- #1
snatchingthepi
- 148
- 38
So I'm now a third year at a Canadian university in a theoretical physics programme. I have a simple question. How do you all deal with answering assignment questions without being given what the final answer is?
Let me clarify.
Say you have a question that asks you to compute the moment of inertia of some odd extended body given certain parameters (like I recently did). I set-up the situation, looked through my notes for the relevant equations, did some math, and got an answer that by all means is completely reasonable and had the correct units.
My problem is that until I hand-in the assignment and get it marked and returned, I have NO IDEA if my work is correct or not, and this bothers the hell out of me. I may very simply be spoiled. The first and second year "majors" courses at my institution were all taught by the same two/three professors who when giving assignment questions would put a little blurb at the bottom of the assignment page giving the final answer to each question. Not a solution, no work of any kind would be shown, just the final answer, like [tex]I_{CM} = 0.000956 \left[kgm^2\right][/tex]
What do you all do? I may just be a little of an anxious perfectionist, but I took great comfort in having the final answer as a resource.
Let me clarify.
Say you have a question that asks you to compute the moment of inertia of some odd extended body given certain parameters (like I recently did). I set-up the situation, looked through my notes for the relevant equations, did some math, and got an answer that by all means is completely reasonable and had the correct units.
My problem is that until I hand-in the assignment and get it marked and returned, I have NO IDEA if my work is correct or not, and this bothers the hell out of me. I may very simply be spoiled. The first and second year "majors" courses at my institution were all taught by the same two/three professors who when giving assignment questions would put a little blurb at the bottom of the assignment page giving the final answer to each question. Not a solution, no work of any kind would be shown, just the final answer, like [tex]I_{CM} = 0.000956 \left[kgm^2\right][/tex]
What do you all do? I may just be a little of an anxious perfectionist, but I took great comfort in having the final answer as a resource.