UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST

DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS AND STATISTICS

Math 127 Practice Exam

Question 1)

In the Andes mountains in Peru, the number, N , of species of bats is a function of the elevation, h,
in feet above sea level, so N = f (h). Which of the following is the meaning of the vertical intercept, k,
in the figure above?

(A) There are k species of bats at a 0 ft elevation.

(B) There are 0 species of bats at a k ft elevation.
(C) There are k species of bats at c ft elevation.

(D) There are c species of bats at k ft elevation.

Question 2)

Identify how you would move the graph of the function f (x) = x2 so it becomes the graph of g(x) =
(x − 1)2 + 3.

(A) one unit right and three units up

(B) one unit right and three units down

(C) one unit left and three units down

(D) None of these

Question 3)

The average rate of change of f (x) = 2 ln(x) between x = 1 and x = 2 (rounded to 2 decimals) is:

(A) 1.33
(B) 1.77

(C) 0.69
(D) 1.39

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Question 4)

Let f (x) = x2 and g(x) = ln(x). Then f (g(x)) is:

(A) ln(x2 )
(B) [ln(x)]2
(C) x2 ln(x)
(D) 2 ln(x)

Question 5)

The cost of producing items is modeled by the cost function C(x), where x represents the number of
items produced. Given the cost function C(35) = $458.60 and C ′ (35) = $2.50, which of the following is
the best estimate for C(37)?

(A) $453.60
(B) $456.10

(C) $461.10
(D) $463.60

Question 6)

If f (x) = 3x9 − 8x, then which of the following is equivalent to f ′ (x)?

(A) f ′ (x) = 27x8

(B) f ′ (x) = 3x10 + 8

(C) f ′ (x) = 27x8 − 8

(D) f ′ (x) = 3x8 − 8x

Question 7)

If g(x) = √3 ,
x
then which of the following is equivalent to g ′ (x)?

(A) g ′ (x) = − 2x31/2

(B) g ′ (x) = − 2x32/3

(C) g ′ (x) = 1
2x1/2

(D) g ′ (x) = 23 x1/2

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Question 8)

If g(x) = ln(3x2 + 4x − 7), then which of the following is equivalent to g ′ (x)?

(A) g ′ (x) = ln(3x2 + 4x − 7)

(B) g ′ (x) = 30x+20
3x2 +4x−7

(C) g ′ (x) = 6x+4

3x2 +4x−7

3x2 +4x−7
(D) g ′ (x) = 6x+6

Question 9)

If f (x) = cos(4x), then which of the following is equivalent to f ′′ (π)?

(A) 0
(B) -16
(C) 16
(D) -4

Question 10)

If f (x) = sin(2x) · cos(3x), then which of the following is equivalent to f ′ (x)?

(A) f ′ (x) = 2 cos(3x) · cos(2x) − 3 sin(3x) · sin(2x)

(B) f ′ (x) = 3 sin(2x) · cos(3x) − 2 sin(2x) · cos(3x)
(C) f ′ (x) = −6 sin(2x) · cos(3x)

(D) f ′ (x) = 2 sin(2x) · cos(3x) + 3 sin(2x) · cos(3x)

Question 11)

Consider the function f (x) that has the following properties:

f (x) has critical points at x = 2 and x = 5.
f ′ (x) is positive to the left of 2 and positive to the right of 5.
f ′ (x) is negative between 2 and 5. Which of the following is true?

(A) f (x) has a local maximum at x = 2 and a local minimum at x = 5.

(B) f (x) has a local minimum at x = 2 and a local maximum at x = 5.

(C) f (x) has a local minimum at x = 2 and x = 5 is neither a local max nor min.
(D) None of the above is true.

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Question 12)

Find the inflection point(s) of the function f (x) = xe−x . Which of the following is true?

(A) f (x) has an inflection point at x = −2 and x = 2.

(B) f (x) has an inflection point at x = 1.
(C) f (x) has an inflection point at x = 5 and x = 2.
(D) f (x) has an inflection point at x = 0.

Question 13)

The spread of a virus through a community can be modeled with the logistic equation P (t), where t is
time in weeks and P (t) represents the number of people infected with the virus. Suppose that 20 people
originally have the virus, and the number of people infected is increasing approximately exponentially,
with a continuous growth rate of 1.45. It is estimated that, in the long run, approximately 4600 people
will be infected. What is the logistic equation that could model this data?
4600
(A) P (t) = 1+229e−1.45t
4600
(B) P (t) = 1+4600e−1.45t
229
(C) P (t) = 1+4600e−1.45t
10
(D) P (t) = 1+229e−1.45t

Question 14)

Suppose that the cost to produce skateboards is $2100 fixed and then $15 per skateboard. If the skate-
boards are sold for $45 each then what is the break even point for this product?

(A) 30
(B) 70
(C) 140
(D) 25

Question 15)

The function f (x) is graphed above. At which labeled point is f ′ (x) the smallest?

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 (A) Q
(B) R
(C) T

(D) U

Question 16)

Given the graph of f (t) above, which of the following graphs represents f ′ (t)?

(A) Graph A

(B) Graph B
(C) Graph C
(D) Graph D

Question 17)

Suppose the velocity of a rocket is measured in the table below. When estimating the distance traveled
by the rocket in the first 6 seconds of flight using the velocity table, what is the difference between the
overestimate and underestimate?

Time (sec) 0 2 4 6
Velocity (ft/min) 0 10 18 35

(A) 56 feet
(B) 70 feet
(C) 35 feet

(D) 25 feet

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Question 18)

The graph of y = f (x) is given above with the areas of the shaded and labeled regions being as
follows: A = B =R 5015, C = 20, D = E = 10 and F = 5. Based on this information, which of the following
is the value of: 20 f (x)dx?

(A) 15

(B) 20
(C) 25
(D) 30

Question 19)

The global maximum value of the surge function f (x) = 8xe−10x is at which of the following coordinates?
1
(A) x = 8
1
(B) x = 5
1
(C) x = 4
1
(D) x = 10

Question 20)

The table shows the velocity of a remote controlled race car moving along a dirt path for 16 seconds.
Assume v(t) is a continuously differentiable function of t. Based on the table given below What is the
concavity of v(t) between t=4 and t=8?

Time (sec) 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
Velocity (inches/sec) 0 8 21 28 27 25 28 23 24

(A) Concave up between t=4 and t=8

(B) Concave down between t=4 and t=8
(C) Changes from concave up to concave down between t=4 and t=8

(D) Changes from concave down to concave up between t=4 and t=8

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Question 21)

A factory discharges pollutants into a river at a rate that is estimated by a water quality control agency
to be P ′ (t) for 0 ≤ t ≤ 5, where P (t) is the total number of tons of pollutants discharged into the river
after t years of operation. Write a definite integral to represent the quantity of pollutants discharged
into the river from the end of the third year to the end of the fifth year.
R5
(A) 0 P ′ (t) dt
R5
(B) 3 P ′ (t) dt
R5
(C) 3 P (t) dt
R5
(D) 0 P (t) dt

Question 22)

The table below gives the revenues, R, of General Motors, formerly the world’s largest auto manufacturer.

Year R (billions of $)
2003 184.0
2004 192.9
2005 193.1
2006 205.6
2007 181.1
2008 149.0

Which of the following is true?

(A) The average rate of change in revenue between 2003 and 2004 was more than the average rate of
change in revenue between 2005 and 2006.
(B) The average rate of change in revenue between 2006 and 2007 was more than the average rate of
change in revenue between 2007 and 2008.
(C) The average rate of change in revenue between 2006 and 2007 was more than the average rate of
change in revenue between 2005 and 2006.
(D) The average rate of change in revenue between 2004 and 2005 was more than the average rate of
change in revenue between 2005 and 2006.

Question 23)

Use the given information about the function P = P0 ekt to find a model which has P = 140 when t = 3
and P = 100 when t = 1.

(A) P = 805e−0.168t
(B) P = 84.5e0.168t
(C) P = 87e0.168t
(D) P = 47.5e−0.168t

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Question 24)

d

3
Which of the following is the equation of the tangent line to f (x) = dx e2x + 7x2 at x = 0?
(A) y = 6x + 1
(B) y = 15x − 3
(C) y = 6x − 1
(D) y = x + 15

Question 25)

The table below shows values of f ′ (x) where f (x) is continuously differentiable on the interval [0,6].
Assume that f ′ (x) is also continuously differentiable. Based on the given table and the assumptions
above, which of the following statements is most accurate?

x f ′ (x)
0 -1
1 -2
2 -4
3 -4
4 -3
5 2
6 6

(A) There is a local minimum between x = 2 and x = 3.

(B) There is a local minimum between x = 4 and x = 5.
(C) There is an inflection point between x = 4 and x = 5.
(D) There is an inflection point between x = 2 and x = 3.

Question 26)

Which of the following is not continuous at every real number x?

(A) polynomials
(B) sin(x)
(C) ln(x)
(D) cos(x)

Question 27)

x2 −5x+4
Which of the following is true about the function f (x) = x−2 ?
(A) f (x) is continuous everywhere.
(B) f (x) is continuous for all positive x values.
(C) f (x) is not continuous anywhere.
(D) f (x) is continuous except at x = 2.

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Question 28)

Which of the following functions has its domain identical with its range?

(A) f (x) = x2 and h(x) = x3

√
(B) g(x) = x and i(x) = |x|
(C) f (x) = x2 and i(x) = |x|
√
(D) g(x) = x and h(x) = x3

Question 29)

Average daily high temperatures in Ottawa, the capital of Canada, range from a low of −6◦ Celsius on
January 1 to a high of 26◦ Celsius on July 1 six months later. Find a formula for H, the average daily
high temperature in Ottawa in ◦ C, as a function of t, the number of months since January 1.
π


(A) H = −16 cos 12 t

(B) H = 16 cos π6 t + 10

(C) H = −16 cos π6 t + 10

(D) H = −16 cos π6 t + 6

Question 30)

The table below shows the velocity v(t) (in m/s) of a car moving along a straight road at different times
t (in seconds):

t (seconds) 0 2 4 6 8
v(t) (m/s) 0 4 8 6 3
Using the data provided, estimate the total distance traveled by the car over the interval [0, 8] by
approximating the area under the curve.

(A) 30 m
(B) 33 m
(C) 36 m

(D) 40 m