Standard X

MATHEMATICS

Part-2

Government of Kerala
Department of Education

State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT)

2016
 THE NATIONAL ANTHEM

Jana-gana-mana adhinayaka, jaya he

Bharatha-bhagya-vidhata.
Punjab-Sindh-Gujarat-Maratha
Dravida-Utkala-Banga
Vindhya-Himachala-Yamuna-Ganga
Uchchala-Jaladhi-taranga
Tava subha name jage,
Tava subha asisa mage,
Gahe tava jaya gatha.
Jana-gana-mangala-dayaka jaya he
Bharatha-bhagya-vidhata.
Jaya he, jaya he, jaya he,
Jaya jaya jaya, jaya he!

PLEDGE
India is my country. All Indians are my brothers and
sisters.
I love my country, and I am proud of its rich and varied
heritage. I shall always strive to be worthy of it.
I shall give respect to my parents, teachers and all
elders and treat everyone with courtesy.
I pledge my devotion to my country and my people.
In their well-being and prosperity alone lies my
happiness.
Prepared by :
State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT)
Poojappura, Thiruvananthapuram 695 012, Kerala
Website : www.scertkerala.gov.in
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© Department of Education, Government of Kerala
Dear children,
Mathematics starts in counting and measuring.
In the age of agriculture, it becomes the second
degree equations of areas; rises to astronomy for
weather prediction. Grows into the branch of
mathematics called trigonometry. In
Renaissance Europe, trigonometry forms the
foundation of navigation. It becomes the basis
of locating places using satellites in today's
world. The mathematical principles which
seventeenth century mathematicians developed
as purely mathematical operations of numbers
are now used to make security systems in e-
transactions. I wish all of you would recognize
the innumerable applications of mathematics
and revel in its theoretical rhythms.
With love and regards
Dr. P. A. Fathima
Director, SCERT
 TEXTBOOK DEVELOPMENT
Participants
T. P. Prakashan Sreekumar T.
GHSS, Vazhakadu, Malappuram GGHSS, Karamana, Thiruvananthapuram
Unnikrishnan M. V. K. J. Prakash
GHSS, Kumbala, Kasaragode GMGHSS, Pattom, Thiruvananthapuram
Vijayakumar T. K. C. P. Abdul Kareem
GHSS, Cherkkala, Kasaragode SOHSS, Areacode, Malappuram
Ramanujam R. Muhammdali P. P.
MNKMGHSS, Pulappatta, Palakkad GMHSS, Calicut University Campus
Anilkumar M.K. Malappuram
SKMJ HSS, Kalppatta, Wayanad P. P. Prabhakaran
Ubaidulla K. C. Retd, Teacher
SOHSS, Areacode, Malappuram 'Prashanth', Punoor, Kozhikode

Rameshan N.K. Cover

RGMHS Panoor, Kannur Rajeevan N. T.
Jabir K. GHSS, Thariodu, Wayanad
GVHSS, Mogral, Kasaragode

Experts
Dr. E. Krishnan Venugopal C.
Prof.(Rtd) University College Asst. Professor
Thiruvananthapuram Govt. College of Teacher Education
Thiruvananthapuram
Dr. Sarachandran
Dr. Ramesh Kumar P. Retd. Deputy Director of Collegiate
Asst. Prof., Kerala University Education, Kottayam

ENGLISH VERSION
Venugopal C.
Dr. E. Krishnan
Prof.(Rtd) University College Asst. Professor
Govt. College of Teacher Education
Thiruvananthapuram
Academic Co-ordinator Thiruvananthapuram
Sujith Kumar G.
Research Officer, SCERT

State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT)

Vidya Bhavan, Thiruvananthapuram
 7. Tangents ........................................ 1 5 9

8. Solids ............................................. 1 8 9

9. Geometry and Algebra ............... 2 1 3

10. Polynomials .................................. 2 3 3

11. Statistics ........................................ 2 4 7

Certain icons are used in this
textbook for convenience

Computer Work

Additional Problems

Project

Self Assessment

For Discussion
Line and circle
See this picture :

AB is the diameter through the point A on the circle; and it is extended a bit on
either side.
This picture shows another chord through A, instead of a diameter, which is
also extended.

159
Mathematics X

Without altering the position of A, suppose we make X closer to A.

What if we make X closer and closer to A along the circle?

Draw a circle centered at a point O

in GeoGebra and mark points A, X
on it. Draw lines joining O, A and A,
X. What happens to the line AX,
when X is moved closer to A? When
X coincides with A? Join OX. What
happens to the angles OAX and
OXA as X is moved closer and closer
to A?

The red line in the picture just touches the circle at A, right?

This line is called the tangent to the

circle at A. Look at the picture again;
see any relation between the tangent
and the diameter?
To make this clear, let’s take the central
angle of chord AX as xo.

160
 Tangents

As X gets closer to A, the length of the chord AX and its central angle be-
comes smaller; that is, the number x gets closer to zero.

What about the angle between the chord and the

diameter? Since ΔAOX is isosceles, this angle is Sliding line
o
See this picture – a circle
1 ⎛ 1 ⎞
2
(180 − x)o = ⎜⎝ 90 − 2 x⎟⎠ and a line through the
centre.
Suppose we slide the line
a little higher. And sliding
it more and more, we
finally get a line just
touching the circle at
a single point. And the
line joining the centre
and this point is
perpendicular to all
these parallel lines.

Draw a circle and a radius in

As X gets closer to A, this angle gets closer to 90o. GeoGebra. Choose a point on the
And when the extended chord becomes a tangent, radius and draw the perpendicular
the angle becomes exactly 90o. through it. Now change the position
of the point. What happens when it
is on the circle?

161
Mathematics X

We state this as a general principle:

The tangent at a point on a circle is perpendicular to the
diameter through that point.

Let’s look at some problems based on this.

In the picture below, the top line is a tangent to the circle:
To draw a tangent to a circle in
GeoGebra, choose Tangents. Click
on the circle and a point on the circle.
What if we click on a point outside
m
2c

the circle?
Draw the tangent at a point on a
circle and enable Trace On for it and
Animation for the point. What do we
get?

Can you draw this picture in your notebook?

Draw a circle of radius 2 centimetres and a horizontal line through its
centre.

2 cm

162
 Tangents

Now at what point on the circle do we draw the required tangent?

Look at the first picture again; the top angle of the triangle is 90o; and another
angle is 25o.
So, the third angle is 65o.
Can’t you complete the picture now?

m
2c

(1) In each of the two pictures below, a triangle is formed by a tangent to

a circle, the radius though the point of contact and a line through the
centre:
cm

2
cm
2.5

5 cm 4 cm

Draw these in your note book.

(2) In the picture, all sides of a

rhombus are tangents to a
4 cm
circle.
Draw this picture in your
notebook.

163
Mathematics X

(3) What sort of a quadrilateral is formed by the tangents at the ends of

two diameters of a circle?
(4) Prove that the tangents drawn to a circle at the two ends of a diameter
are parallel.

Tangents and angles

See this picture:

The tangents at the points A, B on a circle cen-

tered at O meet at C.
In the quadrilateral OACB, the angles at the
opposite corners A, B are right; so their sum is
180o. Thus the quadrilateral is cyclic.

The name
The name tangent is derived from the That is,
Latin word tangere, meaning ‘to touch’.
The quadrilateral with vertices at the centre
The full name of the tan measure is also
of a circle, two points on it and the point where
tangent. What is its connection with a
the tangents at these points meet, is cyclic.
line touching a circle?
T In such a quadrilateral the sum of the other two angles is
also 180o.

x
O P

If we take the radius of the circle as

the unit of length, then the length of
the tangent PT is tan x, right?

164
 Tangents

This also is a general idea worth noting:

In a circle, the angle between the radii through two points and
the angle between the tangents at these points are supplemen-
tary.
Let’s look at some figures which can be drawn using these ideas. First we
draw an equilateral triangle, exactly covering a circle.

Circle with lines

The picture below shows a star made
by six tangents to a circle.

The sides of the triangle must be tangents to the circle.

And since the triangle is to be equilateral, the angle between
them must be 60o.
How about 12 tangents?
What about the angle
between the radii through the
points of contact of the
tangents?

The picture below shows 90 tangents

Thus we can see that all the drawn using a computer:
angles between the radii
through the points of contact
are 120o.

165
Mathematics X

Thus we need only draw three radii of the circle 120o apart and draw the
tangents at their ends to get our triangle.
Draw a circle of radius 3 centimetres and draw an equilateral triangle
like this.

(1) Draw a circle of radius 2.5 centimetres. Draw a triangle of angles 40o,
60o, 80o with all its sides touching the circle.
(2) In the picture, the small (blue) triangle is equilateral.
The sides of the large (red) triangle are tangents to
the circumcircle of the small triangle at its vertices.
i) Prove that the large triangle is also equilateral
and its sides are double that of the small tri-
angle.
ii) Draw this picture, with sides of the smaller
triangle 3 centimetres.
iii) Instead of an equilateral triangle, if we draw the tangents to the
circumcircle of any other triangle at its vertices, do we get a
similar triangle with double the sides? Justify.

(3) The picture shows the tangents at two points

on a circle and the radii through the points of
contact.

i) Prove that the tangents have the same

length.
ii) Prove that the line joining the centre and
the points where the tangents meet bisects
the angle between the radii.

166
 Tangents

iii) Prove that this line is the perpendicular

bisector of the chords joining the points
of contact.

(4) Prove that the quadrilateral with sides as the tan-

gents at the ends of a pair of perpendicular chords
of a circle is cyclic.
What sort of a quadrilateral do we get if one chord
is a diameter? And if both chords are diameters?

Chord and tangent

The picture shows the tangents at the two ends of a chord of a circle:

We know that angle between the tangents is

80o. What about the angles between the tan-
gents and the chord?

167
Mathematics X

The two sides of the green triangle in the

picture are equal and so are the angles
opposite them. Since the sum of these angles is
180o − 100o = 80o, each measure 40o.

The angle between the radius and the tangent is 90o. So the angle between the
chord and the tangent is 90o − 40o = 50o.

Area problem
What is the area of the green ring?

8 cm

This is half the central angle of the chord, isn’t it?

Is it true for any chord? To check

this, let’s take the central angle
as xo .

168
 Tangents

So the other two angles of the green tri-

angle are
o
1 ⎛ 1 ⎞
2
(180 − x)o = ⎜⎝ 90 − x⎟⎠
2

Since the angle between the tangent and

the radius is 90o, we can see that the angle
1
between the tangent and chord is 2 xo.

In GeoGebra, draw a circle and a

chord. Draw the tangents at the
ends of this chord. Mark the
central angle of the chord and the
angles between the chord and the
tangents. What is the relation
between these angles ? Draw
several chords and see.

In a circle, the angle between a chord and tangent at either end

is half the central angle of the chord.

The angle made by the chord on the larger part of the circle is also half the
central angle, isn’t it?

169
Mathematics X

So in this picture, what is the angle which the tangents make

with the chord?

Unchanging angle
We have seen that the angles on
the same part of a circle are equal.
P

A B
The angles on the right are 65o.
Let’s extend PB a bit.
X

A B

Y
The angles which the tangents make on the left of the chord
Now suppose P moves along the
circle to reach B. are 180o − 65o = 115o. This is the angle which the chord
makes on the smaller part of the circle, isn’t it?

A B

The line XY becomes the tangent

at B. And the angle does not So the relation between the angles which the chord makes
change.
with the tangents at its ends and the angles which it makes on
the circle can be shown like this:

170
 Tangents

And we can write it like this:

In a circle, the angles which a chord makes with the tangents
at its ends on any side are equal to the angle which it makes on
the part of the circle on the other side.
We draw a tangent to a circle at a point, by drawing the perpendicular to the
diameter through this point, right? The above idea can be used to draw tangents,
even if the centre is not known. We need only draw a chord through this point
and draw the angle which it makes on one part of a circle on the opposite side
of the chord:

If the triangle drawn is isosceles, then we need draw only the line through the
point, parallel to the bottom side.

So, to draw the tangent to a circle at a specified point, we first draw an arc of
a circle centred at this point and join the points where it cuts the first circle:

171
Mathematics X

Flip – flop
Angles on the two parts of a circle
are supplementary:
P

x°

A (180 − x)° B

Q
Now we need only draw a line parallel to this line through the
Let’s extend the lines as before. point at which we want the tangent:
X

(180 − x)° P

x°
U

A (180 − x)° B
x°
Q

What happens as P moves towards (1) In the picture, the sides of the large
along the circle? X
triangle are tangents to the circumcircle
of the small triangle, through its vertices.

(180 − x)° P

x° U

A (180 − x)° B

x°
Q

Throughout the motion, xo is below

AP and (180 − x)° above AP, isn’t
it? Calculate the angles of the large triangle.

172
 Tangents

(2) In the picture, the sides of the large

triangle are tangents of the circum-
circle of the smaller triangle, through
its vertices.
Calculate the angles of the smaller
triangle.

(3) In the picture, PQ, RS, TU are tangents

to the circumcircle of ΔABC.
Sort out the equal angles in the
picture.

(4) In the picture, the tangent to the circumcircle

of a regular pentagon through a vertex is
shown.
Calculate the angle when the tangent makes
with the two sides of the pentagon through
the point of contact.

A tangent from outside

See this picture:

A point outside a circle is joined to the

centre and extended. It cuts the circle at two
points; and these points are the ends of a
diameter.
Suppose we join the same point outside the
circle to a point a little above or below the
centre?

173
Mathematics X

The points where the line cuts the circle gets a little closer. Let’s
continue this:

The lines which cut the circle at closer and closer points, leave the circle
entirely after a stage.
But at some stage before this, two of these lines above and below just touch
the circle, don’t they?

From a point outside a circle, two tangents can be drawn.

But we haven’t discussed say how we can actually draw such a pair of tangents.
See this picture:

5 cm 2 cm

174
 Tangents

A point is marked 5 centimetres away from the centre of a circle of radius 2

centimetres
How do we draw the pair of tangents to the circle from this point?

Perhaps it would be clear if we imagine how the picture would be after they
are drawn;
We need two pairs of mutually perpendicular lines from the centre of the
circle and the point outside.

Draw a circle centred at a point

We have seen in the lesson Circles, that all such pairs of mutually O in GeoGebra and mark points
perpendicular lines meet on the circle with the line joining these A, B on it. Draw the tangents at
points as diameter: these points and mark their point
of intersection as C. Draw the
In those pairs we want, one line should be a radius of our original
quadrilateral OACB. Is it cyclic?
circle; that is, the lines should meet on this circle. For that, we
We can check by drawing the
circle through O, A, B using.
Circle Through Three Points .
Move A, B and see what
happens when they get closer
and farther apart. What happens
when they are the ends of a
diameter?

175
Mathematics X

Joining the points of intersection of these circles to the point outside, we get
the tangents from it:

In our problem, the radius of the original circle is 2 centimetres and the
distance from the centre to the point outside is 5 centimetres.
2c
m

5 cm
2c
m

So, we can calculate the lengths of the tangents using Pythagoras

Theorem:

52 − 22 = 21 centimetres
We have already seen that if tangents are drawn from two points on a circle,
then their lengths from the point of contact to the point of intersection are
equal. We can now state it like this:

The tangents to a circle from a point are of the same length.

Let’s look at a problem based on this. The

picture shows the quadrilateral formed by
the tangents at four points on a circle.
Let’s join the centre to these points.

176
 Tangents

Taking the lengths of the tangents from the corners

as a, b, c, d, we can mark these lengths as below:
d Draw a circle in GeoGebra and
d c mark four points on it. Draw
c tangents at these points and mark
their points of intersection. Draw
a the quadrilateral with these as
b vertices. Then we can hide the
tangents. Mark the lengths of the
a b
sides of the quadrilateral and note
So, the sum of the lengths of the bottom and top the relation between them, as we
sides of the quadrilateral is (a + b) + (c + d). change the positions of the points
What about the sum of the left and right sides? on the circle.
(a + d) + (b + c)
Both sums are a + b + c + d . Thus we have the following:

In a quadrilateral formed by the tangents at four points on a

circle, the sum of the opposite sides are equal.
If the sum of the opposite sides of a quadrilateral are equal, can we
draw a circle with the four sides as tangents?
Recall the fact we have seen earlier: in a quadrilateral formed by joining four
points on a circle, the sum of the opposite angles are equal.
We have seen that among the lines drawn to a circle from a point, those which
touch the circle at a single point are equal. We have also seen in the lesson,
Circles, that for all lines cutting the circle at two points, the product of the
whole line and the part outside the circle are equal.
Remember this picture and its equation?

P PA × PB = PC × PD

Now suppose, we draw a line which touches a circle and another line
intersecting the circle.

177
Mathematics X

Same relation
See this picture:
B
A

P
C D

We have PA × PB = PC × PD . To find out the relation between these, join AC, BC to make
Suppose the lower line is rotated triangles:
to make a tangent.
B
A

C
Then PD is the same as PC and
The chord AC makes angle PCA at C; it is equal to the angle
the relation above becomes ABC, which AC makes on the other side of the circle, isn’t it?
PA × PB = PC2 C

Suppose the upper line also

becomes a tangent. A

C
The relation becomes PA2 = PC2 or That is, the angle at C in ΔABC is equal to the angle at B in
PA = PC. ΔPBC. And in both triangles the angle at P is the same.
We have already seen that the length
of the tangents from a point to a circle Thus these triangles have the same angles and so pairs of sides
are equal. opposite equal angles have the same ratio.

In ΔPAC, the side opposite the angle of xo is PA and in ΔPBC, the side
opposite the angle of xo is PC. In ΔPAC, the longest side is PC and in ΔPBC,
the longest side is PB. So,
PA PC
=
PC PB

We can write this as,

PA × PB = PC2

178
 Tangents

The product of an intersecting line and

the part of it outside the circle is equal
to the square of the tangent.
As in the case of intersecting chords, this can be
stated in terms of areas.
The rectangle with the intersecting line and its
part outside the circle as sides and the square
with sides equal to the tangent have the same
area.

(1) In the picture, a triangle is formed by two

mutually perpendicular tangents to a circle
and a third tangent.
Prove that the perimeter of the triangle is
equal to the diameter of the circle.

(2) The picture shows a triangle formed by three tangents to a circle.

cm
cm

cm

Calculate the length of each tangent from the corner of the triangle to
the point of contact.

179
Mathematics X

(3) In the picture, two circles touch at a point

and the common tangent at this point is
drawn.

i) Prove that this tangent bisects another

common tangent of these circles.

ii) Prove that the points of contact of

these two tangents form the vertices
of a right triangle.

iii) Draw the picture on the right in your

notebook, using convenient lengths.

(4) In the picture below, AB is a diameter and P is a point on AB

extended. A tangent from P touches the circle at Q. What is the radius
of the circle?

4
cm

8 cm

180
 Tangents

(5) In the first picture below, the line joining two points on a circle is ex-
tended by 4 centimetres and a tangent is drawn from this point. Its
length is 6 centimetres, as shown:

6
cm

4 cm 5 cm

The second picture shows the same line extended by 1 centimetre more
and a tangent drawn from this point. What is the length of this tangent?
(6) Draw a rectangle of one side 6 centimetres and area equal to that of a
square of side 5 centimetres.
Circle touching a line
We have seen that from a point, two lines
touching a circle can be drawn and also
how we can draw these lines.
Now let’s ask in reverse: can we draw a
circle touching two lines meeting at a point?
See this picture.
The radii are perpendicular to these lines. In other words, the centre of the
circle must be at the same distance from these lines. So it must be on the
bisector of this angle.
The centre of a circle touching two lines meeting at a point is on
the bisector of the angle formed by the lines.

We can take any point on the angle

bisector as centre to draw a circle touching
the lines.

So, the next question is whether we can draw a circle touching all three sides
of a triangle.

181
Mathematics X

We can take any point on the

Draw an angle and its bisector in bisector of the angle made by
GeoGebra . Mark a point on this the bottom and left side to draw
bisector and draw the perpendicular a circle touching these two
from this point to one of the sides of
sides.
the angle. Mark their point of
intersection. Draw the circle with
centre at the point on the bisector Taking any point on the bisector
and passing through the point on the of the angle made by the bottom
side. Doesn’t it touch both sides?
and right side as centre, we can
Move the centre along the bisector
draw a circle touching these two
and see.
sides.

So, what if we take the point of both these bisectors, that is their point of
intersection?

The lengths of the perpendiculars from this point to all three

sides are equal, right?
What about the circle of radius this length, centred at this
point?
This circle is called the incircle of the triangle.

We note another thing here. Since the centre of the incircle

is at the same distance from the left and right sides, it is
also on the bisector of the angle joining these sides.

Draw a triangle and its

incircle in GeoGebra.

182
 Tangents

The bisectors of all three angles of a triangle meet at a point.

There are some relations between the points where the incircle touches the
triangle and the sides of the triangle.

To see it, we draw the incircle of a triangle and

join its centre to the points of contact with the
sides.

The sides of the triangle are formed by the tangents to the incircle
from the vertices. And the lengths of the tangents from each corner
are equal. So taking the lengths of the tangents as x, y, z, we can mark them
as below:
Circumcircle and incircle
Every triangle has a circumcircle and
an incircle. But in the case of
quadrilaterals, some have neither of
these, some have only one and some
have both.

The sum of all these lengths is the perimeter of the triangle.

That is, the perimeter of the triangle is 2(x + y + z) . In
other words, x + y + z is half the perimeter of the triangle.
Taking it as s,
x + y +z = s

Next if we take the lengths of the sides of the triangle as a, b, c, the picture
gives
x+y=a
y+z=b
z+x=c

183
Mathematics X

Now to get x, we need only subtract y + z from x + y + z:

x = ( x + y + z ) − (y + z) = s − b
Similarly, we see that
y = ( x + y + z ) − (z + x) = s − c
and
z = ( x + y + z ) − (x + y) = s − a
So the lengths of tangents are like this:

For example, consider a triangle of sides 5 centimetres, 6 centimetres and

7 centimetres. Half the perimeter is 9 centimetres.
So the points of contact with the incircle divides the sides like this: 9 − 5 = 4,
9 − 6 = 3, 9 − 7 = 2

cm
2

2
cm

cm
3

4
cm

4 cm 3 cm

The radius of the incircle has a relation with

the area of the triangle. The lines joining the
centre of the incircle to the vertices divide the
triangle into three.

184
 Tangents

One side of each of these small triangles is a side of the original large triangle
and the height from it is equal to the radius of the incircle. So, if we take the
sides of the triangle as a, b, c and the radius of the incircle as r, then the areas
1 1 1
of these small triangles are 2 ar, 2 br, 2
cr.

Their sum is the whole area of the large triangle. Taking it as A, we have
1 1 1 1
A= 2
ar + 2
br + 2
cr = 2
(a + b + c) r = sr

This equation can written as

A
r= s

The radius of the incircle of a triangle is its area divided by half

the perimeter.

The incircle of a triangle is the circle inside

the triangle, which touches all three sides.
If the requirement is only touching all three
sides, then we can draw three more such
circles.

These are called excircles of the triangle. They are drawn using the bisectors
of the external angles.
Consider a triangle and one of its excircles:

P, Q, R are the points where the circle touches the sides of the triangle.

185
Mathematics X

Let’s find the lengths of the tangents CP and CQ. Taking the length BC, CA,
AB of the triangle as a, b, c, we get
CP = CB + BP = a + BP CQ = CA + AQ = b + AQ
Now BP = BR, being tangents from B and AQ = AR, being tangents from A.
So,
CP = a + BR CQ = b + AR
We also see that AR + RB = AB. This together with the two equations above
gives
CP + CQ = a + b + BR + AR = a + b + c
But this is the perimeter of the triangle. Also, CP and CQ have the same
length. So, what do we get?
CP = CQ = s
Thus we have the following:

The lengths of the tangents from a vertex of the triangle to the excircle
opposite it are equal to the perimeter of the triangle.

Now let’s draw the incircle also. Let r be the radius of the incircle and r1, the
radius of the excircle.

ΔCIP and ΔCJQ of the picture on the left have the same angles, and so ratio
of sides opposite equal angles are also the same.
r s−c
(1) =
r1 s

186
 Tangents

Now in the picture on the right, look at the angles of ΔBIP and ΔBJQ
at B. Since BI, BJ are the bisectors of the internal and external angles
at B of ΔABC,
1 1
∠QBJ = 2
∠QBA = 2
(180o − ∠CBA) = 90o − ∠PBI
Thus ΔPBI and ΔQBJ have the same angles, which gives
r s−b
=
s−a r1

Using cross multiplication, we get

(2) rr1 = (s − a ) (s − b)
Now from equations (1) and (2), we have
r s−c
r1 × rr1 = s
× (s − a ) (s − c)

That is,
(s − a) (s − b) (s − c)
r2 = s

We have already noted that the area of ΔABC is rs. Using the above equation
the area is

s (s − a) (s − b) (s − c)

This method of computing the area of a triangle using the lengths of its side is
known as Heron’s Formula.

(1) Draw a triangle of sides 4 centimetres, 5 centimetres, 6 centimetres and

draw its incircle. Calculate its radius.
(2) Draw a rhombus of sides 5 centimetres and one angle 50o and draw its
incircle.

(3) Draw an equilateral triangle and a semicircle

touching its two sides, as in the picture.

187
Mathematics X

(4) Prove the radius of the incircle of an equilateral triangle is half the radius
of its circumcircle.
(5) Prove that if the hypotenuse of a right triangle is h and the radius of its
incircle is r, then its area is r ( h + r).
(6) Calculate the area of a triangle of sides 13 centimetres, 14 centimetres,
15 centimetres.

Looking back
On With
Learning outcomes my teacher's Must
own help improve

$ Understanding what happens to a line joining

two points on a circle when they are closer
and closer, and hence the idea of a tangent.
$ Realising that the tangent at a point on a circle
and the radius through the point are
perpendicular to each other.
$ Understanding the relations between the angle
between the tangents to a circle at the ends
of a chord, the central angle of the chord and
the angle which the chord makes at a point
on the circle.
$ Realising that two tangents can be drawn to
a circle from a point outside and actually
drawing them.
$ Drawing a circle touching all three sides of a
triangle.

188
Pyramids
We can make prisms by cutting thick paper in various ways and pasting the
edges.

And we have learnt much about them.

Let’s make another kind of solid:

189
Mathematics X

First, cut out a figure like this in paper.

Pyramids in GeoGebra
We have seen in Class 9 how
prisms can be drawn in
GeoGebra. Now let’s see how
pyramids can be drawn. Open
3D Graphics and make the
necessary preparations (See the
section, Solids in GeoGebra of
the lesson, Prisms in the Class 9
textbook) Draw a square in
Graphics. Choose Extrude to
Pyramid or Cone in 3D Graphics
and click on the square. In the
window opening up, type the
height of the pyramid. (we can A square in the middle and four triangles around it; all four of
also make a slider and give its them are isosceles triangles and they are equal. Now fold and
name as the height). paste as shown below.

What shape is this? Can’t be called a prism; prisms have two equal bases and
rectangles on the sides. In the shape we have made now,
we have a square at the bottom, a point on top and triangles
all around.
Instead of square, the base can be some other rectangle,
a triangle or some other polygon. Try! (It is better looking
when the base is a regular polygon.)
Such a solid is generally called a pyramid.

190
 Solids

Apex

The sides of the polygon forming the base of a

ge
pyramid are called base edges and the other sides

l ed
era
of the triangles are called lateral edges. The

Lat
topmost point of a pyramid is called its apex.

Base edge

The height of a prism is the distance between its bases, isnt it? The height of a
pyramid is the perpendicular distance from the apex to the base.

Area
What is the surface area of a square pyramid of base edges
10 centimetres and lateral edges 13 centimetres? Surface Let’s see how GeoGebra helps us
area is the area of paper needed to make it. How will it look, to see the ‘cut and spread’ shape
of a pyramid. Make a pyramid in
if we cut this pyramid open and lay it flat?
3D graphics as described earlier.
Choose Net and click on the
pyramid. We get the shape of the
paper used to make it (It is called
the net of the solid). We also get
13
a slider in Graphics. By moving
10 cm cm
the slider, we can see how the
pyramid is made from the net. We
can also hide the original pyramid
cm
13 by clicking against the pyramid in
the Algebra window.

191 hr¯-§Ä
Mathematics X

The area of the square is easily seen to be 100 square centimetres. What
about the triangles?
The sides of the triangle are 10, 13, 13 centimetres. We have Heron’s help to
compute the areas; subtracting each side from half the perimeter, we can
calculate the area as
18 × 8 × 5 × 5 = 9 × 16 × 5 × 5 = 60
Thus the area of each triangular face is 60 square centimetres. So the surface
area of the pyramid is,
100 + (4 × 60) = 340 square centimetres

The area of the triangle can also be computed as half

cm

13
13
the product of its base and height.

cm
10 cm

For that, we need the height of the triangle. Since the triangle
13
cm

is isosceles, this altitude bisects the base.

So using Pythagoras Theorem, the height of the triangle is
5 cm
13 − 5 = 12 centimetres
2 2

Height and slant height Thus the area of the triangle is 60 square centimetres. What
Draw a pyramid in GeoGebra. Click will be the height of the triangle, when the paper is turned
Midpoint or Centre to mark the mid into a pyramid?
points of a base edge and the midpoint
of a diagonal of the base. Use Segment
to mark the height and slant height of
the pyramid. Use Polygon to make the
right triangle with height, slant height
and half the base edge as sides. Using
Net, the pyramid can be cut and spread.
We can also hide the pyramid.
m
12 c

12 cm

192
 Solids

This length is called the slant height of the pyramid.

We have seen the relation between the base edge, lateral
edge and slant height of a pyramid in the problem we did

t
just now. As shown in the picture on the right, there is a

ge

heigh
l ed
right triangle on each side of the pyramid - its

era

Slant
Lat
perpendicular sides are the slant height and half the base
edge, the hypotenuse is a lateral edge.
Now do this problem: what is the surface area of a pyramid
with base edges 2 metres and lateral edges 3 metres?
Half the base edge
The base area is 4 square metres. To compute the areas
of lateral faces, we need the slant height. In the right triangle
mentioned above, one side is half the base edge, that is,
1 metre and the hypotenuse is the lateral edge of 3 metres.
So, slant height is
1m 1m
3 − 1 = 2 2 metres
2 2

Using this, the area of each triangular face is

3m
3m

1
× 2 × 2 2 = 2 2 square metres.
2
So, the surface area of the pyramid is,
2m
( )
4 + 4 × 2 2 = 4 + 8 2 square metres.

If not satisfied with this, a calculator can be used, (or an approximate value of
2 recalled) to compute this as 15.1 square metres.

(1) A square of side 5 centimetres, and four isosceles triangles of base

5 centimetres and height 8 centimetres, are to be put together to make
a square pyramid. How many square centimetres of paper is needed?
(2) A toy is in the shape of a square pyramid of base edge 16 centimetres
and slant height 10 centimetres. What is the total cost of painting 500
such toys, at 80 rupees per square metre?

193 hr¯-§Ä
Mathematics X

(3) The lateral faces of a square pyramid are equilateral triangles and the
length of a base edge is 30 centimetres. What is its surface area?
(4) The perimeter of the base of square pyramid is 40 centimetres and the
total length of all its edges is 92 centimetres. Calculate its surface area.
(5) Can we make a square pyramid with the lateral surface area equal to
the base area?
Height and slant height
The height of a pyramid is often an important measure. See this problem:
A tent is to be made in the shape of a square pyramid of base
edges 6 metres and height 4 metres. How many square metres
of canvas is needed to make it?
To calculate the area of the triangular faces of the tent, we need the slant
height. How do we compute it using the given specifications?
See this picture:
A

The slant height we need is AM.

4 metres

Joining CM, we get a right triangle

with AM as hypotenuse. What is the
M
length of CM in it?
C
6 metres

A
Pyramids of Egypt
The very word pyramid brings to our
mind the great pyramids of Egypt.
4 metres

138 such pyramids are found from

various parts of Egypt. Many of
them were built around 2000 BC.
C 3 metres M
6 metres

From the picture, AM = 32 + 4 2 = 5 metres.

194
 Solids

So to make the tent, four isosceles triangles of base 6 metres and height
1
6 metres are needed. Their total area is 4 × 2
× 6 × 5 = 60 square metres.

So this much canvas is needed to make the tent.

In this problem, we have found something which is true

Great Pyramid
in the case of all square pyramids. Within every square The largest pyramid in
pyramid, we can imagine a right triangle with Egypt is the Great
perpendicular sides as the height of the pyramid and Pyramid of Giza.
half the base edge and hypotenuse as the slant height. Its base is a square of
almost half a lakh square metres and its
height is about 140 metres. It is estimated
that about 20 years would have been
Slan

needed to complete it. These royal tombs

t he
Height

built with huge blocks of stones stacked

ight

with precision to end in a point are living

symbols of human labour, engineering skill
and mathematical knowledge.
Half the base edge

(1) Using a square and four

triangles with dimensions as
specified in the picture, a
18 cm

pyramid is made.

24 cm
What is the height of this pyramid?
What if the square and triangles are like this?
cm
30

24 cm

195 hr¯-§Ä
Mathematics X

(2) A square pyramid of base edge 10 centimetres and height 12 centimetres

is to be made of paper. What should be the dimensions of the triangles?
(3) Prove that in any square pyramid, the squares of the height, slant height
and lateral edge are in arithmetic sequence.

(4) A square pyramid is to be made with the

triangle shown here as a lateral face. What

25
cm

cm
would be its height? What if the base edge

25
is 40 centimetres instead of 30
centimetres? 30 cm

Can we make a square pyramid with any four equal isosceles

triangles?

Volume of a pyramid
We have seen that the volume of any prism
is equal to the product of the base area and
the height. What about the volume of a
pyramid?
Let’s take the case of a square pyramid.
Make a hollow square pyramid with thick
paper and also a square prism of the same
base and height.

Fill the pyramid with sand and transfer it to the prism.

Draw a square pyramid and square
Measure the height of the sand in the prism and see what
prism of the same base and with the
fraction of the height of the prism it is. A third isn’t it? So
same height in GeoGebra . To
distinguish between them, change the
to fill the prism, how many times should we fill the pyramid?
colour of the pyramid and make Thus we see that the volume of the prism is three times
Opacity 100. (Object properties → the volume of the pyramid. (A mathematical explanation
Colour). Find their volumes using of this is given at the end of this lesson).
Volume. What is the relation between
We have seen in Class 9 that the volume of a prism is
them? Change the base and height
equal to the product of the base area and the height.
and see.

196
 Solids

So what can we say about the volume of a square pyramid?

The volume of a square pyramid is equal to a third of the product

of the base area and the height.

For example, the volume of a square pyramid of base edge 10 centimetres

1 2
and height 8 centimetres is 3
× 102 × 8 = 266 3
cubic centimetres.

A metal cube of edges 15 centimetres is melted and recast into a square

pyramid of base edge 25 centimetres. What is its height?

The volume of the cube is 153 cubic centimetres. The volume of the square

pyramid is also this. And the volume of a pyramid is a third of the product of

the base area and height. Since the base area of our pyramid is 252 square

centimetres, a third of the height is 153 and so the height is,

252
153
3× = 16.2 centimetres.
252

(1) What is the volume of a square pyramid of base edge 10 centimetres

and slant height 15 centimetres?

(2) Two square pyramids have the same volume. The base edge of one is
half that of the other. How many times the height of the second pyramid
is the height of the first?

(3) The base edges of two square pyramids are in the ratio 1 : 2 and their
heights in the ratio 1 : 3. The volume of the first is 180 cubic centimetres.
What is the volume of the second?

(4) All edges of a square pyramid are 18 centimetres. What is its volume?

(5) The slant height of a square pyramid is 25 centimetres and its surface
area is 896 square centimetres. What is its volume?

197 hr¯-§Ä
Mathematics X

(6) All edges of a square pyramid are of the same length and its height is
12 centimetres. What is its volume?
(7) What is the surface area of a square pyramid of base perimeter
64 centimetres and volume 1280 cubic centimetres?

Cone
Cylinders are prism-like solids with circular bases. Similarly, we have pyramid-
like solids with circular bases:

They are called cones.

We can make a cylinder by rolling up a rectangle. Likewise, we can make a
cone by rolling up a sector of a circle.
What is the relation between the dimensions of the sector we start with and
the cone we end up with?

Cone
We can draw cones in
GeoGebra, just as we drew
pyramids. Draw a circle in
Graphic and in 3D Graphics,
use Extrude to Pyramid or
Cone . Base radius and
height can be changed The radius of the sector becomes the slant height of the cone. The
using sliders. arc length of the sector becomes the circumference of the base of
the cone.

198
 Solids

Arc

t
heigh
s
diu

Slant
Ra
We often specify the size of a sector in terms of the central angle. See this
problem:

From a circle of radius 12 centimetres, a sector of central angle

45o is cut out and made into a cone. What are the slant height
and base radius of this cone?
Slant height of the cone is the radius of the circle itself: 12 centimetres. What
about its base radius?
1
45o is of 360o. And the arc length of a sector is proportional to the central
8
1
angle. So this arc length is of the circumference of the full circle.
8

This arc becomes the base circle of the cone. Thus the circumference of the
1
base circle of the cone is of the circumference of the larger circle from
8
which the sector was cut out. Since radii of circles are proportional to their
1
circumferences, the radius of the smaller circle is of the radius of the large
8
1
circle. Thus the radius of the base of the cone is × 12 = 1.5 centimetres.
8
How about a question in the reverse direction?

How do we make a cone of base radius 5 centimetres and slant

height 15 centimetres?

To make a cone, we need a sector. Since the slant height is to be 15 centimetres,

the sector must be cut out from a circle of radius 15 centimetres.

What should be its central angle?

199 hr¯-§Ä
Mathematics X

5 1
The radius of the small circle forming the base of the cone is = of the
15 3
radius of the large circle from which the sector is to be cut out. (How do we
1
get this?). So, the circumference of the small circle is also of the circumference
3
of the large circle.

The circumference of the small circle is the arc length of the sector. Thus the
1
arc of the sector is of the circle from which it is cut out. So its central angle
3
1
must be 360 × = 120°.
3

(1) What are the radius of the base and slant height of a cone made by
rolling up a sector of central angle 60o cut out from a circle of radius 10
centimetres?
(2) What is the central angle of the sector to be used to make a cone of
base radius 10 centimetres and slant height 25 centimetres?
(3) What is the ratio of the base-radius and slant height of a cone made by
rolling up a semicircle?

Curved surface area

As in the case of a cylinder, a cone also has a curved surface - the part which
rises up at a slant. The area of this curved surface is the area of the sector
used to make the cone. (For a cylinder also, the area of the curved surface is
the area of the rectangle rolled up to make it, isn’t it?)
See this problem:
To make a conical hat of base radius 8 centimetres and slant
height 30 centimetres, how much square centimetres of paper
do we need?
What we need here is the area of the circular sector we roll up to make this
hat. Since the slant height is to be 30 centimetres, we must cut out the sector
from a circle of this radius. Also the radius of the small circle forming the base
8 4
of the cone must be 8 centimetres, that is = of the radius of the large
30 15
circle from which the sector is cut out. So the circumference of small circle is

200
 Solids

also the same fraction of the circumference of the large circle.

Curved surface
The arc length of the sector is the circumference of the small
4 The area of the curved surface of a
circle. Thus the sector to be cut out is of the full circle. cone is the area of the sector used to
15
So, its area is the fraction of the area of the circle; that is, make it. If we take the base radius of
4 the cone as r and its slant height as l,
π × 302 × = π × 2 × 30 × 4 = 240π then the radius of the sector is l and its
15
Thus we need 240π square centimetres of paper to make r
central angle is l × 360 . So its area is
o

the hat (It can be computed as approximately 754 square

1 ⎛r
centimetres). ×⎜ × 360⎞⎟ × l2 = rl
360 ⎝ l ⎠
As in a pyramid, the height of a (Recall the computation of the area of
cone is the perpendicular a sector in Class 9).
distance from the apex to the Thus the area of the curved surface of
base, and it is the distance a cone is half the product of the base
between the apex and the centre circumference and the slant height.
Height

of the base circle.

Again as in the case of a square pyramid, the height is related

Sla
nt
to the slant height via a right triangle.
Height

he
igh
For example, in a cone of base radius 5 centimetres and height

t
10 centimetres the slant height is,

52 + 10 2 = 125 = 5 5 centimetres Base radius

(1) What is the area of the curved surface of a cone of base radius
12 centimetres and slant height 25 centimetres?
(2) What is the surface area of a cone of base diameter 30 centimetres
and height 40 centimetres?
(3) A conical fire work is of base diameter 10 centimetres and height
12 centimetres. 10000 such fireworks are to be wrapped in colour
paper. The price of the colour paper is 2 rupees per square metre.
What is the total cost?

201 hr¯-§Ä
Mathematics X

(4) Prove that for a cone made by rolling up a semicircle, the area of the
curved surface is twice the base area.

Volume of a cone
To find the volume of a cone, we can do an experiment similar to the one we
did to find the volume of a square pyramid. Make a cone and a cylinder of the
same base and height. Fill the cone with sand and transfer it to the cylinder.
Here also, we can see that the volume of the cone is a third of the volume of
the cylinder. Thus we have the following:

The volume of a cone is equal to a third of the product of the

base area and height.

As in the case of square (A mathematical explanation of this also is given at the end of this lesson)
pyramids, draw a For example, the volume of a cone of base radius 4 centimetres and
cylinder and a cone of
height 6 centimetres is
same base and height in
GeoGebra. Compare 1
their volumes. × π × 42 × 6 = 32π cubic centimetres.
3

(1) The base radius and height of a cylindrical block of wood are 15
centimetres and 40 centimetres. What is the volume of the largest cone
that can be carved out of this?
(2) The base radius and height of a solid metal cylinder are 12 centimetres
and 20 centimetres. By melting it and recasting, how many cones of
base radius 4 centimetres and height 5 centimetres can be made?
(3) A sector of central angle 216o is cut out from a circle of radius 25
centimetres and is rolled up into a cone. What are the base radius and
height of the cone? What is its volume?
(4) The base radii of two cones are in the ratio 3 : 5 and their heights are in
the ratio 2 : 3. What is the ratio of their volumes?
(5) Two cones have the same volume and their base radii are in the ratio
4 : 5. What is the ratio of their heights?

202
 Solids

Sphere
Round solids enter our lives in various
ways - as the thrill of ball games and as
the sweetness of laddus. Now let’s look
at the mathematics of such solids called
spheres.
It we slice cylinder or cone parallel to a
base, we get a circle. In whatever way
we slice a sphere, we get a circle.

The distance of any point on a circle from the centre is the

same. A sphere also has a centre, from which the distance Sphere and cylinder
Consider a cylinder which can cover a
to any point on its surface is the same. This distance is called
sphere precisely. Its base radius is the
the radius of the sphere and double this is called the diameter. radius of the sphere and its height is
double its
If we slice a sphere into exact radius.
halves, we get a circle whose So if we take
centre, radius and diameter are the radius of
2r r
those of the sphere itself. the sphere as r,
the base radius
We cannot cut open a sphere and and height of
r
spread it flat, as we did with other solids. The fact is that we the cylinder
are r and 2r.
cannot make the surface of a sphere flat without some folding
So its surface area is
or stretching.
(2πr × 2r) + (2 × πr2) = 6πr2
But we can prove that the surface area of a sphere of radius
The surface area of the sphere is 4πr2 .

r is 4πr2 (An explanation is given at the end of the lesson). Thus the ratio of these surface areas
is 3 : 2.
The surface area of a sphere is equal to the
Again, the volume of the cylinder is
square of its radius multiplied by 4p.
πr2 × 2r = 2πr3

Also, we can prove that the volume of a sphere of radius r and the volume of the sphere is
4 3
4 πr , so that the ratio of the volumes
is 3 πr3 (An explanation of this also is given at the end of the 3
is also 3 : 2
lesson.)

203 hr¯-§Ä
Mathematics X

See this problem:

What is the surface area of the largest sphere that can be carved
from a cube of edges 8 centimetres?
We can see from the picture that the
diameter of the sphere is the length of
an edge of the cube. So, the surface area
of the sphere is 8 cm

4π × 42 = 64π square centimetres

8 cm

Another problem:
A solid sphere of radius 12 centimetres is cut into
two equal halves. What is the surface area of each
hemisphere?
The surface of the hemisphere consists of half the surface
of the sphere and a circle.
Since the radius of the sphere is 12 centimetres, its area is,
4π × 122 = 576π square centimetres
Since the radius of the circle is 12 centimetres, its area is
π × 122 = 144π square centimetres
So the surface area of the hemisphere is,
1
2
× 576π + 144π = 432π square centimetres
One more example:
A water tank is in the shape of a hemisphere attached to a cylinder. Its
radius is 1.5 metres and the total height is 2.5 metres. How many litres
of water can it hold?
2.5 metre

1.5 metre 1.5 metre

1.5 metre

204
 Solids

The volume of the hemispherical part of the tank is,

2
3
π × (1.5)3 = 2.25π cubic metres.
And the volume of the cylindrical part is
π × (1.5)2 (2.5 − 1.5) = 2.25π cubic metres.
So, the total volume is
2.25π + 2.25π = 4.5π ≈ 14.13 cubic metres.
Since one cubic metre is 1000 litres, the tank can hold about 14130 litres of
water.

(1) The surface area of a solid sphere is 120 square centimetres. If it is cut
into two halves, what would be the surface area of each hemisphere?
(2) The volume of two spheres are in the ratio 27 : 64. What is the ratio of
their radii? And the ratio of their surface areas?
(3) The base radius and length of a metal cylinder are 4 centimetres and 10
centimetres. If it is melted and recast into spheres of radius 2 centimetres,
how many spheres can be made?
(4) A metal sphere of radius 12 centimetres is melted and recast into 27
small spheres. What is the radius of each sphere?
(5) From a solid sphere of radius 10 centimetres, a cone of height 16
centimetres is carved out. What fraction of the volume of the sphere is
the volume of the cone?
(6) The picture shows the dimensions of a petrol tank.
1 metre 1 metre
2 metres

6 metres

How many litres of petrol can it hold?

205 hr¯-§Ä
Mathematics X

(7) A solid sphere is cut into two hemispheres. From one, a square pyramid
and from the other a cone, each of maximum possible size are carved
out. What is the ratio of their volumes?

What is the speciality of the square pyramid of maximum volume

that can be cut out from a solid hemisphere?

Looking back
On With
Learning outcomes my teacher's Must
own help improve

$ Finding the relation between the base edge,

lateral edge, height, slant height and base
diagonal of a square pyramid.
$ Making square pyramids of specified
dimensions by cutting out squares and
isosceles triangles.
$ Computing the surface area and volume of a
square pyramid using given measurements.
$ Computing the dimensions of sectors needed
to make cones of specified dimensions.
$ Explaining the relation between the base
radius, height and slant height of a cone.
$ Explaining the methods to compute surface
areas and volumes of cones.
$ Explaining the methods to compute the
surface areas and volumes of spheres and
hemispheres.

206
 Solids

Appendix
We have seen only the techniques of calculating volumes of pyramids and
cones, and also the surface area and volume of a sphere. For those who may
be interested in knowing how they are actually got, we give some explanations
below.
Volume of a pyramid
We can think of a stack of square plates,
of decreasing size as an approximation to
a square pyramid.

As we decrease the thickness of the plates

and increase their number, we get better
approximations.

And the sum of the volumes of these plates get nearer to the volume of the
pyramid.
Suppose we use 10 plates, to start with. Each plate is a square prism of small
height. Let’s use plates of same height. So, if we take the height of the pyramid
1
as h ,each plate is of height 10
h . How do we compute the base of each
plate?

If we imagine the pyramid and the stack

of plates sliced vertically down from the h
vertex, we get a picture like this.

Starting from the top, we have isosceles triangles of increasing size. Their
1
heights increase at the rate of 10
h for each plate.

207 hr¯-§Ä
Mathematics X

Since these triangles are all similar (why?) their bases also increase
at the same rate. So, if we take the base edge of the bases of the pyramid to
1 2
be b, the bases of the triangles starting from the top are 10
b, b, ...., b.
10

So, the volumes of the plates are

2 2
⎛1 ⎞ 1 ⎛2 ⎞ 1 1
⎜⎝ b⎟⎠ × h, ⎜⎝ b⎟⎠ × h, ..., b × h
2

10 10 10 10 10

And their sum?

1 2 ⎛ 1 22 92 102 ⎞
b h (1 + 2 2 + 32 + ... + 10 2 )
1 2 2
b h ⎜ 2 + 2 + ... + 2 + 2 ⎟ =
10 ⎝ 10 10 10 10 ⎠ 1000

We have seen how such sums can be computed in the section, Sum of squares
of the lesson, Arithmetic Sequences.
1
12 + 22 + 32 + ... + 102 = 6
× 10 × (10 + 1) × (2 × 10 + 1)
Thus the sum of the volumes
1 2 1 1 10 11 21 1 2
b h × × 10 × 11 × 21 = b 2 h × × × = b h × 1.1 × 2.1
1000 6 6 10 10 10 6

Now imagine 100 such plates (we cannot draw it anyway.)

1
The thickness of a plate becomes 100
h and the base edges would be
1 2 3
b, b, b,..., b . So the sum of the volumes would be
100 100 100

b h (1 + 2 2 + 32 + ... + 100 2 ) =
1 2 2 1 2 1
b h × × 100 × 101 × 201
1003 1003 6
1 2 100 101 210
= b h× × ×
6 100 100 100
1 2
= b h × 1.01 × 2.01
6

What if we increase the number of plates to 1000? Without going through

detailed computations, we can see that the sum of volumes would be
1 2
b h × 1.001 × 2.001
6

What is the number to which these sums get closer and closer to?

It is the volume of the pyramid; and it is

1 2 1
b h × 1 × 2 = b2h
6 3

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 Solids

Volume of a cone

Just as we stacked square plates to approximate a pyramid, we can stack

circular plates to approximate a cone.

And in much the same way, we can

compute the volume of a cone also.
(Try!)

Surface area of a sphere

First consider a circle through the middle of the Small and large
sphere and a regular polygon with its sides Cutting a cone parallel to the base, we get a small
touching it; cone on top.

Now if this figure revolves, we get the sphere

and a solid just covering it. What is the relation between the dimensions of
the small and large cones?
If we take the base radius, height and slant height
of the large cone as R, H, L and those of the small
cone as r, h, l, we get
r h l
= =
R H L
In the picture above, this solid can be split into
two frustums and a cylinder. l h

r
L

209 hr¯-§Ä
Mathematics X

As we increase the number of sides of the polygon, the

covering solid approximates the sphere better.

Frustum of a cone
If we cut off a small cone from the top of a To compute the area of the curved surface of these
cone, the remaining piece is called the frustum frustums, let’s consider one of these. Let’s take its
of a cone.
height as h and the radius of its middle circle as m.
Let’s also take the radius of the sphere as r and the
length of a side of the covering polygon as a. We then
have a figure like this.

How do we find the area of the curved surface m

of a frustum in terms of its slant height and a h
base radii?
r r

d The two right triangles in the figure are similar and

so
R
m h
=
r a
Taking the slant heights of the large and small
cones as L and l, we get the d in the figure which can be written as
above as d = L − l. So the surface area of the am = rh
frustum is,
The area of the curved surface of the frustum got by
πRL − πrl = π(RL − rl)
revolving this is 2πma, as shown in the side bar.
= π(R(l + d) − rl)
Frustum and cylinder, on the last page. And this is
= π(Rl + Rd − rl)
equal to 2πrh , by the above equation; that is, the
Now, as seen earlier, we have
r l
= . So that area of the curved surface of a cylinder of base radius
R L r and height h.
Rl = rL. Using this, the area of the curved
surface is, So what do we get? In the solid which approximates
π(rL + Rd − rl) = π(r(L − l) + Rd) the sphere, the curved surface area of each frustum
= π(rd + Rd) is equal to that of a cylinder of the same height with
= π(r + R)d base radius equal to that of the sphere.

210
 Solids

So the curved surface area of the whole approximating solid is

equal to the sum of the curved surface areas of all these cylinders.
And what do we get on putting together all these cylinders? A
large cylinder, just covering the sphere.

As we increase the number of sides of the polygon covering the circle, it

becomes more circle-like; and the solid covering the sphere becomes more
sphere-like. As seen just now, the curved surface area of any such solid is
equal to the curved surface area of a cylinder just covering the sphere. So the
surface area of the sphere is also equal to the area of the curved surface of
this cylinder. Since the base radius of the cylinder is r and its height is 2r, the
area of its curved surface is
2π × r × 2r = 4πr2

Volume of a sphere
See these pictures:

A sphere is divided into cells by

horizontal and vertical circles. If we join
the corners of such a cell to the centre
of the sphere, we get a pyramid-like
solid.

The sphere is made up of such solids joined together; and so the volume of
the sphere is the sum of the volumes of these solids. Now if we change each
cell into an actual square which touches the sphere, we get a solid which just
covers the sphere; and the solid is made up of actual square pyramids. The
heights of all these pyramids are equal to the radius of the sphere. If we take
1
it as r and the base area of a pyramid as a, the volume of a pyramid is 3 ar.

211 hr¯-§Ä
Mathematics X

Frustum and cylinder The volume of the solid covering the sphere is the
We have seen that the area of the curved
sum of the volumes of all such pyramids. The bases
surface of a frustum is π(r + R)d
of all such pyramids make up the surface of the solid,

so that the sum of the base areas of the pyramids is

the surface area of this solid. If it is taken as s, the
Taking the radius of the circle round its middle 1
volume of the solid would be 3 sr.
as x, we get a figure like this:
r As we decrease the size of the cells and increase
x
d
their number, the solid covering the sphere
R
approximates the sphere better; and the surface
Let’s draw one more line:
areas of the solid gets closer to the surface area of
r
x the sphere. Since the surface area of the sphere is

R
4πr2, the volume of the solid get closer to the number
From the two similar right triangles on the right, 1 4
3
× 4πr2 × r = 3
πr3
x−r 1
=
R−r 2
And this is the volume of the sphere.
Simplifying,this gives
1
x= (R + r)
2

So, the area of the curved surface of the frustum

can be written 2πxd.
But this is the area of the curved surface of a
cylinder of base radius x and height d.

212
 Triangles
We have seen that if the line joining two points is not parallel to either axes,
then we can draw a rectangle with these points as opposite vertices and sides
parallel to the axes:

Moreover, we have seen how we can find the coordinates of

the other two vertices without drawing to the axes.

It is using such a rectangle that we computed the distance

34 between two points like these, in terms of their coordi-
nates. In fact, we didn’t use the full rectangle, but only a
right triangle forming half of it.

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Mathematics X

Computations using such right triangles are use-

ful in many situations. For example, see this
parallelogram with the origin and two other
points as vertices.

We have to find the fourth vertex.

For that, we draw right triangles with the top
and bottom sides as hypotenuse and the
perpendicular sides parallel to the axes.

In these triangles, the hypotenuse and the

angles at its ends are equal. (Why?) So, their
perpendicular sides are also equal. We can
easily find the lengths of the perpendicular
sides of the lower triangle. These are the
lengths of the perpendicular sides of the
upper triangle also.

Now we can calculate the lower right corner of

the upper triangle as (9, 5) and the top right
corner as (9, 7). (How?)

214
 Geometry and Algebra

(1) What are the coordinates of the fourth

vertex of the parallelogram shown on the
right?

(2) In this picture, the mid points of the

sides of the large triangle are joined to
make a small triangle inside.
Calculate the coordinates of the
vertices of the large triangle.

(3) A parallelogram is drawn with the lines

joining (x1, y1) and (x2, y2 ) to the
origin as adjacent sides. What are the
coordinates of the fourth vertex?

(4) Prove that in any parallelogram, the sum of the squares of all sides is
equal to the sum of the squares of the diagonals.
Ratio
Look at this problem:
Find the coordinates of the point
of intersection of the diagonals of
the parallelogram with opposite
vertices (2, 3) and (8, 6).
The diagonals of a parallelogram bisect
each other, right? So the point of
intersection of the diagonals is the mid
point of each.

215
Mathematics X

Let’s first draw a diagonal:

Here also, we draw right triangles with

sides parallel to the axes-one with the
full diagonal as hypotenuse and
another with half of the diagonal as
hypotenuse.

The vertical sides of the large and small triangles are parallel. So these right
triangles have the same angles. (Why?)
Thus the ratio of the sides are also equal.
Since the hypotenuse of the small triangle is half that of the large triangle, the
perpendicular sides of the small triangle are also half of the large triangle. And
we know the perpendicular sides of the large triangle. So we can calculate the
perpendicular sides of the smaller triangle.

Now, can’t we find the coordinates of the

mid point we seek?

216
 Geometry and Algebra

Like this, find the mid point of the line joining (−3, 5) and (7, 3).
Suppose, instead of the mid point, we have to find the coordinates of the
point dividing a line in some other ratio. For example in the problem above,
suppose we have to find the coordinates of the point dividing the diagonal in
the ratio 1 : 2. We can use the same method, with suitable changes.
Here, since the ratio of the parts of
1
the line is 1 : 2, the smaller part is
3
of the whole line.
Thus the hypotenuse of the small
1
triangle is of the hypotenuse of
3
the large triangle.

1
So, the perpendicular sides of the small triangle is also of the perpendicular
3
sides of the large triangle. Now we can continue as in the case of the mid
point.
In a slightly different way, we can do it
using some algebra. Take the coordinates
to be found as (x, y). Then the lengths of
the sides of the triangle are like this.

We can write the relations between the perpendicular sides of the triangle like
x−2 y−3 1
this: 6
=
3
=
3

From this we get

x−2 1 y−3 1
6
= ;
3
=
3 3
and so
1
x = 6× +2=4
3
1
y = 3× +3=4
3
Thus the coordinates of the point dividing the line in the ratio 1 : 2 is (4, 4).

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Mathematics X

Let’s look at this method in a general setting , so that we can use it without
drawing pictures every time.

Let’s take the coordinates of the ends of the line as (x1, y1),
(x2, y2 ), and the point dividing the line in a specified
ratio as (x, y).

As before, let’s draw two right triangles

with sides parallel to the axes-one with
the whole line as hypotenuse and
another with a part of it as hypotenuse.

Taking the length of the longer

hypotenuse as w and the shorter
hypotenuse as p, we can mark the
lengths of all sides of the triangles like
this.

The equality of the ratios of sides can then be written like this
x − x1 y − y1 p
= =
x2 − x1 y2 − y1 w

Here, w is the length of the whole line and p is the length of a part of it. If we
know the ratio of the parts, we can also compute the ratio of a part and the
p
whole. So, we know w
. Now from the equations above, we can compute
x and y.
p
x = x1 + w
(x2 − x1)
p
y = y1 + w
(y2 − y1)

218
 Geometry and Algebra

For example, let’s calculate the coordinates of the point which divides the
line joining (2, 4) and (8, 7) in the ratio 3 : 5. Taking this point as (x, y), the
3
part of the line from (2, 4) to (x, y) is 8
of the whole line. So, from our general
equations,

x = 2 + × (8 − 2) = 4
3 1
8 4

y = 4 + × (7 − 4) = 5
3 1
8 8

⎛ 1 1⎞
Thus the point we seek is ⎜⎝ 4 4 , 5 8⎟⎠

If the line joining two points is parallel to any axis, we cannot draw triangles
like this. But in such cases, we can easily find the coordinates of a point
dividing the line in a specified ratio.
For example, the line joining the points (4, 7) and (10, 7) is parallel to the
x axis (at a distance 7 from the x axis). What are the coordinates of the point
dividing this line in the ratio 2 : 3?
The length of this line is 10 − 4 = 6, right? So, we can calculate the lengths of
the parts divided in the ratio 2 : 3.
2 2
6× =2
5 5

3 3
6× =3
5 5

Thus we find that the coordinates of the point dividing the line in the ratio as
⎛ 2 ⎞
⎜⎝ 6 , 7⎟⎠
5
.

We often have to find the mid point of the line joining two points.
In general, what are the coordinates of the mid point of the line joining (x1, y1)
and (x2, y2)?
In this case, both parts are half the whole line.

219
Mathematics X

p 1
So, in the general equation, we take w
as . Thus in this case,
2

1 1
x = x + ( x2 − x ) = ( x1 + x )
1 1 2
2 2

1 1
y = y + ( y2 − y ) = ( y + y )
1 1 1 2
2 2

The midpoint of the line joining (x1, y1) and (x2, y2) is

⎛1
x2 ), ( y + y )⎞⎟
1
⎜⎝ ( x1 + 1
⎠ 2
2 2

(1) The coordinates of two points A, B are (3, 2) and (8, 7).
i) Calculate the coordinates of the point P on AB such that
AP : PB = 2 : 3
ii) Calculate the coordinates of the point Q on AB such that
AQ : QB = 3 : 2
(2) The coordinates of the vertices of a quadrilateral are (2, 1), (5, 3),
(8, 7), (4, 9) in order.
i) Find the coordinates of the midpoints of all sides.
ii) Prove that the quadrilateral with these mid points as vertices is a
parallelogram.

(3) In the picture, the mid points of the

sides of the large quadrilateral are
joined to draw the small quadrilateral
inside.
i) Find the coordinates of the fourth
vertex of the small quadrilateral.
ii) Find the coordinates of the other
three vertices of the large quadrilateral.
(4) The vertices of a triangle are the points with coordinates (3, 5), (9, 13),
(10, 6). Prove that the triangle is isosceles. Calculate its area.
(5) The coordinates of the vertices of a triangle are (−1, 5), (3, 7), (3, 1) .
Find the coordinates of its centroid.

220
 Geometry and Algebra

(6) The centre of a circle is (1, 2) and (3, 2) is a point on it. Find the
coordinates of the other end of the diameter through this point.

Straight lines
We can draw a line (and only one line) joining any two points; and we can
extend it as much as we want to either side. If the x coordinates of the first
two points are the same, the line would be parallel to the y axis; and if the y
coordinates are equal, the line would be parallel to the x axis.
Y
Y 5 5

If both x and y coordinates are different, the line will be slanted, not
parallel to either axes.

Y Y
5 5

221
Mathematics X

Moving along this line, the x and y coordinates change at every point. There is
a connection between these changes. See this picture.

(x1, y1) and (x2, y2) are two points on the line joining (2, 5) and (6, 7). We
draw two right triangles with these parts of the line as hypotenuse and the
perpendicular sides parallel to the axes. The sides of these triangles are in the
same ratio, right?

So,
y2 − y1 2 1
= =
x2 − x1 4 2

Thus we can write this as

1
y2 − y1 = (x −
2 2
x1)

Here, (x1, y1) and (x2, y2) can be any two points on the line.
For any two points on the line joining (2, 5) and (6,7),
the difference in y coordinates is half the difference in
x coordinates.
We can put this in another manner. As we move from one point to another
along this line, both the x and y coordinates change and the change is like this:

222
 Geometry and Algebra

Moving along the line joining (2, 5) and (6, 7), the change in y is
half the change in x at every stage.

What if we take another pair of points instead of (2, 5) and (6, 7)?

For example, let’s take (1, 4) and (5, 12). As we move from (1, 4) to (5, 12)
along the line joining these two points, the x coordinate increases by 4; and
the y coordinate increases by 8. Thus the change in y is twice the change in x.
This happens at any two positions on this line.

Moving along the line joining (1, 4) and (5, 12), the change in y
is twice the change in x at every stage.

In both these lines as x increases, so does y. It can be otherwise.

For example, taking the points (3, 6) and (7, 4), as the x coordinate increases
by 4, the y coordinate decreases by 2. Thus.

Moving along the line joining(3, 6) and (7, 4), the change in y is
the negative of half the change in x.

What do we see in general in all these?

In any line not parallel to either axis, the change in y

coordinate is equal to the product of the change in x
coordinate and a fixed number.

We have noted that such changes have a special name:

In any line not parallel to either axis, the change in y is

proportional to the change in x.

In a line parallel to the x axis, the y coordinate does not change. So the
change in y for two points on this line is 0. This is the x difference multiplied
by 0. So in this case also, we can say that the y difference is the product of the
x difference and a fixed number. But the x, y change is not proportional.

223
Mathematics X

Geometrically, x difference is horizontal shift, while y difference is vertical

shift. So what we get on dividing the y difference by the x difference is the rate
of vertical shift with respect to the horizontal shift.

y-difference
y-difference
x-difference x-difference

In other words, the constant of proportionality of the change in coordinates is

a measure of the slant of the line. It is called the slope of the line.
We can use this idea to find other points on a line joining two specified
points.
For example, let’s take the line joining (3, 5) and (6, 7). For these points, the
change in x is 3 and the change in y is 2.
So, anywhere on this line, for a change of 3 in x, the change in y is 2; that is,
2
as the x coordinate changes by 1 the y coordinate changes by 3
, every
where on this line.
Now suppose we increase the x coordinate of (3, 5)
by 1 to make it 4. The line through (4, 5),
parallel to the y axis meets this line
at some point.

To find the slope of a line drawn

in GeoGebra, select Slope and What is the y coordinate of the point? Its x coordinate is 1 more
click on the line. In the number 2
than 3. So, to get the y coordinate, we must add 3
to 5.
so got, the x difference is taken
as 1. So slope is the y difference. ⎛ 2⎞
Thus ⎜⎝ 4, 5 3⎟⎠ is the point on this line.

In the same way we can find a point on this line, with x coordinate any
number.
For example, what is the point on this line with x coordinate 9?

224
 Geometry and Algebra

2
9 is 6 added to 3; so to get the y coordinate, we must add 6 × 3
= 4 to 5.
Thus (9, 9) is a point on this line.

We saw that the points (3, 5) , (6, 7), (9, 9) are points on the
same line. Any relation between the x coordinates 3, 6 and 9 of
these points? What about the y coordinates 5, 7, 9? Can you
find other points on this line with natural number coordinates?

We can use this idea to find the point of intersection of two lines also. For
example, let (x, y) be the point of intersection of the line joining (0, 2), (6, 4)
and the line joining (3, 1), (−2, 6).

(x, y)

So (x, y) is on both lines. Since the x, y changes are proportional in any line,
we get from the first line
y−2 4−2
=
x−0 6−0
And from the second line
y −1 6 −1
=
x−3 −2 − 3
These equations can be simplified like this:
x − 3y = −6
x+y=4
We have seen in Class 9, how numbers satisfying two equations like this can
be found out. Using it, we get.
1 1
x=1 y=2
2 2
⎛ 1 1⎞
Thus the lines intersect at ⎜⎝1 2 , 2 ⎟.
2⎠

225
Mathematics X

(1) Prove that the points (1, 8), (2, 5), (3, 7) are on the same line.

(2) Find the coordinates of two other points on the line joining (−1, 4) and
(1, 2).

(3) x1, x2, x3, ... and y1, y2, y3, ... are arithmetic sequences. Prove that all
points with coordinates in the sequence (x1, y1), (x2, y2), (x3, y3), ... are
on the same line.

(4) Prove that if the points (x1, y1), (x2, y2), (x3, y3) are on a line, so are
(3x1 + 2y1, 3x1 − 2y1), (3x2 + 2y2, 3x2 − 2y2), (3x3 + 2y3, 3x3 − 2y3).
Would this be true if we take other numbers instead of 3 and 2?

Figures and equations

If we take (x, y) as a point on the line joining (2, 4) and (5, 2), we get

y−4 6−4 2
= =
x−2 5−2 3

(5, 6)

(2, 4)

We can write this equation as

Consider the points ( 1,3), (5,6) 3(y − 4) = 2(x − 2)
and the points (2,4), (6,7). In both
Simplifying further, we get
pairs of points, the y difference
2x − 3y + 8 = 0
3
divided by the x difference is .
4 What does this mean?
Draw the line joining each pair
If we take any point on this line, its coordinates satisfy this equation;
in GeoGebra. What is the relation
that is, if the point with coordinates (p, q) is on this line, then
between these lines?
2p − 3q + 8 = 0.

226
 Geometry and Algebra

Slope and perpendicular

On the other hand, if we take a pair of numbers satisfying
this equation, would the point with coordinates these points It is not difficult to see that parallel
lines have the same slope. What is the
be on this line?
relation between the slopes of lines
For example, perpendicular to each other?
x = 11, y = 10 gives Consider two lines of slopes p and q,
intersecting at a point (a, b). Then
2x − 3y + 8 = 22 − 30 + 8 = 0 (a + 1, b + p) is a point on the first
line and (a + 1, b + q) is a point on the
Is the point (11, 10) on this line?
second. (Why?)
As seen before, the line through (11, 4) parallel to the y
(a + 1, b + p)
axis meets this line at some point. The x coordinate of this
point is 11 itself. Let’s take the y coordinate as y.
(a, b)
(a + 1, b + q)

If the lines are mutually perpendicular,

then
(a, b), (a + 1, b + p ), (a + 1, b + q )
are the vertices of a right triangle and
the hypotenuse is the line joining the
second and third points. The squares
of the lengths of the perpendicular sides
of this triangle are p2 + 1, q2 + 1 and the
hypotenuse is |p − q| . So
(p2 + 1) + (q2 + 1) = (p − q)2
Simplifying this, we get
From the figure, we see that 2 = −2pq
y− 4 2 That is,
=
11 − 2 3 pq = −1
Thus in two lines perpendicular to each
Simplifying this, we get y = 10. So the point is on this
other, the slope of one is the negative
line. of the reciprocal of the other.

Now suppose we have found a pair of numbers p, q such that

2p − 3q + 8 = 0. The line through (p, 4), parallel to the y axis, meets

227
Mathematics X

the line joining (2, 4), (5, 6) at some point with x

coordinate p. Taking this point as (p, y), we get as
in the example,
If we type 2x − 3y + 8 = 0 in the
y−4 2
Input Bar of GeoGebra, a line sat- =
p−2 3
isfying the equation is obtained.
Make three slider a, b, c and type Simplification of this gives
ax + by + c = 0 in the Input Bar.
2
Observe the change in the line as y = ( p − 2) + 4
3
the change in the slider values.
Now from the equation 2p − 3q + 8 = 0, we get
2
q = ( p − 2) + 4
3

So y = q, and thus (p, q) is a point on this line.

What do we see here?
The set of coordinates of points on the line joining
(2, 4), (5, 6), and the set of number pairs satisfying the equation
2x − 3y + 8 = 0 are the same.
We can shorten this statement like this:
The equation of the line joining (2,4) and (5, 6) is
2x − 3y + 8 = 0.

Similarly, once we have the coordinates of any two points on a line, we can
write its equation.
Let’s find the equation of the line joining the points (0, 0) and (1, 1). Taking
the coordinates of a point on this line as (x, y), we get,
y−0 1− 0
=
x−0 1− 0

Simplifying this, we get y = x. This is the equation of this line.

From this, we see that for any point on this line, the x and y coordinates are
the same.
We can find equations for not only straight lines, but for other geometric figures
also. For example, let’s look at the circle with centre (1, 4) and radius 2.

228
 Geometry and Algebra

The distance of any point on this circle to the centre is 2.

A mathematical union
We have seen that the square of the distance is Descartes gave a method to transform
(x − 1)2 + (y − 4)2. Since this is equal to the geometric figures to equations and vice
square of the radius, versa, by representing points as pairs
of numbers. This branch of
(x − 1)2 + (y − 4)2 = 4
mathematics, unifying algebra and
The coordinates of any point on the circle satisfies geometry (which developed along
this equation; on the other hand any pair of different ways till then) is called
numbers satisfying this equation form the Analytic Geometry.

coordinates of a point on this circle. This new vision is the basis of another
branch of mathematics, known as
So, this is the equation of the circle. We can also Calculus, which produced great
expand this and simplify to write it as changes in mathematics and other
x2 + y2 − 2x − 8y + 13 = 0 sciences.
Progress always occurs through the
So, what is the equation of the circle centred at
synthesis of dualities.
the origin and of radius 1?
Taking the coordinates of a point on this circle as (x, y), we get the distance
from the centre as x2 + y2; since it is the square of the radius, we get
x2 + y2 = 1
This is the equation of the circle.

229
Mathematics X

(1) Find the equation of the line joining (1, 2) and (2, 4). In this, find the
sequence of y coordinates of those points with the consecutive natural
numbers 3, 4, 5, ... as the x coordinates.
(2) Find the equation of the line joining (−1, 3), (2, 5). Prove that if (x, y) is
a point on this line, so is (x + 3, y + 2).

(3) Prove that for any number x, the point (x, 2x + 3) is on the line joining
(−1, 1), (2, 7).

(4) The x coordinate of a point on the slanted (blue) line in the picture is 3.

i) What is its y coordinate?

ii) What is the slope of the line?

iii) Write the equation of the line.

(5) In the picture, ABCD is a

square. Prove that for any point
on the diagonal BD, the sum of
the x and y coordinates is zero.

230
 Geometry and Algebra

(6) Prove that for any point on the

line intersecting the axes in this
picture, the sum of the x and y
coordinates is 3.

(7) Find the equation of the circle with centre at the orgin and radius 5.
Write the coordinates of eight points on this circle.

(8) Let (x, y) be a point on the circle with the line joining (0, 1) and (2, 3)
as diameter. Prove that x2 + y2 − 2x − 4y + 3 = 0 . Find the coordinates
of the points where this circle cuts the x axis.

(9) What is the equation of the circle in the picture below?

What are the coordinates of the centroid of the triangle with vertices
(x1, y1), (x2, y2), (x3, y3)?

231
Mathematics X

If we type any equation connecting x, y in the Input Bar of

GeoGebra, the figure made up of points whose coordinates satisfy
that equation. Type each of the equations below and see the figures.
$ 2x∧2 + 2y∧2 = 4 $ 2x∧2 + 3y∧2 = 4
$ 2x∧2 − 3y∧2 = 4 $ 2x∧2 + 3y = 4

Looking back
On With
Learning outcomes my teacher's Must
own help improve

$ Proving that for any two points on a line, the

change in y coordinates is proportional to the
change in x coordinates.
$ Forming the equations of a line joining two
points.
$ Forming the equation of a circle with specified
centre and radius

232
Factors and solutions

We have seen in Class 8 that the difference of two squares is the product of
their sum and difference.

In the language of algebra,

x2 − y2 = (x + y) (x − y) for all numbers x, y.

Let’s take different numbers as y in this:

For any number x,

x2 − 1 = (x + 1) (x − 1)

x2 − 2 = ( x + 2 ) ( x − 2 )

1 ⎛ 1⎞ ⎛ 1⎞
x2 − = ⎜⎝ x + 2 ⎟⎠ ⎜⎝ x − 2 ⎟⎠
4
1
x2 − 1, x2 − 2, x2 −- are all second degree polynomials, while
4
1 1
x − 1, x + 1, x − 2 , x + 2 , x − , x -+ are all first degree
2 2
polynomials.

Thus in all the equations above, a second degree polynomial is written as the
product of two first degree polynomials.
When we write a number as the product of two numbers, those numbers
multiplied are called factors. For example, since 12 = 2 × 6, we call
2 and 6, factors of 12. Similarly, since x2 − 1 = (x − 1) (x + 1), we call x − 1
and x + 1 factors of x2 − 1.

233
Mathematics X

Thus we make this general definition:

If the polynomial p (x) is the product of the polynomials
q (x) and r (x), then q (x) and r (x) are said to be factors
-

of p (x).

Let’s look at some more examples: We have

(x − 1) (x − 2) = x2 − 2x − x +2 = x2− 3x + 2
That is,
x2 − 3x + 2 = (x − 1) (x − 2)
Thus the first degree polynomials x − 1 and x − 2 are factors of the second
degree polynomial x2 − 3x + 2 .
We note another thing here:
If we write p (x) = x2 − 3x + 2, what is p (1)?

As seen just now, we can split p (x) as the product of its first degree
factors:
p (x) = (x − 1) (x − 2)
From this, we see that
p (1) = (1 − 1) × (1 − 2) = 0 × (−1) = 0
Similarly, we can see that p (2) = 0 also.

Thus 1 and 2 are the numbers we must take as x to make p (x) = 0. In other
words, 1 and 2 are solutions of the polynomial equation p (x) = 0 (that is, the
equation x2 − 3x + 2 = 0).
Do we get p (x) = 0 for any other numbers as x?
If (x − 1) (x − 2) is to be 0, one of x − 1 or x − 2 must be 0, right?
Let’s take another example. We can compute the product
(x − 1) (x − 2) (x − 3) = (x2 − 3x + 2) (x − 3) = x3 − 6x2 + 11x − 6

Putting this in reverse, we can say that x − 1, x − 2, x − 3 are the first degree
factors of the third degree polynomial, x3 − 6x2 + 11x − 6.
Here also, by writing
p (x) = x3 − 6x2 + 11x − 6 = (x − 1) (x − 2) (x − 3)

234
 Polynomials

We can see, as in the first example, that

p (1) = 0, p (2) = 0, p (3) = 0

So, here also, 1, 2, 3 are the solutions of the polynomial equation p (x) = 0;
that is, the equation,
x3 − 6x2 + 11x − 6 = 0
What general principle do we get from these examples?

If the first degree polynomial x - a is a factor of the polyno-

mial, p(x), then p (a) = 0.

We can state this in a little more detail:

If the polynomial p (x) can be split into
p (x) = (x - a1) (x - a2) ... (x - an)
as a product of first degree polynomials, then a1, a2, ..., anare
the solutions of the equation p (x) = 0.

So one way to solve a polynomial equation is to split the polynomial into a

product of first degree factors.
For example, see this equation:
x2 − 5x + 6 = 0

We cannot write x2 − 5x + 6 as a product of more than two first degree

polynomials (the product of more than two first degree polynomials is a
polynomial of degree greater than 2, isn’t it?)
So, let’s write
x2 − 5x + 6 = (x − a) (x − b)

Expanding the product, we get

x2 − 5x + 6 = x2 − (a + b) x + ab

The coefficients of the polynomials on either side of the equation must be the
same. For that we must have,
a+b = 5
ab = 6
In other words, we must find two numbers with sum 5 and product 6.

235
Mathematics X

A little bit of thinking gives

a=2 b=3
So we can split x2 − 5x + 6 like this:
x2 − 5x + 6 = (x − 2) (x − 3)

From this, we see that the solutions of x2 − 5x + 6 are 2 and 3.

Let’s look at another equation:
x2 + 2x − 15 = 0

Writing
x2 + 2x − 15 = (x − a) (x − b) = x2 − (a + b) x + ab

as in the first problem, we get

a + b = −2
ab = −15

3 and 5 are factors of 15. Since the product is negative, one factor must be
negative. −3 and 5 don’t give the right sum; 3 and −5 do. So,
x2 + 2x − 15 = (x − 3) (x − (−5)) = (x − 3) (x + 5)

Thus the solutions of x2 + 2x − 15 = 0 are 3 and −5.

One more example:
x2 − x − 1 = 0

To solve this, we write as usual,

x2 − x − 1 = ( x − a) ( x − b) = x2 − (a + b) x + ab

which gives
a+b = 1
ab = −1

How is this possible?

a and b need not be natural numbers. So, we cannot proceed by trial and
error as before. Let’s do this in a different way.

236
 Polynomials

Recall another identity from Class 8:

(a + b)2 − (a − b)2 = 4ab
We can write this as
(a − b)2 = (a + b)2 − 4ab
In our problem, a + b = 1 and ab = − 1, so that
(a − b)2 = 12 − 4 × (− 1) = 1 + 4 = 5
From this, we get a − b = ± 5

Taking a − b = 5 , the sum and difference of a and b are

a+b = 1
a−b = 5
We know how to find the numbers from their sum and difference:
1 1
a= 2
(1 + 5 ) b = 2
(1 − 5 )

What if we take a − b = − 5 ?

Then we get
1
a=
1
2
(1 − 5 ) b=
2
(1 + 5 )
Anyhow, we get,

x2 − x − 1 = ⎜⎝ x − 2 (1 + 5 )⎟⎠ (1 − 5 )⎞⎟⎠
⎛ 1 ⎞ ⎛ 1
⎜⎝ x −
2

1
Thus we see that the solutions of the equation x2 − x − 1 = 0 are 2
(1 + 5 )
1
and 2
(1 − 5 ).

Now look at this problem:

How do we write 2x2 − 7x + 6 as the product of two first degree
polynomials?
First we write the polynomial as

⎛ 2 7 ⎞
2x2 − 7x + 6 = 2 ⎜⎝ x − 2 x + 3⎟⎠

237
Mathematics X

7
Next we split x2 − 2
x + 3 into the product of two first degree factors as
before and write,
7
x2 − 2 x + 3 = (x − a) (x − b)

= x2 − (a + b) x + ab
we get
7
a+b = 2
ab = 3
and from (a − b) 2 = (a + b)2 − 4ab, we get
2
⎛7⎞
(a − b) =2
⎜ ⎟ −4×3
⎝2⎠

49 1
= 4
− 12 = 4

1
a−b = ±2

1
Taking a − b = 2
, we have

7 1
a+b = 2
; a−b = 2

3
which gives a = 2, b = 2

1 3
Taking a − b = − 2 gives a = 2
and b = 2

Anyway, we can write

7 ⎛ 3⎞
x2 − x+3= ⎜⎝ x − ⎟⎠ (x − 2)
2 2

⎛ 3⎞
So we have 2x2 − 7x + 6 = 2 ⎜⎝ x − ⎟⎠ (x − 2)
2

= (2x − 3) (x − 2)

Not all second degree polynomials can be split into the product of first degree
factors. For example, consider the polynomial x2 + 1. If it is the product of
the first degree polynomials x − a and x − b, then we have,

238
 Polynomials

x2 + 1 = ( x − a) ( x − b) = x2 − (a + b) x + ab
which gives
a+b = 0
ab = 1

Let’s try to find a, b as before

(a − b)2 = (a + b)2 − 4ab = 0 − 4 = −4

The square of no number is negative. So there are no numbers satisfying the

above pair of equations.
Thus x2 + 1 cannot be split as a product of first degree polynomials.

(1) Write each polynomial below as a product of first degree polynomials.

Write also the solutions of the equation p (x) = 0 in each.
i) p (x) = x2 − 7x + 12 ii) p (x) = x2 + 7x + 12
iii) p (x) = x2 − 8x + 12 iv) p (x) = x2 + 13x + 12
v) p (x) = x2 − 2x + 1 vi) p (x) = x2 + x − 1
vii) p (x) = 2x2 − 5x + 2 viii) p (x) = 6x2 − 7x + 2
(2) Find a second degree polynomial p (x) such that p (1) = 0 and
p ( −2 ) = 0.

(3) Find a second degree polynomial p (x) such that p (1 + 3 ) = 0 and

p (1 − 3 ) = 0.

(4) Find a third degree polynomial p (x) such that p (1) = 0, p ( 2 ) = 0 and
p ( − 2 ) = 0.
(5) Prove that the polynomial x2 + x + 1 cannot be written as a product of
first degree polynomials.

Polynomial remainder
We have seen that if the polynomial x − a is a factor of the polynomial p (x),
then p (a) = 0.
Now suppose that for some polynomial p (x) and a number a, we calculate
p (a) and find it to be not zero. Can we say that x − a is not a factor of p (x)?

239
Mathematics X

If x − a is a factor then p (a) must be zero. But here p (a) is not zero; so
x − a is not a factor either.

So our result on first degree factors can be put like this also:

For a polynomial p (x) and a number a, if p (a) ¹ 0 then

x - a is not a factor of p (x).
For example, if we take p (x) = x2 − 3x + 3 and a = 1, then we get
p (a) = 1. So x − 1 is not a factor of x2 − 3x + 3.
But we have seen that,
x2 − 3x + 2 = (x − 1) (x − 2)
So, we can write
x2 − 3x + 3 = (x − 1) (x − 2) + 1

This is similar to writing a natural number as the sum of a multiple of another

and a remainder, when the latter is not a factor. 6 is not a factor of 15 but
we can write
15 = (6 × 2) + 3

We use the terms quotient and remainder for polynomials

Concept and meaning
We have noted that natural numbers, also, as in the case of natural numbers. Thus in
fractions and irrational numbers were x2 − 3x + 3 = (x − 1) (x − 2) + 1, the polynomial (x − 2)
invented to indicate different kinds of is called the quotient on dividing x2 − 3x + 3 by x − 1 and
measures. And also that operation with 1 is called the remainder.
these numbers were based on the
physical context of using such Similarly, we can write
measures.
x2 − 3x + 1 = (x − 1) (x − 2) − 1
When we try to divide 14 sweets
among 3 children, we will have 2 So, on dividing x2 − 3x + 1 by x − 1, the quotient is x − 2
sweets left over which cannot be
and remainder is −1.
given whole. And when we try to cut
a 14 metre long string into 3 metre We can find quotient and remainder as in the case
pieces, 2 metres are left short of of factors. For example, let’s take the quotient on dividing
length. These circumstances lead to
x2 − 3x − 10 as x − 2 as x − a and the remainder as b.
the mathematical statement that 14
divided by 3 leaves remainder 2. If we That is,
think like this, the question, what the
remainder is on dividing −14 by −3, has x2 − 3x − 10 = (x − 2) (x − a) + b
no meaning.

240
 Polynomials

On expanding the right side of the equation, we get

Meaning of remainder
x − 3x − 10 = x − (a + 2) x + (2a + b)
2 2
To extend the idea of remainder to
Now comparing the coefficients on each side, we get all whole numbers, we must first
a+2=3 interpert this idea in a purely
mathematical way for natural
2a + b = −10 numbers
In this, we get a = 1 from the first equation and using this in The quotient q and remainder r on
the second equation we get b = −12. dividing the natural number a by
the natural number b, are numbers
So
satisfying these conditions:
x2 − 3x − 10 = (x − 2) (x − 1) − 12
1. a = qb + r
Thus on dividing x − 3x − 10 by x − 2, the quotient is
2
2. q, r are natural numbers or 0
x − 1 and the remainder is −12.
3. r < b
Suppose we divide x2 − 3x − 10 by x + 2 instead of x − 2?

Writing,
x2 −3x − 10 = (x + 2) (x − a) + b = x2 − (a − 2) x + (b − 2a)

we get
a−2=3
b − 2a = −10
from which we get a = 5 and b = 0. So
x2 − 3x − 10 = (x + 2) (x − 5)
Thus x + 2 is a factor of x2 − 3x − 10; we may say that the remainder is 0 in
this case.
We can divide a third degree polynomial also by first degree polynomial and
find quotient and remainder like this. For example, let’s find the quotient and
remainder on dividing x3 − 2x2 − x + 4 by x − 3.

Here we must note one thing before we start. It is not right to take the
quotient to be the first degree polynomial x − a and remainder to be the
number b, as in the case of dividing a second degree polynomial. The
polynomial (x − 3) (x − a) + b is only of degree 2, but x3 − 2x2 − x + 4 is of
degree 3.

241
Mathematics X

So let’s take a second degree polynomial x2 + ax + b as quotient and the

number c as remainder. Then
x3 − 2x2 − x + 4 = (x − 3) (x2 + ax + b ) + c

Expanding the product on the right, we write

x3 − 2x2 − x + 4 = x3 + (a − 3) x2 + (b − 3a) x + (c − 3b)

Remainder in whole numbers From this we get,

We can extend the definitions of a−3=−2
remainder in natural numbers to
b − 3a = −1
whole numbers by making some
changes. The quotient q and c − 3b = 4
remainder r on dividing the whole
number a by the whole number b are Now we get a = 1 from the first equation, using
the numbers satisfying these this in the second equation we get b = 2, and
conditions. using this in the third we get c = 10.
1. a = qb + r Thus
2. q, r are whole numbers x3 − 2x2 − x + 4 = (x − 3) (x2 + x + 2 ) + 10
3. r = 0 or 0 < r < | b | Similarly, we can find the quotient and
For example, taking −14 and −3, we remainder on dividing any polynomial by a first
have degree polynomial of the form x − a.
1. −14 = 5 × (−3) +1
For any polynomial p (x) and a polyno-
2. 5 and l are whole numbers mial of the form x - a, we can find a
3. 0 < 1 < | −3 | polynomial q (x) and a number b such
So we take 5 as the quotient and that
1 as the remainder on dividing −14 p (x) = (x - a) q (x) + b
by −3.

The equation here may be writen

p (x) − b = (x − a) q (x)
What does this mean?
If p (x) is not a multiple of x − a, then by subtracting a number we can
change it to a multiple.
For example, let’s see what number subtracted from x3 − 2x2 + x + 2 gives
a multiple of x − 3.

242
 Polynomials

As before, we write
x3 − 2x2 + x + 2 = (x − 3) (x2 + ax + b ) + c
So that
x3 − 2x2 + x + 2 − c = (x − 3) (x2 + ax + b)
This means, x3 − 2x2 + x + 2 − c is a multiple of x − 3. So, c is the number
we want. As before we can first find a, then b and finally c. There is a quicker
method to find c directly. Look at the equation above again. Whatever num-
ber we take as x, the number on the two sides must be equal.
Suppose we make the right side zero?
For that we need only take x = 3 .
33 − (2 × 32 ) + 3 + 2 − c = (3 − 3) × (x2 + a × 3 + b ) = 0
Simplifying this, we get
14 − c = 0
c = 14
Thus we get a multiple of x − 3 by subtracting 14 from x3 − 2x2 + x + 2; that
is, x3 − 2x2 + x − 12 is a multiple of x − 3.
We can use this technique to find the remainder on dividing a polynomial by a
first degree polynomial of the form x − a. For example, let’s see how we can
find the remainder on dividing x4 + 2x3 − 6x2 + x + 5 by x − 2.
Since we don’t need the quotient, we can write it as q (x). Writing the remainder
as b,
x4 + 2x3 − 6x2 + x + 5 = (x − 2) q (x) + b
We need only b. So we rewrite the equation as
b = (x4 + 2x3 − 6x2 + x + 5) − (x − 2) q (x)
Taking x = 2 in this,
b = (24 + (2 × 23) − (6 × 22) + 2 + 5) − (2 − 2) × q (2) = 15
Thus the remainder is 15.
Let’s write this in general terms. To get the remainder on dividing p (x)
by x − a, we write
p (x) = (x − a) q (x) + b

243
Mathematics X

We then rewrite the equation as

b = p (x) − (x − a) q (x)
Taking x = a in this,
b = p (a) − (a − a) (q (a)) = p (a)
What do we see here?
The remainder on dividing the polynomial p (x) by the polynomial
x - a is the number p (a).

Let’s see an example:

To find the rermainder on dividing x3 − 2x2 − 4x + 5 by x + 2, we first

write x + 2 as x − (−2). Now by the general result above, we need only take
x = −2 in the first polynomial to get the remainder.

Thus the remainder is,

(−2)3 − 2 × (− 2)2 − 4 × (− 2) + 5 = − 8 − 8 + 8 + 5 = − 3

What if we divide by 2x − 1?

We first write
⎛ 1⎞
2x − 1 = 2 ⎜⎝ x − 2 ⎟⎠
1
Next we find the remainder on dividing x3 − 2x2 − 4x + 5 by x − , by taking
2
1
x= in the first polynomial.
2
3 ⎛ ⎛ 1⎞ ⎞
2
⎛ 1⎞
⎛ 1⎞
⎜ 2 × ⎜⎝ ⎟⎠ ⎟
1 5
− ⎝⎜ 4 ×
1
⎜⎝ ⎟⎠ − ⎝ 2 ⎠ ⎟
2⎠
+5= 8
− − 2 + 5 = 28
2 2

1 5
Since the remainder on dividing x3 − 2x2 − 4x + 5 by x − is 2 8 , we have
2

⎛ 1⎞ 5
x3 − 2x2 − 4x + 5 = ⎜⎝ x − ⎟⎠ q(x) + 2 8
2

This can be slightly changed to this:

1 5
x3 − 2x2 − 4x + 5 = (2x − 1) q(x) + 2 8
2
1
Now writing q(x) as r(x), the equation becomes
2
5
x3 − 2x2 − 4x + 5 = (2x − 1) r(x) + 2 8

244
 Polynomials

5
Thus the remainder on dividing x3 − 2x2 − 4x + 5 by 2x − 1 is also 2 8 .

We can also use this general principle to check whether a first degree
polynomial is a factor of another polynomial. If the remainder is zero, then we
have a factor, right? By the general result, the remainder on dividing p (x) by
x − a is p (a). So if p (a) = 0, then x − a is a factor of p (x).

For a polynomial p (x) and a number a, if p (a) = 0, then x - a is

a factor of p (x).

We saw earlier that if x − a is a factor of p (x), then p (a) = 0. Now we can

have the converse also
How do we find the remainder on dividing a polynomial p (x) by a
polynomial of the form ax + b is a factor? How do we check whether
ax + b is a factor?

(1) For each pair of polynomials below, check whether the first is a factor
of the second. If not a factor, find the remainder on dividing the second
by the first.
i) x − 1, x3 + 4x2 − 3x − 6 ii) x + 1, x3 + 4x2 − 3x − 6
iii) x − 2, x3 + 3x2 − 4x − 12 iv) x + 2, x3 + 3x2 − 4x − 12
v) 2x − 1, 2x3 − x2 − 8x + 6 vi) 3x − 1, 3x3 − 10x2 + 9x − 2
(2) For each pair of polynomials below, find the quotient and remainder on
dividing the first by the second.
i) x3 − 1, x − 1 ii) x3 − 1, x + 1
iii) x3 + 1, x − 1 iv) x3 + 1, x +1
(3) By adding a number to p(x) = x3 + x2 + x , a new polynomial q(x) is
to be formed.
i) What number should be added, so that x − 1 is a factor of
q (x)?
ii) What number should be added, so that x + 1 is a factor of
q (x)?

245
Mathematics X

(4) In each pair of polynomials below find what kind of natural number n
must be, so that the first is a factor of the second.
i) x − 1, xn − 1 ii) x − 1, xn + 1 iii) x + 1, xn − 1
iv) x + 1, xn + 1 v) x2 − 1, xn − 1
(5) Prove that if x2 − 1 is a factor of ax3 + bx2 + cx + d , then a = −c and
b = −d.
(6) What first degree polynomial added to 2x3 − 3x2 + 5x + 1 gives a
multiple of x2 − 1?

What is the relation between the coefficients of a polynomial which

is a multiple of x2 − 4? What if we take x2 − 9 instead of x2 − 4?

Looking back
On With
Learning outcomes my teacher's Must
own help improve

$ Explaning methods to factorize a second

degree polynomial as a product of first degree
polynomials.
$ Explaning the method of check if x − a, x + a
are factors of p (x).
$ Calculating the remainder on dividing a
polynomial by a first degree polynomial,
without actual division.

246
Not a correct average
The monthly incomes of 10 households in a neighbourhood are these:
16500 21700 18600 21050 19500
17000 21000 18000 22000 17500
What is the mean monthly income?
Adding all these and dividing by 10, we get the mean monthly income as
19285 rupees.
Now if instead of taking all these incomes separately, we had only the mean,
then also we can make some conclusions about the general economic status
of the households:
$ The monthly incomes of all these households are around 19285 rupees.
$ None of the households has a monthly income very much greater or
very much less than 19285 rupees.
$ The number of households with monthly income greater than 19285
rupees is more or less equal to the number of households with monthly
income less than 19285 rupees.
Now suppose some one with a monthly income of 175000 rupees comes to
live in the neighborhood. What is the mean monthly income of the 11 house-
holds?
(19285 ×10) +175000
≈ 33441rupees.
11

Without giving all these details, if this mean only is given, wouldn’t we make
the wrong conclusion that all these households have a monthly income around
30000 rupees? This is almost one and a half times the monthly income of ten
of these households.

247
Mathematics X

The purpose of calculating the mean is to reduce a whole collection of num-

bers to a single number, which gives a general understanding of a situation.
But numbers in the collection which is very much less or very much more than
others (though few) affect the mean a lot.
In our example, it was a single number very much larger than the first ten
which changed the mean so much. Can you think of other instances like this
where very small or very large numbers influence the mean to give a wrong
impression?

Another average

Let’s see how we can compute another average which gives a better overall
indication of the monthly income of the 11 households. If we write all the
incomes in increasing order and take the middle number, 5 of the households
would have income less than this and 5 of them would have more.
Let’s write the numbers in order:
16500, 17000, 17500, 18000, 18600, 19500, 21000,
21050, 21700, 22000, 175000
The middle number is 19500. It is called the median of these numbers. That
is, the median monthly income of the 11 households is 19500 rupees. We can
put it like this: of all the 11 house heads, 5 have monthly income less than
195000 rupees and 5 have more than 19500 rupees. That is, the number of
households with income less than the median and the number of households
with income more than the median are equal.
What if we take only the first 10 households? If we write incomes in the
increasing order, there would be two numbers, 18600 and 19500 at the middle,
instead of just one number.
Here also, we must choose the median such that the number of items below it
and above it are equal. Any number between 18600 and 19500 would do for
this. Usually half their sum is taken as the median.

That is, the median monthly income of the first 10 households is

1
2
(18600 + 19500) = 19050 rupees

248
 Statistics

The median income 19500 rupees, like mean income 19285 rupees gives a
reasonable estimate of the economic status of the first ten households (and
there is no great difference between the mean and the median either).
What is important here is that the high income of the eleventh household does
not change the median much. Also if we say that the median income of some
households is 19050 rupees and that the monthly income of one of these is
21000 rupees, we can conclude that this household is better off than more
than half the households considered.

(1) The distance covered by an athlete in long jump practice are

6.10, 6.20, 6.18, 6.20, 6.25, 6.21, 6.15, 6.10
in metres. Find the mean and median. Why is it that there is not much
difference between these?
(2) The table below gives the rainfall during one week of september 2015 in
various districts of Kerala.

District Rainfall (mm)

Kasaragod 66.7
Kannur 56.9
Kozhikode 33.5
Wayanad 20.5
Malappuram 13.5
Palakkad 56.9
Thrissur 53.4
Ernakulam 70.6
Kottayam 50.3
Idukki 30.5
Pathanamthitta 56.4
Alapuzha 45.5
Kollam 56.3
Thiruvananthapuram 89.0

Calculate the mean and median rainfall in Kerala during this week. Why
is the median less than mean?
(3) Prove that for a set of numbers in arithmetic sequence, the mean and
median are equal.

249 hr¯-§Ä
Mathematics X

Frequency and median

The amount of Hemoglobin in blood is usually given as grams per decilitre
(that is, 100 millilitres). The table below shows 25 children sorted according
to hemogoblin levels, after a blood test.

Hemoglobin (g/dl) Number of children

12.0 2
12.4 3
12.7 5
13.1 6
13.3 4
13.6 3
14.0 2

From this, we can compute the mean hemoglobin level. How do we find the
median?
Median is that which comes in the middle; that is 12 of the children should
have less than the median level and 12 more than the median level.
To find it, we need only make the kids stand in a line, in the order of hemo-
globin level and take the level of the thirteenth kid. Imagine the kids standing
like this;

The first two have hemogloblin 12, the next 3 have 12.4 and thus the line
grows.

We want the hemoglobin level of the 13th kid. By adding the numbers in the
table one by one, we can find his position in the hemoglobin sequence. Taking
the 2 + 3 = 5 kids of the first two groups, the level rises to 12.4. That is the 5th
kid has level 12.4.

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 Statistics

Adding the 3 kids in the next group, we have 5 + 5 = 10 kids and the level
reaches 12.7.

Thus the 10th kid is at level 12.7.

Adding the 6 kids in the next group, we have 10 + 6 = 16 kids.

We need the level of the 13th kid. The level of all the kids from the 11th to the
16th in the line is 13.1. So the 13th kid also has this level, and this is the median
level.

We can do this using a table instead of a picture:

Hemoglobin (g/dL) Number of children

up to 12.0 2
up to 12.4 5
up to 12.7 10
up to 13.1 16
up to 13.3 20
up to 13.6 23
up to 14.0 25
From the table, we can see the hemoglobin levels of the kids, from the 11th to
the 16th, is 13.1. Since the middle one of 25, that is the 13th, is in this set, the
median level can be found as 13.1.

251 hr¯-§Ä
Mathematics X

(1) 15 households in a neighbourhood are sorted according to their monthly

income in the table below.

Monthly income (Rs) Number of households

4000 3

5000 7

6000 8

7000 5

8000 5

9000 4

10000 3

Calculate the median income.

(2) The table below shows the workers in a factory sorted according to
their daily wages:

Daily wages (Rs) Number of workers

400 2

500 4

600 5

700 7

800 5

900 4

1000 3

Calculate the median daily wage.

252
 Statistics

(3) The table below gives the number of babies born in a hospital during a
week, sorted according to their birth weight.

Weight (kg) Number of babies

2.500 4
2.600 6
2.750 8
2.800 10
3.000 12
3.150 10
3.250 8
3.300 7
3.500 5

Calculate the median birth-weight.

Classes and median

The table below shows the children in a class, sorted according to their heights.
Height (cm) Number of children
135 − 140 5
140 − 145 8
145 − 150 12
150 −- 155 11
155 − 160 5
160 − 165 4
Total 45
How do we compute the median height of children of this class?
We have to find the height of the kid in the middle, when they are made to
stand in a line, in the order of their heights. There are 45 kids and so the one
in the middle is the 23rd kid.

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Mathematics X

In the table, height is divided into various classes. Let’s first see which class
the 23rd kid comes in. As before, let’s count the total number of kids as each
class is added.
Height Number
Below 140 5

Below 145 13

Below 150 25

Below 155 36

Below 160 41

Below 165 45
According to this table, when we take kids upto 145 centimetres tall, we
reach upto the 13th kid, adding those upto 150 centimetres tall, we reach
upto the 25th kid. The 23rd kid we want is between these two. Thus we see
that his height is between 145 and 150 centimetres.
How do we make it more exact?
We only know that the 12 kids from the 14th to the 25th are of heights be-
tween 145 and 150 centimetres, we don’t know their individual heights.
So we have to make some assumptions. (Recall making some assumptions in
computing the mean from a frequency table)
We divide the 5 centimetres from 145 to 150 centimetres into 12 equal parts
and assume that one kid is in each such subdivision.

We also assume that the height of each kid in a subdivision is the mid value of
this subdivision. So the height of the 14th kid is the mid value of 145 and
5
145 12 centimetres.

5
That is, 145 24
centimetres.

254
 Statistics

What about the next kid?

5 10 15
His height is the mid value of 145 12 and 145 12 ; that is, 145 24 centimetres.

Can you compute the height of each? What is the rate of change of height?
Let’s look at our computations so far:
5
$ The height of the 14th kid is 145 24 centimetres.

5
$ The height of each kid thereafter increases by 12 centimetres.

$ From the 14th to 23rd, there are 9 kids.

So the problem now is that of an arithmetic sequence:
5
If the 14th term of an arithmetic sequence is 145 24 and the common
5
difference is 12 , what is the 23rd term?
Thus the height of the 23rd kid is
5 ⎛ 5⎞ 95 23
145 24 + ⎜ 9 × 12 ⎟ = 145 + = 148 24 ≈ 148.9 centimetres.
⎝ ⎠ 24

Let’s now do a problem like this, without drawing any picture.

The table below gives the number of persons working in an office, sorted
according to their ages.

Age Number of workers

25 − 30 6
30 − 35 8
35 − 40 12
40 − 45 20
45 − 50 16
50 − 55 6
Total 68

255 hr¯-§Ä
Mathematics X

We have to find the median age. Since the number of workers is the even
number 68, we arrange them in the order of age, take the persons in the 34th
and 35th positions, and then find half the sum of their ages. First we write the
cumulative frequencies:
Age Number of workers
Below 30 6
Below 35 14
Below 40 26
Below 45 46
Below 50 62
Below 55 68

According to this, the ages of the 20 workers from the 27th to the 46th posi-
tion, in the order of age, is between 40 and 45 years. The workers in the 34th
and 35th positions we need are in this group.
As before, we divide the 5 years from 40 to 45 into 20 equal parts and
assume that each subdivision contains one worker whose age is the mid value
5 1
of the subdivision. So the length of each subdivision is 20 = 4 of a year.
1 1
So, the age of the 27th worker is the mid value of 40 and 40 4 ; that is 40 8
1
years. Our assumtion is that the age of each one thereafter increases by 4 year.
So the age of the 34th worker is,

1 ⎛ 1⎞ 15 7
40 8 + ⎜ 7 × 4 ⎟ = 40 + 8 = 41 8 years.
⎝ ⎠

Age of the 35th person is

7 1 1
41 8 + = 42 8 years.
4

Now to find the median age, we calculate half the sum of these ages.
1 ⎛ 7 1⎞ 1
⎜ 41 + 42 ⎟
2 ⎝ 8 8⎠
= 2
× 84 = 42

Thus the median age is 42 years.

256
 Statistics

(1) Some households in a locality are sorted according to their electricity

usage and given in the table below:

Usage of electricity (units) Number of households

80 − 90 3

90 − 100 6

100 − 110 5

110 − 120 8

120 − 130 9

130 − 140 4

Calculate the median usage.

(2) The table below shows children in a class sorted according to their marks
in a maths exam:

Marks Number of children

0 − 10 4

10 − 20 10

20 − 30 12

30 − 40 9

40 − 50 5

Calculate the median mark.

257 hr¯-§Ä
Mathematics X

(3) The income tax paid by the workers in an office is shown below:

Income tax (Rs) Number of workers

1000 − 2000 8

2000 − 3000 10

3000 − 4000 15

4000 − 5000 18

5000 − 6000 22

6000 − 7000 8

7000 − 8000 6

8000 − 9000 3

Calculate the median tax paid.

Looking back
On With
Learning outcomes my teacher's Must
own help improve

$ Recognising the contexts where the mean

cannot be used to represent a set of measures.
$ Explaining the method to compute the median
of a set of measures.
$ Explaining the method to compute the median
from a set of measures given as a frequency
table.

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