Exercise Classes and Bonus Points Overview
Exercise Classes and Theory Exercises
Every Monday (starting from 22.09.2025) we will publish a new theory exercise sheet on the webpage, and you have one week to solve the exercises. All sheets are written in English, but you can hand in your solutions in either English or German.
The first exercise class takes place on Monday, 22.09.2025. It is important to attend since your teaching assistant (TA) will assign you to working groups of 2–3 people. Within these groups, you will solve exercises together and submit one group solution via Moodle until Sunday, 23:59 of the same week. For example, if sheet 1 is published on 22.09.2025, solutions must be submitted by 28.09.2025 at 23:59. Working groups are reassigned every 3 weeks.
Peer Grading
During the last hour of each exercise class you will peer grade the solutions of your fellow students. The TA distributes the solutions, and each group reviews the work of another group. You should comment on incorrect or incomplete parts, providing clear explanations. Peer grading must be submitted on Moodle the same day.
The purpose of peer grading is twofold: to give you more feedback from peers in addition to the TA, and to help you learn what makes a solution clear and well-written.
Submissions on Moodle
To submit your solutions or peer grading, upload them in the corresponding Moodle section. Only one student per group needs to submit. If you encounter problems with Moodle submissions, please contact ad-organisation@inf.ethz.ch.
Moodle Quizzes
Starting from week 3, short quizzes on Moodle will take place at the beginning of the exercise class. These quizzes prepare you for the exam and follow a similar style. You can earn 1 bonus point per week by completing them. All lecture material is relevant, with a focus on the last 2 weeks.
Quizzes are only available between 09:15 – 09:30. Be on time: if you arrive at 09:27, you will only have 3 minutes. If you cannot attend in person, you can also join via the Zoom link provided above.
Programming Exercises
There will be programming exercises in Java. If needed, an optional introduction to Java programming is available online (not part of the course). The online judging system is Code Expert. Warm-up exercises will be provided to test the environment, but they do not give bonus points. More details and access will be provided a few weeks after the semester starts.
Each programming exercise sheet must be submitted within two weeks. The first sheet will be published a few weeks into the semester, and then every two weeks thereafter.
Specific programming exercise-related questions must be submitted through the Code Expert messaging system. This will also be the only way to ask questions during the programming exam.
Bonus Points
During the semester, you can earn bonus points for:
- Solving the designated parts of the theoretical exercise sheets (in working groups); 3 points per exercise sheet
- Peer grading the specified part of the theory sheets (in working groups); 1 point per exercise sheet
- Solving the multiple choice quizzes in the beginning of the exercise class (individually); 1 point per week
- Solving the programming problems (individually); 6 points per exercise sheet
At the end of the term, the bonus points are translated into a bonus grade between 0 and 0.25. The final grade is the sum of the exam grade and the bonus grade (rounded and capped at 6.0). You already receive the maximal bonus grade (0.25) for achieving 80% of the bonus points. This compensates for possible absences (e.g. illness or military service).
The formula is: min(0.25, 0.25 * n_points / (0.8 * max_points)), where n_points is your number of bonus points, and max_points is the maximal possible bonus points.
Participation in the bonus system is voluntary. It is possible to get a 6.0 without participating.
Solutions must be submitted by Sunday, 23:59 and peer graded solutions by Monday, 23:59. The exact submission deadlines are visible in the Moodle upload sections.