Entrance exam

Maths in the WISO entrance test: all 13 topics

What WU tests in mathematics, what is on the formula sheet, and one solved task for every topic.

By unipass editorial team, 10 min read

Last updated: 26 September 2026. Sources last checked on 26 September 2026.

Mathematics is one part of the WISO entrance exam at WU Vienna. It concerns you if you want to study Business, Economics and Social Sciences (WISO) and more people register validly than there are places, because only then does the exam take place. Business and Economics (BBE), the English-taught programme, has a procedure of its own. WU compares the level with the written Matura, the Austrian school-leaving exam, at an academic secondary school (AHS).¹

What makes this part hard is the long list of topics and the scoring: wrong ticks cost points or make a question worthless.²

You can prepare without a course. WU publishes its own practice examples and the formula sheet that is handed out in the exam, and for further practice it points to the published Austrian Matura maths papers on matura.gv.at. Both are in German, so this page gives the German name of every topic.¹

Which maths topics WU lists for the WISO test

For the 2026/27 entrance exam, WU lists exactly these topic areas, in this order (German names as WU writes them):¹

Logik: logic
Elementare Algebra: elementary algebra
Elementare Finanzmathematik: elementary financial mathematics
Gleichungen: equations
Lineare Gleichungen mit zwei Unbekannten: linear equations in two unknowns
Ungleichungen: inequalities
Lineare und quadratische Funktionen: linear and quadratic functions
Potenzfunktionen: power functions
Polynomfunktionen: polynomial functions
Exponential- und Logarithmusfunktionen: exponential and logarithmic functions
Ableitungen und Extremwertaufgaben: derivatives and optimisation problems
Elementare Wahrscheinlichkeitsrechnung: elementary probability
Binomialverteilung: binomial distribution

WU does not publish how many questions each topic gets, how many points the maths part is worth, or how the three parts of the exam are weighted; its procedure page does not say. The list tells you only what can come up.¹

The list applies to the 2026/27 exam. WU publishes the information on the 2027/28 procedure in mid-November, and we will check this page against it then.¹

How maths questions are set in the WISO test

Every question is multiple choice with several statements. At least one of them is true, all of them may be, and partly correct answers earn partial points.³

Wrong ticks cost points, although a question never scores below zero. If a question has only one correct option, it is all or nothing: one extra tick makes it worthless. How much an uncertain tick costs otherwise is worked through on our page on partial credit, with a calculator for any question.²

In its practice examples WU writes decimals with a point, as in 3.2 %, and separates thousands with a space, as in 3 200. The tasks on this page use the same convention.³

You may bring a calculator, but not one that solves systems of linear equations, multiplies matrices, differentiates, integrates or stores text. The TI-30XS MultiView and the TI-30X IIS are examples of allowed models; the TI-30X Pro MathPrint is explicitly banned. Calculators are checked during the exam, and anyone caught using a forbidden one is excluded from the procedure. WU does not provide spare calculators.⁴

In practice: systems of equations and derivatives are done by hand, powers and logarithms go into the calculator.

What the WISO formula sheet contains

The formula sheet is a single page: a table of interval notation and twelve numbered formulas. They are the quadratic formula, nine rules for derivatives, the binomial coefficient and the formula for a geometric sum.⁵

The 13 maths topics and WU’s formula sheetNumbers as printed on the sheet handed out with the 2026/27 WISO exam

Topic	On the sheet	Not on the sheet
Logic	nothing	negation, "and" and "or"; one counterexample refutes a claim
Elementary algebra	nothing	power rules, percentages as factors ( $1.25$ ), cancelling fractions
Elementary financial mathematics	(12) geometric sum	compound interest $K_{n} = K_{0} q^{n}$ with $q = 1 + i$ , present value $K_{0} = K_{n} / q^{n}$
Equations	(1) quadratic equation	equivalent transformations, turning a word problem into an equation
Linear equations in two unknowns	nothing	substitution, equating, elimination: by hand, calculators may not do it
Inequalities	Notation intervals	multiplying or dividing by a negative number flips the inequality sign
Linear and quadratic functions	(1) zeros	slope $k = \frac{y _{2} - y _{1}}{x _{2} - x _{1}}$ , vertex at $x = - \frac{b}{2 a}$
Power functions	nothing	symmetry for even and odd $n$ , monotonicity, $x^{- 1}$
Polynomial functions	(1) after factoring	zeros by factoring, behaviour for large $x$
Exponential and logarithmic functions	(9, 10) derivatives only	rules for $ln$ , $a^{x} = b \Rightarrow x = \frac{l n b}{l n a}$
Derivatives and optimisation problems	(2–10) derivative rules	extremum: $f^{'} (x) = 0$ , then $f^{''}$ or a sign change
Elementary probability	nothing	complement, expected value $E (X) = \sum x \cdot P (X = x)$
Binomial distribution	(11) binomial coefficient	$P (X = k) = (k n) p^{k} (1 - p)^{n - k}$ , $E (X) = n p$

Contents of the sheet: WU. Which formula serves which topic, and what else is needed: our reading.

The twelve formulas on the sheet

Notation: intervals: $(a, b)$ , $[a, b]$ , $(a, b]$ , $[a, b)$

(1) $a x^{2} + b x + c = 0 \Rightarrow x = \frac{- b \pm b ^{2} - 4 a c}{2 a}, a \neq = 0$
(2) $f (x) = c \Rightarrow f^{'} (x) = 0$
(3) $f (x) = x^{n} \Rightarrow f^{'} (x) = n x^{n - 1}$
(4) $f (x) = c \cdot g (x) \Rightarrow f^{'} (x) = c \cdot g^{'} (x)$
(5) $f (x) = g (x) \pm h (x) \Rightarrow f^{'} (x) = g^{'} (x) \pm h^{'} (x)$
(6) $f (x) = g (x) h (x) \Rightarrow f^{'} (x) = g^{'} (x) h (x) + g (x) h^{'} (x)$
(7) $f (x) = \frac{g ( x )}{h ( x )} \Rightarrow f^{'} (x) = \frac{g ^{'} ( x ) h ( x ) - g ( x ) h ^{'} ( x )}{[ h ( x ) ] ^{2}}$
(8) $f (x) = g (h (x)) \Rightarrow f^{'} (x) = g^{'} (h (x)) \cdot h^{'} (x)$
(9) $f (x) = ln x \Rightarrow f^{'} (x) = \frac{1}{x}$
(10) $f (x) = e^{x} \Rightarrow f^{'} (x) = e^{x}$
(11) $(k n) = \frac{n !}{k ! ( n - k )!}$
(12) $a + a r + a r^{2} + \dots + a r^{n} = a \frac{1 - r ^{n + 1}}{1 - r}, r \neq = 1$

By our reading, for five of the 13 topics the sheet offers nothing you can use directly. Even for the others, the formula you need most often is usually missing: compound interest and present value, the probability of a binomial distribution, the rules for logarithms. Those you have to know by heart.

WU's practice examples reprint the same interval table and the same twelve formulas under the heading "Formelsammlung 2025". Whether it stays the same for 2027, WU does not say.³

The 13 WISO maths topics, one example each

The tasks come from our own collection and are cut down to three statements. Decide on each statement before you open the solution. Numbers follow WU's convention: $1.035$ means one point zero three five.

01. Logik (logic)

Statements with "and", "or" and "if, then" about numbers: you check whether they always hold. A single counterexample is enough to refute one.

Let $x, y \in R$ .

(a) If $x \cdot y = 0$ , then $x = 0$ and $y = 0$ .
(b) If $x \cdot y = 0$ , then $x = 0$ or $y = 0$ .
(c) If $x^{2} + y^{2} = 0$ , then $x = 0$ and $y = 0$ .

Solution

(b) and (c) are true. Take $x = 0$ , $y = 5$ against (a): the product is zero, $y$ is not. A product is zero only if a factor is zero, hence (b). Squares are never negative, so their sum is zero only if both are zero.

02. Elementare Algebra (elementary algebra)

Rearranging terms, powers, fractions, percentages as factors. The classic trap is simply adding or subtracting percentages.

A price of $80$ is first raised by $25%$ and then cut by $20%$ .

(a) The final price is above the starting price.
(b) The final price is $80$ .
(c) Since $25% - 20% = 5%$ , the final price is $5%$ above the starting price.

Solution

Only (b) is true: $80 \cdot 1.25 \cdot 0.8 = 80$ . The two percentages refer to different base values, so they cannot simply be subtracted.

03. Elementare Finanzmathematik (financial mathematics)

Compound interest, present value and regular payments. For a series of payments you need the formula for a geometric sum, formula (12) on the sheet.

Someone pays $2000$ into an account at the end of each year for $8$ years, at $3.5%$ compound interest per year.

(a) Right after the last payment the balance is above $17500$ .
(b) The last payment enters the final value with the factor $1.03 5^{0} = 1$ .
(c) The final value is $2000 \cdot 1.03 5^{8}$ .

Solution

(a) and (b) are true. The first payment earns interest for $7$ years, the last for none: $K = 2000 \cdot (1 + 1.035 + \dots + 1.03 5^{7}) = 2000 \cdot \frac{1.03 5 ^{8} - 1}{0.035} \approx 18103$ . Statement (c) compounds one single payment for $8$ years, which gives only about $2634$ .

04. Gleichungen (equations)

Solving linear and quadratic equations and turning word problems into an equation. Setting the equation up goes wrong more often than solving it.

A father is $40$ today, his son $10$ . In $x$ years the father will be exactly twice as old as the son.

(a) The condition is $40 + x = 2 (10 + x)$ .
(b) $x = 10$ .
(c) The father will then be $60$ .

Solution

(a) and (c) are true. From $40 + x = 20 + 2 x$ follows $x = 20$ ; the father is then $60$ and the son $30$ .

05. Lineare Gleichungen mit zwei Unbekannten (linear equations in two unknowns)

Two equations, two unknowns, geometrically two lines. Your calculator is not allowed to solve such systems, so you substitute, equate or add the equations yourself.

Consider the lines $g : y = - x + 7$ and $h : y = 2 x - 2$ .

(a) The lines intersect at $(2, 5)$ .
(b) Equating the right-hand sides gives $3 x = 9$ .
(c) The lines intersect at $(3, 4)$ .

Solution

(b) and (c) are true. From $- x + 7 = 2 x - 2$ follows $3 x = 9$ , so $x = 3$ and $y = 4$ . The point $(2, 5)$ lies on $g$ but not on $h$ , because $2 \cdot 2 - 2 = 2$ .

06. Ungleichungen (inequalities)

Solving inequalities and writing the solution as an interval. The interval notation is on the sheet; the key rule is not: multiplying or dividing by a negative number flips the sign.

Consider the inequality $- 3 x + 6 > 0$ with $x \in R$ .

(a) The solution set is $(- \infty, 2)$ .
(b) The solution set is $(2, \infty)$ .
(c) $x = 2$ belongs to the solution set.

Solution

Only (a) is true. From $- 3 x > - 6$ , dividing by $- 3$ gives $x < 2$ . The round bracket excludes $2$ , and $- 3 \cdot 2 + 6 = 0$ is not greater than zero.

07. Lineare und quadratische Funktionen (linear and quadratic functions)

Lines and parabolas: slope, zeros, vertex, intersections, often dressed up as cost or revenue functions. Formula (1) helps with the zeros.

Consider $f (x) = x^{2} - 7 x + 10$ .

(a) The zeros are $x = 2$ and $x = 5$ .
(b) The graph crosses the $y$ -axis at $y = - 7$ .
(c) The vertex is at $x = 3.5$ .

Solution

(a) and (c) are true. $f (x) = (x - 2) (x - 5)$ . The graph crosses the $y$ -axis at $f (0) = 10$ . The vertex lies exactly between the zeros, at $\frac{2 + 5}{2} = 3.5$ .

08. Potenzfunktionen (power functions)

Functions of the form $x^{n}$ , including negative exponents. Questions ask about symmetry, monotonicity and single values, and almost everything depends on whether $n$ is even or odd.

Consider $f (x) = x^{4}$ .

(a) $f (- 2) = - 16$ .
(b) The graph is symmetric about the $y$ -axis.
(c) $f$ is strictly increasing on all of $R$ .

Solution

Only (b) is true. With an even exponent $f (- x) = f (x)$ , so $f (- 2) = 16$ . Left of zero $f$ decreases, right of zero it increases.

09. Polynomfunktionen (polynomial functions)

Polynomials of higher degree: zeros by factoring, behaviour for very large and very small $x$ , plugging in values. Often a cost function with fixed costs.

A firm's total cost is $K (x) = x^{3} - 9 x^{2} + 30 x + 20$ for $x \geq 0$ .

(a) Fixed costs are $20$ .
(b) If output doubles, costs double.
(c) At $x = 5$ costs are $70$ .

Solution

(a) and (c) are true. Fixed costs are $K (0) = 20$ , and $K (5) = 125 - 225 + 150 + 20 = 70$ . One value refutes (b): $K (1) = 42$ , but $K (2) = 52$ , not $84$ .

10. Exponential- und Logarithmusfunktionen (exponential and logarithmic functions)

Growth, decay and equations with the unknown in the exponent. The rules for logarithms are not on the sheet.

Solve $2^{x} = 40$ , using $ln 2 \approx 0.693$ and $ln 40 \approx 3.689$ .

(a) The solution is $x = ln 40 - ln 2$ .
(b) The solution lies between $5$ and $6$ .
(c) Doubling the right-hand side to $80$ doubles the solution.

Solution

Only (b) is true. Taking logarithms gives $x \cdot ln 2 = ln 40$ , so $x = \frac{3.689}{0.693} \approx 5.32$ . From $2^{x} = 80 = 2 \cdot 40$ the solution grows by exactly $1$ ; it does not double.

11. Ableitungen und Extremwertaufgaben (derivatives and optimisation)

Differentiating with the rules on the sheet, then finding extrema, often as maximum profit or minimum cost. Rules (2) to (10) are on the sheet, the conditions for an extremum are not.

Consider $f (x) = 4 x^{2} - 12 x + 5$ .

(a) $f^{'} (x) = 8 x - 12$ .
(b) $f$ has a minimum at $x = 1.5$ .
(c) The smallest value of $f$ is $- 4$ .

Solution

All three are true; WU says that all options can be correct. $f^{'} (x) = 0$ gives $x = 1.5$ , $f^{''} (x) = 8 > 0$ makes it a minimum, and $f (1.5) = 9 - 18 + 5 = - 4$ .

12. Elementare Wahrscheinlichkeitsrechnung (probability)

Equally likely outcomes, complements, tree diagrams and expected values. The sheet has nothing on it.

Two fair dice are rolled; all $36$ pairs are equally likely.

(a) A double is as likely as a sum of $7$ .
(b) At least one six has probability $\frac{11}{36}$ .
(c) A sum of at least $10$ has probability $\frac{1}{4}$ .

Solution

(a) and (b) are true. A double and a sum of $7$ each have $6$ favourable pairs. No six has $\frac{25}{36}$ , so the complement has $\frac{11}{36}$ . A sum of $10$ , $11$ or $12$ occurs in only $6$ pairs, which is $\frac{1}{6}$ .

13. Binomialverteilung (binomial distribution)

A trial with success or failure is repeated $n$ times independently. The binomial coefficient (11) is on the sheet, the formula for $P (X = k)$ is not.

Each order is returned with probability $0.25$ , independently of the others. Consider $4$ orders.

(a) Exactly one return has probability $4 \cdot 0.25 \cdot 0.7 5^{3}$ .
(b) At least one return has probability $1 - 0.7 5^{4}$ .
(c) Two returns are more likely than one, because there are $6$ arrangements instead of $4$ .

Solution

(a) and (b) are true. Exactly one has $(1 4) \cdot 0.25 \cdot 0.7 5^{3} \approx 0.42$ , exactly two only $(2 4) \cdot 0.2 5^{2} \cdot 0.7 5^{2} \approx 0.21$ : more arrangements do not make up for the smaller factor $0.2 5^{2}$ .

How to practise maths for the WISO entrance test

Work through WU's practice examples without looking at the answers and note the topics where you get stuck.
For those topics, learn first what is not on the formula sheet. The table above shows it topic by topic. For further reading WU names an optional textbook, Sydsaeter and others, "Mathematik für Wirtschaftswissenschaftler".¹
Practise each weak topic with Matura papers from matura.gv.at and the examples on this page. Decide each statement on its own and count your wrong ticks, because in the exam they cost points.
Then do a mixed set across all 13 topics and take every new mistake back to step 3.

From March 2027 unipass has questions on all 13 topics, scored with WU's partial-credit rules. If you are on the waitlist, you hear first.

Sources

1Aufnahmeverfahren Bachelorstudium Wirtschafts- und SozialwissenschaftenWU Wien · undated page · checked on 26 September 2026
2Informationen zum gemischten Teilpunktesystem, Aufnahmeprüfung WISO (PDF)WU Wien · document dated 8 May 2026 · checked on 26 September 2026
3Übungsbeispiele Mathematik WISO 2026/27 (PDF)WU Wien · document dated 18 May 2026 · checked on 26 September 2026
4Informationen zu den erlaubten Taschenrechnern, WISO 2026/27 (PDF)WU Wien · document dated 17 December 2025 · checked on 26 September 2026
5Formelsammlung, Aufnahmeprüfung WISO 2026/27 (PDF)WU Wien · document dated 2 April 2026 · checked on 26 September 2026

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Mathematik (CBK) at WU Vienna

How the exam is scored, who needs it, the dates in the winter semester 2026/27, how often it ends in a fail and how to prepare.

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Maths in the WISO entrance test: all 13 topics

Which maths topics WU lists for the WISO test

How maths questions are set in the WISO test

What the WISO formula sheet contains

The 13 WISO maths topics, one example each

01. Logik (logic)

02. Elementare Algebra (elementary algebra)

03. Elementare Finanzmathematik (financial mathematics)

04. Gleichungen (equations)

05. Lineare Gleichungen mit zwei Unbekannten (linear equations in two unknowns)

06. Ungleichungen (inequalities)

07. Lineare und quadratische Funktionen (linear and quadratic functions)

08. Potenzfunktionen (power functions)

09. Polynomfunktionen (polynomial functions)

10. Exponential- und Logarithmusfunktionen (exponential and logarithmic functions)

11. Ableitungen und Extremwertaufgaben (derivatives and optimisation)

12. Elementare Wahrscheinlichkeitsrechnung (probability)

13. Binomialverteilung (binomial distribution)

How to practise maths for the WISO entrance test

Sources

Keep going

Annuities and compounding (CBK)

Compound interest, sequences (CBK)

Derivatives and chain rule (CBK)

Mathematik (CBK) exam dates

Expected value and distributions (CBK)

Marginal cost and elasticity (CBK)

Conditional probability (CBK)

Arithmetic sequences (CBK)

Cost, revenue, monopoly (CBK)

Mathematik (CBK) at WU Vienna

Negative marking in Mathematik (CBK)

The WISO entrance test at WU

The admission rate at WU Vienna

Points in the WU entrance test

WU STEOP exam VWL + ZuWi

The unipass course starts in March 2027

Which maths topics WU lists for the WISO test

How maths questions are set in the WISO test

What the WISO formula sheet contains

The 13 WISO maths topics, one example each

01. Logik (logic)

02. Elementare Algebra (elementary algebra)

03. Elementare Finanzmathematik (financial mathematics)

04. Gleichungen (equations)

05. Lineare Gleichungen mit zwei Unbekannten (linear equations in two unknowns)

06. Ungleichungen (inequalities)

07. Lineare und quadratische Funktionen (linear and quadratic functions)

08. Potenzfunktionen (power functions)

09. Polynomfunktionen (polynomial functions)

10. Exponential- und Logarithmusfunktionen (exponential and logarithmic functions)

11. Ableitungen und Extremwertaufgaben (derivatives and optimisation)

12. Elementare Wahrscheinlichkeitsrechnung (probability)

13. Binomialverteilung (binomial distribution)

How to practise maths for the WISO entrance test

Sources

Keep going

Annuities and compounding (CBK), read, fits your answers

Compound interest, sequences (CBK), read, fits your answers

Derivatives and chain rule (CBK), read, fits your answers

Mathematik (CBK) exam dates, read, fits your answers

Expected value and distributions (CBK), read, fits your answers

Marginal cost and elasticity (CBK), read, fits your answers

Conditional probability (CBK), read, fits your answers

Arithmetic sequences (CBK), read, fits your answers

Cost, revenue, monopoly (CBK), read, fits your answers

Mathematik (CBK) at WU Vienna, read, fits your answers

Negative marking in Mathematik (CBK), read, fits your answers

The WISO entrance test at WU, read, fits your answers

The admission rate at WU Vienna, read, fits your answers

Points in the WU entrance test, read, fits your answers

WU STEOP exam VWL + ZuWi, read, fits your answers

The unipass course starts in March 2027

Annuities and compounding (CBK)

Compound interest, sequences (CBK)

Derivatives and chain rule (CBK)

Mathematik (CBK) exam dates

Expected value and distributions (CBK)

Marginal cost and elasticity (CBK)

Conditional probability (CBK)

Arithmetic sequences (CBK)

Cost, revenue, monopoly (CBK)

Mathematik (CBK) at WU Vienna

Negative marking in Mathematik (CBK)

The WISO entrance test at WU

The admission rate at WU Vienna

Points in the WU entrance test

WU STEOP exam VWL + ZuWi