HOW TO USE THE EXPERT TA

Registration and Logging In

Go to https://www.theexpertta.com/registration to register for the first time. Enter the class code
provided in your syllabus. Confirm the class info that appears is correct, then enter your
harding.edu email address. This will also be your user name. Do not use a personal email.
Choose a password of at least 7 characters. It will then ask for your first name, last name, and
student ID number. This is your H number. For example, H01234567.
That should complete registration, and you will see your assignments on the Class Management
screen. If it asks you to pay, then there is a problem. Do not proceed. The fee will be paid
automatically by the department, so it should not present you with payment options.
For future login, bookmark https://www.theexpertta.com/Login.aspx where you will enter your
user name (Harding email address) and password.
The first assignment you should complete ASAP is called Using Expert TA. Please consider
this non-optional, even though it is for bonus credit. Expert TA is different from many other
online homework systems, so this tutorial is important. As you go through it, do not worry about
losing credit. That is only to demonstrate how grading works in Expert TA. If you complete the
assignment, you will get the full (small) amount of bonus credit.
There will be an assignment for almost every class period. They will normally be due at the
beginning of class, two periods after we cover the material. So the homework over whatever we
cover on a Monday will be due on Friday morning, etc. It is your responsibility to keep up.
Assignment Format and Rules
The total number of problems can vary, but here is how a normal assignment will work. You will
have five submissions available on each question part (except multiple choice and T/F). Entering
a wrong answer will reduce your score on that part by 5%. If you answer incorrectly five times
(or give up), your score on that part will be 0%. So take each submission seriously.
You also lose 5% each time you access a new hint. That is to make you think about it for
yourself first. Remember, though, it is better to lose some credit for requesting hints than to lose
it all for never answering correctly. When you answer incorrectly, feedback may be available.
This is normally specific to your input. There is no deduction for viewing the feedback.
Each assignment has a due date as well as an end date. The due date is the deadline for
completing the homework and getting the maximum possible credit. The end date will normally
be one class period later. You can still work on any problem until the end date, but any credit
earned will be reduced by 50%. Problems completed before the due date still get full credit.
The required problems should be considered a minimum for understanding the material. Most
students will need to work more than this to be prepared for an exam. To that end, I will try to
provide a set of practice problems over each chapter. On these, you will have more submissions
and no deductions (but also no credit). Bonus problems could be assigned at my discretion.

Entering Responses
Significant Figures and Rounding. Expert TA is typically not checking for a certain number of
significant figures. The only time you should think about that is if they explicitly say to.
Otherwise, follow the instructions below, regardless of how many significant figures are used in
the problem description.
You may have to do several operations in a problem to arrive at the final answer. Each time you
round, your final answer gets further from the correct answer. Expert TA counts your answer
correct if it is within 2% of the exact answer. So to be sure you fall in this range, you should not
round at any intermediate steps. Keep the exact numbers in your calculator (or write them down)
and use them. When you do reach the end, always submit at least three significant figures in your
final answer. Expert TA will accept two, but I prefer three.
Symbolic Answers and Scientific Notation. When entering a symbolic answer (using letters; a
mathematical expression), pay attention to order of operations. If the answer is 1/(a*b), then
1/a*b will not be accepted. By order of operations, the second one is actually the same as b/a.
Use parentheses where necessary, or express the formula differently.
You will often need to enter a numerical response in scientific notation. With the tools in Expert
TA, you can simply write out 6.02*1023. If there is a negative sign, just insert it where it goes.
For example: -6.02*10-23.
Previous Responses and Question Parts. Expert TA will not let you enter the same wrong answer
twice. Information regarding your previous submissions is to the right of the problem. Also, you
do not have to work the problems, or even the problem parts, in order. Expert TA will guide you
from one part to the next by default, but you can go to any problem and part by clicking on it.
Questions
If you have a question about a problem, or you think you should be given some credit for an
answer, please send me an email with the specific details. I will try to respond promptly, though
some questions are better asked during office hours. Do the same if you need to request a
homework extension for full credit due to an excused absence.