Link to Current (updated) notes

3.016 Homework

Of course when you do homework, you are not under the potentially menacing eyes of an exam proctor. This means that you can receive help in the form of:

Books

Go to the library and find solutions to problems. It is good practice and you will learn quite a bit by doing so. I recommend that you attempt to find a solution before going to the library--not only will it help you appreciate the solution, it will also make your search a bit easier!

Experts

By all means, consult with experts on your homework. It is a good idea as long as you understand what you turn in.

Classmates

This is the best choice of all. I think it is both inevitable and beneficial to give and receive help. Cooperating on homework will help you learn to communicate your ideas and begin to appreciate the difficulties and rewards of teamwork.

As explained below, the homework assignments in 3.016 will be, in part, cooperative.

You will find that you are more busy some weeks than others and relying on a classmate during a busy week can be a life-saver. However, if you start slacking off and don't hold up your end of the bargain when you are able, you will engender resentment and endanger professional and friendly relationships. I leave it to your own conscience to play fairly and contribute when you can--and, while understanding that everyone experiences different kinds of pressures, to be forthright and honest with others who do not contribute consistently.

Homework cooperation has a potential downside because you all receive individual grades. We will attempt to mitigate this downside by dividing the homework into two parts:

Group

For each homework set, a few problems will be designated as Group Exercises. For these problems, the entire group will turn in one homework. Every member of the group will receive exactly the same credit for the homework grade.

Homework groups will be assigned with each homework set. The groups will change from week to week and the members will be assigned randomly. Each group will be assigned a homework leader who will be responsible for arranging meetings and turning in the homework.

Individual

Each problem set will contain a few problems for each student to complete individually. These problems will come out of the textbook and tend to be a bit easier than the group exercises. They are designed to maintain a sufficient amount of currency and emphasize that reading the textbook is an essential part of this course.