Week 3: Using Rational Equations and Inverse

Functions in Problem Solving

Hello! We are now on the third week of working together learning the
mathematical concepts required for Grade 11. I hope you are on top of the assigned
activities and is ready to learn something new. In case you have questions regarding
our previous lessons, don’t be shy to call, text or pm me. You may also write your
questions and suggestion on the back of this module.

I guess you are now ready to continue, so let’s go!

I. Learning Competencies

At the end of the lesson, you are expected to solve problems involving rational
equations and inverse functions.

II. Getting Ready

a. Things that you will need to prepare:

 pen and paper, calculator
 dictionary
b. Concepts you need to recall from JHS Math:
 LCM, LCD, Fractions, percentage
 Algebraic Operations

III. Looking Back

To make sure that you will not forget what you learned from our previous lessons,
let us have a short review of some related concepts. Write your complete answers
on a short bond paper. Refer to the answer key below if you want to verify your
answers.

a. What are the steps in solving a rational equation?

3 5
b. Solve: =
𝑥 𝑥+1
𝑥+2
c. Find the inverse of 𝑓(𝑥) = 1 − 3

3
Answers: a. see Lesson 6 b. 𝑥 = c. 𝑓 −1 (𝑥) = 3𝑥 − 1
2
IV. Learning Something New:

LESSON 13: USING RATIONAL EQUATIONS IN PROBLEM SOLVING

Ooopppsss… do I hear you say problem solving is difficult? That is what most
students think, but, it does not have to be. Problems are simply stories or situations… with
a question or two at the end.

We can say that problem solving is just about understanding the story and
answering the questions at the end. In order to answer the questions, you must pay
attention to the story. Identify the information given and assign variables. Then, translate
the information in the story into an equation, or a function. Solve the resulting
equation(s) and answer the question(s). Don’t forget to verify the possibility of your
answer by going back to the story and checking.

LET’S BEGIN!!!

Since you are already familiar with the steps in problem solving, and you have also
learned how to solve equations, let us start with an example. You need to study each
example very well, especially the accompanying explanations. No need to hurry, you
take your time.

Example 1

In an inter-school basketball competition, your team have already won 12 out of

25 games.

a) What is your team’s winning percentage?

b) How many games should your team win in a row to improve your winning
percentage to 60%?

Solution:

a) To find the winning percentage, we will use the formula:

𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑠 12
Winning percentage = = = 0.48 𝑜𝑟 48%
𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑔𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑠 25

b) To know the number of games your team should win in a row to improve your
winning percentage to 60%, let us assign variables

Let 𝑣 = the number of games that your team need to win to raise your winning
percentage to 60%.
12 + 𝑣 = total number of games your team would have won

25 + 𝑣 = total number of games your team would have played

Then the winning percentage would be

 𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑠 12+𝑣
Winning percentage = =
𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑔𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑠 25+𝑣

Note: When using percent in computations, we change them to their decimal form.

Observe that the resulting equation is a rational equation. All that remains to be
done is to solve the resulting equation. Lucky for you, because you already learned
how to solve rational equations in Lesson 6. In case you need to recall something, go
back to page 17.

Thus, I have summarized the procedure below, but, I would require you to
explain each step in a short bond paper. I have numbered the steps so you can write
your answer corresponding to each number.

Let us verify if our solution is correct by substituting it to our equation.

12 + 𝑣
= 0.6
25 + 𝑣
12 + 7.5
= 0.6
25 + 7.5
19.5
= 0.6
32.5
0.6 = 0.6 which is a true statement.

Therefore, the solution 𝑣 = 7.5 is correct.

Since 𝑣 represents the number of games, this number should be an integer.

Therefore, your team needs to win 8 games in a row to raise your winning percentage
to 60%.

See? It wasn’t that bad, was it?

The next example will deal with work. Work problems have direct real-life
applications. We often need to determine how many people are needed to complete
a task within a given time. Alternatively, given a limited number of workers, we often
need to determine how long it takes to finish a project.
However, in dealing with work problems, in many cases, we end up working with
rational equations. Following are some tips when working with work problems:

 The formula for “Work” Problems comes from the formula of rate of work which is
amount of work per amount of time worked. In symbols, we have,
𝑎𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑑𝑜𝑛𝑒
𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘 =
𝑎𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘𝑒𝑑
 The general formula would be

 This formula can be extended for more than two persons working together. It can
also be used in problems that involve pipes filling up a tank and other similar
examples.

Example 2:

Peter can clean the room in 40 minutes and John can clean the room in 60 minutes.
How long will it take for them to clean the room together?

Solution:

a) We assign variables:

𝑡1 = time taken by Peter to clean the room

𝑡2 = time taken by John to clean the room

𝑡3 = time it will take for them to clean the room together

b) We identify what are given and what is unknown:

𝑡1 = 40

𝑡2 = 60
𝑡3 = 𝑥

c) Use the formula and substitute:

1 1 1
+ = →
𝑡1 𝑡2 𝑡3
d) Solve the equation:

The LCD of all fractions is the LCM of 40, 60 and 𝑥 is 120𝑥, so we have
1 1 1
120𝑥 ( + ) = 120𝑥 ( )
40 60 𝑥
3𝑥 + 2𝑥 = 120

𝑥 = 24

e) We check with our equation:

1 1 1
+ =
𝑡1 𝑡2 𝑡3
1 1 1
+ =
40 60 24
3 2 1
+ =
120 120 24
5 1
=
120 24
1 1
= which is a true statement.
24 24

Answer: The time taken for both of them to clean the room together is 24 minutes.

Now, to make sure that you master what you just learned, it is time for practice.

Let’s Practice:

Solve the following problems completely. Write your answer in a short bond paper.

1. You have 10 liters of a juice blend that is 60% juice.

a. How many liters of pure juice need to be added in order to make a blend that is
75% juice?

b. Suppose that you have added 15 liters of juice to the original 10 liters. What is the
percentage of juice in this blend?

2. Lloyd can paint a fence in 5 hours, and working with Kim, the two of them
painted a fence in 2 hours. How long would it have taken Kim to paint the fence
alone?

3. Joe has a solution containing 10% acid and a solution containing 30% acid. How
much of the 30% solution must you add to 1 liter of the 10% solution to create a
mixture that is 22% acid?
LESSON 14: USING INVERSE FUNCTIONS IN PROBLEM SOLVING
We already defined an inverse function in our previous lesson. We have also
illustrated some real life examples. Here, we will put the things that you have learned
into the test. Enjoy!

Example 1

Suppose I am travelling at 60 miles per hour, and I want to know how far I have
gone in 𝑥 hours. Then this could be represented by the distance function 𝑓 (𝑥) = 60𝑥 .

a) If I have travelled 𝑥 miles, how long have I been travelling?

b) If I have travelled 200 miles, how long have I been travelling?

Solution:

a) Clearly, finding the distance traveled when the travel time is known and finding the
travel time when the distance traveled is known, are inverse processes, Hence this
calls for the finding of the inverse of the given distance function 𝑓(𝑥) = 60𝑥 .

Let 𝑦 = 𝑓(𝑥)

Substitute into the original function: 𝑦 = 60𝑥

Interchange the variables 𝑥 and 𝑦, making 𝑦 = 𝑓 −1 (𝑥): 𝑥 = 60𝑦

𝑥
Solve 𝑦 in terms of 𝑥 : 𝑦=
60
𝑥
Thus, 𝑓 −1 (𝑥) = , where 𝑓 −1(𝑥) is the time needed to travel 𝑥 miles.
60
𝑥
b) If I have traveled 200 miles, then, from 𝑓 −1 (𝑥) = , the time I have been travelling
60
would be,
200
𝑓 −1 (200) = = 3.33
60
Thus, I would have travelled 3.33 hours after travelling 200 miles.

Example 2

You asked your mother to play a game with you and gave her the following
instructions:

1) think of a nonnegative number;

2) add two to the number;
3) square the result;
4) multiply the result by 3; and
5) divide the result by 2.
After she performed the five steps, you asked her the resulting number and she said that
it was 54.

a) Find a function that will give the final number if the original number is given.
b) Construct an inverse function that will provide the original number if the result is
given.
c) What is the original number?

Solution:

a) First we assign variables:

Let 𝑛 = the original nonnegative number

𝑓 (𝑛) = the final number

Then we construct the function that will compute the final number from the original
number by following the instructions given in the problem.

Add two to the number: 𝑛 + 2 , where 𝑛 ≥ 0 (because 𝑛 is a nonnegative number)

Square the new number: (𝑛 + 2)2

Multiply the result by 3: (𝑛 + 2)2 ∙ 3

(𝑛+2)2 ∙ 3
Divide the result by 2: , which is the final number, where 𝑛 ≥ 0
2
3(𝑛+2)2
Simplifying and using function notation, we write, 𝑓 (𝑛) = , where 𝑛 ≥ 0 .
2

b) Observe that the function 𝑓 (𝑛) with restricted domain 𝑛 ≥ 0 is a one-to-one

function, therefore we can find its inverse.
3(𝑛+2)2
Let 𝑚 = 𝑓(𝑛) and substitute: 𝑚=
2
3(𝑚+2)2
Interchange the 𝑛 and 𝑚 variables, making 𝑚 = 𝑓 −1
(𝑛): 𝑛= 2
,𝑚 ≥ 0

Solve for 𝑚 in terms of 𝑛: 2𝑛 = 3(𝑚 + 2)2 , where 𝑚 + 2 ≥ 0

2𝑛
= (𝑚 + 2)2
3
2𝑛
Extracting the square root of both sides: √
3
= 𝑚+2

2𝑛
𝑚 = √3 −2

2𝑛
Thus, 𝑓 −1 (𝑛) = √ −2.
3
c) Finally, you evaluate the inverse function at 𝑛 = 54 to determine the original
number:

2(54)
𝑓 −1 (54) = √ −2
3

108
=√ −2
3

= √36 − 2
= 6−2
𝑓 −1 (54) = 4

Therefore, the original number is 4.

To be sure to remember what you just learned, it is time for practice!

Let’s Practice:

Do what is asked. Write your answer in a ½ sheet of bond paper.

1. Engineers have determined that the maximum force 𝑡 in tons that a particular
bridge can carry is related to the distance 𝑑 in meters between it supports by the
following function:

12.5 3
𝑡(𝑑) = ( )
𝑑
a) How far should the supports be if the bridge is to support 6.5 tons?
b) Construct an inverse function to determine the result.

2. A painter charges a flat fee of PHP500.00 plus PHP250.00 per hour for his services.

a) Express a function that models the problem

b) Find the amount of money made in 8 hours of work
c) Express the inverse, 𝑀−1 , of the original function.

References:

"Give a practical example of the use of inverse functions. no" eNotes Editorial, 9 Aug.
2011, https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/give-practical-example-use-inverse-
functions-271510. Accessed 16 Oct. 2020.
https://www.onlinemathlearning.com/work-problems.html
https://www.mathsisfun.com/algebra/inequality-questions-solving.html
https://students.ga.desire2learn.com/d2l/lor/viewer/viewFile.d2lfile/1798/12938/Algebra_Reason
ingwithEquationsandInequalities7.html

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