New: Final Exam Study Guide

Solutions to RWJ Chapter 8 problems

Midterm Exam Study Guide

Solutions to RWJ Time Value of Money problems;

Exam study materials

• Sample midterm
• Sample midterm with answers
• Sample final
• Sample final with answers
• Silber samples (midterm and final) with answers

Answer key for problem set 4 M

Answer key for problem set 3 M

Answer key for Problem set 2 M

Answer key for Problem set 1 M

The class will be meeting in room 4-120 for the rest of the term.

Problem set 2 M is available. The due date is Monday, October 27 (in class).

Problem set 1 M is available. The due date is Monday, October 20 (in class).

Answer key for problem set 4 W

Answer key for problem set 3 W

Answer key for Problem set 2 W

Answer key for Problem set 1 W

Problem set 2 W is available. The due date is Wednesday, October 22 (in class).

Problem set 1 W is available. The due date is Wednesday, October 15 (in class).

All of the default policies for Stern courses apply to this course. Exceptions: As long as they are quiet and non-distracting, laptops and similar devices may be used for purposes of note-taking. Laptops and similiar devices (with the exception of financial caculators) may not be used for in-class exams.

Problem sets (1M-4M for the Monday section; 1W-4W for the Wednesday section). The problem solutions are due at the start of class on the day indicated below (when we'll discuss the answers). The answers must be (legibly) hand-written. The original must be turned in, but:

• You should make a copy so that you can compare your work with the class solution.
• If you're not coming to class that evening, I'll accept a scanned pdf copy that is turned in on time, with the understanding that you'll turn in the original in the next class.

Exams. There will be an in-class midterm and a final exam. The format is multiple choice. The exams are closed book, but you can (and should) bring a sheet of notes and a calculator. See details below.

There will be midterm (in-class) and final exams, covering material from the class sessions and the reading assignments. The format is multiple choice.

The exams are closed-book, but you can bring in one 8 ½" x 11" page of notes (covered both sides in the smallest typeface you can read). You can also (in fact, you should) bring in a financial calculator. As long as it is truly a financial calculator. See the calculator links below. Nothing that has a full QWERTY keyboard is acceptable for the quizzes. If you intend to use anything other than an HP-10b, 10bII, 17b, 12c, or a TI Business Analyst, please clear it with me at least one business day prior to the quiz.

Your final grade in the course will be 35% Midterm, 50% Final and 15% problem sets. (I'll compute a numerical weighted average and then convert this to a letter grade.)

On the midterm and final, I'll compute a curved score that will approximately adjust for any differences in difficulty between the two. It is the curved scores that will go into the final average.

When I hand back the midterms, I'll also provide a corresponding letter grade (like "A grade of 88 is roughly a B+".) The correspondence is approximate: it is the numerical grade that goes into the final average - not the letter grade.

Final letter grades will be determined in accordance with the Official Finance Department grading standards: Grade Distributions for core graduate finance course (B01.2311): A 10%; A- 10 to 15%; B+ 10%; B and B- 50 to 60%; C+, C, C-, D and F 10 to 15%; IP and IF No more than 5%

The shrink-wrapped package in the bookstore consists of:

• Bodie, Kane and Marcus (BKM), Investments, 8th edition. (Note: Some sections of this course use "Essentials of Investments". We are using "Investments".)
• Problem solutions to BKM.
• Chapters 4, 5, and 8 from Ross, Westerfield and Jordan (RWJ), Essentials of Corporate Finance, 6th edition. Also see the books link.

A financial calculator is necessary to do the problems and quizzes. In addition to the usual arithmetic operations, a financial calculator can compute exponentials, log functions, and present and future values of simple sums and annuities. An ability to compute internal rates of return is sometimes useful, but is not required. The calculator most suitable for the course is the Hewlett-Packard 10B. When I go through a calculation key-by-key, I'll be using HP-10B keystrokes. Also see Calculator links.

Calculator manuals are generally complete but overly-detailed for many purposes. Here are some links to summary material:

• Using a financial calculator (Prof. Pamela Peterson Drake, James Madison University)
• Using your calculator for financial decisions (Dr. Michael Kinsman, Pepperdine University)

In my teaching career, I've encountered a handful of incidents involving students sharing information during in-class exams or changing answers on exam papers that have already been graded.

With respect to cheating, the standards of the faculty and your fellow students are very clear. If evidence of cheating comes to my attention by any means, I will prosecute to the extent permitted under faculty guidelines.

Streaming videos are generally available about 24hrs after the class. These videos are made available on a "best efforts" basis. There are no guarantees that the videos will be available or usable. In particular, there are sometimes "pile-ups" around exams, when more people want to use the video server than can be accomodated.

Note: I set up the video links at the beginning of the semester, but the links will not actually be active until the video is posted (usually a couple of hours after the end of class).

"I'm registered for the Monday section, but I have a business trip. Can I attend the Wednesday section instead?" The two sections will be mostly in-sync (see the calendars below), but differences might arise over time. In general substitution is okay, subject to the following restrictions.

• You are formally responsible for the work, exams, problem sets, assignments, etc. in the section for which you are formally registered.
• Seating preference is given to students who are formally registered for the section.
• The substitution policy does not apply to the midterm and final exams - except by prior arrangement. (If everyone wanted to take the exam "later," there would not be enough seats.)
• You don't need to notify me ahead of time -- except if it's an exam substitution.
• If someone from the Monday section takes a Wednesday exam, the score is curved against all people taking the Wednesday exam.