University of Virginia Mathematics Department
Calculus Advisory Placement-Exams

The placement exams provided through this webpage are intended for entering students who

 If you have no previous experience in calculus, or if you are certain that you wish to begin your work in calculus at the introductory level, then you need not take a placement test: register for Math 1210, Math 1310, or, perhaps, Math 1190.  Read about these courses at the mathematics placement website.
  If you believe your previous experience in calculus has prepared you to begin your work in calculus at UVA at an advanced level  (and you do not have credit for the prerequisite lower-level course or courses), then you first need to decide whether the calculus sequence

Math 1310 (Calculus I), 1320 (Calculus II) , 2310 (Calculus III),  or the sequence

Math 1210 (A Survey of Calculus I), 1220 (A Survey of Calculus II)

is the right one for you.  Information provided at the mathematics placement website can help you make this decision. You may wish to discuss this decision with your faculty adviser or association dean.

If you decide that the Math 1210, 1220 sequence is the correct one for you, and you'd like to begin your calculus study at UVA with Math 1220, then complete Exam A and follow the self-grading and placement advice provided at the bottom of this page. 

If you decide that the Math 1310, 1320, 2310 sequence is the correct one for you, and you'd like to begin your calculus study at UVA with Math 1320 (Calculus II), complete Exam B and follow the self-grading and placement advice provided at the bottom of this page. 

If you decide that the Math 1310, 1320, 2310 sequence is the correct one for you, and you'd like to begin your calculus study at UVA with Math 2310 (Calculus III), complete Exams B and C and follow the self-grading and placement advice provided at the bottom of this page. 

Note well:  These placement exams are intended to help you decide whether you are prepared to begin your calculus study at UVA at an advanced level.  These exams do not confer academic credit.  Most of the problems on the placement exams appeared on recent midterm or final exams of UVA calculus courses; thus, the placement exams should give you a sense of what is expected of students in these courses. 

 Instructions for taking the exam(s):
  1. Before taking an exam, we suggest you review the topics covered in the calculus course you wish to place out of: 
    Math 1210 Topics    Math 1310 Topics    Math 1320 Topics
  2. Use paper and pencil only--at UVA students are not permitted to use calculators on single-variable calculus exams.
  3. Click on the links below to access Exams A, B, and C.
  4. After completing the exam or exams appropriate for your situation (see the text in orange above) and grading your exam(s) based on provided solutions, carefully consider the placement advice appearing at the bottom of this page.
Note: After loading an exam, it may take several seconds for math symbols in questions to display properly. Be patient. (Exam-solutions files are pdf.)

     

Placement Advice


Grade exam problems right or wrong. If you arrived at an incorrect solution owing only to a careless arithmetic error, then count the solution as correct.  

Exam A

Fewer than seven problems answered correctly:  You are advised to enroll in Math 1210.

Seven or more problems answered correctly:  If you are confident that you have a solid foundation in Math 1210 topics, are not intimidated by Math 1220 topics, and you have confirmed that completing Math 1220 will satisfy any calculus requirement of your potential choice(s) of major(s), then you are advised to enroll in Math 1220.   However, if you still have doubts about your readiness for Math 1220, enroll in Math 1210.

Exam B

Fewer than seven problems answered correctly:  You are advised to enroll in Math 1310.

Seven or more problems answered correctly:  If you are confident that you have a solid foundation in Math 1310 topics, are not intimidated by Math 1320 topics,  then you are advised to enroll in Math 1320.    However, if you still have doubts about your readiness for Math 1320, enroll in Math 1310.

Exam C

Fewer than seven problems answered correctly:  Assuming that you already have credit for Math 1310 or performed well on placement Exam B,  you are advised to enroll in Math 1320.

Seven or more problems answered correctly:  If you are confident that you have a solid foundation in Math 1320 topics, are not intimidated by Math 2310 topics, then you are advised to enroll in Math 2310 (or, possibly, Math 3250--Differential Equations). However, if you still have doubts about your readiness for Math 2310, enroll in Math 1320.   If you are exceptionally confident that you are prepared for Calculus III, you should consider enrolling in Math 2315--read the next paragraph to learn more about this course. 

The Mathematics Department has recently developed two courses to be taken (optionally) instead of Math 2310, Multivariable Calculus. These are Math 2315 (Advanced Calculus and Linear Algebra I)  and Math 3315 (Advanced Calculus and Linear Algebra II).  These courses cover the usual material in Multivariable Calculus at a deeper level and, in addition, cover linear algebra and differential equations. Success in these courses (B- or better) exempts the student from the math major requirement of taking Linear Algebra, Math 3351 and Ordinary Differential Equations, Math 3250. While a student can choose to take just Math 2315, exemption from Linear Algebra and ODE requires success in both courses.