likely be the hardest you have ever worked for a C. You must decide right now that you are willing to put in the work to successfully complete this course. As previous students will tell you, you cannot Walt until the week of an exam to start studying in this class. It will be too late. The material builds on itself through the semester and gets difficult quickly. If you get behind, it will be almost impossible to catch up.
There will be no “curve” or bonus point opportunities in the class once final readers are assigned. Once we reach the end of the semester, the grade you see In Enforceable is the grade I will record in SOAR. Will help you any way I can throughout the semester, but you have to decide right help early and often. Set up appointments with me, with a tutor in the BASE center, or with the finance majors in the finance lab. Because the material constantly builds on itself, if you get lost at the beginning of class, it will be difficult to catch back up. Studying for exams Seventy-five percent of the course grade comes from the exam scores.
To do well in he course, you must do well on the exams. I have created a test bank for our class which includes every question that could appear on an exam. The homework assignment for each chapter includes every question from the test bank for that chapter. Each exam will pull random questions from the homework for the appropriate chapters. The number of questions on an exam from each chapter is split as evenly as possible. For example, Exam 1 is 25 questions long (as is each exam) and covers Chapters 1 – 5, so there will be five questions from each chapter.
When you open a new exam, the software goes to the empower and pulls five questions from Chapter 1, five questions from Chapter 2, five questions from Chapter 3, and so on. While the questions all come from the same test bank, each exam includes a new mixture of questions as well as new numbers within each question. No two exams are exactly alike. You cannot gain useful information from one of your previous exams or from another student that has taken the exam before you. In fact, after you complete an exam you can review it at any time or even print it out with the correct answers if you wish.
What this means for you is that there is no wasted study time. Every question you practice from the homework is a potential exam question. The best way to prepare for the exams is to master the homework problems. Work the problems over and over again until you can answer the questions with nothing more than the formula sheet, a financial calculator, and some scratch paper. You can take each exam an unlimited number of times, but the recorded score for a given exam is the average of all attempts on that exam. If you score low on one attempt, it will take several good scores to bring the average up.
Be sure you are well prepared before the exam deadlines approach. Studying for end of chapter quizzes Each end of chapter quiz is five questions long. The quizzes are structure exactly like the exams. For example, when you open the “Chapter 1 Quiz”, Imbalance goes to the Chapter 1 Homework and randomly pulls five questions. Each quiz includes a new mixture of questions as well as new numbers within each question. No two quizzes are exactly alike, so you cannot gain information from previous quizzes. The end of chapter quizzes are like mini exams for each chapter.
The best way to prepare for a quiz is to master the homework problems. Work the homework robbers over and over again until you can answer the questions with nothing more than the formula sheet, a financial calculator, and some scratch paper. Although the quizzes are not proctored and you can take them anytime, anywhere, there is a time auto-submitting. You must complete each quiz in one sitting. You cannot save a partially completed quiz and come back to it later. Like the exams, you can take each quiz an unlimited number of times. Note that the recorded score for a given quiz is the average of all attempts on that quiz.
If you score low on one attempt, it will take several good scores to bring the average up. Be sure you are well prepared for each quiz before attempting it. The quizzes are designed to help you prepare for exams. For example, if you are well prepared to take the Chapter 1 Quiz, then you are well prepared to face the chapter 1 questions on Exam 1. 2 Completing the homework There are two features within the homework that can help you learn how to work each problem. The first is that you can work each homework problem an unlimited number of times until you get it right.
If you answer a question incorrectly, you can try it over and over again until you get it right. I want everyone to get a 100% on every empower assignment. Remember that your homework average is 10% of your course grade. By putting in the time to get all of the homework questions right, you add ten points to your final course grade (0. 1 x 100= 10). Every homework problem is also a potential quiz and test question. By taking the time to learn the homework, you are not only earning points for your final grade, you are also preparing yourself for the quizzes and exams.
The second feature is the tips within each problem. When you have a homework question open, you will see several climbable pictures to the left of the question (as sutured below). The picture on the top left with the “1 2 3” on it is a “Help Me Solve This” button. It will walk you through some hints for the exact problem you are facing. This tip is helpful, but it will reset your problem with fresh numbers when you use it. This forces you to work the problem at least twice, which can be frustrating. The next picture has what looks like a purple light bulb.
The purple light bulb button will show an example of the problem you are working on and the full solution, with different numbers than your problem. You can pull up the example problem in a new endow and follow the solution to help work your homework problem. The problem does not reset and force you to work it again if you look at the example. I have found this to be one of the better tools when first learning a problem. The picture of the textbook will take you directly to the section of the text that discusses the concept of the question.
The picture of the person with an envelope will allow you to email me a question from within Imbalance. This button will send me a link to your problem with your numbers and any answers you may have filled in. This is very helpful if you email me or help on a particular problem. 3 video solutions, for example. These tips are available in the homework to help you learn how to work each problem. This is a fantastic resource when learning new material, but please note that the tips will not be available on quizzes or exams. You will see the same questions on the quizzes and exams, but the tips will be disabled.
In order to do well on the quizzes and exams you will need to work the problems over and over again until you can accurately complete them without looking at the tips. Practicing problems from the test bank after completing the homework Once you eave achieved the desired homework score, you can still practice the homework problems without altering your grade by clicking the Results button from the left navigation structure and then clicking the “review’ link to the right of whichever homework assignment you would like to practice. Be sure you work problems from the “review’ section of the software.
If you re-open an actual homework assignment you have already scored a 100% on, it will erase your completed work and give you a new question that you have to complete for a grade. Working problems from the “review’ section allows you to work fresh problems without impacting your homework read. If you try to re-work problems from an actual homework assignment, you will see a warning message telling you that making changes will impact your grade. It will then offer a link to the Results section where you can work without changing your grade.
Once you have a problem open, you can practice it an infinite number of times with fresh numbers by clicking the “Similar Problem” link at the bottom of the question. This is a great way to prepare for the exams. Work each problem until you can solve it without using the tips, looking at your notes, or looking at the text. In other words, ark the problems until you can solve them Just like you will have to on an exam. In an exam you will only have access to the official formula sheet, an approved calculator, and blank scratch paper.
Discussion Board Questions such as, “How do I do problem number 5 in the chapter 6 homework? ” belong in the discussion board in Imbalance. Do not email these kinds of questions until you have posted them on the discussion board. The discussion board is under the “Communication Tools” tab. If you email me these kinds of questions, I will copy and paste them into the discussion board and answer them there. If you eave a question about a problem, someone else does too. Finance is a difficult subject. The old cliche, “The only stupid question is the one you don’t ask” applies here.
If you put your question in the discussion board, rather than emailing me, all students can visit the question and benefit from the answer. Also, a fellow student may have the right answer and reply faster than I can. In fact, it is likely that you will go to post your question and find that someone has already asked and answered it. I will monitor the discussion board and verify answers. There are three practice exams available in Imbalance. These are meant to serve s a preview of what you will face in a real exam and not as a primary way to study for exams.
The practice exams are set up exactly like the real exams. For example, when you open Practice Exam 1, the software goes to the homework and pulls five questions from Chapter 1, five questions from Chapter 2, five questions from 4 Chapter 3, and so on. While the questions all come from the same test bank, each exam includes a new mixture of questions as well as new numbers within each question. No two exams are exactly alike. On a given practice exam you are only seeing a random sample of problems you might face on a real exam, so I would not SE the practice exams as a primary way to study for a real exam.
The homework problems, which include all possible questions you might face on an exam, are a better way to study. I have included the practice exams so you can try them out before you sit for a real exam and get a feel for what tools are available, and for working within the time limits of the exams (you will have two hours to complete each exam). They are a great way to test yourself after you feel you have mastered the homework problems. In fact, I strongly recommend you take at least one practice exam before you sit for each real exam.
Students are often surprised at how poorly they perform the first time they sit for an exam. They do not realize how much they have been relying on the study aids within Imbalance while working the homework problems. If you want to do well one the exams, you must work the homework problems repeatedly until you can work them quickly and accurately without any help. The practice exams give you a chance to verify your mastery of the material without the study aids and without the pressure of sitting for a real exam. The practice exams do not factor into your course grade, so feel free to take as many s you like.
Summary The short version of the above discussion is this: In order do well in FIN 300, practice the homework problems over and over again until you can work them quickly and accurately using only the official formula sheet, an approved calculator, and blank scratch paper. Once you think you have mastered the material on a given exam, try taking a practice exam with only the official formula sheet, an approved calculator, and blank sheet of scratch paper. Do not cheat yourself here! If you look at your notes or any other resources you will not have access to in a real exam, then you will get an inflated estimate of your expected performance.
You are likely to get an inflated grade expectation from the practice exam as it is. Time pressure, distractions, sleep deprivation, and nerves are all likely to degrade your performance on the real exam relative to the practice exam. Make your practice exam attempt as honest as possible to get an accurate expectation for your performance on the real exam. If you do well, then you will likely do well on the real exam. If you do not do as well as you hoped, go back and review the problems you missed and try again until you get the grade you are hoping for.