Your score is not recorded or reported to the professor in any way. It will not affect your course grade at all. This is simply for practice.

Need some study suggestions?

1. Check out the review questions at the end of each chapter in your textbook.

2. Read and take the time to understand the chapters in the textbook. This is a secret I personally didn't discover until I was in graduate school.

3. Take the practice exam once (after you have studied). Your score on the practice exam is a good gauge of what your score will be on the real lecture exam. This is one of the best suggestions.

4. Keep up with the material. Everyone's tendency is to put off studying until a day or two before an exam. Unfortunately, this is the main reason that so many people get bad grades - it's not because the subject matter is difficult. It's because you cannot assimilate so much material overnight.

5. Try to visualize concepts in your head. Geology is a three dimensional subject, so it helps to have a picture 'stored' in your mind.

6. Read pertinent chapters in your textbook before the lecture. This is another big secret that hardly anyone takes advantage of.