NCSE 2015 PAPER 2

Section I

1 3
1. (a) Required to calculate: 6 - 1 expressing the answer as a mixed number.
6 4
Calculation:
1 3 ( 6 ´ 6 ) + 1 ( 4 ´ 1) + 3
6 -1 = -
6 4 6 4
37 7
= -

m
6 4
2 ( 37 ) - 3 ( 7 )
=

co
12
74 - 21
=

.
12

hs
53
=
12
5
= 4 as a mixed number.
12 at
m
3
s
(b) Required to convert: to a percent.
8
as

Solution:
3 3
as a percent = ´100
sp

8 8
300
=
8
.fa

4
= 37 %
8
w

1
= 37 %
2
w
w

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 (c) Required to express: 7.185 correct to 2 significant figures.
Solution:
7 .18 5
­
Deciding digit which is ³ 5
So we add 1 to the first decimal and ignore all digits to its immediate right
7.1
+ 1
7.2

m
\ 7.185 » 7.2 correct to 2 significant figures.

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2. Data: Venn diagram showing friends who are good at Mathematics and friends who play
cricket from a group.

.
hs
at
s m
as
sp
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(a) (i) Required to list: All the friends who are good at Mathematics.
w

Solution:
M = {Michael, Ann, Nick, Mervin, Errol}
w

(ii) Required to state: The number of friends who play cricket ONLY.
w

Solution:
Friends who play cricket only are Damien, Lloyd, Bob and Susan. These
number four.
\ 4 students play cricket only.

(b) (i) Required to state: The number of friends who are neither good at
Mathematics nor play cricket.
Solution:
Glenda, only, is neither good at Mathematics nor plays cricket.
\ 1 friend is neither good at Mathematics nor plays cricket.

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 (ii) Required to find: The probability that a friend is neither good at
Mathematics nor plays cricket?
Solution:
P(Friend is neither good at Mathematics nor plays cricket)
No. of friends who are neither good at Mathematics nor plays cricket
=
Total no. of friends
1
=
1+ 2 + 3 + 4
1
=

m
10

co
It is important to note that, by definition, a set is a clearly defined collection of
objects. The description, ‘good at mathematics’ is a relative term and is not
clearly defined. Hence, the statement that defines M, in this question, does not

.
define a set.

hs
(c) Required to find: The probability that a friend is good at Mathematics and plays
cricket.
Solution: at
m
P(Friend is good at Mathematics and plays cricket)
No. of friends who are good at Mathematics and play cricket
=
s
Total no. of friends
as

3
=
1+ 2 + 3 + 4
sp

3
=
10
.fa

3. (a) (i) Required to simplify: 6m - 2 p - 3m + 4 p

Solution:
w

6m – 2p – 3m + 4p = 6m – 3m – 2p + 4p
w

= 3m + 2p
w

(ii) Required to simplify: 3x ( 5x - 5) - 4 x2

Solution:
3x ( 5 x - 5 ) - 4 x 2 = 15 x 2 - 15 x - 4 x 2
= 11x 2 - 15 x
= x (11x - 15 )

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 (b) (i) Required to factorise: 30 + 24 p
Solution:
30 + 24p = 6 x 5 + 6 x 4 x p
= 6 (5+4p)

(ii) Required to factorise: 6 p 2 + 19 p + 15

Solution:
6 p2 + 19 p + 15 = ( 3 p + 5)( 2 p + 3)

m
4. Data: Diagrams of cuboid shaped containers, a box and a shipping container. The box
has dimensions 2.5 m by 1 m by 1 m and the shipping container has dimensions 3 m by 2

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m by 5 m.

.
hs
at
s m
(a) Required to find: The volume of a box, in cubic metres.
as

Solution:
Volume of a box = ( 2.5 ´1´1) m3
sp

= 2.5 m3

(b) Required to determine: The number of boxes that will completely fill the
.fa

shipping container.
Solution:
Number of boxes that will completely fill the shipping container will be
w

Volume of shipping container

=
w

Volume of a box
5´ 2´ 3
w

=
2.5
= 12 boxes

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 (c) Required to convert: The volume of a box from cubic metres to cubic
centimetres.
Solution:
1 m = 100 cm
\1 m3 = (100 ´100 ´100 ) cm3
1 m3 = 1000 000 cm3

Volume of a box = 2.5 m3

= (2.5×100×100×100) cm3
= 2 500 000 cm3

m
= 2.5 × 106 cm3

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5. Data: Diagram showing a quadrilateral ABCD on a grid.

.
hs
at
s m
as
sp
.fa
w
w
w

æ6ö
(a) Data: ABCD is translated under ç ÷ to produce its image, A¢B¢C¢D¢ .
è9ø
Required to draw: A¢B¢C¢D¢ on the same diagram.
Solution:
æ 6ö
ç ÷
ABCD ¾¾® A¢B¢C¢D¢
è9ø

A = ( -5, - 2 )

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 æ 6ö
æ -5 ö çè 9 ÷ø æ -5 + 6 ö æ 1 ö
ç ÷ ¾¾® ç ÷=ç ÷
è -2 ø è -2 + 9 ø è 7 ø
\ A¢ = (1, 7 )

B = ( -5, - 5)
æ 6ö
æ -5 ö çè 9 ÷ø æ -5 + 6 ö æ 1 ö
ç ÷ ¾¾® ç ÷=ç ÷
è -5 ø è -5 + 9 ø è 4 ø
\ B¢ = (1, 4 )

m
C = ( -2, - 5)

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æ 6ö
æ -2 ö çè 9 ÷ø æ -2 + 6 ö æ 4 ö
ç ÷ ¾¾® ç ÷=ç ÷
è -5 ø è -5 + 9 ø è 4 ø

.
hs
\ C¢ = ( 4, 4 )

D = ( -2, - 2 )
æ 6ö
æ -2 ö çè 9 ÷ø æ -2 + 6 ö æ 4 ö
at
m
ç ÷ ¾¾® ç ÷=ç ÷
è -2 ø è -2 + 9 ø è 7 ø
s
\ D¢ = ( 4, 7 )
as
sp
.fa
w
w
w

Copyright © 2019. Some Rights Reserved. www.faspassmaths.com Pg 6 of 18

 (b) Required to draw: Lines of symmetry for A¢B¢C¢D¢ on the diagram.
Solution:

m
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hs
at
s m
as

A¢B¢C¢D¢ is a square.

There are 4 lines of symmetry, shown broken on the diagram.

sp

6. Data: List of the numbers of occupants in each of 25 cars passing the lighthouse
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travelling towards Port of Spain during a 2 minute period.

2 2 5 4 2
w

5 2 3 1 5
2 1 2 3 3
w

3 2 4 2 6
3 4 3 2 4
w

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(a) Required to complete: The frequency table given using the data.
Solution:

Number of
occupants per Tally Frequency
car
1 || 2
2 9
|||| ||||
3 6
|||| |

m
4 |||| 4

co
5 ||| 3
6 | 1

.
å f = 25

hs
(b) Required to find: The modal number of occupants per car.
Solution:
at
The modal number of occupants per car is 2, since this number of occupants in a
m
car occurs most often in accordance with the data.
s
(c) Required to calculate: The mean number of occupants per car.
as

Calculation:
The mean number of occupants per car is x , where
å fx å = sum of , f = frequency, x = number of occupants per car
sp

x=
åf
( 2 ´1) + ( 9 ´ 2 ) + ( 6 ´ 3) + ( 4 ´ 4 ) + ( 3 ´ 5 ) + (1´ 6 )
.fa

=
25
2 + 18 + 18 + 16 + 15 + 6
=
w

25
w

75
=
25
w

=3

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 Section II

7. (a) Data: The exchange rate between TT dollars and Euros is TT $1.00 = €0.125.
(i) Required to convert: €1 to TT dollars.
Solution:
TT $1.00 = €0.125
€ 0.125 = TT$1.00
1.00
\€1.00 = TT$
0.125
= TT$8.00

m
(ii) Data: A painting costs € 250 000.
Required to find: The cost of the painting in TT dollars

co
Solution:
Painting costs € 250 000

.
\ Cost in TT dollars = 250000 ´ 8

hs
= TT $2 000 000

(b)
at
Data: Mary invests $12 000 at a bank which pays 3% simple interest. After a
certain number of years, the total amount she receives is $15 240.
(i) Required to find: The amount of interest Mary received.
m
Solution:
Principal = $12000
s

Rate = 3% per annum

as

Total received = $15240

sp

\ Interest received = Amount received - Principal

= $15 240 - $12 000
= $3240
.fa

(ii) Required to calculate: The number of years in which Mary invested her
w

money.
Calculation:
w

Let the number of years of investment be T.

Principal ´ Rate ´ Time
w

Recall: Simple Interest =

100
12 000 ´ 3 ´ T
\ 3240 =
100
3240 ´100
T= =9
12 000 ´ 3
= 9 years

Copyright © 2019. Some Rights Reserved. www.faspassmaths.com Pg 9 of 18

(c) (i) Required to construct: An isosceles triangle with AB = AC = 5.8 cm
and angle BAC = 90° and state the length of BC correct to 1 decimal
place.
Solution:

m
. co
hs
at
s m
as
sp
.fa
w
w
w

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 m
. co
hs
at
s m
as
sp
.fa
w
w
w

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 BC = 8.2 cm measured correct to 1 decimal place.

(ii) Required To Construct: An angle PQR = 60° .

Solution:

m
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hs
at
s m
as
sp

8. (a) Data: Diagram showing a bird on the ground 12 m away from the base of a tree
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flying directly to the top of the tree that is 5 m tall.

w
w
w

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(i) Required to calculate: The distance, y, flown by the bird.
Calculation:

m
y 2 = (12 ) + ( 5 )
2 2
(Pythagoras' Theorem)

co
(12 ) + ( 5)
2 2
y=

.
= 144 + 25

hs
= 169
= 13 m

(ii)
at
Required to calculate: x correct to 2 decimal places.
m
Calculation:
s
as
sp
.fa
w

æ5ö
x = tan -1 ç ÷
w

è 12 ø
= 22.619°
w

= 22.62° correct to 2 decimal places

Alternative Method:
æ5ö
x = sin -1 ç ÷
è 13 ø
= 22.619°
= 22.62° correct to 2 decimal places

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 Alternative Method:
æ 12 ö
x = cos -1 ç ÷
è 13 ø
= 22.619°
= 22.62° correct to 2 decimal places

(b) Data: Airplane departs Piarco International Airport at 2:35 p.m. and arrives at the
Arthur Napoleon Raymond Robinson International Airport at 3:05 p.m. The
distance between the airports is 83 km.

m
(i) Required to calculate: The actual distance between the airports in
centimetres.

co
Calculation:
Distance between the two airports = 83 km
1 km = 100 000 cm

.
hs
\ 83 km = ( 83 ´100 000 ) cm
= 8300 000 cm
= 8.3 ´106 cm
at
m
(ii) Required to find: The distance between the two airports, in metres.
Solution:
s
1 km = 1000 m
as

\ 83 km = ( 83 ´1000 ) m
= 83000 m
sp

= 8.3 ´104 m
.fa

(iii) Required to find: The time taken to arrive at the Arthur Napoleon
Raymond Robinson International Airport, in minutes.
Solution:
w

Arrival time = 3:05 p.m.

w

Departure time = 2:35 p.m.

Time of flight = : 30 minutes
w

\ Time taken to arrive at the Arthur Napoleon Raymond Robinson

International Airport is 30 minutes.

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 (iv) Required to find: The time taken to arrive at the Arthur Napoleon
Raymond Robinson International Airport, in hours.
Solution:
1
1 minute = hour
60
30
Hence, the time taken, in hours =
60
1
= hour
2

(v) Required to find: The average speed of travel for the journey in

m
kilometres per hour.
Solution:

co
Total distance
Average speed =
Time taken

.
hs
83 km
=
1
hour
2
= 166 kmh -1
at
m
9. (a) Data: Indra bought 3 cups of coffee and 2 pieces of cake for a total of $12.00 and
Carol bought 2 cups of coffee and 3 pieces of cake for a total of $13.00.
s
x represents the cost of one cup of coffee and y represents the cost of a piece of
as

cake.
(i) Required to write: An equation using x and y to represent the total cost of
cups of coffee and pieces of cake that Indra bought.
sp

Solution:
Cost of 3 cups of coffee at $x each and 2 pieces of cake at $y dollars each
.fa

= (3´ x ) + ( 2 ´ y )
= 3x + 2 y
w

Hence, 3x + 2 y = 12 …Œ
w

(ii) Required To Find: The cost of one cup of coffee and one piece of cake.
Solution:
w

Cost of 2 cups of coffee at $x each and 3 pieces of cake at $y dollars each

= ( 2 ´ x ) + (3´ y )
= 2x + 3 y
Hence, 2 x + 3 y = 13 …

3x + 2 y = 12 …Œ
2 x + 3 y = 13 …

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 Equation Œ ´3 9 x + 6 y = 36 …Ž
Equation  ´ - 2 -4 x - 6 y = -26 …
Equation Ž + Equation  5x = 10
\x = 2

Substitute x = 2 into equation Œ:

3 ( 2 ) + 2 y = 12
2y = 6
y=3

m
Hence, 1 cup of coffee costs $2 and 1 piece of cake costs $3.

co
Alternative Method:
3x + 2 y = 12 …Œ
2 x + 3 y = 13 …

.
hs
Make y the subject in equation Œ:
2 y = 12 - 3x
y=
12 - 3 x
2
at
m
Substitute in equation :
æ 12 - 3 x ö
s
2x + 3ç ÷ = 13
è 2 ø
as

´2
4 x + 3 (12 - 3 x ) = 26
sp

4 x + 36 - 9 x = 26
- 5 x = -10
.fa

-10
x=
-5
w

=2
w

12 - 3 x
Substitute x = 2 in the expression, y = :
w

2
12 - 3 ( 2 )
y=
2
6
=
2
=3

Hence, 1 cup of coffee costs $2 and 1 piece of cake costs $3.

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(b) Data: The y = 2 x + 1 gives the relationship between x and y.
(i) Required to complete: The table of values given for this equation.
Solution:
y = 2x +1
When x = 2 y = 2 ( 2) + 1
=5

When x = 4 y = 2 ( 4) + 1
=9

m
The completed table is

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x 0 2 3 4
y 1 5 7 9

.
hs
(ii) Required to draw: The graph of y = 2 x + 1 on the grid provided.
Solution:

at
s m
as
sp
.fa
w
w
w

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(iii) Required to state: The y – intercept for the graph of y = 2 x + 1.
Solution:
From the graph the intercept on the y – axis can be read off as ( 0, 1) .
From the table, the y – intercept can be seen as ( 0, 1) , that is, when
x = 0, y = 1.
Also, we may substitute x = 0 to find
y = 2 ( 0) + 1
=1
\ y - intercept is1 and the line cuts the vertical axis at ( 0, 1) .

m
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hs
at
s m
as
sp
.fa
w
w
w

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