10th 11th

About this BRIDGE

Every year, hundreds of thousands of students like you cross the threshold of class 10th,
and go to class 11th with the dream of preparing for engineering entrance examinations
and making it to a prestigious college like IIT. For many, that dream remains just that, because
they find the transition from class 10th to class 11th too difficult to cope up with. And that is
because this transition is too abrupt, and catches even the best of students by surprise.

This document called BRIDGE is to help you overcome the said transition with the least
possible effort. In just about 30 pages, we give you a flavor of what topics you'll encounter
over the coming two years, and what is the ideal perspective from which you should view
these topics. This is not a full exposition, so you should not expect detailed discussions.
This is just meant to an indicator, a guide to point you in the right direction and get you
properly started on your subsequent journey.

We hope you find the BRIDGE useful.

LOCUS: Institute for IIT-JEE

All IITian Faculty
Contents:
Part - A NUMBERS
(a) Fundamental Facts About Number Systems
(b) Significance of Arithmetic Operations
(c) Exponentials and Logarithms

Part - B ALGEBRA
(a) Quadratics
(b) Some Basic Series

Part - C CALCULUS
(a) What are Functions?
(b) Case Study: Motion in one Dimension
(c) Differentiation: Slopes
(d) Integration: Areas

Part - D GEOMETRY
(a) Cartesian Coordinates
(b) Vectors

Part - E FAQS ABOUT IIT-JEE

 PART - A NUMBERS

(a) FUNDAMENTAL FACTS ABOUT NUMBER SYSTEMS

Numbers are the fundamental building blocks of mathematics, and yet we have seen so many students with basic
misconceptions about numbers. Part of the reason for this is that sufficient time is never devoted to introducing
successive levels of number systems properly. We’ll try to remedy this on this bridge - and we hope that after
reading these pages, you’ll spend more time and effort to learn more about numbers. The best source for doing that
is the internet, and with a simple search, you can find some good links where you can get started.
We are going to talk about numbers from the perspective of sets. You are aware that the most basic number set is the
set of natural numbers ¥ , consisting of the numbers 1, 2, 3, ... onwards. In ¥ , we have a smallest element, namely
1, but no largest element, since no matter how large a number you choose from ¥ , you can always find larger
numbers. When the human race was evolving in its earlier stages, the set ¥ was their mathematical friend to count
things: 1 tree, 2 cows, 21 stones, etc.
But it was discovered later on that the set ¥ is insufficient in many ways. For example, we’ll consider the concept
of solvability of equations. Consider the equation x + 2 = 3 . This equation has a solution in ¥ , which is x = 1, so
we will say that this equation is solvable in ¥ . But equations like x + 2 = 2, and x + 2 = 1 , are not solvable in ¥ ,
since no numbers in ¥ satisfy these equations. We therefore arrive at higher extensions of ¥ .
Whole numbers W : 0, 1, 2, 3, .. onwards to infinity ∞
Integers ¢ : − ∞,...., − 3, − 2, − 1, 0, 1, 2, 3, ....∞
Are these extensions purely mathematical considerations, or do they have practical value? Yes, they do. One of the
most important values of ¢ is that it allows us to mark a number line in both directions, with our starting point
as 0.

... -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 ...

Therefore, a number like –5 makes sense: it is at a distance of 5 units to the left of 0. Note that there is neither a
smallest number nor a largest number in ¢ , since it extends to both sides infinitely.
Going from ¥ to ¢ has increased the solvability of equations: there is now a larger class of equations that we can
solve. But it is easy enough to think of equations which are not solvable in ¢ . For example, 2 x = 3 , whose solution
3
is x = does not lie in ¢ . Physically also, we see that ¢ is insufficient, in the sense that there is nothing in ¢
2
between two successive integers. How do you tell a person the distance she needs to walk to reach the mid-point
of 1 and 2 ? Thus, there are physical lengths that ¢ cannot describe.
p
We therefore arrive at Q, the set of rationals. A rational is any number of the form , where p and q are integers, and
q
q is non-zero (you are already aware of the reason why q must be non-zero). Note that every integer m is also a
m
rational, since it can be written as . Using Q, the solvability of equations increases further, and physically too, we
1
can measure lengths which were not possible to measure in ¢ . Sometimes, students become confused about the
355
meaning we should attach to such numbers. For example, what is the physical significance of a number like ?
113
355
You can think of it as dividing a length of 355 units into 113 equal parts; then is the length of one such part.
113
Well, are we done? Is Q enough to solve all polynomial equations? Can every possible physical length in space be
represented by a number in Q? Or do there exist numbers outside Q?
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In the 6th century BC, a great Greek mathematician named Pythagoras founded a Brotherhood of mathematicians and
philosophers. Pythagoras had found many natural phenomena that were described by rational numbers. He thought
that it must be possible to represent any length using an integer or a rational number constructed from integers. He
had also realized, for example, that in musical instruments, strings whose lengths are related by rational numbers
have harmonious pitches. This observation led him to believe that the harmony of the world was closely related to
that of the rational numbers, and that every natural phenonenon could be expressed in terms of these number-hence
the name “rational”. But there soon arose a problem.
You see, the Pythagorean Brotherhood had discovered the famous theorem concerning right-angled triangles,
which says that in a right angled triangle with sides a, b, c as shown, we must have c = a + b
2 2 2

2 2 2
c a c =a +b

b
The problem occurs when we apply this theorem to a right triangle with sides 1 and 1 :

d 1 d 2= 1 + 1 = 2

1
Now, one of the members of the Brotherhood wondered: what (rational) number d is such that d 2 = 2 ? That is, what
p
number equals the square root of 2, i.e., 2 ?
q
p
Great was his shock and dismay when he discovered that there exists no rational number which equals 2 . The
q
Brotherhood was shocked even more, because according to their beliefs, this number, which represents a valid
physical length, must have been rational. But it is not! For the Brotherhood, this discovery meant a lowering of the
prestige of integers, and according to legend, the unfortunate discoverer of this result was drowned!
It is important to appreciate the magnitude of this discovery. Up to that point, people believed that there do not exist
any numbers outside Q. But this result meant that there are numbers, which correspond to real geometrical lengths,
yet do not have any rational interpretation. That is, it is possible to extend Q further.

But before we get to that, let us quickly look at how it can be shown that 2 is not a rational number. You may
remember this from an earlier class. The easiest method is one of contradiction. We assume that there exists a
p
rational number equal to 2 . We also assume that p and q have no common factors, because if they had, the
q
common factor could be canceled out. Now,
p
= 2 ⇒ p = 2q
2 2

q
The right hand side is 2 times an integer, so it is even. Therefore, p2 should be even, which means that p should
be even. Assume p = 2m, where m is some integer. Substituting this in p = 2q gives q = 2 m . Using a similar
2 2 2 2

logic as earlier, we see that q2, and hence q, should be even. Assume q = 2n.
Now we see the contradiction. We had initially assumed common factors between p and q, but we have obtained a
p
common factor of 2, which is a contradiction. So our original assumption that there exists a number equal to 2
q
is incorrect; there exists no such number.
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Thus, there exist numbers which are not rational. Such numbers are called irrational. The rationals and the irrationals
form the real number set, denoted by ¡ . Our equation, d = 2 , which had no solution in Q, has a solution in ¡ , and
2

that solution is d = 2.
What we want to do now is discuss the geometrical picture of the set Q and ¡ , and this is something really
important, so read carefully and with attention, and try to visualize.
We have already understood the geometrical (number line) pictures of the sets ¥ , W and ¢ .
¥ : ... ∞
1 2 3 4

W : ... ∞
0 1 2 3 4

¢ : ... ∞
– ∞ ... -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3
It is important to see that up-to now, the number line is discrete. In simple words, this implies that it is meaningful to
ask questions like “What number comes after 2?” From one number to the next, there is a minimum jump that you
have to make.
But look at the picture when we extend ¢ to Q .

0
What ! The entire line seems to have filled up. To put it crudely, the rationals are spaced very close to each other. A
better way of saying this is that if you have two rationals a and b, no matter how close they are, you can still find an
infinite number of rationals between a and b .This means that in Q, there is no sense in asking the question “What
number comes after 2”. Because no matter how close a number you find to 2, there will still be infinitely more
numbers between 2 and that number.
If you had a camera, and you could zoom onto the rational line between two points a and b, no matter how close to
each other, you would find that the line still looks filled up, because as we said, there are still an infinite number of
rationals between a and b.
a b

z oo m

a b

a+b
To see an example of how there are infinite rationals between (any) two rationals a and b, consider , the mid-
a+b 2
a+ a+b
point of a and b, which lies between a and b. Then consider 2 = 3a + b , the mid-point of a and ,
2 4 2
3a + b
a+
which still lies between a and b. Then consider 4 = 7 a + b , again between a and b, and so on ad
2 8
infinitum.
Alright, so much for Q. But is Q continuous or are there gaps even in Q? Well, as the Pythagoreans discovered, there
are still gaps. One such gap, for example, is at 2 .
0 2
Q
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There are similar gaps at every length which cannot be represented using a rational number. That is, there are gaps
at all the irrational numbers. In fact, if you had a powerful camera with which you could analyze the Q-line, you would
notice that there are a lot many gaps of this form. The set of these gaps, i.e., the set of irrationls, is very large. As
you’ll learn later, even though there are infinitely many rationals and infinitely many irrationals, the number of
irrationals is infinitely more than the number of rationals. Sounds confusing? Think of it this way. Visualize a large
lake with small chips of wood floating here and there. Any very small volume of the lake selected at random will very
likely contain no chips at all and just water. Think of the chips of wood as rational numbers and the water as irrational
numbers!
What you need to really understand from all this is that once we extend the set Q and include all the irrationals to
form the set ¡ , all these gaps fill up, and the number line becomes continuous, without any gaps or holes. You can
pick up any point on the number line, no matter where it is, and you’ll be able to find a corresponding number in the
real set.
Having extended our number system to the set ¡ , the next question that arises is whether any further extension is
possible. Do their exist numbers with physical significance, which do not lie in ¡ ? The answer is yes, and such
numbers are called complex numbers. But we’ll not be studying the complex set C on the bridge. For now, proper
understanding upto ¡ is sufficient.
Comment: It is not an exaggeration to say that the concepts contained in this discussion are some of the most
important ones you’ll be studying in college. The whole concept of limits and calculus, for example, is based on the
fact that the real line is continuous So, before reading further, close your eyes a few minutes, and visualize the
continuity of the real line in your mind. Also understand that no matter how closely spaced two numbers are, you’ll
still find infinitely more numbers between these two numbers.
Before we close this section, let us briefly talk about the concept of infinity, which can sometimes seem confusing.
Infinity, represented by the symbol ∞, is not a number in the strict mathematical sense. All you can say about ∞
is that it is greater than any number, no matter how large. This means, for example, that ∞ + a, where a is any
∞
number, is still ∞. Also, conventionally there is no sense in talking about expressions like ∞ − ∞ and
. However,
∞
when you understand the concept of limits, these quantities make sense in a manner different from conventional
mathematical operations. More on this when you reach class 12th.

(b) SIGNIFICANCE OF ARITHMETIC OPERATIONS

We need to first understand a basic difference between rationals and irrationals, that in their decimal representations.
2 2
Rationals : = 0.4 ; = 0 ⋅ 285714
5 7

Irrationals : 2 = 1.4142135623... ; π = 3.1415926535...

We see that rational numbers have decimal representations that are either terminating, or non-terminating but
1
repeating. This means that we can talk about the exact value of a rational number. For example, = 0.3333... = 0. 3.
3
In contrast, irrational numbers have infinitely long decimal expansions that never form a repeating pattern. Thus, for
example, π can never be written down exactly, but only approximately, by decimals such as 3.14159 or by rational
22 355
representations such as or .
7 113

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Now we talk about arithmetic operations. It is easy enough to understand the geometrical significance of addition
and subtraction in terms of lengths:
A d d ition :
a
a + b
+ =

S u b tra ctio n :
a
a–b
– =

b
10
What about multiplication and division? Quantities like 3 × 4 and make perfect sense, but what about quantities
13
like 3 ⋅ 4 × 5 ⋅ 6, or 3 ⋅ 4 ÷ 5 ⋅ 6 ? Easy enough:

34 56 1904
3⋅ 4 × 5⋅6 = × = = 19 ⋅ 04
10 10 100

3⋅ 4
5⋅6
=
34
56
=
17
28
= {Length of one part when a length of

17 units is divided into 28 equal parts

}
However, what sense do we attach to quantities like 2 × π , the product of two irrational numbers? We just saw
that 2 and π have infinite decimal expansions, so what do we mean by their product:
2 × π = 1 ⋅ 4142135623 ... × 3 ⋅ 1415926535 ... ???
Well, suppose you were told to calculate 2 × π . The way you’ll do it is first ask; what is the accuracy to which I
need the product? You can never exactly calculate the product; you can only approximate it, but you can choose to
what accuracy you need to calculate the product:
Low accuracy : 2 × π ≈ 1 ⋅ 4 × 3 ⋅ 1 = 4 ⋅ 34

Medium accuracy : 2 × π ≈ 1 ⋅ 414 × 3 ⋅ 141 = 4 ⋅ 441374

High accuracy : 2 × π ≈ 1 ⋅ 41421 × 3 ⋅ 14159 = 4 ⋅ 4428679939

Very high accuracy : 2 × π ≈ 1 ⋅ 4142135 × 3 ⋅ 1415926 = 4 ⋅ 4428826664201

What we’ve done is successively better approximations of the product. But no matter how accurately we calculate
the product, we can never calculate it exactly as already mentioned. This is a consequence of the infinite non-
terminating non-repeating decimal expansions of irrational numbers.
However, the example we proposed should not give you the idea that the product of two irrationals must be
irrational. A counter example is 2 × 2 = 2 . Try answering these questions:
(i) Can the product of two rationals be irrational?
(ii) Can the product of a rational and an irrational be (a) rational (b) irrational ?
(iii) What if we talk about addition instead of multiplication?
As in the case of multiplication, we can understand division too. This concludes our discussion on the four basic
arithmetic operations : + , −, × , ÷ .
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(c) EXPONENTIALS AND LOGARITHMS
It has been our experience that students are not very clear about these operations, so it is imperative that you take
time in understanding these operations completely.
First of all, at the outset itself, it is helpful to think of the exp and log functions an ‘inverses’ of each other. Example:
2 = 8 is the same as saying that log 2 8 = 3
3

3 =
−4 1
is the same as saying that log 3 
 1  = −4

81  81 
In general,
a = c is equivalent to saying that log a c = b
b

Now, we need to understand the exponentiation operation more carefully. We clearly understand the meaning of
these terms:
−3 1 1 1 1
2 = 2×2×2 ; 2 = = × ×
3
3
2 2 2 2
1/ 2 1/ 3 1/ 2 1/ 3
Going further, terms like 2 and 3 also make sense. 2 is a real number which when squared will give 2. 3 is
p/q
a real number which when cubed will give 3. In general, to any term of the form a , we can attach the following
interpretation:

( ) = (q )
p p
= a
p/q 1/ q th
a root of a
p
So, we see that we can attach sense to any term of the form a x where x is rational, of the form . Additionally, we
q
generally have a > 0. (Why should that be?)
x
Now, the following question arises: what if x is irrational? What since do we attach to a then? For example , how
2
will we evaluate 2 ? Is this quantity defined? The answer is yes, but you have to be clear about how to interpret
this quantity:

2 = 1.41421......
= 1 + 0.4 + 0.01 + 0.004 + 0.0002 + 0.00001 + .......
4 1 4 2 1
= 1+ + + + + + .....
10 100 1000 10000 100000
This is how 2 can be expressed as an infinite series of rational terms. Now,

2
2
=2
(
1+
4
+
1
+
4
+
2
+
1
10 100 1000 10000 100000
+ .... )
4 1 4 2 1

= 2 ⋅2 ⋅2 ⋅2 ⋅2 ⋅2 ⋅ ....
1 10 100 1000 10000 100000

Each of the terms in the product, as we’ve seen, has a well defined meaning, and therefore so does 2 2 . We can
calculate 2 2 as accurately as we wish by taking as many terms after the decimal point into account. But as in the
earlier case, we cannot calculate it exactly.
This discussion should make it clear that for a > 0, ax is defined whether x is positive or negative or zero, rational or
irrational. If a is a fixed constant and we let x be a variable real number, we can define the general exponential term as
b = a , where x is any real
x

a is called the base, and x is the exponent. In terms of log, the same relation becomes
log a b = x

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It is very important to get a numerical feel of the variations in the exp and log terms. We do this by calculating exp
and log for a fixed base, say a = 2, and particular values of the variable exponent x.
Exp Log
x
x 2 x log 2 x
1 = 0 .0 6 2 5 0 .0 6 2 5 –4
–4
16
0 .1 2 5 –3
1 = 0 .1 2 5
–3
8 0 .2 5 –2
1 = 0 .2 5
–2 0 .5 –1
4
1 = 0 .5 1 0
–1
2 2 1
0 1
1 2 4 2
2 4 8 3
3 8
4 16 16 4
G en eral B eh avior G en eral B eh avior
x – , 2x 0 x 0, lo g 2 x –

8
8

x , 2 x , lo g 2 x

8
x
8
8

x
T h e o u tp u t 2 is alw ay s p o sitiv e, T h e lo g o p eratio n is d efin ed fo r p o sitiv e in p u ts o n ly,
n o m atter w h at th e in p u t x . sin ce th e lo g o f a n eg ativ e n u m b er m ak es n o sense.

PART - B ALGEBRA
(a) QUADRATICS
Consider a variable x. A linear expression in x is of the form ax + b, where a and b are real constants. The important
thing to ask here is: why is this expression called linear? Well, ‘linear’ suggests ‘line’ - and this is what we find.
We will pictorially try to understand this expression by drawing its graph. How do you draw a graph? Well, x is your
‘input’ variable, and as x varies, the value of the ‘output’, i.e., ax + b varies. The general convention is to denote the
output by another letter, say y. So y = ax + b is the output.
For example, let a = 1 and b = 2. The linear expression becomes y = x + 2. As x varies, y will vary:
x=0 ⇒ y=2 ; x =1 ⇒ y=3 ; x= 2 ⇒ y= 2 + 2 etc.

To pictorially represent this variation, we construct two perpendicular axes, the horizontal one representing the
input x, and the vertical one representing the output y:
y

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Now, we plot the input-output pairs as points on this figure. For example, in y = x + 2, x = 1, y = 3 is one particular point
satisfying this expression. This point will be written as (1, 3), and plotted as follows:
y

3 (1 ,3 )

x
1
Note that this is just one point satisfying y = x + 2. There will be (infinitely) many points which satisfy this
expression. We plot all such point on the ‘x–y plane’, and join them, and that’s how we obtain the graph. In the case
of y = x + 2, we get a straight line:
y y=x+2 S o m e m o re po in ts h av e
b ee n p lotted as e x am p le s
(1 ,3 ) ( 2 , 2 + 2 ) on y = x + 2

(0 ,2 )

x
(-2 , 0 )
In general, any expression of the form y = ax + b gives us a straight line. Many of you will be familiar with the
equation y = mx + c, the general equation of a straight line.
Returning to quadratics: Consider a variable x – a quadratic in x is any expression in which the degree (highest
power) of x is 2:
y = x (the most basic quadratic); y = x 2 + 1; y = 2 x 2 + 3 x + 4 ;
2

y = ax + bx + c (general quadratic expression)

2

Note that if we multiply two linear expressions, we get a quadratic expression.

y = ( x − 1) ( x − 2 ) = x − 3 x + 2
2

Conversely, we say that the quadratic expression y = x 2 − 3 x + 2 can be ‘factored’ into two linear expressions
(x – 1) and (x – 2). However, factoring a quadratic expression may not always be possible (until the time you use
complex numbers). For example, try factoring the quadratic expression y = x 2 + x + 1 .
Now, for the subsequent discussion, we use the expression y = x − 3 x + 2 . Since its factors are (x – 1) and (x – 2),
2

if we substitute x = 1 or x = 2 in this quadratic expression, we obtain 0. Thus, we say that x = 1 and x = 2 are ‘roots’
of this quadratic expression. By the roots, we mean those input values for which the output value is 0. Lets take a
look at the graph of y = x 2 − 3 x + 2 : y
x 2 – 3 x + 2 = (x – 1 ) ( x – 2 )
2

x
1 2
Note the curvature in the graph. This special curve is actually called a parabola, and it has a lot of interesting
properties. Also note that the graph cuts the x-axis at x = 1 and x = 2, since these two x-values are the roots of the
expression, and so the y-value is 0 at these x-values.
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Consider another example: y = x + 6 x + 5 = ( x + 5) ( x + 1)
2

x
–5 –1
Once again, the graph is a parabola, and the roots this time are at x = −5 and x = −1.
In general, if a quadratic expression can be written as a product of two linear factors, say y = ( x − a )( x − b ) , the
graph will be a parabola which cuts the x-axis at the two roots x = a and x = b :
y

x
a b

Now, observe this graph carefully and note some very important facts:
(a) The output y has a least value at the point marked x, but no greatest value.
(b) As x increases and approaches +∞ , y also increases and approaches +∞ . As x decreases and
approaches −∞ , y again approaches +∞ . This is because of the x term in the quadratic expression –
2

the square of a negative real is positive.

(c) The graph is symmetrical about the point marked x.
(d) The y-value is negative when the input is between a and b, but positive when x < a or x > b . We write
this as follows:
y = (x − a) (x − b) : > 0 if x < a or x > b
< 0 if a < x < b
These are extremely important observations. Make sure you understand them carefully. To help you in this, we
present a few more examples of quadratic expressions and their corresponding graphs. Observe each one of them in
detail.
(i) y = x 2 − 1 = ( x + 1)( x − 1) (ii) y = x 2 = ( x − 0 )( x − 0 )
y y
T h e g rap h to u ch e s
the x -ax is sin ce th e
x ro o ts are the sam e .
–1 +1
x
0
–1

(iii) y = x 2 − 2 x + 1 = ( x − 1) (iv) y = 2 x 2 + 5 x + 2 = ( 2 x + 1)( x + 2 ) = 2  x +

 1
 ( x + 2)
2

 2
y
y O n ce ag a in , th e gra ph 2
ju st to u ch e s th e x -a xis
sin ce th e tw o ro ots are
x = 1, x = 1
1 -1 / 2 x
x –2
1
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So, we see that the graph of a quadratic expression may intersect the x-axis at two distinct points (two distinct roots)
or it may touch the x-axis at one single point (two identical roots).
Now, a while back, we asked you to try and factor y = x + x + 1 into (real) linear factors. You’ll have been unable
2

to do so. Let us look at the graph of this expression and try to understand why you could not factorize it:
y

1
x

No roots exist for this expression! The graph never intersects the x-axis. In other words, there is no x for which
y = x + x + 1 becomes 0.
2

Let us discuss this from an algebraic point of view. In a lower class, you may have come across the quadratic
formula: for a quadratic expression y = ax 2 + bx + c , the roots are given by

−b ± D
x= , where D = b 2 − 4 ac (D is called discriminant)
2a
How do we arrive at this expression? Well, we rearrange the quadratic in the following manner:

 c  2 b  b 2 c  b  2 
 + −    = a  x +  −
b − 4 ac
2
b b
2

y = a x + x +  = a x + x +
2

 a a  a  2a  a  2a    2a  4a
When we equate this to 0 and solve for x, we get the required quadratic formula. Lets apply this to the expression
y = x + x + 1:
2

−1 ± (1) − 4 × 1 × 1 −1 ± −3
2

x= =
2 2
The term under the square root is negative; −3 is not a real number. Therefore, the roots of y = x 2 + x + 1 are
non-real. Does this mean that the roots do not exist? No! The roots do exist, but not in ¡ . The roots exist in the next
higher extension of ¡ , the complex set C. However, since the roots are non-real, the graph of y = x 2 + x + 1 does
not cut the (real) x-axis, because for no real value of x can y become 0.
Before summarizing, we need to mention one very important fact. In the quadratic expression y = ax 2 + bx + c , the
constant a has a very special role to play. Specifically, we want to draw your attention to the case when a < 0. In this
case, try to see that as x approaches + ∞ or − ∞ , y will approach − ∞ , and not + ∞ as earlier. We make this
distinction graphically.

a>0 a<0

U p w a rd s p ara bo la D o w n w ard s p arab o la

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Now, we summarize all the possible cases of a quadratic expression y = ax 2 + bx + c , and hope that you will take
time to observe each one in detail and construct your own examples.

E x p re ssion : y = a x 2 + b x + c –b± D D (d iscrim ina n t) = b 2 – 4 a c

R o o ts : x =
2a
a>0 a<0
(1) D >0 (1) D>0
i) R ea l, d istin ct ro ots a , b a i) R ea l, d istin ct ro ots a , b
b
ii) y > 0 if x < a or x > b ii) y > 0 if a < x < b
iii) y < 0 if a < x < b iii) y < 0 if x < a o r x > b
a b
2
E x a m p le : y = x – 3 x + 2 E x a m p le : y = – x 2 + 3 x – 2

(2) D =0 (2) D =0
i) R ea l, id en tic al roo ts a a i) R ea l id e n tica l roots a
ii) y > 0 if x ≠ a ii) y < 0 if x ≠ a
iii) y = 0 if x = a iii) y = 0 if x = a

a
E x a m p le : y = x 2 – 2 x + 1 E x a m p le : y = – x 2 + 2 x – 1

(3) D <0 (3) D <0

i) N o re al ro o t i) N o re al ro o t
ii) y is alw ay s p o sitive ii) y is alw ay s n eg ativ e

E x a m p le : y = x 2 + x + 1 E x a m p le : y = – x 2 – x – 1
In th is ca se , ro o ts are 'im a gin ary ' In th is ca se , ro o ts are 'im a gin ary '

(b) SOME BASIC SERIES

In class 11th, there is a whole chapter dedicated to series and progressions, where you’ll study them in a lot of detail.
But it is still important to be familiar with sum basic series summations as soon as possible. We are going to discuss
three classes of series.
(A) Basic Number Series
You just need to be familiar with the results of the following three summation series.
n ( n + 1)
1 + 2 + 3 + .... + n =
2
2 n ( n + 1)(2 n + 1)
1 + 2 + 3 + .... + n =
2 2 2

6
+
2 2
n ( n 1)
1 + 2 + 3 + .... + n =
3 3 3 3

4
Since we’re still on the bridge, knowing the justification of these results is not necessary, but you could
still try to prove them if you wish to..
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(B) Arithmetic progressions (AP)
An AP is a series in which successive terms have the same difference. Examples:
3 5
S1 = 1, 4, 7, 10,.... S 2 = 1, , 2, ......
2 2
S 3 = 11, 9, 7, 5,.... etc
Suppose that we want to sum n terms of an AP. Let the first term be a, and the (common) difference between
successive terms be d. Note that d can be positive as well as negative (or even 0). The terms in the AP will
thus be a, a + d, a + 2d, ... Note that the nth term will be a + ( n − 1) d . So, our series sum S can be written
as
S = ( a ) + ( a + d ) + ( a + 2 d ) + .... + ( a + ( n − 1) d )
...(1)
How do we find S? Note that terms at the same distance from the start and the end (for example, the first
and the last term, the second and the second-last term, etc) have the same sum 2a + (n – 1)d. We make use
of this fact by writing S in reverse order.
S = ( a + ( n − 1) d ) + ( a + ( n − 2) d ) + ..... + ( a + d ) + ( a ) ...(2)
Now, we sum (1) and (2). On the left, we get 2S. On the right, the term ( a + ( n − 1) d ) is generated n times.
Therefore,
n
2 S = n × ( 2 a + ( n − 1) d ) ⇒ S= ( 2 a + ( n − 1) d )
2
Lets apply this formula on two examples.
(1) S = 1 + 4 + 7 + 10 + .... + 298
It should be easy enough to figure out that this AP has 100 terms. Also, a = 1 and d = 3, so that
100
S= ( 2 + 99 × 3 ) = 14950
2
1 1 1
(2) S = 7+6 +6+5 + .... +
2 2 2
1
There are 12 terms in this AP. Also, a = 7 and d = − , and thus
2
12  1
S=  14 + 11 × −  = 51
2  2
(C) Geometric progression (GP)
A GP is a series in which successive terms have the same ratio. Examples:
1 1 1
S1 = 1, 2, 4, 8, ..... S 2 = 1, , ,
2 4 8
S 3 = 1, 2 , 2, 2 2,..... etc.
Once again our problem is to find the sum S of n terms of a GP, whose first term is a and the (common) ratio
2
is r. The terms in the GP will be a, ar , ar ,......, the nth term being ar n −1 . Thus,
n −1
S = a + ar + ar + .... + ar
2

n −1
⇒ rS = ar + ar + ..... + ar + ar
2 n

Subtracting the two,

a ( r − 1)
n

( r − 1) S = ar − a ⇒ S=
n

r −1
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 Let us apply this extremely useful result on two examples:
(1) S = 1 + 2 + 4 + 8 + .... + 2048
(
1× 2 − 1
12
) = 4095
There are 12 terms in this GP, with a = 1 and r = 2. Thus, S =
2 −1
1 1 1
(2) S = 1+ + + .... +
2 4 2048
  1 12 
1×    − 1
In this case, r =
1
, so that S =  2   = 4095
2  1 − 1 2048
 
2 

PART - C CALCULUS
(a) WHAT ARE FUNCTIONS?
We are not exaggerating when we say that if you understand the concepts and applications of functions properly,
you will already have accomplished a lot in covering pre-college mathematics, and also much in physics. But since
space is short in this introductory document, we’ll have to make do with a brief overview.
A function is a rule which tells us how one variable is related to another. For example, y = x2 tells us that there is an
input variable ‘x’, and the output variable ‘y’ is the square of ‘x’.
In p ut O u tpu t
x F u n ction y

You can think of a function as an operator, or a black box, which takes in a input value and gives out an output value
according to a specific rule. A function is generally denoted by a letter, say f. So here’s the picture you have to keep
in mind.

x f f (x ) = y

The symbol ‘f(x)’ should be thought of as an operator ‘f ’ acting on a variable ‘x’, to produce a value ‘y’. f(x) is read
as ‘f of x’. DO NOT think of it as multiplying f with x! Here are some examples:
(a) The area A of a circle depends on its radius r, i.e., A is a function of r:
A = f (r ) = π r
2

(b) The power P dissipated in a resistor depends on the current input I. i.e, P is a function of I:
P = g (I ) = I R
2

Both of these examples describe a rule whereby, to a given number, another number is assigned through a specific
rule.
The most common method for visualizing a function is its graph. In a graph, the input, say x, is along the horizontal
axis, while the output f(x) or y, is along the vertical axis. The graph of a function is like a ‘life history’ of the function,
and helps us to visualize the behaviour of the function pictorially.
y ( x , f ( x ))

f (x)
f (2 )
f (1 )
x
0 1 2 x
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Since the y-coordinate of any point (x, y) on the graph is y = f(x), we can read the value of f(x) from the graph as being
the height of the graph above the point x.
Here’s another example of a graph.
y

1
0 1 x

From this graph

f (1) = 3 f (2 ) = 4 f (5 ) ≈ −0.7 etc

For now, this much background on functions is sufficient to follow the subsequent discussion.

(b) CASE STUDY: MOTION IN ONE DIMENSION

We will now study the (practically simple) case of a car moving on a straight road. What all variables will we need to
describe the motion of the car? Well, there’s the time variable t, which is initially t = 0. Then we have the position x
of the car, which can initially be assumed to be x = 0. We have the velocity v of the car, and we’ll assume the
convention that if v is positive, the car is moving to the right, and if it is negative, the car is moving to the left. If v
= 0, the car is stationary. Are these variables sufficient to describe the motion of the car? Well, we also need to take
into account the acceleration a of the car, which tells us how the velocity of the car is changing. For example, if the
accelerator of the car is pressed full on, the car is accelerating very fast, which means that the velocity is increasing
very fast. Suddenly, an obstacle appears on the road, and the driver pushes the brakes very hard. Now, the car is
decelerating very fast, i.e., the acceleration is highly negative, which means that the velocity of the car is decreasing
very fast.
So, we see that to accurately describe the car’s motion, we need to consider four variables: t, x, v, a. Obviously, you
can have even more variables. For example, even the acceleration of the car keeps changing, because the accelerator
is not pushed to the same level all the time. So we could have another variable j telling us how the acceleration
changes (we do have such a variable and it is called jerk). However, for our purposes, these four variables are
sufficient.
Now, we want you to do a thought experiment. You are driving the car, and the road is ‘frictionless’, that is, totally
smooth, which means that if the car is moving with a certain speed, and you remove your foot from the accelerator,
there is nothing to slow down the car, and the car keeps on moving with that same speed indefinitely.
So, you are at the position x = 0 at t = 0 .
x=0
t=0

Now, you push the accelerator to a certain level, so that the car starts moving with a constant acceleration a0.
Suppose that the car moves with this acceleration for 20 seconds. After these 20 seconds, the car has attained a
certain velocity v. Now you remove your foot from the accelerator, so that it moves with that same velocity v for
another 20 seconds. Note that during these 20 seconds, the acceleration of the car is 0, because there is no change
in velocity. Finally, you push the brakes, and the car starts decelerating at the same rate a0 at which it was initially

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accelerating. How much time will it take for the car to stop? Since the car took 20 seconds at the acceleration rate a0
to go from 0 to v, it will also take 20 seconds at the deceleration rate a0 to go from v to 0. At t = 60 seconds therefore,
you have come to a stop.
What we want to do now is to plot the variation of the motion variables x, v and a with time. We do this below, and
emphasize that you try to understand each and every part of these graphs carefully and in detail.

a
C a r is a cc e le ra ting
a0
C a r is m o v in g w ith u n ifo rm sp ee d
40 60
t
20
-a 0 C a r is d ec e le ra ting

v C a r's v eloc ity is in cre asin g c on tin u ou sly a t a ra te

o f a 0 p e r se co n d . S o a fte r 2 0 se co n d s, th e v elo city is 20 a 0
C a r's v eloc ity is co n stan t a t 2 0a 0
2 0a 0 C a r's v eloc ity is de c re asin g c o ntin u o usly,
a t th e ra te o f a 0 p e r se c on d , so a fte r 2 0 se co n d s,
th e v e lo city g o e s from 2 0 a 0 to 0
t
20 40 60

x
800a0
C a r co v ers a d ista nc e o f 2 00 a 0 at
n o n-u nifo rm d ec rea sin g ra te in
6 0 0 a0 th e se 2 0 se co n d s

C a r co v ers a d ista nc e o f 4 00 a 0
'u nifo rm ly ' in th ese 2 0 se c o nd s

2 0 0a 0 C a r co v ers a d ista nc e o f 2 00 a 0 in the first

2 0 se c o nd s, b u t at a n o n u nifo rm rate,
sin ce th e ve loc ity is inc rea sin g co n tin uo u sly
t
20 40 60

Once you’ve analyzed these graphs to your satisfaction, we want to draw your attention to the following facts.
(a) The velocity of the car at any time instant t is the area under the acceleration-time graph from 0 to t. For
example, at t = 20 seconds, the velocity is 20 a0 which is the area under the a - t graph from 0 to 20 seconds.
At t = 60 seconds, the velocity is 0, and the (algebraic) area under the a – t graph from 0 to 60 seconds is also
zero. Since the acceleration is uniform, this should be easy to understand.
t

If we denote the area under a graph from 0 to t by the symbol ∫ , we can express this fact as
0
t

v (t ) = ∫ ( a − t g rap h )
0
Z
v elo city as a fun c tio n o f tim e
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 (b) The position of the car at any time t is the area under the velocity-time graph from 0 to t. For example, at t = 20
1
seconds, the area under the v – t graph (in the form of a right triangle) is × 20 × 20 a0 = 200 a0 , which is the
2
value of x at t = 20 seconds. How did this happen? Well, one way to think of it is this: since the velocity is
0 + 20 a0
increasing uniformly in the first 20 seconds, the average velocity in this period is = 10 a0 , and so
2
the distance covered is 10 a0 × 20 = 200 a0 . But the important thing to note is the relation of x(t) in terms of
the area under the v – t graph:
t

x (t ) = ∫ (v − t graph )
0
Thus,
t t

∫ ∫
a (t ) 
→ v(t ) 
0
→ x (t )
0

Now, we make two further observations. You do know how to calculate the slope m of a straight line segment XY.
Y

a a
m = tan θ =
b
X θ
b
What about the slope of a curved segment XY? The precise way to understand the slope of a curve will become clear
in the next section, but for now, you can intuitively try to understand that the tangent at any point on the curve is
a measure of the steepness of the curve at that point. For example.
Y

Ve ry stee p

X
N o t so ste ep
Returning to our graphs, we observe that the acceleration at any time instant t is equal to the slope of the velocity-
time graph at that instant. For example,
t = 15 seconds ⇒ a = a0 = Slope of v − t graph at t = 15 s
t = 25 seconds ⇒ a = 0 = Slope of v − t graph at t = 25 s
t = 45 seconds ⇒ a = − a0 = Slope of v − t graph at t = 45 s
Do we have a similar relation between v(t) and the x - t graph? Yes, we do! The slope of the x - t graph at any time
instant t gives us the value of v(t) at that instant. For the first 20 seconds and the last 20 seconds, the determination
of the (varying) slope of the x – t graph may not yet be obvious to you, but you can still verify this assertion for the
middle 20 seconds. For example:
t = 25 seconds ⇒ v = 20 a0 = Slope of x − t graph at (t = 25 s )
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Since all the three graphs have time t as the variable on the horizontal axis, the slopes are being calculated ‘versus
d
time’. Let us denote the action of calculating the slope of a graph at the time instant t by the symbol .
dt
d d
Thus, v (t ) = ( x − t time graph ) and a (t ) =
(v − t time graph )
dt dt
(It will become clear later why we’re using this symbol. For now, just stick with it). Combining with our previous
result, we have
t t

∫ ∫

a (t ) ←
0
→ v (t ) ←
  → x (t )

0

d d
dt dt

Thus, going from x → v → a involves calculation of slopes of graphs, while going from a → v → x involves the
calculation of areas under graphs. In this sense:

Calculation of Calculation of
Inverse
graph slopes AND areas under graphs ARE
Operations
d  t 
  ∫ 
 dt  0 
Now, we considered a very simple case of a car accelerating. In this case, the variations in velocity consist of straight
lines, so calculating slopes and areas are easy. What if the v – t graph is something like this:
v ( t)

t
In this case, how do you calculate
t
d
x (t ) = ∫ (v − t graph ) and (v − t graph )
a (t ) =
dt
0

It is in answer to such questions that the subject of calculus originated. Thus, calculus is about two questions, and
hence has two branches:

Problem Symbol Name of branch

d
Calculating Slopes Differential Calculus
dt
t

Calculating Areas ∫ Integral Calculus

0

We now turn our attention to these two problems separately.

(c) DIFFERENTIATION : SLOPES

We want you to make this association permanent is your mind: differentiation of a curve means calculating the slope
(steepness) of the curve at a given point.
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Once again, we note that it is easy to calculate slopes of straight lines.
B
Slope of AB is constant and equals
BC
m = tan θ =
θ AC
A C
The problem is in finding the slopes of ‘curvy’ segments:
B

What is the slope or steepness of the curve at X ?

X
A
As we mentioned earlier, the slope of the tangent at X should be taken as the slope of the curve at X. Think of it this
way: if you are driving a car from A to B, what is your ‘instantaneous’ direction of movement at the point X? That is
what the slope of the tangent tells us:
B

T h e d irec tio n o f the c ar is ch a n gin g a t ev ery in stan t.

X T h e slo p e o f th e ta n g en t a t X , i.e ., tan θ, te lls us th e
insta n ta n eo u s d irec tio n of m ov e m e nt a t X .
A
θ

The problem now boils down to finding the slope of the tangent to the graph of a function y = f(x), at some given
point. Let us take a concrete example to illustrate how this problem was first solved more than 300 years ago.
We consider the function y = x2. Suppose that x varies from 0 to 2; y will therefore vary from 0 to 4. We intend to
calculate the slope of this curve at x = 1:
y
4

1 A
θ x
1 2
The solution is obtained as follows: we know how to calculate the slope of a straight line segment. What we do is
consider a straight line segment on the curve y = x2, with one end point at A, and the other end-point at B, which lies
on the curve to the right side of A:
y
4

A ( x = 1 , y = 1 ) is th e p oin t at
w h ich w e w ish to c alc ulate the slo pe.
B ( x = t , y = t 2 ) is a p oin t o n the c u rv e
t2 B
lyin g to the rig h t of A , a s sh o w n .
1 C
A
x
1 t 2
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What is the slope of the segment AB? We know how to do this:
t −1
2
BC
m AB = = = t +1
AC t −1
Easy enough! But what we have calculated above is the ‘average’ slope of the curve from the point A to the point B,
without any consideration of how the curve varies between A and B. In other words, we have evaluated the ‘overall
behaviour’ of the curve between A and B. What we actually wanted to do was calculate the slope of the curve exactly
at the point A.
The brilliant idea that solved this problem was as follows: to calculate the instantaneous slope at A from the overall
slope between A and B, we make B move along the curve towards A. As B comes closer and closer to A, the average
slope between A and B comes closer and closer to the instantaneous slope at A.
y
4

1 A

x
1 2

As the diagram may not to be too clear, try to visualize this variation in your mind. As B moves towards A, the secant
AB ‘comes closer and closer’ to the tangent at A. When B comes very close to A, the secant AB ‘almost’ becomes the
tangent at A.
If we denote this movement by B → A, then,
As B → A, Secant AB → Tangent at A
In other words,
As B → A, Average slope of curve from A to B → Instantaneous slope of curve at A
We just calculated the average slope of y = x2 from A(1, 1) to B(t, t2) as t + 1. Note that as B → A, t → 1, which means
that
As B → A, t + 1 → 2
This is the answer we were looking for! By making B move closer and closer to A, the average slope of the curve
between A and B, which is t + 1, goes closer and closer to 2. Exactly at the point A, the slope must therefore be 2.
Now, we calculated the slope of y = x2 when x = 1. What is the slope of the curve at any given value of x? We repeat
the process of movement above once again.
y

y2 B
W e n e ed to ca lcu la te th e slo p e o f th e
c urv e a t an y g ive n v a lu e o f x , i.e ., a t A ( x , x 2 )

x2 C
A

y x
x

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The average slope of the curve from A to B is

y −x
2 2
BC
m AB = = = y+x
AC y−x

What happen when B → A? Well, y → x, so that m → 2 x . Therefore, the instantaneous slope of y = x2 at a

AB

given value of x is 2x. This also verifies our earlier calculation: the slope at x = 1 is 2.
This process that we carried out is what is known as differentiation.

We differentiated y = x at x = 1
2
and We obtained a slope of 2
We differentiated y = x at any given x
2
and We obtained a slope of 2 x
d
In the previous section, we mentioned that the symbol of differentiation is , so
dx

d
(x ) 2
=2
dx at x =1

d
(x )2
= 2x
dx

d
Now, let us quickly try to understand why the symbol for differentiation is .
dx
We consider a general curve y = f(x), for which we want to evaluate the slope at a given point A. Once again, we take
another point B to the right of A, and make B move towards A:
y
y = f (x )

f( x + h ) B
T h e x -co o rd in a te o f B is x + h .
∆y As B A, h 0
f (x ) A
∆x C

x x
x+ h

Any change in a given variable is represented using ∆. Therefore, from this figure, we see that
∆x = ( x + h ) − x = h, ∆y = f ( x + h ) − f ( x ) . Now, the average slope of the curve y = f(x) between the point
A and B is

BC ∆y f ( x + h) − f ( x)
m AB = = =
AC ∆x h

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As B → A , both ∆x and ∆y become smaller and smaller. In fact, visualize the movement process carefully and try
to see that as B → A , ∆ x → 0 and ∆ y → 0 , but the ratio ∆ y / ∆ x ‘approaches’ the instantaneous value of
the slope at the point A.
Now, one of the originators of calculus, Leibnitz, started using the notation dx and dy instead of ∆x and ∆y for small
changes in x and y. Therefore,

∆y dy
As B → A , →
∆x dx

∆y dy
This is how you can think of it: represents the average slope of the curve over a large ‘interval’, but
∆x dx
represents the instantaneous slope of the curve, since dx is so small.

dy ∆y
Summarizing, the instantaneous slope of the curve, , can be obtained from the average slope, , by making
dx ∆x
the interval over which you’re taking that average smaller and smaller, i.e., ∆x → 0 . Thus,

=
dy
=
 ∆y  =
f ( x + h) − f ( x)
Instantaneous 
slope of y = f ( x ) dx  ∆x  as ∆x → 0 h as h → 0

Let us apply this differentiation process on the curve y = x . What is 3

dy
or
d x ( ) ? First, we calculate the
3

dx dx
average slope of this curve from x to x + h.

∆y (x + h ) 3
−x
3
3 x h + 3 xh + h
2 2 3

= = = 3 x + 3 xh + h
2 2

∆x h h

Now, we make ∆ x → 0, i .e , h → 0 , so that we obtain the instantaneous slope at x:

( )= 3

(3 x )
dy d x
= + 3 xh + h = 3x
2 2 2

as h → 0
dx dx
For example, the slope of y = x3 at x = 1 will be 3.

T h e slo p e o f y = x 3 a t x = 1 is 3 .
1

x
1

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Comment: Many among the readers may not understand this discussion in one go. This is expected: the process of
differentiation is not exactly trivial and represented a major advance in mathematics at the time it was discovered. So,
do not be disheartened if you have not fully grasped the essence of this process in one reading.
Read it again and again; work out each minor step and detail on your own, and there’s no reason why you shouldn’t
understand it eventually.

(d) INTEGRATION : AREAS

Once again, we want you to make the following association permanent in your mind: integration is the process of
calculating areas under curves. Consider a curve y = f(x), and we want to calculate the area under this curve from x
= a to x = b.
y
y= f(x)

W e w ish to ca lcu la te th e sh ad e d are a A , w h ich a s w e

h av e a lre ad y m en tio n ed , is re pre se nted b y
b

A= ∫ f (x) dx
A a

W e w ill d iscu ss m o re o n th is n o ta tio n so o n .

x
a b
So how do we go about calculating areas under arbitrary curves, like the one shown above? Well, we do know how
to calculate the area of a rectangle:
l

b A A = lb

The idea behind integration is to divide the area we wish to calculate into rectangles of very small width:
y
y = f (x)
W e h av e d ivid ed th e are a A w e w ish
to ca lc u la te in to rec ta n gles w ith
v ery sm a ll w id th s. In th is figu re , only 7
rec ta n g le s are sh o w n , b u t y o u a re ex p ec te d
to v isua liz e a la rge n u m be r o f re ctan g les.

x
a b
Now, if we sum the areas of all these rectangles, we get an approximation to the area A. As we increase the number
of rectangles n (or decrease the width of each rectangle), this approximation to A becomes better and better. You
should try this yourself: draw a random curve, and consider the area under it from x = a to x = b. First, approximate
that area using only 3 rectangles, y
y = f(x )

x
a b

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Now, approximate this area using 8 rectangles:
y
f( x ) y = f (x )

x
a x b
In the second case, the approximation is better, because the number of rectangles n is larger.
This suggests that as n increases, the approximation to A becomes better and better. As n → ∞ , we get the exact
value of A!
b

So, what do we mean by the notation ∫ f ( x)dx ? Well, consider any point x between a and b as shown in the figure
a
above. The height of the rectangle at x (shown shaded), is f(x). We wish to keep the width of this rectangle very
small, so we make the width dx, which as we’ve seen in the previous section, is a very small quantity. The area of the
rectangle at x is therefore f(x)dx. We need to sum the areas of all these rectangles between x = a and x = b. To
∫
represent the sum, we use the symbol , which if you notice, is actually an elongated ‘S’. The area A thus becomes
b

A= ∫ f ( x) dx : Summing the areas of all the rectangles of width dx

a

This then is the process of integration. But how actually is this process carried out? How do we calculate the sum
of areas of so many rectangles?
Well, this is what Newton and Leibnitz, both geniuses in their own respects, taught us. What they both indepen-
dently discovered is something called the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus (FTC) which you’ll learn about in class
12th. For now, you just need to be familiar with the result of that theorem.
Suppose that we want to calculate the area under y = x2 from x = 1 to x = 2.
y

1
x
1 2
FTC does this in three steps
Step - 1: Calculate something called the anti-derivative of the function f(x). In this case,
3
has the x
f ( x) = x
2
> g ( x) =
anti-derivative 3
Step - 2: Calculate g(x) for the lower and upper limits of integration. In this case, the lower limit is
x = 1 and the upper limit is x = 2. So,
8 1
g (2) = , g (1) =
3 3
7
Step - 3: Take the difference. That is the area you wish to calculate! In this case, A = g (2) − g (1) = .
3

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 4
x
Here’s another example. The anti-derivative of f ( x ) = x is g ( x ) =
3
. So, the area A under the x3-curve be-
4
tween x = 1 and x = 2 will be
2 4 4
(2) (1) 15
A= ∫ x dx = − =
3

1
4 4 4
That’s it! But there may be a lot of question arising in your mind, if you are curious enough.
(i) How is doing all this justified?
(ii) Why the name anti-derivative?
(iii) How do we know a function’s anti-derivative?
(iv) What the heck?
Well, as we said earlier, the purpose of this document is only a brief introduction, just short hi's and hellos to the
subject, so that when you start reading on them in more detail in the actual course, you don’t feel lost!
This said, you can still try to learn more about all this stuff on your own. Its not at all difficult. In fact, many students
who are really good in Physics and Math already know a lot about differentiation and integration even before
starting class 11th. This, we hope, may inspire you to read more on your own!

PART - D GEOMETRY
(a) CARTESIAN COORDINATES
Most of you are already familiar with Cartesian coordinates. So we'll recap the concept very briefly here.
A Cartesian coordinate system specifies each point uniquely in a plane by a pair of numerical coordinates, which are
the signed distances from the point to two fixed perpendicular directed lines.
Each reference line is called a coordinate axis or just axis of the system, and the point where they meet is its origin.
The coordinates can also be defined as the positions of the perpendicular projections of the point onto the two axes,
expressed as signed distances from the origin. y
(2 , 3 )
3

2
(– 3, 1 )
1
(0 , 0 )
x
–3 –2 –1 1 2 2
–1

–2
(– 1.5, – 2.5) –3

One can use the same principle to specify the position of any point in three-dimensional space by three Cartesian
coordinates, its signed distances to three mutually perpendicular planes (or, equivalently, by its perpendicular
projection onto three mutually perpendicular lines).
Z

( x, y, z)

O
z
x
y Y

ww w.locuseducation.org 24
The invention of Cartesian coordinates in the 17th century by René Descartes revolutionized mathematics by
providing the first systematic link between geometry and algebra. Using the Cartesian coordinate system, geometric
shapes (such as curves) can be described by Cartesian equations: algebraic equations involving the coordinates
of the points lying on the shape. For example, the circle of radius 2 may be described as the set of all points whose
coordinates x and y satisfy the equation x2 + y2 = 22.
y
3
2 2 2
x +y =4
1

–2 2
–3 –1 1 3 x
–1
–2

–3

The important thing right now is not to worry about why we get this equation, but to appreciate the fact that it is
possible to represent geometric shapes using algebraic equations. This is possible because in the Cartesian system,
each point in the plane has an algebraic 'label' (x, y).

THE DISTANCE FORMULA

The Distance Formula is a variant of the Pythagorean Theorem that you used back in geometry. Here's how we get
from the one to the other:

y y
y

5–1
=4
x x
1 – (– 2 ) = 3 x

S u p p o se y ou 're g iv en th e tw o p oin ts Yo u c an d raw in th e lin e s th at It's ea sy to fin d th e le n g th s of

(– 2 , 1 ) an d (1 , 5 ), a n d y o u are a sk ed fo rm a rig ht-an g led trian g le , usin g the h o riz o n ta l an d v e rtica l sid e s
to fin d o u t h o w fa r ap a rt th e y are . the se p o in ts a s tw o o f th e co rn ers: o f th e rig h t trian g le : ju st su btrac t
the x -v alue s an d th e y -v alu es:

Then use the Pythagorean Theorem to find the length of the third side (which is the hypotenuse of the right
triangle):
c = a +b
2 2 2

So,

c
2
= (5 − 1) + (1 − ( −2 )) c =
2 2
(5 − 1) + (1 − ( −2 ))
2 2

= ( 4 ) + (3 )
2 2
= 16 + 9 = 25 = 5
ww w.locuseducation.org 25
This format always holds true. Given two points, you can always plot them, draw the right triangle, and then find the
length of the hypotenuse. The length of the hypotenuse is the distance between the two points. Since this format
always works, it can be turned into a formula:
Distance Formula:

Given the two points ( x1 , y1 ) and ( x2 , y 2 ) the distance between these points is given by the formula:

d = ( x2 − x1 ) + ( y2 − y1 )
2 2

Don't let the subscripts scare you. They only indicate that there is a "first" point and a "second" point; that is, that
you have two points. Whichever one you call "first" or "second" is up to you. The distance will be the same,
regardless. Here’s another example.
Q. Find the distance between the points (–2, –3) and (–4, 4).
Well, we just plug the coordinates into the Distance Formula:

d = ( −4 − ( −2 )) + ( 4 − ( −3)) = ( −4 + 2 ) + ( 4 + 3 )
2 2 2 2

= ( −2 ) + (7 )
2 2
= 4 + 49 = 53 ≈ 7.28

Then the distance is sqrt(53), or about 7.28, rounded to two decimal places.
You will be studying Cartesian coordinate geometry in great detail in class 11th. For now, you need to only know the
distance formula, which is one of the most basic results in the Cartesian system.

(b) VECTORS
Suppose that you are on a trip. Starting from Delhi (D), you first go to Mumbai (M), then Bangalore (B), and finally
Kolkata (K).

K
M

What we wish to do is mathematically represent this trip. The best way to do that is by using vectors.

ww w.locuseducation.org 26
 uuu
In the first leg of your trip, you covered a distance r equal to 1407 km . But you did that in a particular direction,
DM
from D to M. Lets represent this movement by DM . This notation tells us that there is a magnitude (distance) as
uuur
well as a direction involved. So DM is different from DM in that sense:
uuur
DM This quantity has a magnitude as well as a direction involved. This is a vector.
DM This quantity has just a magnitude. In other words, it is just a number equal to 1407 km. This is a scalar
uur
The next leg of the trip can be represented by M B , which tells us that we covered a distance MB = 998 km. in the
uur
direction M to B. Finally, the third leg of the trip can be represented by BK , which means that we covered a distance
BK = 1881 km. in the direction B to K. Now, let us ask and answer two simple questions:
(a) What is the total distance you covered in the trip?
This is simply
DM + MB + BK = 3286 km
(b) What is the net effect of this trip?
The net effect is that you started from Delhi and ended up in Kolkata, that is, from your starting point D,
you ended up at a distance of DK = 1461 km., in the direction D to K. The net effect of the trip can therefore
uur uuur uur uur
be represent by DK . So, in a sense , the three legs of the trip, D M , M B and BK , resulted in the net
uur
effect D K . We write this as
uuur uur uur uur
DM + M B + BK = DK
Observe that this a totally new kind of addition, and is called vector addition. It is very important that you think of
this in terms of movements and net effects: Moving from D to M to B to K has a net effect of moving from D to K.
Here’s another example. Consider the right triangle shown below
C
5
3

A B
4
A person starts from point A, goes to B and then to C. The net effect is that he moved from A to C. In vector notation,
this becomes uur uur uur
AB + BC = AC
r r r
4 + 3 = 5
↑ ↑ = ↑
Direction Direction Direction
A to B B to C A to C
Once again, note how different vector addition is from normal addition.
Now, suppose that we have ar Cartesian coordinate-axes with the origin O. Let P(x, y) be any point in the plane. We
want to analyze the vector OP in more detail.
y
P ( x, y )

x
O x Q
ww w.locuseducation.org 27
 uur uur uur
Note that O P is the net effect of O Q and Q P , i.e,.,
uur uur uur
OP = OQ + QP
The crucial step comes now: Let us denote a unit vector (a vector of length 1) along the x-axis by iˆ
y

^i
x
1
The magnitude of iˆ is 1, and its direction is along the positive x-axis
If we multiply iˆ by some number, say 2, what does the resulting quantity 2iˆ mean? Well, it would mean that the
length of the vector doubles, but it still points in the same direction:
y

2 ^i
x
2
uur
This suggests that O Q in the figure above can be written as x iˆ, i.e., x times the unit vector iˆ .
uur
Similarly, if the unit vector along the positive y-axis is represented by ĵ , then Q P can be written as y ˆj i.e., y times
the unit vector ĵ .
Thus,
uur uur uur
O P = O Q + Q P = xiˆ + yjˆ
You should interpret this as follows:

To go from O to P( x, y ), go x units along the direction iˆ and then y units along the direction ˆj
Here are some more examples
y
y O P = 2 ^i – 2 ^j
OP = 3i + j
x
P (3 , 1 ) O
1 2
x
O 3 P (2 , –2 )

y
y
P (– 1 , 2 ) ^
OP = –2j
O P = – i^ + 2 j^
2 O x

x 2
1 O
P (0 , –2 )

ww w.locuseducation.org 28
 uur
In general, we see that any vector O P will have two parts or ‘components’, one along the iˆ -direction, and one
along the ĵ -direction. Writing a vector as a sum of its components is called resolving the vector into its compo-
nents. Let us resolve a vector as an example.
y
P

2
2
45º
i
O Q
uur
The vector we want to resolve is O P , which is of length 2 2 and inclined at 45º to the horizontal. The two
uur uur uur
components of O P are O Q and Q P .
uur uur uur
Since OQ = 2 2 cos 45º = 2, QP = 2 2 sin 45º = 2, the two components of O P are O Q = 2 iˆ and Q P = 2 ˆj .
uur
Thus, O P is resolved as:
uur
OP = 2iˆ + 2 ˆj
Horizontal Vertical
component Component

Finally, we want you to consider the following example. Suppose that three vectors are given to us:
r r r
a = iˆ + ˆj , b = iˆ + 2 ˆj , c = iˆ + 3 ˆj
r r r
What do we mean by a + b + c ? Well, suppose a particle is initially at the origin. This sum represents the ‘net effect’
r r r
on the particle after it undergoes the movements a , b and c in succession. Thus, this sum represents the final
position of the particle.
j^ C

c 3j^

B
^i
b ^
2j
A
a ^j ^i
i^
O ^i
r r r
After the movement a , the particle is at (1, 1). After b , it reaches B(2, 3). Finally, after the effect of c , the particle
ends up at C(3, 6)
The net effect of the motion is
r r r
r ur ur ur
a + b + c = OA + AB + BC = ( iˆ + ˆj ) + ( iˆ + 2 ˆj ) + ( iˆ + 3 ˆj ) = 3iˆ + 6 ˆj = OC
Comment:
This brief discussion should have given you a basic idea about vectors, which is sufficient for now. Vectors will be
studied in much more detail in both Physics and Math.
However, we must still mention that understanding vectors properly and being comfortable with their use is
extremely important in doing good Physics. This may motivate you to study vectors in greater detail before formally
starting your class 11th course.
ww w.locuseducation.org 29
 PART - E FAQS ABOUT IIT-JEE

Q1. Is the JEE very tough? I’ve heard that it is the toughest exam in the world.
A1. The JEE is a test of fundamentals, and if your fundamentals are strong, you won’t find it tough at all.
The tag of the “toughest exam” is because of the low selection rate.
Q2. Are the IITs the best engineering institutes of our country?
A2. Yes. This is because a) they have great faculty b) they have excellent infrastructure c) they have a
good curriculum and d) they are autonomous. For any engineering aspirant, IIT is one of the best possible
destinations.
Q3. Is it true that the selection rate in the JEE is only around 3%?
A3. True. about than 3,00,000 students worote the JEE – 09, and this number grows every year. The
number of seats, on the other hand, is in the range of 10,000.

Q4. How many attempts do I have at the JEE?

A4. Two. One immediately after your 12th Boards, and the other one next year.

Q5. If I cannot make it to IIT, does that mean that I am at any disadvantage?
A5. Not at all. What you make of yourself is entirely up to your individual capabilities. Having an IIT
degree will at the most help you get a job more easily (even that is not really true recession!). But two
years after graduation, not way will ask you whether you did your degree from IIT or some other
college.

Q6. If I can’t clear the JEE with my 12th Boards, is it advisable to drop one year?
A6. Dropping one year specially for the JEE is not advisable, though if you are sure you can crack the
JEE in the second attempt, it may be done. It is however much better to enroll in some other college and
simultaneously prepare for the JEE. This way, if you fail to clear the JEE in the second attempt too, you
wouldn’t have wasted one year.

Q7. For AIEEE and DCE, do I have to prepare separately?

A7. No. If you prepare for the JEE properly, you would automatically have prepared for the AIEEE and
DCE.

Q8. Is it necessary to join some coaching institute for JEE preparation?

A8. This question does not have any unambiguous answer. If your school teachers are good, and you are
motivated enough to take the initiative to cover the JEE syllabus with their help, then you don’t need to
join any institute. But this seldom happens – and most students find it mandatory to join a special course
for the JEE. Being in an institute has the additional advantage of providing you with a competitive
environment, and keeping you on your toes, making sure you are studying and practicing regularly. The
testing system at such institutes reflects the JEE pattern, which helps too.

ww w.locuseducation.org 30
Q9. How should I decide which coaching institute to join?
A9. Judge any coaching institute on these four parameters: a) faculty members b) content – in the form
of study material and assignments provided c) feedback system – how do they test a student d) past
results. The best way of judging an institute is to talk to one of their former or current students – this
should surely be done since it will immediately let you know all about the institute.

Q10. How can I effectively manage both my school studies and JEE preparation?
A10. The syllabus for the JEE is the same as your school syllabus. This should be reason enough to
convince you that there is no need for preparing for the JEE and your school tests/Boards separately. Be
regular in school, and in your coaching institute (if you’ve joined one) – and there shouldn’t be any
problem. Regularity/consistency is necessary.

Q11. The sequence of syllabus coverage followed in my school is different from that followed
in my coaching. What should I do?
A11. This is one of the most frequently encountered problems of JEE aspirants. The best solution is to
cover as much syllabus in advance as you can. Suppose that right now, you are being taught Laws of
Motion in your school, but Kinematics in your coaching, and you fail to find the time to practice both the
topics. What if you were already familiar with both these concepts, even if your knowledge was only
limited to the basics? How easier would it have been? Take the initiative to find out from your school
teachers the sequence of syllabus coverage they will follow; do the same for your coaching classes.
This way, you can plan much better, and iron out all the conflicts between the two.

Q12. I have a lot of Monday tests and other commitments in my school, and I can’t give ample
time to JEE preparation. What should I do?
A12. You surely have to make some compromises. What is more important to you: scoring full marks on
your Monday test, or doing your engineering from IIT? Secondly, as we’ve already said, if you are doing
your JEE preparation properly, you will automatically perform well on all your school tests. Strike a
balance between how much importance you give to your school commitments and how much to cracking
the JEE.

Q13. Is it true that the best way of preparing for the JEE is skipping school, staying at home
and solely studying and practicing JEE syllabus?
A13. No! This is one of the worst things a JEE aspirant could do. Skipping school has several disadvantages:
a) you lose out on your social interactions, which are extremely important for personality development.
Even if you possess an IIT degree, you won’t be able to do much with it unless you have a good
personality b) you have to put in additional efforts when appearing for your Boards c) you become
generally dull, even though you may be acquiring skills like solving JEE problems. Getting into IIT may
be an important goal, but more important is leading an interesting life!

Q14. Is it true that to crack the JEE, I need to study more than 10 hours everyday?
A14. Not true. The number of hours required per day is a subjective figure. For some, 3 hours per day
may be enough, for others, even 10 hours might seem insufficient. It all depends on a) the individual’s
capabilities in understanding and application of new concepts and b) whether he/she is following an
effective preparation strategy. Have you noticed how some people learn new things very easily, while
others take a lot of time? This has to do with the two reasons mentioned.

ww w.locuseducation.org 31
Q15. What’s the ideal amount of time I should put in everyday for studying?
A15. See the question above.
Q16. Does preparing for the JEE mean that I cannot spend time in other activities?
A16. No. In fact, to counter monotony during preparation, you should surely be involved in some other
activity, like sports for example. But obviously, there has to be a balance – preparation should be your
first priority.
Q17. What’s the ideal way of studying?
A17. Remember to a) make a strategically suitable study plan in advance b) study in a relaxed and quiet
environment c) not study for too long at a time d) avoid thinking of peers and how much they have done
while you study e) clear all your doubts as soon as you can f) practice questions as much as you can, but
only after you think you have read all the concepts sufficiently well.
Q18. There are so many books and study materials available. How can I differentiate between
them?
A18. Refer to your teachers, or your seniors who’ve cracked the JEE. This is the only way available,
since at your stage you are not really in a position to judge the quality of content you are reading. Best
leave it to the experts!
Q19. I’m able to understand all the concepts, but when it comes to applying them, I go blank.
What should I do?
A19. The only solution is practice of questions from good sources.
Q20. If I learn something today, I’ll forget it in a few days. How do I prevent this?
A20. Regular revision. Everyday, allocate some time to revising what you’ve already covered.
Q21. I can’t perform in an actual test, while I can easily solve all the questions at home. What
should I do?
A21. You need to build an examination temperament by appearing for as much tests as you can, both at
home (in test-like conditions) and in reality, by joining some test series. However, joining a test-series is
advised only once you’ve covered the entire syllabus. If you haven’t, and you still join a test series, you
will most likely perform poorly and that will do nothing but lower your morale.

Q22. What are the books I should refer to for my preparation?

A22. See Q. 18

Q23. Can I rely on a correspondence course to provide me with all the syllabus coverage
necessary for the JEE?
A23. Generally yes. Make sure you choose any such course only after properly browsing through some
samples of the study material they have to offer.

Q24. What is the crux? How can I make sure I crack the JEE?
A24. There are no guarantees, but you can maximize your chances of getting selected if you stick to our
approach: a) attend school regularly b) join a good JEE course c) study consistently, from the right
sources, and in a planned manner d) don’t differentiate between preparing for Boards and JEE e) don’t
succumb to peer pressure

ww w.locuseducation.org 32
Why Join LOCUS ?
Here are 4 reasons why you should prefer LOCUS to any other
institute for your IIT-JEE and AIEEE preparation.

FACULTY PAST RESULTS

All IIT graduates 51% selections in JEE 2009

Highly experienced faculty AIR 55, AIR 64 in JEE 2009

Many JEE top rankers on the 40% selections in JEE 2008

faculty panel

A mentor faculty for every

student

FEEDBACK SYSTEM STUDY MATERIAL

Tutorials in every class Detailed explanations

Regular phase tests
All India Test series with
detailed reports
Periodic student-parent-
mentor meetings.
Written by JEE top rankers
Includes effective diagrams
Aided by recorded video
lectures
 COURSES

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Program - A Program
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th th
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