IC Aero/EEE Mathematics Aptitude Test

Sample Paper 2
[30 minutes]

There are 30 questions in the test.

The solutions for each question is provided at the end of the question paper.

The questions are based on the standard A-level Maths syllabus. They are designed to test
problem-solving abilities. There are a handful of A-level Further Maths questions. Where
possible, adequate information is provided such that all candidates are able to attempt these
questions. However, IC Aero/EEE MAT papers (as of 2022) will not contain any Further
Maths questions.

© IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON 2022

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 Instructions
1. You are not expected to answer all questions, unanswered questions are not pe-
nalised. Each incorrect answer deducts 25% of the marks available for this question.

2. The test consists of 30 questions — 20 are worth one mark, 10 are worth two marks.
You will be able to see how many marks each question is worth during the test.

3. All questions are multiple choice. Each question presents four choices, only one is
correct.

4. You are allowed to use plain A4 papers for working out your answers.

5. This is a closed-book examination, any access to resources and calculators are not
allowed.

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 Sample Paper

1. Solve the following: [1 mark]

4
loga (a ) − 2loga (2a) = 1
A. 2
B. ±2
C. ±1
D. 4

2. Simplify the following expression : [1 mark]

2)
e0.5ln(4x)+ln(x

A. 2x2.5
B. 2x3
√
C. 2 x + x2
D. 2x1.5

3. Which of the following is equal to: [1 mark]

√ √
243 3 + 625 5

A. 32.5 + 52
B. 810
C. 35.5 + 54.5
D. 85.5

4. Consider the following equivalence: [2 marks]

4x3 − 2x2 − 3 Cx + D
2
≡ Ax + B + 2
2x − 1 2x − 1
What is A × B × C × D ?
A. 8
B. 16
C. -16
D. None of the above

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 Sample Paper

5. How many distinct real roots are present in the following equation? [2 marks]

7x4 + 3x2 + 1 = 0

A. 0
B. 2
C. 3
D. 4

6. How many complex roots does the following equation have? [1 mark]

f (z) = z 3 − 6z 2 + 15z − 28

A. 0
B. 1
C. 2
D. 3

7. What is the gradient function of : [1 mark]

f (x) = e2 sin(x) + ln(sin(x))

1
A. 2 cos(x)e2 sin(x) + sin(x)
cos(x)
B. 2 cos(x)e2 sin(x) + sin(x)
cos(x)
C. 2e2 sin(x) + sin(x)
1
D. 2e2 sin(x) + sin(x)

df π
8. Differentiate f with respect to y, where x is some constant and evaluate dy
at x = 2
[1 mark]
and y = 1:
f = xy 2 + sin (xy) cos (x) + ex
π
A. π + e 2
B. π
C. 3 π2
D. None of the above

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 Sample Paper

9. Function f and g are defined as: [1 mark]

f : x 7→ x2 − 2x − 3

g : x 7→ cos(x) − 1
What is the gradient of f g(a)?
A. 4 sin(a) − sin(a) cos(a)
B. 2 sin(a) cos(a) − 4 sin(a)
C. 4 sin(a) − sin(2a)
D. 2 sin(a) cos(a) + 4 sin(a)

10. Solve the following integral: [2 marks]

Z 1
e|x| − |x3 | dx
−1

A. e2 − e−2
5
B. e − 2
C. 0
5
D. 2e − 2

11. Compute the following integral: [2 marks]

Z ln 2
2
xex dx
ln 1/2

A. 26
B. 24
C. 0
D. 1

12. Which of the following options is a solution to this differential equation where nϵN? [1 mark]

dn y dn+2 y
=
dxn dxn+2
ex −e−x
A. y = 2
x
B. y = e
C. y = cosh(x)
D. All of the above

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 Sample Paper

13. Evaluate the following integral: [2 marks]

∞
5X
xn
Z
dx
1 n=0
n!
A. e5 − e
B. ln 5
C. sin(5) − sin(1)
D. None of the above

14. How many solutions does the following equation have in the interval [1 mark]
−180◦ ≤ x ≤ 180◦ ?
2 cos2 (x) = 3 sin(x) − 4 sin2 (x) + 4
A. 0
B. 1
C. 2
D. 4

15. Given that: [1 mark]

1
cot(x) =
tan(x)
What is the exact value of cot (75◦ )
√
A. 2 + 3
√
B. 2 − 3
√
C. 3 − 2
√
D. −2 − 3

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 Sample Paper

16. What is the length of AC? [2 marks]

A. 16.9 cm
√
2
B. cm
12
√
C. 6 2 cm
√
D. 12 2 cm

17. Vectors a and b are defined as: [1 mark]

   
2 1
a= ,b =
−3 4

What is the magnitude of 3(2a − b) + 5b?

A. 14i + 10j
√
B. 24
√
C. 4 6
√
D. 2 74

18. Matrix A is defined as:   [1 mark]

0 −k
2k 1
For what value of k makes A2 singular?
A. 0
1
B. 2
C. 1
D. −1

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 Sample Paper

19. A curve is defined by the parametric equations: [1 mark]

x = 2t − t2 , y = 1 − t3 , t ∈ R

Where does the curve intercept the y-axis?

A. y = 1 and y = −1
B. y = 1 and y = −3
C. y = 0 and y = 2
D. y = 1 and y = −7

20. Which of these inequalities satisfy the shaded region below? [1 mark]

1. y − 6 < 2x
2. x2 − 2 < y
3. y > 2
4. x < 2
A. 1 and 2 only
B. 1 and 2 and 3 only
C. 1 and 3 and 4 only
D. all inequalities

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 Sample Paper

21. Given the length of AD is 3cm, what is the area of the region ADEC ? [1 mark]

√
27 3
A. − 3π
2
√
B. 27 3 − 3π
2
√
C. 27 3 − 3π
√
27 3 3π
D. 2
− 2

22. ⌊x⌋ represents the floor function: this rounds the input down to the nearest inte- [2 marks]
ger. e.g. ⌊0.9⌋ = 0. Consider the following equation and determine which of the
statements below are true:

π
sin (⌊x⌋ ) − 1 = 0
2
1. When x is a solution, ⌊x⌋ is odd.
2. If ⌊x⌋ is odd, it is a solution.
Given that x1 and x2 are both solutions
3. ⌊x1 − x2 ⌋ is always a multiple of 4
4. ⌊x1 ⌋ − ⌊x2 ⌋ is always a multiple of 4.
A. 1 only
B. 1, 3 and 4 only
C. 1 and 4 only
D. All of the statements

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 Sample Paper

23. Find values of z that satisfy | z − 1 + 4i |= 5 and Im(z) = −1. [1 mark]

A. z = 5 − i
B. z = −3 − i
C. z = 5 − i and z = −3 − i
D. None of the above

24. Given that the sum of the first four terms of an arithmetic sequence is 73 x, the third [1 mark]
term is 43 x and the sixth term is 74 x. What is the first term of the sequence?
x
A. 3
x
B. 12
7x
C. 12
−x
D. 3

25. For what value of k does the following sum to infinity converge? [1 mark]
1 1 1 1
2
+ 2 4 + 3 6 + 4 8 + ...∞
πk π k π k π k
−1 −1
A. k > π 2 and k < −π 2

−1 −1
B. −π 2 <k<π 2

−1 −1
C. −π 2 ≤k≤π 2

1 1
D. −π 2 < k < π 2

26. For which range of x values does the following series converge? [1 mark]
∞
X
(2ex)n−1
n=1

1
A. x < 2e
2
B. x < e
−1 1
C. 2e
<x< 2e
e
D. x < 2

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 Sample Paper

27. The Fibonacci series is defined by un+1 = un + un−1 with u1 = 1 , u2 = 1: [2 marks]

{1, 1, 2, 3, 5, ...}

Consider a series such that un+1 = (un )(un−1 ) with u1 = 1 , u2 = 2 and express u25
where F (n) refers to the nth term in the Fibonacci series.
A. 2F (23)
B. 2F (25)
C. 2F (26)
D. None of the above
28. What is the sum of the x5 and x4 term coefficients of the following expression? [1 mark]
 7
1
2x −
2
A. 238
B. 98
C. −238
D. −98
29. What are the first three terms of the Maclaurin series of ln(cos(x))? [2 marks]
x3 2x5
A. −x − 3
− 15
x2 x4
B. 1 − 2
+ 24
2 x4 x6
C. − x2 − 12
− 45
x3
D. 1 − x2 + 3

30. Drag Optimisation: The approximate drag model for an aircraft is found as [2 marks]
Bn2
D = Avi2 +
vi2

D: Drag
vi : Equivalent Airspeed
Lif t
n: Load Factor, n = W eight
A and B are constants
Find vi at minimum drag.
q
A. vi = n1 BA

√
B. vi = 2n AB
q
C. vi = nB A
√ q 4
D. vi = n B A

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 Sample Paper

Question Points Answer

1 1 D
2 1 A
3 1 C
4 2 B
5 2 A
6 1 C
7 1 B
8 1 B
9 1 C
10 2 D
11 2 C
12 1 D
13 2 A
14 1 C
15 1 B
16 2 C
17 1 D
18 1 A
19 1 D
20 1 B
21 1 D
22 2 C
23 1 C
24 1 B
25 1 A
26 1 C
27 2 D
28 1 B
29 2 C
30 2 D

End of test