2008 H2 Math Prelim Papers

[Leroy Turcios]

TheDoctoral Preliminary Examinations will be administered twice each year (in May and in August) and are offered in the eight areas corresponding to the graduate core courses in the table at the bottom of this page.

Each examination is four hours long with content based on important fundamental concepts in the area. Students should NOT infer that the Preliminary Examination is equivalent to a final examination over the respective core area. Rather, each examination is developed by a committee of faculty in the respective core area in consultation with the Graduate Committee. The topics over which a student can be tested are listed in the Preliminary Examination Topics List which is available from the Graduate Advisor.

The preliminary exams are always administered the week before the first summer term begins in May and the week after the second summer term ends in August. The exams period is four hours, typically from 9am-1pm. The exams are administered in the Academic Testing Center.

At least three weeks prior to taking a Preliminary Examination the student must inform the Graduate Advisor which examinations he/she wishes to take. Up to three different examinations can be taken in each administration of the Preliminary examinations. The student must pass a total of three different examinations in four consecutive administrations of the Preliminary Examinations. This includes a requirement that at least one of the examinations must be in either Algebra, Complex Analysis, Real Analysis, or Topology. A grade of P (pass) or F (fail) will be given in each examination.

Students who choose Statistics as their area of specialization are required to pass the PhD preliminary exam in Probability and Statistics (STAT5328-STAT5329) - this requirement applies to the students who have enrolled in the doctoral program after the Spring 2011 semester. The "typical" Statistics PhD student would choose the two Statistics exams and the Real Analysis exam, although it would be within a student's discretion to choose to be tested over other subjects.

Any student who has received a Master's degree in mathematics or statistics and does not successfully complete the Doctoral Preliminary Examinations before his/her third year in the doctoral program may not continue in the Doctoral Program in the Department of Mathematics at Texas Tech University. Any student who has not received a Master's degree in mathematics or statistics and does not successfully complete the Doctoral Preliminary Examinations before his/her fourth year in the doctoral program may not continue in the Doctoral Program in the Department of Mathematics at Texas Tech University.

What are some reasons for mathscinet listing a article, but then stating that there will be ``no review of this item''? In particular does it at all imply that the paper has little or no merit from a mathematical viewpoint?

You ask "In particular does it at all imply that the paper has little or no merit from a mathematical viewpoint?". Well, certainly not, in some sense. A book review, or an elementary survey article, might well contain interesting mathematics, and might well be useful to read (which also one can clearly understand why they wouldn't get a review-- a "review of a review" would be quite silly).

As to my case (2.) above-- yes, perhaps this is Math Reviews (or an editor, or someone who was sent the paper to review) making that judgement. This does seem to be a grey area, as it's not covered by the "Editorial Statement" I linked to (except maybe in the word "elementary"). It would be interesting to get more information about this...

Sometimes publications (especially in proceedings volumes) are preliminary versions of papers whose final version will appear elsewhere. In such cases (or cases suspected to be such), Mathematical Reviews will wait for the final version. This is why papers in proceedings volumes that are final versions will often have a footnote saying something like "This paper is in final form and no version of it will appear elsewhere." This amounts to "Hey, Math Reviews! Review this."

Ph.D. students in the Berkeley mathematics department are required to pass a preliminary examination within their first three semesters of study. It is held every semester on the Monday and Tuesday mornings before instruction begins. The purpose of the prelim exam is to identify gaps in undergraduate education, and to provide early feedback on core areas that could benefit from further study. The prelim exam is set and graded by the Preliminary Examination Committee. Questions about the exam can be directed to the current chair of the committee or the graduate office.

On each day students are expected to attempt 6 out of 9 questions, which usually consist of one question on calculus, and two questions on each of the topics: real analysis, complex analysis, linear algebra, and abstract algebra. Questions are intended to cover applications of undergraduate honors course topics. Documents detailing exam policy, the syllabus and recent exams and solutions are available at the bottom of this page.

To help students prepare, a workshop is held several weeks prior to the exam. You can find additional resources in the PRELIM RESOURCE FOLDER. You need to be logged in to your bmail account to access the folder.

There is no quota for the number of students who pass or fail, and the prelim committee will pass all students who have demonstrated that they have the required background, which is roughly the level of an A grade in an honors undergraduate course. Each question is graded out of 10. The grading is strict, and little or no credit is given for partial answers that do not seem to be heading towards a complete solution. In recent years the passing score has usually been between 70 - 85 out of 120, and typically about two thirds of students pass each time, but these figures are not official policy and sometimes change.

The prelim exam will be held from 9:00 am to 12:00 (Pacific Time) on the Monday and Tuesday before instruction begins (August 26 and 27). The prelim will be held online on gradescope (Entry Code:J7KVGG). Results of the prelim are usually sent by email Friday afternoon the same week of the exam. You will be prompted to sign up for the exam via an online form sent out by the graduate office. After signing up, you will be assigned a 1 or 2 digit exam number (by email) that you will use on the exam as questions are graded anonymously.

The Graduate Office encourages students needing accommodations or extra support to seek guidance from the Vice Chair for Graduate Studies or the Graduate Advisor as the prelim exam is not meant to be a barrier to program completion. The exam is purely intended to identify gaps in undergraduate education and facilitate the learning of new (or old) material.

Students who need exam accommodations must register with and obtain a letter of accommodation (LOA) from the Disabled Students' Program. The letter should be given to the chair of the Prelim Exam Committee in advance of the exam in order for the necessary arrangements to be made. Early notice is appreciated to allow time to coordinate the accommodations - we are happy to provide accommodations stipulated in the LOA.

Students who do not pass and believe errors in grading were made may submit a written appeal to the Graduate Office by Friday of the week after the exam. Appeals are usually only granted for clear mistakes on the part of the grader, such as adding up marks incorrectly or overlooking part of the solution, and are not normally granted for a misprint in the question, or because the student feels that the grader was too strict. While it is required that students pass the prelim before the start of their second year/third semester in the program, students who wish to take the prelim beyond their third semester can appeal to Committee Omega for an additional attempt. The Vice-Chair for Graduate Studies can give advice about possible options.

Thanks to the SQA, Mr G Rennie and maths180.com for making the excellent resources below freely available. Clear, easy to follow, step-by-step worked solutions to all N5 Maths Past & Practice Papers below are available in the Online Study Pack.

Thanks to the SQA for making the excellent resources below freely available. N5 Maths replaced the Credit and Intermediate 2 courses although most of the topics are identical. The exam papers below will provide an excellent additional study resource.

Thanks to the SQA and authors for making the excellent resources below freely available. The worksheets by topic below are a fantastic study resource since they are actual SQA past paper exam questions. Clear, easy to follow, step-by-step worked solutions to all SQA N5 Maths Questions below are available in the Online Study Pack.

Thanks to the SQA and authors for making the excellent resources below freely available. In 2015 N5 Maths replaced Credit Maths. The Credit worksheets by topic below are a fantastic additional study resource. Clear, easy to follow, step-by-step worked solutions to all SQA N5 Maths Questions below are available in the Online Study Pack.

Thanks to maths180.com for making the excellent resources below freely available. Please use for revision prior to assessments, tests and the final exam. All Booster Papers are also available in the Online Study Pack.

Thanks to Mr G Rennie for making the excellent resources below freely available. The Essential Skills Worksheets can be used to prepare for assessments, tests and exams. Clear, easy to follow, step-by-step worked solutions to all 33 Essential Skills Worksheets below are available in the Online Study Pack.

Thanks to the SQA and authors for making the excellent resources below freely available. Clear, easy to follow, step-by-step worked solutions to all 100 N5 Maths Questions below are available in the Online Study Pack.

Thanks to the SQA, Larkhall Academy and authors for making the excellent resources below freely available. Please use regularly for revision prior to assessments, tests and the final exam. Clear, easy to follow, step-by-step worked solutions to the Prelim Revision Special (61 Pages) are available in the Online Study Pack.

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