Mount Holyoke College

Department of Mathematics and Statistics

Starting with a calculus course?

The Department asks all students planning to take calculus at Mount Holyoke, either now or at some future time, to take an on-line self-assessment of pre-calculus preparation. The results of the assessment will help you decide if there is preparation you should do before arriving at Mount Holyoke and will assist us in placing you in your first calculus course. As a general rule, to begin with Math 101 (Calculus I) a students should be able to score at least 80/100 on the Mathematics Assessment. If a student’s preparation in pre-calculus topics is weak, she should consider the fall-spring sequence Math 100A - 100B (Enriched Calculus I-A and I-B).

Entering and continuing Mount Holyoke students use their MHC login and password for access to the on-line Mathematics Assessment. See the First Year Curriculum Guide at

http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/firstyear/11726.shtml

for more details.

A sample of the kinds of questions on the Mathematics Assessment is available for downloading at the bottom of this page as a ".pdf" file readable with "Adobe Reader" or with a number of other similar programs. While this not the actual assessment test, it should give you an idea of the kinds of problems that you will see on the assessment. [If you do not have "Adobe Reader" or a similar program see the NOTE at the bottom of the page.]

The Department offers two ways to begin the study of calculus. As a general rule, to begin with Math 101 (Calculus I) you should be able to answer at least 8 of the 10 self-assessment questions correctly. If your preparation in pre-calculus topics is weak, you should consider the sequence, Math 100A-100B (Enriched Calculus I-A and I-B). This year-long course covers all of the material from Calculus I and also provides a thorough grounding in the algebraic, quantitative and geometric skills needed to continue with more advanced mathematics courses and with other courses in the curriculum that use mathematics. Admission to Math 100A is by permission of the instructor, based on the pre-calculus assessment and other information about the student's mathematics background.

You can download this sample test by clicking here:

QUESTIONS

and you can obtain the answers by clicking on the word ANSWERS below:

ANSWERS

NOTE: You can download Adobe Reader without cost from Adobe Systems. To do so, click here. and follow the directions given.

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