# Assessment Instructions: Problem Set 03 — Flare Energetics and CME/Flare Timescales

## Inputs to Inspect
Student submission, this problem set, the solution key, the corresponding lecture slides/notes, and the referenced dataset(s) under `materials/ASTR370/data/`.

## Grading Standard
Award credit for correct method and units first, then for the specific numeric result. A student who shows correct reasoning with a small arithmetic slip should receive most of the available credit; a student with a correct-looking number but no visible derivation steps should not. Because this is a 300-level quantitative solar physics and space weather course, full marks require a genuine derivation wherever the problem set asks for one, and a genuinely reasoned (not merely asserted) interpretation wherever the problem asks for scientific judgment (e.g., honestly characterizing an order-of-magnitude estimate's uncertainty, or a historical reconstruction's disclosed range).

## Problem-Level Criteria
- Problem 1: verify the B^2 scaling factor is derived algebraically, not just asserted.
- Problem 2: verify both GOES-class flux values are correctly converted from the class notation.
- Problem 3: verify both ratios are computed and correctly compared in direction.
- Problem 4: verify the effective-speed comparison correctly concludes net deceleration, not acceleration.

## Resubmission Policy
Students may resubmit within one week of receiving feedback. A resubmission must show a corrected derivation, not only a corrected final number, and should reference the specific feedback comment it addresses. Regrade to a maximum of 90% of the original point value unless the error was a grading mistake.

## Common Errors to Flag
- Forgetting to square the field-strength ratio when computing the free-energy scaling factor.
- Misreading GOES class notation (e.g., treating X1.8 as 1.8e-5 rather than 1.8e-4 W/m^2).
- Concluding the CME accelerated rather than decelerated during transit from the effective-speed comparison.