 | The University of Virginia record February, 1908 |  |
ENTRANCE EXAMINATIONS.
The purpose of these examinations is to secure in the applicant adequate
mental maturity for entrance upon a course of University study, as
well as the specific training needed to prosecute with success the work of
the school or department in which the student is registered. It is not and
has never been the policy of the University of Virginia to deny its opportunities
and privileges to any young man able to profit by them. The test
imposed at entrance is designed as much to protect the candidate as to
safeguard the school. As a proof of maturity and fitness, every applicant
for admission is required to pass examination in certain selected studies,
or to present valid certificates covering courses of instruction equivalent
to these. For sessions 1908-1909, the requirements will consist of twelve
blocks, elected by the applicant under specified restrictions from the list
below.
Each block or unit in these requirements is designed to represent the
equivalent of one full year if high school work, including five periods a
week of not less than forty minutes each.
English.—Four blocks of questions will be set as follows:
A. English Grammar and Grammatical Analysis:—The parts of
speech with inflections and uses of each; syntax, especially of noun, verb,
and conjunctions; detailed study of sentence-structure, including capitalization
and punctuation.
B. Composition and Rhetoric:—The choice, arrangement, and connection
of words, with exercises on synonyms, antonyms, degrees and
shades of meaning; fundamental qualities of style, with selected and
with ample exercise in constructing sentences of varied types and
emphasis; the paragraph, with reference to placing of topic, structure for
unity, order and emphasis, with constant exercise in composing good paragraphs;
the whole composition with abundant exercise in analysis and in
construction; much practice in writing simple compositions on familiar
subjects under the heads of description, narration, exposition, and argumentation.
C. Critical Study of Selected Specimens of Literature:—The
specimens for reading and study suggested for admission to College or the
equivalent under the guidance of the instructor; good reading and as much
of it as possible, with intelligent conversation about the books read.
D. History of English and American Literature:—General divisions
into periods, with most significant marks of each period; most important
authors of each period, with consideration of the main events of
their lives and the leading characteristics of their works; general summary
of the leading literary movements.
Mathematics.—Four blocks of questions will be set as follows:
A. Algebra to Quadratic Equations:—The four fundamental operations
for rational algebraic expression; factoring, determination of highest
common factor and lowest common multiple by factoring; fractions, including
complex fractions; ratio and proportion; linear equations, both
numerical and literal, containing one or more unknown quantities; problems
depending on linear equations; radicals, including the extraction of
the square root of polynomials and numbers; exponents, including the
fractional and negative.
B. Quadratic Equations, Progressions, and the Binomial Formula:—Quadratic
equations, both numerical and literal; simple cases of
equations with one or more unknown quantities, that can be solved by the
methods of linear or quadratic equations; problems depending upon
quadratic equations; the binomial formula for positive integral exponents;
the formulas for the nth term and the sum of the terms of arithmetic and
geometric progressions, with applications.
C. Plane Geometry, with Original Exercises:—The usual theorems
and constructions of good text-books, including the general properties
of plane rectilinear figures; the circle and the measurement of
angles; similar polygons; areas; regular polygons and the measurement of
the circle. The solution of numerous original exercises, including loci
problems. Applications to the mensuration of lines and plane surfaces.
D. Solid Geometry, with Original Exercises:—The usual theorems
and constructions of good text-books, including the relations of planes
and lines in space; the properties and measurement of prisms, pyramids,
cylinders and cones; the sphere and the spherical triangle. The solution
the mensuration of surfaces and solids.
The above definitions are those reported by the committee of the
American Mathematical Society, September, 1903.
All applicants for admission must satisfy the examiners in blocks A,
B, and C. For admission to Mathematics 1A, the candidate must answer
all four blocks.
History.—Four blocks of questions will be set as indicated below.
The questions will be such as should be answered by a student,
who has devoted one full high school year to energetic study under
competent instruction in each one of the four topics. All applicants
for admission to the University must satisfy the examiners in American
History and Civil Government and in one other block. For admission
to History 1B the candidate must answer all four blocks,
except under certain conditions mentioned on p. 133.
A. Greek and Roman History, including the geography of Greece
and the early development of Ancient Hellas; state and national development
to the period of the foreign wars; the foreign wars and the supremacy
of Athens; the wars between the Greek states; the Macedonian
invasion and the empire of Alexander the Great; the geography of Italy
and early Roman legend; the Roman Republic and its supremacy in Italy;
the conquest of the Mediterranean; the transition from republic to monarchy;
the ancient world under the Roman empire; the transition from
ancient to mediaeval history, down to the death of Charlemagne.
B. Mediaeval and Modern European History, including the Carolingian
empire and feudalism; the papacy and the beginnings of the new
Germano-Roman empire; the formation of France; the East and the
crusades; Christian and feudal civilization; the era of the Renaissance;
the Protestant Revolution and the religious wars; the ascendency of
France and the age of Louis Quatorze; the rise of Russia and Prussia and
colonial expansion; the French Revolution; Napoleon and the Napoleonic
wars; the growth of nationality, democracy and liberty in the Nineteenth
Century.
C. English History, including the geography of England and early
Britain; Saxon England; Norman England; England under the Planta-genets;
Tudor England; Puritans and Royalists; the constitutional monarchy;
the modern British empire.
D. American History and Civil Government:—In American History
the work includes the earliest discoveries to 1607; Virginia and the
other Southern colonies; Massachusetts and the other New England
colonies; New York and the other Middle colonies; the colonies in the
Eighteenth Century; the causes of the Revolution; the Revolution, the
Confederation, and the Constitution; Federalist supremacy to 1801; Jeffersonian
1829; the National Democracy to 1844; slavery in the Territories to 1860;
the War of Secession, Reconstruction and the problems of peace to 1900.
In Civil Government the work covers the early forms of Government;
the Colonies and Colonial Government; Colonial Union and the Revolution;
the Confederation and the Constitution; the Political Parties and
Party Machinery; the existing Federal Government; the Foreign Relations
of the United States.
Latin.—Four blocks of questions will be set as follows:
A. Grammar and Composition.
B. Caesar's Gallic War, Books I-IV.
C. Cicero's Orations Against Catiline, and two others.
D. Vergil's Aeneid, Books I-VI.
Candidates who elect Latin for entrance must pass in Blocks A, B,
and C. For admission to Latin 1A, the candidate must satisfy the examiners
in all four blocks. He should have studied Latin for four years
under competent instruction. The following order of studies is recommended
to High School teachers of Latin:
FIRST YEAR OF THE HIGH SCHOOL.
Beginner's Book in Latin: Grammar, prose composition, and reading—
five hours a week for one year. The Roman pronunciation; habitual observance
of accent and quantity; thorough drill in forms; the simpler
rules of word-formation and derivation; syntax of the cases, tenses, and
moods; accusative and infinitive, relative and conditional sentences, indirect
discourse, and the subjunctive. Translation into Latin of easy detached
sentences illustrating the principles of Latin grammar. Translation
into English of easy continuous prose based upon Cæsar and Cicero.
Constant practice in sight reading.
SECOND YEAR OF THE HIGH SCHOOL.
Cæesar's Gallic War, Books I-IV, the High School Latin grammar,
and prose composition—five hours a week for one year. Readings in Viri
Romae introductory to Cæsar, and later on, varying the reading of the
Gallic War. The study of the author should be both literary and grammatical.
Constant practice in sight reading. Systematic study of High
School grammar, with accompanying prose composition. Three hours a
week to reading, two to grammar and prose.
THIRD YEAR OF THE HIGH SCHOOL.
Cicero's Orations (the four against Catiline, the Archias, and the
Manilian Law—or any other six). High School grammar and prose
composition—five hours a week for one year. Readings in Nepos introductory
to Cicero, and later on, varying the reading of the Orations. The
study of the author should be both literary and grammatical. Constant
practice in sight reading. Systematic study of High School grammar, with
accompanying prose composition. Three hours a week to reading, two to
grammar and prose.
FOURTH YEAR OF THE HIGH SCHOOL.
Vergil's Aeneid, I-VI, High School grammar, and prose composition
—five hours a week for one year. Readings in Ovid introductory to Vergil,
and later on, varying the reading of the Aeneid; principles of quantitative
rhythm and scansion of the dactylic hexameter. The study of the author
should be both literary and grammatical. Constant practice in sight reading.
Systematic study of High School grammar, with accompanying prose
composition. Three hours a week to reading, two to grammar and prose.
The suggested equivalents in Viri Romae, Nepos and Ovid may be
offered in place of portions of Cæsar, Cicero, and Vergil, respectively.
Greek.—Two blocks of questions will be set as follows:
A. Grammar and Composition.
B. Xenophon's Anabasis, Books I-IV.
The candidate should have studied Greek under competent instruction
for two years, and must satisfy the examiners in both blocks. He should
know the regular paradigms thoroughly, and be familiar with the general
principles of syntax. The exercise will consist of simple connected narrative
based on Xenophon. The applicant should know the principal parts
of all the verbs that occur in the passage set for translation. This examination
admits to Greek 2A.
German.—Two blocks of questions will be set as follows:
A. Grammar and Composition:—The examination in Grammar will
cover the declension of the articles (definite and indefinite), of pronouns
(personal, demonstrative, interrogative, relative and indefinite), of nouns
(regular and irregular), and of adjectives; the comparison of adjectives;
the conjugation of the Weak, Strong, and Irregular Verbs, including the
Temporal and Modal Auxiliaries; the uses of the articles, the pronouns,
and the cases; the uses and meanings of the tenses, the modes, the temporal,
modal and causative auxiliaries, of prepositions and conjunctions;
and the general laws governing sentence-arrangement and word-formation.
The exercise set in Composition will consist of English sentences,
giving the natural forms of every-day expression, to be translated into
German, and of the translation into German of a piece of connected English
prose, based on one of the extracts assigned for translation in Block B.
B. Translation of Easy Modern German:—The candidate, in order
to satisfy the examiner in this block, should have read between 600 and 700
pages of German, divided as follows: Seventy-five to 100 pages of graduated
text, such as is found in any of the standard introductory readers;
150 to 200 pages of literature in the form of easy stories and plays; and
about 400 pages of moderately difficult prose or poetry.
This examination admits to German 2B or German 3. The candidate
for admission to either of these two courses must satisfy the examiner in
both blocks.
French.—Two blocks of questions will be set as follows:
A. Grammar and Composition.
B. Translation of Easy Modern French Prose.
The candidate should have studied French two years under competent
instruction, should have read 600 pages, written 30 pages of prose, and
mastered the principles of grammar, including the irregular verb.
This examination admits to French 2B.
Spanish.—Two blocks of questions will be set as follows:
A. Grammar and Composition.
B. Translation of Easy Modern Spanish Prose.
The candidate should have studied Spanish two years under competent
instruction, should have read 600 pages, written 30 pages of prose, and
mastered the principles of grammar, including the irregular verb.
This examination admits to Spanish 2B.
Science.—Four blocks of questions will be set as follows. The
candidate should have studied each of the four topics under competent
instruction and with proper laboratory facilities for at least the equivalent
of one full school year.
A. Physical Geography:—The entrance requirements in Physical
Geography include an elementary knowledge of the following topics,
such as would be obtained from the study of a text-book like Maury's
"Physical Geography," or Tarr's "Elementary Physical Geography." The
earth as a planet; planetary movements; magnetism of the earth; internal
heat of the earth; volcanoes; earthquakes; arrangement of land masses;
forms of land; relief forms of the continents; islands; properties of water;
waters of the land; drainage; continental drainage; the sea; the
oceans; waves and tides; currents of the sea; physical properties
of the atmosphere; climate; winds and circulation of the air;
storms; moisture of the air; hail, snow and glaciers; electrical
animals; range of plants and animals; man, including range of human
habitation, division into races, conditions favorable to civilization, and
man's influence on physical geography; influence of physical geography
on the industries of countries.
B. Inorganic Chemistry:—The candidate for entrance credit in
Chemistry should have studied, under a competent teacher, such a course
in the elements of inorganic chemistry as can be covered in three meetings
a week during a nine-months' school year, and in addition thereto should
have worked in the laboratory about one hundred hours, or enough time to
perform intelligently the usual experiments given in a High School
laboratory course. The ground covered by Remsen's "Introduction to the
Study of Chemistry" is the accepted standard. The student's autograph
laboratory notes must be submitted with the examination papers.
C. Experimental Physics:—A course of one full year, covering the
topics of Mechanics, Sound, Light, Heat, Electricity, and Magnetism. The
work should include (a) lecture-table demonstrations by the teacher, with
appropriate yet simple apparatus; (b) text-book work, in which the pupil
solves numerical problems; and (c) laboratory exercises by the pupil—all
three embodying fundamental principles of the subject. In the laboratory
work at least thirty exercises should be performed, distributed as follows:
In Mechanics, 14; in Sound, 1; in Light, 5; in Heat, 3; in Electricity and
Magnetism, 7. The pupil's note-book of written reports on these experiments
should be submitted with indication of acceptance on the part of the
teacher. Any one of the standard texts and laboratory manuals may be
followed.
D. Botany:—The entrance examinations in Botany will presuppose a
sound elementary knowledge of each of the following divisions of the
subject:
Morphology.—The anatomy of vascular and of non-vascular
plants (including algae and fungi): cellular structure: histological
differentiation.
Physiology.—Plant nutrition and growth: the most important
tropisms. Reproduction: in seed-plants; in terrestrial seedless plants;
in algae; in fungi.
Taxonomy.—Nature and object of classifications: determination
of genera and species: recognition of the characteristics of some
leading families of seed-plants.
Ecology.—Types of plant societies: causes of their segregation,
of their groupings into local floras.
In addition to the written paper, each candidate will be required
to submit his own laboratory notes and drawings indicating the
the plants which he has studied.
Applied Mathematics.—Four blocks of questions will be set as
follows:
A. Plane Trigonometry and Surveying:—The ratio definitions of
the trigonometric functions and the relations among them; solution of
right triangles and applications; functions of the sum and the difference
of two angles, of double angles and half angles; product formulae; solution
of oblique triangles and applications; theory of logarithms (without
series) and use of logarithmic tables; exercises in logarithmic computation;
the surveyor's compass—construction, adjustment, and use; computation
of latitudes and departures; platting surveys and finding areas; the
engineer's level—construction, adjustment and use; platting profiles and
finding elevations.
B. Elementary Mechanics:—Fundamental conceptions of displacement,
velocity, momentum, acceleration, force, work, energy, power; laws
of motion; falling bodies; motion on inclined planes; parallelogram and
polygon of forces; parallel forces; principle of moments; centres of gravity;
uniform circular motion; simple harmonic motion; pendulum motion;
projectile motion; hydrostatic pressure and the Bramah press; centre of
pressure and reservoir walls; Archimedes principle and floating bodies;
specific gravity of solids and liquids.
C. Graphical Arithmetic:—Fundamental problems of practical
geometry; construction of scales; graphical addition, subtraction, multiplication,
division, and involution; graphical extraction of the square root and
solution of quadratics; graphs of linear functions and solution of simultaneous
linear equations; graphs of quadratic functions; graphical solutions
of cubics and biquadratics; graphs of powers of the variable; applications
to the solution of numerical equations; graphs of trigonometric functions;
harmonic curves.
D. Mechanical Drawing:—Projections of cubes, prisms, and pyramids
in simple positions; method of revolving the solid into new positions;
method of changing the planes of projection; projections of the three round
bodies in simple positions and in revolved positions; sections by planes
parallel to the planes of projection. Sections by inclined planes; developments
of prisms, pyramids, cylinders, and cones; intersections of palyedra
and curved surfaces; distances from a point to a point or a plane or a line;
angles between planes and lines.
| The University of Virginia record February, 1908 | |