Max/Min problems will typically ask students to prove an equation in the earlier parts.

This forms
the basis of later questions and typically is at a Band 4 level - a good opportunity for all students
to score well.
Important exam strategy: HSC Markers consistently remind students to work with the given
equation of the question, even if they couldn't successfully complete the proof of the equation in the
earlier part.
Max/Min problems have had a number of specific themes. Area/Volume equations have dominated
(8 times in the last decade, including 2023, 2022 and each year 2018-2020). Other themes

ADVANCED include distance (2017 and 2013) and a cost equation (2009).
Max/Min was novelly examined within the Probability Density Function topic in 2021 and is

MATHEMATICS
included in the database under that topic.
Max/Min problems that involve topics such as plane geometry which are no longer in the syllabus,
Stage 6 have been removed from the database.

Calculus (Adv), C3 Applications of Calculus (Adv)

Maxima and Minima (Y12)
Teacher: Cassandra Church
Exam Equivalent Time: 177 minutes (based on allocation of 1.5 minutes per mark)

HISTORICAL CONTRIBUTION
C3 Applications of Calculus is the biggest topic in the Advanced course, contributing a massive
19.1% to new syllabus exams since introduced in 2020.
This topic has been split into five sub-topics for analysis purposes: 1-The Derivative Function and
its Graph (1.8%), 2-Curve Sketching (4.5%), 3-Tangents (3.3%), 4-Maxima and Minima (4.5%) and 5-
Rates of Change (5.0%).
This analysis looks at Maxima and Minima.

HSC ANALYSIS - What to expect and common pitfalls

Maxima and Minima (4.5%) appears in every exam with significant mark allocations almost
guaranteed (2021 is the outlier here - see below). In short, its importance in achieving a band 5-6
result cannot be overstated.
Questions
2. Calculus, 2ADV C3 2023 HSC 24
1. Calculus, 2ADV C3 2020 HSC 25
A gardener wants to build a rectangular garden of area 50 m² against an existing wall as shown in
A landscape gardener wants to build a garden in the shape of a rectangle attached to a quarter-
the diagram. A concrete path of width 1 metre is to be built around the other three sides of the
circle. Let and be the dimensions of the rectangle in metres, as shown in the diagram.
garden.

The garden bed is required to have an area of 36 m² and to have a perimeter which is as small as
possible. Let metres be the perimeter of the garden bed.
Let and be the dimensions, in metres, of the outer rectangle as shown.
a. Show that . (3 marks)
a. Show that = . (1 mark)
b. Find the smallest possible perimeter of the garden bed, showing why this is the minimum
perimeter. (4 marks) b. Find the value of such that the area of the concrete path is a minimum. Show that your answer
gives a minimum area. (4 marks)
3. Calculus, 2ADV C3 2005 HSC 8a 4. Calculus, 2ADV C3 2014 HSC 16c

The diagram shows a window consisting of two sections. The top section is a semicircle of
diameter m. The bottom section is a rectangle of width m and height m.

The entire frame of the window, including the piece that separates the two sections, is made
using 10 m of thin metal.

A cylinder of radius and height is to be inscribed in a sphere of radius centred at as The semicircular section is made of coloured glass and the rectangular section is made of clear
shown. glass.

i. Show that the volume of the cylinder is given by Under test conditions the amount of light coming through one square metre of the coloured glass
is 1 unit and the amount of light coming through one square metre of the clear glass is 3 units.
(1 mark)
The total amount of light coming through the window under test conditions is units.
ii. Hence, or otherwise, show that the cylinder has a maximum volume when (3 marks)
i. Show that . (2 marks)

ii. Show that . (2 marks)

iii. Find the values of and that maximise the amount of light coming through the window
under test conditions. (3 marks)
5. Calculus, 2ADV C3 2018 HSC 16a 6. Calculus, 2ADV C4 SM-Bank 12

A sector with radius 10 cm and angle is used to form the curved surface of a cone with base Let
radius cm, as shown in the diagram.
A right-angled triangle has vertex at the origin, vertex on the -axis and vertex on
the graph of , as shown. The coordinates of are

The volume of a cone of radius and height is given by .

i. Show that the volume, cm³, of the cone described above is given by

. (1 mark)

ii. Show that . (2 marks)

i. Find the area, , of the triangle in terms of . (1 mark)
iii. Find the exact value of for which is a maximum. (3 marks)
ii. Find the maximum area of triangle and the value of for which the maximum occurs. (3
marks)

iii. Let be the point on the graph of on the -axis and let be the point on the graph of with
the -coordinate .Find the area of the region bounded by the graph of and the line segment
. (2 marks)
 8. Calculus, 2ADV C3 2009 HSC 9b

7. Trigonometry, 2ADV T3 SM-Bank 16 An oil rig, , is 3 km offshore. A power station, , is on the shore. A cable is to be laid from to
. It costs $1000 per kilometre to lay the cable along the shore and $2600 per kilometre to lay
Sammy visits a giant Ferris wheel. Sammy enters a capsule on the Ferris wheel from a platform
the cable underwater from the shore to .
above the ground. The Ferris wheel is rotating anticlockwise. The capsule is attached to the
Ferris wheel at point . The height of above the ground, , is modelled by The point is the point on the shore closest to , and the distance is 5 km.

, where is the time in minutes after Sammy enters the capsule and The point is on the shore, at a distance of km from , as shown in the diagram.
is measured in metres.

Sammy exits the capsule after one complete rotation of the Ferris wheel.

i. Find the total cost of laying the cable in a straight line from to and then in a straight line
from to . (1 mark)
h ii. Find the cost of laying the cable in a straight line from to . (1 mark)

iii. Let be the total cost of laying the cable in a straight line from to , and then in a
a capsule
straight line from to .
platform
Show that . (2 marks)

iv. Find the minimum cost of laying the cable. (4 marks)

v. New technology means that the cost of laying the cable underwater can be reduced to $1100
i. State the minimum and maximum heights of above the ground. (1 mark) per kilometre.
ii. For how much time is Sammy in the capsule? (1 mark) Determine the path for laying the cable in order to minimise the cost in this case. (2 marks)

iii. Find the rate of change of with respect to and, hence, state the value of at which the rate of
change of is at its maximum. (2 marks)
9. Calculus, 2ADV C3 2008 HSC 10b 10. Calculus, 2ADV C3 2011 HSC 10b

A farmer is fencing a paddock using metres of fencing. The paddock is to be in the shape of a
sector of a circle with radius and sector angle in radians, as shown in the diagram.

The diagram shows two parallel brick walls and joined by a fence from to . The
wall is metres long and . The fence is metres long.

A new fence is to be built from to a point somewhere on . The new fence will
cross the original fence at .
i. Show that the length of fencing required to fence the perimeter of the paddock is
Let metres, where .
. (1 mark)
i. Show that the total area, square metres, enclosed by and is given by
ii. Show that the area of the sector is . (1 mark)

. (3 marks) iii. Find the radius of the sector, in terms of , that will maximise the area of the paddock. (2 marks)

ii. Find the value of that makes as small as possible. Justify the fact that this value of gives iv. Find the angle that gives the maximum area of the paddock. (1 mark)

the minimum value for . (3 marks) v. Explain why it is only possible to construct a paddock in the shape of a sector if
iii. Hence, find the length of when is as small as possible. (1 mark)
(2 marks)
11. Calculus, 2ADV C3 2007 HSC 10b 12. Calculus, 2ADV C3 2017 HSC 16a

The noise level, , at a distance metres from a single sound source of loudness is given by the John’s home is at point and his school is at point . A straight river runs nearby.
formula
The point on the river closest to is point , which is 5 km from .

The point on the river closest to is point , which is 7 km from .

Two sound sources, of loudness and are placed metres apart. The distance from to is 9 km.

To get some exercise, John cycles from home directly to point on the river, km from , before
cycling directly to school at , as shown in the diagram.

B
The point lies on the line between the sound sources and is metres from the sound source β
A
with loudness
α
i. Write down a formula for the sum of the noise levels at in terms of . (1 mark)

ii. There is a point on the line between the sound sources where the sum of the noise levels is a 5 km 7 km
minimum.
Find an expression for in terms of , and if is chosen to be this point. (4 marks)

C E D
x km River
9 km

The total distance John cycles from home to school is km.

i. Show that . (1 mark)

ii. Show that if , then . (3 marks)

iii. Find the value of that makes . (2 marks)

iv. Explain why this value of gives a minimum for . (1 mark)

13. Calculus, 2ADV C3 SM-Bank 13 14. Calculus, 2ADV C4 2019 HSC 16c

The figure shown represents a wire frame where is a convex quadrilateral. The point is The diagram shows the region , bounded by the curve , where , the -axis and the
on line segment with and , where is a positive constant. tangent to the curve at the point .

Let where

i. Show that the tangent to the curve at meets the -axis at

i. Find and in terms of and . (2 marks) . (2 marks)

ii. Find the length, cm, of the wire in the frame, including length , in terms of and . (1 mark)
ii. Using the result of part (i), or otherwise, show that the area of the region is
iii. Find , and hence show that when . (2 marks)
. (2 marks)

iv. Find the maximum value of if . (1 mark)

iii. Find the exact value of for which the area of is a maximum. (3 marks)
15. Calculus, 2ADV C3 2022 HSC 31 16. Calculus, 2ADV C3 2012 HSC 16b

A line passes through the point and meets the axes at and , where The diagram shows a point on the unit circle at an angle from the positive -
. axis, where .

The tangent to the circle at is perpendicular to , and intersects the -axis at , and the
line intersects the -axis at .

a. Show that . (2 marks)

b. Find the minimum value of the area of triangle . (4 marks)

i. Show that the equation of the line is . (2 marks)

ii. Find the length of in terms of . (1 mark)

iii. Show that the area, , of the trapezium is given by

(2 marks)

iv. Find the angle that gives the minimum area of the trapezium. (3 marks)
17. Calculus, 2ADV C3 2013 HSC 14b 18. Calculus, 2ADV C3 2006 HSC 9c

Two straight roads meet at at an angle of 60°. At time car leaves on one road, and
car is 100km from on the other road. Car travels away from at a speed of 80 km/h,
and car travels towards at a speed of 50 km/h.

A cone is inscribed in a sphere of radius , centred at . The height of the cone is and the radius
of the base is , as shown in the diagram.

The distance between the cars at time hours is km. i. Show that the volume, , of the cone is given by

i. Show that . (2 marks)

. (2 marks)
ii. Find the minimum distance between the cars. (3 marks)
ii. Find the value of for which the volume of the cone is a maximum. You must give reasons why
your value of gives the maximum volume. (3 marks)
 Worked Solutions
19. Calculus, 2ADV C3 2015 HSC 16c

The diagram shows a cylinder of radius and height inscribed in a cone of radius and height 1. Calculus, 2ADV C3 2020 HSC 25
, where and are constants.
a.

♦ Mean mark part (a) 47%.

The volume of a cone of radius and height is

The volume of a cylinder of radius and height is

i. Show that the volume, , of the cylinder can be written as
b.
(3 marks)

ii. By considering the inscribed cylinder of maximum volume, show that the volume of any
inscribed cylinder does not exceed of the volume of the cone. (4 marks)

Copyright © 2004-23 The State of New South Wales (Board of Studies, Teaching and Educational Standards NSW)
2. Calculus, 2ADV C3 2023 HSC 24

a.

♦♦ Mean mark (b) 33%.

b.
 4. Calculus, 2ADV C3 2014 HSC 16c

i.
3. Calculus, 2ADV C3 2005 HSC 8a

i.

ii.

ii. ♦ Mean mark 35%

 ♦ Mean mark 38%
iii.
COMMENT: A sanity check for 5. Calculus, 2ADV C3 2018 HSC 16a
your answer could be to compare
your answers to the perimeter
i.
restriction of 10m.

ii. ♦ Mean mark 45%.

iii.

♦♦ Mean mark 23%.

6. Calculus, 2ADV C4 SM-Bank 12

i.

ii.

♦ Mean mark (Vic) 35%.

iii.

♦♦ Mean mark (Vic) 32%.

 7. Trigonometry, 2ADV T3 SM-Bank 16

i.

ii.

iii.

²
8. Calculus, 2ADV C3 2009 HSC 9b

i. ♦♦ Although specific data is

unavailable for question parts, IMPORTANT: Tougher derivative
mean marks were 35% for Q9 in questions often require students
total. to deal with multiple algebraic
constants. See Worked Solutions
in part (iv).

ii.

MARKER’S COMMENT: Check

the nature of the critical points in
these type of questions. If using
the first derivative test, make
sure some actual values are
substituted in.

iii.

v.

iv.
 9. Calculus, 2ADV C3 2008 HSC 10b

i.

♦♦♦ Low mean marks highlighted

(although exact data not available
before 2009).
MARKER’S COMMENT: Many
students failed to interpret a
correct calculation of as
providing no solution.

ii.
 MARKER’S
COMMENT: Students who could 10. Calculus, 2ADV C3 2011 HSC 10b
not complete part (i) are
reminded that they can still i.
proceed to part (ii) and attempt
to differentiate the result given.
Note that and are constants
when differentiating.

ii. .

♦ Mean mark 41%.

TIP: Area of a sector
the percentage of the circle that
the sector angle accounts for, i.e.
radians.

iii.

iii. ♦♦ Mean mark 29%

MARKER’S COMMENT: The
second derivative test proved
much more successful and easily
proven in this part. Make sure
you are comfortable choosing
between it and the 1st derivative
test depending on the required
calcs.

iv.
 ♦♦♦ Mean mark 20%
11. Calculus, 2ADV C3 2007 HSC 10b

i.

v.

♦♦♦ Mean mark 4%. A BEAST!

MARKER’S COMMENT: When
asked to ‘explain’, students should
support their answer with a
mathematical argument.

ii.
12. Calculus, 2ADV C3 2017 HSC 16a

i. B
β
A
α

5 7

C E D
x 9-x

ii.

♦ Mean mark 41%.

iii.
 ♦♦ Mean mark 29%.
13. Calculus, 2ADV C3 SM-Bank 13

i.

♦♦♦ Mean mark 9%.

iv.

ii.

iii.

♦ Mean mark (Vic) 35%.

iv.

♦♦♦ Mean mark (Vic) 5%.

14. Calculus, 2ADV C4 2019 HSC 16c

i.

♦♦ Mean mark part (i) 31%.

ii.

♦♦♦ Mean mark part (ii) 21%.

 `= 1/(r + 1) – 1/2(1 – (r – 1)/r)“
15. Calculus, 2ADV C3 2022 HSC 31

a.
♦♦♦ Mean mark part (a)
17%.
COMMENT:
is the
expression of a
relationship between
the intercepts and not
the equation of the
line.

iii.

b.
♦♦ Mean mark part (b)
29%.

♦♦ Mean mark part (iii) 23%.

16. Calculus, 2ADV C3 2012 HSC 16b

i.

♦♦ Mean mark 20%

ii.
 to simplifying difficult trig
equations.

iii.

IMPORTANT: Is the 1st or 2nd

derivative test easier here?
Examiners have often made one
significantly easier than the
other.
.

♦♦ Mean mark 24%

iv.

Mean mark 19%

IMPORTANT: Look for any
opportunity to use the identity
→ often a key
17. Calculus, 2ADV C3 2013 HSC 14b 18. Calculus, 2ADV C3 2006 HSC 9c

i. i.

♦♦ Mean mark 26%

ii.

♦♦ Mean mark 27%

ALGEBRA TIP: Finding the
derivative of (rather than
making the subject), makes
calculations much easier. ENSURE
you apply the test to confirm a
minimum.

ii.
19. Calculus, 2ADV C3 2015 HSC 16c

i.

♦♦ Mean mark 16%.

ii. ♦♦ Mean mark 21%.

Copyright © 2016-2024 M2 Mathematics Pty Ltd (SmarterMaths.com.au)