<p>I had a rigorous background in math in high school, so I found the placement test pretty simple.</p>
<p>(By rigorous I mean that I took BC calc as a senior and our class went beyond the AP curriculum to do lots of proofs, delta-epsilon stuff, etc.)</p>
<p>My high school didn't really do much theoretical work per se (unfortunatley), however, I was prepared to take theoretical/proof based classes (analysis and algebra) my senior year of HS at a local state university. Hmmm. If I had to guess I'd say that high schools like unalove's that actually do a lot of proofs are fairly uncommon (quite unfortunatley), but I'd like to think that there are a lot of schools like mine that prepare you for it even though we enver actually did any.
I'll be honest though, when I say I was prepared I'm not quite sure what I mean. Just really htat I didn't have much trouble making the transition from calculation based math classes to proof based math classes and I don't think a lot of my peers would have/did either.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I studied lots of material from Rudin's Principles of Mathematical Analysis, and subsequently tested into (and stayed in) Honors Analysis.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Thanks for this. I've got two months to study, and an academic library at my fingertips. Any suggestions on what I could study (even specifically in Rudin) to place out of calculus and into analysis? I don't know what the book looks like, but would it be best to start at the beginning? Actually, I don't want to just place out, I want to have a reasonable background in calculus that will allow me to join the flow of the regular curriculum fairly smoothly. Think it's possible?</p>
<p>I'm in a bit of a rush past calculus because I'm a transfer student, and I've already taken your "typical" Calculus I course twice, and Calculus II once. I understand that the Honors Calculus program at Chicago is different from what I've already learned (and I've had some experience with the foundations of the real numbers), but I just may have to commit hari kari if they tell me I need to take calculus again.</p>
<p>I empathize with you. I looked back at my old files and here is the exact sheet that I used to study to get into Honors Analysis. Memorize and know these definitions well. Also know the theorems behind the definitions, which are present in the first few chapters of Rudin (up to the first chapter on integration).</p>
<p>phuriku, I think I may love you. Thanks! This is great. Nothing like the threat of taking introductory calculus three times to motivate a student.</p>
<p>For anyone looking on with interest, I found [url=<a href="http://www.math.ucdavis.edu/%7Eemsilvia/math127/math127.html%5Dthis%5B/url">http://www.math.ucdavis.edu/~emsilvia/math127/math127.html]this[/url</a>] resource for advanced calculus study, in case you don't have access to Rudin. I haven't gone through it much yet, but it might be sufficient for someone who wants to prepare. Identified as: "Notes to meant to accompany Rudin's 'Principles of Mathematical Analysis.' Detailed enough for self-study, with or without the book."</p>
<p>If you want/need access to Rudin, I believe there's a torrent of a large library of math texts that contains it. Just go to any torrent serach site and serach for "Rudin." He has several texts (I'm assuming it's the same guy), so you might just want to check whehter the search popped up the library with the correct text.</p>
<p>Not that I'm advocating illegal practices or anything. . .</p>
<p>For those interested, this is the best site I've found for ebooks. There are only a handful of books that I haven't found on this site. There are no torrents - just direct downloads. This can be useful if you a) don't care much for torrents b) don't want to download 4GB of ebooks just to get Rudin. </p>
<p>Welcome</a> | gigapedia.org</p>
<p>You need to sign up. After you do this, search for whatever you want using 'Item Search'. Then after picking what item you want, go to the 'Links' Tab, and you can find the link to get the book you need. Almost all of the links are live.</p>
<p>Gigapedia</a> Ebook Search</p>
<p>Interesting. I'll check it out.</p>
<p>how hard is math 131 at u of c??</p>
<p>so what is on this exam - not the hard part but the easier stuff - in order to place into calculus 131.
i've done only a bit of pre calculus in high school, not a whole year course, but i'd like to try to place into calculus 131 -- and if I get in i'm also worried it might be too hard, if i haven't taken a full year of pre calc.
advice??</p>
<p>You'll hear about things like this a lot during O-Week.</p>
<p>I seem to remember that they break up the tests into people who have done calc before and people who haven't. (You'll be in the 30% or so who haven't). The exam (as least the calc one) went from easy to hard. The easy was very easy, the hard was very hard.</p>
<p>You have a few options for fulfilling the math requirement. Either you place into 131 and start calc from scratch (131 is calc without proofs and with extra tutorial sessions). Or you place into pre-calc to take calc. Or... you can take studies in math, Math 112, which has gotten rave reviews from the people I know who took it.</p>
<p>It depends on what you call "pre-calc" but in my school "pre-calc" and calc are pretty different and you can do calc without all of the pre-calc. (Calc is easier!)</p>
<p>Vinyl - I only have experience with my friend's 130's calc class. She struggled a lot, but according to her, the entire class had a trouble learning the material. I'd say 130's calc is slightly more difficult than AB Calculus (maybe not, I took neither 130's calc nor AB Calculus). Also, I have friend who wanted to take 130's calc but did not place into it. He simply spoke with Diane Hermann, and she let him into 130's calc.</p>
<p>thanks this is helpful.
I want to try the calculus - i'm worried about the placement exam - getting in at the right level - I don't want to place so high that I have to take 151, but do want to get into 131 - do i want to do ok on the placement exam, but not too well.
Then in 131 I'm wondering just how hard it is - i did ok on my math sat 650, but math doesn't come that easy - has any body out there taken 131 and can they say what it's like?</p>
<p>I'm pretty sure that just because you place at a certain level, doesn't mean you have to take it at that level. Do the best as you can, and if you place higher than 131, I'm sure you'll be able to take 131 anyways. It's not like they can force you to take the highest thing you place into.</p>
<p>S1 said many pre-med folks he knows who placed higher than 131 took it anyhow for GPA boosting.</p>
<p>My impression is that Chicago is very understanding with folks moving up or down for math sections at the beginning of the year (except for getting into Honors Analysis). The placement test is only one data point; you have to know your comfort level, desire to be challenged, intended major requirements, maintaining sanity your first quarter in college, etc.</p>
<p>If you really want to take 131 I have no doubts that the department will let you, if it happens that you test into 151 and feel that you couldn't handle it then you can ask them to put you in 131.</p>
<p>Our experience, too, is that math placement is very fluid. If anything, the tendency is to place students at the highest level at which they might be able to function, and they have to push back a bit if they want to make certain they aren't in over their heads. One of my kids learned that lesson the hard way, the other went 5-6 weeks into the first quarter before his teacher and advisor stopped nudging him to move up a level. (And later in the year he was really glad that he had resisted that.)</p>
<p>Curious.</p>
<p>Mine got not pressure at all. In fact, they told her she placed out of all the math and did not have to take any, so she did not.</p>
<p>thanks for all of this about the placement. So how hard is calc. 131 and what do they do in all the tutorials. Around how many problems per problem set.
it's an incredible amount of hours per class - 3 and then 3 for tutorials.
can someone give me the scoop on this class?
thanks</p>