CS 31 Exams will be given outside of class time using gradescope.

Please carefully read the logistics, instructions, and the permitted and prohibited materials you may use during the exam, all listed below.

1. Using Gradescope and Exam Time limits

You will use gradescope for taking Exams. Exams will be in a separate gradescope folder (CS31 Exams) from homeworks.

  • Each Exam will be open (available for you to take anytime) over an approximately 24 hour period. With each exam, we will give you its OPEN TIME and CLOSE TIME that define this period in advance.

  • However, the exam itself has a time limit, so once you start it in gradescope, you must complete it within that time limit. For example, the time limit may be 90 minutes, so once started in gradescope, you have the time limit number of minutes (e.g. 90 minutes) to complete and submit your answers to the Exam; you cannot start it and come back later and finish it after the time limit has expired. With each exam we will give you the TIME LIMIT in advance.

  • If you have an official accommodation for additional time on an Exam (see the course webpage for more details about accommodations), contact the professors by the Friday the week before the exam to remind them of your accommodation. We will set up gradescope with your additional time, but it is up to you to ensure that you start taking the Exam early enough so that you have enough time to take it before the Exam cut-off time (its CLOSE TIME).

1.1. Final Exam Time Details

  • OPEN TIME is 5pm on Thursday, May 13

  • CLOSE TIME is noon on Saturday, May 15

  • The Final Exam is in two parts: Final Exam Part 1 and Final Exam Part 2.

  • Each part has a 90 minute time limit to complete from the time you first start taking it. Thus, you should plan 3 hours total time for taking all parts of the exam.

    • You may take Part1 and Part2 in any order. You may take each Part back to back, or take a break between them.

    • Part 1 focuses primarily on OS, processes, and virtual memory, has no file uploads, and has a 90 minute TIME LIMIT to complete once you start it.

    • Part 2 focuses primarily on threads and other topics, has no file uploads, and has a 90 minute TIME LIMIT to complete once you start it.

  • It is up to you to start the exam with enough time to complete it in the time limit (or in the extended time limit if you receive an accommodation). The exam cuts off for everyone at CLOSE TIME, noon Saturday, May 15.

  • It is up to you to start the exam with enough time to complete it in the time limit (or in the extended time limit if you receive an accommodation). The exam cuts off for everyone at CLOSE TIME: 1pm on Friday March 12.

2. Exam Rules

2.1. During the Exam

  • You are not allowed to attend office hours while an exam is open if you have not already submitted your exam. For example, you may not attend Thursday evening office hours if the exam is open and you have not yet taken it. If you have taken and submitted it, you may attend office hours during the exam open period.

  • To be fair to all students, professors and all CS31 staff including ninjas will not answer questions about the exam or exam material while an exam is open. If you are not sure how to interpret a question, do the best you can, and you can email Tia and Andy a note about your interpretation.

  • If you are unsure about allowed materials or logistics, re-read this page and if you still have a question, assume it is not allowed.

  • In the unlikely event that you are unable to upload a file in gradescope with your answer to a question, immediately send an email with the image file to Tia (newhall@cs.swarthmore.edu) and Andy (adanner@cs.swarthmore.edu), send this before your time limit is up. If you can email us an image with a time stamp, that is additionally good, but not necessary. We will use when we receive your email as an estimate of when you sent it.

2.2. Allowed and Disallowed Materials

Basically, you are allowed to use course materials that we provide for you as part of this class, and you are not allowed to use any materials that we do not. Also, the answers you give on the exam should reflect your answer to the question using permitted materials only. If you seek or share answers with others, or use prohibited materials to find answers, you have committed a serious violation of our academic integrity policy for exams.

  • Permitted materials:

    • the course textbook, and your course notes.

    • other course-specific resources that we make available to you (e.g., lecture slides, lab writeups, piazza posts, lecture videos).

    • only basic text editing or graphics software for composing answers for file upload.

  • Prohibited materials:

    • You may not use internet material (including but not limited to web searches, youtube videos, wikipedia) other than the course webpage.

    • You may not use calculators, compilers, logisim, or other similar computing tools.

    • You are not permitted to communicate with any other person about the contents of this exam during the entire time period the Exam is open (from OPEN TIME through CLOSE TIME). This includes anyone; not anyone in the class or outside of the class.

3. Academic Integrity Signature

The following are the instructions you will see at the top of Exams as Question 1. These will be followed by an affirmation that you are following the exam rules, with a box that you must check. At the end of the exam you will additionally be asked to verify that you have followed the exam rules.

Please read through these carefully now.

You have TIME LIMIT minutes from now to complete this exam (or exam part). All submissions will cut off at exactly CLOSE TIME, even if you have time remaining. The Professors will not be able to answer questions during the exam for fairness to students across all time zones.

Permitted materials: the course textbook, your course notes, and course webpage resources (e.g., slides, lab writeups, Piazza posts, lecture videos). You may also use basic text editing or graphics software for composing answers for file upload.

Prohibited materials: communication with any other person; internet material (including but not limited to web searches, youtube videos, wikipedia) other than the course webpage; calculators, compilers, logisim or other similar computing tools. You are not permitted to communicate with any other person about the contents of this exam during the entire time period the Exam is open (OPEN TIME through CLOSE TIME).

You must affirm your understanding of the below to receive a grade:

  • I have read the above instructions and agree to only use permitted materials.

  • I will not engage in any prohibited activities.

  • I recognize that failure to abide by these rules is a violation of the course Academic Integrity Policy.

( ) I have read these instructions and rules and agree to follow them.

At the end of the exam you will be asked to re-confirm this policy:

By typing my name in the box below, I affirm that I did not violate the course policies or exam policies while taking this exam. All of the work on this exam is my own.

[ type your name ]

4. Some Tips for taking exams

  • Don’t leave questions blank: a partial answer is better than none.

  • Underline (or jot down) key parts of a question to remind yourself what question is asking as you answer it. Re-read questions to make sure you are answering the right question.

  • If not sure how to do problem, move on & come back later. You want to avoid getting bogged down on one questions and end up not leaving enough time to answer the rest.

    • jot down some thoughts and/or the parts of the solution you do know, move on, and come back later.

  • Use question’s point value as rough guide for how much time to spend on it

    • 20 point question: are worth a fair amount of time

    • 2 point question: answer quickly, and come back & check later and check if you have time.

  • Review all your answers before submitting your exam. You don’t get extra points for being the fastest to complete the exam.

  • To receive partial credit for an incorrect answer, you need to have shown your work: Some examples include:

    • Showing the sequence of changes to a memory location, when tracing through code.

    • Showing the steps in an add or sub operation.

    • Showing the steps in conversion: 1*24 + 0*23 + 1*22 + 0*21 + 1*20 (And for questions like this, if is generally fine to leave your answer as an expression).

  • Add explanation to of parts of your answer.

  • Go back over solutions, re-read questions, and make sure your answer answers the question asked.

  • Check your results for correctness:

1010 – 0111 = 1001?   (oops: 10 – 7 should be 3, but I got 9)

  • Multiple Choice: always answer, make a guess if don’t know try to eliminate some choice you know are incorrect

  • True and False: choosing both true and false as your answer is always incorrect; you have to pick one or the other.

  • Use allowed Exam materials and refer to them in answering questions.

5. Handy References for exams

Here are some values and references that my be helpfu to have on hand as you take exams: