For most people, Ma 1a is tough. The median Techer probably got a 5 on the Calculus BC exam, but has had little or no experience with proofs. Ma 1a expects you to already know the fundamentals of single-variable calculus and teaches you the basics of proof, so you can derive everything from base principles. I don't think it's any harder than Ma 1bc analytic, but it may seem harder depending on your high school background since when you take it you haven't gotten used to the Caltech level of work yet. Don't worry too much over it -- it
is on pass/fail. A large percentage of people bomb the final and pass by a single point. They don't fail very many people.
Let's just say that if the Ma 1a final is the test you do the worst on while at Caltech you're in
really good shape.
