0

MATHEMATICS REVIEW

Solutions to Problems
0.1. Set Up and Solve: (3x 4 y 2 ) 2 = (3) 2 ( x 4 ) 2 ( y 2 )2 = 9 x8 y 4 .
Reflect: The square of any real expression must be positive.

0.2. Set Up and Solve:

(2344 ) 2
(8) 4

[23 (22 ) 4 ]2
(23 )4

(2328 ) 2
212

(211 ) 2
212

222
212

= 2(22 12) = 210 = 1024.

Reflect: Since we are evaluating a numerical expression you could simply use your calculator to obtain the result
without any algebraic manipulation.
2

4 x2
42 ( x 2 ) 2 16 x 4
= 2 3 2=
= 4 x 4 y 6 .
3
6

2 (y )
4y
2y

*0.3. Set Up and Solve:

Reflect: The answer could also be written as

4x4

y6

x2 y4
( x 2 )3 ( y 4 )3
x 6 y12
= (1)3 3 22 3 = 2 3 6 = x (6 3) y (12+ 6) = x3 y18
22

x (y )
x y
xy
Reflect: The cube of any real expression has the same sign as the original expression.

0.4. Set Up and Solve:

0.5. Set Up and Solve: The decimal point must be moved 5 places to the left to change 475000 into a number
between 1 and 10. Thus, we have 475000 = 4.75 105.
Reflect: When written in scientific notation, numbers larger than 1 will have positive exponents and numbers
smaller than 1 will have negative exponents for their power of ten.

0.6. Set Up and Solve: The decimal point must be moved 6 places to the right to change 0.00000472 into a number
between 1 and 10. Thus, we have 0.00000472 = 4.72 106.
Reflect: When written in scientific notation, numbers larger than 1 will have positive exponents and numbers
smaller than 1 will have negative exponents for their power of ten.

*0.7. Set Up and Solve: The decimal point must be moved 2 places to the left to change 123 into a number
between 1 and 10. Thus, we have 123 106 = 1.23 102 1026 = 1.23 1024.
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0-1

0-2

Chapter 0

Reflect: Alternatively, we could have written our original number in decimal form by moving the decimal point 6

places to the left to obtain 123 1026 = 0.000123. Finally we could convert the result into scientific notation by
moving the decimal point 4 places to the right to obtain 0.000123 = 1.23 1024.

0.8. Set Up and Solve:

8.3 105
7.8 102

8.3
10(5 2) = 1.1 103 , where we have rounded the decimal number to the
7.8

nearest tenth.
Reflect: You can make a quick estimate, to check your result, by rounding each number to the nearest power of ten.

Thus, we have the estimate

8.3 105
7.8 10

106
103

= 103 , which can be done without a calculator.

0.9. Set Up and Solve: First we subtract 9 x from both sides to obtain 5 x + 6 = 14. Next we subtract 6 from both
sides to get 5 x = 20. Finally, we divide both sides of the equation by 5 to get the solution x = 4.
Reflect: There is no need to keep x on the left side of the equation. By adding 4 x + 14 to both sides of the equation
we get 20 = 5 x, which reduces to 4 = x.
9
5

0.10. Set Up and Solve: First subtract 32 from both sides to obtain F 32 = C. Next multiply both sides by
obtain

5
to
9

5
5
( F 32) = C. Finally, reflect the equation to obtain C = ( F 32).
9
9

Reflect: The symmetric property of equality allows us to write y = x as x = y.

*0.11. Set Up and Solve: Add 3x 2 6 to both sides to obtain x 2 = 12. Next, take the positive and negative
square root of both sides to obtain x = 12 = (3)(4) = 2 3.
Reflect: Since this quadratic has no terms containing x, it is possible to solve it without factoring or using the
quadratic formula.

0.12. Set Up and Solve: Reflect the equation to obtain 9.8t 2 = 196. Next divide both sides by 9.8 to obtain
t2 =

2196
= 20. Finally, take the positive and negative square root of both sides to obtain t = 20 =
29.8

(4)(5) = 2 5.
Reflect: Since this quadratic has no terms containing t, it is possible to solve it without factoring or using the
quadratic formula.

*0.13. Set Up and Solve: Notice that 2 + 23 = 25 and (2)(3) = 6. Thus, we can factor the equation as
x 2 5 x + 6 = ( x 3)( x 2) = 0. The two roots are x = 3 and x = 2.
Reflect: Alternatively, we can use the quadratic formula with a = 1, b = 5, and c = 6 to obtain x =

b b2 4ac
=
2a

5 (5) 2 4(1)(6) 5 1
=
= 3 or 2.
2(1)
2

0.14. Set Up and Solve: Use the quadratic formula with a = 1, b = 1, and c = 1 to obtain x =

b b 2 4ac
=
2a

1 12 4(1)(1) 21 5
=
.
2(1)
2
Reflect: The factorization of this equation is not obvious, so we resort to the quadratic formula.

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Mathematics Review

0.15. Set Up and Solve: Use the quadratic formula with a = 4.9, b = 2, and c = 220 to obtain t =

0-3

b b 2 4ac
=
2a

2 22 4(4.9)(20) 2 396
=
= 22.2 or 1.8. The decimal answers are accurate to the nearest tenth.
2(4.9)
9.8
Reflect: In physics many numbers are based on approximate measurements. Therefore it is usually okay to write

answers in approximate decimal form. For example, we may write

2 as 1.4 or 1.41, depending on the situation.

0.16. Set Up and Solve: Solve the first equation for x to obtain x =

4y +1
and substitute this expression for x in
5

4y +1
the second equation to obtain 6 y = 10
4 = 8 y 2. Solving for y we obtain 2 y = 2 or y = 1. Thus, we
5
4y +1 4 +1
have x =
=
= 1. The solution is x = 1, y = 1.
5
5
Reflect: We could also solve this system by multiplying the first equation by 2 and adding the result to the second
equation.

*0.17. Set Up and Solve: Divide the second equation by 3 to obtain

2x y 1
= . Add this result to the first
3 3 3

1
x y 2x y
= 2 + . The y terms cancel and we can clear the fractions by multiplying
equation to obtain + +
2
3
3
3
3

both sides by 6. Thus, we obtain 3x + 4 x = 12 + 2. Solving for x we obtain x = 2. By substituting this value for x into
the second equation we obtain 2(2) y = 1, so y = 3. Thus, the solution is x = 2, y = 3.

Reflect: We could also solve this equation by solving the second equation for y and substituting the result into the
first equation.

0.18. Set Up and Solve: Since x y we have

x 2
1
8
=
or x = y. Substituting y = 8 we obtain x = = 1.6.
y 10
5
5

Reflect: In physics, variables often represent physical measurements and so it is common to represent fractions as
decimals.

0.19. Set Up and Solve: Let F be the force required to compress the spring by a distance x. Thus, F x and we
F
80 N
=
or F = (4000 N/m) x. Substituting x = 0.05 m gives F = 200 N.
x 0.02 m
F
Reflect: The newton (N) is a unit of force and the constant k =
is measured in N/m. Stiff springs have large
x
values of k and are difficult to stretch.

have

0.20. Set Up and Solve: Let T be the temperature of the gas (in kelvins) and V be its volume. Thus, we have
V 4.0 L
=
or V = (0.040 L/K)T . Thus, when T = 300 K we have
T 100 K
V = (0.040 L/K)T = (0.040 L/K)(300 K) = 12 liters.

V T , when the pressure is fixed, and we have

Reflect: Since the temperature increases by a factor of 3, the volume must also increase by a factor of 3.

*0.21. Set Up and Solve: Let A be the amplitude of the sound and d the distance from the source. Thus, A
and we have Ad = (4.8 1026 m)(1.0 m) or A =

1
d

(4.8 1026 m 2 )
. Thus, when d = 4.0 m we have A = 1.2 1026 m.
d

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No portion of this material may be reproduced, in any form or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher.

0-4

Chapter 0

Reflect: Since the distance is increased by a factor of 4, the amplitude is decreased by a factor of 4 (i.e., multiplied
1
by ).
4

0.22. Set Up and Solve: Use the given values to solve for k: k = Ir 2 = (60.0 lux)(0.40 m)2 . Use this value of k to
find the intensity at a distance of 1.80 meters: I =

k
r2

(60.0 lux)(0.40 m) 2
(1.80 m) 2

0.40 m
= (60.0 lux)
= 3.0 lux
1.80 m

Reflect: Larger distances lead to lower intensities. We could also solve this problem using the ratio equation

I 2 d1
=
I1 d 2

*0.23. Set Up and Solve: Let F be the force of gravity on an object that is a distance d from the earths center.
Thus, we have F

1
d

or Fd 2 = k . Also, when d = 6.38 106 m we know that F = 700 N so we can find the

value of k. When the astronaut is 6000 km ( 6 106 m ) from the earths surface he is 6.38 106 + 6.00 106 =
1.238 107 m from the center of the earth. Thus, we have F =

k
d

(700 N)(6.38 106 m) 2

(1.238 107 m) 2

= 186 N.

F2 d1
= . Since the astronaut nearly doubles
F1 d 2
his distance from the earths center as he moves from the surface into orbit, his weight decreases by nearly a factor of
1
4 (i.e., 2 ).
2
Reflect: We could also solve this problem using the ratio equation

0.24. Set Up and Solve: (a) log( x 4 y 2 z8 ) = log( x 4 ) + log( y 2 ) + log( z8 ) = 4log x + 2log y + 8log z.
1
1
3
7
(b) log x3 y 7 = log( x3 y 7 ) = log( x3 ) + log( y 7 ) = log x + log y.
2
2
2
2
(c) log 3

x2 y6
z

2
= log( x 2/3 y 2 z21 ) = log( x 2/3 ) + log( y 2 ) + log( z21 ) = log x + 2log y log z.
3

Reflect: There are multiple ways to expand each of these expressions. For example, we could expand log

a
as
b

1
1
1
1
a 1
log = log a log b or as log(a1/ 2b 1/ 2 ) = log(a1/ 2 ) + log(b 1/ 2 ) = log a + log b.
b 2
2
2
2
2

x4 y
3
( x + y )

*0.25. Set Up and Solve: (a) 4log x + log y 3log( x + y ) = log( x 4 ) + log y log[( x + y )3 ] = log
x( y + x)
2
(b) log( xy + x 2 ) log( xz + yz ) + 2log z = log
+ log( z ) = log( xz )
z( x + y)
Reflect: There are multiple ways to combine each of these expressions.

104
= 10log(108 ) = 80.
12

10

0.26. Set Up and Solve: We have = 10log

Reflect: It is easy to find common logarithms of powers of tenno calculator is required.

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No portion of this material may be reproduced, in any form or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Mathematics Review

0-5

I
I
= 60 so log 12 = 6. Taking the antilog of both sides we
1012
10

0.27. Set Up and Solve: We have = 10log

I
= 106 so I = 106 1012 = 106.
10212
Reflect: It is easy to find the antilog of an integerno calculator is required.
obtain

0.28. Set Up and Solve: We must solve the equation N = N 0e( 0.210 )t for t. Divide both sides of the equation by
N 0 to obtain

N
= e (0.210)t . Next, take the natural logarithm of both sides of the equation and solve for t to obtain
N0

2.50 104
N
1
ln
ln
= 20.9
= (0.210)t so t = 2
0.210 2.00 106
N0
Reflect: Since we are using base-e rather than base-10, we must use the natural logarithm (ln) rather than the
common logarithm (log).

*0.29. Set Up and Solve: (a) The circumference of the circle is given by C = 2 r = 2 (0.12 m) = 0.75 m and its
area is given by A = r 2 = (0.12 m) 2 = 0.045 m 2 .
(b) The surface area of the sphere is given by A = 4 r 2 = 4 (0.21 m) 2 = 0.55 m 2 and its volume is given by
4 3 4
r = (0.21 m)3 = 0.039 m3.
3
3
(c) The total surface area of the rectangular solid (which consists of three identical pairs of rectangular faces) is
2lw + 2lh + 2 wh = 2[(0.18 m)(0.15 m) + (0.18 m)(0.8 m) + (0.15 m)(0.8 m)] = 0.6 m 2 (rounding to the nearest tenth).

Its volume is V = lwh = (0.18 m)(0.15 m)(0.8 m) = 0.02 m3 (rounding to the nearest hundredth).
(d) The total surface area of the cylinder consists of its lateral (side) surface area and the area of its two circular endcaps: A = 2 rh + 2 r 2 = 2 [(0.18 m)(0.33 m) + (0.18 m) 2 ] = 0.58 m 2 . The volume of the cylinder is given by
V = r 2 h = (0.18 m) 2 (0.33 m) = 0.034 m3.
Reflect: When the lateral surface of a cylinder of radius r and height h is unrolled, it forms a rectangle with

dimensions 2 r by h, so it has a surface area of A = 2 rh. The area of each of its two circular end-caps is r 2 , so

the total surface area of a cylinder is A = 2 rh + 2 r 2 .

0.30. Set Up and Solve: Using the Pythagorean theorem, a 2 + b2 = c 2 , we can find the length of the unknown
side: a = c 2 b 2 = (20 cm) 2 (16 cm) 2 = 12 cm. The angle, , opposite side a can be found from tan =

= tan 1

12
, so
16

12
= 37D. Since all three angles add to 180D , we have that the other angle must be 180D 90D 37D =
16

90D 37D = 53D.

Reflect: This triangle is four times larger than the common 3-4-5 triangle.

*0.31. Set Up and Solve: Assume that each step forms a right angle so that a line drawn between the corners of
adjacent steps forms a right triangle with a base of 30 cm and a height of h. The angle between the hypotenuse and
h
the base is 36D. Thus, tan 36D =
, or h = (30 cm) tan 36D = 22 cm.
30 cm
22
Reflect: A line drawn from the base of the stairs to the top of the stairs has a slope of
, which is also equal to
30
tan 36D.

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No portion of this material may be reproduced, in any form or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher.