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GENERAL MATHEMATICS : BOARD PROBLEMS 2006 and 2008

ALGEBRA, TRIGONOMETRY, SOLID MENSURATION, ANALYTIC GEOMETRY
AND PROBABILITY
1. The perimeter of an isosceles right triangle is, 10.2426. Compute the area of the
right triangle in
square units.
A. 2

B. 4

C. 3

D. 4.5

2. Find the equation of the line determined by points A(3,-1) and B(-4,5).
A. 6x-7y=11

B. 6x+7y=11

C. 7x-6y=11

D.7x+6y=11

3. Tom, Dick and Harry decided to fence a vacant lot adjoining their properties. If it
would take Tom 4 days to build the fence, Dick 3 days, and Harry 6 days, how long
would it take them working together?
A. 2-1/3
D. 2-1/4

B. 1-3/4

C. 1-1/3

4. A hole of radius 2 is drilled through the axis of a sphere of radius 3. Compute the
volume of the remaining solid.
A. 22pi(square root of 5)/3

C. 20pi(square root of 5)/3

B. 6pi(square root of 5)

D. 20pi(square root of 3)/3

5. Find all intervals in which the given expression is positive (x+1)/(x squared x+1).
A. x=-1
D. x=<-2

B. x=<-1

C. none

6. Write the equation of the line through the point (-2,4) and whose intercepts are
equal.
A. x+y-12=0

B. x-y-12=0

C. x+y-2=0

D. x-y+2=0

7. Find the directed distance from the line x-y+3=0 to point (4, 5).
A. -1/3
D. -1.414

B. -1.5

C. -1/4

8. The orbit of Halleys Comet around the sun is an ellipse with the sun as a focus
and eccentricity e=0.967, the position where the comet is closest to the sun to the
position where it is farthest from the sun is approximately 3.365x(10 the 9 th power)
miles (=2a) . Approximately how close the comet gets to the sun in million miles.
A. 13

B. 48

C. 56

D. 23

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9. A 25 meter long board is to be cut into two parts. The longer part is 1 meter more
than twice the shorter part. How long is the shorter part?
A. 5

B. 8

C. 6

D. 7

10. In the general equation of a conic section whose axis are parallel to x or y axes,
when A is not equal to B, the graph is a (n).
A. Circle
11. Evalute the

B. Hyperbola

C. Parabola

D. Ellipse

C. 384-585i

D. 384+585i

( 12 i )8 .

A. -527-336i

B. 527+336i

12. A plane takes 5 hours to fly westward from point A to point B and 4-1/11 hrs to
return from point B to point A. If the wind velocity is 50 kph from the west on both
trips, what is the airspeed of the plane? (Airspeed is the speed of the plane in still
air)
A. 550 kph

B. 450 kph

C. 500 kph

D. 600 kph

13. A man is four times as old as his son. In 3 years, the father will be three times as
old as his son. How old is the father now?
A. 44

B.28

C. 36

D. 24

14. Two planes leave New York at 10 A.M, one heading for Europe at 600 kph and
one heading in the opposite direction at 150 kph. At what time will they be 900
kilometers apart?
A. 12:00 Noon

B. 11:30 A.M

C. 11:12 A.M

D. 12:15 P.M

15. A 5 pointed star is also known as.

A. pentagon
Pentathlon

B. Quintagon

C. Pentagram

D.

16. If 4 holes are to be spaced regularly on a circle with radius r=20 in., find the
distance d between the centers of the two successive holes.
A. 30

B. 28

C. 29

D. 28.3

17. Find the equation of a line through point A(7,0) perpendicular to the line 9x + y3 =0.
A. 9x y 7=0
D. x 9y 7=0

B.9x y + 7=0

C. x 9y + 7=0

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18. The value of the determinants is ____ if a column is replaced by a column plus a
multiple of another column.
A. zero
changed

B. Not changed

C. one

D.

19. Tony went to a drugstore. He bought a bottle of aspirin and a bottle of Tylenol.
The aspirin cost PHP 1.25 more than the Tylenol. He also bought cologne which cost
twice as much as the total of the other two combined. How much did the Tylenol
cost if his total bill (without tax) was PHP 24.75?
A. PHP 6.25

B. PHP 3.50

C. PHP 5.75

D. PHP 4.50

20. There are three consecutive odd integers. Three times the largest is seven times
the smallest. What is the biggest number?
A. 6

B. 8

C. 5

D. 7

21. A mens store bought 500 shirts at PHP 125 each and the rest at PHP 200 each.
If the total cost of the shirts was PHP 77,500, how many shirts were purchased at
PHP 125 each?
A. 350

B. 250

C. 300

D. 400

22. A plane takes 5 hours to fly westward from point A to point B and 4 1/11 hrs to
return from point B to point A, if the wind velocity is 50 kph from the west on both
trips. What is the distance between point A and B?
A. 1,850 km

B. 2,000 km

C. 2,250 km

D. 1,950 km

23. A pharmacist has to fill a prescription calling for 5 ounces of a 12% argyrols
solution. She has 5 ounces of a 15% solution and 5 ounces of a 5% solution. If she
starts with the 5 ounces of 15%, how much must she draw off and replace with 5%
in order to fill the prescription?
A. 2 oz.
D. 1 oz.

B. oz.

C. 1 oz.

Equation: .15(5-x)+x(.05)=.12(5)
24.
At what time between 8 and 9 oclock will the minute hand coincide with the
hour hand?
A.

8:43.5

B.

8:43.6

C.

8.45.6

D.

8.48

25.
What time between the hours of 12:00 noon and 1:00 PM would the hour
hand and the minute hand of a continuously driven clock be in a straight line?

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A. 12:37 PM
D. 12:39

B. 12:28 PM

C. 12:33 PM

26. An isosceles trapezoid has its bases in the ratio 4:5. Its height is 20 cm. If the
area is 360 cm, what are the bases?
A. 16, 20

B. 20, 25

C. 28, 35

D. 30, 24

27. The following are the vertices of a triangle, (1,2), (9,3), (4,11). Find the
equation of one of the medians through (4,11).
A. 10x 11y = 12B. 9x + 3y = 26
17x + 2y = 90

C. 7x + 13y = -102

D.

28. Find the eccentricity of the curve 9x 4y 36x + 8y = 4.

A. 1.9

B. 1.8

C. 1.7

D. 1.6

29. A circle is inscribed in an equilateral triangle, and a square is inscribed in

a circle. The ratio of the area of the triangle to the area of the square is
A. 1:2

B. 3

2 :2

C. 2

2 :3

D. 3

3 :2

30. Determine the volume of a right truncated triangular prism with the following dimensions:
Let the corners of the triangle base be defined by A, B and C. The length AB = 11 ft, BC
= 10 ft and CA = 13 ft. The sides at A, B and C are perpendicular to the triangular base
and have the height of 8.6 ft, 7.1 ft and 5.5 ft respectively.
A.

377 ft3

B. 337

C. 358

D. 389

31. Pipe A can fill a tank in 4 h. Pipe B can fill it in 9 h less than the time it takes pipe C, a drain pipe to
empty the tank. When all 3 pipes are open, it takes 2 h. to fill the tank. How much time (in hours) is
required for pipe C to empty the tank if pipes A and B are closed?
A. 12

B. 13

C. 14

D. 15

Sample Board Problems With Calculator Based Solutions

ALGEBRA
1.
The sum of the digits of a three-digit number is 12. If the tens digit is twice the units digit
and the hundreds digit is thrice the units digit, find the number.
a.

642

b.

462

c.

426

d.

246

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2.
Olibert deposited Php34,000 in his bank account. If his deposit consisted of 42 bills,
some five-hundred-peso bills and the rest one-thousand-peso bills, how many of each bill did he
have?
a. 15 and 25
3.

b. 18 and 26

c. 16 and 26

One number is less than another. If the sum is 135, what are numbers?

a. 65 and 75

b. 70 and 75

c. 60 and 85

4.

Find k in the equation 4x2 + kx + 1 = 0

a.

5.

Solve

a.

9/10

b.

b.

so that it will only have one real root.

c.

Simplify:

- 9 /10

2
x3

6.

d. 65 and 70

d.

d.

- 29/10

x 2 4 x 5 x 2 . The value of x is _____.

1
1

x 3y 2

c.
2
2 2 3

x y

.
2

2
y5

x2
b. y

29/10
6

1
2

5
y2

a.

d. 18 and 24

c.

x5
d. y

x2

7.

a.

Resolve x 7x 12 into partial fraction.

6
2

x4 x3

3
5

b. x 4 x 3

c.

6
5

x4 x3

d.

7
5

x4 x3

8.
The sum of Kims and Kevins ages is 18. In 3 years, Kim will be twice as old as Kevin.
What are their ages now?
a.

2, 16

9.

Determine x so that

x, 2x + 7, 10x 7 will be a geometric progression.

a.

7, -7/5

7, -15/6

TROGONOMETRY

b.

b.

3, 15

c.

4, 14

c.

d.

7, -7/6

5,13

d.

7, -5/6

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1. If tan 25 = m, find the value of (tan 155 tan 115) / (1 + tan 115 x tan 155). (Note: all angles
are in degrees).``
a. (1 m2) / 2m

b. (m2 1) / 2m

c. (m2 + 1) / 2m

d. m2 + 1

2.If arctan x + arctan (1/3) = /4, the value of x is ____.

a. 1/5

b.

c. 1/3

d.

3. If A is in the III quadrant and cos A = -15/17, find the value of cos (1/2)A.
a. (1/17)1/2

b. (8/17)1/2

c. (2/17)1/2

d. (5/17)1/2

c. 2 tan A

d. sec A

c. sin2

d. sin

c. 60

d. 90

c. 4

d. 5

4. (cos A)4 (sin A)4 is equal to

a. cos 2A

b. sin 2A

5. Simplify the expression sec - (sec ) sin2

a. cos2

b. cos

6. Evaluate arc cot [2 cos (arc sin 0.5)]

a. 30

b. 45

7. Solve for x by logarithm, log x125 = 3.

a. 3

b. 3.5

ANALYTIC GEOMETRY
1.

2.

Find the general equation of the line through (2, -7) with slope 2/5.
A. 5x 2y + 39 = 0

B. 2 x 5 y 39 0

C. 2x 5y 39 0

D. 2x 5y 39 0

Find the equation of the parabola with vertex at (-2, 3), with axis parallel to the y-axis
and which contains the point (0, -2).
A.
(x 2)2 = -4(y + 3)
B.
(x 2)2 = -4/5 (y + 3)
C.

3.

(x + 2)2 = -4/5 (y 3)

(x + 2)2 = -5 (y 3)

Determine the vertices of an ellipse whose equation is

A. (+ 5,0)

4.

D.

B. (0, + 5)

C. (0, + 10)

25x2 + 16 y2 = 400.

D. (+ 10,0)

If the line through (x, -3) and (3,1) is perpendicular to the line through (x, -3) and (-1, -2),
find x.

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A. -1

B.

C.

-2

D.

More Problems in Probability

1. In how many ways can 3 boys and 2 girls sit in a row if the boys and girls are
each to sit together?
A. 36
B. 18
C. 24
D. 12
2. How many different signals, each consisting of 6 flags hung in a vertical line,
can be formed from 4 identical red flags and 2 identical blue flags
A. 15
B. 16
C. 18
D. 20
3. A delegation of 4 students is selected each year from a college to attend an
annual meeting. If there are 12 eligible students? In how many ways if two of
the eligible students are married and will only attend the meeting together?
A. 235
B. 255
C. 275
D. 300
4. Three light bulbs are chosen at random from 15 bulbs of which 5 are
defective. Find the probability that at least one is defective.
A. 61/182
B. 37/182
C. 67/91
D. 33/91
5. A class contains 10 men and 20 women of which half the men and half the
women have brown eyes. Find the probability that a person chosen at random
is a man or has brown eyes.
A. 2/3
B. 1/3
C. 1/5
D. 2/5
6. An urn contains 7 red marbles and 3 white marbles. Three marbles are drawn
from the urn one after the other. Find the probability that the first two are red
and the third is white.
A. 7/40
B. 3/40
C. 1/40
D. 1/8
7. Two different digits are selected at random from the digits 1 through 9. If the
sum is odd, what is the probability that 2 is one of the numbers selected?
A. 1/3
B.
C. 1/5
D.
8. Tony records 82% of his free throw attempts. If he attempts 18 free throws in
one particular game, the probability that he makes exactly 10 of them is ___.
A 0.00663 B. 0.00335 C. 0.00229 D. 0.00113
9.

The probability of getting a credit in an examination is 1/3. If three students

are selected at random, what is the probability that at least one of the
students got credit?
A.

8/27

B.

1/3

C.

2/3

D.

19/27

10.The probability for the ChE board examinees from a certain school to pass the
subject Mathematics is 3/7 and for the subject Chemistry is 5/7. If none of the
examinees fails both subjects and there are 4 examinees who pass both
subjects, find the number of examinees from that school who took the
examinations.
A.

20

B.

25

C.

30

D.

28

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11. For married couples living in a certain suburb, the probability that the husband
will vote on a bond referendum is 0.21, the probability that his wife will vote is
0.28, and the probability that both husband and his wife will vote is 0.15. What is
the probability that a husband will vote, given that his wife does not vote?
A. 1/12

B. 1/6

C. 2/3

D. 1/3

12. A man is dealt 5 cards one after the other from an ordinary deck of 52 cards.
What is the probability that they are all spades?
A. 33/66640

B. 13/66640 C. 63/33320 D. 37/33320

13. Suppose a man gets a full house in a poker card game, what is the probability
that his cards contain 3 aces?
A. 2/13

B. 1/13

C. 5/13

D.7/13