Question 1 (8 marks)

dy
Find for each of the following. There is no need to simplify your answers.
dx

(a) y x 2e x .

(2 marks)

4
(b) y x  cos x .

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(3 marks)
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This sample Mathematical Methods paper shows the format of the examination from November 2020.

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 ln x 2  3 x
(c) y .
x

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(3 marks)
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page 3 of 16 PLEASE TURN OVER

Question 4 (12 marks)

Consider the function f x ln 3 x  8 .

(a) For what values of x is f x undefined?

(1 mark)

(b) Using algebra, solve the equation f x 0.

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(2 marks)

(c) Evaluate f 0 .
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(1 mark)

This sample Mathematical Methods paper shows the format of the examination from November 2020.

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(d) On the axes below, sketch the graph of y f x , clearly showing and labelling the information
found in parts (a), (b), and (c).

x
5 4 3 2 1 0 1 2 3 4 5

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1

2
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3

4
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5

(3 marks)
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Question 4 continues on page 10.

This sample Mathematical Methods paper shows the format of the examination from November 2020.

page 9 of 16 PLEASE TURN OVER

Now consider the function g x ln bx  c , where b ! 0 and c ! 0 .

(e) Find the equation of the asymptote.

(2 marks)

(f ) Find the coordinates of the x-intercept.

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(1 mark)

(g) Find the slope of the tangent to g x at x 0.

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(2 marks)

This sample Mathematical Methods paper shows the format of the examination from November 2020.

page 10 of 16
Question 7 (8 marks)

Concerns have been raised over the number of times per day that teenagers check their mobile device
(such as a smartphone or a mobile / cell phone).
A study investigated the number of times per day that teenagers check their mobile device. A random
sample of 100 teenagers was taken and the number of checks per day (X ) was recorded.
The sample mean was found to be x 62.33. The sample standard deviation was found to be
s 19.31, which is assumed to represent a good estimate for the population standard deviation (V X ).
The histogram below shows the number of checks per day for this sample of 100 teenagers.

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30 50 70 90
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Checks per day

(a) With reference to the histogram above, explain why it may not be appropriate to use this sample
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to calculate a confidence interval for the population mean ( P X ).

(1 mark)

This sample Mathematical Methods paper shows the format of the examination from November 2020.

page 2 of 13
Suppose that many random samples of 100 teenagers were taken as part of the study, and the sample
mean ( X ) for each of these samples was recorded.
The histogram below shows the sample means.

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60 65 70
Average checks per day

(b) The central limit theorem applies when the sample size is ‘sufficiently large’.
With reference to the histogram above, explain why, in this case, the sample size of 100 is
sufficiently large.
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(1 mark)

Question 7 continues on page 4.

This sample Mathematical Methods paper shows the format of the examination from November 2020.

page 3 of 13 PLEASE TURN OVER

(c) Using the sample of 100 teenagers considered in part (a):

(i) calculate a 90% confidence interval for the population mean ( P X ).

(2 marks)

(ii) find the minimum sample size required in order to calculate a 90% confidence interval that
has a width of no more than 5 checks per day.

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(4 marks)
This sample Mathematical Methods paper shows the format of the examination from November 2020.

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Question 8 (10 marks)

(a) Consider the functions f x e  x x 2 and g x e  x x3.

The graphs of y f x and y g x for x ! 0 are shown below.

y
2.0

1.5

g x

1.0

0.5 f x

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B

x
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0 2 4 6 8 10

Each graph has two non-stationary points of inflection for x ! 0 .

(i) On the graph of y g x , clearly mark the location of the two non-stationary
points of inflection. (2 marks)
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(ii) Points A and B are the two non-stationary points of inflection on the graph of y f x .
Find the coordinates of point A.
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(2 marks)

Question 8 continues on page 6.

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(b) Now consider the general function h x e  x x n, for x ! 0 and n t 2 , where n is a real number.

(i) Show that hcc x e  x x n  2 x 2  2nx  n n  1 .

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(3 marks)

(ii) Hence show that the graph of y h x for x ! 0 always has two distinct points of inflection.
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(3 marks)

This sample Mathematical Methods paper shows the format of the examination from November 2020.

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Question 10 (15 marks)

At a sporting event attended by thousands of

people, individuals spend time in a queue in
order to enter the stadium. The probability that a
randomly chosen individual spends time, t, in the
entry queue can be modelled by the probability
density function
f t 0.05e 0.05t ,
where t is measured in minutes and t t 0 . Source: © Tktktk | Dreamstime.com

The graph of y f t is shown below.

y
0.10

0.08

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0.06
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0.04

0.02

t
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0 10 20 30 40 50 60

(a) (i) Calculate the probability that a randomly chosen individual spends between
0 and 10 minutes in the entry queue.
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(2 marks)

(ii) On the graph above, draw a representation of your answer to part (a)(i). (1 mark)

This sample Mathematical Methods paper shows the format of the examination from November 2020.

page 10 of 13
(b) (i) Calculate the probability that a randomly chosen individual spends less than 60 minutes in
the entry queue.

(1 mark)

(ii) Of 200 individuals who entered the stadium, how many does the model predict spent
more than 60 minutes in the entry queue?

(2 marks)

(c) Describe one limitation of using a function of the form f t a u e  at to model the time that an
individual spends in the entry queue.

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(1 mark)

It is a management policy that once inside the stadium, all individuals who spend time in a queue to
buy food must be served within 20 minutes. The probability that an individual spends time t in the food
queue can be modelled by the probability density function
g t B u e 0.05t ,
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where B is a positive value, t is measured in minutes, and 0 d t d 20 .

(d) Find the exact value of B.

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(4 marks)

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(e) On the axes on page 10, sketch the graph of y g t . (2 marks)

(f ) Is the probability of an individual spending between 0 and 10 minutes in the food queue greater
than or less than the probability of an individual spending between 0 and 10 minutes in the
entry queue?
Give a reason for your answer, without calculating the probability of spending between
0 and 10 minutes in the food queue.

E (2 marks)
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This sample Mathematical Methods paper shows the format of the examination from November 2020.

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