Derived copy of FHSST: Grade 10 Maths

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3 AUDIOBOOK COLLECTIONS

6 BOOK COLLECTIONS
Derived copy of FHSST: Grade 10 Maths
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CONNEXIONS

Rice University, Houston, Texas

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 Table of Contents
1 Review of Past Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
2 Functions and graphs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
3 Number patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
4 Finance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
5 Rational numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
6 Exponentials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
7 Estimating surds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
8 Irrational numbers and rounding o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
9 Products and factors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
10 Equations and inequalities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
11 Average gradient . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
12 Probability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
13 Geometry basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
14 Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
15 Trigonometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
16 Analytical geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
17 Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 348
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350
Attributions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351
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Chapter 1

Review of Past Work 1

1.1 Introduction
This chapter describes some basic concepts which you have seen in earlier grades and lays the foundation
for the remainder of this book. You should feel condent with the content in this chapter, before moving on
with the rest of the book.
You can try out your skills on exercises in this chapter and ask your teacher for more questions just like
them. You can also try to make up your own questions, solve them and try them out on your classmates to
see if you get the same answers.
Practice is the only way to get good at maths!

1.2 What is a number?

A number is a way to represent quantity. Numbers are not something that you can touch or hold, because
they are not physical. But you can touch three apples, three pencils, three books. You can never just touch
three, you can only touch three of something. However, you do not need to see three apples in front of you
to know that if you take one apple away, there will be two apples left. You can just think about it. That is
your brain representing the apples in numbers and then performing arithmetic on them.
A number represents quantity because we can look at the world around us and quantify it using numbers.
How many minutes? How many kilometers? How many apples? How much money? How much medicine?
These are all questions which can only be answered using numbers to tell us how much of something we
want to measure.
A number can be written in many dierent ways and it is always best to choose the most appropriate
way of writing the number. For example, a half  may be spoken aloud or written in words, but that
makes mathematics very dicult and also means that only people who speak the same language as you can
understand what you mean. A better way of writing a half  is as a fraction
1
2 or as a decimal number 0, 5.
It is still the same number, no matter which way you write it.
In high school, all the numbers which you will see are called real numbers and mathematicians use the
symbol R to represent the set of all real numbers, which simply means all of the real numbers. Some of these
real numbers can be written in ways that others cannot. Dierent types of numbers are described in detail
in Section 1.12.
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1
2 CHAPTER 1. REVIEW OF PAST WORK

1.3 Sets
A set is a group of objects with a well-dened criterion for membership. For example, the criterion for
belonging to a set of apples, is that the object must be an apple. The set of apples can then be divided into
red apples and green apples, but they are all still apples. All the red apples form another set which is a
sub-set of the set of apples. A sub-set is part of a set. All the green apples form another sub-set.
Now we come to the idea of a union, which is used to combine things. The symbol for union is ∪.
Here, we use it to combine two or more intervals. For example, if x is a real number such that 1<x≤3 or
6 ≤ x < 10 , then the set of all the possible x values is:

(1, 3] ∪ [6, 10) (1.1)

where the ∪ sign means the union (or combination) of the two intervals. We use the set and interval notation
and the symbols described because it is easier than having to write everything out in words.

1.4 Letters and Arithmetic

The simplest thing that can be done with numbers is adding, subtracting, multiplying or dividing them.
When two numbers are added, subtracted, multiplied or divided, you are performing arithmetic 2
. These
four basic operations can be performed on any two real numbers.
Mathematics as a language uses special notation to write things down. So instead of:
one plus one is equal to two
mathematicians write

1+1=2 (1.2)

In earlier grades, place holders were used to indicate missing numbers in an equation.

1+=2
4−=2 (1.3)

 + 3 − 2 = 2
However, place holders only work well for simple equations. For more advanced mathematical workings,
letters are usually used to represent numbers.

1+x=2
4−y =2 (1.4)

z + 3 − 2z = 2
These letters are referred to as variables, since they can take on any value depending on what is required.
For example, x=1 in (1.4), but x = 26 in 2 + x = 28.
A constant has a xed value. The number 1 is a constant. The speed of light in a vacuum is also a
constant which has been dened to be exactly 299792458 m·s−1 (read metres per second). The speed of light
is a big number and it takes up space to always write down the entire number. Therefore, letters are also
used to represent some constants. In the case of the speed of light, it is accepted that the letter c represents
the speed of light. Such constants represented by letters occur most often in physics and chemistry.
Additionally, letters can be used to describe a situation mathematically. For example, the following
equation

x+y =z (1.5)

2 Arithmetic is derived from the Greek word arithmos meaning number.

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can be used to describe the situation of nding how much change can be expected for buying an item. In
this equation, y represents the price of the item you are buying, x represents the amount of change you
should get back and z is the amount of money given to the cashier. So, if the price is R10 and you gave the
cashier R15, then write R15 instead of z and R10 instead of y and the change is then x.

x + 10 = 15 (1.6)

We will learn how to solve this equation towards the end of this chapter.

1.5 Addition and Subtraction

Addition (+) and subtraction (−) are the most basic operations between numbers but they are very closely
related to each other. You can think of subtracting as being the opposite of adding since adding a number
and then subtracting the same number will not change what you started with. For example, if we start with
a and add b, then subtract b, we will just get back to a again:

a+b−b=a
(1.7)
5+2−2=5
If we look at a number line, then addition means that we move to the right and subtraction means that we
move to the left.
The order in which numbers are added does not matter, but the order in which numbers are subtracted
does matter. This means that:

a+b = b+a
(1.8)
a − b 6= b − a if a 6= b
The sign 6= means is not equal to. For example, 2 + 3 = 5 and 3 + 2 = 5, but 5 − 3 = 2 and 3 − 5 = −2. −2
is a negative number, which is explained in detail in "Negative Numbers" (Section 1.8: Negative Numbers).

1.5.1 Commutativity for Addition

The fact that a + b = b + a, is known as the commutative property for addition.

1.6 Multiplication and Division

Just like addition and subtraction, multiplication (×, ·) and division (÷, /) are opposites of each other.
Multiplying by a number and then dividing by the same number gets us back to the start again:

a×b÷b=a
(1.9)
5×4÷4=5
Sometimes you will see a multiplication of letters as a dot or without any symbol. Don't worry, its exactly
the same thing. Mathematicians are ecient and like to write things in the shortest, neatest way possible.

abc = a×b×c
(1.10)
a·b·c = a×b×c
It is usually neater to write known numbers to the left, and letters to the right. So although 4x and x4
are the same thing, it looks better to write 4x. In this case, the 4 is a constant that is referred to as the
coecient of x.

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4 CHAPTER 1. REVIEW OF PAST WORK

1.6.1 Commutativity for Multiplication

The fact that ab = ba is known as the commutative property of multiplication. Therefore, both addition
and multiplication are described as commutative operations.

1.7 Brackets
3
Brackets in mathematics are used to show the order in which you must do things. This is important as you
can get dierent answers depending on the order in which you do things. For example:

(5 × 5) + 20 = 45 (1.11)

whereas

5 × (5 + 20) = 125 (1.12)

If there are no brackets, you should always do multiplications and divisions rst and then additions and
4
subtractions . You can always put your own brackets into equations using this rule to make things easier
for yourself, for example:

a×b+c÷d = (a × b) + (c ÷ d)
(1.13)
5 × 5 + 20 ÷ 4 = (5 × 5) + (20 ÷ 4)
If you see a multiplication outside a bracket like this

a (b + c)
(1.14)
3 (4 − 3)
then it means you have to multiply each part inside the bracket by the number outside

a (b + c) = ab + ac
(1.15)
3 (4 − 3) = 3 × 4 − 3 × 3 = 12 − 9 = 3
unless you can simplify everything inside the bracket into a single term. In fact, in the above example, it
would have been smarter to have done this

3 (4 − 3) = 3 × (1) = 3 (1.16)

It can happen with letters too

3 (4a − 3a) = 3 × (a) = 3a (1.17)

3 Sometimes people say parentheses instead of brackets.

4 Multiplying and dividing can be performed in any order as it doesn't matter. Likewise it doesn't matter which order you
do addition and subtraction. Just as long as you do any ×÷ before any +−.

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1.7.1 Distributivity
The fact that a (b + c) = ab + ac is known as the distributive property.
If there are two brackets multiplied by each other, then you can do it one step at a time:

(a + b) (c + d) = a (c + d) + b (c + d)
= ac + ad + bc + bd
(1.18)
(a + 3) (4 + d) = a (4 + d) + 3 (4 + d)
= 4a + ad + 12 + 3d

1.8 Negative Numbers

1.8.1 What is a negative number?
Negative numbers can be very confusing to begin with, but there is nothing to be afraid of. The numbers
that are used most often are greater than zero. These numbers are known as positive numbers.
A negative number is a number that is less than zero. So, if we were to take a positive number a and
subtract it from zero, the answer would be the negative of a.

0 − a = −a (1.19)

On a number line, a negative number appears to the left of zero and a positive number appears to the right
of zero.

Figure 1.1: On the number line, numbers increase towards the right and decrease towards the left.
Positive numbers appear to the right of zero and negative numbers appear to the left of zero.

1.8.2 Working with Negative Numbers

When you are adding a negative number, it is the same as subtracting that number if it were positive.
Likewise, if you subtract a negative number, it is the same as adding the number if it were positive. Numbers
are either positive or negative and we call this their s ign. A positive number has a positive sign (+) and a
negative number has a negative sign (−).
Subtraction is actually the same as adding a negative number.
In this example, a and b are positive numbers, but −b is a negative number

a − b = a + (−b)
(1.20)
5 − 3 = 5 + (−3)
So, this means that subtraction is simply a short-cut for adding a negative number and instead of writing
a + (−b), we write a − b. This also means that −b + a is the same as a − b. Now, which do you nd easier
to work out?

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6 CHAPTER 1. REVIEW OF PAST WORK

Most people nd that the rst way is a bit more dicult to work out than the second way. For example,
most people nd 12 − 3 a lot easier to work out than −3 + 12, even though they are the same thing. So
a − b, which looks neater and requires less writing is the accepted way of writing subtractions.
Table 1.1 shows how to calculate the sign of the answer when you multiply two numbers together. The
rst column shows the sign of the rst number, the second column gives the sign of the second number and
the third column shows what sign the answer will be.

a b a×b or a÷b
+ + +
+ − −
− + −
− − +

Table 1.1: Table of signs for multiplying or dividing two numbers.

So multiplying or dividing a negative number by a positive number always gives you a negative number,
whereas multiplying or dividing numbers which have the same sign always gives a positive number. For
example, 2×3=6 and −2 × −3 = 6, but −2 × 3 = −6 and 2 × −3 = −6.
Adding numbers works slightly dierently (see Table 1.2). The rst column shows the sign of the rst
number, the second column gives the sign of the second number and the third column shows what sign the
answer will be.

a b a+b
+ + +
+ − ?

− + ?

− − −

Table 1.2: Table of signs for adding two numbers.

If you add two positive numbers you will always get a positive number, but if you add two negative
numbers you will always get a negative number. If the numbers have a dierent sign, then the sign of the
answer depends on which one is bigger.

1.8.3 Living Without the Number Line

The number line in Figure 1.1 is a good way to visualise what negative numbers are, but it can get very
inecient to use it every time you want to add or subtract negative numbers. To keep things simple, we will
write down three tips that you can use to make working with negative numbers a little bit easier. These tips
will let you work out what the answer is when you add or subtract numbers which may be negative, and will
also help you keep your work tidy and easier to understand.

1.8.3.1 Negative Numbers Tip 1

If you are given an expression like −a + b, then it is easier to move the numbers around so that the expression
looks easier. In this case, we have seen that adding a negative number to a positive number is the same as

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 7

subtracting the number from the positive number. So,

−a + b = b−a
−5 + 10 = 10 + (−5)
(1.21)
= 10 − 5
= 5
This makes the expression easier to understand. For example, a question like What is −7 + 11? looks a
lot more complicated than What is 11 − 7?, even though they are exactly the same question.

1.8.3.2 Negative Numbers Tip 2

When you have two negative numbers like −3 − 7, you can calculate the answer by simply adding together
the numbers as if they were positive and then putting a negative sign in front.

−c − d = − (c + d)
(1.22)
−7 − 2 = − (7 + 2) = −9

1.8.3.3 Negative Numbers Tip 3

In Table 1.2 we saw that the sign of two numbers added together depends on which one is bigger. This tip
tells us that all we need to do is take the smaller number away from the larger one and remember to give
the answer the sign of the larger number. In this equation, F is bigger than e.

e−F = − (F − e)
(1.23)
2 − 11 = − (11 − 2) = −9
You can even combine these tips: for example, you can use Tip 1 on −10 + 3 to get 3 − 10 and then use
Tip 3 to get − (10 − 3) = −7.

1.8.3.3.1 Negative Numbers

1. Calculate:

(a) (−5) − (−3) (b) (−4) + 2 (c) (−10) ÷ (−2)

(d) 11 − (−9) (e) −16 − (6) (f ) −9 ÷ 3 × 2
(g) (−1) × 24 ÷ 8 × (−3) (h) (−2) + (−7) (i) 1 − 12
(j) 3 − 64 + 1 (k) −5 − 5 − 5 (l) −6 + 25
(m) −9 + 8 − 7 + 6 − 5 + 4 − 3 + 2 − 1

Table 1.3

5
Click here for the solution
2. Say whether the sign of the answer is + or −
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8 CHAPTER 1. REVIEW OF PAST WORK

(a) −5 + 6 (b) −5 + 1 (c) −5 ÷ −5

(d) −5 ÷ 5 (e) 5 ÷ −5 (f ) 5÷5
(g) −5 × −5 (h) −5 × 5 (i) 5 × −5
(j) 5×5

Table 1.4

6
Click here for the solution

1.9 Rearranging Equations

Now that we have described the basic rules of negative and positive numbers and what to do when you add,
subtract, multiply and divide them, we are ready to tackle some real mathematics problems!
Earlier in this chapter, we wrote a general equation for calculating how much change (x) we can expect
if we know how much an item costs (y ) and how much we have given the cashier (z ). The equation is:

x+y =z (1.24)

So, if the price is R10 and you gave the cashier R15, then write R15 instead of z and R10 instead of y.

x + 10 = 15 (1.25)

Now that we have written this equation down, how exactly do we go about nding what the change is?
In mathematical terms, this is known as solving an equation for an unknown (x in this case). We want to
re-arrange the terms in the equation, so that only x is on the left hand side of the = sign and everything
else is on the right.
The most important thing to remember is that an equation is like a set of weighing scales. In order to
keep the scales balanced, whatever is done to one side must be done to the other.

Figure 1.2: An equation is like a set of weighing scales. In order to keep the scales balanced, you must
do the same thing to both sides. So, if you add, subtract, multiply or divide the one side, you must add,
subtract, multiply or divide the other side too.

1.9.1 Method: Rearranging Equations

You can add, subtract, multiply or divide both sides of an equation by any number you want, as long as you
always do it to both sides.

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 9

So for our example we could subtract y from both sides

x+y = z
x+y−y = z−y
x = z−y (1.26)

x = 15 − 10
= 5
Now we can see that the change is the price subtracted from the amount paid to the cashier. In the example,
the change should be R5. In real life we can do this in our heads; the human brain is very smart and can do
arithmetic without even knowing it.
When you subtract a number from both sides of an equation, it looks like you just moved a positive
number from one side and it became a negative on the other, which is exactly what happened. Likewise,
if you move a multiplied number from one side to the other, it looks like it changed to a divide. This is
because you really just divided both sides by that number and a number divided by itself is just 1

a (5 + c) = 3a
a (5 + c) ÷ a = 3a ÷ a
a
a × (5 + c) = 3× a
a
(1.27)
1 × (5 + c) = 3×1
5+c = 3
c = 3 − 5 = −2
However, you must be careful when doing this, as it is easy to make mistakes.
The following is the WRONG thing to do
5a + c = 3a
(1.28)
5+c = 3
Can you see why it is wrong? It is wrong because we did not divide the c term by a as well. The correct
thing to do is

5a + c = 3a
5+c÷a = 3 (1.29)

c÷a = 3 − 5 = −2

1.9.1.1 Rearranging Equations

1. If 3 (2r − 5) = 27, 2r − 5 = ..... Click here for the solution7
then
2. Find the value for x if 0, 5 (x − 8) = 0, 2x + 11 Click here for the solution8
Solve 9 − 2n = 3 (n + 2) Click here for the solution
9
3.
Change the formula P = A + Akt to A = Click here for the solution
10
4.
5. Solve for x:
1
ax + 1
bx = 1 Click here for the solution
11

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8 http://www.fhsst.org/l30
9 http://www.fhsst.org/l38
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10 CHAPTER 1. REVIEW OF PAST WORK

1.10 Fractions and Decimal Numbers

A fraction is one number divided by another number. There are several ways to write a number divided by
a
another one, such as a ÷ b, a/b and
b . The rst way of writing a fraction is very hard to work with, so we will
use only the other two. We call the number on the top (left) the numerator
and the number on the bottom
(right) the denominator
. For example, in the fraction 1/5 or , the numerator is 1 and the denominator is
1
5
5.

1.10.1 Denition - Fraction

The word fraction means part of a whole.
The reciprocal of a fraction is the fraction turned upside down, in other words the numerator becomes
2 3
the denominator and the denominator becomes the numerator. So, the reciprocal of
3 is 2 .
A fraction multiplied by its reciprocal is always equal to 1 and can be written

a b
× =1 (1.30)
b a
This is because dividing by a number is the same as multiplying by its reciprocal.

1.10.2 Denition - Multiplicative Inverse

The reciprocal of a number is also known as the multiplicative inverse.
A decimal number is a number which has an integer part and a fractional part. The integer and the
fractional parts are separated by a decimal point, which is written as a comma in South African schools. For
example the number 3 100
14
can be written much more neatly as 3, 14.
All real numbers can be written as a decimal number. However, some numbers would take a huge amount
of paper (and ink) to write out in full! Some decimal numbers will have a number which will repeat itself,
such as 0, 33333... where there are an innite number of 3's. We can write this decimal value by using a dot
above the repeating number, so 0, 3̇ = 0, 33333.... If there are two repeating numbers such as 0, 121212...
then you can place dots
12
on each of the repeated numbers 0, 1̇2̇ = 0, 121212.... These kinds of repeating
decimals are called recurring decimals.
Table 1.5 lists some common fractions and their decimal forms.

Fraction Decimal Form

1
0,05
20
1
0,0625
16
1
0,1
10
1
0,125
8
1
6 0, 166̇
1
0,2
5
1
0,5
2
3
0,75
4

Table 1.5: Some common fractions and their equivalent decimal forms.

12 or a bar, like 0, 12

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1.11 Scientic Notation

In science one often needs to work with very large or very small numbers. These can be written more easily
in scientic notation, which has the general form

a × 10m (1.31)

where a is a decimal number between 0 and 10 that is rounded o to a few decimal places. The m is an
integer and if it is positive it represents how many zeros should appear to the right of a. If m is negative,
then it represents how many times the decimal place in a should be moved to the left. For example 3, 2 × 103
represents 32 000 and 3, 2 × 10 −3
represents 0, 0032.
If a number must be converted into scientic notation, we need to work out how many times the number
must be multiplied or divided by 10 to make it into a number between 1 and 10 (i.e. we need to work out
the value of the exponent m) and what this number is (the value of a). We do this by counting the number
of decimal places the decimal point must move.
For example, write the speed of light which is 299792458 m · s−1 in scientic notation, to two decimal
places. First, determine where the decimal point must go for two decimal places (to nd a) and then count
how many places there are after the decimal point to determine m.
In this example, the decimal point must go after the rst 2, but since the number after the 9 is a 7,
a = 3, 00.
So the number is 3, 00 × 10m , where m = 8, because there are 8 digits left after the decimal point. So,
the speed of light in scientic notation to two decimal places is 3, 00 × 108 m · s−1
the size of the HI virus is around 1, 2 × 10 m. This is equal to 1, 2 × 0, 0000001 m,
−7
As another example,
which is 0, 00000012 m.

1.12 Real Numbers

Now that we have learnt about the basics of mathematics, we can look at what real numbers are in a little
more detail. The following are examples of real numbers and it is seen that each number is written in a
dierent way.

√ 56 1
3, 1, 2557878, , 10, 2, 1, − 5, − 6, 35, − (1.32)
34 90
Depending on how the real number is written, it can be further labelled as either rational, irrational, integer
or natural. A set diagram of the dierent number types is shown in Figure 1.3.

Figure 1.3: Set diagram of all the real numbers R, the rational numbers Q, the integers Z and the
natural numbers N. The irrational numbers are the numbers not inside the set of rational numbers. All
of the integers are also rational numbers, but not all rational numbers are integers.

1.12.1 Non-Real Numbers

All numbers that are not real numbers have
√ imaginary components. We will not see imaginary numbers in
this book but they come from −1. Since we won't be looking at numbers which are not real, if you see a
number you can be sure it is a real one.

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1.12.2 Natural Numbers

The rst type of numbers that are learnt about are the numbers that are used for counting. These numbers
are called natural numbers and are the simplest numbers in mathematics:

0, 1, 2, 3, 4, ... (1.33)

Mathematicians use the symbol N0 to mean the set of all natural numbers. These are also sometimes called
whole numbers. The natural numbers are a subset of the real numbers since every natural number is also a
real number.

1.12.3 Integers
The integers are all of the natural numbers and their negatives:

... − 4, −3, −2, −1, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4... (1.34)

Mathematicians use the symbol Z to mean the set of all integers. The integers are a subset of the real
numbers, since every integer is a real number.

1.12.4 Rational Numbers

The natural numbers and the integers are only able to describe quantities that are whole or complete. For
example, you can have 4 apples, but what happens when you divide one apple into 4 equal pieces and share
it among your friends? Then it is not a whole apple anymore and a dierent type of number is needed to
describe the apples. This type of number is known as a rational number.
A rational number is any number which can be written as:

a
(1.35)
b
where a and b are integers and b 6= 0.
The following are examples of rational numbers:

20 −1 20 3
, , , (1.36)
9 2 10 15

1.12.4.1 Notation Tip

b ; a, b ∈ Z; b 6= 0
a
Rational numbers are any number that can be expressed in the form which means the set
a
of numbers
b when a and b are integers.
Mathematicians use the symbol Q to mean the set of all rational numbers. The set of rational numbers
contains all numbers which can be written as terminating or repeating decimals.

1.12.4.2 Rational Numbers

All integers are rational numbers with a denominator of 1.
You can add and multiply rational numbers and still get a rational number at the end, which is very
useful. If we have 4 integers a, b, c and d, then the rules for adding and multiplying rational numbers are

a
b + c
d = ad+bc
bd
(1.37)
a
b × c
d = ac
bd

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1.12.4.3 Notation Tip

The statement "4 integers a, b, c and d" can be written formally as {a, b, c, d} ∈ Z because the ∈ symbol
means in and we say that a, b, c and d are in the set of integers.
b and d ) represent the same number if ad = bc. It is always best to simplify any
a c
Two rational numbers (
rational number, so that the denominator is as small as possible. This can be achieved by dividing both the
numerator and the denominator by the same integer. For example, the rational number 1000/10000 can be
divided by 1000 on the top and the bottom, which gives 1/10. 2
3 of a pizza is the same as
8
12 (Figure 1.4).

Figure 1.4:
8
12
of the pizza is the same as 2
3
of the pizza.

You can also add rational numbers together by nding the lowest common denominator and then adding
the numerators. Finding a lowest common denominator means nding the lowest number that both denomi-
nators are a factor 13
of. A factor of a number is an integer which evenly divides that number without leaving
a remainder. The following numbers all have a factor of 3

3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, ... (1.38)

and the following all have factors of 4

4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, 28, ... (1.39)

The common denominators between 3 and 4 are all the numbers that appear in both of these lists, like 12
and 24. The lowest common denominator of 3 and 4 is the smallest number that has both 3 and 4 as factors,
which is 12.

4 + 3 , we rst need to write both fractions so that their denominators are

3 2
For example, if we wish to add
3
the same by nding the lowest common denominator, which we know is 12. We can do this by multiplying
4
3 2 4 3 4
by
3 and 3 by 4 . 3 and 4 are really just complicated ways of writing 1. Multiplying a number by 1 doesn't
change the number.

3
4 + 2
3 = 3
4 × 3
3 + 2 4
3 × 4
= 3×3
4×3 + 2×4
3×4
= 9
12 + 8
12
(1.40)

= 9+8
12
= 17
12

Dividing by a rational number is the same as multiplying by its reciprocal, as long as neither the numerator
nor the denominator is zero:

a c a d ad
÷ = . = (1.41)
b d b c bc
A rational number may be a proper or improper fraction.

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14 CHAPTER 1. REVIEW OF PAST WORK

Proper fractions have a numerator that is smaller than the denominator. For example,

−1 3 −5
, , (1.42)
2 15 −20
are proper fractions.
Improper fractions have a numerator that is larger than the denominator. For example,

−10 15 −53
, , (1.43)
2 13 −20
are improper fractions. Improper fractions can always be written as the sum of an integer and a proper
fraction.

1.12.4.4 Converting Rationals into Decimal Numbers

Converting rationals into decimal numbers is very easy.
If you use a calculator, you can simply divide the numerator by the denominator.
If you do not have a calculator, then you have to use long division.
Since long division was rst taught in primary school, it will not be discussed here. If you have trouble
with long division, then please ask your friends or your teacher to explain it to you.

1.12.5 Irrational Numbers

An irrational number is any real number that is not a rational number. When expressed as decimals, these
numbers can never be fully written out as they have an innite number of decimal places which never fall
√
into a repeating pattern. For example, 2 = 1, 41421356..., π = 3, 14159265.... π is a Greek letter and is
pronounced pie.

1.12.5.1 Real Numbers

1. Identify the number type (rational, irrational, real, integer) of each of the following numbers:
c
a.
d if c is an integer and if d is irrational.
3
b.
2
c. -25
d. 1,525
√
e. 10
14
Click here for the solution
√
2. Is the following pair of numbers real and rational or real and irrational? Explain. 4; 18 Click here for
15
the solution

1.13 Mathematical Symbols

The following is a table of the meanings of some mathematical signs and symbols that you should have come
across in earlier grades.

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Sign or Symbol Meaning

> greater than

< less than

≥ greater than or equal to

≤ less than or equal to

Table 1.6

So if we write x > 5, we say that x is greater than 5 and if we write x ≥ y , we mean that x can be
greater than or equal to y . Similarly, < means `is less than' and ≤ means `is less than or equal to'. Instead
of saying that x is between 6 and 10, we often write 6 < x < 10. This directly means `six is less than x
which in turn is less than ten'.

1.13.1 Mathematical Symbols

1. Write the following in symbols:

a. x is greater than 1
b. y is less than or equal to z
c. a is greater than or equal to 21
d. p is greater than or equal to 21 and p is less than or equal to 25
16
Click here for the solution

1.14 Innity
Innity (symbol ∞) is usually thought of as something like the largest possible number" or the furthest
possible distance". In mathematics, innity is often treated as if it were a number, but it is clearly a very
dierent type of number" than integers or reals.
When talking about recurring decimals and irrational numbers, the term innite was used to describe
never-ending digits.

1.15 End of Chapter Exercises

1. Calculate

a. 18 − 6 × 2
b. 10 + 3 (2 + 6)
c. 50 − 10 (4 − 2) + 6
d. 2 × 9 − 3 (6 − 1) + 1
e. 8 + 24 ÷ 4 × 2
f. 30 − 3 × 4 + 2
g. 36 ÷ 4 (5 − 2) + 6
h. 20 − 4 × 2 + 3
i. 4 + 6 (8 + 2) − 3
j. 100 − 10 (2 + 3) + 4
17
Click here for the solution
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2. If p = q + 4r, then r = ..... Click here for the solution18

3 = x − 3 Click here for the solution
x−2 19
3. Solve

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Chapter 2

Functions and graphs 1

2.1 Introduction to Functions and Graphs

Functions are mathematical building blocks for designing machines, predicting natural disasters, curing
diseases, understanding world economies and for keeping aeroplanes in the air. Functions can take input
from many variables, but always give the same answer, unique to that function. It is the fact that you always
get the same answer from a set of inputs that makes functions special.
A major advantage of functions is that they allow us to visualise equations in terms of a graph. A graph
is an accurate drawing of a function and is much easier to read than lists of numbers. In this chapter we will
learn how to understand and create real valued functions, how to read graphs and how to draw them.
In addition to their use in the problems facing humanity, functions also appear on a day-to-day level, so
they are worth learning about. A function is always dependent on one or more variables, like time, distance
or a more abstract quantity.

2.2 Functions and Graphs in the Real-World

Some typical examples of functions you may already have met include:-

• how much money you have, as a function of time. You never have more than one amount of money
at any time because you can always add everything to give one number. By understanding how your
money changes over time, you can plan to spend your money sensibly. Businesses nd it very useful to
plot the graph of their money over time so that they can see when they are spending too much. Such
observations are not always obvious from looking at the numbers alone.
• the temperature is a very complicated function because it has so many inputs, including; the time of
day, the season, the amount of clouds in the sky, the strength of the wind, where you are and many
more. But the important thing is that there is only one temperature when you measure it in a specic
place. By understanding how the temperature is eected by these things, you can plan for the day.
• where you are is a function of time, because you cannot be in two places at once! If you were to plot
the graphs of where two people are as a function of time, if the lines cross it means that the two people
meet each other at that time. This idea is used in logistics, an area of mathematics that tries to plan
where people and items are for businesses.
• your weight is a function of how much you eat and how much exercise you do, but everybody has a
dierent function so that is why people are all dierent sizes.

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18 CHAPTER 2. FUNCTIONS AND GRAPHS

2.3 Recap
The following should be familiar.

2.3.1 Variables and Constants

In Review of past work (Section 1.4: Letters and Arithmetic), we were introduced to variables and constants.
To recap, a variable can take any value in some set of numbers, so long as the equation is consistent. Most
often, a variable will be written as a letter.
A constant has a xed value. The number 1 is a constant. Sometimes letters are used to represent
constants, as they are easier to work with.

2.3.1.1 Investigation : Variables and Constants

In the following expressions, identify the variables and the constants:

1. 2x2 = 1
2. 3x + 4y = 7
3. y = −5
x
4. y = 7x − 2

2.3.2 Relations and Functions

In earlier grades, you saw that variables can be related to each other. For example, Alan is two years older
than Nathan. Therefore the relationship between the ages of Alan and Nathan can be written as A = N + 2,
where A is Alan's age and N is Nathan's age.
In general, a relation is an equation which relates two variables. For example, y = 5x and y 2 + x2 = 5
are relations. In both examples x and y are variables and 5 is a constant, but for a given value of x the value
of y will be very dierent in each relation.
Besides writing relations as equations, they can also be represented as words, tables and graphs. Instead
of writing y = 5x, we could also say  y is always ve times as big as x. We could also give the following
table:

x y = 5x
2 10

6 30

8 40

13 65

15 75

Table 2.1

2.3.2.1 Investigation : Relations and Functions

Complete the following table for the given functions:

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 19

x y=x y = 2x y =x+2
1

50

100

Table 2.2

2.3.3 The Cartesian Plane

When working with real valued functions, our major tool is drawing graphs. In the rst place, if we have
two real variables, x and y , then we can assign values to them simultaneously. That is, we can say let x be 5
and y be 3. Just as we write let x = 5 for let x be 5, we have the shorthand notation let (x, y) = (5, 3)
for let x be 5 and y be 3. We usually think of the real numbers as an innitely long line, and picking a
number as putting a dot on that line. If we want to pick two numbers at the same time, we can do something
similar, but now we must use two dimensions. What we do is use two lines, one for x and one for y, and
rotate the one for y, as in Figure 2.1. We call this the Cartesian plane.

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20 CHAPTER 2. FUNCTIONS AND GRAPHS

Figure 2.1: The Cartesian plane is made up of an x−axis (horizontal) and a y−axis (vertical).

2.3.4 Drawing Graphs

In order to draw the graph of a function, we need to calculate a few points. Then we plot the points on the
Cartesian Plane and join the points with a smooth line.
Assume that we were investigating the properties of the function f (x) = 2x. We could then consider all
the points (x; y) such that y = f (x), i.e.y = 2x. For example, (1; 2) , (2, 5; 5) , and (3; 6) would all be such
points, whereas (3; 5) would not since 5 6= 2 × 3. If we put a dot at each of those points, and then at every

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 21

similar one for all possible values of x, we would obtain the graph shown in Figure 2.2

Figure 2.2: Graph of f (x) = 2x

The form of this graph is very pleasing  it is a simple straight line through the middle of the plane. The
technique of plotting, which we have followed here, is the key element in understanding functions.

2.3.4.1 Investigation : Drawing Graphs and the Cartesian Plane

Plot the following points and draw a smooth line through them. (-6; -8),(-2; 0), (2; 8), (6; 16)

2.3.5 Notation used for Functions

Thus far you would have seen that we can use y = 2x to represent a function. This notation however gets
confusing when you are working with more than one function. A more general form of writing a function is
to write the function as f (x), where f is the function name and x is the independent variable. For example,
f (x) = 2x and g (t) = 2t + 1 are two functions.
Both notations will be used in this book.

Exercise 2.1: Function notation (Solution on p. 46.)

If f (n) = n2 − 6n + 9, nd f (k − 1) in terms of k.
Exercise 2.2: Function notation (Solution on p. 46.)
If f (x) = x2 − 4, calculate b if f (b) = 45.

2.3.5.1 Recap
1. Guess the function in the form y = ... that has the values listed in the table.

x 1 2 3 40 50 600 700 800 900 1000

y 1 2 3 40 50 600 700 800 900 1000

Table 2.3

2
Click here for the solution
2. Guess the function in the form y = ... that has the values listed in the table.

x 1 2 3 40 50 600 700 800 900 1000

y 2 4 6 80 100 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000

Table 2.4

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22 CHAPTER 2. FUNCTIONS AND GRAPHS

3
Click here for the solution
3. Guess the function in the form y = ... that has the values listed in the table.

x 1 2 3 40 50 600 700 800 900 1000

y 10 20 30 400 500 6000 7000 8000 9000 10000

Table 2.5

4
Click here for the solution
4. On a Cartesian plane, plot the following points: (1;2), (2;4), (3;6), (4;8), (5;10). Join the points. Do
you get a straight line?
5
Click here for the solution
5. If f (x) = x + x 2
, write out:

a. f (t)
b. f (a)
c. f (1)
d. f (3)
6
Click here for the solution
6. If g (x) = x and f (x) = 2x, write out:

a. f (t) + g (t)
b. f (a) − g (a)
c. f (1) + g (2)
d. f (3) + g (s)
7
Click here for the solution
7. A car drives by you on a straight highway. The car is travelling 10 m every second. Complete
the table below by lling in how far the car has travelled away from you after 5, 10 and 20 sec-
onds.

Time (s) 0 1 2 5 10 20

Distance (m) 0 10 20

Table 2.6

Use the values in the table and draw a graph of distance on the y -axis and time on the x-axis. Click
8
here for the solution

2.4 Characteristics of Functions - All Grades

There are many characteristics of graphs that help describe the graph of any function. These properties will
be described in this chapter and are:

1. dependent and independent variables

2. domain and range

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3. intercepts with axes

4. turning points
5. asymptotes
6. lines of symmetry
7. intervals on which the function increases/decreases
8. continuous nature of the function

Some of these words may be unfamiliar to you, but each will be clearly described. Examples of these
properties are shown in Figure 2.3.

Figure 2.3: (a) Example graphs showing the characteristics of a function. (b) Example graph showing
asymptotes of a function. The asymptotes are shown as dashed lines.

2.4.1 Dependent and Independent Variables

Thus far, all the graphs you have drawn have needed two values, an x-value and a y -value. The y -value is
usually determined from some relation based on a given or chosen x-value. These values are given special
names in mathematics. The given or chosen x-value is known as the independent variable, because its value
can be chosen freely. The calculated y -value is known as the dependent variable, because its value depends
on the chosen x-value.

2.4.2 Domain and Range

The domain of a relation is the set of all the x values for which there exists at least one y value according
to that relation. The range is the set of all the y values, which can be obtained using at least one x value.
If the relation is of height to people, then the domain is all living people, while the range would be about
0,1 to 3 metres  no living person can have a height of 0m, and while strictly it's not impossible to be taller
than 3 metres, no one alive is. An important aspect of this range is that it does not contain all the numbers
between 0,1 and 3, but at most six billion of them (as many as there are people).
As another example, suppose x and y are real valued variables, and we have the relation y = 2x . Then
for any value of x, there is a value of y, so the domain of this relation is the whole set of real numbers.
However, we know that no matter what value of x we choose, 2x can never be less than or equal to 0. Hence
the range of this function is all the real numbers strictly greater than zero.
These are two ways of writing the domain and range of a function, set notation and interval notation.
Both notations are used in mathematics, so you should be familiar with each.

2.4.2.1 Set Notation

A set of certain x values has the following form:

x : conditions, more conditions (2.1)

We read this notation as the set of all x values where all the conditions are satised. For example, the set
of all positive real numbers can be written as {x : x ∈ R, x > 0} which reads as the set of all x values where
x is a real number and is greater than zero.

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24 CHAPTER 2. FUNCTIONS AND GRAPHS

2.4.2.2 Interval Notation

Here we write an interval in the form ' lower bracket, lower number, comma, upper number, upper bracket'.
We can use two types of brackets, square ones [; ] or round ones (; ). A square bracket means including the
number at the end of the interval whereas a round bracket means excluding the number at the end of the
interval. It is important to note that this notation can only be used for all real numbers in an interval. It
cannot be used to describe integers in an interval or rational numbers in an interval.
So if x is a real number greater than 2 and less than or equal to 8, then x is any number in the interval

(2; 8] (2.2)

It is obvious that 2 is the lower number and 8 the upper number. The round bracket means 'excluding 2',
since x is greater than 2, and the square bracket means 'including 8' as x is less than or equal to 8.

2.4.3 Intercepts with the Axes

The intercept is the point at which a graph intersects an axis. The x-intercepts are the points at which the
graph cuts the x-axis and the y -intercepts are the points at which the graph cuts the y -axis.
In Figure 2.3(a), the A is the y -intercept and B, C and F are x-intercepts.
You will usually need to calculate the intercepts. The two most important things to remember is that
at the x-intercept, y = 0 y -intercept, x = 0.
and at the
For example, calculate the intercepts of y = 3x + 5. For the y -intercept, x = 0. Therefore the y -intercept
is yint = 3 (0) + 5 = 5. For the x-intercept, y = 0. Therefore the x-intercept is found from 0 = 3xint + 5,
giving xint = − .
5
3

2.4.4 Turning Points

Turning points only occur for graphs of functions whose highest power is greater than 1. For example, graphs
of the following functions will have turning points.

f (x) = 2x2 − 2
g (x) = x3 − 2x2 + x − 2 (2.3)

h (x) = 2 4
3x −2
There are two types of turning points: a minimal turning point and a maximal turning point. A minimal
turning point is a point on the graph where the graph stops decreasing in value and starts increasing in value
and a maximal turning point is a point on the graph where the graph stops increasing in value and starts
decreasing. These are shown in Figure 2.4.

Figure 2.4: (a) Maximal turning point. (b) Minimal turning point.

In Figure 2.3(a), E is a maximal turning point and D is a minimal turning point.

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 25

2.4.5 Asymptotes
An asymptote is a straight or curved line, which the graph of a function will approach, but never touch.
In Figure 2.3(b), the y -axis and line h are both asymptotes as the graph approaches both these lines, but
never touches them.

2.4.6 Lines of Symmetry

Graphs look the same on either side of lines of symmetry. These lines may include the x- and y- axes. For
example, in Figure 2.5 is symmetric about the y -axis. This is described as the axis of symmetry. Not every
graph will have a line of symmetry.

Figure 2.5: Demonstration of axis of symmetry. The y-axis is an axis of symmetry, because the graph
looks the same on both sides of the y-axis.

2.4.7 Intervals on which the Function Increases/Decreases

In the discussion of turning points, we saw that the graph of a function can start or stop increasing or
decreasing at a turning point. If the graph in Figure 2.3(a) is examined, we nd that the values of the
graph increase and decrease over dierent intervals. We see that the graph increases (i.e. that the y -values
increase) from -∞ to point E, then it decreases (i.e. the y -values decrease) from point E to point D and then
it increases from point D to +∞.

2.4.8 Discrete or Continuous Nature of the Graph

A graph is said to be continuous if there are no breaks in the graph. For example, the graph in Figure 2.3(a)
can be described as a continuous graph, while the graph in Figure 2.3(b) has a break around the asymptotes
which means that it is not continuous. In Figure 2.3(b), it is clear that the graph does have a break in it
around the asymptote.

2.4.8.1 Domain and Range

1. The domain of the function f (x) = 2x + 5 is -3; -3; -3; 0. Determine the range of f. Click here for the
9
solution
2. If g (x) = −x2 + 5 and x is between - 3 and 3, determine:

a. the domain of g (x)

b. the range of g (x)
10
Click here for the solution
3. On the following graph label:

a. the x-intercept(s)
b. the y -intercept(s)
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26 CHAPTER 2. FUNCTIONS AND GRAPHS

c. regions where the graph is increasing

d. regions where the graph is decreasing

Figure 2.6

11
Click here for the solution
4. On the following graph label:

a. the x-intercept(s)
b. the y -intercept(s)
c. regions where the graph is increasing
d. regions where the graph is decreasing

Figure 2.7

12
Click here for the solution

2.5 Graphs of Functions

2.5.1 Functions of the form y = ax + q
Functions with a general form of y = ax + q are called straight line functions. In the equation, y = ax + q , a
and q are constants and have dierent eects on the graph of the function. The general shape of the graph
of functions of this form is shown in Figure 2.8 for the function f (x) = 2x + 3.

Figure 2.8: Graph of f (x) = 2x + 3

2.5.1.1 Investigation : Functions of the Form y = ax + q

1. On the same set of axes, plot the following graphs:

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 27

a. a (x) = x − 2
b. b (x) = x − 1
c. c (x) = x
d. d (x) = x + 1
e. e (x) = x + 2
Use your results to deduce the eect of dierent values of q on the resulting graph.
2. On the same set of axes, plot the following graphs:

a. f (x) = −2 · x
b. g (x) = −1 · x
c. h (x) = 0 · x
d. j (x) = 1 · x
e. k (x) = 2 · x
Use your results to deduce the eect of dierent values of a on the resulting graph.

You may have noticed that the value of a aects the slope of the graph. As a increases, the slope of the graph
increases. If a>0 then the graph increases from left to right (slopes upwards). If a < 0 then the graph
increases from right to left (slopes downwards). For this reason, a is referred to as the slope or gradient of
a straight-line function.
You should have also found that the value of q aects where the graph passes through the y -axis. For
this reason, q is known as the y-intercept.
These dierent properties are summarised in Table 2.7.

a>0
q>0

Figure 2.9

q<0

Figure 2.11

Table 2.7: Table summarising general shapes and positions of graphs of functions of the form y = ax + q .

2.5.1.2 Domain and Range

For f (x) = ax + q , the domain is {x : x ∈ R} because there is no value of x ∈ R for which f (x) is undened.
f (x) = ax + q is also {f (x) : f (x) ∈ R} because there is no value of f (x) ∈ R for which
The range of
f (x) is undened.

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28 CHAPTER 2. FUNCTIONS AND GRAPHS

For example, the domain of g (x) = x − 1 is {x : x ∈ R} because there is no value of x∈R for which
g (x) is undened. The range of g (x) is {g (x) : g (x) ∈ R}.

2.5.1.3 Intercepts
For functions of the form, y = ax + q , the details of calculating the intercepts with the x and y axis are
given.
The y -intercept is calculated as follows:

y = ax + q
yint = a (0) + q (2.4)

= q
For example, the y -intercept of g (x) = x − 1 is given by setting x=0 to get:

g (x) = x−1
yint = 0−1 (2.5)

= −1
The x-intercepts are calculated as follows:

y = ax + q
0 = a · xint + q
(2.6)
a · xint = −q
xint = − aq
For example, the x-intercepts of g (x) = x − 1 is given by setting y=0 to get:

g (x) = x−1
0 = xint − 1 (2.7)

xint = 1

2.5.1.4 Turning Points

The graphs of straight line functions do not have any turning points.

2.5.1.5 Axes of Symmetry

The graphs of straight-line functions do not, generally, have any axes of symmetry.

2.5.1.6 Sketching Graphs of the Form f (x) = ax + q

In order to sketch graphs of the form, f (x) = ax + q , we need to determine three characteristics:

1. sign of a
2. y -intercept
3. x-intercept

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 29

Only two points are needed to plot a straight line graph. The easiest points to use are the x-intercept (where
the line cuts the x-axis) y -intercept.
and the
For example, sketch the graph of g (x) = x − 1. Mark the intercepts.
Firstly, we determine that a > 0. This means that the graph will have an upward slope.
The y -intercept is obtained by setting x = 0 and was calculated earlier to be yint = −1. The x-intercept
is obtained by setting y = 0 and was calculated earlier to be xint = 1.

Figure 2.13: Graph of the function g (x) = x − 1

Exercise 2.3: Drawing a straight line graph (Solution on p. 46.)

Draw the graph of y = 2x + 2

2.5.1.6.1 Intercepts
1. List the y -intercepts for the following straight-line graphs:

a. y=x
b. y =x−1
c. y = 2x − 1
d. y + 1 = 2x
13
Click here for the solution
2. Give the equation of the illustrated graph below:

Figure 2.14

14
Click here for the solution
3. Sketch the following relations on the same set of axes, clearly indicating the intercepts with the axes
as well as the co-ordinates of the point of interception of the graph: x + 2y − 5 = 0 and 3x − y − 1 = 0
15
Click here for the solution

2.5.2 Functions of the Form y = ax2 + q

The general shape and position of the graph of the function of the form f (x) = ax2 + q , called a parabola,
is shown in Figure 2.15. These are parabolic functions.

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30 CHAPTER 2. FUNCTIONS AND GRAPHS

Figure 2.15: Graph of f (x) = x2 − 1.

2.5.2.1 Investigation : Functions of the Form y = ax2 + q

1. On the same set of axes, plot the following graphs:

a. a (x) = −2 · x2 + 1
b. b (x) = −1 · x2 + 1
c. c (x) = 0 · x2 + 1
d. d (x) = 1 · x2 + 1
e. e (x) = 2 · x2 + 1
Use your results to deduce the eect of a.
2. On the same set of axes, plot the following graphs:

a. f (x) = x2 − 2
b. g (x) = x2 − 1
c. h (x) = x2 + 0
d. j (x) = x2 + 1
e. k (x) = x2 + 2
Use your results to deduce the eect of q.

The eects of a and q are a few examples are what are collectively called transformations of the function
y = x2 . The eect of q is what is called a translation because all points are moved the same distance in
the same direction, specically a vertical translation (because it slides the graph up and down) of x2 by
2
q (note that a horizontal translation by q would look like y = (x − q) ). The eect of a is what is called
scaling. Whena > 1, it is usually called a stretch because the eect on the graph is to stretch it apart,
and when a < 1 (but greater than zero), it is often called a shrink because it makes the graph shrink in on
itself. When a = −1, it is called a reection, specically a reection about the x-axis because the x-axis acts
as a mirror for the graph. If a is some other negative number, one would refer to it as a scaled reection
(or, alternatively, a 'stretched' or 'shrunk' reection), because it is reected and scaled. One often refers to
reections, translations, scaling, etc., as the eect of the transformation on the given function.
A more in-depth look at transformations can be found here (Section 14.9: Transformations - Enrichment,
not in CAPS). This section on transformations is simply an extension and is not needed for examinations.
Complete the following table of values for the functions a to k to help with drawing the required graphs
in this activity:

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 31

x −2 −1 0 1 2
a (x)
b (x)
c (x)
d (x)
e (x)
f (x)
g (x)
h (x)
j (x)
k (x)

Table 2.8

This simulation allows you to visualise the eect of changing a and q. Note that in this simulation q =
c. Also an extra term bx has been added in. You can leave bx as 0, or you can also see what eect this has
on the graph.

Phet simulation for graphing

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<equation-grapher.swf>

Figure 2.16

From your graphs, you should have found that a aects whether the graph makes a smile or a frown. If
a < 0, the graph makes a frown and if a>0 then the graph makes a smile. This is shown in Figure 2.17.

Figure 2.17: Distinctive shape of graphs of a parabola if a > 0 and a < 0.

You should have also found that the value of q aects whether the turning point is to the left of the
y -axis (q > 0) or to the right of the y -axis (q < 0).
These dierent properties are summarised in Table 2.9.

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32 CHAPTER 2. FUNCTIONS AND GRAPHS

a>0
q>0

Figure 2.18

q<0

Figure 2.20

Table 2.9: Table summarising general shapes and positions of functions of the form y = ax2 + q .

2.5.2.2 Domain and Range

For f (x) = ax2 + q , the domain is {x : x ∈ R} because there is no value of x ∈ R for which f (x) is undened.
The range of f (x) = ax + q depends on whether the value for a is positive or negative. We will consider
2

these two cases separately.

If a>0 then we have:

x2 ≥ 0 (The square of an expression is always positive)

ax2 ≥ 0 (Multiplication by a positive number maintains the nature of the inequality)
(2.8)
ax + q
2
≥ q
f (x) ≥ q
This tells us that for all values of x, f (x) is always greater than q . Therefore if a > 0, the range of
f (x) = ax2 + q is{f (x) : f (x) ∈ [q, ∞)}.
can be shown that if a < 0 that the range of f (x) = ax + q is {f (x) : f (x) ∈ (−∞, q]}.
2
Similarly, it
This is left as an exercise.
For example, the domain of g (x) = x2 + 2 is {x : x ∈ R} because there is no value of x∈R for which
g (x) is undened. The range of g (x) can be calculated as follows:

x2 ≥ 0
x +2
2
≥ 2 (2.9)

g (x) ≥ 2
Therefore the range is {g (x) : g (x) ∈ [2, ∞)}.

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 33

2.5.2.3 Intercepts
For functions of the form, y = ax2 + q , the details of calculating the intercepts with the x and y axis is given.
The y -intercept is calculated as follows:

y = ax2 + q
2
yint = a(0) + q (2.10)

= q

For example, the y -intercept of g (x) = x2 + 2 is given by setting x=0 to get:

g (x) = x2 + 2
yint = 02 + 2 (2.11)

= 2
The x-intercepts are calculated as follows:

y = ax2 + q
0 = ax2int + q
(2.12)
ax2int = −q
=
p q
xint ± −a

a ≥ 0 which means that either q ≤ 0 or a < 0. This is consistent with

q
However, (2.12) is only valid if −
what we expect, since if q > 0 and a > 0 then − is negative and in this case the graph lies above the x-axis
q
a
and therefore does not intersect the x-axis. If however, q > 0 and a < 0, then −
q
a is positive and the graph
is hat shaped and should have two x-intercepts. Similarly, if q < 0 and a > 0 then −
q
a is also positive, and
the graph should intersect with the x-axis.
If q=0 then we have one intercept at x = 0.
of g (x) = x + 2 y=0
2
For example, the x-intercepts is given by setting to get:

g (x) = x2 + 2
0 = x2int + 2 (2.13)

−2 = x2int

which is not real. Therefore, the graph of g (x) = x2 + 2 does not have any x-intercepts.

2.5.2.4 Turning Points

The turning point of the function of the form f (x) = ax2 + q is given by examining the range of the function.
We know that if a > 0 then the range of f (x) = ax + q is {f (x) : f (x) ∈ [q, ∞)} and if a < 0 then the
2

range of f (x) = ax + q is {f (x) : f (x) ∈ (−∞, q]}.

2

So, if a > 0, then the lowest value that f (x) can take on is q . Solving for the value of x at which f (x) = q
gives:

q = ax2tp + q
0 = ax2tp
(2.14)
0 = x2tp
xtp = 0

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34 CHAPTER 2. FUNCTIONS AND GRAPHS

∴x = 0 atf (x) = q . The co-ordinates of the (minimal) turning point is therefore (0, q).
Similarly, if a < 0, then the highest value that f (x) can take on is q and the co-ordinates of the (maximal)
turning point is (0, q).

2.5.2.5 Axes of Symmetry

There is one axis of symmetry for the function of the form f (x) = ax2 + q that passes through the turning
point. Since the turning point lies on the y -axis, the axis of symmetry is the y -axis.

2.5.2.6 Sketching Graphs of the Form f (x) = ax2 + q

In order to sketch graphs of the form, f (x) = ax2 + q , we need to determine ve characteristics:

1. sign of a
2. domain and range
3. turning point
4. y -intercept
5. x-intercept

For example, sketch the graph of g (x) = − 21 x2 − 3. Mark the intercepts, turning point and axis of symmetry.
Firstly, we determine that a < 0. This means that the graph will have a maximal turning point.
The domain of the graph is {x : x ∈ R} because f (x) is dened for all x ∈ R. The range of the graph is
determined as follows:

x2 ≥ 0
− 12 x2 ≤ 0
(2.15)
− 21 x2 − 3 ≤ −3
∴ f (x) ≤ −3
Therefore the range of the graph is {f (x) : f (x) ∈ (−∞, −3]}.
Using the fact that the maximum value that f (x) achieves is -3, then the y -coordinate of the turning
point is -3. The x-coordinate is determined as follows:

− 21 x2 − 3 = −3
− 12 x2 −3+3 = 0
− 21 x2 = 0
(2.16)
Divide both sides by − 1
2 : x 2
= 0
Take square root of both sides :x = 0
∴ x = 0
The coordinates of the turning point are: (0; −3).
The y -intercept is obtained by setting x = 0. This gives:

2
yint = − 21 (0) − 3
= − 12 (0) − 3 (2.17)

= −3

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 35

The x-intercept is obtained by setting y = 0. This gives:

0 = − 12 x2int − 3
3 = − 21 x2int
(2.18)
−3 · 2 = x2int
−6 = x2int
which is not real. Therefore, there are no x-intercepts which means that the function does not cross or even
touch the x-axis at any point.
We also know that the axis of symmetry is the y -axis.
Finally, we draw the graph. Note that in the diagram only the y-intercept is marked. The graph has
a maximal turning point (i.e. makes a frown) as determined from the sign of a, there are no x-intercepts
and the turning point is that same as the y-intercept. The domain is all real numbers and the range is
{f (x) : f (x) ∈ (−∞, −3]}.

Figure 2.22: Graph of the function f (x) = − 21 x2 − 3

Exercise 2.4: Drawing a parabola (Solution on p. 46.)

Draw the graph of y = 3x2 + 5.
The following video shows one method of graphing parabolas. Note that in this video the term vertex is
used in place of turning point. The vertex and the turning point are the same thing.

Khan academy video on graphing parabolas - 1

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Figure 2.23

2.5.2.6.1 Parabolas
1. Show that if a<0 that the range of f (x) = ax2 + q is {f (x) : f (x) ∈ (−∞; q]}. Click here for the
16
solution
2. Draw the graph of the function y = −x2 + 4 showing all intercepts with the axes. Click here for the
17
solution
3. Two parabolas are drawn: g : y = ax2 + p and h : y = bx2 + q .
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36 CHAPTER 2. FUNCTIONS AND GRAPHS

Figure 2.24

a. Find the values of a and p.

b. Find the values of b and q .
Find the values of x for which ax + p ≥ bx + q .
2 2
c.
d. For what values of x is g increasing ?

18
Click here for the solution

2.5.3 Functions of the Form y = xa + q

Functions of the form y=
x + q are known as
a
hyperbolic functions. The general form of the graph of this
function is shown in Figure 2.25.

Figure 2.25: General shape and position of the graph of a function of the form f (x) = a
x
+ q.

2.5.3.1 Investigation : Functions of the Form y = xa + q

1. On the same set of axes, plot the following graphs:

a. a (x) = −2x +1
b. b (x) = −1x +1
c. c (x) = x0 + 1
d. d (x) = +1x +1
e. e (x) = +2x +1
Use your results to deduce the eect of a.
2. On the same set of axes, plot the following graphs:

a. f (x) = x1 − 2
b. g (x) = x1 − 1
c. h (x) = x1 + 0
d. j (x) = x1 + 1
e. k (x) = x1 + 2
Use your results to deduce the eect of q.

You should have found that the value of a aects whether the graph is located in the rst and third quadrants
of Cartesian plane.

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 37

You should have also found that the value of q aects whether the graph lies above the x-axis (q > 0) or
below the x-axis (q < 0).
These dierent properties are summarised in Table 2.10. The axes of symmetry for each graph are shown
as a dashed line.

a>0
q>0

Figure 2.26

q<0

Figure 2.28

Table 2.10: Table summarising general shapes and positions of functions of the form y= a
x + q. The axes
of symmetry are shown as dashed lines.

2.5.3.2 Domain and Range

For y= x + q , the function is undened for x =
a
0. The domain is therefore {x : x ∈ R, x 6= 0}.
We see that y =
x + q can be re-written as:
a

y = a
x +q
y−q = a
x
(2.19)
If x 6= 0 then : (y − q) x = a
x = a
y−q

This shows that the function is undened at y = q. Therefore the range of f (x) = a
x +q is {f (x) : f (x) ∈
(−∞; q) ∪ (q; ∞)}.
For example, the domain of g (x) = 2
x +2 is {x : x ∈ R, x 6= 0} because g (x) is undened at x = 0.

y = 2
x +2
(y − 2) = 2
x
(2.20)
If x 6= 0 then : x (y − 2) = 2
x = 2
y−2

We see that g (x) is undened at y = 2. Therefore the range is {g (x) : g (x) ∈ (−∞; 2) ∪ (2; ∞)}.

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38 CHAPTER 2. FUNCTIONS AND GRAPHS

2.5.3.3 Intercepts
For functions of the form, y= + q , the intercepts with
a
x the x and y axis is calculated by setting x=0 for
the y -intercept and by setting y = 0 for the x-intercept.
The y -intercept is calculated as follows:

y = a
x +q
(2.21)
yint = a
0 +q
which is undened because we are dividing by 0. Therefore there is no y -intercept.
For example, the y -intercept of g (x) = 2
x +2 is given by setting x = 0 to get:

y = 2
x +2
(2.22)
yint = 2
0 +2
which is undened.
The x-intercepts are calculated by setting y=0 as follows:

y = a
x +q
0 = a
xint +q
a
xint = −q (2.23)

a = −q (xint )
xint = a
−q

For example, the x-intercept of g (x) = 2

x +2 is given by setting x=0 to get:

y = 2
x +2
0 = xint +
2
2
−2 = 2
xint
(2.24)
−2 (xint ) = 2
xint = 2
−2
xint = −1

2.5.3.4 Asymptotes
There are two asymptotes for functions of the form
a
y=
x + q . Just a reminder, an asymptote is a straight or
curved line, which the graph of a function will approach, but never touch. They are determined by examining
the domain and range.
We saw that the function was undened at x=0 and for y = q. Therefore the asymptotes are x=0 and
y = q.
For example, the domain of g (x) = x2 + 2 is {x : x ∈ R, x 6= 0} because g (x) is undened at x = 0. We
also see that g (x) is undened at y = 2. Therefore the range is {g (x) : g (x) ∈ (−∞; 2) ∪ (2; ∞)}.
From this we deduce that the asymptotes are at x = 0 and y = 2.

2.5.3.5 Sketching Graphs of the Form f (x) = xa + q

In order to sketch graphs of functions of the form, f (x) = a
x + q, we need to determine four characteristics:

1. domain and range

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 39

2. asymptotes
3. y -intercept
4. x-intercept
For example, sketch the graph of
x +
2
g (x) =
2. Mark the intercepts and asymptotes.
We have determined the domain to be {x : x ∈ R, x 6= 0} and the range to be {g (x) : g (x) ∈ (−∞; 2) ∪
(2; ∞)}. Therefore the asymptotes are at x = 0 and y = 2.
There is no y -intercept and the x-intercept is xint = −1.

Figure 2.30: Graph of g (x) = 2

x
+ 2.

Exercise 2.5: Drawing a hyperbola (Solution on p. 49.)

Draw the graph of y= −4
x + 7.

2.5.3.5.1 Graphs
1. Using graph (grid) paper, draw the graph of xy = −6.
a. Does the point (-2; 3) lie on the graph ? Give a reason for your answer.
b. Why is the point (-2; -3) not on the graph ?
c. If the x-value of a point on the drawn graph is 0,25, what is the corresponding y -value ?
d. What happens to the y -values as the x-values become very large ?
e. With the line y = −x as line of symmetry, what is the point symmetrical to (-2; 3) ?
19
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2. Draw the graph of xy = 8.
a. How would the graph y = 83 + 3 compare with that of xy = 8? Explain your answer fully.
b. Draw the graph of y = 83 + 3 on the same set of axes.
20
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2.5.4 Functions of the Form y = ab(x) + q

Functions of the form y = ab(x) + q are known as exponential functions. The general shape of a graph of a
function of this form is shown in Figure 2.31.

Figure 2.31: General shape and position of the graph of a function of the form f (x) = ab(x) + q.

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40 CHAPTER 2. FUNCTIONS AND GRAPHS

2.5.4.1 Investigation : Functions of the Form y = ab(x) + q

1. On the same set of axes, plot the following graphs:

a. a (x) = −2 · b(x) + 1
b. b (x) = −1 · b(x) + 1
c. c (x) = 0 · b(x) + 1
d. d (x) = 1 · b(x) + 1
e. e (x) = 2 · b(x) + 1
Use your results to deduce the eect of a.
2. On the same set of axes, plot the following graphs:

a. f (x) = 1 · b(x) − 2
b. g (x) = 1 · b(x) − 1
c. h (x) = 1 · b(x) + 0
d. j (x) = 1 · b(x) + 1
e. k (x) = 1 · b(x) + 2
Use your results to deduce the eect of q.

You should have found that the value of a aects whether the graph curves upwards (a > 0) or curves
downwards (a < 0).
You should have also found that the value of q aects the position of the y -intercept.
These dierent properties are summarised in Table 2.11.

a>0
q>0

Figure 2.32

q<0

Figure 2.34

Table 2.11: Table summarising general shapes and positions of functions of the form y = ab(x) + q .

2.5.4.2 Domain and Range

For y = ab(x) + q , the function is dened for all real values of x. Therefore, the domain is {x : x ∈ R}.
The range of y = ab + q is dependent on the sign of a.
(x)

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 41

If a>0 then:

b(x) ≥ 0
a·b (x)
≥ 0
(2.25)
a·b (x)
+q ≥ q
f (x) ≥ q
Therefore, if a > 0, then the range is {f (x) : f (x) ∈ [q; ∞)}.
If a<0 then:

b(x) ≤ 0
a·b (x)
≤ 0
(2.26)
a·b (x)
+q ≤ q
f (x) ≤ q
Therefore, if a < 0, then the range is {f (x) : f (x) ∈ (−∞; q]}.
For example, the domain of g (x) = 3 · 2x + 2 is {x : x ∈ R}. For the range,

2x ≥ 0
3·2 x
≥ 0 (2.27)

3·2 +2
x
≥ 2
Therefore the range is {g (x) : g (x) ∈ [2; ∞)}.

2.5.4.3 Intercepts
For functions of the form, y = ab(x) + q , the intercepts with the x and y axis is calculated by setting x=0
y -intercept and by
for the setting y = 0 for the x-intercept.
The y -intercept is calculated as follows:

y = ab(x) + q
yint = ab(0) + q
(2.28)
= a (1) + q
= a+q
For example, the y -intercept of g (x) = 3 · 2 + 2
x
is given by setting x=0 to get:

y = 3 · 2x + 2
yint = 3 · 20 + 2
(2.29)
= 3+2
= 5
The x-intercepts are calculated by setting y=0 as follows:

y = ab(x) + q
0 = ab(xint ) + q
(2.30)
ab(xint ) = −q
b(xint ) = − aq

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42 CHAPTER 2. FUNCTIONS AND GRAPHS

Which only has a real solution if either a < 0 or q < 0. Otherwise, the graph of the function of form
y = ab(x) + q does not have any x-intercepts.
For example, the x-intercept of g (x) = 3 · 2x + 2 is given by setting y=0 to get:

y = 3 · 2x + 2
0 = 3 · 2xint + 2
(2.31)
−2 = 3 · 2xint
2xint = −2
3

which has no real solution. Therefore, the graph of g (x) = 3 · 2x + 2 does not have any x-intercepts.

2.5.4.4 Asymptotes
Functions of the form y = ab(x) + q have a single horizontal asymptote. The asymptote can be determined
by examining the range.
We have seen that the range is controlled by the value of q. If a > 0, then the range is {f (x) : f (x) ∈
[q; ∞)}.And if a > 0, {f (x) : f (x) ∈ [q; ∞)}.
then the range is
This shows that the function tends towards the value of q as x → −∞. Therefore the horizontal asymptote
lies at x = q .

2.5.4.5 Sketching Graphs of the Form f (x) = ab(x) + q

In order to sketch graphs of functions of the form, f (x) = ab(x) +q , we need to determine four characteristics:

1. domain and range

2. asymptote
3. y -intercept
4. x-intercept

For example, sketch the graph of g (x) = 3 · 2x + 2. Mark the intercepts.

We have determined the domain to be {x : x ∈ R} and the range to be {g (x) : g (x) ∈ [2, ∞)}.
The y -intercept is yint = 5 and there are no x-intercepts.

Figure 2.36: Graph of g (x) = 3 · 2x + 2.

Exercise 2.6: Drawing an exponential graph (Solution on p. 49.)

Draw the graph of y = −2.3x + 5.

2.5.4.5.1 Exponential Functions and Graphs

1 x
y = 2x y=


1. Draw the graphs of and on the same set of axes.
2
a. Is the x-axis and asymptote or and axis of symmetry to both graphs ? Explain your answer.
b. Which graph is represented by the equation y = 2−x ? Explain your answer.

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 43

1 x
2x =


c. Solve the equation graphically and check that your answer is correct by using substi-
2
tution.
d. Predict how the graph y = 2.2x will compare to y = 2x and then draw the graph of y = 2.2x on
the same set of axes.
21
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2. The curve of the exponential function f in the accompanying diagram cuts the y-axis at the point A(0;
1) and B(2; 4) is on f.

Figure 2.37

a. Determine the equation of the function f.

b. Determine the equation of h, the function of which the curve is the reection of the curve of f in
the x-axis.
c. Determine the range of h.
22
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2.6 Summary
• You should know the following charecteristics of functions:

· The given or chosen x-value is known as the independent variable, because its value can be chosen
freely. The calculated y-value is known as the dependent variable, because its value depends on
the chosen x-value.
· The domain of a relation is the set of all the x values for which there exists at least one y value
according to that relation. The range is the set of all the y values, which can be obtained using
at least one x value.
· The intercept is the point at which a graph intersects an axis. The x-intercepts are the points at
which the graph cuts the x-axis and the y-intercepts are the points at which the graph cuts the
y-axis.
· Only for graphs of functions whose highest power is more than 1. There are two types of turning
points: a minimal turning point and a maximal turning point. A minimal turning point is a
point on the graph where the graph stops decreasing in value and starts increasing in value and
a maximal turning point is a point on the graph where the graph stops increasing in value and
starts decreasing.
· An asymptote is a straight or curved line, which the graph of a function will approach, but never
touch.
· A line about which the graph is symmetric
· The interval on which a graph increases or decreases
· A graph is said to be continuous if there are no breaks in the graph.

• Set notation A set of certain x values has the following form: {x : conditions, more conditions}
• Interval notation Here we write an interval in the form 'lower bracket, lower number, comma, upper
number, upper bracket'

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44 CHAPTER 2. FUNCTIONS AND GRAPHS

• You should know the following functions and their properties:

· Functions of the form y = ax + q . These are straight lines.

· Functions of the Form y = ax2 + q These are known as parabolic functions or parabolas.
Form y =
x + q . These are known as hyperbolic functions.
a
· Functions of the
Form y = ab + q . These are known as exponential functions.
(x)
· Functions of the

2.7 End of Chapter Exercises

1. Sketch the following straight lines:

a. y = 2x + 4
b. y−x=0
c. y = − 12 x + 2
23
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2. Sketch the following functions:

a. y = x2 + 3
b. y = 12 x2 + 4
c. y = 2x2 − 4
24
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3. Sketch the following functions and identify the asymptotes:

a. y = 3x + 2
b. y = −4.2x + 1
c. y = 2.3x − 2
25
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4. Sketch the following functions and identify the asymptotes:

a. y= 3
x +4
b. y= 1
x
c. y= 2
x −2
26
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5. Determine whether the following statements are true or false. If the statement is false, give reasons
why:

a. The given or chosen y-value is known as the independent variable.

b. An intercept is the point at which a graph intersects itself.
c. There are two types of turning points  minimal and maximal.
d. A graph is said to be congruent if there are no breaks in the graph.
e. Functions of the form y = ax + q are straight lines.
f. Functions of the form y = xa + q are exponential functions.
g. An asymptote is a straight or curved line which a graph will intersect once.
h. Given a function of the form y = ax + q , to nd the y-intersect put x=0 and solve for y.
i. The graph of a straight line always has a turning point.
27
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6. Given the functions f (x) = −2x2 − 18 and g (x) = −2x + 6
a. Draw f and g on the same set of axes.

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 45

b. Calculate the points of intersection of f and g.

c. Hence use your graphs and the points of intersection to solve for x when:

i. f (x) > 0
f (x)
ii.
g(x) ≤ 0
d. Give the equation of the reection of f in the x-axis.
28
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x
7. After a ball is dropped, the rebound height of each bounce decreases. The equation y = 5·(0, 8) shows
the relationship between x, the number of bounces, and y, the height of the bounce, for a certain ball.
What is the approximate height of the fth bounce of this ball to the nearest tenth of a unit ?
29
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8. Mark had 15 coins in ve Rand and two Rand pieces. He had 3 more R2-coins than R5-coins. He
wrote a system of equations to represent this situation, letting x represent the number of ve rand
coins and y represent the number of two rand coins. Then he solved the system by graphing.

a. Write down the system of equations.

b. Draw their graphs on the same set of axes.
c. What is the solution?
30
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 46 CHAPTER 2. FUNCTIONS AND GRAPHS

Solutions to Exercises in Chapter 2

Solution to Exercise 2.1 (p. 21)
Step 1.

f (n) = n2 − 6n + 9
(2.32)
2
f (k − 1) = (k − 1) − 6 (k − 1) + 9
Step 2.

= k 2 − 2k + 1 − 6k + 6 + 9
(2.33)
= k 2 − 8k + 16
We have now simplied the function in terms of k.
Solution to Exercise 2.2 (p. 21)
Step 1.

f (b) = b2 − 4
(2.34)
u≈ f (b) = 45
Step 2.

b2 − 4 = 45
b2 − 49 = 0 (2.35)

b = +7 or −7

Solution to Exercise 2.3 (p. 29)

Step 1. To nd the intercept on the y-axis, let x=0

y = 2 (0) + 2
(2.36)
= 2
Step 2. For the intercept on the x-axis, let y=0

0 = 2x + 2
2x = −2 (2.37)

x = −1

Step 3.

Figure 2.38

Solution to Exercise 2.4 (p. 35)

Step 1. The sign of a is positive. The parabola will therefore have a minimal turning point.
Step 2. The domain is: {x : x ∈ R} and the range is: {f (x) : f (x) ∈ [5, ∞)}.
Step 3. The turning point occurs at (0, q). For this function q = 5, so the turning point is at (0, 5)

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 47

Step 4. The y-intercept occurs when x = 0. Calculating the y-intercept gives:

y = 3x2 + 5
2
yint = 3 (0) + 5 (2.38)

yint = 5

Step 5. The x-intercepts occur when y = 0. Calculating the x-intercept gives:

y = 3x2 + 5
0 = 3x2 + 5 (2.39)

x 2
= − 35

which is not real, so there are no x-intercepts.

Step 6. Putting all this together gives us the following graph:

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48 CHAPTER 2. FUNCTIONS AND GRAPHS

Figure 2.39
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 49

Solution to Exercise 2.5 (p. 39)

Step 1. The domain is: {x : x ∈ R, x 6= 0} and the range is: {f (x) : f (x) ∈ (−∞; 7) ∪ (7; ∞)}.
Step 2. We look at the domain and range to determine where the asymptotes lie. From the domain we see
that the function is undened when x = 0, so there is one asymptote at x = 0. The other asymptote
is found from the range. The function is undened at y=q and so the second asymptote is at y=7
Step 3. There is no y-intercept for graphs of this form.
Step 4. The x-intercept occurs when y = 0. Calculating the x-intercept gives:

y = x +
−4
7
0 = x +
−4
7
(2.40)
−7 = −4
x
xint = 4
7

7, 0 .
4


So there is one x-intercept at
Step 5. Putting all this together gives us the following graph:

Figure 2.40

Solution to Exercise 2.6 (p. 42)

Step 1. The domain is: {x : x ∈ R} and the range is: {f (x) : f (x) ∈ (−∞; 5]}.
Step 2. There is one asymptote for functions of this form. This occurs at y = q. So the asymptote for this
graph is at y=5
Step 3. The y-intercept occurs when x = 0.

y = −2.3x + 5
y = −2.30 + 5
(2.41)
y = −2 (1) + 5
yint = 7

So there is one y-intercept at (0, 7).

Step 4. The x-intercept occurs when y = 0. Calculating the x-intercept gives:

y = −2.3x + 5
0 = −2.3x + 5
−5 = −2.3x (2.42)

3xint = 5
2
xint = 0, 83

So there is one x-intercept at (0, 83, 0).

Step 5. Putting all this together gives us the following graph:

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50 CHAPTER 2. FUNCTIONS AND GRAPHS

Figure 2.41

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Chapter 3

Number patterns 1

3.1 Number Patterns - Grade 10

In earlier grades you saw patterns in the form of pictures and numbers. In this chapter, we learn more about
the mathematics of patterns. Patterns are recognisable as repetitive sequences and can be found in nature,
shapes, events, sets of numbers and almost everywhere you care to look. For example, seeds in a sunower,
snowakes, geometric designs on quilts or tiles, the number sequence 0; 4; 8; 12; 16; ....

3.1.1 Investigation : Patterns

Can you spot any patterns in the following lists of numbers?

1. 2; 4; 6; 8; 10; ...
2. 1; 2; 4; 7; 11; ...
3. 1; 4; 9; 16; 25; ...
4. 5; 10; 20; 40; 80; ...

3.2 Common Number Patterns

Numbers can have interesting patterns. Here we list the most common patterns and how they are made.
Examples:

1. 1; 4; 7; 10; 13; 16; 19; 22; 25; ... This sequence has a dierence of 3 between each number. The pattern is
continued by adding 3 to the last number each time.
2. 3; 8; 13; 18; 23; 28; 33; 38; ... This sequence has a dierence of 5 between each number. The pattern is
continued by adding 5 to the last number each time.
3. 2; 4; 8; 16; 32; 64; 128; 256; ... This sequence has a factor of 2 between each number. The pattern is
continued by multiplying the last number by 2 each time.
4. 3; 9; 27; 81; 243; 729; 2187; ... This sequence has a factor of 3 between each number. The pattern is
continued by multiplying the last number by 3 each time.

3.2.1 Special Sequences

3.2.1.1 Triangular Numbers
1; 3; 6; 10; 15; 21; 28; 36; 45; ...
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51
52 CHAPTER 3. NUMBER PATTERNS

This sequence is generated from a pattern of dots which form a triangle. By adding another row of dots
(with one more dot in each row than in the previous row) and counting all the dots, we can nd the next
number of the sequence.

3.2.1.2 Square Numbers

1; 4; 9; 16; 25; 36; 49; 64; 81; ...
The next number is made by squaring the number of the position in the pattern. The second number is
2 squared (2 or 2 × 2 ). The seventh number is 7 squared (7 or 7 × 7
2 2
) etc.

3.2.1.3 Cube Numbers

1; 8; 27; 64; 125; 216; 343; 512; 729; ...
The next number is made by cubing the number of the position in the pattern. The second number is 2
cubed (2 or 2 × 2 × 2 ). The seventh number is 7 cubed (7 or 7 × 7 × 7
3 3
) etc.

3.2.1.4 Fibonacci Numbers

0; 1; 1; 2; 3; 5; 8; 13; 21; 34; ...
The next number is found by adding the two numbers before it together. The 2 is found by adding the
two numbers in front of it (1 + 1). The 21 is found by adding the two numbers in front of it (8 + 13). The
next number in the sequence above would be 55 (21 + 34).
Can you gure out the next few numbers?

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Figure 3.1

Exercise 3.1: Study Table (Solution on p. 57.)

Say you and 3 friends decide to study for Maths, and you are seated at a square table. A few
minutes later, 2 other friends join you and would like to sit at your table and help you study.
Naturally, you move another table and add it to the existing one. Now 6 of you sit at the table.
Another 2 of your friends join your table, and you take a third table and add it to the existing
tables. Now 8 of you can sit comfortably.

Figure 3.2: Two more people can be seated for each table added.

Examine how the number of people sitting is related to the number of tables.

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 53

3.3 Notation

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Figure 3.3

The nth -term of a sequence is written as an . So for example, the 1st -term of a sequence is a1 , the 10th -term
is a10 .
A sequence does not have to follow a pattern but when it does, we can often write down a formula to
calculate the nth -term, an . In the sequence

1; 4; 9; 16; 25; ... (3.1)

where the sequence consists of the squares of integers, the formula for the nth -term is

an = n2 (3.2)

You can check this by looking at:

a1 = 12 = 1
a2 = 22 = 4
a3 = 32 = 9
(3.3)
a4 = 42 = 16
a5 = 52 = 25
...
Therefore, using (3.2), we can generate a pattern, namely squares of integers.
We can also dene the common dierence for a pattern.

Denition 3.1: Common dierence

The common dierence is the dierence between successive terms and is denoted by d.

For example, consider the sequence 10; 7; 4; 1; ... . To nd the common dierence, we simply subtract
each successive term:
7 − 10 = −3
4−7 = −3 (3.4)

1−4 = −3

Exercise 3.2: Study Table continued .... (Solution on p. 57.)

As before, you and 3 friends are studying for Maths, and you are seated at a square table. A few
minutes later, 2 other friends join you and add another table to the existing one. Now 6 of you can
sit together. A short time later 2 more of your friends join your table, and you add a third table
to the existing tables. Now 8 of you can sit comfortably as shown:

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54 CHAPTER 3. NUMBER PATTERNS

Figure 3.4: For each table added, two more people can be seated.

Find the expression for the number of people seated at n tables. Then, use the general formula
to determine how many people can sit around 12 tables and how many tables are needed for 20
people.

It is also important to note the dierence between n and an . n can be compared to a place holder, while an
is the value at the place held by n. Like our Study Table example above, the rst table (Table 1) holds
4 people. Thus, at place n = 1, the value of a1 = 4 and so on:

n 1 2 3 4 ...

an 4 6 8 10 ...

Table 3.1

3.3.1 Investigation : General Formula

1. Find the general formula for the following sequences and then nd a10 , a50 and a100 :
a. 2; 5; 8; 11; 14; ...
b. 0; 4; 8; 12; 16; ...
c. 2; −1; −4; −7; −10; ...
2. The general term has been given for each sequence below. Work out the missing terms.

a. 0; 3; ...; 15; 24 n2 − 1
b. 3; 2; 1; 0; ...; −2 −n + 4
c. −11; ...; −7; ...; −3 −13 + 2n

3.3.2 Patterns and Conjecture

Khan Academy video on Number Patterns - 2
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Figure 3.5

In mathematics, a conjecture is a mathematical statement which appears to be true, but has not been
formally proven to be true. A conjecture can be seen as an educated guess or an idea about a pattern. A

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 55

conjecture can be thought of as the mathematicians way of saying I believe that this is true, but I have no
proof.
For example: Make a conjecture about the next number based on the pattern 2; 6; 11; 17; ...
The numbers increase by 4, 5, and 6.
Conjecture: The next number will increase by 7. So, it will be 17 + 7 or 24.

Exercise 3.3: Number patterns (Solution on p. 58.)

Consider the following pattern:

12 + 1 = 22 − 2
22 + 2 = 32 − 3
(3.5)
32 + 3 = 42 − 4
42 + 4 = 52 − 5

1. Add another two rows to the end of the pattern.

2. Make a conjecture about this pattern. Write your conjecture in words.
3. Generalise your conjecture for this pattern (in other words, write your conjecture alge-
braically).
4. Prove that your conjecture is true.

3.4 Summary
• There are several special sequences of numbers:

· Triangular numbers 1; 3; 6; 10; 15; 21; 28; 36; 45; ...

· Square numbers 1; 4; 9; 16; 25; 36; 49; 64; 81; ...
· Cube numbers 1; 8; 27; 64; 125; 216; 343; 512; 729; ...
· Fibonacci numbers 0; 1; 1; 2; 3; 5; 8; 13; 21; 34; ...

• We represent the nth -term with the notation an

• We can dene the common dierence of a sequence as the dierence between successive terms.
• We can work out a general formula for each number pattern and use that to predict what any number
in the pattern will be.

3.5 Exercises
1. Find the nth term for: 3, 7, 11, 15, ... Click here for the solution
2

2. Find the general term of the following sequences:

a. −2; 1; 4; 7; ...
b. 11; 15; 19; 23; ...
c. sequence with a3 = 7 and a8 = 15
d. sequence with a4 = −8 and a10 = 10
3
Click here for the solution
3. The seating in a section of a sports stadium can be arranged so the rst row has 15 seats, the second
row has 19 seats, the third row has 23 seats and so on. Calculate how many seats are in the row 25.
4
Click here for the solution
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56 CHAPTER 3. NUMBER PATTERNS

4. A single square is made from 4 matchsticks. Two squares in a row need 7 matchsticks and 3 squares
in a row need 10 matchsticks. Determine:

a. the rst term

b. the common dierence
c. the formula for the general term
d. how many matchsticks are in a row of 25 squares

Figure 3.6

5
Click here for the solution
5. You would like to start saving some money, but because you have never tried to save money before,
you have decided to start slowly. At the end of the rst week you deposit R5 into your bank account.
Then at the end of the second week you deposit R10 into your bank account. At the end of the third
week you deposit R15. After how many weeks do you deposit R50 into your bank account? Click here
6
for the solution
6. A horizontal line intersects a piece of string at four points and divides it into ve parts, as shown
below.

Figure 3.7

If the piece of string is intersected in this way by 19 parallel lines, each of which intersects it at four
7
points, nd the number of parts into which the string will be divided. Click here for the solution

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Solutions to Exercises in Chapter 3

Solution to Exercise 3.1 (p. 52)
Step 1.
Number of Tables, n Number of people seated
1 4=4
2 4+2=6
3 4+2+2=8
4 4 + 2 + 2 + 2 = 10
. .
. .
. .

n 4 + 2 + 2 + 2 + ... + 2

Table 3.2

Step 2. We can see that for 3 tables we can seat 8 people, for 4 tables we can seat 10 people and so on. We
started out with 4 people and added two each time. Thus, for each table added, the number of persons
increased by 2.

Solution to Exercise 3.2 (p. 53)

Step 1.
Number of Tables, n Number of people seated Formula
1 4=4 = 4 + 2 · (0)
2 4+2=6 = 4 + 2 · (1)
3 4+2+2=8 = 4 + 2 · (2)
4 4 + 2 + 2 + 2 = 10 = 4 + 2 · (3)
. . .
. . .
. . .

n 4 + 2 + 2 + 2 + ... + 2 = 4 + 2 · (n − 1)

Table 3.3

Step 2. The number of people seated at n tables is:

an = a1 + d · (n − 1) (3.6)

Notice how we have used d to represent the common dierence. We could also have written a 2 in
place of the d. We also used a1 to represent the rst term, rather than using the actual value (4).
Step 3. Considering the example from the previous section, how many people can sit around say 12 tables?
We are looking for a12 , that is, where n = 12:

an = a1 + d · (n − 1)
a12 = 4 + 2 · (12 − 1)
= 4 + 2 (11) (3.7)

= 4 + 22
= 26

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 58 CHAPTER 3. NUMBER PATTERNS

Step 4.

an = a1 + d · (n − 1)
20 = 4 + 2 · (n − 1)
20 − 4 = 2 · (n − 1)
(3.8)
16 ÷ 2 = n−1
8+1 = n
n = 9
Step 5. 26 people can be seated at 12 tables and 9 tables are needed to seat 20 people.

Solution to Exercise 3.3 (p. 55)

Step 1.

52 + 5 = 62 − 6
(3.9)
62 + 6 = 72 − 7
Step 2. Squaring a number and adding the same number gives the same result as squaring the next number
and subtracting that number.
Step 3. We have chosen to use x here. You could choose any letter to generalise the pattern.

2
x2 + x = (x + 1) − (x + 1) (3.10)

Step 4.
Left side : x2 + x (3.11)

2
Right side : (x + 1) − (x + 1) (3.12)

Right side = x2 + 2x + 1 − x − 1
= x2 + x
(3.13)
= Left side
2
∴ x2 + x = (x + 1) − (x + 1)

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Chapter 4

Finance 1

4.1 Introduction
Should you ever nd yourself stuck with a mathematics question on a television quiz show, you will probably
wish you had remembered how many even prime numbers there are between 1 and 100 for the sake of
R1 000 000. And who does not want to be a millionaire, right?
Welcome to the Grade 10 Finance Chapter, where we apply maths skills to everyday nancial situations
that you are likely to face both now and along your journey to purchasing your rst private jet.
If you master the techniques in this chapter, you will grasp the concept of compound interest, and how
it can ruin your fortunes if you have credit card debt, or make you millions if you successfully invest your
hard-earned money. You will also understand the eects of uctuating exchange rates, and its impact on
your spending power during your overseas holidays!
Before we begin this chapter it is worth noting that the vast majority of countries use a decimal currency
system. This simply means that countries use a currency system that works with powers of ten, for example
in South Africa we have 100 (10 squared) cents in a rand. In America there are 100 cents in a dollar. Another
way of saying this is that the country has one basic unit of currency and a sub-unit which is a power of 10
of the major unit. This means that, if we ignore the eect of exchange rates, we can essentially substitute
rands for dollars or rands for pounds.

4.2 Being Interested in Interest

If you had R1 000, you could either keep it in your wallet, or deposit it in a bank account. If it stayed in
your wallet, you could spend it any time you wanted. If the bank looked after it for you, then they could
spend it, with the plan of making prot from it. The bank usually pays" you to deposit it into an account,
as a way of encouraging you to bank it with them, This payment is like a reward, which provides you with
a reason to leave it with the bank for a while, rather than keeping the money in your wallet.
We call this reward "interest".
If you deposit money into a bank account, you are eectively lending money to the bank - and you can
expect to receive interest in return. Similarly, if you borrow money from a bank (or from a department store,
or a car dealership, for example) then you can expect to have to pay interest on the loan. That is the price
of borrowing money.
The concept is simple, yet it is core to the world of nance. Accountants, actuaries and bankers, for
example, could spend their entire working career dealing with the eects of interest on nancial matters.
In this chapter you will be introduced to the concept of nancial mathematics - and given the tools to
cope with even advanced concepts and problems.

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60 CHAPTER 4. FINANCE

tip: Interest

The concepts in this chapter are simple - we are just looking at the same idea, but from many dierent angles.
The best way to learn from this chapter is to do the examples yourself, as you work your way through. Do
not just take our word for it!

4.3 Simple Interest

Denition 4.1: Simple Interest
Simple interest is where you earn interest on the initial amount that you invested, but not interest
on interest.

As an easy example of simple interest, consider how much you will get by investing R1 000 for 1 year
with a bank that pays you 5% simple interest. At the end of the year, you will get an interest of:

Interest = R1 000 × 5%
= R1 000 × 5
100
(4.1)
= R1 000 × 0, 05
= R50
So, with an opening balance" of R1 000 at the start of the year, your closing balance" at the end of the
year will therefore be:

Closing Balance = Opening Balance + Interest

= R1 000 + R50 (4.2)

= R1 050
We sometimes call the opening balance in nancial calculations the Principal, which is abbreviated as P
(R1 000 in the example). The interest rate is usually labelled i (5% in the example), and the interest amount
(in Rand terms) is labelled I (R50 in the example).
So we can see that:

I =P ×i (4.3)

and

Closing Balance = Opening Balance + Interest

= P +I
(4.4)
= P + (P × i)
= P (1 + i)
This is how you calculate simple interest. It is not a complicated formula, which is just as well because you
are going to see a lot of it!

4.3.1 Not Just One

You might be wondering to yourself:

1. how much interest will you be paid if you only leave the money in the account for 3 months, or
2. what if you leave it there for 3 years?

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It is actually quite simple - which is why they call it Simple Interest.

1. Three months is 1/4 of a year, so you would only get 1/4 of a full year's interest, which is: 1/4×(P × i).
The closing balance would therefore be:

Closing Balance = P + 1/4 × (P × i)

(4.5)
= P (1 + (1/4) i)

2. For 3 years, you would get three years' worth of interest, being: 3 × (P × i). The closing balance at
the end of the three year period would be:

Closing Balance = P + 3 × (P × i)
(4.6)
= P × (1 + (3) i)

If you look carefully at the similarities between the two answers above, we can generalise the result. If you
invest your money (P ) in an account which pays a rate of interest (i) for a period of time (n years), then,
using the symbol A for the Closing Balance:

A = P (1 + i · n) (4.7)

As we have seen, this works when n is a fraction of a year and also when n covers several years.

important: Annual Rates means Yearly rates. and p.a.(per annum) = per year

Exercise 4.1: Simple Interest (Solution on p. 73.)

If I deposit R1 000 into a special bank account which pays a Simple Interest of 7% for 3 years,
how much will I get back at the end of this term?

Exercise 4.2: Calculating n (Solution on p. 73.)

If I deposit R30 000 into a special bank account which pays a Simple Interest of 7.5%, for how
many years must I invest this amount to generate R45 000?

4.3.2 Other Applications of the Simple Interest Formula

Exercise 4.3: Hire-Purchase (Solution on p. 73.)
Troy is keen to buy an additional hard drive for his laptop advertised for R 2 500 on the internet.
There is an option of paying a 10% deposit then making 24 monthly payments using a hire-purchase
agreement where interest is calculated at 7,5% p.a. simple interest. Calculate what Troy's monthly
payments will be.

Many items become less valuable as they are used and age. For example, you pay less for a second hand car
than a new car of the same model. The older a car is the less you pay for it. The reduction in value with
time can be due purely to wear and tear from usage but also to the development of new technology that
makes the item obsolete, for example, new computers that are released force down the value of older models.
The term we use to descrive the decrease in value of items with time is depreciation.
Depreciation, like interest can be calculated on an annual basis and is often done with a rate or percentage
change per year. It is like negative interest. The simplest way to do depreciation is to assume a constant
rate per year, which we will call simple depreciation. There are more complicated models for depreciation
but we won't deal with them here.

Exercise 4.4: Depreciation (Solution on p. 74.)

Seven years ago, Tjad's drum kit cost him R12 500. It has now been valued at R2 300. What rate
of simple depreciation does this represent ?

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62 CHAPTER 4. FINANCE

4.3.2.1 Simple Interest

1. An amount of R3 500 is invested in a savings account which pays simple interest at a rate of 7,5% per
annum. Calculate the balance accumulated by the end of 2 years.
2
Click here for the solution
2. Calculate the simple interest for the following problems.

a. A loan of R300 at a rate of 8% for l year.

b. An investment of R225 at a rate of 12,5% for 6 years.
3
Click here for the solution
3. I made a deposit of R5 000 in the bank for my 5 year old son's 21st birthday. I have given him the
amount of R 18 000 on his birthday. At what rate was the money invested, if simple interest was
calculated ?
4
Click here for the solution
4. Bongani buys a dining room table costing R 8 500 on Hire Purchase. He is charged simple interest at
17,5% per annum over 3 years.

a. How much will Bongani pay in total ?

b. How much interest does he pay ?
c. What is his monthly installment ?
5
Click here for the solution

4.4 Compound Interest

To explain the concept of compound interest, the following example is discussed:

Exercise 4.5: Using Simple Interest to lead to the concept Compound Interest (Solution
on p. 74.)
I deposit R1 000 into a special bank account which pays a Simple Interest of 7%. What if I empty
the bank account after a year, and then take the principal and the interest and invest it back into
the same account again. Then I take it all out at the end of the second year, and then put it all
back in again? And then I take it all out at the end of 3 years?

In the two worked examples using simple interest (Exercise 4.1 ( Simple Interest ) and Exercise 4.5 ( Using
Simple Interest to lead to the concept Compound Interest )), we have basically the same problem because
P =R1 000, i=7% and n=3 years for both problems. Except in the second situation, we end up with R1
225,04 which is more than R1 210 from the rst example. What has changed?
In the rst example I earned R70 interest each year - the same in the rst, second and third year. But
in the second situation, when I took the money out and then re-invested it, I was actually earning interest
in the second year on my interest (R70) from the rst year. (And interest on the interest on my interest in
the third year!)
This more realistically reects what happens in the real world, and is known as Compound Interest. It
is this concept which underlies just about everything we do - so we will look at it more closely next.

Denition 4.2: Compound Interest

Compound interest is the interest payable on the principal and its accumulated interest.

Compound interest is a double-edged sword, though - great if you are earning interest on cash you have
invested, but more serious if you are stuck having to pay interest on money you have borrowed!
In the same way that we developed a formula for Simple Interest, let us nd one for Compound Interest.

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If our opening balance is P and we have an interest rate of i then, the closing balance at the end of the
rst year is:

Closing Balance after 1 year = P (1 + i) (4.8)

This is the same as Simple Interest because it only covers a single year. Then, if we take that out and
re-invest it for another year - just as you saw us doing in the worked example above - then the balance after
the second year will be:

Closing Balance after 2 years = [P (1 + i)] × (1 + i)

(4.9)
2
= P (1 + i)
And if we take that money out, then invest it for another year, the balance becomes:

h i
2
Closing Balance after 3 years = P (1 + i) × (1 + i)
(4.10)
3
= P (1 + i)
We can see that the power of the term (1 + i) is the same as the number of years. Therefore,

n
Closing Balance after n years = P (1 + i) (4.11)

4.4.1 Fractions add up to the Whole

It is easy to show that this formula works even when n is a fraction of a year. For example, let us invest the
money for 1 month, then for 4 months, then for 7 months.

1
Closing Balance after 1 month = P (1 + i) 12
Closing Balance after 5 months = Closing Balance after 1 month invested for 4 months more
h 1
i 4
= P (1 + i) 12 (1 + i) 12
1 4
+ 12
= P (1 + i) 12
5
= P (1 + i) 12
(4.12)
Closing Balance after 12 months = Closing Balance after 5 months invested for 7 months more
h 5
i 7
= P (1 + i) 12 (1 + i) 12
5 7
+ 12
= P (1 + i) 12
12
= P (1 + i) 12
1
= P (1 + i)
which is the same as investing the money for a year.
Look carefully at the long equation above. It is not as complicated as it looks! All we are doing is taking
the opening amount (P ), then adding interest for just 1 month. Then we are taking that new balance and
adding interest for a further 4 months, and then nally we are taking the new balance after a total of 5
months, and adding interest for 7 more months. Take a look again, and check how easy it really is.
Does the nal formula look familiar? Correct - it is the same result as you would get for simply investing
P for one full year. This is exactly what we would expect, because:
1 month + 4 months + 7 months = 12 months, which is a year.
Can you see that? Do not move on until you have understood this point.

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64 CHAPTER 4. FINANCE

4.4.2 The Power of Compound Interest

To see how important this interest on interest" is, we shall compare the dierence in closing balances for
money earning simple interest and money earning compound interest. Consider an amount of R10 000 that
you have to invest for 10 years, and assume we can earn interest of 9%. How much would that be worth
after 10 years?
The closing balance for the money earning simple interest is:

A = P (1 + i · n)
= R10 000 (1 + 9% × 10) (4.13)

= R19 000
The closing balance for the money earning compound interest is:

n
A = P (1 + i)
10
= R10 000(1 + 9%) (4.14)

= R23 673, 64
So next time someone talks about the magic of compound interest", not only will you know what they
mean - but you will be able to prove it mathematically yourself !
Again, keep in mind that this is good news and bad news. When you are earning interest on money you
have invested, compound interest helps that amount to increase exponentially. But if you have borrowed
money, the build up of the amount you owe will grow exponentially too.

Exercise 4.6: Taking out a Loan (Solution on p. 75.)

Mr Lowe wants to take out a loan of R 350 000. He does not want to pay back more than R625 000
altogether on the loan. If the interest rate he is oered is 13%, over what period should he take the
loan.

4.4.3 Other Applications of Compound Growth

The following two examples show how we can take the formula for compound interest and apply it to real
life problems involving compound growth or compound decrease.

Exercise 4.7: Population Growth (Solution on p. 75.)

South Africa's population is increasing by 2,5% per year. If the current population is 43 million,
how many more people will there be in South Africa in two years' time ?

Exercise 4.8: Compound Decrease (Solution on p. 76.)

A swimming pool is being treated for a build-up of algae. Initially, 50m2 of the pool is covered by
algae. With each day of treatment, the algae reduces by 5%. What area is covered by algae after
30 days of treatment ?

4.4.3.1 Compound Interest

1. An amount of R3 500 is invested in a savings account which pays compound interest at a rate of 7,5%
per annum. Calculate the balance accumulated by the end of 2 years.
6
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 65

2. If the average rate of ination for the past few years was 7,3% and your water and electricity account
is R 1 425 on average, what would you expect to pay in 6 years time ?
7
Click here for the solution
3. Shrek wants to invest some money at 11% per annum compound interest. How much money (to the
nearest rand) should he invest if he wants to reach a sum of R 100 000 in ve year's time ?
8
Click here for the solution

The next section on exchange rates is included for completeness. However, you should know about uctuating
exchange rates and the impact that this has on imports and exports. Fluctuating exchange rates lead to
things like increases in the cost of petrol. You can read more about this in Fluctuating exchange rates
(Section 4.5.3: Fluctuating exchange rates).

4.5 Foreign Exchange Rates - (Not in CAPS, included for complete-

ness)
Is $500 ("500 US dollars") per person per night a good deal on a hotel in New York City? The rst question
you will ask is How much is that worth in Rands?". A quick call to the local bank or a search on the
9
Internet (for example on http://www.x-rates.com ) for the Dollar/Rand exchange rate will give you a basis
for assessing the price.
A foreign exchange rate is nothing more than the price of one currency in terms of another. For example,
the exchange rate of 6,18 Rands/US Dollars means that $1 costs R6,18. In other words, if you have $1 you
could sell it for R6,18 - or if you wanted $1 you would have to pay R6,18 for it.
But what drives exchange rates, and what causes exchange rates to change? And how does this aect
you anyway? This section looks at answering these questions.

4.5.1 How much is R1 really worth?

We can quote the price of a currency in terms of any other currency, for example, we can quote the Japanese
Yen in term of the Indian Rupee. The US Dollar (USD), British Pound Sterling (GBP) and the Euro (EUR)
are, however, the most common used market standards. You will notice that the nancial news will report
the South African Rand exchange rate in terms of these three major currencies.

Currency Abbreviation Symbol

South African Rand ZAR R

United States Dollar USD $

British Pounds Sterling GBP ¿

Table 4.1: Abbreviations and symbols for some common currencies.

So the South African Rand, noted ZAR, could be quoted on a certain date as 6,07040 ZAR per USD (i.e.
$1,00 costs R6,07040), or 12,2374 ZAR per GBP. So if I wanted to spend $1 000 on a holiday in the United
States of America, this would cost me R6 070,40; and if I wanted ¿1 000 for a weekend in London it would
cost me R12 237,40.
This seems obvious, but let us see how we calculated those numbers: The rate is given as ZAR per USD,
or ZAR/USD such that $1,00 buys R6,0704. Therefore, we need to multiply by 1 000 to get the number of
Rands per $1 000.

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66 CHAPTER 4. FINANCE

Mathematically,

$1, 00 = R6, 0740

∴ 1 000 × $1, 00 = 1 000 × R6, 0740 (4.15)

= R6 074, 00
as expected.
What if you have saved R10 000 for spending money for the same trip and you wanted to use this to buy
USD? How many USD could you get for this? Our rate is in ZAR/USD but we want to know how many
USD we can get for our ZAR. This is easy. We know how much $1,00 costs in terms of Rands.

$1, 00 = R6, 0740

∴ $1,00
6,0740 = R6,0740
6,0740
$ 6,0740
1,00
= R1, 00 (4.16)

R1, 00 = $ 6,0740
1,00

= $0, 164636
As we can see, the nal answer is simply the reciprocal of the ZAR/USD rate. Therefore, for R10 000 will
get:

R1, 00 = $ 6,0740
1,00

∴ 10 000 × R1, 00 = 10 000 × $ 6,0740

1,00
(4.17)

= $1 646, 36
We can check the answer as follows:

$1, 00 = R6, 0740

∴ 1 646, 36 × $1, 00 = 1 646, 36 × R6, 0740 (4.18)

= R10 000, 00

4.5.1.1 Six of one and half a dozen of the other

So we have two dierent ways of expressing the same exchange rate: Rands per Dollar (ZAR/USD) and
Dollar per Rands (USD/ZAR). Both exchange rates mean the same thing and express the value of one
currency in terms of another. You can easily work out one from the other - they are just the reciprocals of
the other.
If the South African Rand is our domestic (or home) currency, we call the ZAR/USD rate a direct" rate,
and we call a USD/ZAR rate an indirect" rate.
In general, a direct rate is an exchange rate that is expressed as units of home currency per units of
Domestic Currency
foreign currency, i.e.,
Foreign Currency .
The Rand exchange rates that we see on the news are usually expressed as direct rates, for example you
might see:

Currency Abbreviation Exchange Rates

1 USD R6,9556

1 GBP R13,6628

1 EUR R9,1954

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 67

Table 4.2: Examples of exchange rates

The exchange rate is just the price of each of the Foreign Currencies (USD, GBP and EUR) in terms of
our domestic currency, Rands.
An indirect rate is an exchange rate expressed as units of foreign currency per units of home currency,
Foreign Currency
i.e.
Domestic Currency .
Dening exchange rates as direct or indirect depends on which currency is dened as the domestic
currency. The domestic currency for an American investor would be USD which is the South African
investor's foreign currency. So direct rates, from the perspective of the American investor (USD/ZAR),
would be the same as the indirect rate from the perspective of the South Africa investor.

4.5.1.2 Terminology
Since exchange rates are simply prices of currencies, movements in exchange rates means that the price or
value of the currency has changed. The price of petrol changes all the time, so does the price of gold, and
currency prices also move up and down all the time.
If the Rand exchange rate moved from say R6,71 per USD to R6,50 per USD, what does this mean?
Well, it means that $1 would now cost only R6,50 instead of R6,71. The Dollar is now cheaper to buy, and
we say that the Dollar has depreciated (or weakened) against the Rand. Alternatively we could say that the
Rand has appreciated (or strengthened) against the Dollar.
What if we were looking at indirect exchange rates, and the exchange rate moved from $0,149 per ZAR
1 1
(=
6,71 ) to $0,1538 per ZAR (= 6,50 ).
Well now we can see that the R1,00 cost $0,149 at the start, and then cost $0,1538 at the end. The Rand
has become more expensive (in terms of Dollars), and again we can say that the Rand has appreciated.
Regardless of which exchange rate is used, we still come to the same conclusions.
In general,

• for direct exchange rates, the home currency will appreciate (depreciate) if the exchange rate falls
(rises)
• For indirect exchange rates, the home currency will appreciate (depreciate) if the exchange rate rises
(falls)

As with just about everything in this chapter, do not get caught up in memorising these formulae - doing
so is only going to get confusing. Think about what you have and what you want - and it should be quite
clear how to get the correct answer.

4.5.1.2.1 Discussion : Foreign Exchange Rates

In groups of 5, discuss:

1. Why might we need to know exchange rates?

2. What happens if one country's currency falls drastically vs another country's currency?
3. When might you use exchange rates?

4.5.2 Cross Currency Exchange Rates - (not in CAPS, included for completeness)
We know that exchange rates are the value of one currency expressed in terms of another currency, and
we can quote exchange rates against any other currency. The Rand exchange rates we see on the news are
usually expressed against the major currencies, USD, GBP and EUR.
So if for example, the Rand exchange rates were given as 6,71 ZAR/USD and 12,71 ZAR/GBP, does this
tell us anything about the exchange rate between USD and GBP?

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68 CHAPTER 4. FINANCE

Well I know that if $1 will buy me R6,71, and if ¿1.00 will buy me R12,71, then surely the GBP is
stronger than the USD because you will get more Rands for one unit of the currency, and we can work out
the USD/GBP exchange rate as follows:
Before we plug in any numbers, how can we get a USD/GBP exchange rate from the ZAR/USD and
ZAR/GBP exchange rates?
Well,

USD/GBP = USD/ZAR × ZAR/GBP. (4.19)

Note that the ZAR in the numerator will cancel out with the ZAR in the denominator, and we are left with
the USD/GBP exchange rate.
Although we do not have the USD/ZAR exchange rate, we know that this is just the reciprocal of the
ZAR/USD exchange rate.

1
USD/ZAR = (4.20)
ZAR/USD
Now plugging in the numbers, we get:

USD/GBP = USD/ZAR × ZAR/GBP

= 1
ZAR/USD × ZAR/GBP
(4.21)
= 1
6,71 × 12, 71
= 1, 894

tip: Sometimes you will see exchange rates in the real world that do not appear to work exactly
like this. This is usually because some nancial institutions add other costs to the exchange rates,
which alter the results. However, if you could remove the eect of those extra costs, the numbers
would balance again.

Exercise 4.9: Cross Exchange Rates (Solution on p. 76.)

If $1 = R 6,40, and ¿1 = R11,58 what is the $/¿ exchange rate (i.e. the number of US$ per ¿)?

4.5.2.1 Investigation : Cross Exchange Rates - Alternative Method

If $1 = R 6,40, and ¿1 = R11,58 what is the $/¿ exchange rate (i.e. the number of US$ per ¿)?
Overview of problem
You need the $/¿ exchange rate, in other words how many dollars must you pay for a pound. So you
need ¿1. From the given information we know that it would cost you R11,58 to buy ¿1 and that $ 1 =
R6,40.
Use this information to:

1. calculate how much R1 is worth in $.

2. calculate how much R11,58 is worth in $.

Do you get the same answer as in the worked example?

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 69

4.5.3 Fluctuating exchange rates

If everyone wants to buy houses in a certain suburb, then house prices are going to go up - because the
buyers will be competing to buy those houses. If there is a suburb where all residents want to move out,
then there are lots of sellers and this will cause house prices in the area to fall - because the buyers would
not have to struggle as much to nd an eager seller.
This is all about supply and demand, which is a very important section in the study of Economics. You
can think about this is many dierent contexts, like stamp-collecting for example. If there is a stamp that
lots of people want (high demand) and few people own (low supply) then that stamp is going to be expensive.
And if you are starting to wonder why this is relevant - think about currencies. If you are going to visit
London, then you have Rands but you need to buy" Pounds. The exchange rate is the price you have to
pay to buy those Pounds.
Think about a time where lots of South Africans are visiting the United Kingdom, and other South
Africans are importing goods from the United Kingdom. That means there are lots of Rands (high supply)
trying to buy Pounds. Pounds will start to become more expensive (compare this to the house price example
at the start of this section if you are not convinced), and the exchange rate will change. In other words, for
R1 000 you will get fewer Pounds than you would have before the exchange rate moved.
Another context which might be useful for you to understand this: consider what would happen if people
in other countries felt that South Africa was becoming a great place to live, and that more people were
wanting to invest in South Africa - whether in properties, businesses - or just buying more goods from South
Africa. There would be a greater demand for Rands - and the price of the Rand" would go up. In other
words, people would need to use more Dollars, or Pounds, or Euros ... to buy the same amount of Rands.
This is seen as a movement in exchange rates.
Although it really does come down to supply and demand, it is interesting to think about what factors
might aect the supply (people wanting to sell" a particular currency) and the demand (people trying to
buy" another currency). This is covered in detail in the study of Economics, but let us look at some of the
basic issues here.
There are various factors which aect exchange rates, some of which have more economic rationale than
others:

• economic factors (such as ination gures, interest rates, trade decit information, monetary policy
and scal policy)
• political factors (such as uncertain political environment, or political unrest)
• market sentiments and market behaviour (for example if foreign exchange markets perceived a currency
to be overvalued and starting selling the currency, this would cause the currency to fall in value - a
self-fullling expectation).

The exchange rate also inuences the price we pay for certain goods. All countries import certain goods and
export other goods. For example, South Africa has a lot of minerals (gold, platinum, etc.) that the rest of
the world wants. So South Africa exports these minerals to the world for a certain price. The exchange rate
at the time of export inuences how much we can get for the minerals. In the same way, any goods that are
imported are also inuenced by the exchange rate. The price of petrol is a good example of something that
is aected by the exchange rate.

4.6 Foreign Exchange

1. I want to buy an IPOD that costs ¿100, with the exchange rate currently at £1 = R14. I believe the
exchange rate will reach R12 in a month.

a. How much will the MP3 player cost in Rands, if I buy it now?
b. How much will I save if the exchange rate drops to R12?
c. How much will I lose if the exchange rate moves to R15?

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70 CHAPTER 4. FINANCE

10
Click here for the solution
2. Study the following exchange rate table:

Country Currency Exchange Rate

United Kingdom (UK) Pounds(¿) R14, 13

United States (USA) Dollars ($) R7, 04

Table 4.3

a. In South Africa the cost of a new Honda Civic is R173 400. In England the same vehicle costs
£12 200 and in the USA $ 21 900. In which country is the car the cheapest when you compare
the prices converted to South African Rand ?
b. Sollie and Arinda are waiters in a South African restaurant attracting many tourists from abroad.
Sollie gets a £6 tip from a tourist and Arinda gets $ 12. How many South African Rand did each
one get ?

11
Click here for the solution

4.7 Summary
• There are two types of interest: simple and compound.
• The following table summarises the key denitions that are used in both simple and compound inter-
est.

P Principal (the amount of money at the starting point of the calculation)

A Closing balance (the amount of money at the ending point of the calculation)

i interest rate, normally the eective rate per annum

n period for which the investment is made

Table 4.4

• For simple interest we use:

A = P (1 + i · n) (4.22)

• For compound interest we use:

n
A = P (1 + i) (4.23)

• The formulae for simple and compound interest can be applied to many everyday problems.
• A foreign exchange rate is the price of one currency in terms of another.

tip: Always keep the interest and the time period in the same units of time (e.g. both in years, or
both in months etc.).

The following three videos provide a summary of how to calculate interest. Take note that although the
examples are done using dollars, we can use the fact that dollars are a decimal currency and so are inter-
changeable (ignoring the exchange rate) with rands. This is what is done in the subtitles.

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Khan academy video on interest - 1

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Figure 4.1

Khan academy video on interest - 2

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Figure 4.2

Note in this video that at the very end the rule of 72 is mentioned. You will not be using this rule, but
will rather be using trial and error to solve the problem posed.

Khan academy video on interest - 3

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Figure 4.3

4.8 End of Chapter Exercises

1. You are going on holiday to Europe. Your hotel will cost 200 euros per night. How much will you need
in Rands to cover your hotel bill, if the exchange rate is 1 euro = R9,20?
12
Click here for the solution
2. Calculate how much you will earn if you invested R500 for 1 year at the following interest rates:

a. 6,85% simple interest.

b. 4,00% compound interest.
13
Click here for the solution
3. Bianca has R1 450 to invest for 3 years. Bank A oers a savings account which pays simple interest
at a rate of 11% per annum, whereas Bank B oers a savings account paying compound interest at a
rate of 10,5% per annum. Which account would leave Bianca with the highest accumulated balance at
the end of the 3 year period?
14
Click here for the solution
4. How much simple interest is payable on a loan of R2 000 for a year, if the interest rate is 10%?
15
Click here for the solution
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72 CHAPTER 4. FINANCE

5. How much compound interest is payable on a loan of R2 000 for a year, if the interest rate is 10%?
16
Click here for the solution
6. Discuss:

a. Which type of interest would you like to use if you are the borrower?
b. Which type of interest would you like to use if you were the banker?
17
Click here for the solution
7. Calculate the compound interest for the following problems.

a. A R2 000 loan for 2 years at 5%.

b. A R1 500 investment for 3 years at 6%.
c. An R800 loan for l year at 16%.
18
Click here for the solution
8. If the exchange rate for 100 Yen = R 6,2287 and 1 Australian Doller (AUD) = R 5,1094 , determine
the exchange rate between the Australian Dollar and the Japanese Yen.
19
Click here for the solution
9. Bonnie bought a stove for R 3 750. After 3 years she had nished paying for it and the R 956,25
interest that was charged for hire-purchase. Determine the rate of simple interest that was charged.
20
Click here for the solution

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 73

Solutions to Exercises in Chapter 4

Solution to Exercise 4.1 (p. 61)
Step 1. • opening balance, P = R1 000
• interest rate, i = 7%
• period of time, n = 3 years
We are required to nd the closing balance (A).
Step 2. We know from (4.7) that:

A = P (1 + i · n) (4.24)

Step 3.

A = P (1 + i · n)
= R1 000 (1 + 3 × 7%) (4.25)

= R1 210
Step 4. The closing balance after 3 years of saving R1 000 at an interest rate of 7% is R1 210.

Solution to Exercise 4.2 (p. 61)

Step 1. • opening balance, P = R30 000
• interest rate, i = 7, 5%
• closing balance, A = R45 000
We are required to nd the number of years.
Step 2. We know from (4.7) that:

A = P (1 + i · n) (4.26)

Step 3.

A = P (1 + i · n)
R45 000 = R30 000 (1 + n × 7, 5%)
(1 + 0, 075 × n) = 45000
30000
0, 075 × n = 1, 5 − 1 (4.27)

n = 0,5
0,075
n = 6, 6666667
n = 6 years 8 months
Step 4. The period is 6 years and 8 months for R30 000 to generate R45 000 at a simple interest rate of 7,5%.
If we were asked for the nearest whole number of years, we would have to invest the money for 7 years.

Solution to Exercise 4.3 (p. 61)

Step 1. A new opening balance is required, as the 10% deposit is paid in cash.

• 10% of R 2 500 = R250

• new opening balance, P = R2 500 − R250 = R2 250
• interest rate, i = 7, 5%
• period of time, n = 2 years

We are required to nd the closing balance (A) and then the monthly payments.
Step 2. We know from (4.7) that:

A = P (1 + i · n) (4.28)

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 74 CHAPTER 4. FINANCE

Step 3.

A = P (1 + i · n)
= R2 250 (1 + (2 × 7, 5%))
= R2 587, 50 (4.29)

Monthly payment = 2587, 50 ÷ 24

= R107, 81
Step 4. Troy's monthly payments = R 107,81

Solution to Exercise 4.4 (p. 61)

Step 1. • opening balance, P = R12 500
• period of time, n = 7 years
• closing balance, A = R2 300
We are required to nd the interest rate(i).
Step 2. We know from (4.7) that:

A = P (1 + i · n) (4.30)

Therefore, for depreciation the formula will change to:

A = P (1 − i · n) (4.31)

Step 3.

A = P (1 − i · n)
R2 300 = R12 500 (1 − 7 × i) (4.32)

i = 0, 11657...
Step 4. Therefore the rate of depreciation is 11, 66%
Solution to Exercise 4.5 (p. 62)
Step 1. • opening balance, P = R1 000
• interest rate, i = 7%
• period of time, 1 year at a time, for 3 years
We are required to nd the closing balance at the end of three years.
Step 2. We know that:

A = P (1 + i · n) (4.33)

Step 3.

A = P (1 + i · n)
= R1 000 (1 + 1 × 7%) (4.34)

= R1 070
Step 4. After the rst year, we withdraw all the money and re-deposit it. The opening balance for the second
year is therefore R1 070, because this is the balance after the rst year.

A = P (1 + i · n)
= R1 070 (1 + 1 × 7%) (4.35)

= R1 144, 90

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 75

Step 5. After the second year, we withdraw all the money and re-deposit it. The opening balance for the third
year is therefore R1 144, 90, because this is the balance after the rst year.

A = P (1 + i · n)
= R1 144, 90 (1 + 1 × 7%) (4.36)

= R1 225, 04
Step 6. The closing balance after withdrawing all the money and re-depositing each year for 3 years of saving
R1 000 at an interest rate of 7% is R1 225,04.

Solution to Exercise 4.6 (p. 64)

Step 1. • opening balance, P = R350 000
• closing balance, A = R625 000
• interest rate, i = 13% peryear
We are required to nd the time period(n).
Step 2. We know from (4.11) that:

n
A = P (1 + i) (4.37)

We need to nd n.
Therefore we convert the formula to:

A n
= (1 + i) (4.38)
P
and then nd n by trial and error.
Step 3.
n
A
P = (1 + i)
n
625000
350000 = (1 + 0, 13)
n
1, 785... = (1, 13)
(4.39)
3
Try n = 3: (1, 13) = 1, 44...
4
Try n = 4: (1, 13) = 1, 63...
5
Try n = 5: (1, 13) = 1, 84...
Step 4. Mr Lowe should take the loan over four years (If he took the loan over ve years, he would end up
paying more than he wants to.)

Solution to Exercise 4.7 (p. 64)

Step 1. • initial value (opening balance), P = 43 000 000
• period of time, n = 2 year
• rate of increase, i = 2, 5% per year
We are required to nd the nal value (closing balance A).
Step 2. We know from (4.11) that:

n
A = P (1 + i) (4.40)

Step 3.
n
A = P (1 + i)
2
= 43 000 000(1 + 0, 025) (4.41)

= 45 176 875

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 76 CHAPTER 4. FINANCE

Step 4. There will be 45 176 875 − 43 000 000 = 2 176 875 more people in 2 years' time

Solution to Exercise 4.8 (p. 64)

Step 1. • Starting amount (opening balance), P = 50m2
• period of time, n = 30 days
• rate of decrease, i = 5% per day
We are required to nd the nal area covered by algae (closing balance A).
Step 2. We know from (4.11) that:

n
A = P (1 + i) (4.42)

But this is compound decrease so we can use the formula:

n
A = P (1 − i) (4.43)

Step 3.
n
A = P (1 − i)
30
= 50(1 − 0, 05) (4.44)

= 10, 73m 2

Step 4. Therefore the area still covered with algae is 10, 73m2
Solution to Exercise 4.9 (p. 68)
Step 1. The following are given:

• ZAR/USD rate = R6,40

• ZAR/GBP rate = R11,58

The following is required:

• USD/GBP rate

Step 2. We know that:

USD/GBP = USD/ZAR × ZAR/GBP. (4.45)

Step 3.

USD/GBP = USD/ZAR × ZAR/GBP

= 1
ZAR/USD × ZAR/GBP
(4.46)
= 1
6,40 × 11, 58
= 1, 8094
Step 4. $ 1,8094 can be bought for ¿1.

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Chapter 5

Rational numbers 1

5.1 Introduction
As described in Review of past work (Chapter 1), a number is a way of representing quantity. The numbers
that will be used in high school are all real numbers, but there are many dierent ways of writing any single
real number.
This chapter describes rational numbers.
Khan Academy video on Integers and Rational Numbers
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Figure 5.1

5.2 The Big Picture of Numbers

Figure 5.2

The term whole number does not have a consistent denition. Various authors use it in many dierent ways.
We use the following denitions:

• natural numbers are (1, 2, 3, ...)

• whole numbers are (0, 1, 2, 3, ...)
• integers are (... -3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3, ....)

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77
78 CHAPTER 5. RATIONAL NUMBERS

5.3 Denition
The following numbers are all rational numbers.

10 21 −1 10 −3
, , , , (5.1)
1 7 −3 20 6
You can see that all denominators and all numerators are integers.

Denition 5.1: Rational Number

A rational number is any number which can be written as:

a
(5.2)
b
where a and b are integers and b 6= 0.
a −a
Note that because we can write
−b as b (in other words, one can always nd an equivalent rational
expression where b> 0) mathematicians typically dene rational numbers not as both a and b being integers,
but rather that a is an integer and b is a natural number. This avoids having to worry about zero in the
denominator.

tip: Only fractions which have a numerator and a denominator (that is not 0) that are integers
are rational numbers.

This means that all integers are rational numbers, because they can be written with a denominator of 1.
Therefore

√
2 π
, (5.3)
7 20
are not examples of rational numbers, because in each case, either the numerator or the denominator is
not an integer.
A number may not be written as an integer divided by another integer, but may still be a rational
number. This is because the results may be expressed as an integer divided by an integer. The rule is, if a
number can be written as a fraction of integers, it is rational even if it can also be written in another way as
well. Here are two examples that might not look like rational numbers at rst glance but are because there
are equivalent forms that are expressed as an integer divided by another integer:

−1, 33 133 −3 −300 −100

= , = = (5.4)
−3 300 6, 39 639 213

5.3.1 Rational Numbers

1. If a is an integer, b is an integer and c is irrational, which of the following are rational numbers?
5
a.
6

a
b.
3

b
c.
2

1
d.
c
2
Click here for the solution
a
2. If
1 is a rational number, which of the following are valid values for a?
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 79

a. 1
b. −10
√
c. 2
d. 2, 1
3
Click here for the solution

5.4 Forms of Rational Numbers

All integers and fractions with integer numerators and denominators are rational numbers. There are two
more forms of rational numbers.

5.4.1 Investigation : Decimal Numbers

1
You can write the rational number
2 as the decimal number 0,5. Write the following numbers as decimals:

1
1.
4
1
2.
10
2
3.
5
1
4.
100
2
5.
3

Do the numbers after the decimal comma end or do they continue? If they continue, is there a repeating
pattern to the numbers?
You can write a rational number as a decimal number. Two types of decimal numbers can be written as
rational numbers:

1. decimal numbers that end or terminate, for example the fraction

4
10 can be written as 0,4.
1
2. decimal numbers that have a repeating pattern of numbers, for example the fraction
3 can be written
as 0, 3̇. The dot represents recurring 3's i.e., 0, 333... = 0, 3̇.

For example, the rational number

5
6 can be written in decimal notation as 0, 83̇ and similarly, the decimal
1
number 0,25 can be written as a rational number as .
4

tip: You can use a bar over the repeated numbers to indicate that the decimal is a repeating
decimal.

5.5 Converting Terminating Decimals into Rational Numbers

A decimal number has an integer part and a fractional part. For example 10, 589 has an integer part of 10
and a fractional part of 0, 589 because 10 + 0, 589 = 10, 589. The fractional part can be written as a rational
number, i.e. with a numerator and a denominator that are integers.
Each digit after the decimal point is a fraction with a denominator in increasing powers of ten. For
example:

10 is 0, 1
1
•
100 is 0, 01
1
•
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80 CHAPTER 5. RATIONAL NUMBERS

This means that:

10, 589 = 10 + 5
10 + 8
100 + 9
1000
= 10 1000
589 (5.5)

= 10589
1000

5.5.1 Fractions
1. Write the following as fractions:

a. 0, 1
b. 0, 12
c. 0, 58
d. 0, 2589
4
Click here for the solution

5.6 Converting Repeating Decimals into Rational Numbers

When the decimal is a repeating decimal, a bit more work is needed to write the fractional part of the
decimal number as a fraction. We will explain by means of an example.
If we wish to write 0, 3̇ in the form
a
b (where a and b are integers) then we would proceed as follows

x = 0, 33333...
10x = 3, 33333... multiply by 10 on both sides
(5.6)
9x = 3 (subtracting the second equation from the rst equation)

x = 3
9 = 1
3

And another example would be to write 5, 4̇3̇2̇ as a rational fraction.

x = 5, 432432432...
1000x = 5432, 432432432... multiply by 1000 on both sides

(5.7)

999x = 5427 (subtracting the second equation from the rst equation)

x = 5427
999 = 201
37

For the rst example, the decimal was multiplied by 10 and for the second example, the decimal was
multiplied by 1000. This is because for the rst example there was only one digit (i.e. 3) recurring, while
for the second example there were three digits (i.e. 432) recurring.
In general, if you have one digit recurring, then multiply by 10. If you have two digits recurring, then
multiply by 100. If you have three digits recurring, then multiply by 1000. Can you spot the pattern yet?
The number of zeros is the same as the number of recurring digits.
Not all decimal numbers can be written as rational numbers. Why? Irrational decimal numbers like
√
2 = 1, 4142135... cannot be written with an integer numerator and denominator, because they do not have
a pattern of recurring digits. However, when possible, you should try to use rational numbers or fractions
instead of decimals.
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5.6.1 Repeated Decimal Notation

1. Write the following using the repeated decimal notation:

a. 0, 11111111...
b. 0, 1212121212...
c. 0, 123123123123...
d. 0, 11414541454145...
5
Click here for the solution
2. Write the following in decimal form, using the repeated decimal notation:
2
a.
3
b. 1 113

c. 46 5

d. 2 19
6
Click here for the solution
3. Write the following decimals in fractional form:

a. 0, 6333̇
b. 5, 313131
c. 0, 999999̇
7
Click here for the solution

5.7 Summary
ˆ Real numbers can be either rational or irrational.
ˆ A rational number is any number which can be written as
a
b where a and b are integers and b 6= 0
ˆ The following are rational numbers:

a. Fractions with both denominator and numerator as integers.

b. Integers.
c. Decimal numbers that end.
d. Decimal numbers that repeat.

5.8 End of Chapter Exercises

1. If a is an integer, b is an integer and c is irrational, which of the following are rational numbers?
5
a.
6
a
b.
3
b
c.
2
1
d.
c
8
Click here for the solution
2. Write each decimal as a simple fraction:

a. 0, 5
b. 0, 12
c. 0, 6
d. 1, 59
e. 12, 277̇
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82 CHAPTER 5. RATIONAL NUMBERS

9
Click here for the solution
3. Show that the decimal 3, 211̇8̇ is a rational number.
10
Click here for the solution
4. Express 0, 78̇ as a fraction
a
b where a, b ∈ Z (show all working).
11
Click here for the solution

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Chapter 6

Exponentials 1

6.1 Introduction
In this chapter, you will learn about the short cuts to writing 2×2×2×2 . This is known as writing a
number in exponential notation.

6.2 Denition
Exponential notation is a short way of writing the same number multiplied by itself many times. For example,
instead of 5 × 5 × 5, we write 53 to show that the number 5 is multiplied by itself 3 times and we say 5 to
the power of 3. Likewise 5 is 5 × 5 and 35 is 3 × 3 × 3 × 3 × 3. We will
2
now have a closer look at writing
numbers using exponential notation.

Denition 6.1: Exponential Notation

Exponential notation means a number written like

an (6.1)

where n is an integer and a can be any real number. a is called the base and n is called the
exponent or index.
The nth power of a is dened as:

an = a × a × · · · × a (n times) (6.2)

with a multiplied by itself n times.

We can also dene what it means if we have a negative exponent −n. Then,

1
a−n = (6.3)
a × a × ··· × a (n times)

tip: Exponentials

n
If n is an even integer, then a will always be positive for any non-zero real number a. For example, although
2 −2
−2 is negative, (−2) = −2 × −2 = 4 is positive and so is (−2) = −2×−2 1
= 41 .
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83
84 CHAPTER 6. EXPONENTIALS

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Figure 6.1

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Figure 6.2

6.3 Laws of Exponents

There are several laws we can use to make working with exponential numbers easier. Some of these laws
might have been seen in earlier grades, but we will list all the laws here for easy reference and explain each
law in detail, so that you can understand them and not only remember them.

a0 = 1
am × an = am+n
a−n = 1
an
(6.4)
am ÷ an = a m−n

n
(ab) = an bn
n
(am ) = amn

6.3.1 Exponential Law 1: a0 = 1

Our denition of exponential notation shows that

a0 = 1 , (a 6= 0) (6.5)

To convince yourself of why this is true, use the fourth exponential law above (division of exponents) and
consider what happens when m = n.
0
For example, x0 = 1 and (1 000 000) = 1.

6.3.1.1 Application using Exponential Law 1: a0 = 1, (a 6= 0)

1. 160
2. 16a0
0
3. (16 + a)
0
4. (−16)

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 85

5. −160

2
Click here for the solution

6.3.2 Exponential Law 2: am × an = am+n

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Figure 6.3

Our denition of exponential notation shows that

am × an = 1 × a × ... × a (m times)
× 1 × a × ... × a (n times)
(6.6)
= 1 × a × ... × a (m + n times)
= am+n
For example,

27 × 23 = (2 × 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 × 2) × (2 × 2 × 2)
= 27+3 (6.7)

= 210

note: This simple law is the reason why exponentials were originally invented. In the days
before calculators, all multiplication had to be done by hand with a pencil and a pad of paper.
Multiplication takes a very long time to do and is very tedious. Adding numbers however, is very
easy and quick to do. If you look at what this law is saying you will realise that it means that
adding the exponents of two exponential numbers (of the same base) is the same as multiplying the
two numbers together. This meant that for certain numbers, there was no need to actually multiply
the numbers together in order to nd out what their multiple was. This saved mathematicians a
lot of time, which they could use to do something more productive.

6.3.2.1 Application using Exponential Law 2: am × an = am+n

1. x2 · x5
2. 23 · 24 [Take note that the base (2) stays the same.]
3. 3 × 32a × 32

3
Click here for the solution

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86 CHAPTER 6. EXPONENTIALS

6.3.3 Exponential Law 3: a−n = 1

an
, a 6= 0
Our denition of exponential notation for a negative exponent shows that

a−n = 1 ÷ a ÷ ... ÷ a (n times)

= 1
1×a×···×a (n times) (6.8)

= 1
an

This means that a minus sign in the exponent is just another way of showing that the whole exponential
number is to be divided instead of multiplied.
For example,

2−7 = 1
2×2×2×2×2×2×2
(6.9)
= 1
27

This law is useful in helping us simplify fractions where there are exponents in both the denominator and
the numerator. For example:
a−3
a4 = 1
a3 a4
(6.10)
= 1
a7

6.3.3.1 Application using Exponential Law 3: a−n = 1

an , a 6= 0
1. 2−2
= 1
22
2−2
2.
32

2 −3
3.
3
m
4.
n−4
a−3 ·x4
5.
a5 ·x−2

4
Click here for the solution

6.3.4 Exponential Law 4: am ÷ an = am−n

We already realised with law 3 that a minus sign is another way of saying that the exponential number is
to be divided instead of multiplied. Law 4 is just a more general way of saying the same thing. We get this
law by multiplying law 3 by am on both sides and using law 2.

am
an = am a−n
(6.11)
= am−n
For example,

27 ÷ 23 = 2×2×2×2×2×2×2
2×2×2
= 2×2×2×2
(6.12)
= 24
= 27−3

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 87

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Figure 6.4

6.3.4.1 Application using Exponential Law 4: am ÷ an = am−n

a6
1.
a2 = a6−2
32
2.
36
32a2
3.
4a8
a3x
4.
a4

5
Click here for the solution

6.3.5 Exponential Law 5: (ab)n = an bn

The order in which two real numbers are multiplied together does not matter. Therefore,

n
(ab) = a × b × a × b × ... × a × b (n times)
= a × a × ... × a (n times)
(6.13)
× b × b × ... × b (n times)
= an bn
For example,

4
(2 · 3) = (2 · 3) × (2 · 3) × (2 · 3) × (2 · 3)
= (2 × 2 × 2 × 2) × (3 × 3 × 3 × 3)
(6.14)
= 24 × 34

= 24 34

6.3.5.1 Application using Exponential Law 5: n

(ab) = an bn
3
1. (2xy) = 23 x3 y 3
7a 2


2.
b
3
3. (5a)

6
Click here for the solution

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88 CHAPTER 6. EXPONENTIALS

6.3.6 Exponential Law 6: (am )n = amn

We can nd the exponential of an exponential of a number. An exponential of a number is just a real
number. So, even though the sentence sounds complicated, it is just saying that you can nd the exponential
of a number and then take the exponential of that number. You just take the exponential twice, using the
answer of the rst exponential as the argument for the second one.

n
(am ) = am × am × ... × am (n times)
= a × a × ... × a (m × n times) (6.15)

= amn
For example,

3
22 = 22 × 22 × 22

= (2 × 2) × (2 × 2) × (2 × 2)
(6.16)
= 26

= 2(2×3)

6.3.6.1 Application using Exponential Law 6: n

(am ) = amn

4
1. x3
h
i2
3
2. a4

2
3. 3n+3

7
Click here for the solution

Exercise 6.1: Simplifying indices (Solution on p. 91.)

52x−1 ·9x−2
Simplify:
152x−3

6.3.6.2 Investigation : Exponential Numbers

Match the answers to the questions, by lling in the correct answer into the Answer column. Possible
3
answers are:
2 , 1, −1, − 13 , 8. Answers may be repeated.

Question Answer
23
73−3
2 −1


3
87−6
−1
(−3)
23
(−1)

Table 6.1

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 89

We will use all these laws in Equations and Inequalities (Chapter 10) to help us solve exponential equa-
tions.
The following video gives an example on using some of the concepts covered in this chapter.

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Figure 6.5

6.4 Summary
ˆ Exponential notation means a number written like an where n is an integer and a can be any real
number.
ˆ a is called the base and n is called the exponent or index.
ˆ The nth power of a is dened as: an = a × a × · · · × a (n times)
ˆ There are six laws of exponents:
· Exponential Law 1: a0 = 1
· Exponential Law 2: am × an = am+n
· Exponential Law 3: a−n = a1n , a 6= 0
· Exponential Law 4: am ÷ an = am−n
n
· Exponential Law 5: (ab) = an bn
m n
· Exponential Law 6: (a ) = amn

6.5 End of Chapter Exercises

1. Simplify as far as possible:

a. 3020
b. 10
0
c. (xyz)
h
5
2 i0
d. 3x4 y 7 z 12 −5x9 y 3 z 4
3
e. (2x)
3
f. (−2x)
4
g. (2x)
4
h. (−2x)
8
Click here for the solution
2. Simplify without using a calculator. Leave your answers with positive exponents.
3x−3
a.
(3x)2

1 −2
5x0 + 8−2 − · 1x


b.
2
b−3
5
c.
5b+1
9
Click here for the solution
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90 CHAPTER 6. EXPONENTIALS

3. Simplify, showing all steps:

2a−2 .3a+3
a.
6a

a2m+n+p
b.
am+n+p ·am

3n ·9n−3
c.
27n−1
 3
2x2a
d.
y −b

23x−1 ·8x+1
e.
42x−2

62x ·112x
f.
222x−1 ·32x
10
Click here for the solution
4. Simplify, without using a calculator:
(−3)−3 ·(−3)2
a.
(−3)−4

−1
b. 3−1 + 2−1

9n−1 ·273−2n
c.
812−n

23n+2 ·8n−3
d.
43n−2
11
Click here for the solution

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 91

Solutions to Exercises in Chapter 6

Solution to Exercise 6.1 (p. 88)
Step 1.
52x−1 ·(32 )
x−2

= (5.3) 2x−3
(6.17)
52x−1 ·32x−4
= 52x−3 ·32x−3

Step 2.

= 52x−1−2x+3 · 32x−4−2x+3
(6.18)
= 52 · 3−1
Step 3.
25
= (6.19)
3

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Chapter 7

Estimating surds 1

7.1 Introduction
You should know by now what the nth root of a number means.
√ If the
√
th
n root of a number cannot be
√
simplied to a rational number, we call it a surd . For example, 2 and
3
6 are surds, but 4 is not a surd
because it can be simplied to the rational number 2.
√
√ In this chapter we will only look at surds that look like
√
n
a, where a is√
any positive number, for example
7 or
√
3
5. It is very common for n to be 2, so we usually do not write
2
a. Instead we write the surd as
just a, which is much easier to read.
It is sometimes useful to know the approximate value of a surd without having to use a calculator. For
√
example, we want to be able to estimate where a surd like 3 is on the number line. So how do we know
√
where surds lie on the number line? From a calculator we know that
√ 3√is equal to 1, 73205.... It is easy to
see that 3 is above 1 and below 2. But to see this for other surds like 18 without using a calculator, you
must rst understand the following fact:

√ √
n
note: If a and b are positive whole numbers, and a < b, then
n
a< b. (Challenge: Can you
explain why?)

If you don't believe this fact, check it for a few numbers to convince yourself it is true.
√
How do we use this fact to help us guess what
√ √ 18 is? Well, you can easily see that
√ 18 < 25. Using our
rule, we also know that
√ 18 < 25. But we know that
√ 5 = 25
2
so that 25 = 5. Now it is easy to simplify
to get 18 < 5. Now we have a better idea of what
√ 18 is.
Now we know that 18 is less than 5, but this is only half the story. We can use the same trick again,
but this time with 18 on the right-hand side. You will agree that
√ √ 16 < 18. Using our rule again, we also
√
know that
√ 16 < 18. But we know that 16 is a perfect square, so we can simplify 16 to 4, and so we get
4< 18! √
As you can see, we have shown that
√ 18 is between 4 and 5. If we check on our calculator, we can see
that 18 = 4, 1231..., and the idea was right! You will notice that our idea used perfect squares that were
close to the number 18. We found the largest perfect square smaller than 18 was 42 = 16, and the smallest
perfect square greater than 18 was 5 = 25.
2
Here is a quick summary of what a perfect square or cube is:

note: A perfect square is the number obtained when an integer is squared. For example, 9 is a
perfect square since 32 = 9. Similarly, a perfect cube is a number which is the cube of an integer.
For example, 27 is a perfect cube, because 33 = 27.

To make it easier to use our idea, we will create a list of some of the perfect squares and perfect cubes. The
list is shown in Table 7.1.
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93
94 CHAPTER 7. ESTIMATING SURDS

Integer Perfect Square Perfect Cube

0 0 0

1 1 1

2 4 8

3 9 27

4 16 64

5 25 125

6 36 216

7 49 343

8 64 512

9 81 729

10 100 1000

Table 7.1: Some perfect squares and perfect cubes

√
√ When given the surd
√
3
52 you should be able to tell that it lies somewhere between 3 and 4, because
√
3
27 = 3 and
3
64 = 4 and 52 is between 27 and 64. In fact
3
52 = 3, 73... which is indeed between 3 and 4.

Exercise 7.1: Estimating Surds √ (Solution on p. 97.)

Find the two consecutive integers such that 26 lies between them.
(Remember that consecutive numbers are two numbers one after the other, like 5 and 6 or 8
and 9.)

Exercise
√ 7.2: Estimating Surds (Solution on p. 97.)
3
49 lies between:

a. 1 and 2
b. 2 and 3
c. 3 and 4
d. 4 and 5

7.2 Summary
• If the nth root of a number cannot be simplied to a rational
√ number,
√ we call it a surd
• If a andb are positive whole numbers, and a < b, then n a < n b
• Surds can be estimated by nding the largest perfect square (or perfect cube) that is less than the surd
and the smallest perfect square (or perfect cube) that is greater than the surd. The surd lies between
these two numbers.

7.3 End of Chapter Exercises

1. Answer the following multiple choice questions:
√
a. 5 lies between:

i. 1 and 2
ii. 2 and 3
iii. 3 and 4

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 95

iv. 4 and 5
2
Click here for the solution
√
b. 10 lies between:
i. 1 and 2
ii. 2 and 3
iii. 3 and 4
iv. 4 and 5
3
Click here for the solution
√
c. 20 lies between:
i. 2 and 3
ii. 3 and 4
iii. 4 and 5
iv. 5 and 6
4
Click here for the solution
√
d. 30 lies between:
i. 3 and 4
ii. 4 and 5
iii. 5 and 6
iv. 6 and 7
5
Click here for the solution
√
e.
3
5 lies between:

i. 1 and 2
ii. 2 and 3
iii. 3 and 4
iv. 4 and 5
6
Click here for the solution
√
f.
3
10 lies between:

i. 1 and 2
ii. 2 and 3
iii. 3 and 4
iv. 4 and 5
7
Click here for the solution
√
g.
3
20 lies between:

i. 2 and 3
ii. 3 and 4
iii. 4 and 5
iv. 5 and 6
8
Click here for the solution
√
h.
3
30 lies between:

i. 3 and 4
ii. 4 and 5
iii. 5 and 6
iv. 6 and 7
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96 CHAPTER 7. ESTIMATING SURDS

9
Click here for the solution
√
√7 lies between them. Click here for the solution 11
10
2. Find two consecutive integers such that
3. Find two consecutive integers such that 15 lies between them. Click here for the solution

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 97

Solutions to Exercises in Chapter 7

Solution to Exercise 7.1 (p. 94)
√
Step 1. This is 52 = 25. Therefore 5√< 26.
This is 6 = 36. Therefore 26 < 6.
2
Step 2.
√
Step 3. Our answer is 5 < 26 < 6.
Solution to Exercise 7.2 (p. 94)
√
Step 1. If 1√< 3 49 < 2 then cubing all terms gives 1 < 49 < 23 . Simplifying gives 1 < 49 < 8 which is false.
So
3
49√does not lie between 1 and 2.
If 2 < 49 < 3 then cubing all terms gives 23 < 49 < 33 . Simplifying gives 8 < 49 < 27 which is false.
3
Step 2.
√
So
3
49√does not lie between 2 and 3.
If 3 < 49 < 4 then cubing all terms gives 33 < 49 < 43 . Simplifying gives 27 < 49 < 64 which is true.
3
Step 3.
√
So
3
49 lies between 3 and 4.

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98 CHAPTER 7. ESTIMATING SURDS

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Chapter 8

Irrational numbers and rounding o 1

8.1 Introduction
You have seen that repeating decimals may take a lot of paper and ink to write out. Not only is that
impossible, but writing numbers out to many decimal places or a high accuracy is very inconvenient and
rarely gives practical answers. For this reason we often estimate the number to a certain number of decimal
places or to a given number of signicant gures, which is even better.

8.2 Irrational Numbers

Irrational numbers are numbers that cannot be written as a fraction with the numerator and denominator
as integers. This means that any number that is not a terminating decimal number or a repeating decimal
number is irrational. Examples of irrational numbers are:

√ √ √
2, 3, 3
4, π,
√ (8.1)
1+ 5
2 ≈ 1, 618 033 989

tip: When irrational numbers are written in decimal form, they go on forever and there is no
repeated pattern of digits.

If you are asked to identify whether a number is rational or irrational, rst write the number in decimal
form. If the number is terminated then it is rational. If it goes on forever, then look for a repeated pattern
of digits. If there is no repeated pattern, then the number is irrational.
When you write irrational numbers in decimal form, you may (if you have a lot of time and paper!)
continue writing them for many, many decimal places. However, this is not convenient and it is often
necessary to round o.

8.2.1 Investigation : Irrational Numbers

Which of the following cannot be written as a rational number?
Remember: A rational number is a fraction with numerator and denominator as integers. Terminating
decimal numbers or repeating decimal numbers are rational.

1. π = 3, 14159265358979323846264338327950288419716939937510...
2. 1, 4
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99
100 CHAPTER 8. IRRATIONAL NUMBERS AND ROUNDING OFF

3. 1, 618 033 989 ...

4. 100

8.3 Rounding O
Rounding o or approximating a decimal number to a given number of decimal places is the quickest way
to approximate a number. For example, if you wanted to round-o 2, 6525272 to three decimal places then
you would rst count three places after the decimal and place a | between the third and fourth number after
the decimal.

2, 652|5272 (8.2)

All numbers to the right of the | are ignored after you determine whether the number in the third decimal
place must be rounded up or rounded down. You round up the nal digit if the rst digit after the | was
greater than or equal to 5 and round down (leave the digit alone) otherwise. In the case that the rst digit
before the | is 9 and you need to round up, then the 9 becomes a 0 and the second digit before the | is
rounded up.
So, since the rst digit after the | is a 5, we must round up the digit in the third decimal place to a 3
and the nal answer of 2, 6525272 rounded to three decimal places is

2, 653 (8.3)

Exercise 8.1: Rounding-O (Solution on p. 102.)

Round-o the following numbers to the indicated number of decimal places:

1.
120
99 = 1, 2121212121̇2̇ to 3 decimal places
2.
√ 3, 141592654... to 4 decimal places
π =
3. 3 = 1, 7320508... to 4 decimal places
4. 2, 78974526... to 3 decimal places

8.4 Summary
• Irrational numbers are numbers that cannot be written as a fraction with the numerator and denomi-
nator as integers.
• For convenience irrational numbers are often rounded o to a specied number of decimal places

8.5 End of Chapter Exercises

1. Write the following rational numbers to 2 decimal places:
1
a.
2
b. 1
c. 0, 111111
d. 0, 999991
2
Click here for the solution
2. Write the following irrational numbers to 2 decimal places:

a. 3, 141592654...
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 101

b. 1, 618 033 989 ...

c. 1, 41421356...
d. 2, 71828182845904523536...
3
Click here for the solution
3. Use your calculator and write the following irrational numbers to 3 decimal places:
√
a.
√2
b.
√3
c.
√5
d. 6
4
Click here for the solution
4. Use your calculator (where necessary) and write the following numbers to 5 decimal places. State
whether the numbers are irrational or rational.
√
a.
√8
b.
√768
c.
√100
d.
√0, 49
e.
√0, 0016
f.
√0, 25
g.
√36
h.
√1960
i. 0,√0036
j.
√ 0, 04
−8
k. 5 80
5
Click here for the solution
5. Write the following irrational numbers to 3 decimal places and then write them as a rational number
√
to get an approximation to the irrational number. For example,
√ √ 3 = 1, 73205.... To 3 decimal places,
3 = 1, 732. 1, 732 = 1 1000
732
= 1 250
183
. Therefore, 3 is approximately 1 250
183
.

a. 3, 141592654...
b. 1, 618 033 989 ...
c. 1, 41421356...
d. 2, 71828182845904523536...
6
Click here for the solution

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 102 CHAPTER 8. IRRATIONAL NUMBERS AND ROUNDING OFF

Solutions to Exercises in Chapter 8

Solution to Exercise 8.1 (p. 100)
Step 1. a.
120
99 = 1, 212|1212121̇2̇
b.
√ 3, 1415|92654...
π =
c. 3 = 1, 7320|508...
d. 2, 789|74526...
99 = 1, 212|1212121̇2̇ must be rounded down.
120
Step 2. a. The last digit of
b. The last digit of π = 3, 1415|92654... must be rounded up.
√
c. The last digit of 3 = 1, 7320|508... must be rounded up.
d. The last digit of 2, 789|74526... must be rounded up. Since this is a 9, we replace it with a 0 and
round up the second last digit.
Step 3. a.
120
99 = 1, 212 rounded to 3 decimal places
b.
√ 3, 1416 rounded to 4 decimal places
π =
c. 3 = 1, 7321 rounded to 4 decimal places
d. 2, 790

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Chapter 9

Products and factors 1

9.1 Introduction
In this chapter you will learn how to work with algebraic expressions. You will recap some of the work
on factorisation and multiplying out expressions that you learnt in earlier grades. This work will then be
extended upon for Grade 10.

9.2 Recap of Earlier Work

The following should be familiar. Examples are given as reminders.

9.2.1 Parts of an Expression

Mathematical expressions are just like sentences and their parts have special names. You should be familiar
with the following names used to describe the parts of a mathematical expression.

a · x k + b · x + cm = 0
(9.1)
d · yp + e · y + f ≤ 0

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103
104 CHAPTER 9. PRODUCTS AND FACTORS

Name Examples (separated by commas)

term a · xk ,b · x, cm , d · y p , e · y , f
expression a · x k + b · x + cm , d · y p + e · y + f
coecient a, b, d, e
exponent (or index) k, p
base x, y , c
constant a, b, c, d, e, f
variable x, y
equation a · x k + b · x + cm = 0
inequality d · yp + e · y + f ≤ 0
binomial expression with two terms

trinomial expression with three terms

Table 9.1

9.2.2 Product of Two Binomials

A binomial is a mathematical expression with two terms, e.g. (ax + b) and (cx + d). If these two binomials
are multiplied, the following is the result:

(a · x + b) (c · x + d) = (ax) (c · x + d) + b (c · x + d)
= (ax) (cx) + (ax) d + b (cx) + b · d (9.2)

= ax2 + x (ad + bc) + bd

Exercise 9.1: Product of two binomials (Solution on p. 115.)

Find the product of (3x − 2) (5x + 8)
The product of two identical binomials is known as the square of the binomial and is written as:

2
(ax + b) = a2 x2 + 2abx + b2 (9.3)

If the two terms are ax + b and ax − b then their product is:

(ax + b) (ax − b) = a2 x2 − b2 (9.4)

This is known as the dierence of two squares.

9.2.3 Factorisation
Factorisation is the opposite of expanding brackets. For example expanding brackets would require 2 (x + 1)
to be written as 2x + 2. Factorisation would be to start with 2x + 2 and to end up with 2 (x + 1). In
previous grades, you factorised based on common factors and on dierence of squares.

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 105

9.2.3.1 Common Factors

Factorising based on common factors relies on there being common factors between your terms. For example,
2x − 6x2 can be factorised as follows:

2x − 6x2 = 2x (1 − 3x) (9.5)

9.2.3.1.1 Investigation : Common Factors

Find the highest common factors of the following pairs of terms:

(a) 6y; 18x (b) 12mn; 8n (c) 3st; 4su (d) 18kl; 9kp (e) abc; ac
(f ) 2xy; 4xyz (g) 3uv; 6u (h) 9xy; 15xz (i) 24xyz; 16yz (j) 3m; 45n

Table 9.2

9.2.3.2 Dierence of Two Squares

We have seen that:

(ax + b) (ax − b) = a2 x2 − b2 (9.6)

Since (9.6) is an equation, both sides are always equal. This means that an expression of the form:

a2 x2 − b2 (9.7)

can be factorised to

(ax + b) (ax − b) (9.8)

Therefore,

a2 x2 − b2 = (ax + b) (ax − b) (9.9)

For example, x −16 can be written as x − 4

2 2 2


which is a dierence of two squares. Therefore, the factors
of x − 16 are (x − 4) and (x + 4).
2

Exercise 9.2: Factorisation (Solution on p. 115.)

Factorise completely: b2 y 5 − 3aby 3
Exercise 9.3: Factorising binomials with a common bracket (Solution on p. 115.)
Factorise completely: 3a (a − 4) − 7 (a − 4)
Exercise 9.4: Factorising using a switch around in brackets (Solution on p. 115.)
Factorise 5 (a − 2) − b (2 − a)

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106 CHAPTER 9. PRODUCTS AND FACTORS

9.2.3.2.1 Recap
1. Find the products of:

(a) 2y (y + 4) (b) (y + 5) (y + 2) (c) (y + 2) (2y + 1)

(d) (y + 8) (y + 4) (e) (2y + 9) (3y + 1) (f ) (3y − 2) (y + 6)

Table 9.3

2
Click here for the solution
2. Factorise:

a. 2l + 2w
b. 12x + 32y
c. 6x2 + 2x + 10x3
d. 2xy 2 + xy 2 z + 3xy
e. −2ab2 − 4a2 b
3
Click here for the solution
3. Factorise completely:

(a) 7a + 4 (b) 20a − 10 (c) 18ab − 3bc

(d) 12kj + 18kq (e) 16k − 4k
2
(f ) 3a2 + 6a − 18
(g) −6a − 24 (h) −2ab − 8a (i) 24kj − 16k 2 j
(j) −a2 b − b2 a (k) 12k 2 j + 24k 2 j 2 (l) 72b2 q − 18b3 q 2
(m) 4 (y − 3) + k (3 − y) (n) a (a − 1) − 5 (a − 1) (o) bm (b + 4) − 6m (b + 4)
(p) a (a + 7) + a (a + 7)
2
(q) 3b (b − 4) − 7 (4 − b) (r) a2 b2 c2 − 1

Table 9.4

4
Click here for the solution

9.3 More Products

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Figure 9.1

We have seen how to multiply two binomials in "Product of Two Binomials" (Section 9.2.2: Product of Two
Binomials). In this section, we learn how to multiply a binomial (expression with two terms) by a trinomial
(expression with three terms). We can use the same methods we used to multiply two binomials to multiply
a binomial and a trinomial.
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 107

For example, multiply 2x + 1 by x2 + 2x + 1.

(2x + 1) x2 + 2x + 1

= 2x x2 + 2x + 1 + 1 x2 + 2x + 1 (apply distributive law)

= 2x x2 + 2x (2x) + 2x (1) + 1 x2 + 1 (2x) + 1 (1)


 

(9.10)
= 2x3 + 4x2 + 2x + x2 + 2x + 1 (expand the brackets)
= 2x3 + 4x2 + x2 + (2x + 2x) + 1 (group like terms to simplify)

= 2x3 + 5x2 + 4x + 1 (simplify to get final answer)

tip: If the binomial is A+B and the trinomial is C + D + E, then the very rst step is to apply
the distributive law:

(A + B) (C + D + E) = A (C + D + E) + B (C + D + E) (9.11)

If you remember this, you will never go wrong!

Exercise 9.5: Multiplication of Binomial with Trinomial (Solution on p. 115.)

Multiply x−1 with x2 − 2x + 1.
Exercise 9.6: Sum of Cubes (Solution on p. 115.)
Find the product of x+y and x2 − xy + y 2 .

tip: We have seen that:

(x + y) x2 − xy + y 2 = x3 + y 3


(9.12)

This is known as a sum of cubes.

9.3.1 Investigation : Dierence of Cubes

Show that the dierence of cubes (x
3
− y3 ) is given by the product of x−y and x2 + xy + y 2 .

9.3.2 Products
1. Find the products of:

−2y 2 − 4y + 11 (5y − 12) (−11y + 3) −10y 2 − 7y − 9

(a) (b)

(c) 4y + 12y + 10 −9y 2 + 8y + 2 (d) 7y − 6y − 8 (−2y + 2)

2


2

(e) 10y + 3 −2y 2 − 11y + 2 (f ) (−12y − 3) 12y − 11y + 3

5


2

(g) (−10) 2y + 8y + 3 (h) 2y + 3y (−5y − 12)

2

6 5

(i) 6y − 8y + 7 (−4y − 3) −6y − 7y − 11 (j) −9y + 11y + 2 8y 2 + 6y − 7

7 2

2

2

(k) 8y + 3y + 2y (5y + 10) 12y 2 + 6y + 6 (−7y + 11) (−12y + 3)

5 4 3



(l)

(m) 4y + 5y − 12y (−12y − 2) 7y − 9y + 12 (7y + 3) 7y 2 + 3y + 10

3 2

2



(n)

(o) (9) 8y − 2y + 3 (−12y + 12) 4y 2 − 11y + 11

2



(p)

(q) −6y + 11y + 3y (10y + 4) (4y − 4) −3y 6 − 6y 3 (11y − 6) (10y − 10)

4 2



(r)

(s) −11y + 11y + 11 9y 3 − 7y 2 − 4y + 6 (−3y + 8) −4y 3 + 8y 2 − 2y + 12

5 4




(t)

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108 CHAPTER 9. PRODUCTS AND FACTORS

Table 9.5

5
Click here for the solution

9.4 Factorising a Quadratic

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Figure 9.2

Factorisation can be seen as the reverse of calculating the product of factors. In order to factorise a quadratic,
we need to nd the factors which when multiplied together equal the original quadratic.
Let us consider a quadratic that is of the form ax2 + bx . We can see here that x is a common factor of
both terms. Therefore, ax + bx
2
factorises to x (ax + b). For example, 8y 2 + 4y factorises to 4y (2y + 1).
Another type of quadratic is made up of the dierence of squares. We know that:

(a + b) (a − b) = a2 − b2 . (9.13)

This is true for any values of a and b, and more importantly since it is an equality, we can also write:

a2 − b2 = (a + b) (a − b) . (9.14)

This means that if we ever come across a quadratic that is made up of a dierence of squares, we can
immediately write down what the factors are.

Exercise 9.7: Dierence of Squares (Solution on p. 116.)

Find the factors of 9x2 − 25.
These types of quadratics are very simple to factorise. However, many quadratics do not fall into these
categories and we need a more general method to factorise quadratics like x2 − x − 2 ?
We can learn about how to factorise quadratics by looking at how two binomials are multiplied to get a
quadratic. For example, (x + 2) (x + 3) is multiplied out as:

(x + 2) (x + 3) = x (x + 3) + 2 (x + 3)
= (x) (x) + 3x + 2x + (2) (3) (9.15)

= x2 + 5x + 6.

We see that the x2 term in the quadratic is the product of the x-terms in each bracket. Similarly, the 6 in
the quadratic is the product of the 2 and 3 in the brackets. Finally, the middle term is the sum of two terms.
So, how do we use this information to factorise the quadratic?
Let us start with factorising x2 + 5x + 6 and see if we can decide upon some general rules. Firstly, write
down two brackets with an x in each bracket and space for the remaining terms.

( x )( x ) (9.16)

Next, decide upon the factors of 6. Since the 6 is positive, these are:

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 109

Factors of 6

1 6

2 3

-1 -6

-2 -3

Table 9.6

Therefore, we have four possibilities:

Option 1 Option 2 Option 3 Option 4

(x + 1) (x + 6) (x − 1) (x − 6) (x + 2) (x + 3) (x − 2) (x − 3)

Table 9.7

Next, we expand each set of brackets to see which option gives us the correct middle term.

Option 1 Option 2 Option 3 Option 4

(x + 1) (x + 6) (x − 1) (x − 6) (x + 2) (x + 3) (x − 2) (x − 3)
x + 7x + 6
2
x − 7x + 6
2
x + 5x + 6
2
x2 − 5x + 6

Table 9.8

We see that Option 3 (x+2)(x+3) is the correct solution. As you have seen that the process of factorising
a quadratic is mostly trial and error, there is some information that can be used to simplify the process.

9.4.1 Method: Factorising a Quadratic

1. First, divide the entire equation by any common factor of the coecients so as to obtain an equation
of the form ax2 + bx + c = 0 where a, b and c have no common factors and a is positive.
2. Write down two brackets with an x in each bracket and space for the remaining terms.

( x )( x ) (9.17)

3. Write down a set of factors for a and c.

4. Write down a set of options for the possible factors for the quadratic using the factors of a and c.
5. Expand all options to see which one gives you the correct answer.

There are some tips that you can keep in mind:

• If c is positive, then the factors of c must be either both positive or both negative. The factors are
both negative if b is negative, and are both positive if b is positive. If c is negative, it means only one
of the factors of c is negative, the other one being positive.
• Once you get an answer, multiply out your brackets again just to make sure it really works.

Exercise 9.8: Factorising a Quadratic (Solution on p. 116.)

Find the factors of 3x2 + 2x − 1.

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110 CHAPTER 9. PRODUCTS AND FACTORS

9.4.1.1 Factorising a Trinomial

1. Factorise the following:

(a) x2 + 8x + 15 (b) x2 + 10x + 24 (c) x2 + 9x + 8

(d) x2 + 9x + 14 (e) x2 + 15x + 36 (f ) x2 + 12x + 36

Table 9.9

6
Click here for the solution
2. Factorise the following:

a. x2 − 2x − 15
b. x2 + 2x − 3
c. x2 + 2x − 8
d. x2 + x − 20
e. x2 − x − 20

7
Click here for the solution

3. Find the factors for the following trinomial expressions:

a. 2x2 + 11x + 5
b. 3x2 + 19x + 6
c. 6x2 + 7x + 2
d. 12x2 + 8x + 1
e. 8x2 + 6x + 1

8
Click here for the solution

4. Find the factors for the following trinomials:

a. 3x2 + 17x − 6
b. 7x2 − 6x − 1
c. 8x2 − 6x + 1
d. 2x2 − 5x − 3

9
Click here for the solution

9.5 Factorisation by Grouping

One other method of factorisation involves the use of common factors. We know that the factors of 3x + 3
are 3 and (x + 1). Similarly, the factors of 2x2 + 2x are 2x and (x + 1). Therefore, if we have an expression:

2x2 + 2x + 3x + 3 (9.18)

then we can factorise as:

2x (x + 1) + 3 (x + 1) . (9.19)

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 111

You can see that there is another common factor: x + 1. Therefore, we can now write:

(x + 1) (2x + 3) . (9.20)

We get this by taking out the x+1 and seeing what is left over. We have a +2x from the rst term and a
+3 from the second term. This is called factorisation by grouping.
Exercise 9.9: Factorisation by Grouping (Solution on p. 117.)
Find the factors of 7x + 14y + bx + 2by by grouping

Khan Academy video on factorising a trinomial by grouping.

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Figure 9.3

9.5.1 Factorisation by Grouping

1. Factorise by grouping: 6x + a + 2ax + 3
10
Click here for the solution
2. Factorise by grouping: x − 6x + 5x − 30
2
11
Click here for the solution
3. Factorise by grouping: 5x + 10y − ax − 2ay
12
Click here for the solution
4. Factorise by grouping: a − 2a − ax + 2x
2
13
Click here for the solution
5. Factorise by grouping: 5xy − 3y + 10x − 6
14
Click here for the solution

9.6 Simplication of Fractions

In some cases of simplifying an algebraic expression, the expression will be a fraction. For example,

x2 + 3x
(9.21)
x+3
has a quadratic in the numerator and a binomial in the denominator. You can apply the dierent factori-
sation methods to simplify the expression.

x2 +3x
x+3
x(x+3)
= x+3
(9.22)

= x provided x 6= −3
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112 CHAPTER 9. PRODUCTS AND FACTORS

If x were 3 then the denominator, x − 3, would be 0 and the fraction undened.

Exercise 9.10: Simplication of Fractions (Solution on p. 117.)

2x−b+x−ab
Simplify:
ax2 −abx
Exercise 9.11: Simplication of Fractions (Solution on p. 117.)
x2 −x−2 x2 +x
Simplify:
x2 −4 ÷ x2 +2x

9.6.1 Simplication of Fractions

1. Simplify:

3a 2a+10
(a) (b)
15 4
5a+20 a2 −4a
(c) (d)
a+4 a−4
3a2 −9a 9a+27
(e) (f )
2a−6 9a+18
6ab+2a 16x2 y−8xy
(g) (h)
2b 12x−6
4xyp−8xp 3a+9 7a+21
(i)
12xy (j)
14 ÷ a+3
a2 −5a 3a+15 3xp+4p 12p2
(k)
2a+10 ÷ 4a (l)
8p ÷ 3x+4
16 6x2 +8x 24a−8
(m)
2xp+4x ÷ 12 (n)
12 ÷ 9a−36
2
a2 +2a 2a+4 p +pq 8p+8q
(o)
5 ÷ 20 (p)
7p ÷ 21q
5ab−15b 6b2 f 2 a−f a2
(q)
4a−12 ÷ a+b (r)
f −a

Table 9.10

15
Click here for the solution
x2 −1 1 1
2. Simplify:
3 × x−1 − 2

16
Click here for the solution

9.7 Adding and subtracting fractions

Using the concepts learnt in simplication of fractions, we can now add and subtract simple fractions. To
add or subtract fractions we note that we can only add or subtract fractions that have the same denominator.
So we must rst make all the denominators the same and then perform the addition or subtraction. This is
called nding the lowest common denominator or multiple.
1 3
For example, if you wanted to add:
2 and 5 we would note that the lowest common denominator is 10.
So we must multiply the rst fraction by 5 and the second fraction by 2 to get both of these with the same
5 6 11
denominator. Doing so gives:
10 and 10 . Now we can add the fractions. Doing so, we get 10 .
Exercise 9.12 (Solution on p. 117.)
x2 x3 +x−4
Simplify the following expression:
x−2
x2 −4 + x−2 − x2 −4

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 113

9.8 Two interesting mathematical proofs

We can use the concepts learnt in this chapter to demonstrate two interesting mathematical proofs. The
rst proof states that n2 + n is even for all n ∈ Z . The second proof states that n3 − n is divisible by 6 for all
n ∈ Z. Before we demonstrate that these two laws are true, we rst need to note some other mathematical
rules.
If we multiply an even number by an odd number, we get an even number. Similarly if we multiply an
odd number by an even number we get an even number. Also, an even number multiplied by an even number
is even and an odd number multiplied by an odd number is odd. This result is shown in the following table:

Odd number Even number

Odd number Odd Even

Even number Even Even

Table 9.11

If we take three consecutive numbers and multiply them together, the resulting number is always divisible
by three. This should be obvious since if we have any three consecutive numbers, one of them will be divisible
by 3.
Now we are ready to demonstrate that n2 + n is even for all n ∈ Z . If we factorise this expression we get:
n (n + 1). If n is even, than n+1 is odd. If n is odd, than n + 1 is even. Since we know that if we multiply
an even number with an odd number or an odd number with an even number, we get an even number, we
have demonstrated that n2 + n is always even. Try this for a few values of n and you should nd that this
is true.
To demonstrate that n3 − n is divisible by 6 for all n ∈ Z , we rst note that the factors of 6 are 3 and 2.
3
So if we show that n − n is divisible by both 3 and 2, then we have shown that it is also divisible by 6! If we
factorise this expression we get: n (n + 1) (n − 1). Now we note that we are multiplying three consecutive
numbers together (we are taking n and then adding 1 or subtracting 1. This gives us the two numbers on
either side of n.) For example, if n = 4, then n + 1 = 5 and n − 1 = 3. But we know that when we multiply
three consecutive numbers together, the resulting number is always divisible by 3. So we have demonstrated
that n3 − n is always divisible by 3. To demonstrate that it is also divisible by 2, we can also show that it
is even. We have shown that n2 + n is always even. So now we recall what we said about multiplying even
and odd numbers. Since one number is always even and the other can be either even or odd, the result of
multiplying these numbers together is always even. And so we have demonstrated that n3 − n is divisible by
6 for all n ∈ Z.

9.9 Summary
• A binomial is a mathematical expression with two terms. The product of two identical binomials is
known as the square of the binomial. The dierence of two squares is when we multiply (ax + b) (ax − b)
• Factorising is the opposite of expanding the brackets. You can use common factors or the dierence
of two squares to help you factorise expressions.
• The distributive law ((A + B) (C + D + E) = A (C + D + E) + B (C + D + E)) helps us to multiply
a binomial and a trinomial.
(x + + = x3 + y 3 x3 − y 3 =
2 2


• The sum of cubes is: y) x − xy y and the dierence of cubes is:
(x − y) x2 + xy + y 2

• To factorise a quadratic we nd the two binomials that were multiplied together to give the quadratic.
• We can also factorise a quadratic by grouping. This is where we nd a common factor in the quadratic
and take it out and then see what is left over.
• We can simplify fractions by using the methods we have learnt to factorise expressions.
• Fractions can be added or subtracted. To do this the denominators of each fraction must be the same.

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114 CHAPTER 9. PRODUCTS AND FACTORS

9.10 End of Chapter Exercises

1. Factorise:

a. a2 − 9
b. m2 − 36
c. 9b2 − 81
d. 16b6 − 25a2
e. m2 − (1/9)
f. 5 − 5a2 b6
g. 16ba4 − 81b
h. a2 − 10a + 25
i. 16b2 + 56b + 49
j. 2a2 − 12ab + 18b2
k. −4b2 − 144b8 + 48b5
17
Click here for the solution
2. Factorise completely:

16 − x4


a.
b. 7x2 − 14x + 7xy − 14y
c. y 2 − 7y − 30
d. 1 − x − x2
+ x3
e. −3 1 − p2 + p + 1
18
Click here for the solution
3. Simplify the following:
2
a. (a − 2) − a (a + 4)
(5a − 4b) 25a2 + 20ab + 16b2


b.
(2m − 3) 4m2 + 9 (2m + 3)


c.
d. (a + 2b − c) (a + 2b + c)
19
Click here for the solution
4. Simplify the following:
p2 −q 2
a.
p ÷ p2p+q
−pq
b.
2
x + x
2 − 2x
3
20
Click here for the solution
2 2
5. Show that (2x − 1) − (x − 3) can be simplied to (x + 2) (3x − 4)

21
Click here for the solution
2
6. What must be added to x −x+4
2
to make it equal to (x + 2)

22
Click here for the solution

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 115

Solutions to Exercises in Chapter 9

Solution to Exercise 9.1 (p. 104)
Step 1.

(3x − 2) (5x + 8) = (3x) (5x) + (3x) (8) + (−2) (5x) + (−2) (8)
= 15x2 + 24x − 10x − 16 (9.23)

= 15x2 + 14x − 16

Solution to Exercise 9.2 (p. 105)

Step 1.

b2 y 5 − 3aby 3 = by 3 by 2 − 3a


(9.24)

Solution to Exercise 9.3 (p. 105)

Step 1. (a − 4) is the common factor

3a (a − 4) − 7 (a − 4) = (a − 4) (3a − 7) (9.25)

Solution to Exercise 9.4 (p. 105)

Step 1.

5 (a − 2) − b (2 − a) = 5 (a − 2) − [−b (a − 2)]
= 5 (a − 2) + b (a − 2) (9.26)

= (a − 2) (5 + b)

Solution to Exercise 9.5 (p. 107)

Step 1. We are given two expressions: a binomial, x − 1, and a trinomial, x2 − 2x + 1. We need to multiply
them together.
Step 2. Apply the distributive law and then simplify the resulting expression.
Step 3.

(x − 1) x2 − 2x + 1

= x x2 − 2x + 1 − 1 x2 − 2x + 1 (apply distributive law)

= x x2 + x (−2x) + x (1) + −1 x2 − 1 (−2x) − 1 (1)


 


= x3 − 2x2 + x − x2 + 2x − 1 (expand the brackets)

= x3 + −2x2 − x2 + (x + 2x) − 1 (group like terms to simplify)

= x3 − 3x2 + 3x − 1 (simplify to get final answer)

(9.27)
Step 4. The product of x−1 and x2 − 2x + 1 is x3 − 3x2 + 3x − 1.
Solution to Exercise 9.6 (p. 107)
Step 1. We are given two expressions: a binomial, x + y, and a trinomial, x2 − xy + y 2 . We need to multiply
them together.
Step 2. Apply the distributive law and then simplify the resulting expression.

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 116 CHAPTER 9. PRODUCTS AND FACTORS

Step 3.

(x + y) x2 − xy + y 2

= x x2 − xy + y 2 + y x2 − xy + y 2 (apply distributive law)

= x x2 + x (−xy) + x y 2 + y x2 + y (−xy) + y y 2


 



= x3 − x2 y + xy 2 + yx2 − xy 2 + y 3 (expand the brackets)

= x3 + −x2 y + yx2 + xy 2 − xy 2 + y 3 (group like terms to simplify)

= x3 + y 3 (simplify to get final answer)

(9.28)
Step 4. The product of x+y and x2 − xy + y 2 is x3 + y 3 .
Solution to Exercise 9.7 (p. 108)
Step 1. We see that the quadratic is a dierence of squares because:

2
(3x) = 9x2 (9.29)

and

52 = 25. (9.30)

Step 2.
2
9x2 − 25 = (3x) − 52 (9.31)

Step 3.
2
(3x) − 52 = (3x − 5) (3x + 5) (9.32)

Step 4. The factors of 9x − 25

2
are (3x − 5) (3x + 5).
Solution to Exercise 9.8 (p. 109)
Step 1. The quadratic is in the required form.
Step 2.
( x )( x ) (9.33)

Write down a set of factors for a and c. The possible factors for a are: (1,3). The possible factors for
c are: (-1,1) or (1,-1).
Write down a set of options for the possible factors of the quadratic using the factors of a and c.
Therefore, there are two possible options.

Option 1 Option 2

(x − 1) (3x + 1) (x + 1) (3x − 1)
3x − 2x − 1
2
3x2 + 2x − 1
Table 9.12

Step 3.

(x + 1) (3x − 1) = x (3x − 1) + 1 (3x − 1)

= (x) (3x) + (x) (−1) + (1) (3x) + (1) (−1)
(9.34)
= 3x2 − x + 3x − 1
= x2 + 2x − 1.

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 117

Step 4. The factors of 3x2 + 2x − 1 are (x + 1) and (3x − 1).

Solution to Exercise 9.9 (p. 111)
Step 1. There are no factors that are common to all terms.
Step 2. 7 is a common factor of the rst two terms and b is a common factor of the second two terms.
Step 3.
7x + 14y + bx + 2by = 7 (x + 2y) + b (x + 2y) (9.35)

Step 4. x + 2y is a common factor.

Step 5.
7 (x + 2y) + b (x + 2y) = (x + 2y) (7 + b) (9.36)

Step 6. The factors of 7x + 14y + bx + 2by are (7 + b) and (x + 2y).

Solution to Exercise 9.10 (p. 112)
Step 1. Use grouping for numerator and common factor for denominator in this example.

(ax−ab)+(x−b)
= ax2 −abx
a(x−b)+(x−b)
= ax(x−b)
(9.37)
(x−b)(a+1)
= ax(x−b)

Step 2. The simplied answer is:

= a+1
ax
(9.38)

Solution to Exercise 9.11 (p. 112)

Step 1.
(x+1)(x−2) x(x+1)
= (x+2)(x−2) ÷ x(x+2)
(9.39)

Step 2.
(x+1)(x−2) x(x+2)
= (x+2)(x−2) × x(x+1)
(9.40)

Step 3. The simplied answer is

= 1 (9.41)

Solution to Exercise 9.12 (p. 112)

Step 1.
x−2 x2 x3 + x − 4
+ − (9.42)
(x + 2) (x − 2) x − 2 (x + 2) (x − 2)
Step 2. We make all the denominators the same so that we can add or subtract the fractions. The lowest
common denominator is (x − 2) (x + 2).

x−2 x2 (x + 2) x3 + x − 4


+ − (9.43)
(x + 2) (x − 2) (x + 2) (x − 2) (x + 2) (x − 2)
Step 3. Since the fractions all have the same denominator we can write them all as one fraction with the
appropriate operator

x − 2 + x2 (x + 2) − x3 + x − 4


(9.44)
(x + 2) (x − 2)

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 118 CHAPTER 9. PRODUCTS AND FACTORS

Step 4.
2x2 + 2x − 6
(9.45)
(x + 2) (x − 2)
Step 5.
2 x2 + x − 3


(9.46)
(x + 2) (x − 2)

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Chapter 10

Equations and inequalities 1

10.1 Strategy for Solving Equations

This chapter is all about solving dierent types of equations for one or two variables. In general, we want
to get the unknown variable alone on the left hand side of the equation with all the constants on the right
hand side of the equation. For example, in the equation x−1 = 0 , we want to be able to write the equation
as x = 1.
2
As we saw in rearranging equations , an equation is like a set of weighing scales that must always be
balanced. When we solve equations, we need to keep in mind that what is done to one side must be done to
the other.

10.1.1 Method: Rearranging Equations

You can add, subtract, multiply or divide both sides of an equation by any number you want, as long as you
always do it to both sides.
For example, in the equation x+5−1 = −6 , we want to get x alone on the left hand side of the equation.
This means we need to subtract 5 and add 1 on the left hand side. However, because we need to keep the
equation balanced, we also need to subtract 5 and add 1 on the right hand side.

x+5−1 = −6
x+5−5−1+1 = −6 − 5 + 1
(10.1)
x+0+0 = −11 + 1
x = −10
In another example, x = 8, we must divide by 2 and multiply by 3 on the left hand side in order to get x
2
3
alone. However, in order to keep the equation balanced, we must also divide by 2 and multiply by 3 on the
right hand side.

2
3x = 8

3x ÷ 2 × 3 = 8÷2×3
2

2 3
2 × 3 ×x = 8×3
2
(10.2)

1×1×x = 12
x = 12
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119
120 CHAPTER 10. EQUATIONS AND INEQUALITIES

These are the basic rules to apply when simplifying any equation. In most cases, these rules have to be
applied more than once, before we have the unknown variable on the left hand side of the equation.

tip: The following must also be kept in mind:

1.Division by 0 is undened.
2.If
x
y = 0, then x=0 and y 6= 0, because division by 0 is undened.

We are now ready to solve some equations!

10.1.1.1 Investigation : 4 = 3 ??
In the following, identify what is wrong.

x = 2
4x − 8 = 3x − 6
4 (x − 2) = 3 (x − 2) (10.3)
4(x−2) 3(x−2)
(x−2) = (x−2)
4 = 3

10.2 Solving Linear Equations

The simplest equation to solve is a linear equation. A linear equation is an equation where the power of the
variable(letter, e.g. x) is 1(one). The following are examples of linear equations.

2x + 2 = 1
2−x
3x+1 = 2 (10.4)

4
3x −6 = 7x + 2
In this section, we will learn how to nd the value of the variable that makes both sides of the linear equation
true. For example, what value of x makes both sides of the very simple equation, x+1=1 true.
Since the denition of a linear equation is that if the variable has a highest power of one (1), there is at
most one solution or root for the equation.
This section relies on all the methods we have already discussed: multiplying out expressions, grouping
terms and factorisation. Make sure that you are comfortable with these methods, before trying out the work
in the rest of this chapter.

2x + 2 = 1
2x = 1−2 (like terms together)
(10.5)

2x = −1 (simplif ied as much as possible)

Now we see that 2x = −1. This means if we divide both sides by 2, we will get:

1
x=− (10.6)
2

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 121

If we substitute x = − 12 , back into the original equation, we get:

LHS = 2x + 2
= 2 − 21 + 2

= −1 + 2
(10.7)
= 1
and
RHS = 1
That is all that there is to solving linear equations.

tip: When you have found the solution to an equation, substitute the solution into the original
equation, to check your answer.

10.2.1 Method: Solving Linear Equations

The general steps to solve linear equations are:

1. Expand (Remove) all brackets that are in the equation.

2. "Move" all terms with the variable to the left hand side of the equation, and all constant terms (the
numbers) to the right hand side of the equals sign. Bearing in mind that the sign of the terms will
change from (+) to (−) or vice versa, as they "cross over" the equals sign.
3. Group all like terms together and simplify as much as possible.
4. If necessary factorise.
5. Find the solution and write down the answer(s).
6. Substitute solution into original equation to check answer.

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Figure 10.1

Exercise 10.1: Solving Linear Equations (Solution on p. 137.)

Solve for x: 4 − x = 4
Exercise 10.2: Solving Linear Equations (Solution on p. 137.)
Solve for x: 4 (2x − 9) − 4x = 4 − 6x
Exercise 10.3: Solving Linear Equations (Solution on p. 137.)
Solve for x: 2−x
3x+1 =2
Exercise 10.4: Solving Linear Equations (Solution on p. 138.)
Solve for x: 4
3x − 6 = 7x + 2

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122 CHAPTER 10. EQUATIONS AND INEQUALITIES

10.2.1.1 Solving Linear Equations

1. Solve for y: 2y − 3 = 7 Click here for the solution3
2. Solve for y: −3y = 0 Click here for the solution4
3. Solve for y: 4y = 16 Click here for the solution5
4. Solve for y: 12y + 0 = 144 Click here for the solution6
5. Solve for y: 7 + 5y = 62 Click here for the solution7
6. Solve for x: 55 = 5x + 34 Click here for the solution8
7. Solve for x: 5x = 3x + 45 Click here for the solution9
8. Solve for x: 23x − 12 = 6 + 2x Click here for the solution10
9. Solve for x: 12 − 6x + 34x = 2x − 24 − 64 Click here for the solution11
10. Solve for x: 6x + 3x = 4 − 5 (2x − 3) Click here for the solution12
11. Solve for p: 18 − 2p = p + 9 Click here for the solution13
p = 24 Click here for the solution
4 16 14
12. Solve for p:
1 = 2 Click here for the solution
4 p 15
13. Solve for p:
14. Solve for p: − (−16 − p) = 13p − 1 Click here for the solution16
15. Solve for p: 6p − 2 + 2p = −2 + 4p + 8 Click here for the solution17
16. Solve for f: 3f − 10 = 10 Click here for the solution18
17. Solve for f: 3f + 16 = 4f − 10 Click here for the solution19
18. Solve for f: 10f + 5 + 0 = −2f + −3f + 80 Click here for the solution20
19. Solve for f: 8 (f − 4) = 5 (f − 4) Click here for the solution21
20. Solve for f: 6 = 6 (f + 7) + 5f Click here for the solution22

10.3 Solving Quadratic Equations

A quadratic equation is an equation where the power of the variable is at most 2. The following are examples
of quadratic equations.

2x2 + 2x = 1
2−x
3x+1 = 2x (10.8)

4
3x −6 = 7x2 + 2
Quadratic equations dier from linear equations by the fact that a linear equation only has one solution,
while a quadratic equation has at most two solutions. However, there are some special situations when a

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 123

quadratic equation only has one solution.

We solve quadratic equations by factorisation, that is writing the quadratic as a product of two expressions
in brackets. For example, we know that:

(x + 1) (2x − 3) = 2x2 − x − 3. (10.9)

In order to solve:

2x2 − x − 3 = 0 (10.10)

we need to be able to write 2x − x − 3

2
as (x + 1) (2x − 3), which we already know how to do. The reason
for equating to zero and factoring is that if we attempt to solve it in a 'normal' way, we may miss one of the
solutions. On the other hand, if we have the (non-linear) equation f (x) g (x) = 0, for some functions f and
g, we know that the solution is f (x) = 0 OR g (x) = 0, which allows us to nd BOTH solutions (or know
that there is only one solution if it turns out that f = g ).

10.3.1 Investigation : Factorising a Quadratic

Factorise the following quadratic expressions:

1. x + x2
2. x2 + 1 + 2x
3. x2 − 4x + 5
4. 16x2 − 9
5. 4x2 + 4x + 1

Being able to factorise a quadratic means that you are one step away from solving a quadratic equation.
For example, x2 − 3x − 2 = 0 can be written as (x − 1) (x − 2) = 0. This means that both x − 1 = 0 and
x − 2 = 0, which gives x = 1 and x = 2 as the two solutions to the quadratic equation x2 − 3x − 2 = 0.

10.3.2 Method: Solving Quadratic Equations

1. First divide the entire equation by any common factor of the coecients, so as to obtain an equation
of the form ax2 + bx + c = 0 where a, b and c have no common factors. For example, 2x2 + 4x + 2 = 0
can be written as x + 2x + 1 = 0 by dividing by 2.
2

Write ax + bx + c in terms of its factors (rx + s) (ux + v). This means (rx + s) (ux + v) = 0.
2
2.
3. Once writing the equation in the form (rx + s) (ux + v) = 0, it then follows that the two solutions are
x = − rs or x = − uv .
4. For each solution substitute the value into the original equation to check whether it is valid

10.3.2.1 Solutions of Quadratic Equations

There are two solutions to a quadratic equation, because any one of the values can solve the equation.
Khan academy video on equations - 3
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Figure 10.2

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124 CHAPTER 10. EQUATIONS AND INEQUALITIES

Exercise 10.5: Solving Quadratic Equations (Solution on p. 138.)

Solve for x: 3x2 + 2x − 1 = 0
Sometimes an equation might not look like a quadratic at rst glance but turns into one with a simple
operation or two. Remember that you have to do the same operation on both sides of the equation for it to
remain true.
You might need to do one (or a combination) of:

• For example,

ax + b = c
x
x (ax + b) = x c


(10.11)
x
ax2 + bx = c

• This is raising both sides to the power of −1. For example,

1
ax2 +bx = c
 −1
−1
1
ax2 +bx = (c)
(10.12)
ax2 +bx
1 = 1
c
ax + bx =
2 1
c

• This is raising both sides to the power of 2. For example,

√
ax2 + bx = c
√
2
ax2 + bx = c2 (10.13)

ax2 + bx = c2

You can combine these in many ways and so the best way to develop your intuition for the best thing to do
is practice problems. A combined set of operations could be, for example,

√ 1
ax2+bx
= c
 −1
−1
1
ax2 +bx = (c) (invert both sides)
√
ax2 +bx
1 = 1
c
√ (10.14)
ax2 + bx = 1
c
√
2 1 2
ax2 + bx = (square both sides)


c
ax + bx
2
= 1
c2

Exercise 10.6:
√ Solving Quadratic Equations (Solution on p. 139.)
Solve for x: x+2=x
Exercise 10.7: Solving Quadratic Equations (Solution on p. 140.)
Solve the equation: x2 + 3x − 4 = 0.
Exercise 10.8: Solving Quadratic Equations (Solution on p. 140.)
Find the roots of the quadratic equation 0 = −2x2 + 4x − 2.

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 125

10.3.2.2 Solving Quadratic Equations

1. Solve for x: (3x + 2) (3x − 4) = 0 Click here for the solution23
2. Solve for x: (5x − 9) (x + 6) = 0 Click here for the solution24
3. Solve for x: (2x + 3) (2x − 3) = 0 Click here for the solution25
4. Solve for x: (2x + 1) (2x − 9) = 0 Click here for the solution26
5. Solve for x: (2x − 3) (2x − 3) = 0 Click here for the solution27
6. Solve for x: 20x + 25x2 = 0 Click here for the solution28
7. Solve for x: 4x2 − 17x − 77 = 0 Click here for the solution29
8. Solve for x: 2x2 − 5x − 12 = 0 Click here for the solution30
9. Solve for x: −75x2 + 290x − 240 = 0 Click here for the solution31
10. Solve for x: 2x = 13 x2 − 3x + 14 32 Click here for the solution32
11. Solve for x: x2 − 4x = −4 Click here for the solution33
12. Solve for x: −x2 + 4x − 6 = 4x2 − 5x + 3 Click here for the solution34
13. Solve for x: x2 = 3x Click here for the solution35
14. Solve for x: 3x2 + 10x − 25 = 0 Click here for the solution36
15. Solve for x: x2 − x + 3 Click here for the solution37
16. Solve for x: x2 − 4x + 4 = 0 Click here for the solution38
17. Solve for x: x2 − 6x = 7 Click here for the solution39
18. Solve for x: 14x2 + 5x = 6 Click here for the solution40
19. Solve for x: 2x2 − 2x = 12 Click here for the solution41
20. Solve for x: 3x2 + 2y − 6 = x2 − x + 2 Click here for the solution42

10.4 Exponential Equations of the Form ka(x+p) = m

Exponential equations generally have the unknown variable as the power. The following are examples of
exponential equations:

2x = 1
−x
2
3x+1 = 2 (10.15)

4
3 −6 = 7 +2
x

You should already be familiar with exponential notation. Solving exponential equations is simple, if we
remember how to apply the laws of exponentials.

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126 CHAPTER 10. EQUATIONS AND INEQUALITIES

10.4.1 Investigation : Solving Exponential Equations

Solve the following equations by completing the table:

2x = 2 x
-3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3

2x

Table 10.1

3x = 9 x
-3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3

3x

Table 10.2

2x+1 = 8 x
-3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3

2x+1

Table 10.3

10.4.2 Algebraic Solution

Denition 10.1: Equality for Exponential Functions
If a is a positive number such that a > 0, (except when a=1 ) then:

ax = ay (10.16)

if and only if:

x=y (10.17)

(If a = 1, then x and y can dier)

This means that if we can write all terms in an equation with the same base, we can solve the exponential
equations by equating the indices. For example take the equation 3x+1 = 9. This can be written as:

3x+1 = 32 . (10.18)

Since the bases are equal (to 3), we know that the exponents must also be equal. Therefore we can write:

x + 1 = 2. (10.19)

This gives:

x = 1. (10.20)

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 127

10.4.2.1 Method: Solving Exponential Equations

1. Try to write all terms with the same base.
2. Equate the exponents of the bases of the left and right hand side of the equation.
3. Solve the equation obtained in the previous step.
4. Check the solutions

10.4.2.1.1 Investigation : Exponential Numbers

Write the following with the same base. The base is the rst in the list. For example, in the list 2, 4, 8, the
base is two and we can write 4 as 22 .

1. 2,4,8,16,32,64,128,512,1024
2. 3,9,27,81,243
3. 5,25,125,625
4. 13,169
5. 2x, 4x2 , 8x3 , 49x8

Exercise 10.9: Solving Exponential Equations (Solution on p. 140.)

Solve for x: 2x = 2
Exercise 10.10: Solving Exponential Equations (Solution on p. 141.)
Solve:

2x+4 = 42x (10.21)

10.4.2.1.2 Solving Exponential Equations

1. Solve the following exponential equations:

a. 2x+5 = 25
b. 32x+1 = 33
c. 52x+2 = 53
d. 65−x = 612
e. 64x+1 = 162x+5
f. 125x = 5
43
Click here for the solution
2. Solve: 3 9x−2
= 27
44
Click here for the solution
3. Solve for k : 81 k+2
= 27
k+4
45
Click here for the solution
4. The growth of an algae in a pond can be modeled by the function f (t) = 2t . Find the value of t such
that f (t) = 128 Click here for the solution 46

Solve for x: 25 = 54 Click here for the solution47

(1−2x)
5.
Solve for x: 27 × 9 = 1 Click here for the solution48
x x−2
6.

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47 http://www.fhsst.org/lcu
48 http://www.fhsst.org/lcu

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128 CHAPTER 10. EQUATIONS AND INEQUALITIES

10.5 Linear Inequalities

10.5.1 Investigation : Inequalities on a Number Line
Represent the following on number lines:

1. x=4
2. x<4
3. x≤4
4. x≥4
5. x>4

A linear inequality is similar to a linear equation in that the largest exponent of a variable is 1. The following
are examples of linear inequalities.

2x + 2 ≤ 1
2−x
3x+1 ≥ 2 (10.22)

4
3x −6 < 7x + 2
The methods used to solve linear inequalities are identical to those used to solve linear equations. The only
dierence occurs when there is a multiplication or a division that involves a minus sign. For example, we
know that 8 > 6. If both sides of the inequality are divided by −2, −4 is not greater than −3. Therefore,
the inequality must switch around, making −4 < − 3.

tip: When you divide or multiply both sides of an inequality by any number with a minus sign,
the direction of the inequality changes. For this reason you cannot divide or multiply by a variable.

For example, if x < 1, then −x > − 1.

In order to compare an inequality to a normal equation, we shall solve an equation rst. Solve 2x + 2 = 1.

2x + 2 = 1
2x = 1−2
(10.23)
2x = −1
x = − 21
If we represent this answer on a number line, we get

Figure 10.3

Now let us solve the inequality 2x + 2 ≤ 1.

2x + 2 ≤ 1
2x ≤ 1−2
(10.24)
2x ≤ −1
x ≤ − 12

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 129

If we represent this answer on a number line, we get

Figure 10.4

As you can see, for the equation, there is only a single value of x for which the equation is true. However,
for the inequality, there is a range of values for which the inequality is true. This is the main dierence
between an equation and an inequality.

Khan academy video on inequalities - 1

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Figure 10.5

Khan academy video on inequalities - 2

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Figure 10.6

Exercise 10.11: Linear Inequalities (Solution on p. 142.)

Solve for r: 6 − r > 2
Exercise 10.12: Linear Inequalities (Solution on p. 142.)
Solve for q : 4q + 3 < 2 (q + 3) and represent the solution on a number line.

Exercise 10.13: Compound Linear Inequalities (Solution on p. 142.)

Solve for x: 5 ≤ x + 3 < 8 and represent solution on a number line.

10.5.2 Linear Inequalities

1. Solve for x and represent the solution graphically:

a. 3x + 4 > 5x + 8
b. 3 (x − 1) − 2 ≤ 6x + 4
x−7 2x−3
c.
3 > 2
d. −4 (x − 1) < x + 2
2 x + 3 (x − 1) ≥ 6 x −
1 1 5 1
e.
3
49
Click here for the solution
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130 CHAPTER 10. EQUATIONS AND INEQUALITIES

2. Solve the following inequalities. Illustrate your answer on a number line if x is a real number.

a. −2 ≤ x − 1 < 3
b. −5 < 2x − 3 ≤ 7
50
Click here for the solution
3. Solve for x: 7 (3x + 2) − 5 (2x − 3) > 7 Illustrate this answer on a number line. Click here for the
51
solution

10.6 Linear Simultaneous Equations

Thus far, all equations that have been encountered have one unknown variable that must be solved for.
When two unknown variables need to be solved for, two equations are required and these equations are
known as simultaneous equations. The solutions to the system of simultaneous equations are the values of
the unknown variables which satisfy the system of equations simultaneously, that means at the same time.
In general, if there are n unknown variables, then n equations are required to obtain a solution for each of
the n variables.
An example of a system of simultaneous equations is:

2x + 2y = 1
(10.25)
2−x
3y+1 =2

10.6.1 Finding solutions

In order to nd a numerical value for an unknown variable, one must have at least as many independent
equations as variables. We solve simultaneous equations graphically and algebraically.

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Figure 10.7

10.6.2 Graphical Solution

Simultaneous equations can be solved graphically. If the graph corresponding to each equation is drawn,
then the solution to the system of simultaneous equations is the co-ordinate of the point at which both
graphs intersect.

x = 2y
(10.26)
y = 2x − 3
Draw the graphs of the two equations in (10.26).

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 131

Figure 10.8

The intersection of the two graphs is (2, 1). So the solution to the system of simultaneous equations in
(10.26) is y=1 and x = 2.
This can be shown algebraically as:

x = 2y
∴ y = 2 (2y) − 3
y − 4y = −3
−3y = −3 (10.27)

y = 1
Substitute into the first equation : x = 2 (1)
= 2

Exercise 10.14: Simultaneous Equations (Solution on p. 143.)

Solve the following system of simultaneous equations graphically.

4y + 3x = 100
(10.28)
4y − 19x = 12

10.6.3 Solution by Substitution

A common algebraic technique is the substitution method: try to solve one of the equations for one of
the variables and substitute the result into the other equations, thereby reducing the number of equations
and the number of variables by 1. Continue until you reach a single equation with a single variable, which
(hopefully) can be solved; back substitution then allows checking the values for the other variables.
In the example (10.25), we rst solve the rst equation for x:
1
x= −y (10.29)
2

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132 CHAPTER 10. EQUATIONS AND INEQUALITIES

and substitute this result into the second equation:

2−x
3y+1 = 2
2−( 1
)
2 −y
3y+1 = 2
2 − 12 − y = 2 (3y + 1)

2 − 21 + y = 6y + 2 (10.30)

y − 6y = −2 + 2 +
1
2
−5y = 1
2
y = 1
− 10

∴ x = 1
2 −y
= 1 1


2 − − 10
(10.31)
= 6
10
= 3
5

The solution for the system of simultaneous equations (10.25) is:

x = 3
5
(10.32)
y = 1
− 10

Exercise 10.15: Simultaneous Equations (Solution on p. 144.)

Solve the following system of simultaneous equations:

4y + 3x = 100
(10.33)
4y − 19x = 12

Exercise 10.16: Bicycles and Tricycles (Solution on p. 144.)

A shop sells bicycles and tricycles. In total there are 7 cycles (cycles includes both bicycles and
tricycles) and 19 wheels. Determine how many of each there are, if a bicycle has two wheels and a
tricycle has three wheels.

10.6.3.1 Simultaneous Equations

1. Solve graphically and conrm your answer algebraically: 3a − 2b7 = 0 , a − 4b + 1 = 0 Click here for
52
the solution
2. Solve algebraically: 15c + 11d − 132 = 0, 2c + 3d − 59 = 0 Click here for the solution53
algebraically: −18e − 18 + 3f = 0, e − 4f + 47 = 0 Click here for the solution
54
3. Solve
graphically: x + 2y = 7, x + y = 0 Click here for the solution
55
4. Solve

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 133

10.7 Literal equations

= πr2 )
A literal equation is one that has several letters or variables. Examples include the area of a circle (A
and the formula for speed (s =
d
t ). In this section you will learn how to solve literal equations in terms
of one variable. To do this, you will use the principles you have learnt about solving equations and apply
them to rearranging literal equations. Solving literal equations is also known as changing the subject of the
formula.
You should bear the following in mind when solving literal equations:

• We isolate the unknown by asking what is joined to it, how this is joined and we do the opposite
operation (to both sides as a whole).
• If the unknown variable is in two or more terms, then we take it out as a common factor.
• If we have to take the square root of both sides, remember that there will be a positive and a negative
answer.
• If the unknown variable is in the denominator, then we nd the lowest common denominator (LCD),
multiply both sides by LCD and then continue to solve the problem.

Exercise 10.17: Solving literal equations - 1 (Solution on p. 145.)

The area of a triangle is A = 12 b × h. What is the height of the triangle in terms of the base and
area?

10.7.1 Solving literal equations

1. Solve for t: v = u + at
56
Click here for the solution
2. Solve for x: ax − bx = c
57
Click here for the solution

b + x =2
1 2b
3. Solve for x:
58
Click here for the solution

10.8 Mathematical Models (Not in CAPS - included for complete-

ness)
10.8.1 Introduction
Tom and Jane are friends. Tom picked up Jane's Physics test paper, but will not tell Jane what her marks
are. He knows that Jane hates maths so he decided to tease her. Tom says: I have 2 marks more than you
do and the sum of both our marks is equal to 14. How much did we get?
Let's help Jane nd out what her marks are. We have two unknowns, Tom's mark (which we shall call
t) and Jane's mark (which we shall call j ). Tom has 2 more marks than Jane. Therefore,

t=j+2 (10.34)

Also, both marks add up to 14. Therefore,

t + j = 14 (10.35)

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134 CHAPTER 10. EQUATIONS AND INEQUALITIES

The two equations make up a set of linear (because the highest power is one) simultaneous equations, which
we know how to solve! Substitute for t in the second equation to get:

t+j = 14
j+2+j = 14
2j + 2 = 14
2 (j + 1) = 14 (10.36)

j+1 = 7
j = 7−1
= 6
Then,

t = j+2
= 6+2 (10.37)

= 8
So, we see that Tom scored 8 on his test and Jane scored 6.
This problem is an example of a simple mathematical model. We took a problem and we were able to
write a set of equations that represented the problem mathematically. The solution of the equations then
gave the solution to the problem.

10.8.2 Problem Solving Strategy

The purpose of this section is to teach you the skills that you need to be able to take a problem and formulate
it mathematically in order to solve it. The general steps to follow are:

1. Read ALL of the question !

2. Find out what is requested.
3. Use a variable(s) to denote the unknown quantity/quantities that has/have been requested e.g., x.
4. Rewrite the information given in terms of the variable(s). That is, translate the words into algebraic
expressions.
5. Set up an equation or set of equations (i.e. a mathematical sentence or model) to solve the required
variable.
6. Solve the equation algebraically to nd the result.

10.8.3 Application of Mathematical Modelling

Exercise 10.18: Mathematical Modelling: Two variables (Solution on p. 145.)
Three rulers and two pens have a total cost of R 21,00. One ruler and one pen have a total cost
of R 8,00. How much does a ruler costs on its own and how much does a pen cost on its own?

Exercise 10.19: Mathematical Modelling: One variable (Solution on p. 145.)

A fruit shake costs R2,00 more than a chocolate milkshake. If three fruit shakes and 5 chocolate
milkshakes cost R78,00, determine the individual prices.

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 135

10.8.3.1 Mathematical Models

1. Stephen has 1 l of a mixture containing 69% of salt. How much water must Stephen add to make the
59
mixture 50% salt? Write your answer as a fraction of a litre. Click here for the solution
2. The diagonal of a rectangle is 25 cm more than its width. The length of the rectangle is 17 cm more
60
than its width. What are the dimensions of the rectangle? Click here for the solution
3. The sum of 27 and 12 is 73 more than an unknown number. Find the unknown number. Click here
61
for the solution
4. The two smaller angles in a right-angled triangle are in the ratio of 1:2. What are the sizes of the two
62
angles? Click here for the solution
5. George owns a bakery that specialises in wedding cakes. For each wedding cake, it costs George R150
for ingredients, R50 for overhead, and R5 for advertising. George's wedding cakes cost R400 each. As
a percentage of George's costs, how much prot does he make for each cake sold? Click here for the
63
solution
6. If 4 times a number is increased by 7, the result is 15 less than the square of the number. Find the
numbers that satisfy this statement, by formulating an equation and then solving it. Click here for
64
the solution
7. The length of a rectangle is 2 cm more than the width of the rectangle. The perimeter of the rectangle
65
is 20 cm. Find the length and the width of the rectangle. Click here for the solution

10.8.4 Summary
• A linear equation is an equation where the power of the variable(letter, e.g. x) is 1(one). A linear
equation has at most one solution
• A quadratic equation is an equation where the power of the variable is at most 2. A quadratic equation
has at most two solutions
• Exponential equations generally have the unknown variable as the power. The general form of an
exponential equation is: ka(x+p) = m
• A linear inequality is similar to a linear equation and has the power of the variable equal to 1. When
you divide or multiply both sides of an inequality by any number with a minus sign, the direction of the
inequality changes. You can solve linear inequalities using the same methods used for linear equations
• When two unknown variables need to be solved for, two equations are required and these equations are
known as simultaneous equations. There are two ways to solve linear simultaneous equations: graphical
solutions and algebraic solutions. To solve graphically you draw the graph of each equation and the
solution will be the co-ordinates of the point of intersection. To solve algebraically you solve equation
one, for variable one and then substitute that solution into equation two and solve for variable two.
• Literal equations are equations where you have several letters (variables) and you rearrange the equation
to nd the solution in terms of one letter (variable)
• Mathematical modelling is where we take a problem and we write a set of equations that represent the
problem mathematically. The solution of the equations then gives the solution to the problem.

10.8.5 End of Chapter Exercises

1. What are the roots of the quadratic equation x2 − 3x + 2 = 0 ? Click here for the solution
66

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62 http://www.fhsst.org/lcw
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64 http://www.fhsst.org/lcf
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136 CHAPTER 10. EQUATIONS AND INEQUALITIES

2. What are the solutions to the equation x2 + x = 6 ? Click here for the solution
67

3. In the equation y = 2x2 − 5x − 18, which is a value of x when y=0 ?

68
Click here for the solution
4. Manuel has 5 more CDs than Pedro has. Bob has twice as many CDs as Manuel has. Altogether the
69
boys have 63 CDs. Find how many CDs each person has. Click here for the solution
5. Seven-eighths of a certain number is 5 more than one-third of the number. Find the number. Click
70
here for the solution
6. A man runs to a telephone and back in 15 minutes. His speed on the way to the telephone is 5 m/s and
71
his speed on the way back is 4 m/s. Find the distance to the telephone. Click here for the solution
7. Solve the inequality and then answer the questions:
x
3 − 14 > 14 − x
4
a. If x ∈ R, write the solution in interval notation.
b. if x ∈ Z and x < 51, write the solution as a set of integers.
72
Click here for the solution

2 − 3 > 1 Click here for the solution

a: 1−a 2−a 73
8. Solve for
9. Solve for x: x − 1 = x Click here for the solution
42 74

10. Solve for x and y : 7x + 3y = 13 and 2x − 3y = −4 Click here for the solution
75

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69 http://www.fhsst.org/lco
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 137

Solutions to Exercises in Chapter 10

Solution to Exercise 10.1 (p. 121)
Step 1. We are given 4−x=4 and are required to solve for x.
Step 2. Since there are no brackets, we can start with rearranging and then grouping like terms.
Step 3.

4−x = 4
−x = 4−4 (Rearrange)
(10.38)
−x = 0 (group like terms)
∴ x = 0
Step 4. Substitute solution into original equation:

4−0 = 4
(10.39)
4 = 4
Since both sides are equal, the answer is correct.
Step 5. The solution of 4−x=4 is x = 0.
Solution to Exercise 10.2 (p. 121)
Step 1. We are given 4 (2x − 9) − 4x = 4 − 6x and are required to solve for x.
Step 2. We start with expanding the brackets, then rearranging, then grouping like terms and then simplifying.
Step 3.

4 (2x − 9) − 4x = 4 − 6x
8x − 36 − 4x = 4 − 6x (expand the brackets)
8x − 4x + 6x = 4 + 36 (Rearrange)
(8x − 4x + 6x) = (4 + 36) (group like terms) (10.40)

10x = 40 (simplify grouped terms)

10
10 x = 40
10 (divide both sides by 10)
x = 4
Step 4. Substitute solution into original equation:

4 (2 (4) − 9) − 4 (4) = 4 − 6 (4)

4 (8 − 9) − 16 = 4 − 24
4 (−1) − 16 = −20 (10.41)

−4 − 16 = −20
−20 = −20
Since both sides are equal to −20, the answer is correct.
Step 5. The solution of 4 (2x − 9) − 4x = 4 − 6x is x = 4.
Solution to Exercise 10.3 (p. 121)
3x+1 = 2 and are required to solve for x.
2−x
Step 1. We are given
Step 2. Since there is a denominator of (3x + 1), we can start by multiplying both sides of the equation by
(3x + 1). But because division by 0 is not permissible, there is a restriction on a value for x. (x 6=
−1
3 )

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 138 CHAPTER 10. EQUATIONS AND INEQUALITIES

Step 3.
2−x
3x+1 = 2
(2 − x) = 2 (3x + 1)
2−x = 6x + 2 (expand brackets)
−x − 6x = 2−2 (rearrange) (10.42)

−7x = 0 (simplify grouped terms)

x = 0 ÷ (−7)
∴ x = 0 (zero divided by any number is 0)
Step 4. Substitute solution into original equation:

2−(0)
3(0)+1 = 2
(10.43)
2
1 = 2
Since both sides are equal to 2, the answer is correct.
Step 5. The solution of
2−x
3x+1 =2 is x = 0.
Solution to Exercise 10.4 (p. 121)
3 x − 6 = 7x + 2 and are required to solve for x.
4
Step 1. We are given
Step 2. We start with multiplying each of the terms in the equation by 3, then grouping like terms and then
simplifying.
Step 3.
4
3x −6 = 7x + 2
4x − 18 = 21x + 6 (each term is multiplied by 3)
4x − 21x = 6 + 18 (rearrange)
(10.44)
−17x = 24 (simplify grouped terms)
−17
−17 x = 24
−17 (divide both sides by − 17)
x = −24
17

Step 4. Substitute solution into original equation:

17 − 6 = 7× 17 + 2
4 −24 −24
3 ×
4×(−8) 7×(−24)
(17) − 6 = 17 +2
(−32)
17 − 6 = 17 + 2
−168 (10.45)
(−168)+34
−32−102
17 = 17
−134
17 = −134
17
−134
Since both sides are equal to
17 , the answer is correct.
4
Step 5. The solution of x
3 − 6 = 7x + 2 is, x = −24
17 .

Solution to Exercise 10.5 (p. 123)

Step 1. As we have seen the factors of 3x2 + 2x − 1 are (x + 1) and (3x − 1).
Step 2.
(x + 1) (3x − 1) = 0 (10.46)

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 139

Step 3. We have

x+1=0 (10.47)

or

3x − 1 = 0 (10.48)

Therefore, x = −1 or x = .
1
3
Step 4. We substitute the answers back into the original equation and for both answers we nd that the
equation is true.
Step 5. 3x2 + 2x − 1 = 0 for x = −1 or x= 1
3.

Solution to Exercise 10.6 (p. 124)

Step 1. Both sides of the equation should be squared to remove the square root sign.

x + 2 = x2 (10.49)

Step 2.

x+2 = subtract x2 from both sides

x2
x + 2 − x2 = 0 (divide both sides by − 1)
(10.50)
−x − 2 + x 2
= 0
x2 − x + 2 = 0
Step 3.
x2 − x + 2 (10.51)

The factors of x −x+2

2
are (x − 2) (x + 1).
Step 4.
(x − 2) (x + 1) = 0 (10.52)

Step 5. We have

x+1=0 (10.53)

or

x−2=0 (10.54)

Therefore, x = −1 or x = 2. √
Step 6. Substitute x = −1 into the original equation x + 2 = x:

LHS = (−1) + 2
p
√
= 1
= 1 (10.55)

but
RHS = (−1)
Therefore LHS 6= RHS. The sides of an equation must always balance, a potential solution that does
not balance the equation is not valid. In this case the equation does not balance.
Therefore x 6= −1.

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 140 CHAPTER 10. EQUATIONS AND INEQUALITIES
√
Now substitute x=2 into original equation x + 2 = x:
√
LHS = 2+2
√
= 4
= 2 (10.56)

and
RHS = 2
Therefore LHS = RHS
Therefore
√ x = 2 is the only valid solution
Step 7. x + 2 = x for x = 2 only.
Solution to Exercise 10.7 (p. 124)
Step 1. The equation is in the required form, with a = 1.
Step 2. You need the factors of 1 and 4 so that the middle term is +3 So the factors are:
(x − 1) (x + 4)
Step 3.
x2 + 3x − 4 = (x − 1) (x + 4) = 0 (10.57)

Therefore x=1 or x = −4.

Step 4.
12 + 3 (1) − 4 = 0 (10.58)

2
(−4) + 3 (−4) − 4 = 0 (10.59)

Both solutions are valid.

Step 5. Therefore the solutions are x=1 or x = −4.
Solution to Exercise 10.8 (p. 124)
Step 1. There is a common factor: -2. Therefore, divide both sides of the equation by -2.

−2x2 + 4x − 2 = 0
(10.60)
x − 2x + 1
2
= 0
Step 2. The middle term is negative. Therefore, the factors are (x − 1) (x − 1)
If we multiply out (x − 1) (x − 1), we get x2 − 2x + 1.
Step 3.
x2 − 2x + 1 = (x − 1) (x − 1) = 0 (10.61)

In this case, the quadratic is a perfect square, so there is only one solution for x: x = 1.
2
Step 4. −2(1) + 4 (1) − 2 = 0.
The root of 0 = −2x + 4x − 2 x = 1.
2
Step 5. is

Solution to Exercise 10.9 (p. 127)

Step 1. All terms are written with the same base.

2x = 21 (10.62)

Step 2.
x=1 (10.63)

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 141

Step 3.

LHS = 2x
= 21
= 2
(10.64)
RHS = 21
= 2
= LHS
Since both sides are equal, the answer is correct.
Step 4.
x=1 (10.65)

is the solution to 2 = 2.
x

Solution to Exercise 10.10 (p. 127)

Step 1.

2x+4 = 42x
2x+4 = 22(2x) (10.66)

2 x+4
= 24x

Step 2.
x + 4 = 4x (10.67)

Step 3.

x+4 = 4x
x − 4x = −4
−3x = −4 (10.68)

x = −4
−3
x = 4
3

Step 4.

LHS = 2x+4
2( 3 +4)
4
=
16
= 23

1
= 216 3
RHS = 42x
42( 3 )
4
= (10.69)
8
= 43

1
= 48 3

 13
8
= 22

1
= 216 3
= LHS
Since both sides are equal, the answer is correct.

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 142 CHAPTER 10. EQUATIONS AND INEQUALITIES

Step 5.
4
x= (10.70)
3
is the solution to 2x+4 = 42x .

Solution to Exercise 10.11 (p. 129)

Step 1.

−r > 2 − 6
(10.71)
−r > − 4
Step 2. When you multiply by a minus sign, the direction of the inequality changes.

r<4 (10.72)

Step 3.

Figure 10.9

Solution to Exercise 10.12 (p. 129)

Step 1.

4q + 3 < 2 (q + 3)
(10.73)
4q + 3 < 2q + 6
Step 2.

4q + 3 < 2q + 6
4q − 2q < 6−3 (10.74)

2q < 3
Step 3.

2q < 3 Divide both sides by 2

(10.75)
3
q < 2

Step 4.

Figure 10.10

Solution to Exercise 10.13 (p. 129)

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 143

Step 1.

5−3≤ x+3−3 <8−3

(10.76)
2≤ x <5

Step 2.

Figure 10.11

Solution to Exercise 10.14 (p. 131)

Step 1. For the rst equation:

4y + 3x = 100
4y = 100 − 3x (10.77)

y = 25 − 3
4x

and for the second equation:

4y − 19x = 12
4y = 19x + 12 (10.78)

y = 19
4 x +3

Figure 10.12

Step 2. The graphs intersect at (4, 22).

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 144 CHAPTER 10. EQUATIONS AND INEQUALITIES

Step 3.

x = 4
(10.79)
y = 22

Solution to Exercise 10.15 (p. 132)

Step 1. If the question does not explicitly ask for a graphical solution, then the system of equations should be
solved algebraically.
Step 2.

4y + 3x = 100
3x = 100 − 4y (10.80)

x = 100−4y
3

Step 3.

4y − 19 100−4y
= 12


3
12y − 19 (100 − 4y) = 36
12y − 1900 + 76y = 36 (10.81)

88y = 1936
y = 22
Step 4.
100−4(22)
x = 3
= 100−88
3
(10.82)
= 12
3
= 4
Step 5.

4 (22) + 3 (4) = 88 + 12 = 100

(10.83)
4 (22) − 19 (4) = 88 − 76 = 12

Solution to Exercise 10.16 (p. 132)

Step 1. The number of bicycles and the number of tricycles are required.
Step 2. If b is the number of bicycles and t is the number of tricycles, then:

b+t = 7
(10.84)
2b + 3t = 19
Step 3.

b = 7−t
Into second equation : 2 (7 − t) + 3t = 19
14 − 2t + 3t = 19
(10.85)
t = 5
Into first equation : : b = 7−5
= 2

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 145

Step 4.

2+5 = 7
(10.86)
2 (2) + 3 (5) = 4 + 15 = 19
Solution to Exercise 10.17 (p. 133)
Step 1. We rearrange the equation so that the height is on one side of the equals sign and the rest of the
variables are on the other side of the equation.

A = 1
2b ×h
2A = b×h (multiply both sides by 2) (10.87)

2A
b = h (divide both sides by b)

Step 2. The height of a triangle is given by: h= 2A

b

Solution to Exercise 10.18 (p. 134)

Step 1. Let the cost of one ruler be x rand and the cost of one pen be y rand.
Step 2.

3x + 2y = 21
(10.88)
x+y = 8
Step 3. First solve the second equation for y:

y =8−x (10.89)

and substitute the result into the rst equation:

3x + 2 (8 − x) = 21
3x + 16 − 2x = 21 (10.90)

x = 5
therefore

y = 8−5
(10.91)
y = 3
Step 4. One ruler costs R 5,00 and one pen costs R 3,00.

Solution to Exercise 10.19 (p. 134)

Step 1. Let the price of a chocolate milkshake be x and the price of a fruitshake be y.

Price number Total

Fruit y 3 3y
Chocolate x 5 5x

Table 10.4

Step 2.

3y + 5x = 78 (10.92)

y =x+2

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 146 CHAPTER 10. EQUATIONS AND INEQUALITIES

Step 3.

3 (x + 2) + 5x = 78
3x + 6 + 5x = 78
8x = 72
x = 9 (10.93)

y = x+2
= 9+2
= 11
Step 4. One chocolate milkshake costs R 9,00 and one Fruitshake costs R 11,00

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Chapter 11

Average gradient 1

11.1 Introduction
The gradient of a straight line graph is calculated as:

y2 − y1
(11.1)
x2 − x1
for two points (x1 , y1 ) and (x2 , y2 ) on the graph.
We can now dene the average gradient between two points even if they are dened by a function which
is not a straight line, (x1 , y1 ) and (x2 , y2 ) as:

y2 − y1
(11.2)
x2 − x1
This is the same as (11.1).

11.2 Straight-Line Functions

11.2.1 Investigation : Average Gradient - Straight Line Function
Fill in the table by calculating the average gradient over the indicated intervals for the function f (x) = 2x−2.
Note that (x1 ;y1 ) is the co-ordinates of the rst point and (x2 ;y2 ) is the co-ordinates of the second point. So
for AB, (x1 ;y1 ) is the co-ordinates of point A and (x2 ;y2 ) is the co-ordinates of point B.

y2 −y1
x1 x2 y1 y2 x2 −x1
A-B

A-C

B-C

Table 11.1

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147
148 CHAPTER 11. AVERAGE GRADIENT

Figure 11.1

What do you notice about the gradients over each interval?

The average gradient of a straight-line function is the same over any two intervals on the function.

11.3 Parabolic Functions

11.3.1 Investigation : Average Gradient - Parabolic Function
Fill in the table by calculating the average gradient over the indicated intervals for the function f (x) = 2x−2:

y2 −y1
x1 x2 y1 y2 x2 −x1
A-B

B-C

C-D

D-E

E-F

F-G

Table 11.2

What do you notice about the average gradient over each interval? What can you say about the average
gradients between A and D compared to the average gradients between D and G?

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 149

Figure 11.2

The average gradient of a parabolic function depends on the interval and is the gradient of a straight line
that passes through the points on the interval.
For example, in Figure 11.3 the various points have been joined by straight-lines. The average gradients
between the joined points are then the gradients of the straight lines that pass through the points.

Figure 11.3: The average gradient between two points on a curve is the gradient of the straight line
that passes through the points.

11.3.2 Method: Average Gradient

Given the equation of a curve and two points (x1 , x2 ):

1. Write the equation of the curve in the form y = ....

2. Calculate y1 by substituting x1 into the equation for the curve.
3. Calculate y2 by substituting x2 into the equation for the curve.
4. Calculate the average gradient using:
y2 − y1
(11.3)
x2 − x1
Exercise 11.1: Average Gradient (Solution on p. 154.)
Find the average gradient of the curve y = 5x2 − 4 between the points x = −3 and x=3

11.4 Average gradient for other functions

We can extend the concept of average gradient to any function. The average gradient for any function also
depends on the interval chosen and is the gradient of a straight line that passes through the two points.

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150 CHAPTER 11. AVERAGE GRADIENT

So we can use the formula that we found for the average gradient of parabolic functions and apply it to
any function. We will consider the average gradient of just two functions here: exponential functions and
hyperbolic functions.

11.4.1 Average gradient of exponential functions

For example, if we were asked to nd the average gradient of the function g (x) = 3.2x + 2 between the points
(−4; 2, 2) and (−0, 6; 4). This is shown in Figure 11.4.

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 151

Figure 11.4: The average gradient for an exponential function.

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152 CHAPTER 11. AVERAGE GRADIENT

Using the formula we nd:

y2 −y1
x2 −x1 = 4−2,2
(−0,6)−(−4)
= 1,8
−0,6+4
(11.4)
= 1,8
5,2
= 0, 35

11.4.2 Average gradient of hyperbolic functions

For example, if we were asked to nd the average gradient of the function g (x) = 2
x +2 between the points
(−4; −2, 5) and (0, 5; 6) and (−4; 2, 2) and (−0, 6; 4). This is shown in Figure 11.5.

Figure 11.5: The average gradient for a hyperbolic function.

For the rst point we would get:

y2 −y1 (−2,5)−1
x2 −x1 = (−4)−0,5
−3,5
= −4,5
(11.5)

= 0, 78
Similarly for the second points we would nd that the average gradient is: 0, 53

11.5 Summary
y2 −y1
• The average gradient between two points is:
x2 −x1
• The average gradient of a straight-line function is the same over any two intervals on the function
• The average gradient of a parabolic function depends on the interval and is the gradient of a straight
line that passes through the points on the interval
• We can extend the concept of average gradient to any function

11.6 End of Chapter Exercises

1. An object moves according to the function d = 2t2 + 1 , where d is the distance in metres and t the
time in seconds. Calculate the average speed of the object between 2 and 3 seconds. The speed is the
gradient of the function d
2
Click here for the solution
2. Given: f (x) = x − 6x.
3
Determine the average gradient between the points where x=1 and x = 4.
3
Click here for the solution
3. Find the average gradient of each of the following functions between the points where x=2 and x=3

a. f (x) = x2 + 3
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 153

b. f (x) = x4 + 1
c. f (x) = 2x − 3
4
Click here for the solution

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 154 CHAPTER 11. AVERAGE GRADIENT

Solutions to Exercises in Chapter 11

Solution to Exercise 11.1 (p. 149)
Step 1. Label the points as follows:

x1 = −3 (11.6)

x2 = 3 (11.7)

to make it easier to calculate the gradient.

Step 2. We use the equation for the curve to calculate the y -value at x1 and x2 .

y1 = 5x21 − 4
2
= 5(−3) − 4
(11.8)
= 5 (9) − 4
= 41

y2 = 5x22 − 4
2
= 5(3) − 4
(11.9)
= 5 (9) − 4
= 41
Step 3.
y2 −y1
x2 −x1 = 41−41
3−(−3)
= 0
3+3
(11.10)
= 0
6
= 0

Step 4. The average gradient between x = −3 and x=3 on the curve y = 5x2 − 4 is 0.

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Chapter 12

Probability 1

12.1 Introduction
We can divide mathematics into pure and applied maths. Pure maths is the theory of maths and is very
abstract. The work you have covered on algebra is mostly pure maths. Applied maths is all about taking
the theory (or pure maths) and applying it to the real world. To be able to do applied maths, you rst have
to learn pure maths.
But what does this have to do with probability? Well, just as mathematics can be divided into pure
maths and applied maths, so statistics can be divided into probability theory and applied statistics. And
just as you cannot do applied mathematics without knowing any theory, you cannot do statistics without
beginning with some understanding of probability theory. Furthermore, just as it is not possible to describe
what arithmetic is without describing what mathematics as a whole is, it is not possible to describe what
probability theory is without some understanding of what statistics as a whole is about, and statistics, in its
broadest sense, is about 'processes'.

note: Galileo wrote down some ideas about dice games in the seventeenth century. Since then
many discussions and papers have been written about probability theory, but it still remains a
poorly understood part of mathematics.

A process is how an object changes over time. For example, consider a coin. Now, the coin by itself is not a
process; it is simply an object. However, if I was to ip the coin (i.e. putting it through a process), after a
certain amount of time (however long it would take to land), it is brought to a nal state. We usually refer
to this nal state as 'heads' or 'tails' based on which side of the coin landed face up, and it is the 'heads'
or 'tails' that the statistician (person who studies statistics) is interested in. Without the process there is
nothing to examine. Of course, leaving the coin stationary is also a process, but we already know that its
nal state is going to be the same as its original state, so it is not a particularly interesting process. Usually
when we speak of a process, we mean one where the outcome is not yet known, otherwise there is no real
point in analyzing it. With this understanding, it is very easy to understand what, precisely, probability
theory is.
When we speak of probability theory as a whole, we mean the way in which we quantify the possible
outcomes of processes. Then, just as 'applied' mathematics takes the methods of 'pure' mathematics and
applies them to real-world situations, applied statistics takes the means and methods of probability theory
(i.e. the means and methods used to quantify possible outcomes of events) and applies them to real-world
events in some way or another. For example, we might use probability theory to quantify the possible
outcomes of the coin-ip above as having a 50% chance of coming up heads and a 50% chance of coming up
tails, and then use statistics to apply it a real-world situation by saying that of six coins sitting on a table,

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155
156 CHAPTER 12. PROBABILITY

the most likely scenario is that three coins will come up heads and three coins will come up tails. This, of
course, may not happen, but if we were only able to bet on ONE outcome, we would probably bet on that
because it is the most probable. But here, we are already getting ahead of ourselves. So let's back up a
little.
To quantify results, we may use a variety of methods, terms, and notations, but a few common ones are:

• a percentage (for example '50%')

• a proportion of the total number of outcomes (for example, '5/10')
• a proportion of 1 (for example, '1/2')

You may notice that all three of the above examples represent the same probability, and in fact ANY method
of probability is fundamentally based on the following procedure:

1. Dene a process.
2. Dene the total measure for all outcomes of the process.
3. Describe the likelihood of each possible outcome of the process with respect to the total measure.

The term 'measure' may be confusing, but one may think of it as a ruler. If we take a ruler that is 1 metre
long, then half of that ruler is 50 centimetres, a quarter of that ruler is 25 centimetres, etc. However, the
thing to remember is that without the ruler, it makes no sense to talk about proportions of a ruler! Indeed,
the three examples above (50%, 5/10, and 1/2) represented the same probability, the only dierence was
how the total measure (ruler) was dened. If we go back to thinking about it in terms of a ruler '50%' means
'50/100', so it means we are using 50 parts of the original 100 parts (centimetres) to quantify the outcome
in question. '5/10' means 5 parts out of the original 10 parts (10 centimetre pieces) depict the outcome in
question. And in the last example, '1/2' means we are dividing the ruler into two pieces and saying that
one of those two pieces represents the outcome in question. But these are all simply dierent ways to talk
about the same 50 centimetres of the original 100 centimetres! In terms of probability theory, we are only
interested in proportions of a whole.
Although there are many ways to dene a 'measure', the most common and easiest one to generalize is
to use '1' as the total measure. So if we consider the coin-ip, we would say that (assuming the coin was
fair) the likelihood of heads is 1/2 (i.e. half of one) and the likelihood of tails is 1/2. On the other hand,
if we consider the event of not ipping the coin, then (assuming the coin was originally heads-side-up) the
likelihood of heads is now 1, while the likelihood of tails is 0. But we could have also used '14' as the original
measure and said that the likelihood of heads or tails on the coin-ip was each '7 out of 14', while on the
non-coin-ip the likelihood of heads was '14 out of 14', and the likelihood of tails was '0 out of 14'. Similarly,
if we consider the throwing of a (fair) six-sided die, it may be easiest to set the total measure to '6' and say
that the likelihood of throwing a '4' is '1 out of the 6', but usually we simply say that it is 1/6, i.e. '1/6 of
1'.

12.2 Denitions
There are three important concepts associated with a random experiment: 'outcome', 'sample space', and
'event'. Two examples of experiments will be used to familiarize you with these terms:

• In Experiment 1 a single die is thrown and the value of the top face after it has come to rest is noted.
• In Experiment 2 two dice are thrown at the same time and the total of the values of each of the top
faces after they have come to rest is noted.

12.2.1 Outcome
An outcome of an experiment is a single result of that experiment.

• A possible outcome of Experiment 1: the value on the top face is '3'

• A possible outcome of Experiment 2: the total value on the top faces is '9'

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12.2.2 Sample Space

The sample space of an experiment is the complete set of possible outcomes of the experiment.

• Experiment 1: the sample space is 1,2,3,4,5,6

• Experiment 2: the sample space is 2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12

note: If you roll two die and add the results, the most common outcome is 7. To understand this,
think that there is only one way to get 2 as a result (both dice landing with 1) and there is only
way to get 12 as a result (both dice landing with 6). The opposite sides of a six sided dice add up
to 7. From this you should be able to work out that there are 12 ways to get a 7.

12.2.3 Event
An event is any set of outcomes of an experiment.

• A possible event of Experiment 1: an even number being on the top face of the die
• A possible event of Experiment 2: the numbers on the top face of each die being equal

12.3 Random Experiments

The term random experiment or statistical experiment is used to describe any repeatable process, the results
of which are analyzed in some way. For example, ipping a coin and noting whether or not it lands heads-up
is a random experiment because the process is repeatable. On the other hand, your reading this sentence for
the rst time and noting whether you understand it is not a random experiment because it is not repeatable
(though making a number of random people read it and noting which ones understand it would turn it into
a random experiment).

12.3.1 Venn diagrams

A Venn diagram can be used to show the relationship between the possible outcomes of a random experiment
and the sample space. The Venn diagram in Figure 12.1 shows the dierence between the universal set, a
sample space and events and outcomes as subsets of the sample space.

Figure 12.1: Diagram to show dierence between the universal set and the sample space. The sample
space is made up of all possible outcomes of a statistical experiment and an event is a subset of the
sample space.

We can draw Venn diagrams for experiments with two and three events. These are shown in Figure 12.2
and Figure 12.3. Venn diagrams for experiments with more than three events are more complex and are not
covered at this level.

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158 CHAPTER 12. PROBABILITY

Figure 12.2: Venn diagram for an experiment with two events

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Figure 12.3: Venn diagram for an experiment with three events.

note: The Greek, Russian and Latin alphabets can be illustrated using Venn diagrams. All these
alphabets have some common letters. The Venn diagram is given below:

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160 CHAPTER 12. PROBABILITY

Figure 12.4

The union of A and B is the set of all elements in A or in B (or in both). A or B is also written A ∪ B .
The intersection of A and B is the set of all elements in both A and B . A and B is also written as A ∩ B .
Venn diagrams can also be used to indicate the union and intersection between events in a sample space
(Figure 12.5 and Figure 12.6).

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Figure 12.5: Venn diagram to show (left) union of two events, A and B , in the sample space S .

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162 CHAPTER 12. PROBABILITY

Figure 12.6: Venn diagram to show intersection of two events A and B , in the sample space S . The
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black region indicates the intersection.

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We use n (S) to refer to the number of elements in a set S , n (X) for the number of elements in X, etc.

Exercise 12.1: Random Experiments (Solution on p. 180.)

In a box there are pieces of paper with the numbers from 1 to 9 written on them. A piece of paper
is drawn from the box and the number on it is noted. Let S denote the sample space, let P denote
the event 'drawing a prime number', and let E denote the event 'drawing an even number'. Using
appropriate notation, in how many ways is it possible to draw: i) any number? ii) a prime number?
iii) an even number? iv) a number that is either prime or even? v) a number that is both prime
and even?

Exercise 12.2 (Solution on p. 180.)

100 people were surveyed to nd out which fast food chain (Nandos, Debonairs or Steers) they
preferred. The following results were obtained:

• 50 liked Nandos
• 66 liked Debonairs
• 40 liked Steers
• 27 liked Nandos and Debonairs but not Steers
• 13 liked Debonairs and Steers but not Nandos
• 4 liked all three
• 94 liked at least one

a. How many people did not like any of the fast food chains?
b. How many people liked Nandos and Steers, but not Debonairs?

12.3.2 Activity: Venn diagrams

Which cellphone networks have you used or are you signed up for (e.g. Vodacom, Mtn or CellC)? Collect
this information from your classmates as well. Then use the information to draw a Venn diagram (if you
have more than three networks, then choose only the three most popular or draw Venn diagrams for all the
combinations). Try to see if you can work out the number of people who use just one network, or the number
of people who use all the networks.

12.3.3 Complement and complementary events

A nal notion that is important to understand is the notion of complement. Just as in geometry when two
angles are called 'complementary' if they added up to 90 degrees, (the two angles 'complement' each other
to make a right angle), the complement of a set of outcomes A is the set of all outcomes in the sample
space but not in A. It is usually denoted A' (or sometimes AC ), and called 'the complement of A' or simply
'A-complement'. Because it refers to the set of everything outside of A, it is also often referred to as 'not-
A'. Thus, by denition, if S denotes the entire sample space of possible outcomes, and A is any subset of
outcomes that we are interested in (i.e. an event), thenA ∪ A' = S is always true, (i.e. A' complements A
above, P = {1, 4, 6, 8, 9}, while E = {1, 3, 5, 7, 9}. So
' '
to form the entire sample space). So in the exercise
n P ' = n E' = 5

The probability of a complementary event refers to the probability associated with the complement of
an event, i.e. the probability that something other than the event in question will occur. For example, if
P (A) = 0, 25, then the probability of A not occurring is the probability associated with all other events in
S occurring less the probability of A occurring.
In theory, it is very easy to calculate complements, since the number of elements in the complement of a
set is just the total number of outcomes in the sample space minus the outcomes in that set (in the example
above, there were 9 possible outcomes in the sample space, and 4 possible outcomes in each of the sets we

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164 CHAPTER 12. PROBABILITY

were interested in, thus both complements contained 9-4 = 5 elements). Similarly, it is easy to calculate
probabilities of complements of events since they are simply the total probability (e.g. 1 if our total measure
is 1) minus the probability of the event in question. So,

P A' = 1 − P (A)


(12.1)

Sometimes it is much easier to decide the probability of an event occurring by instead calculating the
probability that the complementary event will NOT occur. For example, if the process in question was
rolling three dice, and the event we were interested in was that at least one of the faces is a one, it is
denitely much easier to gure out the probability that not getting a one will not occur than to try to gure
out all the possible combinations of three dice where a one does occur!

Exercise 12.3: Complementary events (Solution on p. 183.)

If you throw two dice, one red and one blue, what is the probability that at least one of them will
be a six?

Exercise 12.4: Complementary events (Solution on p. 183.)

A bag contains three red balls, ve white balls, two green balls and four blue balls:
1. Calculate the probability that a red ball will be drawn from the bag.
2. Calculate the probability that a ball which is not red will be drawn

12.3.4 Probability in Everyday Life

Probability is connected with uncertainty. In any statistical experiment, the outcomes that occur may be
known, but exactly which one might not be known. Mathematically, probability theory formulates incomplete
knowledge related to the likelihood of an occurrence. For example, a meteorologist might say there is a 60%
chance that it will rain tomorrow. This means that in 6 of every 10 times when the world is in the current
state, it will rain tomorrow.
Another way of referring to probabilities is odds. The odds of an event is dened as the ratio of the
probability that the event occurs to the probability that it does not occur. For example, the odds of a coin

0.5 = 1, usually written "1 to 1" or "1:1". This means that on average, the coin
0.5
landing on a given side are
will land on that side as many times as it will land on the other side.

12.3.4.1 The Simplest Example: Equally Likely Outcomes

We say two outcomes are equally likely if they have an equal chance of happening. For example when a fair
coin is tossed, each outcome in the sample space S = {heads, tails} is equally likely to occur.
Probability is a function of events (since it is not possible to have a single event with two dierent
probabilities occurring), so we usually denote the probability P of some event E occurring by P (E). When
all the outcomes are equally likely (in any activity), it is fairly straightforward to count the probability of a
certain event occuring. In this case,
P (E) = n (E) /n (S)
For example, when you throw a fair die the sample space is S = {1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 6} so the total number of
possible outcomes n (S) = 6.
Event 1: Get a 4
The only possible outcome is a 4, i.e E = {4}. So n (E) = 1.
Probability of getting a 4: P (k = 4) = n (E) /n (S) = 1/6.
Event 2: Get a number greater than 3
Favourable outcomes: E = {4; 5; 6}
Number of favourable outcomes: n (E) = 3.
Probability of getting a number greater than 3: P (k > 3) = n (E) /n (S) = 3/6 = 1/2.

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Exercise 12.5 (Solution on p. 184.)

A standard deck of cards (without jokers) has 52 cards. There are four sets of cards, called suits.
The suit a card belongs to is denoted by a symbol on the card, the four possible symbols being
hearts, clubs, spades, and diamonds. In each suit there are 13 cards (4 suits × 13 cards = 52)
consisting of one each of ace, king, queen, jack, and the numbers 2-10.
If we randomly draw a card from the deck, we can the card drawn as a possible outcome.
Therefore, there are 52 possible outcomes. We can now look at various events and calculate their
probabilities:

1. Out of the 52 cards, there are 13 clubs. Therefore, if the event of interest is drawing a club,
there are 13 favourable outcomes, what is the probability of this event?
2. There are 4 kings (one of each suit). The probability of drawing a king is?
3. What is the probability of getting a king or a club?

12.3.4.1.1 Probability Models

1. A bag contains 6 red, 3 blue, 2 green and 1 white balls. A ball is picked at random. What is the
probablity that it is:

a. red
b. blue or white
c. not green (hint: think 'complement')
d. not green or red?
2
Click here for the solution.
2. A card is selected randomly from a pack of 52. What is the probability that it is:

a. the 2 of hearts
b. a red card
c. a picture card
d. an ace
e. a number less than 4?
3
Click here for the solution.
3. Even numbers from 2 -100 are written on cards. What is the probability of selecting a multiple of 5,
if a card is drawn at random?
4
Click here for the solution.

12.3.5 Probability Identities

The following results apply to probabilities, for the sample space S and two events A and B, within S.

P (S) = 1 (12.2)

P (A ∩ B) = P (A) × P (B) (12.3)

P (A ∪ B) = P (A) + P (B) − P (A ∩ B) (12.4)

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166 CHAPTER 12. PROBABILITY

We can demonstrate this last result using a Venn diagram. The union of A and B is the set of all elements
in A or in B or in both.

Figure 12.7

The probability of event A occurring is given by P (A) and the probability of event B occurring is given
by P (B). However, if we look closely at the circle representing either of these events, we notice that the
probability includes a small part of the other event. So event A includes a bit of event B and vice versa.
This is shown in the following gure:

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 167

Figure 12.8
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168 CHAPTER 12. PROBABILITY

And then we observe that this small bit is simply the intersection of the two events.
So to nd the probability of P (A ∪ B) we notice the following:

• We can add P (A) and P (B)

• Doing this counts the intersection twice, once in P (A) and once in P (B).
So if we simply subtract the probability of the intersection, then we will nd the total probability of the
union: P (A ∪ B) = P (A) + P (B) − P (A ∩ B)
Exercise 12.6: Probabilty identities (Solution on p. 184.)
What is the probability of selecting a black or red card from a pack of 52 cards

Exercise 12.7: Probabilty identities (Solution on p. 184.)

What is the probability of drawing a club or an ace with one single pick from a pack of 52 cards

The following video provides a brief summary of some of the work covered so far.

Khan academy video on probability

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Figure 12.9

12.3.5.1 Probability Identities

Answer the following questions

1. Rory is target shooting. His probability of hitting the target is 0, 7. He res ve shots. What is the
probability that all ve shots miss the center?
5
Click here for the solution.
2. An archer is shooting arrows at a bullseye. The probability that an arrow hits the bullseye is 0, 4. If
she res three arrows, what is the probability that all the arrows hit the bullseye?
6
Click here for the solution.
3. A dice with the numbers 1,3,5,7,9,11 on it is rolled. Also a fair coin is tossed. What is the probability
that:

a. A tail is tossed and a 9 rolled?

b. A head is tossed and a 3 rolled?
7
Click here for the solution.
4. Four children take a test. The probability of each one passing is as follows. Sarah: 0, 8, Kosma: 0, 5,
Heather: 0, 6, Wendy: 0, 9. What is the probability that:

a. all four pass?

b. all four fail?
8
Click here for the solution.
5. With a single pick from a pack of 52 cards what is the probability that the card will be an ace or a
black card?
9
Click here for the solution.

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12.3.6 Mutually Exclusive Events

Two events are called mutually exclusive if they cannot be true at the same time.
Examples of mutually exclusive events are:

1. A die landing on an even number or landing on an odd number.

2. A student passing or failing an exam
3. A tossed coin landing on heads or landing on tails

This means that if we examine the elements of the sets that make up A and B there will be no elements in
common. Therefore, A∩B = ∅ (where ∅ refers to the empty set). Since, P (A ∩ B) = 0, equation (12.4)
becomes:

P (A ∪ B) = P (A) + P (B) (12.5)

for mutually exclusive events.

We can represent mutually exclusive events on a Venn diagram. In this case, the two circles do not touch
each other, but are instead completely separate parts of the sample space.

Figure 12.10: Venn diagram for mutually exclusive events

12.3.6.1 Mutually Exclusive Events

1. A box contains coloured blocks. The number of each colour is given in the following ta-
ble.

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170 CHAPTER 12. PROBABILITY

Colour Purple Orange White Pink

Number of blocks 24 32 41 19

Table 12.1

A block is selected randomly. What is the probability that the block will be:

a. purple
b. purple or white
c. pink and orange
d. not orange?
10
Click here for the solution.
2. A small private school has a class with children of various ages. The table gies the number of pupils
of each age in the class.

3 years female 3 years male 4 years female 4 years male 5 years female 5 years male

6 2 5 7 4 6

Table 12.2

If a pupil is selceted at random what is the probability that the pupil will be:

a. a female
b. a 4 year old male
c. aged 3 or 4
d. aged 3 and 4
e. not 5
f. either 3 or female?
11
Click here for the solution.
3. Fiona has 85 labeled discs, which are numbered from 1 to 85. If a disc is selected at random what is
the probability that the disc number:

a. ends with 5
b. can be multiplied by 3
c. can be multiplied by 6
d. is number 65
e. is not a multiple of 5
f. is a multiple of 4 or 3
g. is a multiple of 2 and 6
h. is number 1?
12
Click here for the solution.

12.3.7 Random Experiments

1. Let S denote the set of whole numbers from 1 to 16, X denote the set of even numbers from 1 to 16
and Y denote the set of prime numbers from 1 to 16

a. Draw a Venn diagram accurately depicting S, X and Y.

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b. Find n (S), n (X), n (Y ), n (X ∪ Y ), n (X ∩ Y ).

13
Click here for the solution.
2. There are 79 Grade 10 learners at school. All of these take either Maths, Geography or History. The
number who take Geography is 41, those who take History is 36, and 30 take Maths. The number who
take Maths and History is 16; the number who take Geography and History is 6, and there are 8 who
take Maths only and 16 who take only History.

a. Draw a Venn diagram to illustrate all this information.

b. How many learners take Maths and Geography but not History?
c. How many learners take Geography only?
d. How many learners take all three subjects?
14
Click here for the solution.
3. Pieces of paper labelled with the numbers 1 to 12 are placed in a box and the box is shaken. One piece
of paper is taken out and then replaced.

a. What is the sample space, S?

b. Write down the set A, representing the event of taking a piece of paper labelled with a factor of
12.
c. Write down the set B, representing the event of taking a piece of paper labelled with a prime
number.
d. Represent A, B and S by means of a Venn diagram.
e. Find

i. n (S)
ii. n (A)
iii. n (B)
iv. n (A ∩ B)
v. n (A ∪ B)

f. Is n (A ∪ B) = n (A) + n (B) − n (A ∩ B)?

15
Click here for the solution.

12.4 Relative Frequency vs. Probability

There are two approaches to determining the probability associated with any particular event of a random
experiment:

1. determining the total number of possible outcomes and calculating the probability of each outcome
using the denition of probability
2. performing the experiment and calculating the relative frequency of each outcome

Relative frequency is dened as the number of times an event happens in a statistical experiment divided
by the number of trials conducted.
It takes a very large number of trials before the relative frequency of obtaining a head on a toss of a coin
approaches the probability of obtaining a head on a toss of a coin (in fact, if the probability of an event
occurring is something other than 1, i.e. it is always true, or 0, i.e. it is never true, then probability is only
absolutely accurate when an innite number of trials is conducted). For example, the data in Table 12.3
represent the outcomes of repeating 100 trials of a statistical experiment 100 times, i.e. tossing a coin 100
times.
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172 CHAPTER 12. PROBABILITY

H T T H H T H H H H

H H H H T H H T T T

T T H T T H T H T H

H H T T H T T H T T

T H H H T T H T T H

H T T T T H T T H H

T T H T T H T T H T

H T T H T T T T H T

T H T T H H H T H T

T T T H H T T T H T

Table 12.3: Results of 100 tosses of a fair coin. H means that the coin landed heads-up and T means that

the coin landed tails-up.

The following two worked examples show that the relative frequency of an event is not necessarily equal
to the probability of the same event. Relative frequency should therefore be seen as an approximation to
probability.

Exercise 12.8: Relative Frequency and Probability (Solution on p. 184.)

Determine the relative frequencies associated with each outcome of the statistical experiment
detailed in Table 12.3.

Exercise 12.9: Probability (Solution on p. 185.)

Determine the probability associated with an evenly weighted coin landing on either of its faces.

12.5 Project Idea

Perform an experiment to show that as the number of trials increases, the relative frequency approaches the
probability of a coin toss. Perform 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 trials of tossing a coin.

12.6 Interpretation of Probability Values - (not in CAPS, included

for completeness)
The probability of an event is generally represented as a real number between 0 and 1, inclusive. An
impossible event has a probability of exactly 0, and a certain event has a probability of 1, but the converses
are not always true: probability 0 events are not always impossible, nor probability 1 events certain. There
is a rather subtle distinction between "certain" and "probability 1".
For example, we can say that the sun will always rise in the east. This is a certain event, the sun will not
suddenly rise in the north. But if we looked at the event of Penny Heyns winning a swimming race against
your maths teacher, then this event is almost certain, since there is a very small chance that your teacher
could win the race.
Most probabilities that occur in practice are numbers between 0 and 1, indicating the event's position
on the continuum between impossibility and certainty. The closer an event's probability is to 1, the more
likely it is to occur.
For example, if two mutually exclusive events are assumed equally probable, such as a ipped or spun
coin landing heads-up or tails-up, we can express the probability of each event as "1 in 2", or, equivalently,
"50%" or "1/2".

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 173

Probabilities are equivalently expressed as odds, which is the ratio of the probability of one event to the
probability of all other events. The odds of heads-up, for the tossed/spun coin, are (1/2)/(1 - 1/2), which is
equal to 1/1. This is expressed as "1 to 1 odds" and often written "1:1".
Odds a:b for some event are equivalent to probability a/(a+b). For example, 1:1 odds are equivalent to
probability 1/2, and 3:2 odds are equivalent to probability 3/5.

12.7 Summary
• The term random experiment or statistical experiment is used to describe any repeatable process, the
results of which are analyzed in some way.
• An outcome of an experiment is a single result of that experiment.
• The sample space of an experiment is the complete set of possible outcomes of the experiment.
• An event is any set of outcomes of an experiment.
• A Venn diagram can be used to show the relationship between the possible outcomes of a random
experiment and the sample space. Venn diagrams can also be used to indicate the union and intersection
between events in a sample space.
• When all outcomes are equally likely, they have an equal chance of happening. P (E) = n (E) /n (S)
gives us the probability of an equally likely outcome happening.
• Relative frequency is dened as the number of times an event happens in a statistical experiment
divided by the number of trials conducted.
• The following results apply to probabilities, for the sample space S and two events A and B, within
S.
P (S) = 1 (12.6)

P (A ∩ B) = P (A) × P (B) (12.7)

P (A ∪ B) = P (A) + P (B) − P (A ∩ B) (12.8)

• Mutually

exclusive events are events, which cannot be true at the same time.
• P A' = 1 − P (A) is the probability that A will not occur. This is known as a complementary event.

We can summarize some of the key concepts in this chapter in the following table:

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174 CHAPTER 12. PROBABILITY

Term Meaning Representation Venn diagram

Union Everything in A and B A∪B

Intersection Everything in A or B A∩B

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 175

Complement Everything that is not in Ac

A

continued on next page

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176 CHAPTER 12. PROBABILITY

Only one All that is only in A A−B

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 177

Table 12.4

12.8 End of Chapter Exercises

1. A group of 45 children were asked if they eat Frosties and/or Strawberry Pops. 31 eat both and 6 eat
only Frosties. What is the probability that a child chosen at random will eat only Strawberry Pops?
16
Click here for the solution.
2. In a group of 42 pupils, all but 3 had a packet of chips or a Fanta or both. If 23 had a packet of chips
and 7 of these also had a Fanta, what is the probability that one pupil chosen at random has:

a. Both chips and Fanta

b. has only Fanta?
17
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3. Use a Venn diagram to work out the following probabilities from a die being rolled:

a. A multiple of 5 and an odd number

b. a number that is neither a multiple of 5 nor an odd number
c. a number which is not a multiple of 5, but is odd.
18
Click here for the solution.
4. A packet has yellow and pink sweets. The probability of taking out a pink sweet is 7/12.

a. What is the probability of taking out a yellow sweet

b. If 44 if the sweets are yellow, how many sweets are pink?
19
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5. In a car park with 300 cars, there are 190 Opels. What is the probability that the rst car to leave the
car park is:

a. an Opel
b. not an Opel
20
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6. Tamara has 18 loose socks in a drawer. Eight of these are orange and two are pink. Calculate the
probability that the rst sock taken out at random is:

a. Orange
b. not orange
c. pink
d. not pink
e. orange or pink
f. not orange or pink
21
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7. A plate contains 9 shortbread cookies, 4 ginger biscuits, 11 chocolate chip cookies and 18 Jambos. If
a biscuit is selected at random, what is the probability that:

a. it is either a ginger biscuit of a Jambo?

b. it is NOT a shortbread cookie.
22
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8. 280 tickets were sold at a rae. Ingrid bought 15 tickets. What is the probability that Ingrid:

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19 http://www.fhsst.org/lli
20 http://www.fhsst.org/ll3
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178 CHAPTER 12. PROBABILITY

a. Wins the prize

b. Does not win the prize?
23
Click here for the solution.
9. The children in a nursery school were classied by hair and eye colour. 44 had red hair and not brown
eyes, 14 had brown eyes and red hair, 5 had brown eyes but not red hair and 40 did not have brown
eyes or red hair.

a. How many children were in the school

b. What is the probility that a child chosen at random has:

1. Brown eyes
2. Red hair

c. A child with brown eyes is chosen randomly. What is the probability that this child will have red
hair
24
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10. A jar has purple, blue and black sweets in it. The probability that a sweet, chosen at random, will be
purple is 1/7 and the probability that it will be black is 3/5.

a. If I choose a sweet at random what is the probability that it will be:

i. purple or blue
ii. Black
iii. purple

b. If there are 70 sweets in the jar how many purple ones are there?
c. 1/4 if the purple sweets in b) have streaks on them and rest do not. How many purple sweets
have streaks?
25
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11. For each of the following, draw a Venn diagram to represent the situation and nd an example to
illustrate the situation.

a. A sample space in which there are two events that are not mutually exclusive
b. A sample space in which there are two events that are complementary.
26
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12. Use a Venn diagram to prove that the probability of either event A or B occuring is given by: (A and
B are not exclusive) P(A or B) = P(A) + P(B) - P(A and B)
27
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13. All the clubs are taken out of a pack of cards. The remaining cards are then shued and one card
chosen. After being chosen, the card is replaced before the next card is chosen.

a. What is the sample space?

b. Find a set to represent the event, P, of drawing a picture card.
c. Find a set for the event, N, of drawing a numbered card.
d. Represent the above events in a Venn diagram
e. What description of the sets P and N is suitable? (Hint: Find any elements of P in N and N in
P.)
28
Click here for the solution.
14. Thuli has a bag containing ve orange, three purple and seven pink blocks. The bag is shaken and a
block is withdrawn. The colour of the block is noted and the block is replaced.

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26 http://www.fhsst.org/ll1
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 179

a. What is the sample space for this experiment?

b. What is the set describing the event of drawing a pink block, P?
c. Write down a set, O or B, to represent the event of drawing either a orange or a purple block.
d. Draw a Venn diagram to show the above information.
29
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 180 CHAPTER 12. PROBABILITY

Solutions to Exercises in Chapter 12

Solution to Exercise 12.1 (p. 163)
Step 1. • Drawing a prime number: P = {2; 3; 5; 7}
• Drawing an even number: E = {2; 4; 6; 8}

Step 2.

Figure 12.15

Step 3. The union of P and E is the set of all elements in P or in E (or in both). P ∪ E = 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.
Step 4. The intersection of P and E is the set of all elements in both P and E . P ∩ E = 2.
Step 5.

∴ n (S) = 9
n (P ) = 4
n (E) = 4 (12.9)

n (P ∪ E) = 7
n (P ∩ E) = 2

Solution to Exercise 12.2 (p. 163)

Step 1. The number of people who liked Nandos and Debonairs is 27, so this is the intersection of these two
events. The number of people who liked Debonairs and Steers is 13, so the intersection of Debonairs
and Steers is 13. We are told that 4 people like all three options, and so this means that there are 4
people in the intersection of all three options. So we can work out that the number of people who like
just Debonairs is 66 − −4 − −27 − 13 = 22 (This is simply the total number who like Debonairs minus
the number of people who like Debonairs and Steers, or Debonairs and Nandos or all three). We draw
the following diagram to represent the data:

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 181

Figure 12.16

Step 2. We are told that there were 100 people and that 94 liked at least one. So the number of people that
liked none is: 100 − −94 = 6. This is the answer to a).
Step 3. We can redraw the part of the Venn diagram that is of interest:

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182 CHAPTER 12. PROBABILITY

Figure 12.17

Total people who like Nandos: 50

Of these 27 like both Nandos and Debonairs, and 4 people like all three options. So we nd that the
total number of people who just like Nandos is: 50 − −27 − −4 = 19
Total people who like Steers: 40
Of these 13 like both Steers and Debonairs, and 4 like all three options. So we nd that the total
number of people who like just Steers is: 40 − −13 − −4 = 23
Now use the identity n (N or S) = n (N) + n (S) − −n (N and S) to nd the number of people who like
Nandos and Steers, but not Debonairs.

n (N or S) = n (N) + n (S) − −n (N and S)

28 = 23 + 19 − −n (N and S) (12.10)

n (N and S) = 14
The Venn diagram with that represents all this information is given:

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 183

Figure 12.18

Solution to Exercise 12.3 (p. 164)

Step 1. To solve that kind of question, work out the probability that there will be no six.
Step 2. The probability that the red dice will not be a six is 5/6, and that the blue one will not be a six is also
5/6.
Step 3. So the probability that neither will be a six is 5/6 × 5/6 = 25/36.
Step 4. So the probability that at least one will be a six is 1 − 25/36 = 11/36.
Solution to Exercise 12.4 (p. 164)
Step 1. Let R be the event that a red ball is drawn:

• P(R)-n(R)/n(S)=3/14

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 184 CHAPTER 12. PROBABILITY

• R and R' are complementary events

∴ P(R') = 1 - P(R) = 1 -3/14 = 11/14

Step 3. • Alternately P(R') = P(B) + P(W) + P(G)
• P(R') = 4/14 + 5/14 + 2/14 = 11/14

Solution to Exercise 12.5 (p. 164)

52 = 4 .
13 1
Step 1. The probability of this event is

52 = 13 .
4 1
Step 2.
Step 3. This example is slightly more complicated. We cannot simply add together the number of outcomes
for each event separately (4 + 13 = 17) as this inadvertently counts one of the outcomes twice (the
king of clubs). Why is this so? Well, mathematically if A and B are two events, it is actually true that
n (A ∪ B) = n (A) + n (B) − n (A ∩ B) (a more detailed explanation of this identity is provided below,
but for now just assume that it is true). In the results involving the throwing of dice, the intersection
of any two outcomes was empty (and hence n (A ∩ B) = 0) since it is not possible for the top face of a
die to have two dierent values simultaneously. However, in this case, a card can be both a club and
a king at the same time (i.e. n (A ∩ B) = 1). Therefore, n (A ∪ B) = 4 + 13 − 1 = 16. So the correct
16
answer is
52 .

Solution to Exercise 12.6 (p. 168)

n(E)
Step 1. P (S) = n(S) = 52
52 =1 because all cards are black or red!

Solution to Exercise 12.7 (p. 168)

Step 1.
P (club ∪ ace) = P (club) + P (ace) − P (club ∩ ace) (12.11)

Step 2.

= 1
+ 1 1 1


4 13 − 4 × 13
= 1
4 + 1 1
13 − 52
(12.12)
= 16
52
= 4
13

Notice how we have used P (C ∪ A) = P (C) + P (A) − P (C ∩ A).

Solution to Exercise 12.8 (p. 172)
Step 1. There are two unique outcomes: H and T.
Step 2.
Outcome Frequency

H 44

T 56

Table 12.5

Step 3. The statistical experiment of tossing the coin was performed 100 times. Therefore, there were 100
trials, in total.

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 185

Step 4.

Probability of H = frequency of outcome

number of trials
= 44
100
= 0, 44
(12.13)

Relative Frequency of T = frequency of outcome

number of trials
= 56
100
= 0, 56
The relative frequency of the coin landing heads-up is 0,44 and the relative frequency of the coin
landing tails-up is 0,56.

Solution to Exercise 12.9 (p. 172)

Step 1. There are two unique outcomes: H and T.
Step 2. There are two possible outcomes.
Step 3.

Relative Frequency of H = number of favourable outcomes

total number of outcomes
= 1
2
= 0, 5
(12.14)

Relative Frequency of T = number of favourable outcomes

total number of outcomes
= 1
2
= 0, 5
The probability of an evenly weighted coin landing on either face is 0, 5.

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186 CHAPTER 12. PROBABILITY

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Chapter 13

Geometry basics 1

13.1 Introduction
The purpose of this chapter is to recap some of the ideas that you learned in geometry and trigonometry in
earlier grades. You should feel comfortable with the work covered in this chapter before attempting to move
2 3
onto the Grade 10 Geometry chapter , the Grade 10 Trigonometry chapter or the Grade 10 Analytical
Geometry chapter (Chapter 16). This chapter revises:

1. Terminology: vertices, sides, angles, parallel lines, perpendicular lines, diagonals, bisectors, transversals

2. Properties of triangles
3. Congruence
4. Classication of angles into acute, right, obtuse, straight, reex or revolution
5. Theorem of Pythagoras which is used to calculate the lengths of sides of a right-angled triangle

13.2 Points and Lines

The two simplest objects in geometry are points and lines.
A point is a coordinate that marks a position in space (on a number line, on a plane or in three dimensions
or even more) and is denoted by a dot. Points are usually labelled with a capital letter. Some examples of
how points can be represented are shown in Figure 13.1.
A line is a continuous set of coordinates in space and can be thought of as being formed when many
points are placed next to each other. Lines can be straight or curved, but are always continuous. This means
that there are never any breaks in the lines (if there are, they would be distinct lines denoted separately).
The endpoints of lines are labeled with capital letters. Examples of two lines are shown in Figure 13.1.

Figure 13.1: Examples of some points (labelled P , Q, R and S ) and some lines (labelled BC and DE
).

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188 CHAPTER 13. GEOMETRY BASICS

Lines are labelled according to the start point and end point. We call the line that starts at a point A
and ends at a point B , AB . Since the line from point B to point A is the same as the line from point A to
point B, we have that AB = BA.
When there is no ambiguity (which is the case throughout this text) the length of the line between points
A and B is also denoted AB , the same as the notation to refer to the line itself. So if we say AB = CD
we mean that the length of the line between A and B is equal to the length of the line between C and D.
Note: in higher mathematics, where there might be some ambiguity between when we want refer to the
length of the line and when we just want to refer to the line itself, the notation |AB| is usually used to
refer to the length of the line. In this case, if one says |AB| = |CD|, it means the lengths of the lines are
the same, whereas if one says AB = CD, it means that the two lines actually coincide (i.e. they are the
same). Throughout this text, however, this notation will not be used, and AB = CD ALWAYS implies that
the lengths are the same.
A line is measured in units of length. Some common units of length are listed in Table 13.1.

Unit of Length Abbreviation

kilometre km

metre m

centimetre cm

millimetre mm

Table 13.1: Some common units of length and their abbreviations.

13.3 Angles
An angle is formed when two straight lines meet at a point. The point at which two lines meet is known as
a vertex. Angles are labelled with a ^ called a caret on a letter. For example, in Figure 13.2 the angle
^
is at B. Angles can also be labelled according to the line segments that make up the angle. For example,
in Figure 13.2 the angle is made up when line segmentsCB and BA meet. So, the angle can be referred to
as∠CBA or ∠ABC or, if there is no ambiguity (i.e. there is only one angle at B ) sometimes simply ∠B .
The ∠ symbol is a short method of writing angle in geometry.
Angles are measured in degrees which is denoted by
◦
, a small circle raised above the text in the same
fashion as an exponent (or a superscript).

note: Angles can also be measured in radians. At high school level you will only use degrees, but
if you decide to take maths at university you will learn about radians.

^
Figure 13.2: Angle labelled as B , ∠CBA or ∠ABC

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 189

^ ^
Figure 13.3: Examples of angles. A=E , even though the lines making up the angles are of dierent
lengths.

13.3.1 Measuring angles

The size of an angle does not depend on the length of the lines that are joined to make up the angle, but
depends only on how both the lines are placed as can be seen in Figure 13.3. This means that the idea of
length cannot be used to measure angles. An angle is a rotation around the vertex.

13.3.1.1 Using a Protractor

A protractor is a simple tool that is used to measure angles. A picture of a protractor is shown in Figure 13.4.

Figure 13.4: Diagram of a protractor.

Method:
Using a protractor

1. Place the bottom line of the protractor along one line of the angle so that the other line of the angle
points at the degree markings.
2. Move the protractor along the line so that the centre point on the protractor is at the vertex of the
two lines that make up the angle.
3. Follow the second line until it meets the marking on the protractor and read o the angle. Make sure
◦
you start measuring at 0 .

13.3.1.1.1 Measuring Angles : Use a protractor to measure the following angles:

Figure 13.5

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190 CHAPTER 13. GEOMETRY BASICS

13.3.2 Special Angles

What is the smallest angle that can be drawn? The gure below shows two lines (CA and AB ) making an
angle at a common vertex A. If line CA is rotated around the common vertex A, down towards line AB ,
then the smallest angle that can be drawn occurs when the two lines are pointing in the same direction.
◦
This gives an angle of 0 . This is shown in Figure 13.6

Figure 13.6

If line CA is now swung upwards, any other angle can be obtained. If line CA and line AB point in
◦
opposite directions (the third case in Figure 13.6) then this forms an angle of 180 .

◦
tip: If three points A, B and C lie on a straight line, then the angle between them is 180 .
◦
Conversely, if the angle between three points is 180 , then the points lie on a straight line.

An angle of 90
◦
is called a right angle. A right angle is half the size of the angle made by a straight line
◦
(180 ). We say CA is perpendicular to AB or CA ⊥ AB . An angle twice the size of a straight line is 360 .
◦
◦ ◦
An angle measuring 360 looks identical to an angle of 0 , except for the labelling. We call this a revolution.

Figure 13.7: An angle of 90◦ is known as a right angle.

13.3.2.1 Angles larger than 360◦

◦
All angles larger than 360 also look like we have seen them before. If you are given an angle that is larger
◦ ◦ ◦ ◦
than 360 , continue subtracting 360 from the angle, until you get an answer that is between 0 and 360 .
◦
Angles that measure more than 360 are largely for mathematical convenience.

tip:

• Acute angle : An angle ≥ 0◦ and < 90◦ .

• Right angle : An angle measuring 90◦ .
• Obtuse angle : An angle > 90◦ and < 180◦ .
• Straight angle : An angle measuring 180◦ .
• Reex angle : An angle > 180◦ and < 360◦ .
• Revolution: An angle measuring 360◦ .
These are simply labels for angles in particular ranges, shown in Figure 13.8.

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 191

Figure 13.8: Three types of angles dened according to their ranges.

◦
Once angles can be measured, they can then be compared. For example, all right angles are 90 , therefore
all right angles are equal and an obtuse angle will always be larger than an acute angle.
The following video summarizes what you have learnt so far about angles.

Khan Academy video on angles - 1

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Figure 13.9

Note that for high school trigonometry you will be using degrees, not radians as stated in the video.

13.3.3 Special Angle Pairs

^ ^
In Figure 13.10, straight lines AB and CD intersect at point X, forming four angles: X1 or ∠BXD , X2 or
^ ^
∠BXC , X3 or ∠CXA and X4 or ∠AXD .

^ ^ ^ ^
Figure 13.10: Two intersecting straight lines with vertical angles X1 , X3 and X2 , X4 .

The table summarises the special angle pairs that result.

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192 CHAPTER 13. GEOMETRY BASICS

Special Angle Property Example

! !
^ ^ ^ ^
adjacent angles share a common vertex and a X1 , X2 , X2 , X3 ,
common side ! !
^ ^ ^ ^
X3 , X4 , X4 , X1

^ ^ ^ ^
linear pair (adjacent angles on a adjacent angles formed by two in- X1 + X2 = 180◦ ; X2 + X3 =
straight line) tersecting straight lines that by ^ ^ ^
denition add to 180
◦ 180◦ ; X3 + X4 = 180◦ ; X4
^
+ X1 = 180◦
^ ^ ^ ^
opposite angles angles formed by two intersecting X1 =X3 ; X2 =X4
straight lines that share a vertex
but do not share any sides
◦
supplementary angles two angles whose sum is 180
◦
complementary angles two angles whose sum is 90

Table 13.2

tip: The opposite angles formed by the intersection of two straight lines are equal. Adjacent angles
on a straight line are supplementary.

The following video summarises what you have learnt so far

Khan Academy video on angles - 2

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Figure 13.11

13.3.4 Parallel Lines intersected by Transversal Lines

Two lines intersect if they cross each other at a point. For example, at a trac intersection two or more
streets intersect; the middle of the intersection is the common point between the streets.
Parallel lines are lines that never intersect. For example the tracks of a railway line are parallel (for
convenience, sometimes mathematicians say they intersect at 'a point at innity', i.e. an innite distance
away). We wouldn't want the tracks to intersect after as that would be catastrophic for the train!

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 193

Figure 13.12

All these lines are parallel to each other. Notice the pair of arrow symbols for parallel.

note: A section of the Australian National Railways Trans-Australian line is perhaps one of the
longest pairs of man-made parallel lines.

Longest Railroad Straight (Source: www.guinnessworldrecords.com) The Australian

National Railways Trans-Australian line over the Nullarbor Plain, is 478 km (297 miles)
dead straight, from Mile 496, between Nurina and Loongana, Western Australia, to Mile
793, between Ooldea and Watson, South Australia.
A transversal of two or more lines is a line that intersects these lines. For example in Figure 13.13, AB and
CD are two parallel lines and EF is a transversal. We say AB k CD. The properties of the angles formed
by these intersecting lines are summarised in the table below.

Figure 13.13: Parallel lines intersected by a transversal

Name of angle Denition Examples Notes

interior angles the angles that lie in Figure 13.13 a, b, the word interior means inside
inside the parallel c and d are interior
lines angles

adjacent angles the angles share in Figure 13.13 (a,

a common vertex h) are adjacent and
point and line so are (h, g ); (g , b);
(b, a)
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194 CHAPTER 13. GEOMETRY BASICS

exterior angles the angles that lie in Figure 13.13 e, f , the word exterior means outside
outside the parallel g and h are exterior
lines angles

alternate interior the interior angles in Figure 13.13

angles that lie on oppo- (a, c) and (b,d) are
site sides of the pairs of alternate
transversal interior angles, Figure 1
a = c, b = d

co-interior angles co-interior angles in Figure 13.13

on the same side that lie on the (a,d) and (b,c)
same side of the are interior angles
transversal on the same side. Figure 1
a + d = 180◦ ,
b + c = 180◦

corresponding an- the angles on the in Figure 13.13

gles same side of the (a, e), (b, f ), (c, g)
transversal and the and (d, h) are pairs
same side of the of corresponding Figure 1
parallel lines angles. a = e,
b = f , c = g, d = h

Table 13.3

The following video summarises what you have learnt so far

Khan Academy video on angles - 3

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Figure 13.17

note: Euclid's Parallel line postulate. If a straight line falling across two other straight lines
◦
makes the two interior angles on the same side less than two right angles (180 ), the two straight
lines, if produced indenitely, will meet on that side. This postulate can be used to prove many
identities about the angles formed when two parallel lines are cut by a transversal.

tip:

1.If two parallel lines are intersected by a transversal, the sum of the co-interior angles on the
◦
same side of the transversal is 180 .
2.If two parallel lines are intersected by a transversal, the alternate interior angles are equal.

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 195

3.If two parallel lines are intersected by a transversal, the corresponding angles are equal.
4.If two lines are intersected by a transversal such that any pair of co-interior angles on the same
side is supplementary, then the two lines are parallel.
5.If two lines are intersected by a transversal such that a pair of alternate interior angles are
equal, then the lines are parallel.
6.If two lines are intersected by a transversal such that a pair of alternate corresponding angles
are equal, then the lines are parallel.

Exercise 13.1: Finding angles (Solution on p. 211.)

Find all the unknown angles in the following gure:

Figure 13.18

Exercise 13.2: Parallel lines (Solution on p. 211.)

Determine if there are any parallel lines in the following gure:

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196 CHAPTER 13. GEOMETRY BASICS

Figure 13.19

13.3.4.1 Angles
1. Use adjacent, corresponding, co-interior and alternate angles to ll in all the angles labeled with letters
in the diagram below:

Figure 13.20

4
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2. Find all the unknown angles in the gure below:

Figure 13.21

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 197

5
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3. Find the value of x in the gure below:

Figure 13.22

6
Click here for the solution
4. Determine whether there are pairs of parallel lines in the following gures.

a.

Figure 13.23

b.

Figure 13.24

c.

Figure 13.25

7
Click here for the solution
5. If AB is parallel to CD and AB is parallel to EF, prove that CD is parallel to EF:

Figure 13.26

8
Click here for the solution

The following video shows some problems with their solutions

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198 CHAPTER 13. GEOMETRY BASICS

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Figure 13.27

13.4 Polygons
If you take some lines and join them such that the end point of the rst line meets the starting point of the
last line, you will get a polygon. Each line that makes up the polygon is known as a side. A polygon has
interior angles. These are the angles that are inside the polygon. The number of sides of a polygon equals
the number of interior angles. If a polygon has equal length sides and equal interior angles, then the polygon
is called a regular polygon. Some examples of polygons are shown in Figure 13.28.

Figure 13.28: Examples of polygons. They are all regular, except for the one marked *

13.4.1 Triangles
A triangle is a three-sided polygon. Triangles are usually split into three categories: equilateral, isosceles, and
scalene, depending on how many of the sides are of equal length. A fourth category, right-angled triangle (or
simply 'right triangle') is used to refer to triangles with one right angle. Note that all right-angled triangles
are also either isosceles (if the other two sides are equal) or scalene (it should be clear why you cannot have
an equilateral right triangle!). The properties of these triangles are summarised in Table 13.4.

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 199

Name Diagram

equilateral

Figure 13.29

isosceles

Figure 13.30

right-angled

Figure 13.31

scalene (non-syllabus)

Figure 13.32

Table 13.4: Types of Triangles

We use the notation [U+25B5]ABC to refer to a triangle with corners labeled A, B , and C.

13.4.1.1 Properties of Triangles

13.4.1.1.1 Investigation : Sum of the angles in a triangle
1. Draw on a piece of paper a triangle of any size and shape
^ ^ ^
2. Cut it out and label the angles A, B and C on both sides of the paper
3. Draw dotted lines as shown and cut along these lines to get three pieces of paper
^ ^ ^
4. Place them along your ruler as shown to see that A + B + C = 180◦

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200 CHAPTER 13. GEOMETRY BASICS

Figure 13.33

Figure 13.34

◦
tip: The sum of the angles in a triangle is 180 .

Figure 13.35: In any triangle, ∠A + ∠B + ∠C = 180◦

tip: Any exterior angle of a triangle is equal to the sum of the two opposite interior angles. An
exterior angle is formed by extending any one of the sides.

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 201

Figure 13.36: In any triangle, any exterior angle is equal to the sum of the two opposite interior angles.

13.4.1.2 Congruent Triangles

Two triangles are called congruent if one of them can be superimposed, that is moved on top of to exactly
cover, the other. In other words, if both triangles have all of the same angles and sides, then they are
called congruent. To decide whether two triangles are congruent, it is not necessary to check every side and
angle. The following list describes various requirements that are sucient to know when two triangles are
congruent.

Label Description Diagram

RHS If the hypotenuse and one side of
a right-angled triangle are equal
to the hypotenuse and the respec-
tive side of another triangle, then
Figu
the triangles are congruent.

SSS If three sides of a triangle are

equal in length to the same sides
of another triangle, then the two
triangles are congruent
Figu

SAS If two sides and the included an-

gle of one triangle are equal to the
same two sides and included an-
gle of another triangle, then the
Figu
two triangles are congruent.

continued on next page

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202 CHAPTER 13. GEOMETRY BASICS

AAS If one side and two angles of one

triangle are equal to the same one
side and two angles of another tri-
angle, then the two triangles are
Figu
congruent.

Table 13.5

13.4.1.3 Similar Triangles

Two triangles are called similar if it is possible to proportionally shrink or stretch one of them to a triangle
congruent to the other. Congruent triangles are similar triangles, but similar triangles are only congruent if
they are the same size to begin with.

Description Diagram
If all three pairs of corresponding angles of two tri-
angles are equal, then the triangles are similar.

Figure 13.41

If all pairs of corresponding sides of two triangles

are in proportion, then the triangles are similar.

Figure 13.42

x
p = y
q = z
r

Table 13.6

13.4.1.4 The theorem of Pythagoras

Figure 13.43

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 203

^
If [U+25B5]ABC is right-angled (B = 90◦ ) then b2 = a2 + c2
^
Converse: If b2 = a2 + c2 , then [U+25B5]ABC is right-angled (B = 90◦ ).
Exercise 13.3: Triangles (Solution on p. 211.)
In the following gure, determine if the two triangles are congruent, then use the result to help
you nd the unknown letters.

Figure 13.44

13.4.1.4.1 Triangles
1. Calculate the unknown variables in each of the following gures. All lengths are in mm.

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204 CHAPTER 13. GEOMETRY BASICS

Figure 13.45

9
Click here for the solution
2. State whether or not the following pairs of triangles are congruent or not. Give reasons for your
answers. If there is not enough information to make a descision, say why.

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 205

Figure 13.46

10
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13.4.1.5 Quadrilaterals
A quadrilateral is a four sided gure. There are some special quadrilaterals (trapezium, parallelogram, kite,
rhombus, square, rectangle) which you will learn about in Geometry (Chapter 14).

13.4.1.6 Other polygons

There are many other polygons, some of which are given in the table below.

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206 CHAPTER 13. GEOMETRY BASICS

Sides Name

5 pentagon

6 hexagon

7 heptagon

8 octagon

10 decagon

15 pentadecagon

Table 13.7: Table of some polygons and their number of sides.

Figure 13.47: Examples of other polygons.

13.4.1.7 Angles of Regular Polygons

Polygons need not have all sides the same. When they do, they are called regular polygons. You can calculate
the size of the interior angle of a regular polygon by using:

^ n−2
A= × 180◦ (13.1)
n
^
where n is the number of sides and A is any angle.

Exercise 13.4 (Solution on p. 211.)

Find the size of the interior angles of a regular octagon.

13.5 Summary
• Make sure you know what the following terms mean: quadrilaterals, vertices, sides, angles, parallel
lines, perpendicular lines,diagonals, bisectors and transversals.
• The properties of triangles has been covered.
• Congruency and similarity of triangles
• Angles can be classied as acute, right, obtuse, straight, reex or revolution
• Theorem of Pythagoras which is used to calculate the lengths of sides of a right-angled triangle
• Angles:

· Acute angle: An angle 0◦ and 90◦

· Right angle: An angle measuring 90◦
Obtuse angle: An angle 90 and 180
◦ ◦
·
Straight angle: An angle measuring 180
◦
·
Reex angle: An angle 180 and 360
◦ ◦
·
Revolution: An angle measuring 360
◦
·

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 207

• There are several properties of angles and some special names for these
• There are four types of triangles: Equilateral, isoceles, right-angled and scalene
• The angles in a triangle add up to 180◦

13.6 Exercises
1. Find all the pairs of parallel lines in the following gures, giving reasons in each case.

a.

Figure 13.48

b.

Figure 13.49

c.

Figure 13.50

11
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2. Find angles a, b, c and d in each case, giving reasons.

a.

Figure 13.51

b.

Figure 13.52

c.

Figure 13.53

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208 CHAPTER 13. GEOMETRY BASICS

12
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3. Say which of the following pairs of triangles are congruent with reasons.

a.

Figure 13.54

b.

Figure 13.55

c.

Figure 13.56

d.

Figure 13.57

13
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4. Identify the types of angles shown below (e.g. acute/obtuse etc):

Figure 13.58

14
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5. Calculate the size of the third angle (x) in each of the diagrams below:

Figure 13.59

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 209

15
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6. Name each of the shapes/polygons, state how many sides each has and whether it is regular (equiangular
and equilateral) or not:

Figure 13.60

16
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7. Assess whether the following statements are true or false. If the statement is false, explain why:

a. An angle is formed when two straight lines meet at a point.

◦
b. The smallest angle that can be drawn is 5 .
◦
c. An angle of 90 is called a square angle.
◦
d. Two angles whose sum is 180 are called supplementary angles.
e. Two parallel lines will never intersect.
f. A regular polygon has equal angles but not equal sides.
g. An isoceles triangle has three equal sides.
h. If three sides of a triangle are equal in length to the same sides of another triangle, then the two
triangles are incongruent.
i. If three pairs of corresponding angles in two triangles are equal, then the triangles are similar.
17
Click here for the solution
8. Name the type of angle (e.g. acute/obtuse etc) based on it's size:
◦
a. 30
◦
b. 47
◦
c. 90
◦
d. 91
◦
e. 191
◦
f. 360
◦
g. 180
18
Click here for the solution
9. Using Pythagoras' theorem for right-angled triangles, calculate the length of x:

Figure 13.61

19
Click here for the solution

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210 CHAPTER 13. GEOMETRY BASICS

13.6.1 Challenge Problem

◦
1. Using the gure below, show that the sum of the three angles in a triangle is 180 . Line DE is parallel
to BC .

Figure 13.62

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 211

Solutions to Exercises in Chapter 13

Solution to Exercise 13.1 (p. 195)
◦
Step 1. AB k CD. So x = 30 (alternate interior angles)
Step 2.

160 + y = 180
◦ (13.2)
y = 20
(co-interior angles on the same side)

Solution to Exercise 13.2 (p. 195)

Step 1. Line EF cannot be parallel to either AB or CD since it cuts both these lines. Lines AB and CD may
be parallel.
Step 2. We can show that two lines are parallel if we can nd one of the pairs of special angles. We know that
Θ ◦
E 2 = 25 (opposite angles). And then we note that

Θ Θ
E2 = F4
◦
(13.3)
= 25

So we have shown that AB k CD (corresponding angles)

Solution to Exercise 13.3 (p. 203)

Θ Θ ◦ ◦
Step 1. D E C = B A C = 55 (angles in a triangle add up to 180 ).
Θ Θ ◦
A B C = C D E = 90 (given)
DE = AB = 3 (given)

∴ ∆ABC ≡ ∆CDE (13.4)

Step 2. We use Pythagoras to nd x:

CE
2
= DE
2
+ DC2
52 = 3 2 + x2
(13.5)
x2 = 16
x = 4
◦
y = 35 (angles in a triangle)
z = 5 (congruent triangles, AC = CE)
Solution to Exercise 13.4 (p. 206)
Step 1. An octagon has 8 sides.
Step 2.
^
A = n−2
n × 180◦
^
A = 8−2
8 × 180◦
(13.6)
^
A = 6
2 × 180◦
^
A = 135◦

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212 CHAPTER 13. GEOMETRY BASICS

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Chapter 14

Geometry 1

14.1 Introduction
Geometry (Greek: geo = earth, metria = measure) arose as the eld of knowledge dealing with spatial
relationships. It was one of the two elds of pre-modern mathematics, the other being the study of numbers.
In modern times, geometric concepts have become very complex and abstract and are barely recognizable as
the descendants of early geometry. Geometry is often split into Euclidean geometry and analytical geometry.
Euclidean geometry is covered in this chapter.

14.1.1 Research Project : History of Geometry

Work in pairs or groups and investigate the history of the foundation of geometry. Describe the various
stages of development and how the following cultures used geometry to improve their lives. This list should
serve as a guideline and provide the minimum requirement, there are many other people who contributed to
the foundation of geometry.

1. Ancient Indian geometry (c. 3000 - 500 B.C.)

a. Harappan geometry
b. Vedic geometry

2. Classical Greek geometry (c. 600 - 300 B.C.)

a. Thales and Pythagoras

b. Plato

3. Hellenistic geometry (c. 300 B.C - 500 C.E.)

a. Euclid
b. Archimedes

14.2 Quadrilaterals
In this section we will look at the properties of some special quadrilaterals. We will then use these properties
to solve geometrical problems. It should be noted that although all the properties of a gure are given, we
only need one unique property of the quadrilateral to prove that it is that quadrilateral. For example, if we
have a quadrilateral with two pairs of opposite sides parallel, then that quadrilateral is a parallelogram. We
can then prove the other properties of the quadrilateral using what we have learnt about parallel lines and
triangles.

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213
214 CHAPTER 14. GEOMETRY

14.2.1 Trapezium
A trapezium is a quadrilateral with one pair of parallel opposite sides. It may also be called a trapezoid. A
special type of trapezium is the isosceles trapezium, where one pair of opposite sides is parallel, the other pair
of sides is equal in length and the angles at the ends of each parallel side are equal. An isosceles trapezium
has one line of symmetry and its diagonals are equal in length.
Note: The term trapezoid is predominantly used in North America and refers to what we call a trapezium.
Rather confusingly, they use the term 'trapezium' to refer to a general irregular quadrilateral, that is a
quadrilateral with no parallel sides!

Figure 14.1: Examples of trapeziums.

14.2.2 Parallelogram
A trapezium with both sets of opposite sides parallel is called a parallelogram. A summary of the properties
of a parallelogram is:

• Both pairs of opposite sides are parallel.

• Both pairs of opposite sides are equal in length.
• Both pairs of opposite angles are equal.
• Both diagonals bisect each other (i.e. they cut each other in half ).

Figure 14.2: An example of a parallelogram.

14.2.3 Rectangle
A rectangle is a parallelogram that has all four angles equal to 90◦ . A summary of the properties of a
rectangle is:

• Both pairs of opposite sides are parallel.

• Both pairs of opposite sides are of equal length.

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 215

• Both diagonals bisect each other.

• Diagonals are equal in length.
• All angles at the corners are right angles.

Figure 14.3: Example of a rectangle.

14.2.4 Rhombus
A rhombus is a parallelogram that has all four sides of equal length. A summary of the properties of a
rhombus is:

• Both pairs of opposite sides are parallel.

• All sides are equal in length.
• Both pairs of opposite angles are equal.
• Both diagonals bisect each other at 90◦ .
• Diagonals of a rhombus bisect both pairs of opposite angles.

Figure 14.4: An example of a rhombus. A rhombus is a parallelogram with all sides equal.

14.2.5 Square
A square is a rhombus that has all four angles equal to 90 .
◦

A summary of the properties of a square is:

• Both pairs of opposite sides are parallel.

• All sides are equal in length.
• All angles are equal to 90◦ .
• Both pairs of opposite angles are equal.
• Both diagonals bisect each other at 90◦ .

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216 CHAPTER 14. GEOMETRY

• Diagonals are equal in length.

• Diagonals bisect both pairs of opposite angles (ie. all 45◦ ).

Figure 14.5: An example of a square. A square is a rhombus with all angles equal to 90◦ .

14.2.6 Kite
A kite is a quadrilateral with two pairs of adjacent sides equal.
A summary of the properties of a kite is:

• Two pairs of adjacent sides are equal in length.

• One pair of opposite angles are equal where the angles are between unequal sides.
• One diagonal bisects the other diagonal and one diagonal bisects one pair of opposite angles.
• Diagonals intersect at right-angles.

Figure 14.6: An example of a kite.

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 217

Rectangles are a special case (or a subset) of parallelograms. Rectangles are parallelograms that have all
angles equal to 90. Squares are a special case (or subset) of rectangles. Squares are rectangles that have all
sides equal in length. So all squares are parallelograms and rectangles. So if you are asked to prove that a
quadrilateral is a parallelogram, it is enough to show that both pairs of opposite sides are parallel. But if
you are asked to prove that a quadrilateral is a square, then you must also show that the angles are all right
angles and the sides are equal in length.

14.3 Polygons
Polygons are all around us. A stop sign is in the shape of an octagon, an eight-sided polygon. The honeycomb
of a beehive consists of hexagonal cells. The top of a desk is a rectangle. Note that although in the rst
two of these cases the sides of the polygon are all the same, but this need not be the case. Polygons with
all sides and angles the same are called 'regular', while those with some sides or angles that are dierent are
called 'irregular'. Although we often work with irregular triangles and quadrilaterals, once one gets up to
polygons with greater than four sides, the more interesting ones are often the regular ones.
In this section, you will learn about similar polygons.

14.3.1 Similarity of Polygons

14.3.1.1 Discussion : Similar Triangles
Fill in the table using the diagram and then answer the questions that follow.

^ ^
AB ...cm
DE = ...cm = ... A=...◦ D...◦
^ ^
BC ...cm
EF = ...cm = ... B =...◦ E =...◦
^ ^
AC ...cm
DF = ...cm = ... C ...◦ F =...◦

Table 14.1

Figure 14.7

AB BC AC
1. What can you say about the numbers you calculated for:
DE , EF , DF ?
^ ^
2. What can you say about A and D?
^ ^
3. What can you say about B and E?
^ ^
4. What can you say about C and F?

If two polygons are similar, one is an enlargement of the other. This means that the two polygons will have
the same angles and their sides will be in the same proportion.
We use the symbol ||| to mean is similar to.
Denition 14.1: Similar Polygons
Two polygons are similar if:

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218 CHAPTER 14. GEOMETRY

1. their corresponding angles are equal, and

2. the ratios of corresponding sides are equal.

Exercise 14.1: Similarity of Polygons (Solution on p. 255.)

Show that the following two polygons are similar.

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 219

Figure 14.8
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220 CHAPTER 14. GEOMETRY

tip: All squares are similar.

Exercise 14.2: Similarity of Polygons (Solution on p. 255.)

If two pentagons ABCDE and GHJKL are similar, determine the lengths of the sides and angles
labelled with letters:

Figure 14.9

14.3.1.2 Activity: Similarity of Equilateral Triangles

Working in pairs, show that all equilateral triangles are similar.

14.3.1.3 Polygons-mixed
1. Find the values of the unknowns in each case. Give reasons.

Figure 14.10

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 221

2
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2. Find the angles and lengths marked with letters in the following gures:

Figure 14.11

3
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14.4 Investigation: Dening polygons

Investigate the dierent ways of dening polygons. Polygons that you should pay special attention to are:

• Isoceles, equilateral and right-angled triangle

• Kites, parallelograms, rectangles, rhombuses (or 'rhombi'), squares and trapeziums

Things to consider are how these gures have been dened in this book and what alternative denitions
exist. For example, a triangle is a three-sided polygon or a gure having three sides and three angles.
Triangles can be classied using either their sides or their angles. Could you also classify quadrilaterals in
this way? What other names exist for these gures? For example, quadrilaterals can also be called tetragons.

14.5 Proofs and conjectures in geometry

You have seen how to use geometry and the properties of polygons to help you nd unknown lengths and
angles in various quadrilaterals and polygons. We will now extend this work to proving some of the properties
and to solving riders. A conjecture is the mathematicians way of saying I believe that this is true, but I have
no proof. The following worked examples will help make this clearer.

Exercise 14.3: Proofs - 1 (Solution on p. 256.)

^ ^
Given quadrilateral ABCD, with AB k CD and AD k BC , prove that B A D = B C A and
^ ^
A B C = A D C.
Proofs - 2 14.4 (Solution on p. 257.)
In parallelogram ABCD, the bisectors of the angles (AW, BX, CY and DZ) have been constructed:

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222 CHAPTER 14. GEOMETRY

Figure 14.12

^ ^ ^ ^
You are also given that AB = CD, AD = BC, AB k CD, AD k BC, A=C , and B =D . Prove
that MNOP is a parallelogram.

warning: It is very important to note that a single counter example disproves a conjecture. Also
numerous specic supporting examples do not prove a conjecture.

14.6 Measurement
14.6.1 Areas of Polygons
1
1. Area of triangle:
2 × base × perpendicular height

Figure 14.13

1
2. Area of trapezium:
2 × (sum of k (parallel) sides) × perpendicular height

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 223

Figure 14.14

3. Area of parallelogram and rhombus: base × perpendicular height

Figure 14.15

4. Area of rectangle: length × breadth

Figure 14.16

5. Area of square: length of side × length of side

Figure 14.17

2
6. Area of circle: π x radius

Figure 14.18

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224 CHAPTER 14. GEOMETRY

Khan Academy video on area and perimeter

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Figure 14.19

Khan Academy video on area of a circle

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Figure 14.20

Exercise 14.5: Finding areas (Solution on p. 260.)

Find the area of the following gure:

Figure 14.21

14.6.1.1 Polygons
1. For each case below, say whether the statement is true or false. For false statements, give a counter-
example to prove it:

a. All squares are rectangles

b. All rectangles are squares
c. All pentagons are similar
d. All equilateral triangles are similar
e. All pentagons are congruent

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 225

f. All equilateral triangles are congruent

4
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2 2
2. Find the areas of each of the given gures - remember area is measured in square units (cm , m ,
2
mm ).

Figure 14.22

5
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14.7 Right prisms and cylinders

In this section we study how to calculate the surface areas and volumes of right prisms and cylinders. A right
prism is a polygon that has been stretched out into a tube so that the height of the tube is perpendicular to
the base (the denition is motivated by the fact that the angle between base and side form a right angle).
A square prism has a base that is a square and a triangular prism has a base that is a triangle.

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226 CHAPTER 14. GEOMETRY

Figure 14.23: Examples of a right square prism, a right triangular prism and a cylinder.

It is relatively simple to calculate the surface areas and volumes of prisms.

14.7.1 Surface Area

The term surface area refers to the total area of the exposed or outside surfaces of a prism. This is easier to
understand if you imagine the prism as a solid object.
If you examine the prisms in Figure 14.23, you will see that each face of a prism is a simple polygon. For
example, the triangular prism has two faces that are triangles and three faces that are rectangles. Therefore,
in order to calculate the surface area of a prism you simply have to calculate the area of each face and add
it up. In the case of a cylinder the top and bottom faces are circles, while the curved surface attens into a
rectangle.
Surface Area of Prisms
Calculate the area of each face and add the areas together to get the surface area. To do this you need to
determine the correct shape of each and every face of the prism and then for each one determine the surface
area. The sum of the surface areas of all the faces will give you the total surface area of the prism.

14.7.1.1 Discussion : surface areas

In pairs, study the following prisms and the adjacent image showing the various surfaces that make up the
prism. Explain to your partner, how each relates to the other.

Figure 14.24

14.7.1.2 Activity: Surface areas

Find (or take one yourself ) a picture of a building that does not have a well dened shape (i.e. is not simply
a rectangle). For example a castle with towers, or a house with gable windows or a porch. Assume you have
to paint the outside of the building. How much paint would you need? Think about what you have learnt
about surface area and the area of polygons. Can you nd regular polygons on your picture and use those
to nd the surface area?

14.7.1.3 Surface areas

1. Calculate the surface area in each of the following:

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 227

Figure 14.25

6
Click here for the solution
2. If a litre of paint covers an area of 2m2 , how much paint does a painter need to cover:

a. A rectangular swimming pool with dimensions 4m × 3m × 2, 5m, inside walls and oor only.
b. The inside walls and oor of a circular reservoir with diameter 4m and height 2, 5m

Figure 14.26

7
Click here for the solution

14.7.2 Volume
The volume of a right prism is calculated by multiplying the area of the base by the height. So, for a square
prism of side length a and height h the volume is a × a × h = a2 h.
Volume of Prisms
Calculate the area of the base and multiply by the height to get the volume of a prism.

Exercise 14.6 (Solution on p. 260.)

Find the surface area and volume for the a square prism of height 4 cm and base length, 3 cm.
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228 CHAPTER 14. GEOMETRY

Figure 14.27

14.7.2.1 Volume
1. Write down the formula for each of the following volumes:

Figure 14.28

8
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2. Calculate the following volumes:

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 229

Figure 14.29

9
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3. A cube is a special prism that has all edges equal. This means that each face is a square. An example
of a cube is a die. Show that for a cube with side length a, the surface area is 6a2 and the volume is
3
a .

Figure 14.30

10
Click here for the solution

Now, what happens to the surface area if one dimension is multiplied by a constant? For example, how does
the surface area change when the height of a rectangular prism is divided by 2?

Figure 14.31: Rectangular prisms

Surface area = 2 (l × h + l × b + b × h) Surface area = 2 l × 12 h + l × b + b × 21 h

Volume = l × b × 21 h
Volume = l × b × h
= 1
2 ×l×b×h
Table 14.2

Exercise 14.7: Scaling the dimensions of a prism (Solution on p. 261.)

The size of a prism is specied by the length of its sides. The prism in the diagram has sides of
lengths L, b and h.

Figure 14.32

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230 CHAPTER 14. GEOMETRY

1. Consider enlarging all sides of the prism by a constant factor x, where x > 1. Calculate the
volume and surface area of the enlarged prism as a function of the factor x and the volume
of the original volume.
2. In the same way as above now consider the case, where 0 < x < 1. Now calculate the
reduction factor in the volume and the surface area.

When the length of one of the sides is multiplied by a constant the eect is to multiply the original volume
by that constant, as for the example in Figure 14.31.

14.8 Right Pyramids, Right Cones and Spheres

A pyramid is a geometric solid that has a polygon base and the base is joined to a point, called the apex.
Two examples of pyramids are shown in the left-most and centre gures in . The right-most gure has an
apex which is joined to a circular base and this type of geometric solid is called a cone. Cones are similar to
pyramids except that their bases are circles instead of polygons.

Figure 14.33: Examples of a square pyramid, a triangular pyramid and a cone.

Surface Area of a Pyramid

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Figure 14.34

The surface area of a pyramid is calculated by adding the area of each face together.

Exercise 14.8: Surface Area (Solution on√p. 261.)

If a cone has a height of h and a base of radius r, show that the surface area is πr2 + πr r2 + h2 .
Volume of a Pyramid: The volume of a pyramid is found by:

1
V = A·h (14.1)
3
where A is the area of the base and h is the height.
A cone is like a pyramid, so the volume of a cone is given by:

1 2
V = πr h. (14.2)
3
A square pyramid has volume

1 2
V = a h (14.3)
3
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 231

where a is the side length of the square base.

Exercise 14.9: Volume of a Pyramid (Solution on p. 265.)

What is the volume of a square pyramid, 3cm high with a side length of 2cm?

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232 CHAPTER 14. GEOMETRY

Figure 14.35
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 233

We accept the following formulae for volume and surface area of a sphere (ball).

Surface area = 4πr2

(14.4)
Volume = 4
3 πr
3

Exercise 14.10 (Solution on p. 265.)

A triangular pyramid is placed on top of a triangular prism. The prism has an equilateral triangle
of side length 20 cm as a base, and has a height of 42 cm. The pyramid has a height of 12 cm.

a. Find the total volume of the object.

b. Find the area of each face of the pyramid.
c. Find the total surface area of the object.

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234 CHAPTER 14. GEOMETRY

Figure 14.36
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 235

14.8.1 Surface Area and Volume

1. Calculate the volumes and surface areas of the following solids: *Hint for (e): nd the perpendicular
height using Pythagoras.

Figure 14.37

11
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2. Water covers approximately 71% of the Earth's surface. Taking the radius of the Earth to be 6378 km,
what is the total area of land (area not covered by water)?
12
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14.9 Transformations - Enrichment, not in CAPS

In this section you will learn about how the co-ordinates of a point change when the point is moved hori-
zontally and vertically on the Cartesian plane. You will also learn about what happens to the co-ordinates
of a point when it is reected on the x-axis, y -axis and the line y = x.

14.9.1 Translation of a Point

When something is moved in a straight line, we say that it is translated. You will recall that the term
'translation' was also mentioned in the section on functions to refer to what happens when an entire function
is shifted in a straight line. What happens to the co-ordinates of a point that is translated horizontally or
vertically?

14.9.1.1 Discussion : Translation of a Point Vertically

Complete the table, by lling in the co-ordinates of the points shown in the gure.

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236 CHAPTER 14. GEOMETRY

Figure 14.38

Point x co-ordinate y co-ordinate

A

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 237

Table 14.3

What do you notice about the x co-ordinates? What do you notice about the y co-ordinates? What
would happen to the co-ordinates of point A, if it was moved to the position of point G?
When a point is moved vertically up or down on the Cartesian plane, the x co-ordinate of the point
remains the same, but the y co-ordinate changes by the amount that the point was moved up or down.
For example, in list, p. 215 Point A is moved 4 units upwards to the position marked by G. The new x
co-ordinate of point A is the same (x=1), but the new y co-ordinate is shifted in the positive y direction 4
units and becomes y =-2+4=2. The new co-ordinates of point A are therefore G(1;2). Similarly, for point
B that is moved downwards by 5 units, the x co-ordinate is the same (x = −2, 5), but the y co-ordinate is
shifted in the negative y -direction by 5 units. The new y co-ordinate is thereforey =2,5 -5=-2,5.

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238 CHAPTER 14. GEOMETRY

Figure 14.39: Point A is moved 4 units upwards to the position marked by G. Point B is moved 5 units
downwards to the position marked by H.

tip: If a point is shifted upwards, the new y co-ordinate is given by adding the shift to the old y
co-ordinate. If a point is shifted downwards, the new y co-ordinate is given by subtracting the shift
from the old y co-ordinate.

14.9.1.2 Discussion : Translation of a Point Horizontally

Complete the table, by lling in the co-ordinates of the points shown in the gure.

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 239

Figure 14.40

Point x co-ordinate y co-ordinate

A

Table 14.4

What do you notice about the x co-ordinates? What do you notice about the y co-ordinates?
What would happen to the co-ordinates of point A, if it was moved to the position of point G?
When a point is moved horizontally left or right on the Cartesian plane, the y co-ordinate of the point
remains the same, but the x co-ordinate changes by the amount that the point was moved left or right.
For example, in Figure 14.41 Point A is moved 4 units right to the position marked by G. The new y
co-ordinate of point A is the same (y =1), but the new x co-ordinate is shifted in the positive x direction 4
units and becomes x=-2+4=2. The new co-ordinate of point A at G is therefore (2;1). Similarly, for point
B that is moved left by 5 units, the y co-ordinate is the same (y = −2, 5), but the x co-ordinate is shifted in
the negative x-direction by 5 units. The new x co-ordinate is therefore x=2,5 -5=-2,5. The new co-ordinates
of point B at H is therefore (-2,5;1).

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240 CHAPTER 14. GEOMETRY

Figure 14.41: Point A is moved 4 units to the right to the position marked by G. Point B is moved 5
units to the left to the position marked by H.

tip: If a point is shifted to the right, the new x co-ordinate is given by adding the shift to the old
x co-ordinate. If a point is shifted to the left, the new x co-ordinate is given by subtracting the
shift from the old x co-ordinate.

14.9.2 Reection of a Point

When you stand in front of a mirror your reection is located the same distance (d) behind the mirror as
you are standing in front of the mirror.

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 241

Figure 14.42

We can apply the same idea to a point that is reected on the x-axis, the y -axis and the line y = x.

14.9.2.1 Reection on the x-axis

If a point is reected on the x-axis, then the reection must be the same distance below the x-axis as the
point is above the x-axis and vice-versa, as though it were a mirror image.

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242 CHAPTER 14. GEOMETRY

Figure 14.43: Points A and B are reected on the x-axis. The original points are shown with • and
the reected points are shown with ◦.

tip: When a point is reected about the x-axis, only the y co-ordinate of the point changes.

Exercise 14.11: Reection on the x-axis (Solution on p. 266.)

Find the co-ordinates of the reection of the point P, if P is reected on the x-axis. The co-ordinates
of P are (5;10).

14.9.2.2 Reection on the y-axis

If a point is reected on the y -axis, then the reection must be the same distance to the left of the y -axis as
the point is to the right of the y -axis and vice-versa.

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 243

Figure 14.44: Points A and B are reected on the y-axis. The original points are shown with • and
the reected points are shown with ◦.

tip: When a point is reected on the y -axis, only the x co-ordinate of the point changes. The y
co-ordinate remains unchanged.

Exercise 14.12: Reection on the y-axis (Solution on p. 266.)

Find the co-ordinates of the reection of the point Q, if Q is reected on the y -axis. The co-ordinates
of Q are (15;5).

14.9.2.3 Reection on the line y = x

The nal type of reection you will learn about is the reection of a point on the line y = x.

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244 CHAPTER 14. GEOMETRY

14.9.2.3.1 Casestudy : Reection of a point on the line y = x

Figure 14.45

Study the information given and complete the following table:

Point Reection
A (2;1) (1;2)

(-1 ;-2)
1 1
B (-2;-1 )
2 2
C (-1;1)

D (2;-3)

Table 14.5

What can you deduce about the co-ordinates of points that are reected about the line y = x?
The x and y co-ordinates of points that are reected on the line y =x are swapped around, or inter-
changed. This means that the x co-ordinate of the original point becomes the y co-ordinate of the reected
point and the y co-ordinate of the original point becomes the x co-ordinate of the reected point.

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 245

Figure 14.46: Points A and B are reected on the line y = x. The original points are shown with •
and the reected points are shown with ◦.

tip: The x and y co-ordinates of points that are reected on the line y=x are interchanged.

Exercise 14.13: Reection on the line y = x (Solution on p. 266.)

Find the co-ordinates of the reection of the point R, if R is reected on the line y = x. The
co-ordinates of R are (-5;5).

Rules of Translation
A quick way to write a translation is to use a 'rule of translation'. For example (x; y) → (x + a; y + b)
means translate point (x;y) by moving a units horizontally and b units vertically.

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246 CHAPTER 14. GEOMETRY

So if we translate (1;2) by the rule (x; y) → (x + 3; y − 1) it becomes (4;1). We have moved 3 units right
and 1 unit down.
Translating a Region
To translate a region, we translate each point in the region.
Example
Region A has been translated to region B by the rule: (x; y) → (x + 4; y + 2)

Figure 14.47

14.9.2.3.2 Discussion : Rules of Transformations

Work with a friend and decide which item from column 1 matches each description in column 2.

Column 1 Column 2
1.(x; y) → (x; y − 3) A. a reection on x-y line

2. (x; y) → (x − 3; y) B. a reection on the x axis

3. (x; y) → (x; −y) C. a shift of 3 units left

4. (x; y) → (−x; y) D. a shift of 3 units down

5. (x; y) → (y; x) E. a reection on the y-axis

Table 14.6

14.9.2.3.3 Transformations
1. Describe the translations in each of the following using the rule (x;y)→ (...;...)

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 247

Figure 14.48

a. From A to B
b. From C to J
c. From F to H
d. From I to J
e. From K to L
f. From J to E
g. From G to H

13
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248 CHAPTER 14. GEOMETRY

2. A is the point (4;1). Plot each of the following points under the given transformations. Give the
co-ordinates of the points you have plotted.

a. B is the reection of A in the x-axis.

b. C is the reection of A in the y-axis.
c. D is the reection of B in the line x=0.
d. E is the reection of C is the line y=0.
e. F is the reection of A in the line y= x
14
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3. In the diagram, B, C and D are images of polygon A. In each case, the transformation that has been
applied to obtain the image involves a reection and a translation of A. Write down the letter of each
image and describe the transformation applied to A in order to obtain the image.

Figure 14.49

15
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14.9.2.3.4 Investigation : Calculation of Volume, Surface Area and scale factors of objects
1. Look around the house or school and nd a can or a tin of any kind (e.g. beans, soup, cooldrink, paint
etc.)
2. Measure the height of the tin and the diameter of its top or bottom.
3. Write down the values you measured on the diagram below:

Figure 14.50

2
4. Using your measurements, calculate the following (in cm , rounded o to 2 decimal places):

a. the area of the side of the tin (i.e. the rectangle)

b. the area of the top and bottom of the tin (i.e. the circles)
c. the total surface area of the tin
2
5. If the tin metal costs 0,17 cents/cm , how much does it cost to make the tin?
3
6. Find the volume of your tin (in cm , rounded o to 2 decimal places).
7. What is the volume of the tin given on its label?
8. Compare the volume you calculated with the value given on the label. How much air is contained in
the tin when it contains the product (i.e. cooldrink, soup etc.)
9. Why do you think space is left for air in the tin?
10. If you wanted to double the volume of the tin, but keep the radius the same, by how much would you
need to increase the height?

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 249

11. If the height of the tin is kept the same, but now the radius is doubled, by what scale factor will the:

a. area of the side surface of the tin increase?

b. area of the bottom/top of the tin increase?

14.10 Summary
• The properties of kites, rhombuses, parallelograms, squares, rectangles and trapeziums was covered.
These gures are all known as quadrilaterals
• You should know the formulae for surface area of rectangular and triangular prisms as well as cylinders
• The volume of a right prism is calculated by multiplying the area of the base by the height. So, for a
square prism of side length a and height h the volume is a × a × h = a2 h.
• Two polygons are similar if:

· their corresponding angles are equal

· the ratios of corresponding sides are equal

. All squares are similar

14.11 End of Chapter Exercises

1. Assess whether the following statements are true or false. If the statement is false, explain why:

a. A trapezium is a quadrilateral with two pairs of parallel opposite sides.

b. Both diagonals of a parallelogram bisect each other.
◦
c. A rectangle is a parallelogram that has all four corner angles equal to 60 .
d. The four sides of a rhombus have dierent lengths.
e. The diagonals of a kite intersect at right angles.
f. Two polygons are similar if only their corresponding angles are equal.
16
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2. Calculate the area of each of the following shapes:

Figure 14.51

17
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3. Calculate the surface area and volume of each of the following objects (assume that all faces/surfaces
are solid  e.g. surface area of cylinder will include circular areas at top and bottom):

Figure 14.52

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250 CHAPTER 14. GEOMETRY

18
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4. Calculate the surface area and volume of each of the following objects (assume that all faces/surfaces
are solid):

Figure 14.53

19
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5. Using the rules given, identify the type of transformation and draw the image of the shapes.

a. (x;y)→(x+3;y-3)

Figure 14.54

b. (x;y)→(x-4;y)

Figure 14.55

c. (x;y)→(y;x)

Figure 14.56

d. (x;y)→(-x;-y)

Figure 14.57

20
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 251

6. PQRS is a quadrilateral with points P(0; −3) ; Q(−2;5) ; R(3;2) and S(3;2) in the Cartesian plane.

a. Find the length of QR.

b. Find the gradient of PS.
c. Find the midpoint of PR.
d. Is PQRS a parallelogram? Give reasons for your answer.
21
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7. A(2;3) and B(2;6) are points in the Cartesian plane. C(a;b) is the midpoint of AB. Find the values
of a and b.
22
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8. Consider: Triangle ABC with vertices A (1; 3) B (4; 1) and C (6; 4):

a. Sketch triangle ABC on the Cartesian plane.

b. Show that ABC is an isoceles triangle.
c. Determine the co-ordinates of M, the midpoint of AC.
d. Determine the gradient of AB.
e. Show that the following points are collinear: A, B and D(7;-1)
23
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9. In the diagram, A is the point (-6;1) and B is the point (0;3)

Figure 14.58

a. Find the equation of line AB

b. Calculate the length of AB
c. A' is the image of A and B' is the image of B. Both these images are obtain by applying the
transformation: (x;y)→(x-4;y-1). Give the coordinates of both A' and B'
d. Find the equation of A'B'
e. Calculate the length of A'B'
f. Can you state with certainty that AA'B'B is a parallelogram? Justify your answer.

24
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10. The vertices of triangle PQR have co-ordinates as shown in the diagram.

Figure 14.59

a. Give the co-ordinates of P', Q' and R', the images of P, Q and R when P, Q and R are reected
in the line y=x.

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252 CHAPTER 14. GEOMETRY

b. Determine the area of triangle PQR.

25
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11. Which of the following claims are true? Give a counter-example for those that are incorrect.

a. All equilateral triangles are similar.

b. All regular quadrilaterals are similar.
c. In any [U+25B5]ABC with ∠ABC = 90◦ we have AB 3 + BC 3 = CA3 .
d. All right-angled isosceles triangles with perimeter 10 cm are congruent.
e. All rectangles with the same area are similar.
26
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12. For each pair of gures state whether they are similar or not. Give reasons.

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 253

Figure 14.60

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254 CHAPTER 14. GEOMETRY

27
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 255

Solutions to Exercises in Chapter 14

Solution to Exercise 14.1 (p. 218)
Step 1. We are required to show that the pair of polygons is similar. We can do this by showing that the ratio
of corresponding sides is equal and by showing that corresponding angles are equal.
Step 2. We are given the angles. So, we can show that corresponding angles are equal.
◦
Step 3. All angles are given to be 90 and

^ ^
A = E
^ ^
B = F
(14.5)
^ ^
C = G
^ ^
D = H
Step 4. We rst need to see which sides correspond. The rectangles have two equal long sides and two equal
short sides. We need to compare the ratio of the long side lengths of the two dierent rectangles as
well as the ratio of the short side lenghts.
Long sides, large rectangle values over small rectangle values:

Ratio = 2L
L
(14.6)
= 2
Short sides, large rectangle values over small rectangle values:

Ratio = L
1
2L

= 1
1 (14.7)
2

= 2
The ratios of the corresponding sides are equal, 2 in this case.
Step 5. Since corresponding angles are equal and the ratios of the corresponding sides are equal the polygons
ABCD and EFGH are similar.

Solution to Exercise 14.2 (p. 220)

Step 1. We are given that ABCDE and GHJKL are similar. This means that:

AB BC CD DE EA
= = = = (14.8)
GH HJ JK KL LG
and

^ ^
A = G
^ ^
B = H
^ ^
C = J (14.9)

^ ^
D = K
^ ^
E = L
Step 2. We are required to determine the

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 256 CHAPTER 14. GEOMETRY

a. a, b, c and d, and
b. e, f and g .
The corresponding angles are equal, so no calculation is needed. We are given one pair of sides DC
and KJ that correspond. DC
KJ = 4,5
3 = 1, 5 so we know that all sides of KJHGL are 1,5 times smaller
than ABCDE .
Step 4.
a
2 = 1, 5 ∴ a = 2 × 1, 5 = 3
b
1,5 = 1, 5 ∴ b = 1, 5 × 1, 5 = 2, 25
(14.10)
6
c = 1, 5 ∴ c = 6 ÷ 1, 5 = 4
d= 3
1,5 ∴ d=2
Step 5.

e = 92◦ (corresponds to H)
f = 120◦ (corresponds to D) (14.11)

g = 40◦ (corresponds to E)
Step 6.

a = 3
b = 2, 25
c = 4
d = 2 (14.12)

e = 92 ◦

f = 120◦
g = 40◦

Solution to Exercise 14.3 (p. 221)

Step 1. We draw the following diagram and construct the diagonals.

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 257

Figure 14.61

Step 2. Given: AB k CD and AD k BC . We need to prove A=C and B = D. In the formal language of
^ ^ ^ ^
maths we say that we are required to prove (RTP) BAD=BCA and A B C = A D C.
Step 3.
^ ^
BAC = ACD (corresponding angles)
^ ^
DAC = BCA (corresponding angles) (14.13)

^ ^
BAD = BCA
Similarly we nd that:
^ ^
ABC=ADC (14.14)

Solution to Exercise 14.4 (p. 221)

^ ^ ^ ^
Step 1. Given: AB = CD, AD = BC, AB k CD, AD k BC, A=C , and B =D . RTP: MNOP is a parallelogram.

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 258 CHAPTER 14. GEOMETRY

Step 2.

In [U+25B5] ADW and [U+25B5]CBY

^
DAW
=
^
B C Y (given)
^
ADC
=
^
A B C (given)
AD (14.15)

=
BC (given)
∴ [U+25B5]ADW
=
[U+25B5]CBY (AAS)
∴ DW
=
BY

In [U+25B5] ABX and [U+25B5]CDZ

^
DCZ
=
^
B A X (given)
^
ZDC
=
^
X B A (given)
DC (14.16)

=
AB (given)
∴ [U+25B5]ABX
≡
[U+25B5]CDZ (AAS)
∴ AX
=
CZ

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 259

In [U+25B5] XAM and [U+25B5]ZCO

^
XAM
=
^
Z C O (given)
^
AXM
=
^
C Z O (proven above)
AX (14.17)
=
CZ (proven above)
∴ [U+25B5]XAM
≡
[U+25B5]COZ (AAS)
^
∴ AOC
=
^
AM X

^ ^
AM X = P M N (vert. opp. ∠'s)
^ ^
COZ = N O P (vert. opp. ∠'s) (14.18)

^ ^
∴ P MN = NOP

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 260 CHAPTER 14. GEOMETRY

In [U+25B5] BYN and [U+25B5]DWP

^
Y BN
=
^
W D P (given)
^
BY N
=
^
W D P (proven above)
DW (14.19)
=
BY (proven above)
∴ [U+25B5]YBN
≡
[U+25B5]WDP (AAS)
^
∴ BNY
=
^
DP W

^ ^
DP W = M P O (vert. opp. ∠'s)
^ ^
BNY = O N M (vert. opp. ∠'s) (14.20)

^ ^
∴ MP O = ONM
∴ MNOP is a parallelogram (both pairs opp. ∠'s =, and therefore both pairs opp. sides parallel too)

Solution to Exercise 14.5 (p. 224)

Step 1. We rst need to nd the height, BE, of the parallelogram. We can use Pythagoras to do this:

BE
2
= AB
2
− AE2
BE
2
= 52 − 32
(14.21)
BE
2
= 16
BE = 4

Step 2. We apply the formula for the area of a parallelogram to nd the area:

Area = h×b
= 4×7 (14.22)

= 28

Solution to Exercise 14.6 (p. 227)

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 261

Step 1. We use the formula for the surface area of a prism:

S.A. = 2 [2 (L × b) + (b × h)]
= 2 [2 (3 × 4) + (3 × 4)] (14.23)

= 72 cm 2

Step 2. To nd the volume of the prism, we nd the area of the base and multiply it by the height:

V = l2 × h
= 32 × 4


(14.24)

= 36 cm 3

Solution to Exercise 14.7 (p. 229)

Step 1. The volume of a prism is given by: V =L×b×h
The surface area of the prism is given by: A = 2 × (L × b + L × h + b × h)
Step 2. If all the sides of the prism get rescaled, the new sides will be:

L' = x×L
b' = x×b (14.25)

h' = x×h
The new volume will then be given by:

V' = L' × b' × h'

= x×L×x×b×x×h
(14.26)
= x3 × L × b × h
= x3 × V
The new surface area of the prism will be given by:

= 2 × L' × b' + L' × h' + b' × h'

A'
= 2 × (x × L × x × b + x × L × x × h + x × b × x × h)
(14.27)
= x2 × 2 × (L × b + L × h + b × h)
= x2 × A

Step 3. a. We found above that the new volume is given by: V ' = x3 × V Since x > 1, the volume of the
3
prism will be increased by a factor of x . The surface area of the rescaled prism was given by:
A' = x2 × A Again, since x > 1, the surface area will be increased by a factor of x2 . Surface areas
which are two dimensional increase with the square of the factor while volumes, which are three
dimensional, increase with the cube of the factor.
b. The answer here is based on the same ideas as above. In analogy, since here 0 < x < 1, the
volume will be reduced by a factor of x3 and the surface area will be decreased by a factor of x2
Solution to Exercise 14.8 (p. 230)

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 262 CHAPTER 14. GEOMETRY

Step 1.

Figure 14.62
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 263

Step 2. The cone has two faces: the base and the walls. The base is a circle of radius r and the walls can be
opened out to a sector of a circle.

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264 CHAPTER 14. GEOMETRY

Figure 14.63
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 265

This curved surface can be cut into many thin triangles with height close to a (a is called theslant
height). The area of these triangles will add up to
1
2 × base×height(of a small triangle) which is
1
2 × 2πr × a = πra
Step 3. a can be calculated by using the Theorem of Pythagoras. Therefore:

p
a= r2 + h2 (14.28)

Step 4.
Ab = πr2 (14.29)

Step 5.

Aw = πra
√ (14.30)
= πr r2 + h2
Step 6.

A = Ab + Aw
√ (14.31)
= πr + πr r2 + h2
2

Solution to Exercise 14.9 (p. 231)

Step 1. The volume of a pyramid is

1
V = A · h, (14.32)
3
where A is the area of the base and h is the height of the pyramid. For a square base this means

1
V = a·a·h (14.33)
3
where a is the length of the side of the square base.
Step 2.

= 1
3 ·2·2·3
= 1
3 · 12 (14.34)

= 4cm3

Solution to Exercise 14.10 (p. 233)

Step 1. We use the formula for the volume of a triangular prism:

V = 1
2 bh
2

= 2 2042
1 2 (14.35)

= 17640

Step 2. We use the formula for the volume of a triangular pyramid:

V = 1
6 bh
2

= 6 2042
1 2 (14.36)

= 5880

Step 3. We note that we can simply add the volumes of each of the two shapes. So we obtain: 17640 + 5880 =
23520. This is the answer to part a.

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 266 CHAPTER 14. GEOMETRY

Step 4. We note that we have four triangles that make up the pyramid. So the area of each face is simply:

Area = 1
2 bh
= 2 2042
1 (14.37)

= 420

This is the answer to part b.

Step 5. The total area of the pyramid is simply 4 × 420 = 1680
Step 6. The surface area of the prism is:

Surface area = b×h+2×H ×S+H ×b

= 20 × 20 + 2 × 12 × 20 + 12 × 20 (14.38)

= 1120

Step 7. To nd the total surface area, we must subtract the area of one face of the pyramid from the area of
the prism. We must also subtract the area of one of the triangular faces of the prism. Doing this gives
the total surface area as: 1120 − 420 + 1680 − 420 = 1960 This is the answer to part c.

Solution to Exercise 14.11 (p. 242)

Step 1. We are given the point P with co-ordinates (5;10) and need to nd the co-ordinates of the point if it
is reected on the x-axis.
Step 2. The point P is above the x-axis, therefore its reection will be the same distance below the x-axis as
the point P is above the x-axis. Therefore, y =-10.
For a reection on the x-axis, the x co-ordinate remains unchanged. Therefore, x=5.
Step 3. The co-ordinates of the reected point are (5;-10).

Solution to Exercise 14.12 (p. 243)

Step 1. We are given the point Q with co-ordinates (15;5) and need to nd the co-ordinates of the point if it
is reected on the y -axis.
Step 2. The point Q is to the right of the y -axis, therefore its reection will be the same distance to the left of
the y -axis as the point Q is to the right of the y -axis. Therefore, x=-15.
For a reection on the y -axis, the y co-ordinate remains unchanged. Therefore, y =5.
Step 3. The co-ordinates of the reected point are (-15;5).

Solution to Exercise 14.13 (p. 245)

Step 1. We are given the point R with co-ordinates (-5;5) and need to nd the co-ordinates of the point if it is
reected on the line y = x.
Step 2. The x co-ordinate of the reected point is the y co-ordinate of the original point. Therefore, x=5.
The y co-ordinate of the reected point is the x co-ordinate of the original point. Therefore, y =-5.
Step 3. The co-ordinates of the reected point are (5;-5).

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Chapter 15

Trigonometry 1

15.1 Introduction
In geometry we learn about how the sides of polygons relate to the angles in the polygons, but we have
not learned how to calculate an angle if we only know the lengths of the sides. Trigonometry (pronounced:
trig-oh-nom-eh-tree) deals with the relationship between the angles and the sides of a right-angled triangle.
We will learn about trigonometric functions, which form the basis of trigonometry.

15.1.1 Investigation : History of Trigonometry

Work in pairs or groups and investigate the history of the foundation of trigonometry. Describe the various
stages of development and how the following cultures used trigonometry to improve their lives.
The works of the following people or cultures can be investigated:

1. Cultures

a. Ancient Egyptians
b. Mesopotamians
c. Ancient Indians of the Indus Valley

2. People

a. Lagadha (circa 1350-1200 BC)

b. Hipparchus (circa 150 BC)
c. Ptolemy (circa 100)
d. Aryabhata (circa 499)
e. Omar Khayyam (1048-1131)
f. Bhaskara (circa 1150)
g. Nasir al-Din (13th century)
h. al-Kashi and Ulugh Beg (14th century)
i. Bartholemaeus Pitiscus (1595)

note: You should be familiar with the idea of measuring angles from geometry but have you ever
stopped to think why there are 360 degrees in a circle? The reason is purely historical. There are
360 degrees in a circle because the ancient Babylonians had a number system with base 60. A base
is the number at which you add another digit when you count. The number system that we use
everyday is called the decimal system (the base is 10), but computers use the binary system (the
base is 2). 360 = 6 × 60 so for them it made sense to have 360 degrees in a circle.

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267
268 CHAPTER 15. TRIGONOMETRY

15.2 Where Trigonometry is Used

There are many applications of trigonometry. Of particular value is the technique of triangulation, which
is used in astronomy to measure the distance to nearby stars, in geography to measure distances between
landmarks, and in satellite navigation systems. GPSs (global positioning systems) would not be possible
without trigonometry. Other elds which make use of trigonometry include astronomy (and hence navigation,
on the oceans, in aircraft, and in space), music theory, acoustics, optics, analysis of nancial markets,
electronics, probability theory, statistics, biology, medical imaging (CAT scans and ultrasound), pharmacy,
chemistry, number theory (and hence cryptology), seismology, meteorology, oceanography, many physical
sciences, land surveying and geodesy, architecture, phonetics, economics, electrical engineering, mechanical
engineering, civil engineering, computer graphics, cartography, crystallography and game development.

15.2.1 Discussion : Uses of Trigonometry

Select one of the elds that uses trigonometry from the list given above and write a 1-page report describing
how trigonometry is used in the eld that you chose.

15.3 Similarity of Triangles

If [U+25B5]ABC is similar to [U+25B5]DEF , then this is written as:

[U+25B5]ABC|||[U+25B5]DEF (15.1)

Figure 15.1

Then, it is possible to deduce ratios between corresponding sides of the two triangles, such as the following:

AB
BC = DE
EF
AB
AC = DE
DF
(15.2)
AC
BC = DF
EF
AB
DE = BC
EF = AC
DF

The most important fact about similar triangles ABC and DEF is that the angle at vertex A is equal to
the angle at vertex D, the angle at B is equal to the angle at E, and the angle at C is equal to the angle at

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 269

F.

∠A = ∠D
∠B = ∠E (15.3)

∠C = ∠F

15.3.1 Investigation : Ratios of Similar Triangles

^ ^
In your exercise book, draw three similar triangles of dierent sizes, but each with A= 30◦ ; B = 90◦ and
^
C = 60◦ . Measure angles and lengths very accurately in order to ll in the table below (round answers to
one decimal place).

Figure 15.2

Dividing lengths of sides (Ratios)

BC = AC = AC =
AB AB CB

A' B ' A' B ' C ' B'

B' C '
= A' C '
= A' C '
=
A'' B '' A'' B '' C '' B ''
B '' C ''
= A'' C ''
= A'' C ''
=

Table 15.1

What observations can you make about the ratios of the sides?
These equal ratios are used to dene the trigonometric functions.
Note: In algebra, we often use the letter x for our unknown variable (although we can use any other
letter too, such as a, b, k , etc). In trigonometry, we often use the Greek symbol θ for an unknown angle (we
also use α,β,γ etc).

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270 CHAPTER 15. TRIGONOMETRY

15.4 Denition of the Trigonometric Functions

We are familiar with a function of the form f (x) where f is the function and x is the argument. Examples
are:

f (x) = 2x (exponential function)

g (x) = x+2 (linear function) (15.4)

h (x) = 2x2 (parabolic function)

The basis of trigonometry are the trigonometric functions. There are three basic trigonometric functions:

1. sine
2. cosine
3. tangent

These are abbreviated to:

1. sin
2. cos
3. tan

These functions can be dened from a right-angled triangle, a triangle where one internal angle is 90 ◦ .
Consider a right-angled triangle.

Figure 15.3

In the right-angled triangle, we refer to the lengths of the three sides according to how they are placed
in relation to the angle θ. The side opposite to the right angle is labeled the hypotenuse, the side opposite
θ is labeled opposite, the side next to θ is labeled adjacent. Note that the choice of non-90 degree internal
angle is arbitrary. You can choose either internal angle and then dene the adjacent and opposite sides
accordingly. However, the hypotenuse remains the same regardless of which internal angle you are referring
to (because it is ALWAYS opposite the right angle and ALWAYS the longest side).
We dene the trigonometric functions, also known as trigonometric identities, as:

sinθ = opposite
hypotenuse
cosθ = adjacent
hypotenuse
(15.5)

tanθ = opposite
adjacent

These functions relate the lengths of the sides of a right-angled triangle to its interior angles.

note: The trig ratios are independent of the lengths of the sides of a triangle and depend only on
the angles, this is why we can consider them to be functions of the angles.

One way of remembering the denitions is to use the following mnemonic that is perhaps easier to remember:

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 271

Silly Old Hens Sin = Opposite

Hypotenuse
Cackle And Howl Cos = Hypotenuse
Adjacent

Till Old Age Tan = Adjacent

Opposite

Table 15.2

You may also hear people saying Soh Cah Toa. This is just another way to remember the trig functions.

tip: The denitions of opposite, adjacent and hypotenuse are only applicable when you are working
with right-angled triangles! Always check to make sure your triangle has a right-angle before you
use them, otherwise you will get the wrong answer. We will nd ways of using our knowledge of
right-angled triangles to deal with the trigonometry of non right-angled triangles in Grade 11.

15.4.1 Investigation : Denitions of Trigonometric Functions

1. In each of the following triangles, state whether a, b and c are the hypotenuse, opposite or adjacent
sides of the triangle with respect to the marked angle.

Figure 15.4

2. Complete each of the following, the rst has been done for you

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272 CHAPTER 15. TRIGONOMETRY

Figure 15.5

^
a sin A = opposite
hypotenuse = CB
AC
^
b cos A = (15.6)

^
c tan A =

^
d sin C =
^
e cos C = (15.7)

^
f tan C =

3. Complete each of the following without a calculator:

Figure 15.6

sin60 =
cos30 = (15.8)

tan60 =

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 273

Figure 15.7

sin45 =
cos45 = (15.9)

tan45 =

For most angles θ, it is very dicult to calculate the values of sinθ, cosθ and tanθ. One usually needs to use
a calculator to do so. However, we saw in the above Activity that we could work these values out for some
special angles. Some of these angles are listed in the table below, along with the values of the trigonometric
functions at these angles. Remember that the lengths of the sides of a right angled triangle must obey
Pythagoras' theorem. The square of the hypotenuse (side opposite the 90 degree angle) equals the sum of
the squares of the two other sides.

0◦ 30◦ 45◦ 60◦ 90◦ 180◦

√
3 √1 1
cosθ 1
2 2 2 0 −1
√
1 √1 3
sinθ 0
2 2 2 1 0
√
tanθ 0 √1
3
1 3 − 0

Table 15.3

These values are useful when asked to solve a problem involving trig functions without using a calculator.
Each of the trigonometric functions has a reciprocal that has a special name. The three reciprocals are
cosecant (or cosec), secant (or sec) and cotangent (or cot). These reciprocals are given below:

cosecθ = 1
sinθ
secθ = 1
cosθ
(15.10)

cotθ = 1
tanθ

We can also dene these reciprocals for any right angled triangle:

cosecθ = hypotenuse
opposite
secθ = hypotenuse
adjacent
(15.11)

cotθ = adjacent
opposite

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274 CHAPTER 15. TRIGONOMETRY

Exercise 15.1: Finding Lengths (Solution on p. 298.)

Find the length of x in the following triangle.

Figure 15.8

Exercise 15.2: Finding Angles (Solution on p. 298.)

Find the value of θ in the following triangle.

Figure 15.9

In the previous example we used tan−1 . This is simply the inverse of the tan function. Sin and cos also have
inverses. All this means is that we want to nd the angle that makes the expression true and so we must
move the tan (or sin or cos) to the other side of the equals sign and leave the angle where it is. Sometimes the
reciprocal trigonometric functions are also referred to as the 'inverse trigonometric functions'. You should
note, however that tan−1 and cot are denitely NOT the same thing.
The following videos provide a summary of what you have learnt so far.

Trigonometry - 1
This media object is a Flash object. Please view or download it at
<http://www.youtube.com/v/F21S9Wpi0y8&rel=0>

Figure 15.10

Khan academy video on trigonometry - 2

This media object is a Flash object. Please view or download it at
<http://www.youtube.com/v/QS4r_mqs-rY&rel=0>

Figure 15.11

15.4.2 Finding Lengths

Find the length of the sides marked with letters. Give answers correct to 2 decimal places.

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 275

Figure 15.12

Figure 15.13

2
Click here for the solution.
2 http://www.fhsst.org/lc1

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276 CHAPTER 15. TRIGONOMETRY

15.5 Two-dimensional problems

We can use the trig functions to solve problems in two dimensions that involve right angled triangles. For
example if you are given a quadrilateral and asked to nd the one of the angles, you can construct a right
angled triangle and use the trig functions to solve for the angle. This will become clearer after working
through the following example.

Exercise 15.3 (Solution on p. 298.)

Let ABCD be a trapezium with AB = 4 cm, CD = 6 cm, BC = 5 cm and AD = 5 cm. Point E on
^
diagonal AC divides the diagonal such that AE = 3 cm. Find A B C.

15.6 The trig functions for any angle

So far we have dened the trig functions using right angled triangles. We can now extend these denitions
to any angle. We do this by noting that the denitions do not rely on the lengths of the sides of the triangle,
but only on the angle. So if we plot any point on the Cartesian plane and then draw a line from the origin
to that point, we can work out the angle of that line. In Figure 15.14 points P and Q have been plotted. A
line from the origin to each point is drawn. The dotted lines show how we can construct right angle triangles
for each point. Now we can nd the angles A and B.

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 277

Figure 15.14

You should nd the angle A is 63, 43◦ . For angle B, you rst work out x (33, 69 ) and then B is
◦

180 − 33, 69 = 146, 31

◦ ◦ ◦
. But what if we wanted to do this without working out these angles and guring
out whether to add or subtract 180 or 90? Can we use the trig functions to do this? Consider point P in
Figure 15.14. To nd the angle you would have used one of the trig functions, e.g. tanθ. You should also
have noted that the side adjacent to the angle was just the x-co-ordinate and that the side opposite the
angle was just the y-co-ordinate. But what about the hypotenuse? Well, you can nd that using Pythagoras
since you have two sides of a right angled triangle. If we were to draw a circle centered on the origin, then
the length from the origin to point P is the radius of the circle, which we denote r. Now we can rewrite all
our trig functions in terms of x, y and r. But how does this help us to nd angle B? Well, we know that
from point Q to the origin is r, and we have the co-ordinates of Q. So we simply use the newly dened trig

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278 CHAPTER 15. TRIGONOMETRY

functions to nd angle B! (Try it for yourself and conrm that you get the same answer as before.) One
nal point to note is that when we go anti-clockwise around the Cartesian plane the angles are positive and
when we go clockwise around the Cartesian plane, the angles are negative.
So we get the following denitions for the trig functions:

sinθ = x
r
cosθ = y
r
(15.12)

tanθ = y
x

But what if the x- or y-co-ordinate is negative? Do we ignore that, or is there some way to take that into
account? The answer is that we do not ignore it. The sign in front of the x- or y-co-ordinate tells us whether
or not sin, cos and tan are positive or negative. We divide the Cartesian plane into quadrants and then we
can use Figure 15.15 to tell us whether the trig function is positive or negative. This diagram is known as
the CAST diagram.

Figure 15.15

We can also extend the denitions of the reciprocals in the same way:

cosecθ = r
x
secθ = r
y
(15.13)

cotθ = x
y

Exercise 15.4: Finding the angle (Solution on p. 299.)

Points R(-1;-3) and point S(3;-3) are plotted in the diagram below. Find the angles α and β.

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 279

Figure 15.16

note: You should observe that in the worked example above, the angle α is simply the angle that
line OS makes with the x-axis. So if you are asked to nd out what angle a line makes with the x-
or y-axes, then you can use trigonometry!

note: The CAST diagram can be generalized to a very powerful tool for solving trigonometric
functions by hand (that is, without a calculator) called the unit circle. You may or may not touch
on this in Grade 11 or 12.

15.7 Solving simple trigonometric equations

Using what we have learnt about trig functions we can now solve some simple trig equations. We use the
principles from Equations and Inequalities (Chapter 10) to help us solve trig equations.

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280 CHAPTER 15. TRIGONOMETRY

note: It is important to note that in general 2sinθ 6= sin (2θ). In other words doubling (or
multiplying by 2) has a dierent eect from doubling the angle.

Exercise 15.5 (Solution on p. 299.)

Solve the following trig equation: 3cos (2x + 38◦ ) + 3 = 2

aside: In grade 11 and 12, you will learn more about solving trig equations.

15.8 Simple Applications of Trigonometric Functions

Trigonometry was probably invented in ancient civilisations to solve practical problems such as building
construction and navigating by the stars. In this section we will show how trigonometry can be used to solve
some other practical problems.

15.8.1 Height and Depth

Figure 15.17: Determining the height of a building using trigonometry.

One simple task is to nd the height of a building by using trigonometry. We could just use a tape measure
lowered from the roof, but this is impractical (and dangerous) for tall buildings. It is much more sensible to
measure a distance along the ground and use trigonometry to nd the height of the building.
Figure 15.17 shows a building whose height we do not know. We have walked 100 m away from the
building and measured the angle from the ground up to the top of the building. This angle is found to be
38, 7◦ . We call this angle the angle of elevation. As you can see from Figure 15.17, we now have a right-angled
triangle. As we know the length of one side and an angle, we can calculate the height of the triangle, which
is the height of the building we are trying to nd.
If we examine the gure, we see that we have the opposite and the adjacent of the angle of elevation and
we can write:

tan38, 7◦ = opposite
adjacent
= height
100 m
(15.14)
height = 100 m × tan38, 7◦
= 80 m

Exercise 15.6: Height of a tower (Solution on p. 300.)

A block of ats is 100m away from a cellphone tower. Someone stands at B. They measure the
◦
angle from B up to the top of the tower E to be 62 . This is the angle of elevation. They then
◦
measure the angle from B down to the bottom of the tower at C to be 34 . This is the angle of
depression.What is the height of the cellph one tower correct to 1 decimal place?

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 281

Figure 15.18

15.8.2 Maps and Plans

Maps and plans are usually scale drawings. This means that they are an exact copy of the real thing, but
are usually smaller. So, only lengths are changed, but all angles are the same. We can use this idea to make
use of maps and plans by adding information from the real world.

Exercise 15.7: Scale Drawing (Solution on p. 300.)

A ship approaching Cape Town Harbour reaches point A on the map, due south of Pretoria and
due east of Cape Town. If the distance from Cape Town to Pretoria is 1000km, use trigonometry
to nd out how far east the ship is from Cape Town, and hence nd the scale of the map.

Figure 15.19

Exercise 15.8: Building plan (Solution on p. 301.)

Mr Nkosi has a garage at his house, and he decides that he wants to add a corrugated iron roof to
the side of the garage. The garage is 4m high, and his sheet for the roof is 5m long. If he wants the
roof to be at an angle of 5◦ , how high must he build the wall BD, which is holding up the roof ?
Give the answer to 2 decimal places.

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282 CHAPTER 15. TRIGONOMETRY

Figure 15.20

15.8.2.1 Applications of Trigonometric Functions

1. A boy ying a kite is standing 30 m from a point directly under the kite. If the string to the kite is
50 m long, nd the angle of elevation of the kite.
3
Click here for the solution.
2. What is the angle of elevation of the sun when a tree 7,15 m tall casts a shadow 10,1 m long?
4
Click here for the solution.

15.9 Graphs of Trigonometric Functions

This section describes the graphs of trigonometric functions.

15.9.1 Graph of sinθ

15.9.1.1 Graph of sinθ
Complete the following table, using your calculator to calculate the values. Then plot the values with sinθ
on the y -axis and θ on the x-axis. Round answers to 1 decimal place.

3 http://www.fhsst.org/lcY
4 http://www.fhsst.org/lcr

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 283

◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦
θ 0 30 60 90 120 150

sinθ
◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦
θ 180 210 240 270 300 330 360

sinθ

Figure 15.21

Table 15.4

Let us look back at our values for sinθ

θ 0◦ 30◦ 45◦ 60◦ 90◦ 180◦

√
1 √1 3
sinθ 0
2 2 2 1 0

Table 15.5

As you can see, the function sinθ has a value of 0 at θ = 0◦ . Its value then smoothly increases until
θ = 90 ◦
when its value is 1. We also know that it later decreases to 0 when θ = 180◦ . Putting all this
together we can start to picture the full extent of the sine graph. The sine graph is shown in Figure 15.22.
Notice the wave shape, with each wave having a length of 360◦ . We say the graph has a period of 360◦ . The
height of the wave above (or below) the x-axis is called the wave's amplitude. Thus the maximum amplitude
of the sine-wave is 1, and its minimum amplitude is -1.

Figure 15.22: The graph of sinθ.

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284 CHAPTER 15. TRIGONOMETRY

15.9.2 Functions of the form y = asin (x) + q

In the equation, y = asin (x) + q , a and q are constants and have dierent eects on the graph of the
function. The general shape of the graph of functions of this form is shown in Figure 15.23 for the function
f (θ) = 2sinθ + 3.

Figure 15.23: Graph of f (θ) = 2sinθ + 3

15.9.2.1 Functions of the Form y = asin (θ) + q :

1. On the same set of axes, plot the following graphs:

a. a (θ) = sinθ − 2
b. b (θ) = sinθ − 1
c. c (θ) = sinθ
d. d (θ) = sinθ + 1
e. e (θ) = sinθ + 2
Use your results to deduce the eect of q.
2. On the same set of axes, plot the following graphs:

a. f (θ) = −2 · sinθ
b. g (θ) = −1 · sinθ
c. h (θ) = 0 · sinθ
d. j (θ) = 1 · sinθ
e. k (θ) = 2 · sinθ
Use your results to deduce the eect of a.

You should have found that the value of a aects the height of the peaks of the graph. As the magnitude of
a increases, the peaks get higher. As it decreases, the peaks get lower.
q is called the vertical shift. If q = 2, then the whole sine graph shifts up 2 units. If q = −1, the whole
sine graph shifts down 1 unit.
These dierent properties are summarised in Table 15.6.

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 285

a>0
q>0

Figure 15.24

q<0

Figure 15.26

Table 15.6: Table summarising general shapes and positions of graphs of functions of the form

y = asin (x) + q .

15.9.2.2 Domain and Range

For f (θ) = asin (θ) + q , the domain is {θ : θ ∈ R} because there is no value of θ ∈R for which f (θ) is
undened.
The range of f (θ) = asinθ + q depends on whether the value for a is positive or negative. We will
consider these two cases separately.
If a>0 we have:

−1 ≤ sinθ ≤ 1
−a ≤ asinθ ≤ a
(15.15)
−a + q ≤ asinθ + q ≤ a+q
−a + q ≤ f (θ) ≤ a+q
This tells us that for all values of θ, f (θ) is always between −a + q and a + q . Therefore if a > 0, the range
of f (θ) = asinθ + q {f (θ) : f (θ) ∈ [−a + q, a + q]}.
is
Similarly, it can be shown that if a < 0, the range of f (θ) = asinθ + q is {f (θ) : f (θ) ∈ [a + q, −a + q]}.
This is left as an exercise.

tip: The easiest way to nd the range is simply to look for the "bottom" and the "top" of the
graph.

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286 CHAPTER 15. TRIGONOMETRY

15.9.2.3 Intercepts
The y -intercept, yint , of f (θ) = asin (x) + q is simply the value of f (θ) at θ = 0◦ .

yint = f (0◦ )
= asin (0◦ ) + q
(15.16)
= a (0) + q
= q

15.9.3 Graph of cosθ

15.9.3.1 Graph of cosθ :
Complete the following table, using your calculator to calculate the values correct to 1 decimal place. Then
plot the values with cosθ on the y -axis and θ on the x-axis.

◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦
θ 0 30 60 90 120 150

cosθ
◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦
θ 180 210 240 270 300 330 360

cosθ

Figure 15.28

Table 15.7

Let us look back at our values for cosθ

θ 0◦ 30◦ 45◦ 60◦ 90◦ 180◦

√
3 √1 1
cosθ 1
2 2 2 0 −1
Table 15.8

If you look carefully, you will notice that the cosine of an angle θ is the same as the sine of the angle
90◦ − θ. Take for example,

1
cos60◦ = = sin30◦ = sin (90◦ − 60◦ ) (15.17)
2
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 287

This tells us that in order to create the cosine graph, all we need to do is to shift the sine graph 90◦ to the
left. The graph of cosθ is shown in Figure 15.29. As the cosine graph is simply a shifted sine graph, it will
have the same period and amplitude as the sine graph.

Figure 15.29: The graph of cosθ.

15.9.4 Functions of the form y = acos (x) + q

In the equation, y = acos (x) + q , a and q are constants and have dierent eects on the graph of the
function. The general shape of the graph of functions of this form is shown in Figure 15.30 for the function
f (θ) = 2cosθ + 3.

Figure 15.30: Graph of f (θ) = 2cosθ + 3

15.9.4.1 Functions of the Form y = acos (θ) + q :

1. On the same set of axes, plot the following graphs:

a. a (θ) = cosθ − 2
b. b (θ) = cosθ − 1
c. c (θ) = cosθ
d. d (θ) = cosθ + 1
e. e (θ) = cosθ + 2
Use your results to deduce the eect of q.
2. On the same set of axes, plot the following graphs:

a. f (θ) = −2 · cosθ
b. g (θ) = −1 · cosθ
c. h (θ) = 0 · cosθ
d. j (θ) = 1 · cosθ
e. k (θ) = 2 · cosθ

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288 CHAPTER 15. TRIGONOMETRY

Use your results to deduce the eect of a.

You should have found that the value of a aects the amplitude of the cosine graph in the same way it did
for the sine graph.
You should have also found that the value of q shifts the cosine graph in the same way as it did the sine
graph.
These dierent properties are summarised in Table 15.9.

a>0
q>0

Figure 15.31

q<0

Figure 15.33

Table 15.9: Table summarising general shapes and positions of graphs of functions of the form

y = acos (x) + q .

15.9.4.2 Domain and Range

For f (θ) = acos (θ) + q , the domain is {θ : θ ∈ R} because there is no value of θ ∈R for which f (θ) is
undened.
It is easy to see that the range of f (θ) will be the same as the range of asin (θ) + q . This is because the
maximum and minimum values of acos (θ) + q will be the same as the maximum and minimum values of
asin (θ) + q .

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 289

15.9.4.3 Intercepts
The y -intercept of f (θ) = acos (x) + q is calculated in the same way as for sine.

yint = f (0◦ )
= acos (0◦ ) + q
(15.18)
= a (1) + q
= a+q

15.9.5 Comparison of Graphs of sinθ and cosθ

Figure 15.35: The graph of cosθ (solid-line) and the graph of sinθ (dashed-line).

Notice that the two graphs look very similar. Both oscillate up and down around the x-axis as you move
along the axis. The distances between the peaks of the two graphs is the same and is constant along each
graph. The height of the peaks and the depths of the troughs are the same.
◦
The only dierence is that the sin graph is shifted a little to the right of the cos graph by 90 . That
means that if you shift the whole cos graph to the right by 90 ◦ it will
overlap perfectly with the sin graph.
You could also move the sin graph by 90 ◦ to the left and it would overlap perfectly with the cos graph. This
means that:

sinθ = cos (θ − 90) (shift the cos graph to the right)

and (15.19)

cosθ = sin (θ + 90) (shift the sin graph to the left)

15.9.6 Graph of tanθ

15.9.6.1 Graph of tanθ
Complete the following table, using your calculator to calculate the values correct to 1 decimal place. Then
plot the values with tanθ on the y -axis and θ on the x-axis.

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290 CHAPTER 15. TRIGONOMETRY

◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦
θ 0 30 60 90 120 150

tanθ
◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦
θ 180 210 240 270 300 330 360

tanθ

Figure 15.36

Table 15.10

Let us look back at our values for tanθ

θ 0◦ 30◦ 45◦ 60◦ 90◦ 180◦

√
tanθ 0 √1
3
1 3 ∞ 0

Table 15.11

Now that we have graphs for sinθ and cosθ, there is an easy way to visualise the tangent graph. Let us
look back at our denitions of sinθ and cosθ for a right-angled triangle.
opposite
sinθ hypotenuse opposite
= = = tanθ (15.20)
cosθ adjacent
hypotenuse
adjacent

This is the rst of an important set of equations called trigonometric identities. An identity is an equation,
which holds true for any value which is put into it. In this case we have shown that

sinθ
tanθ = (15.21)
cosθ
for any value of θ.
So we know that for values of θ for which sinθ = 0, we must also have tanθ = 0. Also, if cosθ = 0 our
value of tanθ is undened as we cannot divide by 0. The graph is shown in Figure 15.37. The dashed vertical
lines are at the values of θ where tanθ is not dened.

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 291

Figure 15.37: The graph of tanθ.

15.9.7 Functions of the form y = atan (x) + q

In the gure below is an example of a function of the form y = atan (x) + q .

Figure 15.38: The graph of 2tanθ + 1.

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292 CHAPTER 15. TRIGONOMETRY

15.9.7.1 Functions of the Form y = atan (θ) + q :

1. On the same set of axes, plot the following graphs:

a. a (θ) = tanθ − 2
b. b (θ) = tanθ − 1
c. c (θ) = tanθ
d. d (θ) = tanθ + 1
e. e (θ) = tanθ + 2
Use your results to deduce the eect of q.
2. On the same set of axes, plot the following graphs:

a. f (θ) = −2 · tanθ
b. g (θ) = −1 · tanθ
c. h (θ) = 0 · tanθ
d. j (θ) = 1 · tanθ
e. k (θ) = 2 · tanθ
Use your results to deduce the eect of a.

You should have found that the value of a aects the steepness of each of the branches. The larger the
absolute magnitude of a, the quicker the branches approach their asymptotes, the values where they are not
dened. Negative a values switch the direction of the branches. You should have also found that the value
of q aects the vertical shift as for sinθ and cosθ. These dierent properties are summarised in Table 15.12.

a>0
q>0

Figure 15.39

q<0

Figure 15.41

Table 15.12: Table summarising general shapes and positions of graphs of functions of the form

y = atan (x) + q .

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 293

15.9.7.2 Domain and Range

The domain of f (θ) = atan (θ) + q is all the values of θ such that cosθ is not equal to 0. We have already
seen that when cosθ = 0, tanθ = sinθ
cosθ is undened, as we have division by zero. We know that cosθ = 0 for
all θ = 90 + 180 n, where n is an integer. So the domain of f (θ) = atan (θ) + q is all values of θ , except
◦ ◦

the values θ = 90 + 180 n.

◦ ◦

The range of f (θ) = atanθ + q is {f (θ) : f (θ) ∈ (−∞, ∞)}.

15.9.7.3 Intercepts
The y -intercept, yint , of f (θ) = atan (x) + q is again simply the value of f (θ) at θ = 0◦ .

yint = f (0◦ )
= atan (0◦ ) + q
(15.22)
= a (0) + q
= q

15.9.7.4 Asymptotes
As θ 90◦ , tanθ approaches innity. But as θ is undened at 90◦ , θ can only approach 90◦ , but
approaches
never equal it. Thus the tanθ curve gets closer and closer to the line θ = 90 , without ever touching it.
◦

Thus the line θ = 90 is an asymptote of tanθ . tanθ also has asymptotes at θ = 90 + 180 n, where n is an
◦ ◦ ◦

integer.

15.9.7.4.1 Graphs of Trigonometric Functions

1. Using your knowldge of the eects of a and q, sketch each of the following graphs, without using a
table of values, for θ ∈ [0◦ ; 360◦ ]
a. y = 2sinθ
b. y = −4cosθ
c. y = −2cosθ + 1
d. y = sinθ − 3
e. y = tanθ − 2
f. y = 2cosθ − 1
5
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2. Give the equations of each of the following graphs:

Figure 15.43

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294 CHAPTER 15. TRIGONOMETRY

Figure 15.44

Figure 15.45

6
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The following presentation summarises what you have learnt in this chapter.

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keeganmathsgrade10trigonometry>

Figure 15.46

15.10 Summary
• We can dene three trigonometric functions for right angled triangles: sine (sin), cosine (cos) and
tangent (tan).
• Each of these functions have a reciprocal: cosecant (cosec), secant (sec) and cotangent (cot).
• We can use the principles of solving equations and the trigonometric functions to help us solve simple
trigonometric equations.
• We can solve problems in two dimensions that involve right angled triangles.
• For some special angles, we can easily nd the values of sin, cos and tan.
• We can extend the denitions of the trigonometric functions to any angle.
• Trigonometry is used to help us solve problems in 2-dimensions, such as nding the height of a building.
• We can draw graphs for sin, cos and tan

15.11 End of Chapter Exercises

1. Calculate the unknown lengths

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 295

Figure 15.47

7
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^
2. In the triangle P QR, P R = 20 cm, QR = 22 cm and P R Q = 30◦ . The perpendicular line from P to
QR intersects QR at X . Calculate
a. the length XR,
b. the length P X, and
^
c. the angle QP X
8
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3. A ladder of length 15 m is resting against a wall, the base of the ladder is 5 m from the wall. Find the
angle between the wall and the ladder?
9
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4. A ladder of length 25 m is resting against a wall, the ladder makes an angle 37◦ to the wall. Find the
distance between the wall and the base of the ladder?
10
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^
5. In the following triangle nd the angle ABC
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296 CHAPTER 15. TRIGONOMETRY

Figure 15.48

11
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6. In the following triangle nd the length of side CD

Figure 15.49

12
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7. A (5; 0) and B (11; 4). Find the angle between the line through A and B and the x-axis.
13
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8. C (0; −13) and D (−12; 14). Find the angle between the line through C and D and the y-axis.
14
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9. A 5m ladder is placed 2m from the wall. What is the angle the ladder makes with the wall?
15
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 297

^
10. Given the points: E(5;0), F(6;2) and G(8;-2), nd angle F E G.
16
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11. An isosceles triangle has sides 9 cm, 9 cm and 2 cm. Find the size of the smallest angle of the triangle.
17
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12. A right-angled triangle has hypotenuse 13 mm. Find the length of the other two sides if one of the
angles of the triangle is 50◦ .
18
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13. One of the angles of a rhombus ( rhombus - A four-sided polygon, each of whose sides is of equal
length) with perimeter 20 cm is 30◦ .
a. Find the sides of the rhombus.
b. Find the length of both diagonals.
19
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14. Captain Hook was sailing towards a lighthouse with a height of 10 m.
a. If the top of the lighthouse is 30 m away, what is the angle of elevation of the boat to the nearest
integer?
b. If the boat moves another 7m towards the lighthouse, what is the new angle of elevation of the
boat to the nearest integer?
20
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15. (Tricky) A triangle with angles 40◦ , 40◦ and 100◦ has a perimeter of 20 cm. Find the length of each
side of the triangle.
21
Click here for the solution.

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 298 CHAPTER 15. TRIGONOMETRY

Solutions to Exercises in Chapter 15

Solution to Exercise 15.1 (p. 274)
Step 1. In this case you have an angle (50 ), the opposite side and the hypotenuse.
◦

So you should use sin

x
sin50◦ = (15.23)
100
Step 2.
⇒ x = 100 × sin50◦ (15.24)

Step 3. Use the sin button on your calculator

⇒ x = 76.6m (15.25)

Solution to Exercise 15.2 (p. 274)

Step 1. In this case you have the opposite side and the hypotenuse to the angle θ.
So you should use tan
50
tanθ = (15.26)
100
Step 2.
tanθ = 0.5 (15.27)

Step 3. Since you are nding the angle,

use tan−1 on your calculator
Don't forget to set your calculator to `deg' mode!

θ = 26.6◦ (15.28)

Solution to Exercise 15.3 (p. 276)

Step 1. We draw a diagram and construct right angled triangles to help us visualize the problem.

Figure 15.50

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 299

Step 2. We will use triangle ABE and triangle BEC to get the two angles, and then we will add these two
angles together to nd the angle we want.
Step 3. We use sin for both triangles since we have the hypotenuse and the opposite side.
Step 4. In triangle ABE we nd:
 
^
sin A B E = opp
hyp
 
^
sin A B E = 3
4
(15.29)
^
= sin−1 3


ABE 4
^
ABE = 48, 59 ◦

We use the theorem of Pythagoras to nd EC = 4, 4 cm. In triangle BEC we nd:

 
^
sin C B E = opp
hyp
 
^
sin C B E = 4,4
5
(15.30)
^
= sin −1 4,4


ABE 5
^
CBE = 61, 64◦

Step 5. We add the two angles together to get: 48, 59◦ + 61, 64◦ = 110, 23◦

Solution to Exercise 15.4 (p. 278)

Step 1. We have the co-ordinates of the points R and S. We are required to nd two angles. Angle β is positive
and angle α is negative.
Step 2. We use tan to nd β, since we are only given x and y. We note that we are in the third quadrant,
where tan is positive.

tan (β) = y
x
tan (β) = −3
−1
(15.31)
β = tan −1
(3)
β = 71, 57◦
Step 3. We use tan to calculate α, since we are only given x and y. We also note that we are in the fourth
quadrant, where tan is positive.

tan (α) = y
x
tan (α) = −3
3
(15.32)
α = tan −1
(−1)
α = −45◦
Step 4. Angle α is −45◦ and angle β is 71, 57◦
Solution to Exercise 15.5 (p. 280)

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 300 CHAPTER 15. TRIGONOMETRY

Step 1.

3cos (2x + 38◦ ) = 2−3

cos (2x + 38 )
◦
= −1
3
(2x + 38◦ ) = 107, 46◦
(15.33)
2x = 107, 46◦ − 38◦
2x = 69, 46◦
x = 34, 73◦
Step 2. x = 34, 73◦
Solution to Exercise 15.6 (p. 280)
Step 1. To nd the height of the tower, all we have to do is nd the length of CD and DE . We see that
[U+25B5]BDE and [U+25B5]BDC are both right-angled triangles. For each of the triangles, we have
an angle and we have the length AD . Thus we can calculate the sides of the triangles.
Step 2. We are given that the length AC is 100m. CABD is a rectangle so BD = AC = 100m.

 
^
tan C B D = CD
BD
 
^ (15.34)
⇒ CD = BD × tan C B D

= 100 × tan34◦
Use your calculator to nd that tan34◦ = 0, 6745. Using this, we nd that CD = 67, 45m
Step 3.
 
^
tan D B E = DE
BD
 
^
⇒ DE = BD × tan D B E (15.35)

= 100 × tan62◦
= 188, 07 m
Step 4. We have that the height of the tower CE = CD + DE = 67, 45 m + 188, 07 m = 255.5 m.
Solution to Exercise 15.7 (p. 281)
Step 1. We already know the distance between Cape Town and A in blocks from the given map (it is 5 blocks).
Thus if we work out how many kilometers this same distance is, we can calculate how many kilometers
each block represents, and thus we have the scale of the map.
Step 2. Let us denote Cape Town with C and Pretoria with P. We can see that triangle AP C is a right-angled
triangle. Furthermore, we see that the distance AC and distance AP are both 5 blocks. Thus it is an
^ ^
isoceles triangle, and so A C P = A P C = 45◦ .
Step 3.
 
^
CA = CP × cos A C P
(15.36)
= 1000 × cos (45◦ )
= 1000
√
2
km

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 301

To work out the scale, we see that

5 blocks = 1000
√ km
2 (15.37)
⇒ 1 block = 200
√ km
2

Solution to Exercise 15.8 (p. 281)

Step 1. We see that the triangle ABC is a right-angled triangle. As we have one side and an angle of this
triangle, we can calculate AC . The height of the wall is then the height of the garage minus AC .
^
Step 2. If BC =5m, and angle A B C = 5◦ , then

 
^
AC = BC × sin A B C

= 5 × sin5◦ (15.38)

= 5 × 0, 0871
= 0.4358 m
Thus we have that the height of the wall BD = 4 m − 0.4358 m = 3.56 m.

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302 CHAPTER 15. TRIGONOMETRY

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Chapter 16

Analytical geometry 1

16.1 Introduction
Analytical geometry, also called co-ordinate geometry and earlier referred to as Cartesian geometry, is the
study of geometry using the principles of algebra, and the Cartesian co-ordinate system. It is concerned with
dening geometrical shapes in a numerical way, and extracting numerical information from that representa-
tion. Some consider that the introduction of analytic geometry was the beginning of modern mathematics.

16.2 Drawing gures on the Cartesian plane

If we are given the co-ordinates of the vertices of a gure then we can draw that gure on the Cartesian plane.
For example take quadrilateral ABCD with co-ordinates: A(1,1), B(1,3), C(3,3) and D(1,3) and represent it
on the Cartesian plane. This is shown in Figure 16.1.

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303
304 CHAPTER 16. ANALYTICAL GEOMETRY

Figure 16.1: Quadrilateral ABCD represented on the Cartesian plane

To represent any gure on the Cartesian plane, you place a dot at each given co-ordinate and then connect
these points with straight lines. One point to note is in naming a gure. In the above example, we called
the quadrilateral ABCD. This tells us that we move from point A, to point B, to point C, to point D and
then back to point A again. So when you are asked to draw a gure on the Cartesian plane, you will follow
this naming scheme. If you had the same points, and called it, for example, ACBD you would not get a
quadrilateral but a pair of triangles instead. This is important. Sometimes you may be given only some of
the points and you will then be required to nd the other points using the work covered in the rest of this
chapter.

16.3 Distance between Two Points

One of the simplest things that can be done with analytical geometry is to calculate the distance between
two points. Distance is a number that describes how far apart two point are. For example, point P has
co-ordinates (2, 1) and point Q has co-ordinates (−2, −2). How far apart are points P and Q? In the gure,
this means how long is the dashed line?

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 305

Figure 16.2

In the gure, it can be seen that the length of the line P R is 3 units and the length of the line QR is
four units. However, the [U+25B5]P QR, has a right angle at R. Therefore, the length of the side P Q can
be obtained by using the Theorem of Pythagoras:

P Q2 = P R2 + QR2
∴ P Q2 = 3 2 + 42 (16.1)
√
∴ PQ = 32 + 42 = 5
The length of PQ is the distance between the points P and Q.
In order to generalise the idea, assume A is any point with co-ordinates (x1 ; y1 ) and B is any other point
with co-ordinates (x2 ; y2 ).

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306 CHAPTER 16. ANALYTICAL GEOMETRY

Figure 16.3

The formula for calculating the distance between two points is derived as follows. The distance between
the points A and B is the length of the line AB . According to the Theorem of Pythagoras, the length of
AB is given by:

p
AB = AC 2 + BC 2 (16.2)

However,

BC = y2 − y1
(16.3)
AC = x2 − x1
Therefore,

√
AB = AC 2 + BC 2
q (16.4)
2 2
= (x1 − x2 ) + (y1 − y2 )
Therefore, for any two points,
q (x1 ; y1 ) and (x2 ; y2 ), the formula is:
2 2
Distance = (x1 − x2 ) + (y1 − y2 )
Using the formula, distance between the points P and Q with co-ordinates (2;1) and (-2;-2) is then found
as follows. Let the co-ordinates of point P be (x1 ; y1 ) and the co-ordinates of point Q be (x2 ; y2 ). Then the

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 307

distance is:

q
2 2
Distance = (x1 − x2 ) + (y1 − y2 )
q
2 2
= (2 − (−2)) + (1 − (−2))
q
2 2
= (2 + 2) + (1 + 2)
(16.5)
√
= 16 + 9
√
= 25
= 5
The following video provides a summary of the distance formula.

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Figure 16.4

16.4 Calculation of the Gradient of a Line

The gradient of a line describes how steep the line is. In the gure, line PT is the steepest. Line PS is less
steep than PT but is steeper than P R, and line PR is steeper than P Q.

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308 CHAPTER 16. ANALYTICAL GEOMETRY

Figure 16.5

The gradient of a line is dened as the ratio of the vertical distance to the horizontal distance. This can
be understood by looking at the line as the hypotenuse of a right-angled triangle. Then the gradient is the
ratio of the length of the vertical side of the triangle to the horizontal side of the triangle. Consider a line
between a point A with co-ordinates (x1 ; y1 ) and a point B with co-ordinates (x2 ; y2 ).

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 309

Figure 16.6

So we obtain the following for the gradient of a line:

y2 −y1
Gradient = x2 −x1
We can use the gradient of a line to determine if two lines are parallel or perpendicular. If the lines are
parallel (Figure 16.7a) then they will have the same gradient, i.e. mAB = mCD . If the lines are perpendicular
(Figure 16.7b) than we have: − m1AB = mCD

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310 CHAPTER 16. ANALYTICAL GEOMETRY

Figure 16.7

For example the gradient of the line between the points P and Q, with co-ordinates (2;1) and (-2;-2)
(Figure 16.2) is:

y2 −y1
Gradient = x2 −x1
= −2−1
−2−2
(16.6)
= −3
−4
= 3
4

The following video provides a summary of the gradient of a line.

Gradient of a line
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Figure 16.8

16.5 Midpoint of a Line

Sometimes, knowing the co-ordinates of the middle point or midpoint of a line is useful. For example, what
is the midpoint of the line between point P with co-ordinates (2; 1) and point Q (−2; −2).
with co-ordinates
The co-ordinates of the midpoint of any line between any two points A and B with co-ordinates (x1 ; y1 )
and (x2 ; y2 ), is generally calculated as follows. Let the midpoint of AB be at point S with co-ordinates
(X; Y ). The aim is to calculate X and Y in terms of (x1 ; y1 ) and (x2 ; y2 ).

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 311

Figure 16.9

X = x1 +x2
2
Y = y1 +y2
2
(16.7)

; 2
x1 +x2 y1 +y2


∴ S 2

Then the co-ordinates of the midpoint (S ) of the line between point P with co-ordinates (2; 1) and point Q
with co-ordinates (−2; −2) is:

X = x1 +x2
2
= −2+2
2
= 0
Y = y1 +y2
2
(16.8)

= −2+1
2
= − 12
∴ S is at 0; − 21

It can be conrmed that the distance from each end point to the midpoint is equal. The co-ordinate of the

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312 CHAPTER 16. ANALYTICAL GEOMETRY

midpoint S is (0; −0, 5).

q
2 2
PS = (x − x2 ) + (y1 − y2 )
q 1
2 2
= (0 − 2) + (−0.5 − 1)
q
2 2 (16.9)
= (−2) + (−1.5)
√
= 4 + 2.25
√
= 6.25
and

q
2 2
QS = (x1 − x2 ) + (y1 − y2 )
q
2 2
= (0 − (−2)) + (−0.5 − (−2))
2 2
= (0 + 2) + (−0.5 + 2)
p
p 2 (16.10)
2
= (2) + (−1.5)
√
= 4 + 2.25
√
= 6.25
It can be seen that P S = QS as expected.

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 313

Figure 16.10

The following video provides a summary of the midpoint of a line.

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Figure 16.11

16.5.1 Summary
• Figures can be represented on the Cartesian plane
• The formula for nding the distance between two points is:

q
2 2
Distance = (x1 − x2 ) + (y1 − y2 ) (16.11)

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314 CHAPTER 16. ANALYTICAL GEOMETRY

• The formula for nding the gradient of a line is:

y2 − y1
Gradient = (16.12)
x2 − x1
• The formula for nding the midpoint between two points is:

x1 + x2 y1 + y2
 
S ; (16.13)
2 2

• If two lines are parallel then they will have the same gradient, i.e. mAB = mCD . If two lines are
perpendicular than we have: − m1AB = mCD

16.5.2 End of Chapter exercises

1. Represent the following gures on the Cartesian plane:

a. Triangle DEF with D(1;2), E(3;2) and F(2;4)

b. Quadrilateral GHIJ with G(2;-1), H(0;2), I(-2;-2) and J(1;-3)
c. Quadrilateral MNOP with M(1;1), N(-1;3), O(-2;3) and P(-4;1)
d. Quadrilateral WXYZ with W(1;-2), X(-1;-3), Y(2;-4) and Z(3;-2)
2
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2. In the diagram given the vertices of a quadrilateral are F(2;0), G(1;5), H(3;7) and I(7;2).

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 315

Figure 16.12

a. What are the lengths of the opposite sides of FGHI?

b. Are the opposite sides of FGHI parallel?
c. Do the diagonals of FGHI bisect each other?
d. Can you state what type of quadrilateral FGHI is? Give reasons for your answer.

3
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3. A quadrialteral ABCD with vertices A(3;2), B(1;7), C(4;5) and D(1;3) is given.

a. Draw the quadrilateral.

b. Find the lengths of the sides of the quadrilateral.
4
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4. ABCD is a quadrilateral with verticies A(0;3), B(4;3), C(5;-1) and D(-1;-1).

a. Show that:
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316 CHAPTER 16. ANALYTICAL GEOMETRY

i. AD = BC
ii. AB k DC

b. What name would you give to ABCD?

c. Show that the diagonals AC and BD do not bisect each other.
5
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5. P, Q, R and S are the points (-2;0), (2;3), (5;3), (-3;-3) respectively.

a. Show that:

i. SR = 2PQ
ii. SR k PQ

b. Calculate:

i. PS
ii. QR

c. What kind of a quadrilateral is PQRS? Give reasons for your answers.

6
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6. EFGH is a parallelogram with verticies E(-1;2), F(-2;-1) and G(2;0). Find the co-ordinates of H by
using the fact that the diagonals of a parallelogram bisect each other.
7
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7. PQRS is a quadrilateral with points P(0; −3) ; Q(−2;5) ; R(3;2) and S(3;2) in the Cartesian plane.

a. Find the length of QR.

b. Find the gradient of PS.
c. Find the midpoint of PR.
d. Is PQRS a parallelogram? Give reasons for your answer.
8
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8. A(2;3) and B(2;6) are points in the Cartesian plane. C(a;b) is the midpoint of AB. Find the values
of a and b.
9
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9. Consider: Triangle ABC with vertices A (1; 3) B (4; 1) and C (6; 4):

a. Sketch triangle ABC on the Cartesian plane.

b. Show that ABC is an isoceles triangle.
c. Determine the co-ordinates of M, the midpoint of AC.
d. Determine the gradient of AB.
e. Show that the following points are collinear: A, B and D(7;-1)
10
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10. In the diagram, A is the point (-6;1) and B is the point (0;3)

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 317

Figure 16.13

a. Find the equation of line AB

b. Calculate the length of AB
c. A' is the image of A and B' is the image of B. Both these images are obtain by applying the
transformation: (x;y)→(x-4;y-1). Give the coordinates of both A' and B'
d. Find the equation of A'B'
e. Calculate the length of A'B'
f. Can you state with certainty that AA'B'B is a parallelogram? Justify your answer.

11
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318 CHAPTER 16. ANALYTICAL GEOMETRY

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Chapter 17

Statistics 1

17.1 Introduction
Information in the form of numbers, graphs and tables is all around us; on television, on the radio or in the
newspaper. We are exposed to crime rates, sports results, rainfall, government spending, rate of HIV/AIDS
infection, population growth and economic growth.
This chapter demonstrates how Mathematics can be used to manipulate data, to represent or misrepresent
trends and patterns and to provide solutions that are directly applicable to the world around us.
Skills relating to the collection, organisation, display, analysis and interpretation of information that were
introduced in earlier grades are developed further.

17.2 Recap of Earlier Work

The collection of data has been introduced in earlier grades as a method of obtaining answers to questions
about the world around us. This work will be briey reviewed.

17.2.1 Data and Data Collection

17.2.1.1 Data
Denition 17.1: Data
Data refers to the pieces of information that have been observed and recorded, from an experiment
or a survey. There are two types of data: primary and secondary. The word "data" is the plural of
the word "datum", and therefore one should say, "the data are" and not "the data is".

Data can be classied as primary or secondary, and primary or secondary data can be classied as
qualitative or quantitative. Figure 17.1 summarises the classications of data.

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319
320 CHAPTER 17. STATISTICS
data

primary secondary

qualitative quantitative

Figure 17.1: Classes of data.

Primary data: describes the original data that have been collected. This type of data is also known as
raw data. Often the primary data set is very large and is therefore summarised or processed to extract
meaningful information.
Qualitative data: is information that cannot be written as numbers, for example, if you were collecting
data from people on how they feel or what their favourite colour is.
Quantitative data: is information that can be written as numbers, for example, if you were collecting data
from people on their height or weight.
Secondary data: is primary data that has been summarised or processed, for example, the set of colours
that people gave as favourite colours would be secondary data because it is a summary of responses.

Transforming primary data into secondary data through analysis, grouping or organisation into secondary
data is the process of generating information.

17.2.1.2 Purpose of Collecting Primary Data

Data is collected to provide answers that help with understanding a particular situation. Here are examples
to illustrate some real world data collections scenarios in the categories of qualitative and quantitative data.

17.2.1.3 Qualitative Data

• The local government might want to know how many residents have electricity and might ask the
question: "Does your home have a safe, independent supply of electricity?"
• A supermarket manager might ask the question: What avours of soft drink should be stocked in
my supermarket?" The question asked of customers might be What is your favourite soft drink?
Based on the customers' responses (i.e. which avours are chosen), the manager can make an informed
decision as to what soft drinks to stock.
• A company manufacturing medicines might ask How eective is our pill at relieving a headache?
The question asked of people using the pill for a headache might be: Does taking the pill relieve your
headache? Based on responses, the company learns how eective their product is.
• A motor car company might want to improve their customer service, and might ask their customers:
How can we improve our customer service?

17.2.1.4 Quantitative Data

• A cell phone manufacturing company might collect data about how often people buy new cell phones
and what factors aect their choice, so that the cell phone company can focus on those features that
would make their product more attractive to buyers.

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 321

• A town councillor might want to know how many accidents have occurred at a particular intersection,
to decide whether a robot should be installed. The councillor would visit the local police station to
research their records to collect the appropriate data.
• A supermarket manager might ask the question: What avours of soft drink should be stocked in my
supermarket?" The question asked of customers might be What is your favourite soft drink? Based
on the customers' responses (i.e. the number of customers who liked soft drink A), the manager can
make an informed decision as to what soft drinks to stock.

However, it is important to note that dierent questions reveal dierent features of a situation, and that this
aects the ability to understand the situation. For example, if the rst question in the list was re-phrased
to be: "Does your home have electricity?" then if you answered yes, but you were getting your electricity
from a neighbour, then this would give the wrong impression that you did not need an independent supply
of electricity.

17.2.2 Methods of Data Collection

The method of collecting the data must be appropriate to the question being asked. Some examples of data
collecting methods are:

1. Questionnaires, surveys and interviews

2. Experiments
3. Other sources (friends, family, newspapers, books, magazines and the Internet)

The most important aspect of each method of data collecting is to clearly formulate the question that is to
be answered. The details of the data collection should therefore be structured to take your question into
account.
For example, questionnaires, interviews or surveys would be most appropriate for the list of questions in
"Purpose of Collecting Primary Data" (Section 17.2.1.2: Purpose of Collecting Primary Data).

17.2.3 Samples and Populations

Before the data collecting starts, it is important to decide how much data is needed to make sure that the
results give an accurate reection to the required answers. Ideally, the study should be designed to maximise
the amount of information collected while minimising the eort. The concepts of populations and samples
is vital to minimising eort.
The following terms should be familiar:

Population: describes the entire group under consideration in a study. For example, if you wanted to
know how many learners in your school got the u each winter, then your population would be all the
learners in your school.
Sample: describes a group chosen to represent the population under consideration in a study. For example,
for the survey on winter u, you might select a sample of learners, maybe one from each class.
Random sample: describes a sample chosen from a population in such a way that each member of the
population has an equal chance of being chosen.

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322 CHAPTER 17. STATISTICS

Population Sample

Figure 17.2

Choosing a representative sample is crucial to obtaining results that are unbiased. For example, if we
wanted to determine whether peer pressure aects the decision to start smoking, then the results would be
dierent if only boys were interviewed, compared to if only girls were interviewed, compared to both boys
and girls being interviewed.
Therefore questions like: "How many interviews are needed?" and "How do I select the candidates for
the interviews?" must be asked during the design stage of the sampling process.
The most accurate results are obtained if the entire population is sampled for the survey, but this is
expensive and time-consuming. The next best method is to randomly select a sample of subjects for the
interviews. This means that whatever the method used to select subjects for the interviews, each subject has
an equal chance of being selected. There are various methods of doing this for example, names can be picked
out of a hat or can be selected by using a random number generator. Most modern scientic calculators
have a random number generator or you can nd one on a spreadsheet program on a computer.
So, if you had a total population of 1 000 learners in your school and you randomly selected 100, then
that would be the sample that is used to conduct your survey.

17.3 Example Data Sets

The remainder of this chapter deals with the mathematical details that are required to analyse the data
collected.
The following are some example sets of data which can be used to apply the methods that are being
explained.

17.3.1 Data Set 1: Tossing a Coin

A fair coin was tossed 100 times and the values on the top face were recorded. The data are recorded in
"Data Set 1: Tossing a coin" (Table 17.1).

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 323

H T T H H T H H H H

H H H H T H H T T T

T T H T T H T H T H

H H T T H T T H T T

T H H H T T H T T H

H T T T T H T T H H

T T H T T H T T H T

H T T H T T T T H T

T H T T H H H T H T

T T T H H T T T H T

Table 17.1: Results of 100 tosses of a fair coin. H means that the coin landed heads-up and T means that

the coin landed tails-up.

17.3.2 Data Set 2: Casting a die

A fair die was cast 100 times and the values on the top face were recorded. The data are recorded in "Data
Set 2: Casting a die" (Section 17.3.2: Data Set 2: Casting a die).

3 5 3 6 2 6 6 5 5 6 6 4 2 1 5 3 2 4 5 4

1 4 3 2 6 6 4 6 2 6 5 1 5 1 2 4 4 2 4 4

4 2 6 4 5 4 3 5 5 4 6 1 1 4 6 6 4 5 3 5

2 6 3 2 4 5 3 2 2 6 3 4 3 2 6 4 5 2 1 5

5 4 1 3 1 3 5 1 3 6 5 3 4 3 4 5 1 2 1 2

1 3 2 3 6 3 1 6 3 6 6 1 4 5 2 2 6 3 5 3

1 1 6 4 5 1 6 5 3 2 6 2 3 2 5 6 3 5 5 6

2 6 6 3 5 4 1 4 5 1 4 1 3 4 3 6 2 4 3 6

6 1 1 2 4 5 2 5 3 4 3 4 5 3 3 3 1 1 4 3

5 2 1 4 2 5 2 2 1 5 4 5 1 5 3 2 2 5 1 1

Table 17.2: Results of 200 casts of a fair die.

17.3.3 Data Set 3: Mass of a Loaf of Bread

There are regulations in South Africa related to bread production to protect consumers. Here is an excerpt
from a report about the legislation:
"The Trade Metrology Act requires that if a loaf of bread is not labelled, it must weigh 800g, with the
leeway of ve percent under or 10 percent over. However, an average of 10 loaves must be an exact match
to the mass stipulated. - Sunday Tribune of 10 October 2004 on page 10"
We can use measurements to test if consumers getting value for money. An unlabelled loaf of bread
should weigh 800g. The masses of 10 dierent loaves of bread were measured at a store for 1 week. The data
are shown in Table 17.3.

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324 CHAPTER 17. STATISTICS

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

802.39 787.78 815.74 807.41 801.48 786.59 799.01

796.76 798.93 809.68 798.72 818.26 789.08 805.99

802.50 793.63 785.37 809.30 787.65 801.45 799.35

819.59 812.62 809.05 791.13 805.28 817.76 801.01

801.21 795.86 795.21 820.39 806.64 819.54 796.67

789.00 796.33 787.87 799.84 789.45 802.05 802.20

788.99 797.72 776.71 790.69 803.16 801.24 807.32

808.80 780.38 812.61 801.82 784.68 792.19 809.80

802.37 790.83 792.43 789.24 815.63 799.35 791.23

796.20 817.57 799.05 825.96 807.89 806.65 780.23

Table 17.3: Masses (in g) of 10 dierent loaves of bread, from the same manufacturer, measured at the

same store over a period of 1 week.

17.3.4 Data Set 4: Global Temperature

The mean global temperature from 1861 to 1996 is listed in Table 17.4. The data, obtained from
2
http://www.cgd.ucar.edu/stats/Data/Climate/ , was converted to mean temperature in degrees Celsius.

Year Temperature Year Temperature Year Temperature Year Temperature

1861 12.66 1901 12.871 1941 13.152 1981 13.228

1862 12.58 1902 12.726 1942 13.147 1982 13.145

1863 12.799 1903 12.647 1943 13.156 1983 13.332

1864 12.619 1904 12.601 1944 13.31 1984 13.107

1865 12.825 1905 12.719 1945 13.153 1985 13.09

1866 12.881 1906 12.79 1946 13.015 1986 13.183

1867 12.781 1907 12.594 1947 13.006 1987 13.323

1868 12.853 1908 12.575 1948 13.015 1988 13.34

1869 12.787 1909 12.596 1949 13.005 1989 13.269

1870 12.752 1910 12.635 1950 12.898 1990 13.437

1871 12.733 1911 12.611 1951 13.044 1991 13.385

continued on next page

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 325

1872 12.857 1912 12.678 1952 13.113 1992 13.237

1873 12.802 1913 12.671 1953 13.192 1993 13.28

1874 12.68 1914 12.85 1954 12.944 1994 13.355

1875 12.669 1915 12.962 1955 12.935 1995 13.483

1876 12.687 1916 12.727 1956 12.836 1996 13.314

1877 12.957 1917 12.584 1957 13.139

1878 13.092 1918 12.7 1958 13.208

1879 12.796 1919 12.792 1959 13.133

1880 12.811 1920 12.857 1960 13.094

1881 12.845 1921 12.902 1961 13.124

1882 12.864 1922 12.787 1962 13.129

1883 12.783 1923 12.821 1963 13.16

1884 12.73 1924 12.764 1964 12.868

1885 12.754 1925 12.868 1965 12.935

1886 12.826 1926 13.014 1966 13.035

1887 12.723 1927 12.904 1967 13.031

1888 12.783 1928 12.871 1968 13.004

1889 12.922 1929 12.718 1969 13.117

1890 12.703 1930 12.964 1970 13.064

1891 12.767 1931 13.041 1971 12.903

1892 12.671 1932 12.992 1972 13.031

1893 12.631 1933 12.857 1973 13.175

1894 12.709 1934 12.982 1974 12.912

1895 12.728 1935 12.943 1975 12.975

1896 12.93 1936 12.993 1976 12.869

1897 12.936 1937 13.092 1977 13.148

1898 12.759 1938 13.187 1978 13.057

1899 12.874 1939 13.111 1979 13.154

continued on next page

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326 CHAPTER 17. STATISTICS

1900 12.959 1940 13.055 1980 13.195

Table 17.4: Global temperature changes over the past 135 years. There has been a lot of discussion

regarding changing weather patterns and a possible link to pollution and greenhouse gasses.

17.3.5 Data Set 5: Price of Petrol

The price of petrol in South Africa from August 1998 to July 2000 is shown in Table 17.5.

Date Price (R/l)

August 1998 R 2.37

September 1998 R 2.38

October 1998 R 2.35

November 1998 R 2.29

December 1998 R 2.31

January 1999 R 2.25

February 1999 R 2.22

March 1999 R 2.25

April 1999 R 2.31

May 1999 R 2.49

June 1999 R 2.61

July 1999 R 2.61

August 1999 R 2.62

September 1999 R 2.75

October 1999 R 2.81

November 1999 R 2.86

December 1999 R 2.85

January 2000 R 2.86

February 2000 R 2.81

March 2000 R 2.89

April 2000 R 3.03

May 2000 R 3.18

June 2000 R 3.22

July 2000 R 3.36

Table 17.5: Petrol prices

17.4 Grouping Data

One of the rst steps to processing a large set of raw data is to arrange the data values together into a smaller
number of groups, and then count how many of each data value there are in each group. The groups are

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 327

usually based on some sort of interval of data values, so data values that fall into a specic interval, would
be grouped together. The grouped data is often presented graphically or in a frequency table. (Frequency
means how many times)

Exercise 17.1: Grouping Data (Solution on p. 343.)

Group the elements of Data Set 1 (Table 17.1) to determine how many times the coin landed
heads-up and how many times the coin landed tails-up.

17.4.1 Exercises - Grouping Data

1. The height of 30 learners are given below. Fill in the grouped data below. (Tally is a convenient way
to count in 5's. We use llll to indicate 5.)

142 163 169 132 139 140 152 168 139 150

161 132 162 172 146 152 150 132 157 133

141 170 156 155 169 138 142 160 164 168

Table 17.6

Group Tally Frequency

130 ≤h< 140

140 ≤h< 150

150 ≤h< 160

160 ≤h< 170

170 ≤h< 180

Table 17.7

3
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2. An experiment was conducted in class and 50 learners were asked to guess the number of sweets in a
jar. The following guesses were recorded.

56 49 40 11 33 33 37 29 30 59

21 16 38 44 38 52 22 24 30 34

42 15 48 33 51 44 33 17 19 44

47 23 27 47 13 25 53 57 28 23

36 35 40 23 45 39 32 58 22 40

Table 17.8

Draw up a grouped frequency table using intervals 11-20, 21-30, 31-40, etc.
4
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328 CHAPTER 17. STATISTICS

17.5 Summarising Data

Once the data has been collected, it must be organised in a manner that allows for the information to be
extracted most eciently. For this reason it is useful to be able to summarise the data set by calculating a
few quantities that give information about how the data values are spread and about the central values in
the data set. Other methods of summarising and representing data will be covered in grade 11.

17.5.1 Measures of Central Tendency

17.5.1.1 Mean or Average
The mean, (also known as arithmetic mean), is simply the arithmetic average of a group of numbers (or
data set) and is shown using the bar symbol . So the mean of the variable x is x pronounced "x-bar". The
mean of a set of values is calculated by adding up all the values in the set and dividing by the number of
items in that set. The mean is calculated from the raw, ungrouped data.

Denition 17.2: Mean

The mean of a data set, x, denoted by x, is the average of the data values, and is calculated as:

sum of all values x1 + x2 + x3 + ... + xn

x = = (17.1)
number of all values n

Method: Calculating the mean

1. Find the total of the data values in the data set.
2. Count how many data values there are in the data set.
3. Divide the total by the number of data values.

Exercise 17.2: Mean (Solution on p. 343.)

What is the mean of x = {10, 20, 30, 40, 50}?

17.5.1.2 Median
Denition 17.3: Median
The median of a set of data is the data value in the central position, when the data set has been
arranged from highest to lowest or from lowest to highest. There are an equal number of data
values on either side of the median value.

The median is calculated from the raw, ungrouped data, as follows.

Method: Calculating the median
1. Order the data from smallest to largest or from largest to smallest.
2. Count how many data values there are in the data set.
3. Find the data value in the central position of the set.

Exercise 17.3: Median (Solution on p. 343.)

What is the median of {10, 14, 86, 2, 68, 99, 1}?
This example has highlighted a potential problem with determining the median. It is very easy to determine
the median of a data set with an odd number of data values, but what happens when there is an even number
of data values in the data set?
When there is an even number of data values, the median is the mean of the two middle points.

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 329

tip: An easy way to determine the central position or positions for any ordered data set is to take
the total number of data values, add 1, and then divide by 2. If the number you get is a whole
number, then that is the central position. If the number you get is a fraction, take the two whole
numbers on either side of the fraction, as the positions of the data values that must be averaged to
obtain the median.

Exercise 17.4: Median (Solution on p. 343.)

What is the median of {11, 10, 14, 86, 2, 68, 99, 1}?

17.5.1.3 Mode
Denition 17.4: Mode
The mode is the data value that occurs most often, i.e. it is the most frequent value or most
common value in a set.

Method: Calculating the mode Count how many times each data value occurs. The mode is the
data value that occurs the most.
The mode is calculated from grouped data, or single data items.

Exercise 17.5: Mode (Solution on p. 343.)

Find the mode of the data set x = {1, 2, 3, 4, 4, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 8, 9, 10, 10}
A data set can have more than one mode. For example, both 2 and 3 are modes in the set 1, 2, 2, 3, 3. If
all points in a data set occur with equal frequency, it is equally accurate to describe the data set as having
many modes or no mode.

Khan academy video on statistics

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Figure 17.3

17.5.2 Measures of Dispersion

The mean, median and mode are measures of central tendency, i.e. they provide information on the central
data values in a set. When describing data it is sometimes useful (and in some cases necessary) to determine
the spread of a distribution. Measures of dispersion provide information on how the data values in a set are
distributed around the mean value. Some measures of dispersion are range, percentiles and quartiles.

17.5.2.1 Range
Denition 17.5: Range
The range of a data set is the dierence between the lowest value and the highest value in the set.

Method: Calculating the range

1. Find the highest value in the data set.
2. Find the lowest value in the data set.
3. Subtract the lowest value from the highest value. The dierence is the range.

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330 CHAPTER 17. STATISTICS

Exercise 17.6: Range (Solution on p. 344.)

Find the range of the data set x = {1, 2, 3, 4, 4, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 8, 9, 10, 10}

17.5.2.2 Quartiles
Denition 17.6: Quartiles
Quartiles are the three data values that divide an ordered data set into four groups containing
equal numbers of data values. The median is the second quartile.

The quartiles of a data set are formed by the two boundaries on either side of the median, which divide
the set into four equal sections. The lowest 25% of the data being found below the rst quartile value, also
called the lower quartile. The median, or second quartile divides the set into two equal sections. The lowest
75% of the data set should be found below the third quartile, also called the upper quartile. For example:

22 24 48 51 60 72 73 75 80 88 90

↓ ↓ ↓
Lower quartile Median Upper quartile

(Q1 ) (Q2 ) (Q3 )

Table 17.9

Method: Calculating the quartiles

1. Order the data from smallest to largest or from largest to smallest.
2. Count how many data values there are in the data set.
3. Divide the number of data values by 4. The result is the number of data values per group.
4. Determine the data values corresponding to the rst, second and third quartiles using the number of
data values per quartile.

Exercise 17.7: Quartiles (Solution on p. 344.)

What are the quartiles of {3, 5, 1, 8, 9, 12, 25, 28, 24, 30, 41, 50}?

17.5.2.3 Inter-quartile Range

Denition 17.7: Inter-quartile Range
The inter quartile range is a measure which provides information about the spread of a data set,
and is calculated by subtracting the rst quartile from the third quartile, giving the range of the
middle half of the data set, trimming o the lowest and highest quarters, i.e. Q3 − Q1 .
Q3 −Q1
The semi-interquartile range is half the interquartile range, i.e.
2
Exercise 17.8: Medians, Quartiles and the Interquartile Range (Solution on p. 344.)
A class of 12 students writes a test and the results are as follows: 20, 39, 40, 43, 43, 46, 53, 58, 63,
70, 75, 91. Find the range, quartiles and the Interquartile Range.

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17.5.2.4 Percentiles
Denition 17.8: Percentiles
Percentiles are the 99 data values that divide a data set into 100 groups.

The calculation of percentiles is identical to the calculation of quartiles, except the aim is to divide the
data values into 100 groups instead of the 4 groups required by quartiles.
Method: Calculating the percentiles
1. Order the data from smallest to largest or from largest to smallest.
2. Count how many data values there are in the data set.
3. Divide the number of data values by 100. The result is the number of data values per group.
4. Determine the data values corresponding to the rst, second and third quartiles using the number of
data values per quartile.

17.5.3 Five number summary

We can summarise a data set by using the ve number summary. The ve number summary gives the lowest
data value, the highest data value, the median, the rst (lower) quartile and the third (higher) quartile.
Consider the following set of data: 5, 3, 4, 6, 2, 8, 5, 4, 6, 7, 3, 6, 9, 4, 5. We rst order the data as follows:
2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 4, 5, 5, 5, 6, 6, 6, 7, 8, 9. The lowest data value is 2 and the highest data value is 9. The median
is 5. The rst quartile is 4 and the third quartile is 6. So the ve number summary is: 2, 4, 5, 6, 9.

17.5.4 Box and whisker plots

The ve number summary can be shown graphically in a box and whisker plot. The main features of the
box and whisker diagram are shown in Figure 17.4. The box can lie horizontally (as shown) or vertically.
For a horizonatal diagram, the left edge of the box is placed at the rst quartile and the right edge of the
box is placed at the third quartile. The height of the box is arbitrary, as there is no y-axis. Inside the box
there is some representation of central tendency, with the median shown with a vertical line dividing the
box into two. Additionally, a star or asterix is placed at the mean value, centered in the box in the vertical
direction. The whiskers which extend to the sides reach the minimum and maximum values. This is shown
for the data set: 5, 3, 4, 6, 2, 8, 5, 4, 6, 7, 3, 6, 9, 4, 5.

Figure 17.4: Main features of a box and whisker plot

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332 CHAPTER 17. STATISTICS

Exercise 17.9 (Solution on p. 345.)

Draw a box and whisker diagram for the data set: x =
{1, 25; 1, 5; 2, 5; 2, 5; 3, 1; 3, 2; 4, 1; 4, 25; 4, 75; 4, 8; 4, 95; 5, 1}.

17.5.5 Exercises - Summarising Data

1. Three sets of data are given:

a. Data set 1: 9 12 12 14 16 22 24
b. Data set 2: 7 7 8 11 13 15 16 16
c. Data set 3: 11 15 16 17 19 19 22 24 27

For each one nd:

a. the range
b. the lower quartile
c. the interquartile range
d. the semi-interquartile range
e. the median
f. the upper quartile
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2. There is 1 sweet in one jar, and 3 in the second jar. The mean number of sweets in the rst two jars
is 2.

a. If the mean number in the rst three jars is 3, how many are there in the third jar?
b. If the mean number in the rst four jars is 4, how many are there in the fourth jar?
6
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3. Find a set of ve ages for which the mean age is 5, the modal age is 2 and the median age is 3 years.
7
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4. Four friends each have some marbles. They work out that the mean number of marbles they have is 10.
One of them leaves. She has 4 marbles. How many marbles do the remaining friends have together?
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5. Jason is working in a computer store. He sells the following number of computers each month: 27; 39;
3; 15; 43; 27; 19; 54; 65; 23; 45; 16 Give a ve number summary and a box and whisker plot of his
sales.
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6. Lisa works as a telesales person. She keeps a record of the number of sales she makes each month. The
data below show how much she sells each month. 49; 12; 22; 35; 2; 45; 60; 48; 19; 1; 43; 12 Give a ve
number summary and a box and whisker plot of her sales.
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7. Rose has worked in a orists shop for nine months. She sold the following number of wedding bouquets:
16; 14; 8; 12; 6; 5; 3; 5; 7

a. What is the ve-number summary of the data?

b. Since there is an odd number of data points what do you observe when calculating the ve-
numbers?
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 333

We can apply the concepts of mean, median and mode to data that has been grouped. Grouped data does
not have individual data points, but rather has the data organized into groups or bins. To calculate the
mean we need to add up all the frequencies and divide by the total. We do not know what the actual data
values are, so we approximate by choosing the midpoint of each group. We then multiply those midpoint
numbers by the frequency. Then we add these numbers together to nd the approximate total of the masses.
The modal group is the group with the highest frequency. The median group is the group that contains the
middle terms.
Measures of dispersion can also be found for grouped data. The range is found by subtracting the smallest
number in the lowest bin from the largest number in the highest bin. The quartiles are found in a similar
way to the median.

Exercise 17.10: Mean, Median and Mode for Grouped Data (Solution on p. 347.)
Consider the following grouped data and calculate the mean, the modal group and the median
group.

Mass (kg) Frequency

41 - 45 7

46 - 50 10

51 - 55 15

56 - 60 12

61 - 65 6

Total = 50

Table 17.10

17.5.5.1 More mean, modal and median group exercises.

In each data set given, nd the mean, the modal group and the median group.

1. Times recorded when learners played a game.

Time in seconds Frequency

36 - 45 5

46 - 55 11

56 - 65 15

66 - 75 26

76 - 85 19

86 - 95 13

96 - 105 6

Table 17.11

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334 CHAPTER 17. STATISTICS

2. The following data were collected from a group of learners.

Mass in kilograms Frequency

41 - 45 3

46 - 50 5

51 - 55 8

56 - 60 12

61 - 65 14

66 - 70 9

71 - 75 7

76 - 80 2

Table 17.12

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17.6 Bias and error in measurements

All measurements have some error associated with them. Random errors occur in all data sets and are
sometimes known as non-systematic errors. Random errors can arise from estimation of data values, im-
precision of instruments, etc. For example if you are reading lengths o a ruler, random errors will arise in
each measurement as a result of estimating between which two lines the length lies. Bias is also sometimes
known as systematic error. Bias in a data set is where a value is consistently under or overestimated. Bias
can arise from forgetting to take into account a correction factor or from instruments that are not properly
calibrated (calibration is the process of marking o predened measurements). Bias leads to a sample mean
that is either lower or higher than the true mean.

17.7 Data interpretation

Many people take statistics and just blindly apply it to life or quote it. This, however, is not wise since the
data that led to the statistics also needs to be considered. A well known example of several sets of data that
lead to the same statistical analysis (the process of examining data and determining values such as central
tendency, etc.) but are in fact very dierent is Anscombe's quartet. This is shown in . In Grade 11 you will
learn about the methods used to represent data graphically. For now, however, you should simply appreciate
the fact that we can plot data values on the Cartesian plane in a similar way to plotting graphs. If each of the
datasets in Anscombe's quartet are analysed statistically, then one nds that the mean, variance, correlation
and linear regression (these terms will be explained in later grades) are identical. If, instead of analysing
the data statistically, we simply plot the data points we can see that the data sets are very dierent. This
example shows us that it is very important to consider the underlying data set as well as the statistics that
we obtain from the data. We cannot simply assume that just because we know the statistics of a data set,
we know what the data set is telling us. For general interest, some of the ways that statistics and data can
be misinterpreted are given in the following extension section.

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Figure 17.5: Anscombe's quartet

17.8 Misuse of Statistics - For enrichment, not in CAPS

In many cases groups can gain an advantage by misleading people with the misuse of statistics. Companies
misuse statistics to attempt to show that they are performing better than a competitor, advertisers abuse
statistics to try to convince you to buy their product, researchers misuse statistics to attempt to show that
their data is of better quality than it really is, etc.
Common techniques used include:

• Three dimensional graphs.

• Axes that do not start at zero.
• Axes without scales.
• Graphic images that convey a negative or positive mood.
• Assumption that a correlation shows a necessary causality.
• Using statistics that are not truly representative of the entire population.
• Using misconceptions of mathematical concepts

For example, the following pairs of graphs show identical information but look very dierent. Explain why.

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336 CHAPTER 17. STATISTICS

Figure 17.6

17.8.1 Exercises - Misuse of Statistics

1. A company has tried to give a visual representation of the increase in their earnings from one year to
the next. Does the graph below convince you? Critically analyse the graph.

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 337

2006 2007

Figure 17.7

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2. In a study conducted on a busy highway, data was collected about drivers breaking the speed limit
and the colour of the car they were driving. The data were collected during a 20 minute time interval
during the middle of the day, and are presented in a table and pie chart below.

• Conclusions made by a novice based on the data are summarised as follows:

• People driving white cars are more likely to break the speed limit.
• Drivers in blue and red cars are more likely to stick to the speed limit.
• Do you agree with these conclusions? Explain.
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3. A record label produces a graphic, showing their advantage in sales over their competitors. Identify at
least three devices they have used to inuence and mislead the readers impression.

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338 CHAPTER 17. STATISTICS

50 million copies

40 million copies

Our sales Competitor’s sales

Figure 17.8

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4. In an eort to discredit their competition, a tour bus company prints the graph shown below. Their
claim is that the competitor is losing business. Can you think of a better explanation?

2400

2000
Number of tourist passengers

1600

1200

800

400

0
O N D J F M A M J

Months of 2006/2007

Figure 17.9

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5. To test a theory, 8 dierent oces were monitored for noise levels and productivity of the employees
in the oce. The results are graphed below.
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 339

Noise Level vs Productivity

Productivity
×
×
×

×
×

Noise Level

Figure 17.10

The following statement was then made: If an oce environment is noisy, this leads to poor produc-
tivity. Explain the aws in this thinking.
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17.9 End of chapter summary

ˆ Data types can be divided into primary and secondary data. Primary data may be further divided
into qualitative and quantitative data.
ˆ We use the following as measures of central tendency:

· The mean of a data set, x, denoted by x, is the average of the data values, and is calculated as:

sum of values
x= (17.2)
number of values

· The median is the centre data value in a data set that has been ordered from lowest to highest
· The mode is the data value that occurs most often in a data set.

ˆ The following are measures of dispersion:

· The range of a data set is the dierence between the lowest value and the highest value in the
set.
· Quartiles are the three data values that divide an ordered data set into four groups containing
equal numbers of data values. The median is the second quartile.
· Percentiles are the 99 data values that divide a data set into 100 groups.
· The inter quartile range is a measure which provides information about the spread of a data set,
and is calculated by subtracting the rst quartile from the third quartile, giving the range of the
middle half of the data set, trimming o the lowest and highest quarters, i.e. Q3 − Q1 . Half of
this value is the semi-interquartile range.

ˆ The ve number summary is a way to summarise data. A box and whisker plot is a graphical repre-
sentation of the ve number summary.
ˆ Random errors are found in all sets of data and arise from estimating data values. Bias or systematic
error occurs when you consistently under or over estimate data values.
ˆ You must always consider the data and the statistics that summarise the data

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340 CHAPTER 17. STATISTICS

17.10 Exercises
1. Calculate the mean, median, and mode of Data Set 3.
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2. The tallest 7 trees in a park have heights in metres of 41, 60, 47, 42, 44, 42, and 47. Find the median
of their heights.
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3. The students in Bjorn's class have the following ages: 5, 6, 7, 5, 4, 6, 6, 6, 7, 4. Find the mode of their
ages.
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4. An engineering company has designed two dierent types of engines for motorbikes. The two dierent
motorbikes are tested for the time it takes (in seconds) for them to accelerate from 0 km/h to 60
km/h.

Test Test Test Test Test Test Test Test Test Test Average
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Bike 1.55 1.00 0.92 0.80 1.49 0.71 1.06 0.68 0.87 1.09
1

Bike 0.9 1.0 1.1 1.0 1.0 0.9 0.9 1.0 0.9 1.1
2

Table 17.13

a. What measure of central tendency should be used for this information?

b. Calculate the average you chose in the previous question for each motorbike.
c. Which motorbike would you choose based on this information? Take note of accuracy of the
numbers from each set of tests.

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5. The heights of 40 learners are given below.

154 140 145 159 150 132 149 150 138 152

141 132 169 173 139 161 163 156 157 171

168 166 151 152 132 142 170 162 146 152

142 150 161 138 170 131 145 146 147 160

Table 17.14

a. Set up a frequency table using 6 intervals.

b. Calculate the approximate mean.
c. Determine the mode.
d. How many learners are taller than your approximate average in (b)?

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 341

6. In a trac survey, a random sample of 50 motorists were asked the distance they drove to work daily.
This information is shown in the table below.

Distance in km 1-5 6-10 11-15 16-20 21-25 26-30 31-35 36-40 41-45

Frequency 4 5 9 10 7 8 3 2 2

Table 17.15

a. Find the approximate mean.

b. What percentage of samples drove

i. less than 16 km?

ii. more than 30 km?
iii. between 16 km and 30 km daily?

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7. A company wanted to evaluate the training programme in its factory. They gave the same task to
trained and untrained employees and timed each one in seconds.

Trained 121 137 131 135 130

128 130 126 132 127

129 120 118 125 134

Untrained 135 142 126 148 145

156 152 153 149 145

144 134 139 140 142

Table 17.16

a. Find the medians and quartiles for both sets of data.

b. Find the Interquartile Range for both sets of data.
c. Comment on the results.

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8. A small rm employs nine people. The annual salaries of the employers are:

R600 000 R250 000 R200 000

R120 000 R100 000 R100 000

R100 000 R90 000 R80 000

Table 17.17

a. Find the mean of these salaries.

b. Find the mode.
c. Find the median.
d. Of these three gures, which would you use for negotiating salary increases if you were a trade
union ocial? Why?

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342 CHAPTER 17. STATISTICS

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9. The marks for a particular class test are listed here:

67 58 91 67 58 82 71 51 60 84

31 67 96 64 78 71 87 78 89 38

69 62 60 73 60 87 71 49

Table 17.18

Complete the frequency table using the given class intervals.

Class Tally Frequency Mid-point Freq × Midpt

30-39 34,5

40-49 44,5

50-59

60-69

70-79

80-89

90-99

Sum = Sum =

Table 17.19

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 343

Solutions to Exercises in Chapter 17

Solution to Exercise 17.1 (p. 327)
Step 1. There are two unique data values: H and T. Therefore there are two groups, one for the H-data values
and one for the T-data values.
Step 2.
Data Value Frequency

H 44

T 56

Table 17.20

Step 3. There are 100 data values and the total of the frequency column is 44+56=100.

Solution to Exercise 17.2 (p. 328)

Step 1.
10 + 20 + 30 + 40 + 50 = 150 (17.3)

Step 2. There are 5 values in the data set.

Step 3.
150 ÷ 5 = 30 (17.4)

Step 4. ∴ the mean of the data set x = {10, 20, 30, 40, 50} is 30.

Solution to Exercise 17.3 (p. 328)

Step 1. 1,2,10,14,68,86,99
Step 2. There are 7 points in the data set.
Step 3. The central position of the data set is 4.
Step 4. 14 is in the central position of the data set.
Step 5. ∴ 14 is the median of the data set {1, 2, 10, 14, 68, 86, 99}.
Solution to Exercise 17.4 (p. 329)
Step 1. 1,2,10,11,14,68,85,99
Step 2. There are 8 points in the data set.
Step 3. The central position of the data set is between positions 4 and 5.
Step 4. 11 is in position 4 and 14 is in position 5.
Step 5. ∴ the median of the data set {1, 2, 10, 11, 14, 68, 85, 99} is

(11 + 14) ÷ 2 = 12, 5 (17.5)

Solution to Exercise 17.5 (p. 329)

Step 1.
data value frequency data value frequency

1 1 6 1

2 1 7 1

3 1 8 2

4 3 9 1

5 1 10 2

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 344 CHAPTER 17. STATISTICS

Table 17.21

Step 2. 4 occurs most often.

Step 3. The mode of the data set x = {1, 2, 3, 4, 4, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 8, 9, 10, 10} is 4. Since the number 4 appears the
most frequently.

Solution to Exercise 17.6 (p. 330)

Step 1. 10 is the highest value and 1 is the lowest value.
Step 2.
10 − 1 = 9 (17.6)

Step 3. For the data set x = {1, 2, 3, 4, 4, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 8, 9, 10, 10}, the range is 9.

Solution to Exercise 17.7 (p. 330)

Step 1. {1, 3, 5, 8, 9, 12, 24, 25, 28, 30, 41, 50}
Step 2. There are 12 values in the data set.
Step 3.
12 ÷ 4 = 3 (17.7)

Step 4.
1 3 5 k 8 9 12 k 24 25 28 k 30 41 50

Q1 Q2 Q3

Table 17.22

The rst quartile occurs between data position 3 and 4 and is the average of data values 5 and 8. The
second quartile occurs between positions 6 and 7 and is the average of data values 12 and 24. The
third quartile occurs between positions 9 and 10 and is the average of data values 28 and 30.
Step 5. The rst quartile = 6,5. (Q1 )
The second quartile = 18. (Q2 )
The third quartile = 29. (Q3 )

Solution to Exercise 17.8 (p. 330)

Step 1.
20 39 40 k 43 43 46 k 53 58 63 k 70 75 91

Q1 M Q3

Table 17.23

Step 2. The range = 91 - 20 = 71. This tells us that the marks are quite widely spread. (Remember, however,
that 'wide' and 'large' are relative terms. If you are considering one hundred people, a range of 71
would be 'large', but if you are considering one million people, a range of 71 would likely be 'small',
depending, of course, on what you were analyzing).
Step 3. i.e. M = 46+53
2 = 99
2 = 49, 5
Step 4. i.e. Q1 = 2 = 83
40+43
2 = 41, 5
Step 5. i.e. Q3 = 63+70
2 = 2 = 66, 5
133

Step 6. The quartiles are 41,5, 49,5 and 66,5. These quartiles tell us that 25% of the marks are less than 41,5;
50% of the marks are less than 49,5 and 75% of the marks are less than 66,5. They also tell us that
50% of the marks lie between 41,5 and 66,5.
Step 7. The Interquartile Range = 66,5 - 41,5 = 25. This tells us that the width of the middle 50% of the data
values is 25.
25
Step 8. The Semi-interquartile Range =
2 = 12,5

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 345

Solution to Exercise 17.9 (p. 331)

Step 1. Minimum = 1, 25
Maximum = 5, 10
The position of rst quartile is between 3 and 4.
The position of second quartile is between 6 and 7.
The position of third quartile is between 9 and 10.

2 (2, 5 + 2, 5) = 2, 5
1
The data value between 3 and 4 is:

2 (3, 2 + 4, 1) = 3, 65
1
The data value between 6 and 7 is:

2 (4, 75 + 4, 8) = 4, 775
1
The data value between 9 and 10 is:

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 346 CHAPTER 17. STATISTICS

Step 2.

Figure 17.11
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 347

Solution to Exercise 17.10 (p. 333)

Step 1. To calculate the mean we need to add up all the masses and divide by 50. We do not know actual
masses, so we approximate by choosing the midpoint of each group. We then multiply those midpoint
numbers by the frequency. Then we add these numbers together to nd the approximate total of the
masses. This is show in the table below.

Mass (kg) Midpoint Frequency Midpt × Freq

41 - 45 (41+45)/2 = 43 7 43 × 7 = 301

46 - 50 48 10 480

51 - 55 53 15 795

56 - 60 58 12 696

61 - 65 63 6 378

Total = 50 Total = 2650

Table 17.24

50 = 53.
2650
Step 2. The mean =
The modal group is the group 51 - 53 because it has the highest frequency.
The median group is the group 51 - 53, since the 25th and 26th terms are contained within this group.

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348 GLOSSARY

Glossary

C Common dierence
The common dierence is the dierence between successive terms and is denoted by d.

Compound Interest
Compound interest is the interest payable on the principal and its accumulated interest.

D Data
Data refers to the pieces of information that have been observed and recorded, from an
experiment or a survey. There are two types of data: primary and secondary. The word "data"
is the plural of the word "datum", and therefore one should say, "the data are" and not "the
data is".

E Equality for Exponential Functions

If a is a positive number such that a > 0, (except when a=1 ) then:

ax = ay (10.16)

if and only if:

x=y (10.17)

(If a = 1, then x and y can dier)

Exponential Notation
Exponential notation means a number written like

an (6.1)

where n is an integer and a can be any real number. a is called the base and n is called the
exponent or index.

I Inter-quartile Range
The inter quartile range is a measure which provides information about the spread of a data set,
and is calculated by subtracting the rst quartile from the third quartile, giving the range of the
middle half of the data set, trimming o the lowest and highest quarters, i.e. Q3 − Q1 .

M Mean
The mean of a data set, x, denoted by x, is the average of the data values, and is calculated as:

sum of all values x1 + x2 + x3 + ... + xn

x = = (17.1)
number of all values n
Median
The median of a set of data is the data value in the central position, when the data set has been
arranged from highest to lowest or from lowest to highest. There are an equal number of data
values on either side of the median value.

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GLOSSARY 349

Mode
The mode is the data value that occurs most often, i.e. it is the most frequent value or most
common value in a set.

P Percentiles
Percentiles are the 99 data values that divide a data set into 100 groups.

Q Quartiles
Quartiles are the three data values that divide an ordered data set into four groups containing
equal numbers of data values. The median is the second quartile.

R Range
The range of a data set is the dierence between the lowest value and the highest value in the set.

Rational Number
A rational number is any number which can be written as:

a
(5.2)
b
where a and b are integers and b 6= 0.

S Similar Polygons
Two polygons are similar if:

• their corresponding angles are equal, and

• the ratios of corresponding sides are equal.

Simple Interest
Simple interest is where you earn interest on the initial amount that you invested, but not
interest on interest.

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350 INDEX

Index of Keywords and Terms

Keywords are listed by the section with that keyword (page numbers are in parentheses). Keywords
do not necessarily appear in the text of the page. They are merely associated with that section. Ex.
apples, Ÿ 1.1 (1) Terms are referenced by the page they appear on. Ex. apples, 1

A Analytical, Ÿ 16(303) M Mathematics, Ÿ 1(1), Ÿ 4(59), Ÿ 6(83), Ÿ 9(103),

Average Gradient, Ÿ 11(147) Ÿ 11(147), Ÿ 12(155), Ÿ 13(187), Ÿ 14(213),

C
Ÿ 17(319)
Common dierence, 53
Mathemics, Ÿ 16(303)
Compound Interest, 62
maths, Ÿ 15(267)

D Data, 319
Mean, 328
Median, 328

E Equality for Exponential Functions, 126 Mode, 329

Equations, Ÿ 10(119)
Estimating Surds, Ÿ 7(93)
N Number Patterns, Ÿ 3(51)

Exponential Notation, 83
P Percentiles, 331
Exponentials, Ÿ 6(83)
probability, Ÿ 12(155)
Extension, Ÿ 11(147)
Products, Ÿ 9(103)

F Factors, Ÿ 9(103)
Q Quartiles, 330
FHSST, Ÿ 2(17), Ÿ 10(119), Ÿ 15(267)
Finance, Ÿ 4(59) R Range, 329
Functions, Ÿ 2(17) Rational Number, 78

G
Rational Numbers, Ÿ 5(77)
Geometry, Ÿ 13(187), Ÿ 14(213), Ÿ 16(303)
Rounding O, Ÿ 8(99)
Grade 10, Ÿ 1(1), Ÿ 2(17), Ÿ 3(51), Ÿ 4(59),
Ÿ 5(77), Ÿ 6(83), Ÿ 7(93), Ÿ 8(99), Ÿ 9(103), S Similar Polygons, 217
Ÿ 10(119), Ÿ 11(147), Ÿ 12(155), Ÿ 13(187), Simple Interest, 60
Ÿ 14(213), Ÿ 15(267), Ÿ 16(303), Ÿ 17(319) South Africa, Ÿ 1(1), Ÿ 2(17), Ÿ 3(51), Ÿ 4(59),
Graphs, Ÿ 2(17) Ÿ 5(77), Ÿ 6(83), Ÿ 7(93), Ÿ 8(99), Ÿ 9(103),

I
Ÿ 10(119), Ÿ 11(147), Ÿ 12(155), Ÿ 13(187),
Inequalities, Ÿ 10(119)
Ÿ 14(213), Ÿ 15(267), Ÿ 16(303), Ÿ 17(319)
Inter-quartile Range, 330
statistics, Ÿ 12(155), Ÿ 17(319)
Introduction, Ÿ 13(187)
Surds, Ÿ 7(93)
Irrational Numbers, Ÿ 8(99)
T Triginometry, Ÿ 15(267)

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ATTRIBUTIONS 351

Attributions
Collection: Derived copy of FHSST: Grade 10 Maths [CAPS]
Edited by: Ewald Zietsman
URL: http://cnx.org/content/col11326/1.1/
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Module: "Review of Past Work - Grade 10 [CAPS]"

Used here as: "Review of Past Work"
By: Free High School Science Texts Project
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Pages: 1-16
Copyright: Free High School Science Texts Project
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Based on: Review of Past Work
By: Rory Adams, Free High School Science Texts Project, Mark Horner, Heather Williams
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Module: "Functions and graphs - Grade 10 [CAPS]"

Used here as: "Functions and graphs"
By: Free High School Science Texts Project
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Pages: 17-50
Copyright: Free High School Science Texts Project
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Based on: Functions and graphs - Grade 10
By: Free High School Science Texts Project, Heather Williams
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Module: "Number Patterns - Grade 10 [CAPS]"

Used here as: "Number patterns"
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Pages: 51-58
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Module: "Finance - Grade 10 [CAPS]"

Used here as: "Finance"
By: Free High School Science Texts Project
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Pages: 59-76
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352 ATTRIBUTIONS

Module: "Rational Numbers - Grade 10 [CAPS]"

Used here as: "Rational numbers"
By: Free High School Science Texts Project
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Pages: 77-82
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Module: "Exponentials - Grade 10 [CAPS]"

Used here as: "Exponentials"
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Pages: 83-91
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Module: "Estimating Surds - Grade 10 [CAPS]"

Used here as: "Estimating surds"
By: Free High School Science Texts Project
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Pages: 93-97
Copyright: Free High School Science Texts Project
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By: Rory Adams, Free High School Science Texts Project, Mark Horner, Heather Williams
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m31339/1.5/

Module: "Irrational Numbers and Rounding O - Grade 10 [CAPS]"

Used here as: "Irrational numbers and rounding o"
By: Free High School Science Texts Project
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Pages: 99-102
Copyright: Free High School Science Texts Project
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Based on: Irrational Numbers and Rounding O
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ATTRIBUTIONS 353

Module: "Products and Factors - Grade 10 [CAPS]"

Used here as: "Products and factors"
By: Free High School Science Texts Project
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Pages: 103-118
Copyright: Free High School Science Texts Project
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Based on: Products and Factors
By: Rory Adams, Free High School Science Texts Project, Mark Horner, Heather Williams
URL: http://cnx.org/content/m31483/1.3/

Module: "Equations and Inequalities - Grade 10 [CAPS]"

Used here as: "Equations and inequalities"
By: Free High School Science Texts Project
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Pages: 119-146
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By: Rory Adams, Free High School Science Texts Project, Heather Williams
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Module: "Average Gradient - Grade 10 [CAPS]"

Used here as: "Average gradient"
By: Free High School Science Texts Project
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Pages: 147-154
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Based on: Average Gradient
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Module: "Probability - Grade 10 [CAPS]"

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354 ATTRIBUTIONS

Module: "Geometry Basics - Grade 10 [CAPS]"

Used here as: "Geometry basics"
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Pages: 187-211
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Module: "Geometry - Grade 10 [CAPS]"

Used here as: "Geometry"
By: Free High School Science Texts Project
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Pages: 213-266
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Module: "Trigonometry - Grade 10 [CAPS]"

Used here as: "Trigonometry"
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Module: "Analytical Geometry - Grade 10 [CAPS]"

Used here as: "Analytical geometry"
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Module: "Statistics - Grade 10 [CAPS]"

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Derived copy of FHSST: Grade 10 Maths [CAPS]
Grade 10 maths textbook

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