I think this one is doing the rounds, I first saw it here.
is the obvious answer,
, but are there more answers?
This was my approach
A quadratic equation.
Hence,
I then used my calculator

Hence 0r
I think this one is doing the rounds, I first saw it here.
is the obvious answer,
, but are there more answers?
This was my approach
A quadratic equation.
Hence,
I then used my calculator
Hence 0r
Filed under Algebra, Index Laws, Interesting Mathematics, Quadratics, Solving
Remember
(1)
We know that for odd integer multiples of
, i.e.
, which is
for
Hence,
for
We can factorise our expansion
We know
I went down a rabbit hole while reading An Imaginary Tale by Paul J Nahin and I decided I wanted to do this…
The power series expansion of is
Hence
Let’s consider the integral
(1)
Let then
and
where
When and when
(2)
(3)
Integrate by parts using the tabular method.
Sign | Differentiate | Integrate |
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When we substitute or
the differentiation column is zero except for
, which is
,
Thus
Now we just need to think about the sign.
The integral is now
So
Let’s work out some partial sums
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Filed under Definite, Integration, Integration by Parts, Tabular Integration
(1)
I am going to do this integral in two ways; the traditional method and the tabular method.
Traditional Method
Remember
Let and
Then and
Now we need to do integration by parts on
Let and
Then and
Tabular Integration
Similar to before, select a and a
,
and
Sign | D(ifferentiate) | I(ntegrate) |
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Stop when the differentiating column reaches zero.
Then we multiply diagonally
It is only worth using this method if integration by parts is required more than once. Also, the has to eventually differentiate to
.
Let’s try another one
(2)
Let and
Sign | D | I |
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Filed under Integration, Integration by Parts, Tabular Integration
At 10am, object
travelling with constant velocity
km/h is sighted at the point with position vector
km. At 11am object
travelling with constant velocity
km/h is sighted at the point with position vector
km respectively. Use a scalar product method to determine
given that the two objects were closest together at a distance of
km at 4pm.
OT Lee Mathematics Specialist Year 11
At 4pm is at the point with position vector
and is at the point with position vector
We know the distance between and
at 4pm is
km.
Hence,
(1)
In the diagram below, I have found the position vector of relative to
and the velocity of
relative to
We know that when
and
are the closest distance apart.
(2)
Two equations and two unknowns which we can solve simultaneously. Both equations are circles.
Equation becomes
(3)
and equation becomes
(4)
From equation
We will worry about the negative version later.
Substitute for into equation
Square both sides of the equation
(5)
Substitute into
(6)
Substitute into
(7)
Now we need to consider the negative version of . If you work through (like I did above) you end with the same equation for
.
Hence our two values for are
or
.
Would someone be expected to do this in an exam? I hope not, but I think its worth doing.
Filed under Closest Approach, Vectors, Year 11 Specialist Mathematics
Sequences are part of the Year 12 Mathematics Applications course and sometimes it’s tricky to work out which terms the question requires.
For example, ATAR 2020 Question 11
Judith monitors the water quality in her garden pond at the same time everyday. She likes to maintain the concentration of algae between 200 and 250 unites per 100 litres (L). Her measurements show that the concentration increases daily according to the recursive rule
where
units per 100 L (the minimum concentration)
When the concentration gets above the 250 units per 100 L limit, she treats the water to bring the concentration back to the minimum 200 units per 100 l.
(a) If Judith treated the water on Sunday 6 December 2020, determine
(i) the concentration on Wednesday, 9 December 2020.
(ii) the day when she next treated the water.(b) During the first week of January 2021, Judith monitored the water and recorded the following readings
Day | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
Concentration (C) | 200 | 206 | 212.28 | 218.55 | 225.10 | 231.85 | 238.81 |
(i) Determine the revised recursive rule.
(ii) If she treated the water on 10 January and went on holiday until 20 January, when she next treated the water, calculate the concentration of the water on her return. Assuming the recursive rule from (b)(i) is used.
(a)(i) If ![]() I find most students simply do ![]() ![]() It’s better to list them 6th ![]() 7th ![]() 8th ![]() 9th ![]() Hence we want to find ![]() The concentration on Wednesday 9 December is 215.38 units per 100 L a(ii) We need to find when the concentration is greater than 250 ![]() ![]() The 9th is ![]() ![]() ![]() Judith next treats the water on Wednesday 16 December (b) (i) ![]() ![]() ![]() (ii) ![]() ![]() The concentration of the water on Judith’s return is 268.78 units per 100 L |
I get my students to count on their fingers to ensure they get the correct term or day.
My year 12 Mathematical Methods students have questions like this
Given that
is continuous everywhere and that
, find:
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f)
OT Lee Mathematics Methods Textbook Ex 8.3 question 6
For the most part these questions aren’t too difficult, but the horizontal dilations cause issues.
(a) ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() (b) ![]() ![]() (c) ![]() Let ![]() ![]() ![]() When ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() (d) ![]() ![]() Let ![]() ![]() ![]() When ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() (e) ![]() Let ![]() ![]() ![]() When ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() (f) ![]() Let ![]() ![]() When ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | Split the integral Integrate the first part. This is a horizontal translation (one unit to the right) so the shape of the curve doesn’t change. The integration bounds have also shifted one unit to the right. This is a horizontal dilation and translation. The easiest method is to use a change of variable |
Once you get the hang of it, you can skip the change of variable and multiply the value of the definite integral by the scale factor of the horizontal dilation (only if the integration bounds are also changed).
Filed under Definite, Integration, Uncategorized, Year 12 Mathematical Methods