Archived question lists - 2017-18

This page does not contain current information. For this year's questions see the homepage.

Instructions

• If you'd like to re-arrange the time of your supervision (whether for one particular week or permanently) you must ask me one week in advance. For anyone who is wondering whether this applies to them, I explain at tedious length at the bottom of this page.
• For each supervision you need to do the work from the table below, and hand it in according to these instructions in advance of the supervision.
• There's advice on the advice page if you want it.
• Bring a copy of the question sheet with you to supervisions. If you're going to need paper, bring some. If you want to ask about something from the lecture notes, bring them.
• If anything is unclear, please e-mail me on mds510@gmail.com.

Work to Do - Easter term 2018

Date of Supervision	Work for IA Nat. Sci. Maths		Work for IA Physics	Work for IB Physics A	Work for IB Physics B
	(Course A)	(Course B)
23rd-28th April	No supervision (but holiday work is handed in this week).			Holiday work
30th April - 5th May	Holiday work (which was handed in last week).			This supervision is mostly for going over the rest of the holiday work. We can look at the first question from the question sheet as well if you like, but just bring it with you; I won't be collecting work in the usual way this week.
7th-12th May	Questions 1-11. Optionally omit 4(d) and 9(a)(iii).	Questions 1-17. In question 4, only deal with the first three products (A^2, AB, AC). In question 9, omit the first two products.	Questions 1-6.	Questions 1-7.	Questions 1-6.
14th-19th May	Questions 12-18.	Questions 17-30, omitting 21 and 23.	Questions 7-13.	Questions 1-6.	Questions 7-11.
21st-26th May	Questions 19 and 20 from example sheet 1, and questions 1 to 6 from example sheet 2.	Questions 31-33 from examples sheet 1 (where 33 is optional) and questions 1-3 from examples sheet 2.	Questions 14-19.	All of the rest of the questions on the question sheet. Also bring with you (but do not hand in) anything that you are stuck on or want to talk about from the past papers that you are doing to revise.
28th May - 2nd June	All of the rest of the questions from the question sheet. Also bring with you (but do not hand in) anything that you are stuck on, or want to talk about, from the past papers that you are doing to revise.			No supervision (exams will have started).

I'll finish regular supervisions by 24th May (2nd-year) and 2rd June (1st-year). There will also be revision sessions in large groups, for which I shall mark selected questions in advance. Detailed information follows...

• These revision sessions are optional. And you can come to just part of them if you want.
• In each case the purpose of the revision session is to go over the 2016 past papers in the subject. If you come, you must bring a copy of those papers with you: I shan't have spares, and I shan't keep on re-stating the questions.
• Some revision sessions are only open to certain students. Some require you to let me know in advance if you're coming, and some don't. Please check carefully below.
• There's no need to hand in complete (or indeed any) work in order to attend. I'll read out numerical answers as I go along. I'll try to get through all of the 2016 papers in the session, not just the questions that I'll mark. (But I may run out of time.)
• I'll only mark work in a subject that I teach you.
• If you do hand in work, arrange the questions in ascending numerical order, and make them into a bundle separate from regular supervision work.
• There will be a break with tea and coffee provided (and perhaps something to eat) in each case.

Subject	Date and time	Location	Who may attend	Notice required	Work that will be marked	Work deadline	Notes
IB Physics A	Thursday 24th May 9.15-10.45am	Chadwick Room, Selwyn College	All my IB Physics students (A or B)	None - just turn up.	Paper 1: all of section A, B7, B9, D12. Paper 2: all of section A, B7, B9, C11.	7pm on Wednesday 23rd May at Selwyn, Jesus, or Trinity Hall. But if you can hand in before then (especially before the weekend of 19th/20th May) then please do.	Starts with paper 1; paper 2 begins around 10am.
Coffee break	Thursday 24th May 10.45-11.05am			Let me know by e-mail by 6pm on Thursday 17th May if you want to come. I need to send numbers to catering.	None
IB Physics B	Thursday 24th May 11.05am-12.30pm			None - just turn up.	Paper 1: all of section A, B6, B7, C10, C12. Paper 2: all of section A, C10, C11.		Starts with paper 1; paper 2 begins around noon.
IA NST Maths	Friday 1st June 10am - 12 noon	A45, Selwyn College	ONLY those of my IA NST maths students who have an exam on the afternoon of 5th June.	Let me know by e-mail by noon on Wednesday 30th May if you want to come.	Only paper 1	7pm on Wednesday 30th May at Selwyn, Jesus, or Trinity Hall.	Places may be limited: priority will be given to those who e-mail soonest.
IA Physics	Monday 4th June 2.30-4pm		Only my IA Physics students	None - just turn up.	All of the paper	7pm on Wednesday 30th May at Jesus; 6pm on Thursday 31st May at Corpus; 12.30pm on Friday 1st June at Trinity Hall; or 12.30pm on Saturday 2nd June at Selwyn.	Tea break in middle of session.
IA NST Maths	Tuesday 5th June 2.30-5pm	Parish Room, Little St Mary's Church	All my IA students	None - just turn up.	Paper 1 and possibly paper 2		Starts with paper 1; tea break around 3.45pm; paper 2 after tea break.

Holiday Work: Easter 2018

• As always, the first item of holiday work is to go over everything from the term and make sure that you understand it. Re-attempt questions that you couldn't do, or didn't have time for, during term. Tripos is looming!
• I shall be asking a few students to change groups and/or times. If I don't e-mail you about this, assume that you're keeping the same group and time (and let me know as soon as possible if you will need to re-arrange).
• The work to do is in the table below.
• If you want to do more Tripos questions than I set, then do. The more practice you get, the better. I'll only mark the ones I've set (so don't hand any others in) but if you're stuck on or want to talk about any other questions then bring them along to a supervision, and if there's time we can talk about them. However, save the 2016 past papers for revision nearer to the exam. (And, physics A students, don't attempt 2012 paper 1 question B6, which is ridiculously difficult.)
• For each past paper, keep all of the work on each question together, and arrange the questions in ascending numerical order. When attempting past papers under timed conditions, you will need to leave gaps in your section A answers to allow for corrections and completions after the time is finished. For the rest of the past paper (that isn't section A) it will be best to start each answer on a new sheet of paper, so that there will definitely be space for corrections and completions as required.
• In each subject, there are several pieces of work to do. Each piece of work needs to be handed in as a separate bundle. (The questions should be in ascending numerical order as described above.) Fix each bundle together with its own staple, paper clip, treasury tag or similar, and write clearly at the top of the first sheet of each bundle the following three pieces of information.
  • Your name.
  • The text "Work for Matthew Smith".
  • The code (starting "QZ") for the piece of work given in the table below.
  If a particular piece of work is too large to be fixed together into a single bundle, then form it into two or more bundles instead, following the instructions given for the Christmas holiday work.
• I shall begin supervisions for second-year subjects on Monday 23rd April, with work handed in according to the usual pattern. If you can't make your usual time that week, let me know as soon as possible.
• I shall begin supervisions in first-year subjects on Monday 30th April, but all first-year holiday work is due in by noon on Thursday 26th April (at Jesus, Selwyn, Corpus, or Trinity Hall). I shan't mark work submitted late, so make sure that it's on time. You can hand in several days early if you want!

Work for IA Nat. Sci. Maths		Work for IA Physics	Work for IB Physics A	Work for IB Physics B
(Course A)	(Course B)
Complete questions S4, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, and 20 from the question sheet. Optionally also attempt 15 and 19 (but bear in mind that 19 requires a technique which is specific to the B-course). Code: QZ-MAQ-B. Get hold of the 2013 past papers for IA. From 2013 paper 1, attempt to complete the paper as specified by the rubrics on the front. Bear in mind that you haven't covered the material for questions 11 or 17 yet, and that 19 and 20 are B-course questions, so you may not want to choose them. (This does mean that you are choosing 5 out of 6, which is a more restrictive choice than you will face in the actual exam.) Try to produce an attempt under timed conditions if you can: it's useful to get a feel for what the time pressure is like. Complete the rest of the possible questions from paper 1, which you either didn't try or couldn't do in the time. (This is anything left from section A, plus questions 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 18.) Code for 2013 paper 1: QZ-MP1-B. From 2013 paper 2, attempt section A (optionally omitting 5), and questions 11, 14, 15, 16, and 17. Code: QZ-MP2-B. Optional: if you'd still like to do more practice after that, I'll mark anything from the 2011 past papers that you haven't done before. Codes: QZ-ME1-B (paper 1) and QZ-ME2-B (paper 2).	Complete questions 24-30 from the question sheet. (The last two are optional but they are good for you.) Code: QZ-MBQ-B. Get hold of the 2013 past papers for IA. From 2013 paper 1, attempt to complete the paper as specified by the rubrics on the front. Bear in mind that you haven't covered the material for question 11 yet, so you may not want to choose it. Try to produce an attempt under timed conditions if you can: it's useful to get a feel for what the time pressure is like. Complete the rest of paper 1, which you either didn't attempt or couldn't do in the time. (This is everything in the paper except for question 11.) Code for 2013 paper 1: QZ-MP1-B. From 2013 paper 2, attempt section A, and questions 11, 16, 17, 19, and 20. Code: QZ-MP2-B. Optional: if you'd still like to do more practice after that, I'll mark anything from the 2011 past papers that you haven't done before. Codes: QZ-ME1-B (paper 1) and QZ-ME2-B (paper 2).	Complete questions 19-24 from the examples book. Optionally also A6. Code: QZ-YQQ-B. From the 2012 past paper, attempt questions A5, B7, B8, C10, D12, and D13, in two hours and forty minutes. Finish the questions that you couldn't get done in the time, taking as long as you need to produce the best answers that you can. Code for the 2012 past paper: QZ-YP2-B. From the 2014 past paper, answer questions A1, A5, C10, and D13. Optionally complete any other questions of your choice from this paper. (But note that A2 and section E require material not taught until next term.) Code: QZ-YP4-B. Optional: complete any relevant questions from the 2013 past paper that you haven't done before. Code: QZ-YE3-B.	Complete questions 4-8 from the last QM question sheet. Code: QZ-AQQ-B. Obtain the Physics A past papers from 2013. Attempt paper 1, following the rubric on the front, under timed conditions. From paper 2, attempt questions A1, A2, A3, and any two of your choice from section B, in one hour and twenty minutes. Finish the questions from paper 1 that you couldn't get done in the time, and also attempt all of the others, taking as much time as you need. Code for paper 1: QZ-AP1-B. Finish the questions that you attempted from paper 2, and also attempt the other questions from section B, taking as much time as you need. Also complete question D13. Code for paper 2: QZ-AP2-B. It is a very good idea to practise more past tripos questions than this. I'll mark anything from the 2010 (codes QZ-AE1-B for paper 1 and QZ-AE2-B for paper 2)---it's particularly worthwhile doing the QM questions.	Finish examples sheet 1 in thermodynamics. Obtain the Physics B past papers from 2014. Attempt paper 1, following the rubric on the front, under timed cdonditions, except that you should omit questions A2 and A4, and only allow yourself 2 hours and 45 minutes. (Also bear in mind that part of B8 is very difficult, and you may not want to choose it.) Attempt paper 2, following the rubric on the front, under timed conditions. (You may not have covered all of the material for section C yet, but there is enough choice of questions that you can do!) Finish the questions that you attempted in both of the papers, but couldn't get done in the time, and also attempt all of the questions (from both papers) that you didn't choose, except for those that rely on material not yet taught. (Optionally also omit the 5-mark section of question B8; it's unreasonably difficult.) Take as much time as you need to produce good answers. Codes for completed attempts: QZ-BP1-B (paper 1) and QZ-BP2-B (paper 2). It is a very good idea to practise more past tripos questions than this. I'll mark anything from the 2013 past paper (codes QZ-BE1-B and QZ-BE2-B for papers 1 and 2 respectively).

Work to Do: Lent Term 2018

I usually update this table on Wednesday mornings.

Date of Supervision	Work for IA Nat. Sci. Maths		Work for IA Physics	Work for IB Physics A	Work for IB Physics B
	(Course A)	(Course B)
15th-20th January	No supervision this week. (But the holiday work must be handed in by noon on Thursday.)			Holiday work.
22nd-27th January	Holiday work (which must have been handed in by noon on Thursday 18th January)			No work set, but you could attempt questions 1 and 2 if you get chance.	No work set, but you could attempt questions 10 and 11 if you get chance.
29th January - 3rd February	Questions S1, S2, S4, S5, 6, 7, 8.	Questions S1g, S1j, S2c, S2d, S2f, S3b, S4b, 5, 6a, 6b, 7, 8a, 8b, and 8c.	Questions 1-6.	Questions 1-6 (omitting any done last week).	Questions 10-15.
5th-10th February	Questions 9-15. In 14(b) and 14(c), give the form of the complimentary function and the particular integral, but do not find the values of the constants in either. In question 15, all students should attempt part (A), only students studying Physics should attempt (B) and (Cii), only students seeking to punish themselves should attempt (Ci), and no students should attempt (D).	Questions 9-13. Optionally also X13 and/or X14 and/or question 12 from the A-course question sheet. In question 10, show that q satisfies its equation, but do not do the rest of the question (the parts starting "firstly" and "secondly").	Questions 7-12.	Questions 7-12.	Questions 16-21.
11th-17th February	From the first examples sheet, questions 17 and 18 (optionally also 16). From the second examples sheet, questions S1, S2, 4, 5, and 6.	Questions 1-10. Omit S3 and 7. (Optionally omit also S1b, S1d, S1e, S2a, and S2b.)	Questions 13-18.	Questions 13-16, and if possible the first two questions from the new question sheet.	Questions 22-27.
19th-24th February	Questions 7-14. Questions 10 and 14(ii) are difficult and optional.	Question S3, and questions 11-16.	Questions 19-23. Optionally also additional question 8.	Questions 3-9. (Also questions 1 and 2 if not done last week.)	Questions 28-33.
26th February - 3rd March	Question S3, and questions 15-19. If possible also S1 from the next question sheet. (I set question 6 from the new sheet in error; it is better not to do that this week.)	Questions 17-22. Question 20 is optional (but do attempt it if you can).	Questions 1-6. Optionally also A1 and / or A2.	Questions 10-14.	Questions 34-38.
5th-10th March	From the second section of question sheet 2 (available as Examples.2A on Moodle) questions S1(b,d,f), S2, S3(i), 6, 7(a), 8(b) (just quoting the result from 8(a)), S5, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, and 16.	S1, S2, and questions 6-13.	Questions 7-10, A5, and (optionally) A6 and A7.	Questions 1-5 if possible.	Questions 39-41 from fluids, and 1 and 2 from thermodynamics.
12th-17th March	From the second section of question sheet 2: question 18, and optionally also 17 and 19. From question sheet 3: S1, S2, S3, and questions 6-12.	S3, S4, and questions 14-23, optionally omitting 15 and 22.	Questions 11-18.	Question 6-8 from question sheet 2 (and also question 5 if not done last week). Questions 1-3 from question sheet 4.	Questions 3-8.

Holiday Work: Christmas 2017

• Whichever course you're doing, the first item of holiday work is to go over everything from the term and make sure that you understand it. Re-attempt questions that you couldn't do, or didn't have time for, during term. Most of you have college tests to revise for.
• I shall be asking a few students to change groups and/or times. If I don't e-mail you about this, assume that you're keeping the same group and time (and let me know as soon as possible if you will need to re-arrange).
• If you want to do more Tripos questions than I set, then do. The more practice you get, the better. I'll only mark the ones I've set (so don't hand any others in) but if you're stuck on or want to talk about any other questions then bring them along to a supervision, and if there's time we can talk about them.
• In each subject, there are several pieces of work to do. Each piece of work needs to be handed in as a separate bundle. If possible arrange the questions in each bundle in ascending numerical order. In any case fix each bundle together with its own staple, paper clip, treasury tag or similar, and write clearly at the top of the first sheet of each bundle the following three pieces of information.
  • Your name.
  • The text "Work for Matthew Smith".
  • The code (starting "QQ") for the piece of work given in the table below.
  If a particular piece of work is too large to be fixed together into a single bundle, then form it into two or more bundles instead, but write all three things at the top of the first page of each of the bundles, appending the bundle number to the piece-of-work code. (E.g. if you need to form piece of work QQ-MP2-B into three bundles, they should bear codes QQ-MP2-B1, QQ-MP2-B2, and QQ-MP2-B3, and each one should have your name and my name on it.)
• Details are below for IA (first-year) and IB (second-year) students.

Holiday work for IA

• I shall begin supervisions for IA subjects on Monday 22nd January, but for all IA students the holiday work is due in by 12 noon on Thursday 18th January. I shall collect work at this time from Jesus, Selwyn, Corpus, and Trinity Hall. I shall not mark work that doesn't meet the deadline. (It may be safest to hand the work in on the Wednesday, or before, to make sure that you don't miss the deadline.)
• In the work below there are Tripos questions. They are difficult; they are supposed to be difficult. You will need to take longer (probably much longer) than you would have in an exam in order to produce the best answers that you can.

Work for IA Nat. Sci. Maths		Work for IA Physics
(Course A)	(Course B)
Complete questions K3-6. Code: QQ-MAK-B Download the 2012 past papers for IA Nat. Sci. maths from the faculty's website. From paper 1, attempt questions 1-10, 12, 14, and 18. Code: QQ-MP1-B From 2012 paper 2, attempt questions 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 14, 17, and 18. Code: QQ-MP2-B [Optional.] Anyone who would like some extra (and more structured) practice plotting graphs should have a go at these graph-plotting questions. Code: QQ-MAY-B [Optional.] If you'd like to practise more Tripos questions, then attempt any questions of your choice from the 2011 papers. Codes: QQ-ME1-B (for paper 1) and QQ-ME2-B (for paper 2).	Complete questions R11, R12, R13, and R14. Code: QQ-MBR-B Download the 2012 past papers for IA Nat. Sci. maths from the faculty's website. From paper 1, attempt questions 1-10, 12, 14, 15, and 18. Code QQ-MP1-B From 2012 paper 2, attempt questions 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 12, 14, 17, and 19. Code: QQ-MP2-B [Optional.] Anyone who would like a challenge can have a look at anything from X1-12 on this (strictly optional) extra question sheet. Feel free to hand in anything you've done if you'd like feedback. Code: QQ-MBX-B [Optional.] If you'd like to practise more Tripos questions, then attempt any questions of your choice from the 2011 papers. Codes: QQ-ME1-B (for paper 1) and QQ-ME2-B (for paper 2).	Play with the skate park, resonance, and lunar lander demonstrations from PhET. Consider carefully the physics involved. There will be questions. Complete questions 22-24 from the question sheet. Code QQ-YVI-B Download the 2012 IA Physics past paper from the Cavendish teaching website. Attempt questions A2, A3, A4, B9, and C11. Code: QQ-YP2-B Download also the 2013 IA Physics past paper. Attempt questions A5, C10, and C11. Code: QQ-YP3-B

Holiday work for IB

• I shall begin supervisions in IB Physics A and IB Physics B on Monday 15th January. Let me know if you won't be able to make your usual time that week. The work will be due in as for a usual week---note that the the handing-in times and places have been amended since last term.
• Tripos questions are difficult; they are supposed to be difficult. The best thing to do is first of all to try them under timed conditions---to practise dealing with the time pressure---but then to go back and produce the best answers that you can, taking as much time and reference material as you need. There's advice on the advice page if you want it.

Work for IB Physics A

Work for IB Physics B

Play with the resonance and waves-on-a-string demos on PhET. If your computer allows you, play with the Fourier and wave-interference demos as well. Complete the rest of the question sheet on waves and optics. (This is questions 30-36, plus anything that you didn't get done in term. Do have a go at the computational questions if you haven't already; use other programs if you don't like MATLAB.) Code QQ-AQQ-B Download the May 2012 IB physics A papers from the Cavendish teaching website. From paper 1, attempt questions A4, A5, D12, and D13. From paper 2, attempt questions A1, A2, A3, B6, B7, B8, B9, and D12. (This is nominally 4 hours and 48 minutes' work at exam pace.) Codes: QQ-AP1-B (for paper 1) and QQ-AP2-B (for paper 2). If you'd like to practise more past paper questions (which is a very good idea), then attempt any of your choice from the 2010 paper 1. Code: QQ-AE1-B

Play with the charges and fields demonstration from PhET, looking that the field and equipotentials for a dipole and two different kinds of quadrapole. There will be questions. Also look at the radiating charge, and, if you have nothing better to do, apply gratuitous electric shocks to John Travoltage. Complete questions 1-9 from the Dynamics question sheet. Code QQ-BQQ-B Download the June 2013 IB physics B papers from the Cavendish teaching website. From paper 1, attempt questions A2, B6, B7, B8, and B9. From paper 2, attempt questions A1, A3, B6, and B7. (This is nominally just under 4 hours' work at exam pace.) Codes: QQ-BP1-B (for paper 1) and QQ-BP2-B (for paper 2). If you'd like to practise more past paper questions (which is a very good idea), then attempt any of your choice from the 2012 papers Codes: QQ-BE1-B (for paper 1) and QQ-BE2-B (for paper 2).

Work to Do: Michaelmas Term 2017

I usually update this table on Wednesday mornings.

Date of Supervision	Work for IA Nat. Sci. Maths		Work for IA Physics	Work for IB Physics A	Work for IB Physics B
	(Course A)	(Course B)
9th-14th October	No work set. (But bring with you to the supervision the Maths Workbook from over the holidays if you have it.)		No work set.	No supervision this week.
16th-21st October	All questions from sections A and B on the question sheet, except that you may omit A1 and A3 if you like.	Questions A1, A3, A4, A5, A7, A8, B3, B4, B5, B6, B7, B8, B10, B11, and B13.	Questions 1-6 from the "Problems" sheet. Optional extra: question 2 from the "Additional Problems" sheet.	Questions 1-6.	Questions 1-6.
23rd-28th October	Sections C, D, and E.	C1(iv), {C3(ii) or X2}*, C4, C5(i, ii, iii), C7, C9, C10, C12, D1, D2, E2, E3, E4, F1(b, e, g, h).	Questions 7-13 from the "Problems" sheet, and question 6 from the "Additional Problems" sheet.	Questions 7-13.	Questions 7-12.
30th October - 4th November	Questions 1-13 from section F. If you feel very confident with complex numbers, omit question 1 completely, and only do parts (b), (d), (f), (h) and (j) from question 2.	{F3(c,d) or X3}*, F4(c), {F5(c) or X4(a,b)}, F6, F7(b,d,e,f,g,h,i,k), F8, F10, F11, F13(b), F14(e), F15(d), F17, F18(c,e), F19, G1, G3(b,e), G4, H1(e,f,h), {H2(a,c,e) or X7}, H3.	Questions 14-19. Optionally also an extension question such as 9 or 14 from the additional problems sheet. (Or both!)	Questions 14-17 from experimental methods, then 1 and 2 from waves and oscillations.	Questions 13-18.
6th-11th November	F14, F15, all of section G, and H1-7, optionally omitting H1(b,d,f,h) and H2(b,d,f,h)	H4, H5, I1, J1, K1, K2, L1, L2.	Questions 20-24. Also, if possible, obtain (from the TiS) a copy of the 2011 past exam paper, and attempt B7 and/or C11.	Questions 3-9 omitting 3(d). Do not omit any questions apart from 3(d). In particular, do not omit question 7 (which can be tackled with the computer package of your choice; it needn't be Matlab).	Questions 19-25.
13th-18th November	The rest of section H.	M1, M2, M3, N1, N2, N4, O1, P1(d,g), P2(c,d,e), P3(b), P4.	Questions 1-6. Optionally also any questions of your choice from the additional question sheet, which is on TiS.	Questions 10-16. 16(b) is optional. Do attempt 15; if you don't like Matlab, use another program, or lots of algebra.	Questions 26-30.
20th-25th November	Section I, and questions 1-2 from section J.	P5(d,g), P6(all), P7, P9, P10, P12, P15, Q1, Q2, Q4, Q6, Q7.	Questions 7-14.	Questions 17-22. Omit 19(b).	Questions 31-38.
27th November - 2nd December	The rest of section J, and questions 1 and 2 from section K.	P14, Q8, Q9, {R1 or X12}*, R2, R3, R4, R5, R7, R8, R9.	Questions 15-21.	Questions 23-29. Optionally omit 24(a) and 24(d). (Do not however omit the last part of 24, about the letters CEF, which isn't part of (d).)	Questions 39-44.

General notes

Where to find the questions

• The examples sheets, which contain the questions, are usually given out in lectures. If you don't have a copy, you can download one from the web. Resources for IA Nat. Sci. maths are on Moodle, and resources for Physics are on TiS.
• If there are more questions on the examples sheet than I set, then you are welcome to do the extra ones; I'm happy to mark them.
• For maths B supervisions, in some cases I've given a choice of questions in {curly braces}. The X questions are to be found on this extra question sheet. They are only there in case you are keen for a challenge: if not, stick to the choices from the lecturer's question sheet.

What I will mark

• I will only mark work from the course question sheets, attempts at questions from the extension sheet, and work set in the tables above. The work set will include some questions from past tripos papers over the holidays and shortly before the exams.
• I will not mark other past papers, attempts at old post-Christmas tests, or (in short) anything else. However, if you want to check your answers to specific past-paper questions, or talk about how to approach questions from anywhere else, then bring them along with you to a supervision, and if we have time we can go through them.
• If you want to check answers to past papers, then warn me (at least a couple of days in advance) by e-mail so that I can bring in my copy of the paper.

Re-arranging supervisions

I'm happy to re-arrange supervisions for almost any reason, providing that I have a week's notice. This means that you need to talk to me about it in the previous supervision (i.e. the supervision before the one that you want to rearrange), when all of the affected people are in the same place.

There's no need to read the rest of this section unless you are looking to re-arrange a supervision with less than a week's notice.

Sometimes students ask me to re-arrange their supervisions by e-mail, giving me less than a week's notice. The trouble with this is that it requires a number of e-mails to establish a possible alternative time that all three or four people affected can make, and for me to book a room. This series of e-mails usually takes a few days, by which point some possible rearranged times have already been and gone, and during which I have to allow not only for my regular timetable and the time of the rearranged supervision, but also for a number of hypothetical timetables based on rearrangements that might never happen. This is inconvenient, and if several students are asking for such rearrangements at once, can become impossible. And I don't think it fair to provide a flexibility to some students that I can't give to everyone. Furthermore, I consider that providing a reasonable amount of notice for rearranging supervisions is a basic level of professionalism with regard to their academic commitments that can reasonably be expected of students. Therefore I shall not re-arrange any supervision with less than a week's notice except for academic or health reasons.

• In particular, I will not rearrange supervisions with less than a week's notice if the reason is...
  • rowing, even the "bumps". (If you're going to take part in a race whose exact time isn't set until shortly beforehand, then find out before the previous week's supervision all of the times that it could be. I can then try to find a time that doesn't clash with any of them.)
  • any other sport.
  • music, drama, or social events.
  • routine family visits.
  • a reason that you choose not to specify, even if you hint darkly at forces beyond your control.
  • another supervisor wanting to teach you in what is usually my slot, unless someone can explain to me why their time is so very much more valuable than mine.
  • an academic commitment that you have known about for long enough to give me a week's notice, but had forgotten about. (If you think that this is likely to be a problem, then e-mail me at least nine days before the supervision you want to rearrange, and I'll take on the responsibility of remembering to rearrange it at the proper time.)
  • anything else not listed below.
• I may make re-arrangements at short notice if...
  • you are ill, or need to attend a medical appointment. Let me know as soon as possible.
  • your department requires you to do something at short notice as part of your course, or you need to attend a catch-up practical session because you have been ill. (This should happen very rarely, because normally you will have advance notice from the department.) I may want to check with the department. (It will be faster if you get them to e-mail me directly.)
  • your Director of Studies wants you to do something at short notice. In this case I'd expect them to confirm by e-mailing me directly.
  • you have an interview for a summer job or internship or similar which is arranged at short notice, with no alternative interview time, such that you will lose the post if you don't attend. Although I'm unconvinced that an organization that does this is going to be good to work for, I appreciate that you may be in something of a buyers' market, so I'll consider each case on its merits.
  • there is a reason why a re-arrangement ought to be made on compassionate grounds, e.g. because you are visiting a relative who is taken ill, or helping a friend who is in serious trouble. In this case you need either to tell me exactly what the problem is, or (if it's something that you don't feel comfortable telling me about) tell your Tutor or Director of Studies, who can confirm to me that there is a good reason.