Problem 1: The circumference of a circle is equal to 72 pi. Find the radius of this circle.

Solution to Problem 1:

 The circumference of a circle is given by

C = 2 pi r, where r is the radius of the circle.

 Substitute C by 72 pi to obtain the equation

72 pi = 2 pi r

 Simplify and solve for r to obtain

r = 36

Problem 2: The length of a rectangular garden is 2 feet longer than 3 times its width. If the
perimeter of the garden is 100 feet, find the width and the length of the garden.

Solution to Problem 2:

 Let L and W be the length and width of the garden. The statement "the length of
a rectangular garden is 2 feet longer than 3 times its width" may be formulated by

L=2+3W

 The formula for the perimeter is given by

P=2L+2W

 Substitute P and L in the above equation by 100 and 2 + 3 W respectively to

obtain

100 = 2(2 + 3 W) + 2 W

 Solve for W and L

W = 12 and L = 2 + 3 W = 38.

 Check that the perimeter of the rectangular garden is 100

P = 2 L + 2 W = 76 + 24 = 100
Problem 3: A rectangular field has a length 10 feet more than it is width. If the area of the field
is 264, what are the dimensions of the rectangular field?

Solution to Problem 3:

 Let x and y be the length and width of the field. The statement "a length 10 feet
more than it is width" may be formulated by

x = 10 + y

 The formula for the area is given by

A=xy

 Substitute A and x in the above equation by 264 and 10 + y respectively to obtain

264 = (10 + y) y

 Write the above equation in standard form as follows

y 2 + 10 y - 264 = 0

 Solve the above equation for to obtain

y = 12 and y = - 22

 Since y is the value of a width it must be positive. The dimensions of the field are
given by

y = 12 and x = 10 + y = 22
 As an exercise, check that the rectangular field has length 10 feet more than it is
width and an area of 264.

Problem 4: A company has found that when x units of a product are manufactured and sold, its
revenue is given by x 2 + 100 x dollars and its costs are given by 240 x + 500 dollars. How many
units must be produced and sold to make a profit of 10,000 dollars? (HINT: profit = revenue -
costs)

Solution to Problem 4:

 Let us use profit = revenue - costs to find a formula for the profit P

P = ( x 2 + 100 x ) - ( 240 x + 500 )

  Substitute P in the above equation by 10,000 dollars to obtain

10000 = x 2 - 140 x - 500

 Write the equation in standard form and solve for x

x 2 - 140 x - 10500 = 0

 Solve the above equation for x

x = 194.10 and x = -54.01

 The number of units to produce must be positive, so

x = 194.

 As an exercise, check that for the above value of x the profit is approximately
(because of the rounding) equal to 10,000.

Problem 5: A square has a side 5 centimeters shorter than the side of a second
square. The area of the larger square is four times the area of the smaller square. Find
the side of eachh square.

Solution to Problem 5:

 Let x be the side of the smaller square and y be the side of the larger square.
The statment "A square has a side 5 centimeters shorter than the side of a
second square" may be formulated by

x=y-5

 The area of the smaller square is equal to x 2 = (y - 5) 2 and the area of the larger
square is equal to y 2

 The statment "the area of the larger square is four times the area of the smaller
square" may be formulated by

y 2 = 4 (y - 5) 2

 Write the above equation so that the right side is equal to 0

y 2 - 4 (y - 5) 2 = 0

 The left side is made up of the difference of two squares and can be easily
factored as follows
 [ y - 2 (y - 5) ] [ y + 2 (y - 5) ] = 0

 Solve for y to find

y = 10 and y = 10 / 3.

 We now use the equation x = y - 5 to find x

y = 10 and x = 5

 For the second solution y = 10 / 3, x is negative and cannot be accepted as the

length of the side of a square must be positive.

Problem 6: Find two numbers whose sum is 26 and whose product is 165.

Solution to Problem 6:

 Let the two numbers be a and b and use the sum and product to write two
equations with two unknowns

a + b = 26 and a b = 165

 Solve the first equation for b

b = 26 - a

 Substitute b in the equation a b = 165 by 26 - a

a (26 - a) = 165

 Write the above equation in standard form

- a 2 + 26 a - 165 = 0

 Solve the above equation for a

a = 11 and a = 15.

 Use b = 26 - a to find b

when a = 11 , b = 15 and when a = 15 , b = 11.

 The two numbers are 11 and 15.

Problem 7: The area of a rectangle is 15 square centimeters and the perimeter is 16
square centimeters. What are the dimensions of the rectangle?

Solution to Problem 7:

 Let x and y be the length and width of the rectangle. Using the formulas for the
area and the perimeter, we can write two equations.

15 = x y and 16 = 2 x + 2 y

 Solve the second equation for x

x=8-y

 Substitute x in the equation 15 = x y by 8 - y to rewrite the equation as

15 = (8 - y) y

 Solve for y to find

y = 3 and y = 5

 Use x = 8 - y to find x

when y = 3 , x = 5 and when y = 5 , x = 3.

 The dimensions of the rectangle are 3 and 5.

 As an exercise, check that the perimeter of this rectangle is 16 and its area is 15.

Problem 8: The sum of two numbers is 20. The larger number is four less than twice
the smaller number. What rae the two numbers?

Solution to Problem 8:

 Let x and y be the two numbers such that x is larger than y. The statement "the
larger number is four less than twice the smaller number" may be fomulated by

x = 2y - 4

 We use the sum of the two numbers to write a second equation.

x + y = 20
  Substitute x by 2y - 4 in x + y = 20 to obtain
2y - 4 + y = 20

 Solve for y to find

y = 8 and x = 2y - 4 = 12

Problem 9: The hypotenuse of a right triangle is 2 centimeters more than the longer
side of the triangle. The shorter side of the triangle is 7 centimeters less than the longer
side. Find the length of the hypotenuse.

Solution to Problem 9:

 Let a and b be the two sides of the triangle such that a is longer than b. The
statement "the hypotenuse of a right triangle is 2 centimeters more than the
longer side of the triangle" may be fomulated by

h = a + 2 or a = h - 2

 The statement "the shorter side of the triangle is 7 centimeters less than the
longer side" may be fomulated .

b = a - 7 or b = (h - 2) - 7 = h - 9

 We now use Pythagora's theorem to write a third equation

h2 = a2 + b2

 Substitute a by h - 2 and b by h - 9 in the above equation to obtain an equation in

one variable only.

h 2 = (h - 2) 2 + (h - 9) 2

 Simplify and rewrite the above equation in standard form.

h 2 -22 h + 85 = 0

 Solve for h.

h = 5 and h = 17.

 Only the solution h = 17 gives a and b positive and it is the length of the
hypotenuse of the triangle.

 As an exercise, find a and b and see if a, b and h satisfies Pythagora's theorem.

Problem: A farmer needs 150 meters of fencing to fence three adjacent gardens.

a) What is the relationship between x and y?

b) Write the total area A of the three gardens as a function of x.

c) Find the domain of the function A(x).

d) Complete the table of values shown below by calculating the area A given values of
x.
x A(x)
0  
5  
10  
15  
20  
25  
e) Use the table completed in part d) to approximate the value of x for which A is
maximum. You may need to generate more values.

f) Graph A and approximate, from the graph obtained, the value of x for which A is
maximum.

g) Find the vertex of the graph of A analytically and use it to find the exact value of x for
whcih A is maximum.
h) Compare the values of x for which A is maximum found in part e) numerically, f)
graphically and part h) analytically.

i) Compare the three methods.

Solution to Problem :

 a) Write the formula for the perimeter.

150 = 6 x + 4 y

 b) The total area is given by

A=3xy

 We solve 150 = 6 x + 4 y for y.

y = (75 - 3 x) / 2

 Substitute y by (75 - 3 x) / 2 in the formula for the area to obtain.

A(x) = 3 x (75 - 3 x) / 2

 c) To determine the domian of A we need to have x, which is a length, positive

and also the area must be positive. Hence the two conditions

x > 0 and (75 - 3 x) > 0

 Solve the above inequalities to obtain the domain as the interval

(0 , 25)

 d) Use the values of x in the formula of the area A(x) and complete the table.

x A(x)
0 0
5 450
10 675
15 675
20 450
25 0

 e) Exdamining the above table, it seems that the maximum is somewhere

between 10 and 15. Let us find some more values of A for x between 10 and 15.
 x A(x)
10 675
11 693
12 702
13 702
14 693
15 675

 The above values suggest that the value of x that makes A maximum is
somewhere between 12 and 13 and may be approximated by 12.5.

 f) The graph of A(x) is shown below.

 From the graph it seems that the value of x that makes A maximum is
somewhere between 10 and 15. It can be approximated by 12.5

 g) A(x) is a quadratic function which may be written as

A(x) = -(9 / 2) x 2 + (225 / 2) x

 For a quadratic function of the form ax 2 + bx + c, the vertex (h , k) of its graph is

given by
 h = - b / 2a

 When applied to A, h is given by

h = -(225/2) / 2(-9/2) = 12.5

 Since the leading coefficient of A(x) is negative, the vertex is a maximum point
and therefore the exact value of x that makes A maximum is equal to h = 12.5

 h) The numerical and graphical methods gave only approximations to the value
of x that makes A maximum: around 12.5 however the analytical method gave
the excat value of 12.5

 i)
1) Using a computer, the numerical and graphical methods may be easily used to
obtain an answer to the problem. However the analytical method needs some
work to be done analytically.

2) There are many problems that cannot be solved analytically. However

numerical and graphical methods have a wider use in problem solving.

3) Many of the analytical methods give the exact answer however numerical and
graphical methods give approximate answers. The use of computers and
calculators have made it possible to obtain answers with high precision.

Problems related to integer numbers are presented along with their solutions.

Problem 1: Find two consecutive integers whose sum is equal 129.

Solution to Problem 1:

 Let x and x + 1 (consecutive integers differ by 1) be the two numbers. Use the
fact that their sum is equal to 129 to write the equation

x + (x + 1) = 129

 Solve for x to obtain

x = 64
  The two numbers are

x = 64 and x + 1 = 65

 We can see that the sum of the two numbers is 129.

Problem 2: Find three consecutive integers whose sum is equal to 366.

Solution to Problem 2:

 Let the three numbers be x, x + 1 and x + 2. their sum is equal to 366, hence

x + (x + 1) + (x + 2) = 366

 Solve for x and find the three numbers

x = 121 , x + 1 = 122 and x + 2 = 123

Problem 3: The sum of three consecutive even integers is equal to 84. Find the
numbers.

Solution to Problem 3:

 The difference between two even integers is equal to 2. let x, x + 2 and x + 4 be

the three numbers. Their sum is equal to 84, hence

x + (x + 2) + (x + 4) = 84

 Solve for x and find the three numbers

x = 26 , x + 2 = 28 and x + 4 = 30

 The three numbers are even. Check that their sum is equal to 84.

Problem 4: The sum on an odd integer and twice its consecutive is equal to equal to
3757. Find the number.

Solution to Problem 4:

 The difference between two odd integers is equal to 2. let x be an odd integer
and x + 2 be its consecutive. The sum of x and twice its consecutive is equal to
3757 gives an equation of the form

x + 2(x + 2) = 3757
  Solve for x

x = 1251

 Check that the sum of 1251 and 2(1251 + 2) is equal to 3757.

Problem 5: The sum of the first and third of three consecutive even integers is 131 less
than three times the second integer. Find the three integers.

Solution to Problem 5:

 Let x, x + 2 and x + 4 be three integers. The sum of the first x and third x + 4 is
given by

x + (x + 4)

 131 less than three times the second 3(x + 2) is given by

3(x + 2) - 131

 "The sum of the first and third is 131 less than three times the second" gives

x + (x + 4) = 3(x + 2) - 131

 Solve for x and find all three numbers

x = 129 , x + 2 = 131 , x + 4 = 133

 As an exercise, check that the sum of the first and third is 131 less than three
times

Problem 6: The product of two odd integers is equal to 675. Find the two integers.

 Let x, x + 2 be the two integers. Their product is equak to 144

x (x + 2) = 675

 Expand to obtain a quadratic equation.

x 2 + 2 x - 675 = 0

 Solve for x to obtain two solutions

x = 25 or x = -27

if x = 25 then x + 2 = 27
 if x = -27 then x + 2 = -25

 We have two solutions. The two numbers are either

25 and 27

 or

-27 and -25

 Check that in both cases the product is equal to 675.

Problem 7: Find four consecutive even integers so that the sum of the first two added
to twice the sum of the last two is equal to 742.

Solution to Problem 7:

 Let x, x + 2, x + 4 and x + 6 be the four integers. The sum of the first two

x + (x + 2)

 twice the sum of the last two is written as

2 ((x + 4) + (x + 6)) = 4 x + 20

 sum of the first two added to twice the sum of the last two is equal to 742 is
written as

x + (x + 2) + 4 x + 20 = 742

 Solve for x and find all four numbers

x = 120 , x + 2 = 122 , x + 4 = 124 , x + 6 = 126

 As an exrcise, check that the sum of the first two added to twice the sum of the
last two is equal to 742

Problem 8: When the smallest of three consecutive odd integers is added to four times
the largest, it produces a result 729 more than four times the middle integer. Find the
numbers and check your answer.

Solution to Problem 8:

 Let x, x + 2 and x + 4 be the three integers. "The smallest added to four times the
largest is written as follows"
 x + 4 (x + 4)

 "729 more than four times the middle integer" is written as follows

729 + 4 (x + 2)

 "When the smallest is added to four times the largest, it produces a result 729
more than four times the middle" is written as follows

x + 4 (x + 4) = 729 + 4 (x + 2)

 Solve for x and find all three numbers

x + 4 x + 16 = 729 + 4 x + 8

x = 721

x + 2 = 723

x + 4 = 725

 Check: the smallest is added to four times the largest

721 + 4 * 725 = 3621

 four times the middle

4 * 723 = 2892

 3621 is more than 2892 by

3621 - 2892 = 729

 The answer to the problem is correct.