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MATH231

MATH231 (Calculus II) is the second course in the calculus sequence that is required for all students in enrolled in the college of Grainger.

Who Should Take the Exam

For students who want to take MATH241, PHYS211 and ECE210 early, it is crucial to get credit for MATH231 as early as possible. These 3 courses are prerequisites themselves for all the 300 level ECE courses, hence it is advisable to take the proficiency test if you have the means to do so.

It's not an easy proficiency exam, and does require some preparation. This test is mainly for students who have covered 50% or more of the MATH231 syllabus in highschool, but did not get credit transferred for it when enrolling into UIUC. However, like all proficiency exams, there is no penalty for failing the MATH231 proficiency exam, so if you're on the fence, take the exam.

Content Covered

  • Integration involving linear, exponential, and trigonometric functions
  • Chain Rule
  • Expansions in Powers of x
  • Taylor’s Formula and applications
  • Barriers to Convergence
  • Power Series
  • Parametric Plotting
  • Integrals for Area and Volume Measurement
  • Integration by Parts
  • Partial Fractions and u-substitution
  • Fundamental Formula of Calculus

Exam Format

The exam consists of a number of msotly multiple-choice questions (typically up to 5 options to pick from) and a handful of open-ended questions. The exam duration is 3 hours, but the exam is designed to take 1.5-2 hours on average.

How to Prepare

The official syllabus list has all the information you need regarding the content covered for the exam. Here you can details on the official textbook used for the course. The textbook contains many practice questions that are similar in difficulty to the proficiency exam, so it is highly recommended to acquire an online or physical copy of the textbook if you can. For additional resources, check out this TA's course page. If you know friends who have taken MATH231, it is highly recommended to ask them for their midterm papers which are good practice for the proficiency exam.

Life After

If you pass the MATH231 proficiency exam, you have a solid understanding in integration techniques calculus fundamentals. To make the most of your credit in MATH231, take MATH241, MATH285, PHYS211 and ECE210 as soon as possible. Doing so will speed up your ECE journey, allowing yourself more semesters to take interesting ECE electives or even graduate early.

If you don't pass the MATH231 proficiency exam, don't be disheartened: the exam is considered a challenging one, and there is a wide range of content covered. Your efforts to study MATH231 material before the semester will still pay off, and the course will be easier for you than students who are learning those concepts for the first time. It will also give you an edge when it comes to the aforementioned postrequisite courses.