ECE 301 Signals and Systems

FAQ

Homework

Q. How are the points assigned to each homework?

A. Each question of the homework will worth 10 points. Say HW1 has 12 questions so the total would be 120. If HW5 has 9 questions, then the total would be 90.

Q. Would there be partial credit when grading the homework?

A. Yes, there would be partial credit if your answer contains some minor mistakes.

Q. Is there special format when submitting homework?

A. No special format. Just write your answers on blank paper, scan, and submit them through Gradescope.

Q. Can I use tablet to write/submit homework?

A. Yes. Just make sure you upload them properly to Gradescope and make sure your answers are legible to the graders. Note that while you can use tablet for homework, you are not allowed to use tablet for your midterm/final exams. The reason is that we would like to limit the use of electronic devices during the exam, thus no tablet during the exam.

Q. How should I submit homework assignments?

A. Homework should be submitted only to Gradescope (not Brightspace). Handwritten work is fine. Scans or pictures of your work can be submitted, but a PDF scan usually works best. Please be sure to use Gradescope to properly label which page contains which question – incorrectly labeling a question may lead to you not receiving credit for that question.

Q. Can I submit my homework late?

A. Please see the Homework late submission policy.

Exams/Quizzes

Q. How should I study for exams?

A. The professor will detail what lecture material will be covered on a given exam sometime before the exam. While any content detailed by the professor is technically fair game, one of the best ways you can study for an exam is by studying the past exams given on the course website. Exams will have very similar formats (95% similar) to those given in the past. Note that Spring 2023 was co-taught with Prof. Brinton. Therefore, the exam style of Spring 2023 was very different.

Q. Is the final exam cumulative?

A. 50% of the final exam will be cumulative and cover material from previous exams. The other 50% of the final exam will be from the latest material covered after Midterm Exam 3. The final exam will be double the length of a midterm exam.

Q. Is the crib sheet allowed during the exam?

A. No. The exams are not designed with crib sheets in mind.

Long answer: Different types of exam requirements lead to different types of exam questions. For example, the questions of a 24-hr take-home exam will be drastically different than an online 1-hour exam. The questions in an exam that allows for crib sheets will be more complicated in nature since it will have to test more abstract materials that require students to build on top of basic understanding and carefully assemble multiple concepts to derive the final answers to a single question. The exam in this course is designed to test basic and essential understanding of Signals and Systems. As a result, no crib sheet is allowed during the exam.

Q. I found out recently that the other section is allowed a crib sheet for the exams. Is there a reason we are not while other students taking the same course are? Seems unfair that just because one section worked better with a student's schedule than the other that it would cause such a change in exam policy?

A. The grading and exam designs of Prof. Wang’s section is completely separate from other sections. Because Prof. Wang’s exams are designed assuming no crib sheet, the nature of the questions is quite different from other sections. Also see the answer to the previous question.
Prof. Wang designs all the questions in a way that ensures very high-level consistency and similarity across each semester. Over the years, the focus of Prof. Wang’s exams has always been on basic and essential understanding and the exams are thus incompatible to the use of crib sheets.

Projects

Q. Am I required to work on a team for the course projects?

A. Yes, you must work on a team for projects. There will be two projects assigned later in the semester. You must work in teams of 2-3 people. No single-person teams will be allowed.

Q. How to find teammates for the course projects?

A. You can ask anybody who is also taking Prof. Wang’s ECE301 as your teammate. If Prof. Wang teaches multiple sections of ECE301, then it is not limited to the students in the same section as yours. For example, if Prof. Wang is teaching 3 sections in this semester. Then students from any section can form a team together. You can find the teammates by yourself. Or you can post in Piazza and see whether there is anybody who would pair with you.

Q. When is the first project?

A. Around Week 10.

Q. What are the team projects going to consist of?

A. It would be short MATLAB codes less than 200 lines. It is basically some short MATLAB programs that students need to write and turn them in.

Miscellaneous

Q. Do you recommend me to study with students from other professor’s section (e.g., Prof. Zhu’s section)?

A. The short answer is No.

The long answer: There are two popular types of unit systems when studying Signals and Systems, similar to the imperial system versus metric system adopted in UK and Asia, respectively. Some instructor uses one type of unit systems that may be different from the unit system used by Prof. Wang. For students who are not familiar with either system, it can be extremely confusing when seeing two different unit systems at the same time. As a result, it is not recommended for you to study with students from another section. That said, once you are familiar with the difference between unit systems, then it is okay to study with students from other section.

Q. Do you recommend getting the textbook or are lecture videos sufficient?
A. Based on the feedback from 85% of the students in the past, the lecture notes plus videos are sufficient for the semester. No need to purchase the textbook. However, if you are the one who enjoys reading the textbook, this particular textbook is very well written and you should give it a try.