CIVIL ENGINEERING ENHANCEMENT COURSE 1 BY: ENGR.

AML

Module 1 – ALGEBRA

This module lays the groundwork for your engineering mathematics journey by revisiting
and expanding fundamental algebraic concepts. From the building blocks of sets and theories of
equations to the complexities of matrices and sequences, this module provides a solid foundation for
solving engineering problems. By mastering these topics, you will develop the algebraic proficiency
necessary to tackle more advanced mathematical concepts and real-world applications in civil
engineering.

Topics included in this module are the following:

 Number Sets, Union, Intersection, Inclusion & Exclusion

 Theory of Equation, Polynomials
 Partial Fraction
 Inequalities
 Binomial Theorem
 Worded Problems: Number, Work, Mixture, Motion, Clock, Age,
 Sequence & Series: Arithmetic, Geometric, Harmonic Progression

NUMBER SETS

Set- is a gathering together into a whole of definite, distinct objects of our perception or of our thought
- which are called “Elements of the Cardinality of a set”

Special Sets
{} or Ø - Null or empty set
{x} or x - Unit set, which contains exactly one element

Union - The union of A and B denotes as A U B is the set of all things that are members of A or B.

Intersection - The intersection of A and B denoted by A Ո B is the set of all things that are members
of A and B.

Venn Diagram - It is a widely used diagram style that shows the logical relations between sets,
popularized by an English logician and philosopher, John Venn in the 1880s. The diagrams are used
to teach elementary set theory and to illustrate simple set relationships in probability, logic, statistics,
linguistics, and computer science.

Problem: For the Venn diagram as shown below, List all the elements that belong to this sets:

a. P = d. P ∩ Q’ =
b. P ∩ R = e. P ∩ Q ∩ R =
c. R ∪ Q =

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Principles Of Inclusion and Exclusion - Provides an organized method to find the number of
elements in the union of a given group of sets, the size of each set, and the size of all possible
intersections among the sets.

A = |A | − A ∩A + A ∩A ∩A − ⋯ + (−1) A

Problem: In my class, 50 takes Algebra, 30 takes trigonometry, 10 takes algebra and trigonometry.
Determine the total number of students.
Ans: 70 students

Problem: In a class of 50 students, 45 like Physics and 15 like Calculus. How many like both Calculus
and Physics?
Ans: 10 students

Problem: In my class, my students were enrolled in Algebra, Trigonometry and Geometry. If I have
79 total students, 5 enrolled in Algebra and Trigonometry, and 10 enrolled in Geometry and
Trigonometry, none take of all three. 35 takes Algebra, 60 takes Geometry, and 19 takes
Trigonometry. Determine the number of students that takes Algebra and Geometry.
Ans: 20 students

Problem: Ninety people in a cinema were surveyed to see what they ate while watching the movie.
The following data was collected: 48 had popcorns, 39 had potato fries, 35 had burgers. 20 had both
popcorns and potato fries, 19 had both potato fries and burgers, 22 had both popcorns and burgers.
10 had burgers, popcorns and potato fries. How many had nothing?
Ans: 19 people

Problem: There are four courses in school, Algebra, Language, Social Studies and Biology. 111 takes
Algebra, 111 takes Language, 109 takes Social Studies, and 71 takes Biology. 48 takes Algebra and
Language, 21 takes Algebra and Social Studies, 43 takes Algebra and Biology, 61 takes Language
and Social Studies, 23 takes Language and Biology, 31 takes Social Studies and Biology. 18 takes
Algebra, Language and Social Studies, 20 takes Algebra, Language and Biology, 13 takes Algebra,
Social Studies and Biology, 13 takes Language, Social Studies and Biology. If there are 229 students
all in all, find the number of students that takes all of four.
Ans: 10

Practice Problem: CE Instructors joined an athletic competition in Tokyo Olympics. 12 of them joined
Ice Skating, 15 Tennis, 20 Basketball, and 18 Volleyball. 7 joined Skating and Tennis, 6 Skating and
Basketball, 6 Skating and Volleyball, 8 Tennis and Basketball, 8 Tennis and Volleyball, and 12 joined
Basketball and Volleyball. 2 of them participated in Skating, Tennis and Basketball, 3 Skating,
Basketball and Volleyball, 4 Tennis, Basketball and Volleyball, and only 2 Skating, Tennis and
Volleyball. 1 joined all and 7 did not participate. How many Instructors went to Tokyo?
A. 28 B. 29 C. 35 D. 21

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THEORY OF EQUATIONS

The degree of the equation is equal to the number of roots of the equation.

Quotient Theorem:

𝒇(𝒙) 𝑹(𝒙)
= 𝑸(𝒙) +
𝒈(𝒙) 𝒈(𝒙)

Where:
𝑓(𝑥) 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑔(𝑥) 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑝𝑜𝑙𝑦𝑛𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑎𝑙𝑠.
𝑄(𝑥) − 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑞𝑢𝑜𝑡𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑓(𝑥)/𝑔(𝑥)
𝑅(𝑥) − 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑚𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟

Methods of Division:
(1) Long Division
(2) Synthetic Division

Remainder Theorem:

𝒇(𝒙) 𝑹
= 𝑸(𝒙) +
(𝒙 − 𝒓) (𝒙 − 𝒓)

𝑹(𝒓) − 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑚𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟

Problem: What is the Remainder of x2 + 6x + 3 divided by x - 3.

Ans: 30

Problem: Find the remainder of 3x^3-x^2-8x+5 when divided by x+2.

Ans: -7

Problem: When 3x2 + Bx +4 = 0 is divided by x+2 the Remainder is 4. What is the value of B?
Ans: 6

Problem: When the polynomial 3x3 + Ax2 + Bx + C = 0, is divided by x + 2 gives the remainder of -
21, and by x + 1 gives -2, and by x + 4 gives -179. Determine the value of A, B and C.
Ans: A=1 ; B=1 ; C=1

Problem: In a quadratic equation problem, one student made a mistake in copying the coefficient of
x and got a root of +3 and -2. Another student made a mistake in copying the constant term and got a
root of +3 and +2. Find the correct equation and correct roots.
Ans: 𝑥 − 5𝑥 − 6 = 0; x = 6; x = -1

Problem: From the equation 7x2 + (2k - 1)x - 3k + 2 = 0, determine the value of “k” so that the sum
and product of the roots are equal.
Ans: 1

Problem: Form an equation of real coefficient with -2 as double roots and ½ as simple root.
Ans: 2x3 + 7x2 + 4x – 4 = 0

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Decartes’ Rule of Sign - The rule states that if the terms of a single-variable polynomial with real
coefficients are ordered by descending variable exponent, then the number of positive roots of the
polynomial is either equal to the number of sign differences between consecutive nonzero
coefficients, or is less than it by an even number. Multiple roots of the same value are counted.

Problem: What is a possibility for the roots of 𝑥 + 2𝑥 + 3𝑥 + 4𝑥 + 5 = 0.

Ans: P=0 ; N=0 ; z=0 ; i=4

Problem: Investigate the possibilities that may exist for the roots of 𝑥 − 𝑥 + 2𝑥 − 2 = 0
Ans: P=1 ; N=0 ; z=0 ; i=2

PARTIAL FRACTIONS

Partial fraction is a technique used to break down a complex rational expression (a fraction
with polynomials in the numerator and denominator) into simpler fractions. These simpler fractions
are called partial fractions.

Problem: Given the partial fraction:

9x + 2 A B
= +
(x + 2)(3x − 2) x + 2 3x − 2
Ans: A = 2 ; B = 3

Problem: Determine the values of A, B, & C.

3𝑥 + 10𝑥 + 4 𝐴 𝐵 𝐶
= + +
(𝑥 + 1)(𝑥 + 2)(𝑥 + 3) 𝑥 + 1 𝑥 + 2 𝑥 + 3
Ans: A = -3/2 ; B = 4 ; C = 1/2

Problem: Determine the values of A, B, C, D & E.

𝑥 − 𝑥 + 14𝑥 − 2𝑥 + 22 𝐴 𝐵𝑥 + 𝐶 𝐷𝑥 + 𝐸
= + +
(𝑥 + 1)(𝑥 + 4)(𝑥 − 2𝑥 + 5) 𝑥 + 1 𝑥 + 4 𝑥 − 2𝑥 + 5
Ans: A=1; B=0 ; C=-2 ; D=0 ; E=-3

INEQUALITIES

Inequalities are mathematical statements that compare two expressions using symbols like:
< : less than
> : greater than
≤ : less than or equal to
≥ : greater than or equal to

Unlike equations, which focus on equality, inequalities show a range of possible values for a variable.

Problem: Solve for the solution set of the following inequalities

a. 𝑥 − 13𝑥 + 12 ≤ 0 Ans: [1,12]

b. <0 Ans: -3 < x < 2

c. |𝑥 − 2| < 7 Ans: -5 < x < 9

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BINOMIAL THEOREM

The binomial theorem is a mathematical rule that provides a shortcut for expanding
expressions where a binomial (an expression with two terms) is raised to a positive integer power.

Pascal’s Triangle

Pascal's triangle is a number pattern that helps determine the coefficients in the expansion of
expressions like (a + b)n . Each row of the triangle corresponds to a different power of the binomial,
and the numbers in that row are the coefficients of the expanded terms.

Formula for the rth term of a binomial expansion.

𝒓𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒎 𝒐𝒇 (𝒂 + 𝒃)𝒏 = 𝒏𝑪𝒓 𝟏 𝒂𝒏 (𝒓 𝟏)

𝒃𝒓 𝟏

Sum of coefficients of the expansion of (𝑎𝑥 + 𝑏𝑦 + 𝑐) , where “c” is constant.

𝑺𝒄𝒐𝒆𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒕 = [𝒂(𝟏)𝒑 + 𝒃(𝟏)𝒒 + 𝒄]𝒏 − (𝒄)𝒏

Sum of exponents of the binomial expansion of (𝑎𝑥 + 𝑏𝑦 ) ,

𝑺𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 = (𝒑 + 𝒒) ∗ (𝒏 + 𝟏)𝑪𝟐

Problem: Determine the 5th term of the expansion of (2𝑥 − 3𝑦) .

Ans: 90,720 x4y4

Problem: Determine the term involving y2z in the expansion of (3𝑥 + 𝑦 − 𝑧) .

Ans: -18 xy2z

Problem: Find the constant term in the expression of (𝑥 − ) .

Ans: 24

Problem: Find the sum of the coefficients in the expression of (3𝑥 + 𝑦 − 2𝑧) .
Ans: 32

Problem: Find the sum of the coefficients in the expression of (3𝑥 + 𝑦 − 2) .

Ans: 0

Problem: Find the sum of the exponents (3x3 + 2y4)10

Ans: 385

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WORDED PROBLEMS

Worded problems are practical applications of algebra and other engineering topics that
require students to convert real-life situations into mathematical equations and solve for unknown
values.

NUMBER PROBLEMS

Tips or points to remember:

i. Express the unknown numbers into variables such as “x, y, and z”.
ii. If the numbers are consecutive numbers, express the numbers as x, x+1, x+2.
iii. If there is a three digit number,
Let: x = hundred’s digit
y = ten’s digit
z = unit’s digit
The number = 100x + 10y + z
The number with reversed digit = 100z + 10y + x
iv. To solve the variables, the number of equations should be equal to the number of unknowns.

Problem: Find three numbers whose sum is 20 and such that the first plus twice the second plus three
times the third equals 44, and twice the sum of the first and second minus four times the third is -14.
Ans: 5, 6, 9

Problem: The sum of the three numbers is 51. If the first number is divided by the second, the quotient
is 2 and the remainder 5; but if the second number is divided by the third, the quotient is 3 and the
remainder 2. Find the numbers.
Ans: 33, 14, 4
Problem: The digits of a three-digit number are in arithmetic progression. If you divide the number
by the sum of its digits, the quotient is 26. If the digits are reversed, the resulting number is 198 more
than the original number. Find the sum of all the digits.
Ans: 9

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Problem: The sum of the digits of a number of three digits is 15. If the digits in the hundreds and tens
places are interchanged, the number is increased by 360. The unit’s digit is ¼ of the sum of the
hundreds and tens places. Find the number.
Ans: 483

WORK PROBLEMS

Case 1: In terms of work rate

𝑗𝑜𝑏 1 𝑗𝑜𝑏 1 𝑗𝑜𝑏
𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 = ; 𝐴= ; 𝐵=
𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑠ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑗𝑜𝑏 𝒕𝑨 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠 𝒕𝑩 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠

Case 2: In terms of job done

𝐴𝑡 + 𝐵𝑡 = 𝑗𝑜𝑏 𝑑𝑜𝑛𝑒

Case 3: A and B working together to do the job

𝑗𝑜𝑏
𝐴+𝐵 =
𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑠ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑗𝑜𝑏

Where: 𝑨 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑠ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑗𝑜𝑏 𝑖𝑛 𝒕𝑨 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠 , 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑩 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑠ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑒 𝑗𝑜𝑏 𝑖𝑛 𝒕𝑩

Problem: A man can finish a certain job in 10 days. A boy can finish the same job in 15 days. If the
man and the boy plus the girl can finish the job in 5 days, how long will it take the girl to finish the
job alone?
Ans: 30 days

Problem: Melissa Scarletti can clean the house in 4 hrs, whereas her husband Jack can do the same
job in 5 hrs. They agreed to clean together so that they can finish in time to watch a movie. How long
will it take to clean the house together?
Ans: 2.22 hrs

Problem: A certain 1000 copies is to accomplished by a certain printing press. XEROX machine can
accomplish 500 copies for 2 hours, and CANNON machine can accomplish 300 copies for 3 hours.
The machines works together for 1 hour, and after that XEROX encountered a problem, hence
CANNON is left alone to finish the work. If the printing start at 1:00 PM., what time will the printing
be completed?
Ans: 8:30 PM

Problem: A reservoir is filled through its inlet pipe and then it is emptied through the outlet pipe, in
a total time of 9 hours. If water enters through the inlet and is simultaneously allowed to leave through
the outlet, the reservoir is filled in 20 hours. How long will it take to fill the reservoir if the outlet is
closed?
Ans: 4 hrs

Problem: A contractor estimates that he could finish project in 15 days if he has 20 men. At the start,
he hired 10 men, then after 6 days, 10 more men added. How many days was the project delayed.
Ans: 3 days delayed

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MIXTURE PROBLEMS

Principle:
𝑐 % → % 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑒 (𝑜𝑟 𝑎𝑛𝑦 𝑓𝑢𝑛𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡)

|𝐴| → 𝑎𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑟 𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑖𝑥𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 (𝑏𝑦 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑟 𝑏𝑦 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒)

𝐴(𝑐 %) → 𝑎𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑟 𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑖𝑥𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒

Problem: One solution contains 30% alcohol and a second solution contains 70% alcohol. How many
liters of each solution should be mixed to make 10 liters containing 40% alcohol?
Ans: 7.5L ; 2.5L

Problem: A given alloy contains 20% copper and 5% tin. How many pounds of copper and of tin
must be melted with 100 pounds of the given alloy to produce another alloy analyzing 30% copper
and 10% tin? All percentage is by weight.
Ans: 17.5 lb ; 7.5 lb

Problem: A gift store is making a mixture of almonds, pecans, and peanuts which sells for P6.50 per
kg, P8.00 per kg, and P4.00 per kg respectively. The storekeeper wants to make 20 kg of the mix to
sell at P5.30 per kg. The number of kilograms of peanuts is to be three times the number of kilograms
of pecans. Find the number of kilograms of each to be used in the mixture.
Ans: 4 ; 4 ; 12

Problem: What weight of water must be evaporated from 8 kg of a 20% salt solution to produce a
50% salt solution? All percentage are by weight.
Ans: 4.8 kg

Problem: How much of a 75% tin alloy should be melted with 62 kg of a 35% tin alloy to produce an
alloy which is 50% tin.
Ans: 37.2 kg

MOTION PROBLEMS
𝑑 𝑑
𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦, 𝒗 = ; 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒, 𝒅 = 𝑣𝑡; 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒, 𝒕 =
𝑡 𝑣

Motion in water or in water current or in air current:

If 𝑉 → 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑎𝑖𝑟𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑒 𝑜𝑟 𝐵𝑜𝑎𝑡

And 𝑉 → 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑎𝑖𝑟 𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡

Then,
𝑉 + 𝑉 = 𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡

𝑉 − 𝑉 = 𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡

Motion in a circle or in a closed circuit:

If 𝑉 → 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑟

And 𝑉 → 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑟

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Then,
1 𝐶𝑖𝑟𝑐𝑢𝑖𝑡/𝐶𝑖𝑟𝑐𝑢𝑚𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒
𝑉 +𝑉 = (𝑔𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑛 𝑜𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛)
𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑚𝑒𝑒𝑡

1𝐶𝑖𝑟𝑐𝑢𝑖𝑡/𝐶𝑖𝑟𝑐𝑢𝑚𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒
𝑉 −𝑉 = (𝑔𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛)
𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑚𝑒𝑒𝑡

Problem: Assume that the plane is flying at a constant speed under unvarying wind conditions.
Traveling against a head wind, the plane takes 4 hours to travel 1540 miles. Traveling with a tail
wind, the plane flies 1365 miles in 3 hours. Find the speed of the plane and the speed of the wind.
Ans: 420 mph ; 35 mph

Problem: Two pals A and B run at constant speeds along a circumference track 1350 m in
circumference. Running in opposite directions they meet every 3 minutes; while running in the same
direction they are together every 27 minutes. Determine their speeds in m/s.
Ans: 4.17 m/s ; 3.33 m/s

Problem: A boat travels downstream for 2 hours and covers a distance of 48 miles. The same boat
travels upstream for 3 hours and covers a distance of 45 miles. What is the speed of the boat in still
water, and what is the speed of the current?
Ans: 19.5 mph (boat), 4.5 mph (current)

Problem: On February 14, Kenneth and Jean planned to meet for the first time at a dating place located
midway between their houses. They start to travel at the same time from their houses, 136 km apart.
Kenneth travels at 10 km/hr and Jean at 8 km/hr. If Jean rests for an hour on the way, after how many
hours will they meet?
Ans: 8 hrs

Problem: A man started on his bicycle for Manila, a distance of 30 km, intending to arrive at a certain
time. After riding 10 km he was detained for half an hour, and as a result he was obliged to ride the
rest of the way 2 km/hr faster. What was his original speed?
Ans: 8 kph

AGE PROBLEMS

Past Future
Present
“ages of A & B from x - “ages of A & B after y -
“ages of A & B now”
years ago” years in the future”
A-x A A+y
B-x B B+y

Problem: The sum of the present ages of Angie and her mother is 64 years. In eight years, Angie will
be three-fifths as old as her mother at that time. Find the present ages of Angie and her mother.
Ans: 22 y.o and 42 y.o

Problem: Alfred is eleven times as old as Bridget. In a certain number of years Alfred will be five
times as old as Bridget, and five years after that he will be three times as old as Bridget. How old is
Bridget now?
Ans: 2 years old

Problem: A father is 27 years older than his son and 10 years from now, he will be twice as old as his
son. How old is his son now?
Ans: 17 years old

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 CIVIL ENGINEERING ENHANCEMENT COURSE 1 BY: ENGR. AML

Problem: Maria is 36 years old. Maria was as twice as old as Anna was when Maria was as old as
Anna is now. How old is Anna now?
Ans: 24 years old

CLOCK PROBLEMS

where:

x = time traveled by the minute hand in minutes

x/12 = time traveled by the hour hand in minutes

AML’s Formula for clock problems:

𝟏𝟐
𝒙= (𝑩 ± 𝑨)
𝟏𝟏

Where:
B - is the base angle in minutes
(e.g. if time is between 3 to 4 o’clock, the base angle, B = 15 minutes.
If time is between 7 to 8 o’clock, then B = 35 minutes).

A - is the angle between the hour hand and the minute hand in minutes
(3600 = 60 minutes)

𝑁𝑜𝑡𝑒: 𝑈𝑠𝑒 “ + ” 𝑖𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑡𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑠 𝒂𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟 ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑑.

𝑈𝑠𝑒 " − " 𝑖𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑡𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑠 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝑡ℎ𝑒 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟 ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑑.

Problem: At what time between 4 and 5 o’clock are the hands of a clock (a) opposite each other; (b)
coincident and (c) at right angles.
Ans: (a) 4:54.55 ; (b) 4:21.82 ; (c) 4:05.45 & 4:38.18

Problem: At what time between 6 and 7 o’clock are the hands of a clock, opposite each other and
coincident.
Ans: 6:00:00 and 6:32.72

Problem: What is the angle subtended by the hour and minute hand of a standard analog clock if it is
4:27:16.36 PM?
Ans: 30°

Problem: It is between 3 and 4 o’clock, and in 20 minutes the minute hand will be as much after the
hour hand as it is now behind it. What is the time?
Ans: 3:06:21.82

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MONEY PROBLEMS

Problem: A bakery sells cakes for $20 each and cookies for $5 each. In one day, the bakery sells 15
items and earns $180. How many cakes and how many cookies were sold?
Ans: 7 cakes, 8 cookies

Problem: A sum of money is invested in two accounts: one yielding 8% interest and the other yielding
10% interest. The total interest earned in one year is $520. If the amount invested at 8% is $2000
more than the amount invested at 10%, find the two amounts.
Ans: $4000 at 8%, $2000 at 10%

Problem: A certain Loan Association has invested in three different transactions. The first investment
is in real estate earning 9% interest annually; second investment is in loans earning 6% annually; and
the third investment in bonds earning 4% annually. The total annual income is P 3,400, but the annual
interest in loans is three times that in bonds. How much is each investment if the total Capital is P
50,000?
Ans: 20,000 ; 20,000 ; 10,000

SEQUENCE and SERIES

Sequences and series are fundamental concepts in algebra involving ordered lists of numbers.
A sequence is a list of numbers following a specific pattern, while a series is the sum of the terms in
a sequence.

Arithmetic Progression (A.P) - A sequence of numbers is in A.P. if any number after the first is
obtained by adding a fixed number to the one immediately preceding it. The fixed number that is
added is called the common difference, d.

Common difference, 𝒅 = 𝒂𝟐 − 𝒂𝟏 = 𝒂𝟑 − 𝒂𝟐 = ⋯ = 𝒂𝒏 − 𝒂𝒏 𝟏

nth term of A.P., 𝒂𝒏 = 𝒂𝟏 + (𝒏 − 𝟏)𝒅 ; 𝒂𝒏 = 𝒂𝒎 + (𝒏 − 𝒎)𝒅

𝒏 𝒏
Sum of A.P., 𝑺𝒏 = (𝒂𝒏 + 𝒂𝟏 ) ; 𝑺𝒏 = (𝟐𝒂𝟏 + (𝒏 − 𝟏)𝒅)
𝟐 𝟐

Problem: Find the 7th term of an AP if the third term is 10 and the 10th term in -4.
Ans: 2

Problem: There are twelve rows of billiards ball in a symmetrical arrangement on a billiards table. If
there is one ball in the first row, 3 in the second, 5 in the third and so on, with 2 balls in any row more
than the preceding one, how many balls are in the 12th row and how many balls in all are there?
Ans: 23 ; 144

Problem: What is the sum of all even integers between 13 and 201?
Ans: 10,058

Problem: A pile of PVC pipes has 24 pipes in the bottom layer, 23 in the second layer, 22 in the third,
and so on. The top layer contains 10 pipes. Find the total number of PVC pipes in the pile.
Ans: 255

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Geometric Progression (G.P.) - A sequence of numbers is in G.P. if any number after the first is
obtained by multiplying a fixed number to the one immediately preceding it. The fixed number that
is multiplied is called the common ratio, r.
𝒂𝟐 𝒂𝟑 𝒂𝒏
Common ratio, 𝒓= = =⋯=
𝒂𝟏 𝒂𝟐 𝒂𝒏 𝟏

nth term of G.P., 𝒂𝒏 = 𝒂𝟏 𝒓(𝒏 𝟏)

; 𝒂𝒏 = 𝒂𝒎 𝒓(𝒏 𝒎)

𝒂𝟏 (𝟏 𝒓𝒏 ) 𝒂𝟏 (𝒓𝒏 𝟏)
Sum of G.P., 𝑺𝒏 = ; 𝑺𝒏 =
𝟏 𝒓 𝒓 𝟏

Sum of Infinite Geometric Progression

𝒂𝟏
𝑺𝒏 =
𝟏−𝒓

Problem: Insert three geometric means between 2 and 512.

Ans: 8, 32, 128

Problem: A certain culture initially contains 10,000 bacteria and increases by 20% every hour.
Determine the number of bacteria after 10hrs.
Ans: 61,917.36

Problem: A rubber ball is dropped from a height of 60 feet. If it rebound approximately two-thirds
the distance after each fall, use an infinite geometric series to approximate the total distance the ball
travels.
Ans: 300

Harmonic Progression (H.P.) - A sequence of numbers is in H.P. if their reciprocals form an A.P.

Example: ½, 1/5, 1/8, 1/11, 1/14, 1/17

Relationship between Arithmetic Mean (AM), Harmonic Mean (HM), and Geometric Mean (GM) of
two numbers.
𝑨𝑴 𝒙 𝑯𝑴 = 𝑮𝑴𝟐

Problem: Insert four means between 3/7 and 3/19

Ans: ; ; ;

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