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But indeed there was this kid from the 2004 Jumbo class. He got all the 35 out of 30 and there was tremendous clapping when I read out his name. He topped in the endsem too. At the end of the semester, he approached me and said he would love to change over from ECE to Physics! And, as usual, I dissuaded him...and left KGP soon after in 2005.
I came to know recently that he did cross over to physics after his B. Tech, in spite of me. And he is now in the Physics Department of the University of Wisconsin-Madison:
His name is Sourabh Maiti...
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Somehow I never liked 'multiple choice' questions like the above in which more than one answer is correct. The reason is not that physics is an exact science...rather that it is an approximate science. Since all the things we 'ignore' can't be specified in a question, the 'right' answer often boils down to semantics.
Take this simple problem of projectiles: A cricket ball is bowled at such and such a speed at such and such a height at such and such an angle and you have to find where it hits the ground. The right answer in the 'model sheet' is, say, 20 yards. In truth it can be anywhere between 10 and 20 if you take the air friction, wind speed, spin of the earth, size of the ball, seam, swing...etc etc.
I was admitted to our High School in the lowest form, the 1st, in 1951. Our Board didn't recognize the marks awarded by our local elementary schools and so all of us, young and old, had to appear in an Entrance Exam and pass it. The question paper only had some questions in Telugu and a few on arithmetic (only addition and subtraction).
I passed, somehow.
Two years later, Father (the HM) suggested to our math teacher to give some choice in his question paper at the entry level. And there was this Sivaram, the youngest son of our Telugu Pundit. Father showed me his answer script with bouts and bursts of laughter, saying he didn't know how to pass this kid...which he should...otherwise the Telugu Pundit would fail me in my next exam.
There was this question: "Answer any problem you like" with four choices. And all the choices had wicked subtractions involving 'borrow and carry' or whatever. So this whizkid gave this answer: (9999-8888=1111). Which was perfectly right but was not one of the choices given. I then carefully read the question paper, which was perhaps set in a hurry, and pointed out that the paper-setter forgot to mention: "among the following" after "any problem you like". Father heaved a sigh of relief and gave the kid full marks and he was in.
It was only in our 5th form that a newfangled thing called the 'bit paper' was invented in our science exam. This had a pull-out sheet of 40 marks that had 20 objective questions, each with only one correct answer to be checked among the 4: "A, B, C, or D". And our teachers loved it. Because, they could outsource the lousy job of evaluating the bit papers to their wives, aunts, and widowed mom-in-laws...it needed no knowledge of science.
A couple of years later, they introduced what was called 'negative marking'...+2 for the right answer and -1 for the wrong; and the household ladies refused to do the job of evaluating the screwed up bit paper...it got too complicated for them.
We had no objective questions at our University. They were all essay questions. But there was ample choice: "Answer any 5 out of the following 8 questions. All questions carry equal marks". This was great for us. We could skip reading Geometrical Optics in the Optics paper, Sound in "Mechanics, Heat and Sound" and the treacherous Inorganic Chemistry in Chemistry.
When I went as a teacher of Physics to IIT KGP, I followed our University system of asking students to answer any 5 out of 8. Several teachers did the same but a few inserted the caveat: "Answers to a question should all be at the same place. And questions should be attempted serially" (inter alia).
The problem was that some students would attempt more than 5 questions and at random places...half here, one-fourth on page 6 etc. And the teacher would have to collect all of the bits and pieces and decide which answer had to be discarded...some said, the last question attempted, while others said the one with the lowest mark...it was hell all in all.
And then there was this instance when I was the Chief Invigilator in a big hall. And one of the question papers (not mine) was on an elective in physics. And it was a 3-hour exam. But all the dozen or so students submitted their answer scripts a minute after the mandatory half-hour and ran away...they said the paper was too easy. The invigilators from other departments were laughing at physics about it.
So, to avoid all these troubles, I invented my own gimmick. Suppose the paper was out of 100 for 3 hours. I would give a dozen questions showing marks against each question. If you add up all the marks, it would come to 150 say. And the instruction to the student ran:
"Answer as many questions as you can, in any order you like. The cut-off mark is 100"
So if anyone got say 130, his extra 30 would just be discarded in the bin. And since the students at IIT KGP were greedy, they would attempt all questions which would pin them down for all of 3 hours.
But in the First Year Jumbo class I gave them an incentive in the midsem exam. The paper was out of 35. And the cut-off was at 30. I announced beforehand that I would read out in the vast class room the names of the few students who get more than 30. The extra marks wouldn't get added up anywhere, but the reading out of the names of the 'geniuses' was fun and they looked forward to it.
Once I did this bit of horsing around, best described by one of the toppers in ECE of the 2002 class:
Take this simple problem of projectiles: A cricket ball is bowled at such and such a speed at such and such a height at such and such an angle and you have to find where it hits the ground. The right answer in the 'model sheet' is, say, 20 yards. In truth it can be anywhere between 10 and 20 if you take the air friction, wind speed, spin of the earth, size of the ball, seam, swing...etc etc.
I was admitted to our High School in the lowest form, the 1st, in 1951. Our Board didn't recognize the marks awarded by our local elementary schools and so all of us, young and old, had to appear in an Entrance Exam and pass it. The question paper only had some questions in Telugu and a few on arithmetic (only addition and subtraction).
I passed, somehow.
Two years later, Father (the HM) suggested to our math teacher to give some choice in his question paper at the entry level. And there was this Sivaram, the youngest son of our Telugu Pundit. Father showed me his answer script with bouts and bursts of laughter, saying he didn't know how to pass this kid...which he should...otherwise the Telugu Pundit would fail me in my next exam.
There was this question: "Answer any problem you like" with four choices. And all the choices had wicked subtractions involving 'borrow and carry' or whatever. So this whizkid gave this answer: (9999-8888=1111). Which was perfectly right but was not one of the choices given. I then carefully read the question paper, which was perhaps set in a hurry, and pointed out that the paper-setter forgot to mention: "among the following" after "any problem you like". Father heaved a sigh of relief and gave the kid full marks and he was in.
It was only in our 5th form that a newfangled thing called the 'bit paper' was invented in our science exam. This had a pull-out sheet of 40 marks that had 20 objective questions, each with only one correct answer to be checked among the 4: "A, B, C, or D". And our teachers loved it. Because, they could outsource the lousy job of evaluating the bit papers to their wives, aunts, and widowed mom-in-laws...it needed no knowledge of science.
A couple of years later, they introduced what was called 'negative marking'...+2 for the right answer and -1 for the wrong; and the household ladies refused to do the job of evaluating the screwed up bit paper...it got too complicated for them.
We had no objective questions at our University. They were all essay questions. But there was ample choice: "Answer any 5 out of the following 8 questions. All questions carry equal marks". This was great for us. We could skip reading Geometrical Optics in the Optics paper, Sound in "Mechanics, Heat and Sound" and the treacherous Inorganic Chemistry in Chemistry.
When I went as a teacher of Physics to IIT KGP, I followed our University system of asking students to answer any 5 out of 8. Several teachers did the same but a few inserted the caveat: "Answers to a question should all be at the same place. And questions should be attempted serially" (inter alia).
The problem was that some students would attempt more than 5 questions and at random places...half here, one-fourth on page 6 etc. And the teacher would have to collect all of the bits and pieces and decide which answer had to be discarded...some said, the last question attempted, while others said the one with the lowest mark...it was hell all in all.
And then there was this instance when I was the Chief Invigilator in a big hall. And one of the question papers (not mine) was on an elective in physics. And it was a 3-hour exam. But all the dozen or so students submitted their answer scripts a minute after the mandatory half-hour and ran away...they said the paper was too easy. The invigilators from other departments were laughing at physics about it.
So, to avoid all these troubles, I invented my own gimmick. Suppose the paper was out of 100 for 3 hours. I would give a dozen questions showing marks against each question. If you add up all the marks, it would come to 150 say. And the instruction to the student ran:
"Answer as many questions as you can, in any order you like. The cut-off mark is 100"
So if anyone got say 130, his extra 30 would just be discarded in the bin. And since the students at IIT KGP were greedy, they would attempt all questions which would pin them down for all of 3 hours.
But in the First Year Jumbo class I gave them an incentive in the midsem exam. The paper was out of 35. And the cut-off was at 30. I announced beforehand that I would read out in the vast class room the names of the few students who get more than 30. The extra marks wouldn't get added up anywhere, but the reading out of the names of the 'geniuses' was fun and they looked forward to it.
Once I did this bit of horsing around, best described by one of the toppers in ECE of the 2002 class:
"...Once
in class, when someone asked you about grades,
you had said something to the effect that "those scoring over 25 will
qualify for an Ex, and if you score over 30, then I will recommend to
the dean that your branch be changed to Physics". In the pin drop
silence that suddenly enveloped the class, you laughed and said "Don't
worry. I know Physics is for people who don't score top marks in their
exams", or something to that effect. There was palpable relief in the
room, along with loud laughter.."
...Aniket Aga
But indeed there was this kid from the 2004 Jumbo class. He got all the 35 out of 30 and there was tremendous clapping when I read out his name. He topped in the endsem too. At the end of the semester, he approached me and said he would love to change over from ECE to Physics! And, as usual, I dissuaded him...and left KGP soon after in 2005.
I came to know recently that he did cross over to physics after his B. Tech, in spite of me. And he is now in the Physics Department of the University of Wisconsin-Madison:
His name is Sourabh Maiti...
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