Since 2019, almost fifty Kenyon senior physics majors have been required to take and pass a set of "gateway" quizzes on Newtonian Mechanics, Electromagnetism, Quantum, and Nuclear Physics, and Experimental and Computational Physics. Each gateway consists of about eight questions drawn randomly from a large bank of possible questions. Seniors must take each gateway quiz until they pass it. Almost no students pass all four on the first try, but so far everyone has passed eventually.
When we assembled the gateway problems, we originally proposed several that were later judged to be "too evil" for the test. In this talk, we will share some of our favorites and also answer a few other questions. How are the gateways built? What is the idea behind them? What makes a question truly "evil"? Come and find out!
Join us on Friday, Sept. 2, from 12 - 1 p.m. in Hayes 211/213 to hear this exciting presentation on what awaits our seniors. Lunch will be available in Hayes 201 from 11:45 to 12:15. We hope to see you there!