What questions about the course do you have that are not answered by the web site?

I friend of mine has taken CS 151 and 161 and was given a program on his laptop so that he can remotely access the CS workstations to complete his work outside of Noyce. Will we also be able to do this, or will all of our work take place in the science building?

While you are encouraged to work in the lab (with others!) for many reasons, there are instructions on how to access MediaScheme via the Internet or a native Mac version here.

There is a lot about "groups" in the syllabus--will there be other groups aside from the lab partners, and will they change often, how will they be chosen, etc?

In-class lab partners are assigned (randomly) and rotate no less than every three or four class days. I strive to eliminate repeated partners, but sometimes I miss some. Groups for homeworks are up to you.

Will we be able to work alone during lab hours, or is it required to work with someone?

I will assign lab partners for in-class exercises.

If we have never taken a computer science class is this course ok to take?

Yes! Absolutely.

How is Scheme popular and related to other computer language?

Scheme was derived from the language LISP, which was designed by John McCarthy as a natural platform for solving artificial intelligence problems. While it's main purpose is in pedagogy, it is growing in popularity in industry. I know of one FDA-regulated medical device manufacturer that uses functional programming in Scheme to run robotically controlled grids of biological assays.

I am still a little confused about how to get above a 90% on a project or in participation, but that is probably because I have no idea how this all works yet (I don't understand the difference between an answer that "meets requirements" vs. "exceeding and displaying creativity".

For example, if you've written a program that satisfies the goals of the assignment, you'll receive a check. If you do something particularly clever or interesting, or you go above and beyond the requirements of the assignment, you are likely to receive a PLUS.