Information for the fall 2024 term
I linked in this resource earlier so you could get an idea of what the exam would be like as well as the exam rules. As I get time more information will be added here up until the day exam so you should check back here periodically.
Midterm I: Non-multiple choice question in the first set of practice questions (early computational devices)
How this question would be marked on an actual exam.
Result = 17818 (moderate amount of marks for this portion).
Indicating that the grid is not genuine (very few marks for this portion but still worth something).
Backup your genuine/modern duplicate conclusion (majority of marks for this portion): All the partial products of the digits in each number are wrong for all the columns save for those in the right-most column e.g. 5 x 2 = 10 or 1/0 (one of the 10s digit and zero of the 1s digit) yet the grid computes this value as 5 x 2 = 15 (1 in the 10s digit and a 5 in the ones digit).
Non-multiple choice question in the third set of practice questions (early mechanical devices)
- Arithmometer (by Thomas and others): the machine was based on the stepped drum design of Leibnitz, a cylinder for each digit.
- Baldwin-Odhner Machines: a variable toothed gear was used to store each digit.
- Since a gear is only a fraction of the width of a cylinder (a gear is a disk or a 'slice' out of a cylinder) the latter machines could be significantly more compact.
Topic Rough proportion of the exam Administrative topics and course introduction ~ 3 - 5% Exam informatio ~ 3 - 5 Early computation ~30 - 40 Analog technology ~10 - 15 Early mechanical devices ~20 - 30 Charles Babbage ~20 - 25%
Type of question Rough proportion of the exam Multiple choice questions ~15 - 25 [Non-multiple choice] ? ~2 - 4