How to Get the Greatest Common Factor of Numbers

the numbers that can divide an integer is called its factor or divisor. For example, the factors
of 4 are 1, 2, and 4 because these are the numbers that divide 4 without having a
remainder. Another example is 6 which has factors 1, 2, 3, and 6. It is clear that each
number has always 1 and itself as factors. Note that in this discussion, when I say number, I
mean positive integer.

If we select more than one number, we can observe that they have common factors (just
like having common multiples). Lets have the following examples.
How to Get the Greatest Common Factor of Numbers
Example 1: What are the common factors of 12 and 18?
Factors of 12: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 12
Factors of 18: 1, 2, 3, 6, 9, 18
If we examine the factors of 12 and 18, we see that there are 4 common factors: 1, 2, 3
and 6. Among the factors, 6 is the largest. Therefore, we say that 6 is the greatest
common factor (GCF) or greatest common divisor (GCD) of 12 and 18. Example
2 : Find the GCF of 20, 32, 28.
Factors of 20: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 20
Factors of 32: 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32
Factors of 28: 1, 2, 4, 7, 14, 28
As we can see, the common factors of 20, 32, and 28 are 1, 2, and 4. The GCD or GCF of
the three numbers is 4.

Another way to get the greatest common factor of numbers is to write their prime
factorization. Prime factorization is the process of expressing a number as product of
prime numbers. A prime number is a number which is only divisible by 1 and itself
(read Introduction to Prime Numbers if you dont know what is a prime number). The
first 10 prime numbers are 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, and 29.
We will use the examples above and use prime factorization in order to get their greatest
common factor.

Example 3: Find the GCF of 12 and 18 using prime factorization.

Prime factorization of 12: 2 2 3
Prime Factorization of 18: 2 3 3
Now to get the greatest common factor, we multiply the common factors to both numbers.
The common factors to both are 2 and 3, therefore, the greatest common factor of 12 and
18 is 2 3 = 6.
Example 4: Find the GCF of 12 and 18 using prime factorization.
Prime factorization of 20: 2 2 5
Prime factorization of 32: 2 2 2 2
Prime factorization of 28: 2 2 2
In this example, 2 and 2 are common to all the three numbers, so the GCD or GCD of these
three numbers is 2 2 which is equal to 4.
The difference between the two methods is that in the first method, you list all the factors
and find the largest number. In the second method, you list the prime factorization and the
multiply the factors that are common to all numbers.

Whats the use of greatest common factor?

Well, GCF are used a lot in mathematics, but in the Civil Service Exam, you will use it when
you reduce fractions to lowest terms. For example, your final answer is

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and is not on the choices. Then, you know that you have to get the greatest common
factor of 12 and 18 and divide both the numerator and denominator by it. So, the answer is

How to Get the Least Common Multiple of Numbers

In mathematics, a multiple is a product of any number and an integer. The numbers 16, -48
and 72 are multiples of 8 because 8 x 2 = 16, 8 x -3 = -48 and 8 x 9 = 72. Similarly, the
first five positive multiples of 7 are the following:

7, 14, 21, 28, 35.

In this post, we will particularly talk about positive integers and positive multiples. This is in
preparation for the discussions on addition and subtraction of fractions.

We can always find a common multiple given two or more numbers. For example, if we list
all the positive multiples of 2 and 3, we have

2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20

and

3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30.

As we can see, in the list, 6, 12 and 18 are common multiples of 2 and 3. If we continue
further, there are still other multiples, and in fact, we will never run out of multiples.

Can you predict the next five multiples of 2 and 3 without listing?

The most important among the multiples is the least common multiple. The least
common multiple is the smallest among all the multiples. Clearly, the least common multiple
of 2 and 3 is 6. Here are some examples.

Example 1: Find the least common multiple of 3 and 5

Multiples of 3: 3, 6, 9. 12, 15, 18

Multiples of 5: 5, 10, 15, 20, 25,30

As we can see, 15 appeared as the first common multiple, so 15 is the least common
multiple of 3 and 5.

Example 2: Find the least common multiple of 3, 4, and 6.

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In this example, we find the least multiple that are common to the three numbers.

Multiples of 3: 3, 6, 9, 12, 15

Multiples of 4: 4, 8, 12, 16, 20

Multiples of 6: 6, 12, 18, 24, 30

So, the least common multiple of 3, 4, and 6 is 12.

Example 3: Find the least common multiple of 3, 8 and 12.

Multiples of 3: 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24

Multiples of 8: 8, 16, 24,

Mulitples of 12: 12, 24, 36, 48, 60

So, the least common multiple of 3, 4 and 6 is 24.

How to Add Positive and Negative Integers

One of the topics in basic mathematics that will likely be included in the the Philippine Civil
Service Exam both professional and subprofessional are operations on integers. Although a
few Civil Service test items may be given from this topic, it is important that you master it
because a lot of calculation in other topics will need knowledge of integers and its operations
(addition, subtraction, multiplication, division). For example, solving some word problems
in mathematics and solving equations will need knowledge on operations of integers.

Integers are whole numbers that are either positive or negative. Examples of integers are
-5, 6, 0, and 10. If we place this on the number line, negative integers are the integers that
are below 0 (left of 0), while the positive integers are the integers above 0 (right of 0).

Adding Integers that Are Both Positive

When you add integers that are both positive, it is just like adding whole numbers. Below
are the examples.

Example 1: +2 + +4 = +6

Example 2: +9 + +41 + +9 + = +56

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Example 3: +120 + +13 + +12 + = +145

Although we have created a small + before the number to indicate that it is positive, in
reality, only negative numbers have signs. This means that +2 + +4 = +6 is just written as 2
+ 4 = 6.

Adding Integers that Are Both Negative

Adding number that are both negative is just the same as adding numbers that are both
positive. The only difference is that if you add two negative numbers, the result is negative.

Example 1: 5 + 8 = 13

Example 2: 10 + 18 + 32 + = 60

Example 3: 220 + 11 + 16 + = 247

How to Add Positive and Negative Integers

Before adding, you should always remember that +1 and 1 cancel out each other, or +1 + 1
is 0. So the strategy is to pair the positive and negative numbers and take out whats left.

Example 1: What is +13 + 8?

Solution:

We pair 8 positives and 8 negatives to cancel out. Then whats left is of +13 is +5. In
equation form, we have

13 + 8 = +5 + +8 + 8 = +5 + (+8 + 8) = +5 + (0) = +5
+

Example 2: What is +17 + 20?

Solution:

We pair 17 negatives and 17 positives. Whats left of 20 is 3. In equation form, we have

+
17 + 20 = +17 + (17 + 3) = (+17 + 17) + 3 = 0 + 3 = 3

Example 3: What is +16 + +37 + 20 + 3 +9 ?

In answering questions with multiple addends, combine all the positives and the negatives
then add.

That is +16 + +37 = +53 and

20 + 3 +9 = 32.

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So, the final equation is +53 + 32. We pair 32 positives and 32 negatives leaving 21
positives.

In equation form, we have

+
53 + 32 = +21 + +32 + 32 = +21 + (+32 + 32) = +21 + 0 = +21

How to Subtract Positive and Negative Integers

This is the continuation of the series of Civil Service review in mathematics particularly on
operations of integers. In this post, we are going to discuss the most complicated operation
on integers. I have taught people of all ages about this topic and it seems that for many,
this is the most difficult among the four operations. In this post, we are going to learn how
to subtract positive and negative integers or signed numbers. Note that in subtracting
integers, there are only four forms. If a and b are positive, the subtraction are of the
following forms.

Case 1: positive minus positive (a b)

Case 2: negative minus positive (a b)
Case 3: positive minus negative (a b)
Case 4: negative minus negative (a b)

How to Subtract Positive and Negative Integers

What most people dont know that a b is the same as a + b, or subtracting a number is
the same as adding its negative. That means that you only have to memorize the steps
in addition of integers. Given a subtraction sentence, you then transform it into addition.
Here are a few examples.

Case 1 Exampe 1: 5 8

Subtracting is the same as adding its negative, so 5 8 = 5 + 8. Note that 5 + 8 is

already addition and 5 + 8 = 3.

Case 2 Example: 10 4

The expression 10 4 is the same as 10 + 4 = 14.

Remember also that if you see two consecutive signs or a minus and a negative sign, you
can transform it to +. That is, -(a) = + a and -(a) + a. In most exam, the negative signs
are not usually superscript, so you will likely -(-a).

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Case 3 Example: 5 6

The above expression might be written in 5- -6 or 5-(-6). In any case, two negative signs, a
minus and a negative sign can be transformed into a plus sign so, 5 (6) = 5 + 6 = 11.
Notice that the last equation is also an addition sentence.

Case 4 Example: 8 6

The expression 8 6 = 8 + 6 = 2.

Observe that the four forms are already completed in the examles. From the strategy
above, we only remember two strategies: (1) transform any subtraction sentence to
addition sentence and (2) replace two consecutive negatives or a minus and a negative with
+ sign.

How to Multiply Signed Numbers

In the two previous post in Mathematics, we have discussed how to add and subtract signed
numbers. In this post, we are going to learn how to multiply signed numbers particularly
integers. Signed means positive and negative.

Positive Integer x Positive Integer

Clearly, the product is positive. We had been multiplying positive integers since Grade school
and we all know that the product is positive.

Positive Integer x Negative Integer

When you multiply, notice that you are actually adding repeated. When we say 2 x 3, we
are actually saying twice three or 2 groups of 3 or 3 + 3. When we say, thrice 11, we are
saying 11 + 11 + 11. With this in mind, 3 x 5 = -5 + -5 + -5. Since we are adding
integers which are negative, the sum is also negative or -15. This means that 3 x -5 = -15.
If we generalize this, we can say that the product of a positive integer and a
negative integer is negative.

Negative Integer x Positive Integer

If you can remember, multiplication is commutative. This means that the order of the
number you multiply does not matter, their product will always be the same. For example, 4
x 3 x 5 is equal to 5 x 4 x 3 or 3 x 4 x 5 or any other arrangement using the three numbers.

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This means that 3 x -5 = -5 x 3. So, a negative integer multiplied by a positive integer is
also negative.

Negative Integer x Negative Integer

For multiplication of two negative integers, we can use patterns to know their product and
generalize.

-3 x 2 = -6

-3 x 1 = -3

3x0=0

Now, what is -3 x -1?

If we look at the pattern in the product, we are actually adding by 3 each step so the next
number is 3. All other numbers from -1, -2, -3 and so on will be positive (Why?). Therefore,
the product of two negative numbers is positive.

Summary: Rules on how to Multiply Signed Numbers

From the above discussion, we summarize the multiplication of integers.

Positive Integer x Positive Integer = Positive Integer

Positive Integer x Negative Integer = Negative Integer

Negative Integer x Positive Integer = Negative Integer

Negative Integer x Negative Integer = Positive Integer

We can also say that if we multiply two numbers with the same sign, the answer is positive.
If we multiply two numbers with different signs, the answer is negative.

Dividing Positive and Negative Integers

In the previous post on integers, we have learned the rules in multiplying positive
integers and negative integers. In this post, we are going to learn how to divide positive
and negative integers.

If you have observed, in the post on subtracting integers, we have converted the minus
sign to a plus negative sign. I think it is safe for us to say that subtraction is some sort of
disguised addition. Similarly, we can also convert a division expression to multiplication.
For example, we can turn

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 to .

In general, the division

to .

From the discussion above, we can ask the following question:

Can we use the rules in multiplying integers when dividing integers?

The answer is a big YES. The rules are very much related.

positive integer positive integer = positive integer

positive integer negative integer = negative integer
negative integer positive integer = negative integer
negative integer negative integer = positive integer

Notice that they are very similar to the rules in multiplying integers.

positive integer x positive integer = positive integer

positive integer x negative integer = negative integer
negative integer x positive integer = negative integer
negative integer x negative integer = positive integer

Here are some examples worked examples.

1. 18 3 = 6

2.36 -12 = 3

3. -15 2 = 7.5

4.- 8 -4 = 2

From the discussion and the worked examples above, we can therefore conclude that in
dividing positive and negative integers, we only need to memorize the rules in multiplying
integers and apply them in dividing integers.

II. FRACTIONS

A Gentle Introduction to Fractions

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Fractions is one of the mathematics topics that many people have difficulty with. However,
unfortunately, it is also one of the most important topics that must be mastered. This is
because examination questions in mathematics always include fractions. For example, in
the Civil ServiceReview Numerical Reasoning tests, fractions appear in almost every test:
basic arithmetic, number sequences, equations and problem solving.

In this post, we are going to discuss the basics about fractions particularly about the
terminologies used. Of course, you dont really have to memorize them now, but you can
refer to this post in the following discussions. In the future discussions, you will use
the vocabulary that you have learned here.

Introduction to Fractions

In laymans language, a fraction is really a part of a whole. In the figure below, the part
which is shaded is one out of four, so we say that of the square is shaded. We can also
say that three out of four or of the square is not shaded. We can also say that adding
and equals one whole.

Fractions can also be a subset of a set. If 3 out of 10 students are girls, then we say that
3/10 of the students are girls. A fraction could also mean division. For example, wen we say
7/10, we can also mean, 7 divided by 10.

A fraction is composed of a numerator, the number above the bar, and a denominator,
the number below the bar. . Fractions whose numerator are less than the denominator are
called proper fractions. Fractions whose numerator are greater than the numerator are
called improper fractions. Improper fractions can be converted to mixed fractions or
fractions that contain whole numbers.

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Just like other numbers, we can perform operations on fractions. In the next four posts, we
will be discussing the different operations on fractions. We will learn how to add, subtract,
multiply, and divide fractions.

How to Get the Least Common Multiple of Numbers

In mathematics, a multiple is a product of any number and an integer. The numbers 16, -48
and 72 are multiples of 8 because 8 x 2 = 16, 8 x -3 = -48 and 8 x 9 = 72. Similarly, the
first five positive multiples of 7 are the following:

7, 14, 21, 28, 35.

In this post, we will particularly talk about positive integers and positive multiples. This is in
preparation for the discussions on addition and subtraction of fractions.

We can always find a common multiple given two or more numbers. For example, if we list
all the positive multiples of 2 and 3, we have

2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20

and

3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30.

As we can see, in the list, 6, 12 and 18 are common multiples of 2 and 3. If we continue
further, there are still other multiples, and in fact, we will never run out of multiples.

Can you predict the next five multiples of 2 and 3 without listing?

The most important among the multiples is the least common multiple. The least
common multiple is the smallest among all the multiples. Clearly, the least common multiple
of 2 and 3 is 6. Here are some examples.

Example 1: Find the least common multiple of 3 and 5

Multiples of 3: 3, 6, 9. 12, 15, 18

Multiples of 5: 5, 10, 15, 20, 25,30

10
As we can see, 15 appeared as the first common multiple, so 15 is the least common
multiple of 3 and 5.

Example 2: Find the least common multiple of 3, 4, and 6.

In this example, we find the least multiple that are common to the three numbers.

Multiples of 3: 3, 6, 9, 12, 15

Multiples of 4: 4, 8, 12, 16, 20

Multiples of 6: 6, 12, 18, 24, 30

So, the least common multiple of 3, 4, and 6 is 12.

Example 3: Find the least common multiple of 3, 8 and 12.

Multiples of 3: 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24

Multiples of 8: 8, 16, 24,

Mulitples of 12: 12, 24, 36, 48, 60

So, the least common multiple of 3, 4 and 6 is 24.

In the next part of this series, we will discuss about How to Add Fractions.

How to Add Fractions

Fractions whose denominators are the same are called similar fractions. Fractions that are
not similar are called dissimilar fractions. Hence, the fractions , , and are similar
fractions, while the fractions and are dissimilar fractions. In this post, we are going to
learn how to add fractions.

How to Add Similar Fractions

Adding similar fractions is very easy. In adding similar fractions, you just add the
numerator and copy the denominator. Here are a few examples.

Example 1

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Example 2

Example 3

In most cases, improper fractions or fractions whose denominator is less than its numerator
such as the third example is converted to mixed form. The mixed form of is . We will
discuss how to make such conversion in the near future.

How to Add Dissimilar Fractions

Addition of dissimilar fractions is a bit more complicated than adding similar fractions. In
adding dissimilar fractions, you must determine the least common multiple (LCM) of their
denominator which is known as the least common denominator. Next, you have to convert
all the addends to equivalent fractions whose denominator is the LCM. Having the same
denominator means that the fractions are already similar. Here are a few examples.

Example 1

Solution

a. Get the least common multiple (LCM) of 2 and 3.

Multiples of 2: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12

Multiples of 3: 3, 6, 9, 12, 15

LCM of 2 and 3 is 6.

b. Convert the fractions into fractions whose denominator is the LCM which is 6.

First Addend:

So, the equivalent of is .

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Second Addend:

So, the equivalent fraction of is .

c. Add the equivalent fractions

So, .

Example 2

Solution

a. Get the LCM of 3 and 5.

Multiples of 3: 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18

Multiples of 5: 5, 10, 15, 20

Therefore, the LCM of 3 and 5 is 15.

b. Convert the given fractions into equivalent fractions whose denominator is 15.

First Addend:

So, the equivalent fraction of is .

Second Addend:

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So, the equivalent fraction of is .

c. Add the equivalent fractions

So,

Example 3

Solution

a. Get the LCM of 3, 6 and 8.

Multiples of 3: 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24

Multiples of 6: 6, 12, 18, 24, 30

Multiples of 8: 8, 16, 24, 32, 40

LCM of 3, 6 and 8 is 24.

b. Convert the given fractions into equivalent fractions whose denominator is 24.

First Addend:

Therefore, the equivalent fraction of is

Second Addend:

Therefore, the equivalent fraction of is

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Third Addend:

Therefore, the equivalent fraction of is .

c. Add the equivalent fractions

In the next post, we will have more examples and exercises regarding addition of similar
and dissimilar fractions. I will also give you some tips in getting the least common multiple
of two or more numbers without listing.

How to Multiply Fractions

Among the four fundamental operations on fractions, multiplication is the easiest. It is just
simple. Multiply the numerator and then the denominator. Of course, if the given fractions
can be converted to lowest terms, the easier the multiplication will be.

In this post, we are going to learn how to multiply fractions. You must master this
operation, as well as other fundamental operations on fractions because you will use them in
higher mathematics and solving word problems. Below are some examples.

Example 1

Solution

Answer: .

Example 2

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Solution

We reduce the fraction to lowest term by dividing both the numerator and the denominator
by 2. This results to $latex which is the final answer.

Answer:

Example 3

Solution

First, we reduce by dividing both the numerator and the denominator by 3. This results
to . We now multiply:

Answer: .

Example 4

Solution

In this example, we need to convert the mixed fraction into improper fraction. To do this, we
multiply the denominator of the mixed fraction to the whole number and the product to the
denominator. That is

Now, let us multiply the two fractions.

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Answer:

How to Divide Fractions

We have already discussed addition and multiplication of fractions and what we have
left are subtraction and division. In this post, we learn how to divide fractions.

To divide fractions, we must get the reciprocal of the divisor. This is just the same as
swapping the numerator and the denominator. For example, the reciprocal of is . After
getting the reciprocal, just multiply the fractions.

Example 1

Solution

First, we get the reciprocal of , the divisor. This is . Then, we multiply the fractions.

Answer:

Example 2

Solution

First, we get the reciprocal of which is . Multiplying the fractions, we have

We reduce the answer to lowest terms by dividing both the numerator and denominator

by 5 resulting to .

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Answer:

Example 3

Solution

In dividing fractions, the dividend and the divisor must not be mixed fractions. Therefore,
we need to convert the mixed fraction to improper fraction. To do this, we multiply
by and then add . The result becomes the numerator of the mixed fraction. So, the the
equivalent of is .

Multiplying the fractions, we have

We can convert the improper fraction to mixed form which is equal to

Answer:

Example 4

Solution

If the divisor is a whole number, the reciprocal will be 1 over that number. In the given,
the reciprocal of is . After getting the reciprocal of the divisor, we multiply the two
fractions:

Answer:

How to Subtract Fractions

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We have already learned the three operations on fractions
namely addition, multiplication, and division. In this post, we are going to learn the last
elementary operation: subtraction. If you have mastered addition of fractions, this will
not be a problem for you because the process is just the same. Lets subtract fractions!

Example 1: .

Solution

The given is a similar fraction (fraction whose denominators are the same), so just like in
addition, we just perform the operation on the numerators. Therefore, we just have to
subtract the numerator and copy the denominator. That is,

We reduce to lowest term by dividing both the numerator and denominator of by .

This results to which is the final answer.

Example 2: .

Solution

The two fractions are dissimilar, so we must find their least common denominator. To do
this, we find the least common multiple of and . The common multiples of 2 are

and so on

and the common multiples of are

and so on.

As we can see from the lists above, is the least common multiple of and .

We now change the denominator of both fractions to .

First, we find the equivalent fraction of . That is,

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To find the value of , divide by and then multiply to . The result is which becomes

the numerator of the equivalent fraction. So, the equivalent fraction of is . If you are
confused with this process, please read How to Add Fractions.

Now, we get the equivalent fraction of or we find the value of in . We divide

by and then multiply it by , which gives us . So, the equivalent fraction of is .

We now subtract the fractions.

The final answer is .

Example 3:

Solution

First, we convert to improper fraction. That is,

to get

The least common multiple of and is (try listing as in example 2).

Now, to get the equivalent fraction, we have . Now, . This

means, the equivalent fraction

We also convert to which is equal to .

Now, we subtract the fractions.

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Converting the answer which is an improper fraction to mixed number, we have

How to Convert Fractions to Lowest Terms

In the Civil Service Examination and in many mathematics examinations, results

that are fractions are usually required to be converted to their lowest terms. The
numerator and the denominator of a fraction in lowest terms cannot be divided by
any similar integer. Knowledge of divisibility rules can be helpful in this process.

Example 1: Convert to lowest terms.

In the first example, we can see that the numerator and the denominator are both
divisible by 3. Dividing both the numerator and the denominator by 3 gives us 2/3.

Note that dividing both the numerator and the denominator by the same integer
does not change the value of the fraction.

Example 2: Convert to lowest terms.

Sometimes, it is hard to find the largest common divisor of fractions with large
numerator and denominator so you need to perform division repeatedly. In this
example, the most obvious clue is that both numbers are divisible by 2. Dividing

both the numerator and denominator by 2 gives us . Again, both the denominator
and the denominator are divisible by 3, making the lowest term . Of course, you
could have divided the numerator and the denominator by 6 in the first step.

Example 3: Convert to lowest terms.

There are cases where you are asked to convert an improper fractions (fractions
whose numerator is greater than the numerator) to lowest terms. In some cases,
you have also to convert them to mixed form. The answer to the third example
which is an improper fraction can be obtained by dividing both the numerator and
denominator by 3.

The value of in mixed form is .

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It takes time and practice to master converting fractions to lowest terms.
Knowledge on divisibility and familiarity of characteristics of numbers will help
you perform the computation faster.

How to Convert Improper Fractions to Mixed Forms

In Introduction to Functions, we have learned about proper and

improper fractions. A fraction whose numerator (the number above the fraction
bar) is less than its denominator (the number below the fraction bar) is called
a proper fraction. Therefore, , and are proper fractions.

On the other hand, a fraction whose numerator is greater than its denominator is
called an improper fraction. Therefore the fractions , and are
improper fractions.

In the Civil Service Examinations, some fractions need to be converted from one
form to another. For example, in answering a number series test, you might need
to convert an improper fraction to mixed form in order to compare it to
other fractions in mixed form. In this post, we learn this method: how to convert
an improper fraction to mixed form.

In converting improper fractions to mixed form you will just have to divide the
fraction, find its quotient and its remainder. Remember that the fraction also
means 34 divided by 5.

When we divide 34 by 5, we
call 5 the divisor. The quotient to this division is 6 with a remainder of 4. From
the method, we can observe the following:

The quotient 6 is the whole number on the mixed fraction.

The divisor 5 is the denominator of the mixed fraction.

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 The remainder 4 goes to the numerator of the mixed fraction.

Now, for the second example, let us convert into mixed fraction. If we divide 28
by 3, the divisor is 3, the quotient is 9 and the remainder is 1. Therefore, the
equivalent of the improper fraction is

IV. PERCENT

Introduction to the Concept of Percentage

Now that we have already studied fractions and decimals, we discuss percentage.
You are likely to be aware that the concept of percentage is very useful in daily
life. We always go to stores where there are discounts and we do not want loans
with high interest. These calculations involve the concept of percentage.

What is percentage really?

Percentage is a number ratio expressed as a fraction of 100. When we say 10

percent, what we really mean is 10 out of 100, or in fraction notation 10/100.
Therefore, when we see that a shirt is sold for a 50 percent discount, we actually
say 50 out of 100 or 50/100. Notice that 50/100 when reduced to lowest terms is
1/2 which means that we only have to pay half of the price of the shirt. As we all
know, we use the symbol % to denote percent.

Converting Percent to Fractions for Faster Calculations

Numbers in their percent form can be converted to fractions for quicker

calculations. For example, when we say that a Php2400.00 wristwatch has a 25%
discount, we can easily calculate by converting 25% to fraction. The equivalent of
25% discount is 1/4 in fraction, so, we deduct 1/4 of 2400 (which is equal to
Php600) from Php2400. This means that we can buy the watch for only Php
1800.00

Percents, fractions, and decimals can be converted to one another, to whichever

representation is more convenient for calculations. In examinations such as
the Civil Service Exam, in most cases, fraction is the easiest to use but the
problem is conversion also takes time. Therefore, it is also good to familiarize
yourself with the conversion of the most commonly used fractions in problems

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such as shown in the table below. You can memorize them if you want, but the
conversion method is fairly easy that you can do them mentally.

How to Convert Percent to Fraction

In Civil Service Examinations, as well as other examinations in basic mathematics,

knowing how to convert percent, fractions, and decimals to each other is very
advantageous especially if you can do it mentally. Let us try with the following
example.

A P640 shirt is marked 25% discount. How much will you have to pay for it?

It seems that you need a pencil for this problem, but you can actually do it in your
head. Read it to believe it.

The equivalent of 25% in fraction is 1/4, therefore, you have to take away the
fourth of the price. Now, 1/4 of 640 seems difficult but what if we try to split it to
600 + 40? Now, 1/4 of 600 is 150, which means that from the 600, you
have 450 left. Now, 1/4 of 40 is 10, which means that you have 30 left.
So, 450 + 30 is 480 and that is the discounted price of the t-shirt.

Now, with a little bit of practice, you would be able to do this on your own and you
wont have to use a pen to perform calculations for problems such as this.

How to Convert Percent to Fraction

There is one important concept to remember when converting percent to fraction.

That is, when you say percent, it means per hundred. The word cent comes from

24
the Latin word centum which means hundred. In effect, when you say, 60%, it
means 60 per hundred, 0.4% means 0.4 per hundred, 125% means 125 per
hundred. When you say x per hundred, you can also represent it by the fraction
x/100. This means that the percentages above can be represented as

respectively. Now, all we have left to do is to convert these fractions to lowest

terms.

Example 1:

Recall that to convert a fraction to lowest terms, we find the greatest common
factor (GCF) of its numerator and denominator and then divide them both by the
GCF. The GCF of 60 and 100 is 20, so

Therefore, the equivalent of 60% in fraction is .

Example 2:

In this example, we have a decimal point at the numerator and a whole number at
the denominator. We have to get rid of the decimal point. To do this, we can
multiply both the numerator and the denominator by 10 (since 0.4 x 10 = 4).
Therefore, we have

Now, the greatest common factor of 4 and 1000 is 4, so we divide both the
numerator and the denominator by 4. The final result is .

Therefore, the equivalent fraction of 0.4% is .

Example 3:

The greatest common factor of 125 and 100 is 25, so we divide both the
numerator and the denominator by 25. In doing this, we get .

Therefore, the equivalent fraction of 125% is

Summary

There are three steps to remember in converting percent to fractions.

25
 1. Make a fraction from the given percent with the given as numerator and 100
as denominator.

2. Eliminate the decimal points (if there are any) by multiplying the numerator
and denominator by the same number which is a power of 10 (10, 100,
1000 and so on).

3. Reduce the resulting fraction to lowest terms.

Thats it. You can now convert any given percent to fraction.

How to Convert Fraction to Percent Part 1

In the previous post, we have learned how to convert percent to fraction. In these
series of posts, we learn the opposite: how to convert fraction to percent. I am
going to teach you three methods, the last one would be used if you forgot the
other two methods, or if the first two methods would not work. Please be
reminded though to understand the concept (please do not just memorize).

The first method can be used for fractions whose denominators can be easily
related to 100 by multiplication or division. Recall that from Converting Percent to
Fraction, I have mentioned that when we say percent it means per hundred. In
effect, n% can be represented by n/100. Therefore, if you have a fraction and you
can turn it into n/100 (by multiplication/division), then you have turned it into
percent.

Example 1: What is the equivalent of 1/5 in percent?

How do we relate the denominator 5 to 100? By multiplying it by 20. Therefore, we

also multiply its numerator by 20:

Now, since we have 100 as denominator, the answer in percent is therefore the
numerator. Therefore, the equivalent of 1/5 in percent is 20%.

Example 2: What is 3/25 in percent?

Again, how do you related 25 to 100? By multiplying it by 4. Therefore,

Therefore, the equivalent of 3/25 in percent is 12%.

Example 3: What is 23/200 in percent?

In this example, we can relate 200 to 100 by dividing it by 2. So, we also divide
the numerator by 2. That is

26
Therefore, the answer is 11.5%

There are two important things to remember in using the method above.

(1) in changing the form the fractions to n/100, the only operations that you can
use are multiplication and division and

(2) whatever you do to the numerator, you also do to the denominator.

Note that multiplying the denominator (or dividing it) by the same number does
not change its value, it only change its representation (fraction, percent or
decimal).

Why It Works

When you are relating a fraction a/b to n/100, you are actually using ratio and
proprotion. For example, in the first example, you are actually solving the
equation

The equation will result to which is equal to 20. Now, this is just the same
as multiplying both the numerator and the denominator by 20.

Note that the method of relating to 100 by multiplication or division can only
work easily for denominators that divides 100 or can be divided by 100. Other
fractions (try 1/7), you have to use ratio and proportion and manual division.

How to Convert Fraction to Percent Part 2

In the Part 1, we have learned how to convert fraction to percent by relating the
denominator to 100 by multiplication or division. In this post, we do its algebraic
version. This method is a generalized method to the previous post especially for
numbers that do not divide 100 or cannot be divided by 100 easily. However, to
see the relationship between the two methods, let us do the first example in Part
1 of this series.

Example 1: What is the equivalent of 1/5 in percent.

Recall that in Part 1, we multiplied both the numerator and the denominator by
20, to make the denominator 100. That is,

27
Now, notice how it is related to the new method. In this method, we related 1/5 to
n/100. That is, what is the value of in

To simplify the equation, we multiply both sides of the equation by 100, and we
get

Simplifying and switching the position of the expressions, we get the . This
means that .

Of course, Part 1 seems to be easier, but the good thing about putting it into
equation is that it applies to all fractions. For instance, it is quite hard to convert
7/12 using the method in part 1.

Example 2: What is the equivalent of in percent?

We set up the equation with on the left.

To eliminate the fraction, multiply both sides by denominator. This results to

or about 58.33%.

The curly equal sign means approximately equal to since 3 is a non-terminating

decimal.

Now, try to examine the expression

because this is where they derived the rule. Recall the rule in converting fraction
to percent: Divide the fraction and then multiply the result to 100. That is exactly
it.

So, when you have the fraction, just divide it manually, and then multiply the
result to 100. That is,

28
Do not forget though that the divisor during division is the denominator (5 in 2/5).
as shown below.

Thats it. I think we dont have to have the third part, since we already derived the
rule here.

V. FRACTION-DECIMAL-PERCENT CONVERSION

How to Convert Decimals to Fractions Part 1

We have learned how to convert fractions to decimals and in this post, we are
going to learn how to convert decimals to fractions. Before doing this, we need to
review the meaning of place value. In the decimal number 0.532, 5 is the tenths
place, 3 is the hundredths place, 2 is the thousandths place.

The number 5 tenths is the same as , 3 hundredths is the same as

and 2 thousandths is the same as . In converting decimals to fractions, we

have to see the place value of the last digit of the decimal place.

Example 1

Convert to fraction.

Solution

0.7 is 7 tenths or .

Therefore, the equivalent of in fraction is the same as

Example 2

Convert to fraction.

29
0.6 is

We reduce the fraction to lowest terms by dividing both the numerator and the
denominator by the greatest common factor of 6 and 10 which is 2.

Therefore, the equivalent fraction of is .

Example 3

Convert to fraction

The last digit of the decimal is in the hundredths place, so we can read this as 12
hundredths.

Twelve hundredths is .

We convert this fraction to lowest terms by dividing both the numerator and
denominator by the greatest common factor of 12 and 100 which is equal to 4. So,

Therefore, the equivalent of 0.12 in fraction is

Example 4

Convert to fraction.

Solution

The last digit of the decimal number above is in the thousandths place. So, we can
read it as 375 thousandths.

Now, 375 thousandths is the same as .

We convert 375 thousandths to lowest terms by dividing both its numerator and
denominator by the greatest common factor of 375 and 1000 which is equal to
125. That is,

30
Therefore, the equivalent fraction of is .

How to Convert Fraction to Percent Part 1

In the previous post, we have learned how to convert percent to fraction. In these
series of posts, we learn the opposite: how to convert fraction to percent. I am
going to teach you three methods, the last one would be used if you forgot the
other two methods, or if the first two methods would not work. Please be
reminded though to understand the concept (please do not just memorize).

The first method can be used for fractions whose denominators can be easily
related to 100 by multiplication or division. Recall that from Converting Percent to
Fraction, I have mentioned that when we say percent it means per hundred. In
effect, n% can be represented by n/100. Therefore, if you have a fraction and you
can turn it into n/100 (by multiplication/division), then you have turned it into
percent.

Example 1: What is the equivalent of 1/5 in percent?

How do we relate the denominator 5 to 100? By multiplying it by 20. Therefore, we

also multiply its numerator by 20:

Now, since we have 100 as denominator, the answer in percent is therefore the
numerator. Therefore, the equivalent of 1/5 in percent is 20%.

Example 2: What is 3/25 in percent?

Again, how do you related 25 to 100? By multiplying it by 4. Therefore,

Therefore, the equivalent of 3/25 in percent is 12%.

Example 3: What is 23/200 in percent?

In this example, we can relate 200 to 100 by dividing it by 2. So, we also divide
the numerator by 2. That is

Therefore, the answer is 11.5%

There are two important things to remember in using the method above.

31
(1) in changing the form the fractions to n/100, the only operations that you can
use are multiplication and division and

(2) whatever you do to the numerator, you also do to the denominator.

Note that multiplying the denominator (or dividing it) by the same number does
not change its value, it only change its representation (fraction, percent or
decimal).

Why It Works

When you are relating a fraction a/b to n/100, you are actually using ratio and
proprotion. For example, in the first example, you are actually solving the
equation

The equation will result to which is equal to 20. Now, this is just the same
as multiplying both the numerator and the denominator by 20.

Note that the method of relating to 100 by multiplication or division can only
work easily for denominators that divides 100 or can be divided by 100. Other
fractions (try 1/7), you have to use ratio and proportion and manual division.

How to Convert Fraction to Percent Part 2

In the Part 1, we have learned how to convert fraction to percent by relating the
denominator to 100 by multiplication or division. In this post, we do its algebraic
version. This method is a generalized method to the previous post especially for
numbers that do not divide 100 or cannot be divided by 100 easily. However, to
see the relationship between the two methods, let us do the first example in Part
1 of this series.

Example 1: What is the equivalent of 1/5 in percent.

Recall that in Part 1, we multiplied both the numerator and the denominator by
20, to make the denominator 100. That is,

Now, notice how it is related to the new method. In this method, we related 1/5 to
n/100. That is, what is the value of in

To simplify the equation, we multiply both sides of the equation by 100, and we
get

32
Simplifying and switching the position of the expressions, we get the . This
means that .

Of course, Part 1 seems to be easier, but the good thing about putting it into
equation is that it applies to all fractions. For instance, it is quite hard to convert
7/12 using the method in part 1.

Example 2: What is the equivalent of in percent?

We set up the equation with on the left.

To eliminate the fraction, multiply both sides by denominator. This results to

or about 58.33%.

The curly equal sign means approximately equal to since 3 is a non-terminating

decimal.

Now, try to examine the expression

because this is where they derived the rule. Recall the rule in converting fraction
to percent: Divide the fraction and then multiply the result to 100. That is exactly
it.

So, when you have the fraction, just divide it manually, and then multiply the
result to 100. That is,

Do not forget though that the divisor during division is the denominator (5 in 2/5).
as shown below.

33
Thats it. I think we dont have to have the third part, since we already derived the
rule here.

How to Convert Percent to Decimals

In the previous post, we have learned how to convert decimals to percent. In this
post, we learn the opposite of this procedure. We learn how to convert percent to
decimals.

If you can remember from the previous post, we convert decimals to percent by
multiplying the decimal by 100. So, in this case, we divide percent by 100 in order
to get the decimal value. Remember: division is the inverse operation of
multiplication.

Example 1

Convert 85% to decimals.

Solution

We divide 85% by 100 which means that we will move two decimal places to the
let. Note that the decimal point is on the immediate right of the ones place (in this
case 5). So, if we move the decimal point two places to the left, we have .85 or
0.85. Note that we usually add one 0 to the left of the decimal point if there is no
whole number.

Answer: 0.85

Example 2

What is 40% in decimal?

Solution

34
Again, it is a whole number, so the decimal point is at the right of 0. Moving the
decimal point two places to the left, we have .40 or 0.40

Answer: 0.40 or 0.4 (0 at the right of the decimal numbers may be omitted)

Example 3

Convert 65.2% to decimal.

Solution

This is not a whole number. We can see the decimal point between 5 and 2.
Moving the decimal two places to the left, we end up with .652 or 0.652.

Answer: 0.652

Example 4

Convert 2.5% to decimal.

Solution

There is only one number to the left of the decimal place. But we need to move
two places, so, we add 0. That becomes .025 or 0.025

Answer: 0.025

Example 5

What is 124% to decimal.

Solution

This is a whole number, so the decimal point is at the right of 4. Moving the
decimal point to the left we have 1.24.

Answer: 1.24

Example 6

What is 0.8% in decimal?

Solution

Moving 2 decimal places to the left, we have .008. So the answer is 0.008.

Answer: 0.008

Example 7

A t-shirt worth P600 has a 15% discount. How much is the discount?

Solution

35
The equivalent of 15% to decimal is 0.15

Now, 600 0.15 = 90

Therefore, the discount is Php90.

How to Convert Decimal Numbers to Percent

Conversions of decimals, fractions, and percent is a very important basic skill

in mathematics and many problems in the Civil Exams require this skill. Being able
to convert from one form to another will help you speed up in calculations. For
example, instead of multiplying a number by 25%, you just have to get its 1/4 or
simply divide it by 4.

Percent usually appears in discount and interest problems while fractions and
decimals appear in various types of problems.

How to Convert Decimals to Percent

To convert decimal percent, you just have to multiply the decimal by 100.

Example 1

What is 0.25 in percent?

Solution

0.25 100 = 25

So, the answer is 25%.

Example 2

What is 0.08 in percent?

0.08 100 = 8

Therefore, the answer is 8%.

Of course, there are cases that the given is more than one such as the next
example

Example 3

What is 1.8 in percent?

Solution

1.8 100 = 180

Therefore, the answer is 180%.

Example 4

36
What is 0.009 in percent?

Solution

0.009 100 = 0.9%

Notice that some percent can also have decimal point such as shown in Example 4.
In dealing with many decimals, if we multiply them with 100, we just move two
decimal places to the right.

VI. NUMBER SERIES

A Teaser on Answering Number Series Questions

First of all, I would like to point out the term series in the Number Series
questions in the Civil Service Examinations is a bit incorrect. Technically, the list of
numbers in the examinations is actually called a sequence. A series is a sequence
of sums well, I will not go into details since it is not included in the
examinations. You can click the linkthough if you want to know about it.

Second, this is quite a premature discussion since I have only written a few posts
about integers. I planned to write about this later, but I thought that a teaser
would be nice. In this post, I will show you that it is a must to master all the
topics in mathematics because they are all connected. We will not discuss the
strategies on how to answer the sequence problems here; I will have a separate
post about them later. Dont stop reading though because you are going to miss
half of your life if you do (kidding).

A sequence or a progression is an ordered list of objects which can be numbers,

letters, or symbols. The list 3, 7, 11, 15, 19 is a sequence where 3 is the first term
and 19 is the fifth term. Of course, it is easy to see the sixth term is 23 since each
term is the sum of 4 and term before it.

There are also sequences that are in decreasing order such as 12, 5, -2, -9, -16
and so on. As you can observe, to get the next term, 7 is subtracted from the term
before it. Notice also that this sequence needs knowledge on subtraction of
negative integers.

The list

is also an example of a sequence. This sequence involves addition of fractions. The

next term can be easily solved by converting the given into similar fractions which
when done will result to

37
Clearly, we only need to add to the last term to get the next term which

equals .

In the sequences above, we have only used two number representations (integers
and fractions) and two operations (addition and subtraction). In the actual Civil
Service Examinations, the sequences can also include one or a mixture of other
number representations such as percent, decimal, mixed numbers, and a
combination of these representations. They can also include the four fundamental
operations (addition, subtraction multiplication and division). When I took the
Civil Service Examination in 2002 and 2003, there are fractions, whole numbers,
and decimals in a single given number sequence. I know that 2002 was a long
time ago, but the format of the examination had not changed since.

For now, we will abandon sequences and return to basic Mathematics and English
in the next few posts. When all the pre-requisite knowledge are discussed, we will
learn the strategies on answering number sequence questions.

How to Solve Civil Service Exam Number Series Problems 1

First of all let me clarify that what you are solving in the Civil Service
Examination are number sequences (or letter sequences) and not a number series.
A series has a different meaning in mathematics.

Before proceeding with the discussion below, first, try to find the next term in the
following sequences.

1. 4, 7, 10, 13, ___

2. 17, 11, 5, -1, ___

3. C, F, I, L, ___

4. , , , .

Solution and Explanation

Numbers 1 and 2 are the easiest type of sequence to solve. This is because they
are integers and you just add (or subtract) a constant number to each term to get
the next term. In solving this type of sequence, you can see this pattern by
subtracting adjacent terms (13 10 = 3, 10 7 = 3, 7- 4 = 3) to see if the
difference is constant. If it is, then you will know that you will just have to add the
same number to get the next term. Therefore, the next term to the first sequence
is 13 + 3 = 16.

38
Of course, sequences can also be decreasing. In the second example, the
difference is 6 or it means that 6 is subtracted from a number to get the next term
(see Subtraction of Integers). Therefore, the next term is -1 6 = -7.

The third example is composed of letters but the principle is the same: constant
difference or constant skips. C and F, for instance has two letters in between. This
is also true between F and I and I and L. Therefore, the next letter in the sequence
is O (L, M, N, O).

Fractions and decimals are also included in the sequence problems, so it is

important that you master them. In the following example, one half is added each
time. As you can see, it is not easy to find the next term of this sequence without
manually solving it. The first strategy in solving fraction sequences problems is to
subtract the adjacent terms such as

which is equal to (since I

which is equal to

which is equal to since .

There is however a better strategy than subtracting the adjacent terms when it
comes to sequences on fractions. Sometimes, it is easier to see the pattern if you
convert them to similar fractions (fractions with the same denominator).
Converting the sequence above to similar fractions gives us

, , , .

39
From here, it is clear that the next term in the sequence is . Note however that
this strategy is best only for sequences with constant difference and may be
difficult to use in other types of sequences.

In the next post, we are going to discuss about another type of sequence.

How to Solve Civil Service Exam Number Series Problems 2

In the previous post, we have learned how to solve number sequence (for the Civil
Service Exam Number Series test) and letter sequence problems that involves
constant difference or constant skips. In this post, we are going to discuss another
type of sequence. Before we discuss, see if you can find the next term of the
following sequences.

1. 3, 6, 12, 24, 48, ___

2. 18, 6, 2, 0.66, ___

3. 1, 4, 9, 16, 25, ___

4. 3, 12, 27, 48, 75, ___

Solution and Explanation

First Sequence: 3, 6, 12, 24, 48, ___

In the first sequence, the first that you will notice is that the second term is twice
the first term. So, the next thing that you should ask is, Is the third term twice
the second term? Yes, 12 is twice 6. What about the next term? Yes. So, each
term in the sequence is multiplied to 2 to get the next term. Therefore, the missing
term is 96 which is 48 multiplied by 2.

If we look at the difference of the numbers in the sequence above, we can see that
the number we add is also increasing twice. To get 6, we added 3. To get 12, we
added 6. To get 24, we add 12 and so on. As we can see, the sequence of the
numbers we add (the numbers in red color) is the same as the original sequence
(numbers in blue color).

40
Second Sequence: 18, 6, 2, 0.66, ___

In the second sequence, the number is reduced each time. Since they are integers,
it can either be subtraction or division. As we can see, 6 is a third of 18. This
means that to get 6, 18 is divided by 3. Now, look at the next term. Its 2. So it is
also a third of 6. Can you see the pattern now?

Each term is divided by 3 to get the next term. So, we must divide 0.66 by 3.
therefore, the next term is 0.22 The three dots means that the 2s are infinitely
many.

Third Sequence: 1, 4, 9, 16, 25, ___

What is familiar with this sequence? They are all square numbers! That is,

, , , and .

So the next term is which is 36.

Fourth Sequence: 3, 12, 27, 48, 75, ___

The fourth sequence seems difficult, but I have just multiplied each number in the
third sequence by 3. So, if the sequence is not familiar, try to see if you can divide
it by any number. As you can see,

3, 12, 27, 48, 75 = 3 (1, 4, 9, 16, 25)

or the product of 3 and the square numbers.

In the next post, we are going to discuss alternating sequences.

How to Solve Civil Service Exam Number Series Problems 3

This is the third part of the solving number series problems. The first part includes
dealing with patterns that contains addition and subtraction and the second
part discusses patterns that contains multiplication or division.

In this post, we are going to learn some alternating sequences. I put a quote
in alternating sequence because in mathematics, it has a slightly different
meaning. Note that it is likely that these type of sequence will appear in
examinations such as the Civil Service Exam.

Before we continue with the discussion, try to see if you can answer the following
questions.

41
1. 2, -5, 4, -8, 6, -11, 8, -14, ___, ___

2. 4, 7, 12, 15, 20, 23, 28, ____

3. A, 3, D, 8, G, 13, ___, ___

4. , , , , , , ____, _____

Solutions and Explanations

First Sequence: 2, -5, 4, -8, 6, -11, 8, -14, ___, ___

The first sequence seems hard, but it is actually easy. If you perform addition and
subtraction among consecutive terms, you will surely see a pattern (left as an
exercise). However, before doing it, notice that the sign of the numbers are
alternating: that is, positive, then negative, then positive, and so on.

Now, what if, we separate the two sequences? What if we treat the positive
numbers as a sequence, and the negative numbers as another sequence. Well, we
just put different colors on them, so it is easy to see the pattern.

2, -5, 4, -8, 6, -11, 8, -14, ___, ___

Do you see now? Can you answer the problem?

As you can see, the red numbers are just increasing by 2 and the blue numbers are
decreasing by 3. Therefore, the next numbers are 10 and -17.

Second Sequence:. 4, 7, 12, 15, 20, 23, 28, ____

In the second sequence, 4 is increased by 3 to become 7. Then, 7 is increased by

5. The increase in the numbers are also in alternating pattern. So the correct
answer is 31 which is equal to 28 + 3.

Further, what is interesting is that the coloring strategy that we used in the first
sequence can be also used in this sequence. As you can see in the colored
numbers below, it becomes two sequences as well. The sequence composed of
blue numbers and the other red. In both sequences, the numbers is increased by
8. Since the next number is blue, then it is equal to 23 + 8 = 31.

4, 7, 12, 15, 20, 23, 28, ____

Third Sequence: A, 3, D, 8, G, 13, ___, ___

In the third sequence, the answers are already obvious after learning the strategy
above. There are two letters in between the letter terms in the sequence (A, B,

42
C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J). Further, each number term is 5 greater greater than the
previous number term. So, the correct answer answers are J, 18.

A, 3, D, 8, G, 13, ___, ___

Fourth Sequence: , , , , , , ____, _____

Sequence 4 is alternating addition. The red numbers as shown in the next figure
are added by 1/2 to get the next term while the blue numbers are added by 4.

We have done several examples and it is impossible for us to exhaust all patterns,
so it is up to you to be able to spot them. The patterns could be different, but the
principle of solving them is the same.

How to Solve Civil Service Exam Number Series Problems 4

This is the fourth part of the solving number series problems. The first
part discussed patterns that contains addition and subtraction and
the second part discusses patterns that contains multiplication or
division. The third part was about alternating patterns.

In this post, we are going to discuss some special number patterns.

Although there is a small probability that these types of patterns will
appear in the Civil Service Examination (I didnt see any when I took
the exams, both professional and subprofessional), it is better that you
know that such patterns exist.

Triangular Numbers

1, 3, 6, 10, 15, 21, 28, 36, 45,

43
Triangular numbers are numbers that are formed by arranging dots in
triangular patterns. Therefore, the first term is 1, the second term is 1
+ 2, the third term is 1 + 2 + 3 and so on.

Square Numbers

1, 4, 9, 16, 25, 36,

The square numbers is a sequence of perfect squares: , , , ,

, , and so on.

Cube Numbers

1, 8, 27, 64, 125,

Well, from square numbers, you surely have guessed what are cube
numbers. They are a sequence of cube of integers.

, , , ,

Fibonacci Sequence

1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21,

Technically, a Fibonacci sequence is a sequence that starts with (0, 1),

or (1, 1), and each term is the sum of the previous two. For example,

44
in the sequence above, 5 is the sum of 2 and 3, while 21 is the sum of
8 and 13. In the actual examination, they may give Fibonacci-like
sequences (technically called Lucas Sequence) where they start with
two different numbers. For example, a Lucas sequence that starts with
1 and 3 will generate

1, 3, 4, 7, 11, 18,

Of course, they can also combine positive and negative numbers to

create such sequences. For example, a Lucas sequence that starts
with -8 and 3 will generate the sequence

-8, 3, -5, -2, -7, -9,

Well, this looks like a difficult sequence, but remember that if you can
see the pattern, it is easy to look for the next terms.

VII. ALGEBRA

A Tutorial on Solving Equations Part 1

Solving equations is one of the most fundamental concepts that you

should learn to be able to solve a lot of mathematical problems such
as those in the Civil Service Examinations. For example, for you to be
able to solve a word problem, you need to translate words into
expressions, set up the equation, and solve it. Therefore, you should
learn this post and its continuation by heart.

In this series of posts, we are going to learn how to solve equations

and then learn how to solve different types of problems (number, age,
coin, Geometry, motion, etc). These types of problems usually appear
in the Civil Service Examinations.

So, what is an equation really?

45
An equation are two expressions (sometimes more) with the equal
sign in between. The equation

means that the algebraic expression on the left hand side which
is has the same value as the numerical expression on the right
hand side which is . Now, you can think of the equal sign as
a balance. If you put two different objects and they balance, it means
if you take away half of the object on the left, you also have to take
half of the object on the left. Or, if you double the amount (or weight)
of the object on the left, you also double whats on the right to keep
the balance.

The fancy name of this principle in mathematics is Properties of

Equality. It basically means that whatever you do on the left hand
side, you also do on the right hand side of the equation. Here are a
few examples to illustrate the idea.

How to Solve Equations

Example 1:

There is really nothing to solve in this example. What will you add to
to get . Of course . However, we use the Properties of Equality future
reference. The idea is to isolate on one side and all the other

46
numbers on the other side. Since, is on the left hand side, we want
to get rid of . So, since was added to , we have to subtract from
both sides to get rid of it. So,

This gives us .

Example 2:

This example can be again solved mentally. What will you multiply
with to get , of course, its . But, solving it as above, to get rid of 3
in , since it is multiplication, we divide it by .

Of course, if you divide the left hand side by , you also divide the right
hand side of the equation by .

This gives us .

Example 3:

In this example, is a fraction which mean that we have to get rid of 5.

To do this, we multiply both sides by . That is,

Therefore, .

Like Examples 1 and 2, this can be solved mentally.

Example 4:

47
In this example, we have 2 times and then added to . Well,
intuitively, we can eliminate first by subtracting it from both sides.
That is

which results to

Now, its multiplication, so we eliminate by on the left hand side by

dividing both sides by . That is

This results to

Example 5: .

We first need to eliminate on the left hand side of the equation. Since
it is subtraction, to eliminate it, we have to perform addition
(because ) on both sides of the equation. Doing this, we have

Now, we solve for by dividing both sides by . That is

That is, or in mixed fraction or in decimals.

In the next part of this series, we are going to learn how to solve more
complicated equations.

48
A Tutorial on Solving Equations Part 2

This is a continuation of Solving Equations Part 1. As I have

mentioned in that post, being able to solve equations is very important
since it is used for solving more complicated problems (e.g. word
problems).

In this post, we are going to solve a slightly more complicated

equations. We already discussed 5 examples in the first post, so we
start with our sixth example.

Example 6:

As I have mentioned in the previous examples, we need to isolate on

one side of the equation and all the numbers on the other side. Here,
we decide to put all s on the left hand side, so we remove on the
right hand side. To do this, we subtract from both sides of the
equation.

Of course, , so, simplifying, we have

Then, we want to eliminate on the left hand side. Since it is

multiplication, we therefore divide both sides of the equation by .

Therefore, .

Example 7:

In this example, we want to avoid a negative , so it is better to put

all s on the right hand side of the equation. This means that we have
49
to eliminate from the left hand side. So, we subtract from the left
hand side, and of course, the right hand side as well.

Next, since we want to eliminate all the numbers on the right, the
easiest to eliminate first is . To do this, we just add on both sides
of the equation.

Next, we only have one number on the right hand side which is . To
eliminate it, we divide by . Of course, we also need to divide the
other side by .

Therefore, the answer is .

Notice also that we can add and subtract immediately resulting

to making the process faster. You will be
able to discover such strategy on your own if you solve more
equations.

Example 8:

In this example, we have the form in the left hand side of the
equation. To simplify this, we simply distribute the multiplication of
over . That is

50
 .

This is called the distributive property of multiplication over

addition.

So, solving the problem above, we have

Adding to both sides of the equation, we hhave

Dividing both sides of the equation by we have

Example 9:

In equations with fractions, the basic strategy is to eliminate the

denominator. In this example, the denominator is . Since means
divided by , we cancel out by multiplying the equation by 5. Notice
how 5 is distributed over the left hand side.

which is the same as

Simplifying, we have .

Subtracting from both sides, we have

Dividing both sides by 3, we have .

51
Example 10: .

We eliminate fraction by multiplying both sides of the equation by 2.

That is

In the left hand side, cancels out , so only is left. On the right
hand side, we use distributive property.

Subtracting from both sides, we have

Subtracting from both sides, we have

A Tutorial on Solving Equations Part 3

This is the third part of the series of tutorials on solving equations. In

this part, we will solve more complicated equations especially those
that contain fractions. The first part and the second part of this
series discuss 10 sample equations. We start with the 11th example.

Example 11: -5x 3 = -4x + 12

This example deals with the question of what if is negative? Let us

solve the equation. We want on the left and all the numbers on the
right. So, we add 4x to both sides.

-5x 3 + 4x = -4x + 4x + 12

52
x 3 = 12

Next, we add 3 to both sides to eliminate -3 from the left hand side of
the equation.

x 3 + 3 = 12 + 3

x = 15

You cannot have a final equation like this where there is a negative
sign on x. To eliminate the negative sign on x, multiply both sides by
-1. That is

(-1)(-x) = (-1)(15)

So, x = -15 is the final answer.

Example 12:

This example highlights the distributive property. Notice that

distributive property is also needed on equations with fractions. The
idea is that if you have an expression that looks like ; that is, a
multiplied by the quantity , you must distribute over them. That
is,

and .

Solving the equation above, we have

Notice on the right hand side that is not distributed to the second
because the second is outside the parenthesis. We now simplify.

Next, we simplify the expression on the right hand side.

53
Now, we want to put on the left and all the numbers on the right. We
do this simultaneously. We subtract from the right hand side and
add 6 on the left hand side, so we add to both sides of the
equation. You can do this separately if you are confused.

On the left hand side: and . On the right hand

side, and

This gives us . Multiplying both sides by , as we have done in

Example 11, we have

as the final answer.

Example 13: .

This type of equation usually appears in work and motion problems

which we will discuss later. Just like in solving fractions, all you have
to do is get the least common denominator. Now, the least
common denominator of 2, 3, and 4 is 12. So, all we have to do is to
multiply everything with 12. That is

Dividing both sides by , we have

54
 .

Example 14:

This is almost the same the above example. We get the least common
denominator of and which is equal to . Then, we multiply
everything with . That is

Now, on the left hand side, and on the right hand side .
This gives us

Simplifying the left hand side, we have

Now, gives us . Multiplying both sides by to

make positive gives us the final answer

Example 15:

This example discusses the question what if is in the denominator?

If is just in the denominator just like this example, the solution is
quite similar to Example 13. However, if is both found in the
numerator and denominator, this will result to a quadratic equation
(something with ). This seldom comes out, and we will discuss this
separately. For now, let us solve this example.

55
The strategy here is to get the least common denominator of the
numbers and then include during the multiplication. In this example,
we want to get the least common denominator of and which is .
Now, we include and the least common denominator of the equation
above is . Now, we multiply everything with . That is,

. Therefore, the answer is .

This ends the third part of this series, in the next part of this series (I
am not sure if I will discuss this soon), we will discuss about dealing
equations with radicals (square root and cube root).

Quadratic Equations

Introduction to Quadratic Equation

The length of a rectangle is 3 cm more than its width. Its area is equal
to 54 square centimeters. What is its length and width?

Solution

Let

56
x = width of rectangle
x + 3 = length of rectangle

The area of a rectangle is the product of the length and width, so we

have

Area= x(x + 3)

which is equal to 54.

Therefore, we can form the following equation:

x(x + 3) = 54.

By the distributive property, we have

Finding the value of x

In the equation, we want to find the value of x that makes the equation
true. Without algebraic manipulation, we can find the value of x by
assigning various values to x. The equation indicates that
one number is greater than the other by 3 and their product is 54.
Examining the numbers with product as 54, we have,

1 and 54
2 and 27
3 and 18
6 and 9.

Note: We have excluded the negative (e.g. (-1)(-54) = 54) numbers

since a side length cannot be negative.

Now, 9-6 = 3 which means that the side lengths of the rectangle are 6
and 9. Yes, their product is 54 and one is 3 greater than the other.

57
In the equation above, subtracting both sides by 54, we have

The equation that we formed above is an example of a quadratic

equation.

A quadratic equation is of the form , where a, b,

and c are real numbers and a not equal to 0. In the example above, a
= 1, b = 3, and c = -54.

In the problem above, we got the value of x by testing several values,

however, there are more systematic methods. In the next post, we will
be discussing one of these methods. These methods are factoring,
completing the square, and quadratic formula.

Solving Quadratic Equations by Extracting the Square Root

In the previous post, we have learned about quadratic

equations or equations of the form , where a is not equal
to 0. In this equation, we want to find the value of x which we call the
root or the solution to the equation.

There are three strategies in finding the root of the equation: by

extracting the roots, by completing the square, and by the quadratic
formula. In this example, we will discuss, how to find the root of the
quadratic equation by extracting the root.

Just like in solving equations, if we want to find the value of x, we put

all the numbers on one side, and all the xs on one side.
Since quadratic equations contain the term , we can find the value of
x by extracting the square roots. Below are five examples on how to
do this.

58
Example 1:

Solution

Dividing both sides by 2, we have

This gives us

Extracting the square root of both sides, we have

Therefore, the root .

Example 2:

Solution

Adding 36 to both side, we have

Extracting the square root of both sides, we have

In this example, x has two roots: x = 6 and x = -6.

59
Example 3:

Solution

Subtracting 81 from both sides, we have

In this case, there is no number that when multiplied by itself is

negative. For example, negative times negative is equal to positive,
and positive times positive is equal to positive. Therefore, there is no
real root. There is, however, what we call a complex root as shown in
the video below.

Example 4:

Solution

Dividing both sides by 5, we have

Extracting the square root of both sides, we have

60
Example 5:

Dividing both sides by 3, we have

Extracting the square root of both sides, we have

Solving Quadratic Equations by Factoring

In the previous post, we have learned how to solve quadratic

equations by extracting the roots. In this post, we are going
to learn how to solve quadratic equations by factoring.

To solve quadratic equations by factoring, we need to use the zero

property of real numbers. It states that the product of two real
numbers is zero if at least one of the two real numbers is zero. In
effect, we need to transfer all the terms to the lefth hand side, let the
right hand side be 0, equate factored form zero and find the value of x.

Example 1:

Solution

This means the solutions of are or .

Example 2:

61
Solution
Subtracting from both sides, we have
.

Factoring, we have

This means the solutions of are or .

Example 3:

Solution

Subtracting from both sides,

.

Factoring out , we have

.

Equating both expression to 0, we have

This means the solutions of are or .

Example 4: Solve .

Solution

This means the solutions of are or .

62
Example 5: Solve .

Solution

This means the solutions of are $katex -1$ or .

Example 6: Solve

Solution

This means the solutions of are or .

Example 7:
Solution

Cross multiplying, we have

.

Expanding, we have
.

Transposing all the terms to the left hand side, we have

63
 .

This means the solutions are or .

Solving Quadratic Equations by Quadratic Formula

In the previous post, we have learned how to solve quadratic

equations by factoring. In this post, we are going to learn how to
solve quadratic equations using the quadratic formula. In doing this,
we must identify the values of , , and , in and
substitute their values to the quadratic formula

Note that the value of is the number in the term containing , is the
number in the term containing , and is the value of the constant
(without or ).

The results in this calculation which are the values of are the roots of
the quadratic equation. Before you calculate using this formula, it is
important that you master properties of radical numbers and how to
calculate using them.

Example 1: Find the roots of

Solution

From the equation, we can identify , , and .

Substituting these values in the quadratic formula, we have

64
 .

We know, that . So, we have

Therefore, we have two roots

or

Example 2: Find the roots of

Solution

Recall, that it easier to identify the values of , , and if the quadratic

equation is in the general form which is . In order to
make the right hand side of the equation above equal to 0, subtract 15
from both sides of the equation by 15. This results to

As we can see, , and .

Substituting these values to the quadratic formula, we have

65
 .

But .

Therefore,

Factoring out 2, we have

Therefore, we have two roots:

or

VIII. AREA

Area of a Rectangle Series

Calculating Areas of Geometric Figures

Area of geometric figures are very common in Civil Service Exams and also other
types of examinations. Area is basically the number of square units that can fit
inside a closed region. In a closed region, if all the unit squares fit exactly, you can
just count them and the number of squares is the area. For example, the areas of
the figures below are 4, 10, 8 and 20 square units.

The figures blow are rectangles (yes, a square is a rectangle!). Counting the
figures and observing the relationship between their side lengths and their areas,
it is easy to see that the area is equal to the product of the length and the width
(Why?).

66
The blue rectangle has length 5 and width 2, and counting the number of squares,
we have 10. Of course, it is easy to see that we can group the squares into two
groups of 5, or five groups of 2. From this grouping, we can justify why the
formula for the area of a rectangle is described by the formula

where is the area of the rectangle, is the length and is the width. Since the
square has the same side length, we can say that

where is its area and is its side length.

There are also certain figures whose areas are difficult to calculate intuitively such
as the area of a circle, but mathematicians have already found ways to calculate
the areas for these figures.

Challenge: Find the area of the green and blue figure below and estimate the area
of the circle.

67
Below are some formulas for the most common shapes used in examinations.
Dont worry because we will discuss them one by one.

Triangle: , is base, is height.

Parallelogram: , is base, is height

Trapezoid: , and are the base, is the height

Circle: r is radius

In this series, we are going to discuss the areas of the most commonly used figure
in examinations and we will discuss various problems in calculating areas of
geometric figures. We are also going to discuss word problems about them.
Questions like the number of tiles that can be used to tile a room is actually an
area problem.

How to Solve Rectangle Area Problems Part 1

The area of a rectangle including square are the simplest to calculate. As we have
discussed in the previous post, they can be calculated by multiplying their length
and the width. That is if a rectangle has area , length and width , then,

or simply .

In this post, we are going to solve various problem involving area of rectangles.

Problem 1

The length of a rectangle is 12 centimeters and its width is 5 centimeters. What is

its area?

68
Solution

Using the representation above, and . Calculating the area, we have

The area is 60 square centimeters.

Problem 2

The area of a rectangular garden is 20 square meters. Its width is 2.5 meters.
What is its length?

Solution

In this problem, the missing is the length and the given are the area and the
width. So, and . Using the formula, we have

Substituting the values of and , we have

Since we are looking for , we divide both sides of equation by 2.5. That is

Simplifying, we have .

Therefore, the length of the rectangular garden is equal to 8 meters.

Problem 3

The floor of a room 8 meters by 6 meters is to be covered with square tiles. The
tiles dimensions is 25 centimeters by 25 centimeters. How many tiles are needed
to covered the room? Note: 1 meter = 100 centimeters

Solution

This problem has at least two solutions. I will show one solution and leave you to
look for another solution. Using the area formula, we can calculate the area of the
room in square meters. That is,

So, the area of the room is 48 square meters. However, we are looking for the
number of tiles that can cover the room and not the area in square meters. Now,
the easiest solution is to find the number of tiles that can fit inside 1 square

69
meter. Since the side of a square is 1 meter which is equal to 100 centimeters,
it can fit 4 tiles as shown below.

1 square meter contains 16 tiles

Now, four tiles at the side means 1 square meter contains square tiles.
Since there are 48 square meters, the number of tiles needed is

Therefore, we need at least 768 square tiles to cover the entire floor.

How to Solve Rectangle Area Problems Part 2

We have already learned the concept of area of a rectangle and solved

sample problems about it. In this post, we continue the rectangle area problems
series. We discuss three more problems about rectangle area.

The fourth problem below involves area preservation, the fifth is calculating the
area given its perimeter, and the sixth requiring the use of quadratic equations.

Lets begin.

Problem 4

What is the area of the figure below?

70
Solution

The figure above can be divided into 3 rectangles. One way to do this is to draw
the dashed line below (can you find other ways?). Notice that drawing the lines
give us rectangles with dimensions 6c m by 4 cm, 6 cm by 3 cm, and 6cm by 16
cm.

Now, the area of the figure is the sum of the areas of the three rectangles.

Area of a 6 cm by 4 cm is 6 cm 4 cm = 24 square cm.

Area of a 6 cm by 4 cm is 6 cm 3 cm = 18 square cm.
Area of a 6 cm by 4 cm is 6 cm 16 cm = 96 square cm

So, the area of the figure is 24 + 18 + 96 = 138 sq. cm.

Problem 5

The perimeter of a rectangle 54 cm. Its length is twice than its width. What is its
area?

71
Solution

We have already discussed how to calculate the perimeter of a rectangle and we

have learned its formula. A rectangle with perimeter P, length l and width w has
perimeter

P = 2l + 2w.

Now, we let the width be equal to x. Since the length is twice, it is 2x.
Substituting them to the formula above, we have

54 = 2(2x) + 2x.

Simplifying, we have

54 = 6x

resulting to x = 9. Therefore, the width is 9 and the length which is twice the
width is 18. So, the area is 9(18) = 162 sq. cm.

Problem 6

The length of a rectangle is 5 more than its width. Its area is 84 square
centimeters. What are its dimensions?

Solution

Guess and Check

This problem can be solved using guess and check but I wouldnt recommend it.
For example, you can choose two numbers where one is 5 greater than the other
and find their product. Choosing 4 and 9 results to the product 36. It is quite
small, so you might want to try 10 and 15 but the product is 150, quite large, so,
you can go down, and you will eventually find 7 and 12 which is the correct
answer. Another guess and check strategy in this problem is to find the factors of
84 (left as an exercise).

Now, remember that guess and check does not always work and it takes time, so
you better learn the solution below.

Algebra (Quadratic Equation)

If we let be the width of the triangle, then its length is 5 greater than the width,
so it is therefore, . Since the area of a rectangle is the product of its length
and width, so,

This results to the quadratic equation which is equivalent to

72
If you still remember factoring, then this is an easy problem to factor. This gives
us

which gives us which is its width. This also gives us the length x + 5 = 12.

This solution which uses quadratic equation is a bit advanced, but there is no way
that you can solve problems like the one above if you dont know it. I am afraid
that you have to learn it again if you have forgotten it. You must practice factoring
and memorize the quadratic formula (I will discuss this after this series). Then
and only then, that you would be able to solve such problems with better speed
and accuracy.

Exam Tip

If you encounter problems such as this and you dont know what to do, it is
important that you do not spend too much time on them. Just guess the answer
first, mark them, and come back to them when you still have time at the end of the
exam. However, be sure not to skip too many items.

Circles
Introduction to the Basic Concepts of Circles

The Civil Service Exams also contain geometry problems, and so far,
our discussions are mostly algebra problems. In this new series of posts, we will
discuss how to solve geometry and measurement problems particularly about
circles. However, before we start solving problems, let us first discuss the basic
terminologies about circles.

A circle is a set of points equidistant to a point called the center of the circle. As I
go around to give trainings and lectures , I usually hear the wrong definition
below. I am not sure where this definition originated, but this is wrong.

Wrong Definition: A circle is a polygon with infinite number of sides.

If you look at the definition of a polygon (see Wikipedia), it is a region bounded

with a finite number of straight lines (sides). So, if you say that a circle is a
polygon with infinite number of sides, it is already a contradiction. Therefore,
remember from now on that a circle is NOT a polygon and it has no side.

Parts of a Circle

Below is a circle with center O. A circle is usually named using its center, so we
can call it circle O.

73
A segment from the center of a circle to a point on the circle such as is
called radius (plural is radii, pronounced as raid-yay). A segment joining two
points on the circle such as is called chord.

The longest chord that can be made in a circle passes through the center. This
chord is called diameter. In the figure above, is a diameter of circle O.

Some Basic Facts About Circles

Notice that diameter is composed of two radii, and . Therefore, the

diameter of a circle is twice its radius. So, if we let the diameter D, and radius r,
we can say that

If we measure the length of the circle, that is if we start from B, go around along
the circle until we reach B again, the distance we would have traveled is called
its circumference. The formula circumference C is

where is approximately 3.1416.

Since and , we can also say that . Note that the circle
itself (the path itself from B going around back to B) is also called circumference.

In this series, we will also learn how to calculate the area A of a circle in this
series which has formula

How to Calculate the Circumference of a Circle

In the previous post, we have learned about the basic terminologies about circles.
We continue this series by understanding the meaning of circumference of a circle.

74
The circumference of a circle is basically the distance around the circle itself. If
you want to find the circumference of a can, for example, you can get a measuring
tape and wrap around it.

The animation below shows, the meaning of circumference. As we can see, the
circle with diameter 1 has circumference or approximately .

Note: If you want to know where came from, read Calculating the Value of Pi.

Example 1

What is the perimeter of a circle with diameter 1 unit?

Solution

The formula of finding the circumference of a circle is with circumference and

diameter is . So,

Example 2

Find the circumference of a circle with radius 2.5 cm.

Solution

The circumference of a circle with radius is

So,

Therefore, the circumference of a circle with radius 2.5 cm is 15.7 cm.

Example 3

Find the radius of a circle with a circumference 18.84 cm. Use .

Solution

75
Dividing both sides by 6.28, we have

Therefore, the radius of a circle with circumference 18.84 cm is 3 cm.

Example 4

Mike was jogging in circular park. Halfway completing the circle, he went back to
where he started through a straight path. If he traveled a total distance of
514 meters, what is the total distance if he jogged around the park once?
(Use ).

Solution

The distance traveled by Mike is equal to half the circumference of the circular
park and its diameter. Since the circumference of a circle is and the diameter
is equal to , the distance D traveled by Mike is

So, .

Substituting, we have .

Factoring out , we have

Dividing both sides by 5.14, we get

Now, we are looking for the distance around the park (cirumfrence of the circle).
That is,

meters.

How to Calculate the Area of a Circle

Last week, we have discussed how to calculate the circumference of a circle. In

this post, we learn how to calculate the area of a circle. The area of a circle which
we will denote by is equal to the product of and the square of its radius .
Putting it in equation, we have

76
 .

In the examinations, the value of is specified. They usually use , or .

If you can recall, the radius is the segment from the center to the point on the
circle as shown below. The radius is half the diameter. The diameter is the longest
segment that you can draw from one point on the circle to another. It always
passes through the center.

Note: We also use the term radius to refer to the length of the
radius and diameter as the length of the diameter.

Now that we have reviewed the basic terminologies, let us have

some examples on how to calculate the area of a circle.

Example 1

What is the area of a circle with radius 8 centimeters. Use .

Solution

So, the area of the circle is 200.96 square centimeters (sometimes abbreviated as
sq. cm.)

Be Careful! Length is measured in units and area is measured in square units. For
example, the radius given is in inches (length), the answer for area is in square
inches. So, since the Civil Service Exam is multiple choice, the examiner could
place units and square units in the choices.

Example 2

77
Find the area of a circle with diameter 14 centimeters. Use .

Solution

Notice that the given is the diameter, so we find the radius. Since the diameter is
twice its radius, we divide 14 centimeters by 2 giving us 7 centimeters as the
radius. Now, lets calculate the area.

square centimeters.

Example 3

Find the radius of a circle with area 6.28 square meters. Use .

Solution

In this problem, area is given. We are looking for the radius. We still use the
original formula and make algebraic manipulations later, so we dont have to
memorize a lot of formulas.

We substitute the value of area and .

We are looking for , so we isolate to the right side (recall how to solve
equations).

Since, we have a square, we get the square root of both sides. That is

So, radius is square root of 2 meters or about 1.41 meters.

In this calculation, 2 is not a perfect square. Since you are not allowed to use
calculator, they probably wont let you calculate for the square root of number. So,

78
in this case, the final answer is that the radius of the circle is square root of 2
meters (meters, not square meters).

The Area of a Trapezoid Series

How to Find the Area of a Trapezoid

We have learned how to calculate the areas of a square, rectangle, parallelogram,

and circle. In this post, we are going to learn how to find the area of a trapezoid.
This is the first post of Finding the Area of a Trapezoid Series.

A trapezoid is a polygon whose exactly one pair of sides are parallel*. The figure
below is a trapezoid where sides a and b are parallel.

Notice that if we make another trapezoid which has the same size and shape as
above, flip one trapezoid, and make one pair of the non-parallel sides meet, we
can form the figure below. That figure is a parallelogram. Can you see why?

Now, observe that the base of the parallelogram from the figure is a + b. Its
height is h.

We have learned that the area of a parallelogram is the product of its base and
height. So, the expression that describes its area is

79
 .

Now, when we calculated for the area of the parallelogram above, we actually
calculated the area of two trapezoids. Therefore, to get the area of a trapezoid, the
have divide the formula above by 2 or multiply it by . That is, if we let be the
area of a trapezoid is

where a and b are the base (parallel sides) and h is the height.

*Please take note that there are other definitions of this polygon. In some books,
it is defined as polygons whose at least one pair of sides are parallel.

Example 1

What is the area of a trapezoid whose base are 12 cm and 18 cm and whose height
is 15 cm.

Solution

Using the notation above, in this problem we have , and ?

The formula for area is

So, substituting we have

So, the area of the trapezoid is 225 square units.

How to Find the Area of a Trapezoid Part 2

In the previous post, we have learned the formula for finding the area of a
trapezoid. We derived that the formula for the area of a trapezoid with base
and (the base are the parallel sides), and height is

In this post, which is the second part of Finding the Area of a Trapezoid Series, we
are going to continue with some examples. We will not only find the area of a
trapezoid, but other missing dimensions such as base and height. Now, get your
paper and pencils and try to solve the problems on your own before reading
the solution.

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We have already discussed one example in the previous post, so we start with the
second example.

Example 2

What is the area of a trapezoid whose parallel sides measure 6 cm and 8 cm and
whose altitude is 2.5 cm?

Solution

In this example, the parallel sides are the base, so we can substitute them to
and . Since we are looking for the sum of and , we can substitute them
interchangeably. The term altitude is also another term for height. So, ,
and .

We now substitute.

So the area is square centimeters.

Be Careful!: Again, remember that if we talk about area, we are talking about
square units, and in this case square centimeters. If you choose an option which
is 17.5 centimeters, then it is WRONG. It should be 7.5 square centimeters!

Example 3

Find the height of a trapezoid whose base lengths are 5 and 8 units and whose
area is 18 square units.

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Solution

In this problem, we look for the height. But dont worry, we will still use the same
formula, and manipulate the equation later to find . So here, we have
, , and .

Multiplying 1/2 and 12, we have

We are looking for , so to eliminate 6, we divide both equations by 6. That is,

So, the height of the trapezoid is 3 units (not square units!).

How to Find the Area of a Trapezoid Part 3

This the third part of a series on finding the area of a trapezoid here in PH Civil
Service Review. In the first post, we discussed the derivation of the area of a
trapezoid and give a worked example. In the second post, we discussed how to
find the area given the baseand the height as well as to find the height given the
area and the base.

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In this post, we are going to find the base, given the height and the area. We
continue with the fourth example.

Example 4

A trapezoid has area 65 square centimeters, height 13 cm, and base of 4 cm. Find
the other base.

Solution

In this example, we have , and . We are looking for .

In equations with fractions, we always want to eliminate the fractions. In the

equation above, we can do this by multiplying both sides of the equation by 2.
That is,

The product of 2 and 1/2 is 1, so,

Next, we use distributive property on the right hand side. Recall:

.

We want to find b, so we subtract 52 from both sides giving us

Next, we divide both sides by 13

So, the other base is 6 centimeters which is our answer to the problem.

Example 5

The figure below is a trapezoid. Find the value of .

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Solution

We eliminate the fraction by multiplying both sides by 2 to get

Note: It will be shorter if we divide both sides of equation by 7. You might want to
try it.

Using the distributive property, we have

Subtracting 63 from both sides, we have

Dividing both sides by 7, we have

So, the other base of the trapezoid is 11 units.

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