<p>Is there a sample calc placement test for us to look over? Can someone at least list the topics that are tested?
Thanks.</p>
<p>Studying for a placement test would completely defeat the purpose of a placement test.
It’s to see what you know with no preparation.</p>
<p>@ KMad: I do understand what swen is getting at though, wanting to know what topics will be covered. The last time I took a real math class was in my sophomore year (Calc BC), and I hardly remember anything at all. I think I can remember a few derivatives, but nothing else (and I got a 5 on the exam, too). And frankly, if I’m going to have to take a placement test, I’d like to brush up on a few of the topics because I know I’m going to be hideously bored if I have to sit in on another math class that covers the same material that I covered in 10th grade.</p>
<p>. . . Er, hopefully that post was somewhat coherent. The point being: I want to place as highly as I can so that at the very least I’ll be learning some new material and not just relearning stuff that comes back quickly to me.</p>
<p>Unless math is essential to your major, when you get a set of problems that takes 2 top math stufents 8 hours to do, boring will be far from your mind and you might wish you had that time to do something else.</p>
<p>Try this thread. I think it answers your question, and it should allay your fears about being bored with repetitive material, too: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-chicago/409363-calculus-placement-exam.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-chicago/409363-calculus-placement-exam.html</a></p>
<p>By the way, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with refreshing your memory of calculus concepts and proofs before taking the placement exam. But everything I hear tells me </p>
<p>(1) The Math Department at Chicago has dealt with many, many students over the years, and it is pretty good at figuring out an appropriate placement for a student (which is not carved in stone on the first day of class, either).</p>
<p>(2) You probably do NOT want to insist on taking a higher level class than they think you are ready for. </p>
<p>(3) However, if you know any calculus at all, and even if you don’t but are fairly facile with math, if you want they will be happy to let you take 160s Honors Calculus, a course that many students who did well in AP Calculus in high school find pretty challenging, especialy if they take the inquiry-based section. If you are ready for a higher level course, I suspect the placement test will show that, and it won’t screw you up that you have forgotten some formula that you could brush up on in five minutes.</p>
<p>can one take both the calculus test and the non-calc test?</p>
<p>No, they happen at the same time, and it would be unnecessary. Basically, if you take the calc placement test, there’s really no way you’ll place any lower than the most basic level of calculus. The non-calc placement tests exists to see which students are ready for introductory calculus or statistics, and which students need to re-take precalculus (which doesn’t count for credit, and you have to take before you are allowed to take any other class that might satisfy the core math requirement). If you’ve ever seen calculus at all, even if you remember 0 things relating to calculus, take the calc placement test.</p>
<p>Probably not. If you learned calculus, take the calculus exam. Otherwise, don’t.</p>
<p>JHS said:
<a href=“2”>quote</a> You probably do NOT want to insist on taking a higher level class than they think you are ready for.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>On the other hand, if you think you have the ability to handle a higher level math course based on the background you bring from HS, go talk to the prof or your advisor. S1 scored at one level on the calc placement exam, but knew that other aspects of his background would enable him to do well at a different level. He talked to the math department advisors, who encouraged him to sit in on a couple of different sections and levels, and he wound up with a very good fit. (Caveat: he is a math major. If you are just trying to get Math Core out of the way, you may want to contemplate a bit more sanity.)</p>
<p>S1 advises that if you take Honors Calc (160s), having some Linear Algebra background is very helpful (Chicago does not teach lin alg separately, so if you haven’t had it previously, this is where you learn it, along with calc.) The 160s are a fairly fast-paced sequence, and if you haven’t had Lin Alg, it can get intense. S wound up helping a number of folks with both lin alg and the inquiry-based style since he had exposure to both in HS.</p>
<p>The math and calc placement exams are given on the day after you move into the dorms. There won’t be time to study – you’ll be up half the night talking to your new housemates. The powers that be are at least thoughtful enough to wait til a decent hour on Sunday afternoon to administer the exams.</p>
<p>Yeah the placement exam is not perfect. I was a few points away from being placed into the regular analysis sequence (Diane Hermann said Honors Analysis but I think she misspoke) and I had a strong computational background in Calc BC and a very rudimentary understanding of how do epsilon delta proofs. IIRC, the proof section usually asks you to define the integral, the derivative, and the limit. I also had a very easy epsilon delta proof, a few computations involving series, and an easy construction of some function with certain properties. There was a question about sequences that I did not do and the final problem asked about the axioms that are needed to prove that the product of two negative numbers is positive (something usually found in the first chapter of a typical undergraduate analysis book). </p>
<p>If you are very strong computationally and have learned a few basic definitions, it may be possible for you to place out of calculus altogether. You should talk to Diane Hermann if this is the case. </p>
<p>Countingdown, are you referring to 160’s IBL? The regular 160’s class teaches you some linear algebra but you may or may not need to have any background in the subject (it helps of course, but you only learn it for less than half a quarter). Anyways, we do have a separate linear algebra course but I’m not sure how much you can learn from it. Our multivariable calculus class is called math methods in social sciences or something so if you want to gain a deeper understanding of multivariable calculus, you can pick up a book on advanced calculus. Higher level math courses will just assume that you have background knowledge in these subjects that usually follow directly after elementary calculus.</p>
<p>If I fail the non-calc test (not get recommended for at least intro calc), will my AP Calc credit (5 in AB) still count for 1/2(?) of my math reqs? I did really well in AP calc, but I pretty much forgot all of it…</p>
<p>For those wondering what topics are covered on the Math Placement Test and Calc Placement test, check out #'s 15 and 16 here: <a href=“http://www.math.uchicago.edu/undergraduate/placement.pdf[/url]”>http://www.math.uchicago.edu/undergraduate/placement.pdf</a></p>
<p>and do Stat classes count towards the req?</p>
<p>@shadowzoid Regarding AP scores, the math department will always take your highest placement, so if your AP credit put you in a higher class than your placement exam, they will go with that.</p>
<p>They seemed to have been pretty lax about calc placement, as long as you are confident you can handle the class load. If you want to place into 203 or 207, then it might be helpful to know basic proofs in limits, continuity, and number theory.</p>
<p>If we’re not interested on taking any more math, how hard is it to receive credit for MATH 15300 on the O-week test? (5 on BC)</p>
<p>If you’re looking to get credit for 153, that’s somewhat more difficult, as you need to demonstrate that you know how to do proofs on the placement exam. But there are a good number of students that do that (it’ll say you placed into 199).</p>
<p>However, if you don’t want to take anymore math, I think a 5 on the BC exam (or placement into 153) is sufficient to get credit for 151-152 and fulfill the core requirement. Your adviser might recommend that you take 153 anyway, depending on what you’re thinking of majoring in.</p>