IST-110 Section 4 Midterm Exam Study Guide

The Exam Itself

• 60 Multiple-choice questions
• Lab on Sep 28 will be a review for the exam.
• Covers material up to and including Chapter 6 in textbook and lectures up to and including September 28.

• Exam in class, Thursday October 5

The Questions are From

• Questions submitted by students to the Listserv Conference.
• The lectures.
• The assigned textbook chapters (Computer Concepts 4'th ed. comprehensive).

Where to Focus Your Study

• Lectures - go through the online notes and make sure you understand what is there.
• Listserv conference - make sure you understand the answers to all questions posted there.
• Assigned readings - Reread all of them. Especially know the answers to the subsection review questions.

• Jargon - make sure you understand the meaning of terms and acronyms.
• Lists - know the items and how the lists are used.
• Concepts - be sure you understand them and are prepared to give examples to illustrate your understanding.

'Ol Doc Gerrys Homespun Test-Takin Advice

• start studying as far in advance as possible and spread it out over as many days as you have -- this improves retention
  Cognitive psychology research indicates that repetitive study creates stronger bonds among brain cells -- thus improving learning

• avoid places with distractions as you study -- interferes with memory
  It may help to ritualize study

• don't pull an 'all-nighter' -- you could become 'spacy'
  Sleep refreshes brain chemicals required for memory and mental processing!

• get a good dinner the night before and a good breakfast the day of the test --
  You don't need sugar peaks/valleys!

• wake up with light exercize instead of caffine -- improves recall and attention (Dandilion tea is especially good for alertness. Rosemary is also good for alertness.)
  It can't hurt, but caffine can interfere with focus.

• relax (breathe)
  Tension, stress, fear will all distract you -- this is also what we teach students in Aikido.

• and above all don't panic
  It won't help and it could hurt.

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This page is maintained and made available for educational use by Dr. Gerry Santoro, gms@psu.edu