Why Should I Do My Homework on CAPA?

Well, first off, I should say that use of CAPA to answer the problems is completely optional. (You do have to print out the problem set each week for yourself, though; see my instructions for how to do that.) So, if you really want to, you can write up the answers and give them to me before the 9am Thursday deadline, and I'll grade them and get them back to you.

However, there are a bunch of reasons why you really should use CAPA:

Partial Credit: Contrary to what some students apparently think, I can't give partial credit on these homework problems. Whether I grade it or CAPA does, a given answer is right or wrong. Besides, most of the questions are worth 1 point anyway...
Instant Feedback: This is the big one. When I was an undergrad taking essentially this course, I worked on the homework for a week, turned it in, then got it back with a grade. If I got a problem wrong, well then I tried to figure out why, but there was no way to get credit for that problem. No second chance. But CAPA gives you not two, but 20 chances to submit an answer and see if it's right! You get instant feedback, so you know immediately if you don't have the right answer. And twenty chances should be more than enough, unless you're just putting in random answers, in which case you'd probably better step back and think about trying to figure out what's going on in the problem, and get in touch with Prof. Rajeev or your TA.
Make Progress: With CAPA, you can work on the homework anytime during the week, and totally write off the ones you've solved so far -- those answers, once submitted, are in the system and you can't lose credit for those questions. So if you're down to the wire struggling with one last tough question and you miss the deadline, it doesn't impact all the ones that you've already gotten right and turned in! (Or if you oversleep on Thursday, or whatever...)
Make Your TA Happy: This one isn't really your problem, or even something you should worry about as I'll be fair in grading whatever homework gets turned in to me, but the most students use CAPA, the less I have to grade. And I am human, so I'll admit that that idea makes me happy. :-)

Now, using CAPA won't revolutionize your love life (unless you're significantly more of a nerd than I am) or make you a physicist overnight, but there are some good reasons to do it. And if you have any problems with the system, do let me or one of the other TAs know!