However, MIDTERM AND FINAL EXAM PROBLEMS WILL OFTEN BE MORE DIFFICULT THAN QUIZ PROBLEMS! Most exam problems will be similar to homework, but on most exams I try to put at least one problem that you won't have seen a clone of before. Such problems will involve no new concepts, but may, for example, combine concepts from different parts of the syllabus. I do this to see whether you've gone beyond memorizing a bunch of formulas and rules, and have achieved a real understanding of the material---which you'll need for an A.
Grades: Your grade will be determined only by your own performance, not by your classmates'; I don't have a predetermined grade curve.
Quizzes will usually be graded according to: 90% =A, 80% =B, 70% =C, 60% =D. For the hour exams and final exam I don't have fixed percentages ahead of time, but decide the grade scale for each exam according to the philosophy A = excellent, B = good, C = satisfactory, D = unsatisfactory but passing. At the end of the semester, I use the cutoffs from the exams and the quizzes to determine the final grade cutoffs on a 1000-point scale. For example if the cutoff for a B is 80% on the quizzes, 72% on the first hour exam, 69% on the second hour exam, 76% on the third hour exam, and 74% on the final, to get a B for the course you'd need (.16 x 80% ) + .17 x (72%+69%+76%) + (.33 x 74%) = 74.1% of the total number of points in the course, i.e. 741/1000. Since I don't determine the exam-grade cutoffs ahead of time, I can't tell you in advance exactly how many points you'll need to get a particular grade for the course. But for purposes of comparison, last semester's cutoffs for the final grade in my section of this course were: A 853, B 739, C 584, D 469. Generally my cutoffs haven't varied by more than 30 points (out of 1000) from one semester to the next, but understand that this is not a promise.