ROUND 2: SPEED RACE (CONTEST 1)

1 Find the number of sides of a regular polygon if an exterior angle has

measure π/12 radians
ANSWER: 24
[2π/(π/12) = 2(12) = 24]

2 Evaluate 10C7 (10 combination 7)

ANSWER: 120
[ (10 x 9 x 8)/(3 x 2 x 1) = 10 x 3 x 4 = 120]

3 simplify (tan3x + tanx)/(1 – tan3xtanx)

ANSWER: tan4x
[tan(3x + x) = tan4x]

ROUND 2: SPEED RACE

1 Identify the polygon if in its regular form an interior angle has measure
5π/6 radians.
ANSWER: duo-decagon [2π/n = π/6, n = 12 hence a duo-decagon]

2 Evaluate the expression (tan87° – tan42°)/(1 + tan87°tan42°)

ANSWER: 1
[ tan(87 – 42) = tan45 = 1]

3 Find the general term Un of the linear sequence, -5, - 2, 1, 4, 7, . . .

ANSWER: Un = 3n - 8
[a = -5, d = 3, Un = a + (n – 1)d = - 5 + 3(n – 1) = 3n - 8

ROUND 2: SPEED RACE (CONTEST 3)

1 Find a natural number n such that the number nnn3 = 2610

ANSWER: n = 2
[9n + 3n + n = 13n = 26, n = 2]

2 A fair coin is tossed three times. Find the probability of obtaining an

even number of heads
ANSWER: ½ [A= {TTT, THH, HHT, HTH}, P(A) = 4/8 = ½ ]

3 Evaluate the trigonometric expression cos33°cos27° – sin33°sin27°

ANSWER: ½
[cos(33 + 27) = cos60° = ½ ]

ROUND 2: SPEED RACE

1 Find the quadratic equation the sum of whose root is 10 and the
product is -7
ANSWER: x2 – 10x - 7 = 0

2 Find the term without x in the expansion of (x + 1/x)8

ANSWER: 70
[8Crxr(1/x)8 – r = 8Crx2r – 8, 2r – 8 = 0, r = 4, 8C4 = (8 x 7 x 6 x 5)/(4 x 3 x 2 x
1)= 70]

3 Find the value of (tan87° + tan33°)/(1 – tan87° tan33°)

ANSWER: -√3

ROUND 2: SPEED RACE (CONTEST 5)

1 Solve for x from the equation 125x = 625

ANSWER: x = 4/3
[53x = 54, 3x = 4,x = 4/3]

2 Express the decimal number 19510 as a number in base 7.

ANSWER: 3667
[ 195 = 3 x 49 + 48 = 3 x 72 + 6 x 7 + 6 = 3667]
3 If the matrix A = , find A2

ANSWER: [

ROUND 2: SPEED RACE (CONTEST 6)

1 Find the number of digits when the decimal number 70 is expressed as

a binary number.
ANSWER: 7
[Highest power of 2 in 70 is 64 = 26, number of digits is 6 + 1 = 7]

2 The general term of a sequence is Un = 3 – 2n. Find the sum of the first
20 terms.
ANSWER: -360
[Linear sequence a = 1, d = -2, S20 = (20/2)(2(1) + 19(-2)) = 10(2 – 38) = -
360]

3 Given that sinx = a/b and x is acute, find cos(π/2 – x).

ANSWER: a/b
[cos(π/2 – x) = sinx = a/b]

ROUND 2: SPEED RACE

1 Find the next term in the sequence 1, 27, 125, 343, . . .

ANSWER: 729
[ 13, 33 , 53, 73, . . ., next term is 93 = 81 x 9 = 729]

2 A bicycle wheel has 18 spokes. Find the measure of angle between

adjacent spokes.
ANSWER: 20°
[ 360/18 = 20]
3 Find the total surface area of a solid cube if a side has length 20 cm.
ANSWER: 2400 cm2
[ Area = 6 x 202 = 6 x 400 = 2400 cm2]

ROUND 2: SPEED RACE

1 Evaluate the limit

ANSWER: -8
[ (x2 – 16)/(x + 4) = (x – 4)(x + 4)/(x + 4) = x – 4, Limit = -4 – 4 = -8]

2 Find an equation of variation if y varies jointly as x and z and y = 112

when x = 7 and z = 8.
ANSWER: y = 2xz
[ y = kxz, 112 = k(8)7 = 56k, k = 2 and y = 2xz]

3 Evaluate 0.095/10-2
ANSWER: 9.5
[ 0.095 x 102 = 9.5]

ROUND 2: SPEED RACE (CONTEST 9)

1 Find the coordinates of the intercepts of the curve x 2/9 – y2/16 = 1 on

the axes.
ANSWER: (3, 0), (-3, 0)
[y = 0, x2/9 = 1, x2 = 9, x = ± 3, intercepts are (3, 0) and (-3, 0,), no y-
intercepts]

2 Find a natural number n such that 123n = 6610

ANSWER: n = 7
[n2 + 2n + 3 = 66, n2 + 2n = 63, n2 + 2n – 63 = 0, (n - 7)(n + 9) = 0, n = 7]

3 Find the sum of the first 20 even natural numbers

ANSWER: 420
[S20 = (20/2)[2(2) + 2(19)] = 10(42) = 420

ROUND 2: SPEED RACE

1 If a, b, c are the degree measures of angles in an equilateral triangle,

find a relation between a, b, c.
ANSWER: a = b = c = 60֯

2 If a, b, c are the degree measures of the interior angles of a triangle,

find a relation between a, b, c.
ANSWER: a + b + c = 180°

3 if a, b are the degree measures of the non-congruent angles of an

isosceles trapezium, find a relation between a and b.
ANSWER: a + b = 180°

ROUND 2: SPEED RACE

1 Given the matrices A = and B = , find 2A – B.

ANSWER: [ 2A – B = ]

2 Express the repeating decimal 3.02222 . . . as a fraction in simplest

form.
ANSWER: 136/45
[Let x = 3.02222 . . .,10x = 30.2222 . . . , 100x = 302.222 . . 90x = 272, x =
136/45]

3 Factorise 6x2 – xy – 12y2

ANSWER: (3x + 4y)(2x – 3y)
[ 6x2 – 9xy + 8xy – 12y2 = 3x(2x – 3y) + 4y(2x – 3y) = (3x + 4y)(2x – 3y)]
ROUND 2: SPEED RACE (CONTEST 12)

1 Solve the equation tanx = √3 in the interval 90° < x < 180°.
ANSWER: NO SOLUTION
[ in the interval 90° < x < 180°, tanx is negative]

2 Evaluate 10C4
ANSWER:210
[ 10 x 9 x 8 x 7/(4 x 3 x 2 x 1) = 210

3 Find the number of sides of a regular polygon if an interior angle

measures 174°.
ANSWER: 60 sides
[ n = 360/(180 – 174) = 360/6 = 60]

ROUND 2: SPEED RACE

1 Solve the quadratic equation 4x2 + x – 5 = 0

ANSWER: x = 1, -5/4
[4x2 + 5x – 4x – 5 = 0, x(4x + 5) – 1(4x + 5) = (x – 1)(4x + 5) = 0, x = 1, -5/4]

2 A binary operation on the set Z of integers is defined by .

Evaluate .
ANSWER: 16
[ ]

3 Find the first term a and the common difference d, of a linear

sequence given third term is 7 and seventh term is 15.
ANSWER: a = 3, d = 2
[a + 2d = 7, a + 6d = 15, 4d = 8, d = 2 and a = 7 – 4 = 3]
ROUND 2: SPEED RACE (CONTEST 15)

1 Find the prime numbers between 80 and 90

ANSWER: 83, 89
[ 81, 82, (83), 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, (89)]

2 Find the equation of the image of the line y = 2x after reflection in the
y-axis.
ANSWER: y = -2x
[(x, y)→(-x, y), y = 2(-x) = -2x]

3 A fair die is thrown. Find the probability of getting a multiple of 2 or a

multiple of 3.
ANSWER: 2/3

ROUND 2: SPEED RACE

1 Solve the equation sinx = √3/2 in the interval 90° < x < 180°
ANSWER: x = 120°

2 Find the coordinates of the image of the point A(2, -3) after reflection
in the x-axis.
ANSWER: (2, 3)

3 For what values of k will the equation kx2 + 4x – k = 0 have real roots?
ANSWER: All real values of k
[ 16 + 4k2 > 0, hence all real values of k]
ROUND 2: SPEED RACE

1 If A is acute and cosA = 12/13, find tanA

ANSWER: 5/12
[sinA = 5/13, tanA = sinA/cosA = (5/13)/(12/13) = 5/12]

2 Solve the exponential equation 62x – 1 = 216

ANSWER: x = 2
[ 216 = 63, 2x – 1 = 3, x = 2]

3 Find the coefficient of x3 in the expansion of (1 + 2x)6

ANSWER: 160
[ 6C3(2x)3, 20(23) = 160]

ROUND 2: SPEED RACE

1 Find x if the vectors a = xi – 3j and b = 5i + 10j are perpendicular.

ANSWER: x = 6
[ a.b = 5x – 30 = 0, x = 6]

2 Find the stationary point of the function y = (x – 2)2 + 1 and state

whether a maximum or a minimum.
ANSWER: (2, 1) minimum

3 Simplify (1 + √3)/(1 – √3)

ANSWER: -(2 + √3)
[(1 + √3)2/(1 – 3) = (4 + 2√3)/-2 = -2 - √3 = -(2 + √3)
ROUND 2: SPEED RACE (CONTEST 21)

1 Find the midpoint of the line segment connecting the points A(1/2,
1/3) and B(1/3, ½)
ANSWER: (5/12, 5/12)
[(1/2 + 1/3)/2, (1/3 + ½)/2) = ((5/6)/2, (5/6)/2) = (5/12, 5/12)

2 Solve the linear equation 2(7x – 4) – 4(2x – 6) = 3x + 31

ANSWER: x = 5
[14x – 8x – 8 + 24 = 3x + 31, 3x = 39 - 24 = 15, x = 5]

3 Multiply and simplify (x + 2)(x2 – 2x + 4)

ANSWER: (x3 + 8)
[sum of two cubes formula]

ROUND 2: SPEED RACE

1 Find the value of x if (x – 2), (2x + 2), (x + 12) are consecutive terms of
a linear sequence.
ANSWER: x = 3
[ 2(2x + 2) = x – 2 + x + 12 = 2x + 10, 2x = 10 – 4 = 6, x = 3]

2 Find the coordinates of the image of the point P(2, 5) after reflection in
the line y = 6.
ANSWER: (2, 7)
[5 + 1 + 1 = 7, hence (2, 7)

3 Find the term without x in the expansion of (x2 + 1/x)9

ANSWER: 84
[ 9Crx2r(1/x)9 – r, x2r + r – 9, 3r – 9 = 0, r = 3, 9C3 = 9 x 8 x 7 /3 x 2 x 1 = 84]
ROUND 2: SPEED RACE

1 If , find the value of

ANSWER: 24
[ 49 – 25 = 24]

2 Solve the quadratic equation 5x2 + 3x – 2 = 0

ANSWER: x = -1, 2/5
[ 5x2 + 5x – 2x – 2 = 5x(x + 1) - 2(x + 1) = (5x – 2)(x + 1) = 0, x = -1, 2/5]

3 If the angles of a quadrilateral measure (x + 25)°, (2x – 25)°, (x + 30)°,

(2x)° in degrees, find the value of x.
ANSWER: x = 55
[ 6x + 30 = 360, 6x = 330, x = 55]

ROUND 2: SPEED RACE

1 Solve for x given 322x + 1 = 128

ANSWER: x = 1/5
[25(2x + 1) = 27, 10x + 5 = 7, 10x = 2, x = 1/5]

2 Translate the exponential equation xa = yb into a logarithmic equation.

ANSWER: alogx = blogy

3 Find the value of x if x + 3, 2x and x – 7 are consecutive terms of a

linear sequence.
ANSWER: x = -2
[2x – 4 = 4x, 2x = -4, x = -2]
ROUND 2: SPEED RACE

1 Find the diameter of the circle with equation x2 + y2 = 16

ANSWER: 8 [radius r = 4 and diameter D = 2r = 8]

2 Given that i2 = -1, evaluate (3 – 5i)(5 + 3i)

ANSWER: 30 – 16i
[ 15 – 15i2 – 25i + 9i = 30 – 16i]

3 Find the solution set of the linear inequality 8 – 2(2x + 1) < 2x - 3

ANSWER: {x : x > 3/2}
[9 < 6x, 6x > 9, x > 3/2]

ROUND 2: SPEED RACE

1 Solve for x from the equation (ax – b)/(cx + d) = 3

ANSWER: x = (b + 3d)/(a – 3c)
[ax – b = 3cx + 3d, x(a – 3c) = b + 3d, x = (b + 3d)/(a – 3c)]

2 Find the next prime after 151

ANSWER: 157
[152, 153, 154, 155, 156, (157) ]

3 A fair die is tossed. Find the probability of obtaining an odd number

given that the number rolled is 3.
ANSWER: 1

ROUND 2: SPEED RACE

1 Find the number of sides of a regular polygon if an interior angle has

measure 178֯
ANSWER: 180 sides
[ 360/2 = 180]

2 Solve the radical equation

[ x + 7 = x + 2√x + 1, 2√x = 6, √x = 3, x = 9
ANSWER: x = 9

3 Determine if (x – 3) is a factor of f(x) = x4 – 2x3 - 27

ANSWER: (x – 3) is a factor of f(x)
[ f(3) = 81 – 2(27) – 27 = 81 – 54 – 27 = 0, hence it is a factor]

1 Express a relation between x and y if x and y are degree measures of

adjacent angles of a parallelogram.
ANSWER: x + y = 180 (Accept x + y = 180°)

2 Two fair coins are tossed once. Find the probability of obtaining an
even number of heads.
ANSWER: ½ [A = {HH, TT}, P(A) = 2/4 = ½]

3 Differentiate the function y = (2x3 – 3x2)4

ANSWER: dy/dx = 24(x2 – x)(2x3 – 3x2)3
[dy/dx = 4(6x2 – 6x)(2x3 – 3x2)3 = 24(x2 – x)(2x3 – 3x2)3]
ROUND 2: SPEED RACE

1 Multiply and simplify (x - 3)(x2 + 3x + 9)

ANSWER: x3 – 27 (difference of two cubes)

2 Find an equation of a line having x- intercept of 4 and a y-intercept of -

4.
ANSWER: x – y = 4
[ x/4 + y/-4 = 1, x – y = 4]

3 If i2 = -1, evaluate (5 – 3i)(5 + 3i)

ANSWER: 34
[ 25 – 9i2 = 25 + 9 = 34]

ROUND 2: SPEED RACE

1 Find n if 123n = 3810

ANSWER: n = 5
[ n2 + 2n + 3 = 38, n2 + 2n – 35 = 0, (n + 7)(n – 5) = 0, n = 5]

2 Find the greatest value of the expression 3sinx + 4cosx

ANSWER: 5
[R = √(32 + 42) =√25 = 5]

3 Rationalize the denominator 3/(√5 - √2)

ANSWER: √5 + √2
[3(√5 + √2)/(5 – 2) = √5 + √2]