Why university examination papers easier than problems in text books?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the perceived disparity between the difficulty of university examination problems and those found in textbooks, particularly in the context of physics and mathematics courses. Participants explore reasons for this difference, including time constraints and the nature of assessment.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Exploratory

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants express frustration that examination problems are significantly easier than textbook problems, questioning why challenging problems are not included in exams.
  • One participant, drawing from their experience as a math major, suggests that instructors avoid overly difficult problems in exams due to time constraints, which can limit what can be tested effectively.
  • Another participant notes that simpler problems on exams help minimize unrelated mistakes and make grading easier, ensuring that the focus remains on understanding the material.
  • It is argued that including difficult problems in exams could lead to unfair outcomes, as students may run out of time, which does not accurately reflect their understanding or capabilities.
  • A participant cautions against generalizing the experience of one introductory physics course, suggesting that more challenging exams may be encountered later on.
  • One comment critiques the concept of closed book exams, emphasizing that the time and material limitations inherently restrict the complexity of exam problems.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a range of views on the appropriateness of exam difficulty, with some agreeing on the necessity of simpler problems due to time constraints, while others feel that challenging problems should be included. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the ideal balance of difficulty in examination problems.

Contextual Notes

Participants acknowledge limitations such as time constraints during exams and the nature of assessment, which may affect the types of problems included. There is also an implicit recognition that experiences may vary across different courses and instructors.

Quantumcom
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Well I have been reading and solving problems in physics for scientists and engineers (R.A Serway).But my examination problems are way easier than problems in the textbooks.I always expect to have challenging problems in exams like in textbooks.Why they don't make some hard problems at least one per paper?
 
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Quantumcom said:
Well I have been reading and solving problems in physics for scientists and engineers (R.A Serway).But my examination problems are way easier than problems in the textbooks.I always expect to have challenging problems in exams like in textbooks.Why they don't make some hard problems at least one per paper?

This is my experience based on math courses (I'm a math major). The teachers have told our classes that they don't expect students to solve problems that are too hard in an exam with limited time. As a result they restrict what material to test based on constraints like this.

It makes sense because assignments are usually over a one to three week period and exams last for only three hours. It doesn't really seem fair to do complex derivations or solve complex problems in the space of three hours when it might take a whole 2 hour lecture to do on the board by someone who has their doctorate.
 
"Simple" problems on exams often limit the mistakes you can make external to the testing focus. It's also easier to grade and see that you, the student, understand the material being tested on.

If problems on an exam are too complex, then one un-related mistake early on might mask that you understand the concept of focus.
 
It's what chiro said. Difficult problems are like a lottery in terms of the time it takes you to solve them. That's why the problem sets have the difficult questions so you have plenty of time to work on them. An exam is only two or three hours, if you put difficult questions in there people will run out of time and get low marks, not because they are stupid, but because they didn't have enough time. In that sense exams are a bit artificial becuase in real life you work on one problem for days, weeks, months, years even. The difficult problems in the problem sets are where you are really examined on your ability. Exams just test that you properly understand the fundamentals and you pass the course knowing the basics at least.
 
It sounds to me like you're making a generalization based on one introductory physics course.

Give it time. I'm sure you'll run into challenging exams at some point.
 
The idea of the closed book exam is totally nonsensical anyway. Exam paper problems cannot be too difficult because you only have a limited time to solve them, and limited materials too.
 

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