Session 06-07 - Oral Exam Practice II

Section 06: Integral Calculus

Author

Dr. Nikolai Heinrichs & Dr. Tobias Vlćek

Welcome

Oral Practice, Round Two

Same format, fresh topics

  • You know the drill from Oral Practice I: groups of three, rotating roles
  • Block A: 30 minutes preparation, then free-speech presentation with follow-ups
  • Block B: spontaneous discussion of an impulse from a different area
  • Requirement levels: [I] reproduce · [II] apply · [III] evaluate

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Format details: oral exam guide.

Today’s Topic Sets

Sets 11, 13 and 15 - handed out in class

  • Set 11: Curve sketching of a quartic · Cost & profit (revenue vs. profit maximum)
  • Set 13: Consumer & producer surplus (integrals) · Probability (two dice, complement)
  • Set 15: Unit cost & price floor · Rational function analysis
  • Fresh from Sections 5-6: derivatives, curve sketching, and integration are fair game

Focus of This Round

Presenting a Solution Path

This round’s training goal: the Block A presentation

  • Open with a roadmap: “I will first find the zeros, then the extrema, then sketch.”
  • Work stepwise, naming each rule you use (product rule, FTC, …)
  • Point at your sketch: axes, intercepts, extrema - labelled
  • Close with an interpretation: what does the area / the maximum mean here?

Examiner Craft

If you are the examiner:

  • Let the candidate finish their roadmap before interrupting
  • Use the key’s follow-ups in order - start at level [I], escalate to [III]
  • If an answer is wrong, ask “Are you sure? Check the sign.” once before correcting
  • Note one strength and one weakness for the feedback round

Practice Rounds

Rounds One and Two

  • Preparation: 30 minutes (candidate) - examiners study their key
  • Exam conversation: ~20 minutes (Block A + follow-ups, then Block B impulse)
  • Feedback: 10 minutes - observer first, then examiner, then self-assessment
  • Rotate roles and topic sets for round two

Coffee Break - 15 Minutes

Final Round

Round Three

Last rotation - everyone has now been candidate once

  • Use the feedback from your group actively
  • Examiners: push one level higher than you did in round one

Wrap-Up

Key Takeaways

  • A good Block A presentation follows a roadmap and ends with an interpretation
  • Integrals in economics always come with a meaning: total cost, surplus, average
  • Note which vocabulary you were missing - that gap is fixable this week
  • Next oral round comes after the probability mock

Next Session Preview

Session 07-01: Descriptive Statistics Essentials

  • We start Section 07: Probability & Statistics
  • Mean, median, spread - and why business decisions depend on them

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TipPreparation

Rework one topic you examined today as the candidate - out loud, alone, with a timer.