CS150 - Administrivia

Course overview

Week	Topic
1, 2, 3	Python basics
4, 5	lists and loops
6	I/O and modules
7	sets and dictionaries
8	recursion
9	large data sets
10	other programming languages
11, 12	science applications

Handouts, announcements, etc.

Late policy

Coursework

• Grade calculation
  • 25% Assignments
  • 15% Midterms
  • 25% Final
  • 25% Test projects (10% + 15%)
  • 5% Quizzes
  • 5% Participation
• Assignments - Approximately every week, you will have an assignment. These assignments will mostly consist of a programming component, though they may also have a written part. The assignments will typically be due on Tuesday at 11:59pm.
• Midterms - We will have one midterm in the evening. Date time and location are on the course webpage.
• Quizzes - I will assign written problems mostly from the book (specified on the schedule on the course web page) to be looked at before class. The solutions to all of the problems will also be provided along with the problems. You will not hand in these problems, however, throughout the semester I will give a short, in-class quiz based on the assigned problems. If you have looked at the problems before hand, the quiz should not be a problem.
• Participation - Participation consists of attending class regularly, attending all lab sessions (Friday classes) and of giving evidence that you are actively engaged with the material (asking/answering questions in lecture, coming to office hours, etc).

Honor code and collaboration

You are encouraged to get together in small groups to discuss material from the lectures and text. However, the work that you turn in must be done independently, unless an assignment is explicitly designated as one in which collaboration is allowed.

In particular, your work must not be based on information obtained from sources other than those approved for the course (i.e., the text, web pages linked from the course web page, and materials provided in lecture). You should never copy another students code or solutions, exchange computer files, or share your code or solutions with anyone else in the class until after an assignment is due. You may, however, use any code that we provide to you or that comes from the textbook, as long as you acknowledge the source. Additionally, the tutors are allowed to help you with your code.

For the weekly assignments: you should be designing and coding the labs on your own, with help from the tutors and instructors if desired. You may get help from other non-TA students in order to locate errors, but only errors of syntax, not errors of logic. Should you be working with someone else to find an error, you may not provide them with suggested code nor may you copy their code in your program. You may point out similar examples from the text or lecture notes.

For the two test projects: you should think of these as take-home, open-book tests. As such, you may read your textbook, class notes, and any other source approved by the instructor, but you may not consult other sources (e.g. looking for code online). You may not consult anyone other than the instructor. I encourage the asking of questions, but reserve the right not to answer, just as you would expect during an exam.

If you are working with others on an assignment, I suggest the following procedure: spend as much time as you need working with others to understand the problems. When you're ready to start on your own take a break and then go back and write your programs without the notes you used while working with the others. This will help ensure that you follow both the letter and the spirit of the honor code.

If you are ever unsure about what constitutes acceptable collaboration, please ask!

Computer use during class

Disabilities accomodations