Computer Science 12
Homework assignments
- Assignment 1 (preparing to write a paper - topic selection due Wednesday, February 8, 2012; other parts due later)
- Assignment 2 (paper topic selection due Wednesday, February 8, 2012; list of paper sources due Wednesday, February 15, 2012; paper first draft due before class on Saturday, February 25, 2012; Excel and HTML parts due before class on Saturday, February 25, 2012)
- Assignment 3 (due before class on Saturday, March 3, 2012)
- Assignment 4 (due before class on Saturday, March 10, 2012)
- More later.
Obtain Jerry Waxman's CS 12 lecture notes, available at the Copy Center under Gino’s Pizza, across Kissena Blvd from QC. During the next week and a half, skim through the first third of the notes (up to but not including the lectures on Excel) and choose a topic for the paper that you'll be asked to write. The paper may be on any of the computer-related topics mentioned in the notes EXCEPT the Microsoft products that we'll be teaching you about (Word, Excel, and Access).
Email me, by no later than Wednesday, February 8, about the topic you have chosen.
Then reasearch the paper using Jerry Waxman's notes plus at least one other printed (offline) source plus at least two websites. Send me email containing a list of your sources by no later than Wednesday, February 15.
The first draft of your paper must be submitted by no later than the beginning of class on Saturday, February 25. Submit it via Blackboard. You should also bring a copy of your first draft with you to class on that day (either on a flash drive or by emailing it to yourself). We will show you how to use various Microsoft Word 2007/2010 features to make the paper look nicer.
Your first draft, which must be finished before our class on February 25, should be at least three pages long and must include at least one quote from each of your four sources, and must have at least three sections with headings. We will then show you how to do citations, footnotes, bibliography, and table of contents, using Microsoft 2007/2010 features which make these chores very easy.
The final paper itself, which will be due later in the semester, should be six to eight pages long, double spaced, with a font size anywhere between 12 and 15. The final version of the paper must have a table of contents at the beginning, properly formatted footnotes (which will place themselves automatically at the bottom of the relavant page), citations (distinct from footnotes), a bibliography, and at least three other sections whose titles will appear in the automatically generated table of contents at the beginning. The paper must be an original paper, not plagiarized. (Warning: BlackBoard includes the ability to search automatically for possible plagiarism.)
Your first steps will be to choose the topic, gather sources, and tell me about the topic and the sources by emailing me at the following address (not any other email address of mine, please):
dnixon-cs12@nyclocal.net
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- Paper:
last-first-paper.docx- Excel assignment (due before class on Saturday, February 25):
- Making believe you're a teacher, create an Excel spreadsheet with columns as follows: (1) a list of names, (2) five columns of quiz scores, (2) two columns of results to be computed from quiz scores, (3) two columns of in-class exam scores, and (4) the final exam score. The two columns of results computed from the quiz scores must be (a) the average quiz score and (b) the average with lowest score dropped.
last-first-roster.xlsx- In a separate file, write an invoice for goods ordered from a store. The invoice should have columns for product name, per-unit price, quantity ordered, and total price. There should be rows for at least four products. Underneath the last row, below the total price column there should cells (with identifying text in cells to the left of them) for subtotal, tax, and then total. The tax should be computed from the tax rate, which should be placed in a separate cell somewhere.
last-first-invoice.xlsx- HTML assignment (due before class on Saturday, February 25):
Begin creating two HTML pages that you would actually like to display on a small website you'll be creating later in the semester. The two pages must be:
- A file named
index.html, which will contain a link to your other page,aboutme.html. (This page will eventually be the main page of your website. In future assignments, it will briefly introduce your website and contain a list of links to all your other pages.) - A file named
aboutme.html, which will contain a link back toindex.html, and also a link to this website's main page,http://cs12.dnixon.nyclocal.net/. This file should have the title "About me" or "About ____" (replacing the blank with either your real name or a pseudonym) and should say a little about yourself, including what courses you are now taking.
To help you get started, you may begin by modifying the sample HTML file contained in the ZIP file HTML-demo.zip, similar to the file we worked on in last week's lab session. However, please note that the displayed text in the files you create this week must be very different from what is in the attached file. It should no longer contain demo code such as "This is a title" or "This is a paragraph" or "This is bold."
When you are finished, put both your HTML files into a ZIP file with the following filename:
last-first-website.zip
where "last" and "first" should be replaced by your own last and first name.
Submit the ZIP file in the appropriate area on Blackboard by no later than the beginning of class on Saturday, February 25, and make sure have access to the files in lab during our next class session on that day. Note that the very next HTML lesson will build on this assignment; hence the deadline is absolute.
- A file named
Continue work on your paper, as follows: (1) Email me, by no later than Wednesday, February 8, about the topic you have chosen. (2) By no later than noon on Wednesday, February 15, email me your list of sources. (2) Submit the first draft via Blackboard, by no later than the beginning of class on Saturday, February 25. It should have the following filename:
where "last" and "first" should be replaced by your own last name and and first name, respectively.
Your paper may be on any of the computer-related topics that are introduced in Jerry Waxman's lecture notes, other than Microsoft Office products such as Word, Excel, and Access. Your paper must use four sources, including at least one printed offline source (e.g. a physical book from the library) and at least two websites. Your first draft, which must be finished by the beginning of class on Saturday, February 25, must be at least three pages long and must include at least one quote from each of your four sources, and must have at least three sections with headings. We will then show you how to do citations, footnotes, bibliography, and table of contents, using Microsoft 2007/2010 features which make these chores very easy.
For full credit, the first draft must be submitted by the beginning of class on Saturday, February 25. It will also be accepted late up to the beginning of class on Saturday, March 4, but with one point (out of ten) off for lateness.
Make rows for at least five students. The names of your imaginary students, and the quiz scores, will be left to your imagination. Just don't copy them from another student. The quiz scores should range between 0 to 10, while the exam scores should range between 0 and 100.
Save your Excel spreadsheet with a filename having the following format:
where "last" and "first" should be replaced by your own last name and and first name, respectively.
Then format the "Grade Roster" title and "Contact" lines to make them look nice, merging adjacent cells as necessary to eliminate overlap. To the left of the scores, you must have columns for imaginary students' names, first a column for the last names, then a column for the first names. Make up a unique set of names (not used by other Computer Science 12 students). Above the scores, there must be a row for column headings for the scores. The column headings should be: Quiz 1, Quiz 2, Quiz 3, Quiz 4, Quiz 5, Exam 1, Exam 2, and Final Exam.
Then, in between the quiz scores and the exam scores, insert two columns for calculated results involving the quiz scores. The first of these should be a column for the average quiz score. The second of these should be a column which computes an average of quiz scores with the lowest grade dropped. (Hint: Use a formula involving the SUM, COUNT, and MIN functions, not the AVERAGE function.)
In order to do the tax computation, referring to the tax rate in some specific cell, you will need to use absolute addressing, so that your formula will still refer to the tax rate in the same cell when you drag the formula.
All columns should have clear headings. And, somewhere above the headings, there should be cells for the store's name, the date, and the customer's name and address. Use two or more merged cells for the store's name, the customer's name, and each line of the customer's address, so that these will display nicely, and use an appropriate heading format for the store's name. Put your own name and email address in appropriately merged cells at the bottom.
The invoice should have a filename with the following format:
where "last" and "first" should be replaced by your own last and first name.
Your invoice must be unique, containing a store name, product names, and prices different from those in files submitted by other students in Computer Science 12.
Submit BOTH of the above files in the appropriate area on Blackboard by no later than the beginning of class on Saturday, February 25, and make sure you also have access to the files during lab on that day. The two files must be sumitted separately in the same area on BlackBoard, not in a ZIP file. You must submit both at once, not separately.
We will use them again in future exercises both in lab and in homework. When a homework assignment is built upon in in the very next lab session, as is the case for this one, the deadline is absolute; it cannot be submitted late. In case Blackboard happens to be down during class, you should try to submit the files at least two hours earlier than the absolute deadline, and you must also have access to the files during class by some other means too, such as a flash drive or emailing them to yourself.
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Assignment 3 (due before class on Saturday, March 3, 2012)
- Paper:
last-first-paper.docx- Excel assignment:
- Continuing the grade roster assignment from last week:
last-first-roster.xlsx- Continuing the invoice assignment from last week:
last-first-invoice.xlsx- HTML assignment:
Begin creating three HTML pages that would actually be appropriate to display on a personal website. The three pages must be:
- A file named
index.html, which will briefly introduce your site and contain links to your other pages. - At least two other pages on any topics you like, within reason. (The topic does not need to be computer-related. The topics can be any hobby of yours, for example, as long as it stays within Queens College's computer use policies. Or your site could be about you. For exampple, one of the pages could be your resume (minus street address, to protect your privacy).The two or more pages other than your index page must each contain a link back to your index page.
In addition to the local links amongst your pages, at least one of your pages must also contain links to other websites.
When you are finished, put all your HTML files into a ZIP file with the following filename:
last-first-website.zip
where "last" and "first" should be replaced by your own last and first name.
Submit the ZIP file in the appropriate area on Blackboard, and have access to the files in lab during our next class session..
- A file named
If you have not finished the first draft of your paper, next week is the absolute, hard deadline for submitting the first draft. The paper must have a filename like the following:
replacing "last" and "first" with your actual last and first names.
The first draft of your paper must be at least three pages long (double spaced), and must be divided into at least three sections with section headings. It should also contain at least one quote from each of your four sources.
In class next week, we'll show you how to create an automatically-generated table of contents. (Note that the automatically generated table of contents, in order to recognize section headings, needs those headings to be styled using heading styles.)
Below the rows for the students, add rows for (1) the class average for each quiz, exam, or calculated result, (2) the class's lowest score for each quiz, exam, or calculated result, and the class's highest score for each quiz, exam, or calculated result.
Below the grade roster, create a column chart showing the lowest, average, and maximum scores for each quiz, exam, and calculated result. (The easiest way to do this will be to create a column chart for your entire roster, then right click on it and click "Select Data" to edit the chart, then delete unwanted parts. Also, before you create the chart, it is recommended that you temporarily remove any heading you have at the top of the column for students' names, so that the other column headings will be recognized as headings.) See this week's Excel tutorials for step-by-step instructions on creating charts.
As before, your Excel spreadsheet should have a filename having the following format:
where "last" and "first" should be replaced by your own last name and and first name, respectively.
Pretty it up. Among other things, it should now display a date.
As before, the invoice should have a filename with the following format:
where "last" and "first" should be replaced by your own last and first name.
Submit BOTH of the above files in the appropriate area on Blackboard, and have access to the files in lab next week. (The two files should be sumitted separately in the same area on BlackBoard, not in a ZIP file. You must submit both at once, not separately.) We will use them again in future exercises both in lab and in homework, including the very next lab session; hence the deadline is absolute.
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Assignment 4 (due before class on Saturday, March 10, 2012)
- Paper:
last-first-paper.docx- Excel assignment:
- Continuing the grade roster assignment from last week:
last-first-roster.xlsx- Continuing the invoice assignment from last week:
last-first-invoice.xlsx
Submit the second draft via Blackboard, by no later than the beginning of class on Saturday, March 10. The file must have a filename with the following format:
where "last" and "first" should be replaced by your own last name and and first name, respectively.
The second draft, like the first draft, should be at least three pages long. It must contain at least one quote from each of your four sources. The second draft must also be divided into at least three sections, with section headings.
The second draft must also use a heading style for each of the three section headings, and must also contain an automatically generated table of contents at the beginning, right after the paper's title and author. (Note that the automatically generated table of contents, in order to recognize section headings, needs those headings to be styled using heading styles.)
Add columns for the total score and "pass/fail." The total score will be based on the following formula: 40% final exam, plus 15% first in-class exam, plus 15% second in-class exam, plus 30% of ten times the quiz average with lowest score dropped. (The quiz score needs to be multiplied by ten to scale it up from a range of 0 to 10 to a range of 0 to 100, to be consistent with the exam scores.) The "pass/fail" column will say "pass" if the total score is at least 65, "fail" if the total score is less than 65.
Fix all errors mentioned in the feedback you got on Blackboard from your previous version.
As before, your Excel spreadsheet should have a filename having the following format:
Continuing the invoice example from last week, add a cell which computes discounts as follows: (1) No discount for the first $100. (2) For subtotals above $100, five percent of the amount that the subtotal exceeds $100. For subtotals above $500, an additional five percent of the amount that the subtotal exceeds $500.
There should be separate cells for (1) the original subtotal, (2) the discount, (3) the subtotal with discount subtracted, and (4) the total with sales tax added.
As before, the invoice should have a filename with the following format:
where "last" and "first" should be replaced by your own last and first name.
Your invoice must be unique, containing a store name, product names, and prices different from those in files submitted by other students in Computer Science 12.
Submit BOTH of the above files in the appropriate area on Blackboard, and have access to the files in lab next week. (The two files should be sumitted separately in the same area on BlackBoard, not in a ZIP file. You must submit both at once, not separately.) We will use them again in future exercises both in lab and in homework.
Your Excel files must be submitted by no later than the beginning of class next week. Because we will be using them in class next week, the deadline is final and absolute; no late submissions will be accepted.