MATHEMATICS, SURVEYING & TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING 1

INSTRUCTION: Select the correct answer for each of the following

questions. Mark only one answer for each item by shading the box
corresponding to the letter of your choice on the answer sheet
provided. STRICTLY NO ERASURES ALLOWED. GOOD LUCK.

ALGEBRA

LAWS OF EXPONENTS AND RADICALS

1. If 3x + 1
= 81, find 32x - 1

A. 243 C. 253
B. 212 D. 323

2. If 9x = 5, what is the value of 34x?

A. 5 C. 25
B. 25 D. 35

3. Solve for x from the given equation: 4 8 √

3
√
2 √ 8 x=2
A. 2 C. 5
B. 4 D. 3

PROPERTIES OF LOGARITHM

4. Solve for x if ln(x2 + x – 2) – ln(2x) + ln(x – 1) = 0

A. 5 C. 4
B. 3 D. 2

5. If log xy = 6 and log x/y = 2, solve for x and y.

A. x = 1000, y = 100 C. x = 10000, y = 100
B. x = 100000, y = 1000 D. x = 10500, y = 150

6. If logx(2) + log2(x) = 2, solve for x.

A. 3 C. 5
B. 4 D. 2

QUADRATIC EQUATION

7. In the equation Ax2 + 14x + 12 = 0, one root is 6 times the other

root. What is the value of A?
A. 6 C. 2
B. 4 D. 8

8. Determine the value of k so that the equation 4x2 + kx + 1 = 0

will have just one real solution.
A. 6 C. 5
B. 4 D. 8

9. What is the sum of the roots of the equation 7x2 + 3x – 4 = 0

A. -3/7 C. -2/7
B. 3/7 D. 2/7

BINOMIAL THEOREM

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10. In the expansion of (2x – 1/x)^10, find the term independent of
x.
A. 5 C. 7
B. 6 D. 8

11. Determine the middle term of (2a – 5b)^8.

A. 500000a^4 b^4 C. 700000a^4 b^4
B. 400000a^4 b^4 D. 600000a^4 b^4

12. For the expansion (4x – 3)^9, what is the sum of all the
exponent?
A. 63 C. 51
B. 45 D. 32

MATHEMATICAL SEQUENCE AND INDUCTION

13. Find the value of the 6th term in the following series of numbers.
12, 13, 17, 26
A. 67 C. 75
B. 49 D. 52

14. In the series of numbers 1, 1, 1/2, 1/6, 1/24 what is the 7th
term?
A. 1/250 C. 1/120
B. 1/540 D. 1/720

15. Find the 5th term of the series whose sum of n terms is given by
3^(n + 2) – 6.
A. 1458 C. 2432
B. 1062 D. 1264

SIGMA NOTATION

25
16. Evaluate ∑ (5 x−3)
x=1
A. 1550 C. 1660
B. 1450 D. 1360

6
17. Evaluate ∑ (1+k 2 )
k =1
A. 90 C. 80
B. 100 D. 95

REMAINDER THEOREM

18. The expression x^4 + ax^3 + 5x^2 + bx + 6 when divided by (x – 2)

leaves the remainder of 16 and when divided by (x + 1) leaves the
remainder of 10, find the values of a and b.
A. -7, 5 C. -5, 7
B. -4, 6 D. -6, 8

19. What is the remainder when 9 – 3x + 5x^2 + 6x^3 is divided by 3x

– 2?

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 A. 16 C. 11
B. 4 D. 8
PROPORTION AND VARIATION

20. The amount P of pollution varies directly with the population N

of people. City A has a population of 468,000 and produces
260,000 of pollutants. Find how many tons of pollution we should
expect City B to produce if we know that its population is
350,000.
A. 187,032 tons C. 179,430 tons
B. 194,444 tons D. 168,420 tons

21. The maximum weight that a rectangular beam varies jointly as its
width and the square of its height and inversely as its length.
If a beam is 1/3 ft. wide, 1/2 ft. high, and 11 ft. long can
support 20 tons, find how much similar beam can support if the
beam is 1/4 ft. wide, 1/4 ft. high, and 17 ft. long.
A. 3.25 tons C. 1.94 tons
B. 4.26 tons D. 2.43 tons

22. The intensity of light (in-foot-candles) varies inversely as the

square of x, distance in feet from the light source. The
intensity of light 2 ft. from the source is 80 ft-candles. How
far away is the source if intensity of light is 6 ft-candles?
A. 8.34 ft C. 6.23 ft.
B. 7.30 ft D. 5.66 ft.

WORK PROBLEMS

23. A job can be done in 14 days by a crew of 9 men, working 10 hrs.

a day. How long will a crew of 12 men working 7 hrs. a day take
to finish the same job?
A. 15 days C. 18 days
B. 11 days D. 20 days

24. Charles can empty the cookie jar in 1.5 hrs. It takes her mother
2 hrs. to bake enough cookies to fill it. If the cookie jar is
full when Charles comes from school and his mother continues
baking and restocking the cookie jar, then how long will it take
him to empty the jar?
A. 9 hours C. 8 hours
B. 6 hours D. 10 hours

25. CE Board Nov 1998

A job could be done by eleven workers in 15 days. Five workers
started the job. They were reinforced with four more workers at
the beginning of the 6th day. Find the total number of days it
took them to finish the job.
A. 15.56 days C. 13.66 days
B. 14.96 days D. 20.56 days

DIGIT PROBLEMS

26. The sum of the reciprocals of two numbers is 11. Three times the
reciprocal of one of the numbers is three more than twice the
reciprocal of the other number. Find the numbers.

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 A. 5 and 6 C. 1/5 and 1/6
B. 7 and 4 D. 1/7 and 1/4

27. The sum of the digits of a three-digit problem is 14. The

hundreds digit being 4 times the unit digit. If 594 is subtracted
from the number, the order of the digits will be reversed. Find
the number.
A. 743 C. 653
B. 563 D. 842

28. The sum of two numbers is 21, and one number is twice the other.
Find the numbers.
A. 7 and 14 C. 8 and 13
B. 6 and 15 D. 9 and 12

RATE PROBLEMS

29. An airplane takes 3 hours to travel a distance of 2160 miles with

the wind. The return trip takes 4 hours against the wind. Find
the speed of the plane in still air and the speed of the wind.
A. 90 mph, 630 mph C. 77 mph, 614 mph
B. 86 mph, 575 mph D. 81 mph, 520 mph

30. CE Board May 1998

A boat takes 2/3 as much time to travel downstream from C to D,
as to return, if the rate of the river’s current is 8 kph, what
is the speed of the boat in still water?
A. 38 kph C. 40 kph
B. 39 kph D. 41 kph

AGE PROBLEM

31. A man is 41 years old and in seven years he will be four times as
old as his son at that time. How old is his son now?
A. 9 C. 5
B. 4 D. 8

32. Mary is 24 years old. Mary is twice as old as Ana was when Mary was
as old as Ana is now. How old is Ana?
A. 16 C. 19
B. 18 D. 20

MIXTURE PROBLEMS

33. CE Board May 2016

A given alloy contains 20% copper and 5% tin. How many pounds of
copper and of tin must be melted with 100 lb of the given alloy
to produce another alloy analyzing 30% copper and 10% tin. All
percentage are by weight.
A. 20.5 lb copper and 4.5 lb tin
B. 17.5 lb copper and 7.5 lb tin
C. 19.5 lb copper and 5.5 lb tin
D. 18.5 lb copper and 6.5 lb tin

34. The gasoline tank of a car contains 50 liters of gasoline and

alcohol, the alcohol comprising 25%. How much of the mixture must

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 be drawn off and replaced by alcohol so that the tank contain a
mixture of which 50% is alcohol.
A. 16.67 liters C. 12.23 liters
B. 15.56 liters D. 17.78 liters

CLOCK PROBLEMS

35. How many minutes after 3:00 PM will the minute hand of the clock
overtakes the hour hand?
A. 14/12 minutes C. 16-4/11 minutes
B. 16-11/12 minutes D. 14/11 minutes

36. A man left his home at past 3:00 o’clock PM as indicated in his
wall clock. Between two to three hours after, he returned home
and noticed that the hands of the clock interchanged. At what
time did he left his home?
A. 3:27.27 C. 3:22.22
B. 3:31.47 D. 3:44.44

INVESTMENT PROBLEMS

37. A man sold 100 eggs. Eighty of them were sold at a profit of 30%
while the rest were sold at a loss of 40%. What is the percentage
gain or loss on the whole stock?
A. 14 % C. 16 %
B. 15 % D. 17 %

38. By selling ballut at P 5.00 each , a vendor gains 20%. The cost
price of egg rises by 12.5%. If he sells the ballut at the same
price as before, find his new gain in percent.
A. 7.5 % C. 8 %
B. 5 % D. 6.25 %

ARITHMETIC PROGRESSION

Situation - The 6th term of an arithmetic progression is 12 and the

30th term is 180.

39. What is the common difference of the sequence?

A. 5 C. 7
B. 6 D. 8

40. Find the 52nd term.

A. 327 C. 341
B. 334 D. 348

41. Calculate the sum of the first 60 terms.

A. 11010 C. 11018
B. 11003 D. 11023

GEOMETRIC PROGRESSION

Situation - Given the sequence 2, 6, 18, 54, ...

42. Find the 12th term.
A. 118,098 C. 1,062,882
B. 354,294 D. 3,188,646

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43. Find n if an = 9,565,938.
A. 12 C. 14
B. 13 D. 15

44. Find the sum of the first ten terms.

A. 59,048 C. 75,259
B. 60,346 D. 83,290

45. A rubber ball is dropped from a height of 15 m. On each rebound,

it rises 2/3 of the height from which it last fell. Find the
distance travelled by the ball before it comes to rest.
A. 75 m C. 100 m
B. 96 m D. 85 m

HARMONIC PROGRESSION

46. Find the 30th term of the sequence 6, 3, 2…

A. 1/2 C. 1/4
B. 1/3 D. 1/5

47. The 3rd term of a harmonic progression is 15 and the 9th term is
6. Find the 11th term.
A. 4 C. 7
B. 8 D. 5

48. The geometric mean and arithmetic mean of two numbers are 8 and
17 respectively. Find the harmonic mean.
A. 1.487 C. 3.765
B. 2.333 D. 2.667

VENN DIAGRAM

49. A class of 40 took examination in Algebra and Trigonometry. If 30

passed Algebra, 36 passed Trigonometry, and 2 failed in both
subjects, the number of students who passed the two subjects is:
A. 2 C. 28
B. 8 D. 25

50. In a commercial survey involving 1000 persons on brand

preferences, 120 were found to prefer brand x only, 200 persons
prefer brand y only, 150 persons prefer brand z only, 370 prefer
either brand x and y but not z, 450 prefer brand y or z but not
x, and 370 prefer either brand z or x but not y, and none prefer
all the three brands at a time. How many persons have no brand
preference with any of the three brands?
A. 120 C. 70
B. 280 D. 320

TRIGONOMETRY

51. CE Board May 1994

A certain angle has a supplement of five times its compliment,
find the angle

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 A. 67.5° C. 168.5°
B. 157.5° D. 186°
52. The sum of the two interior angles of the triangle is equal to
the third angle and the difference of the two angles is equal to
2/3 of the angle. Find the third angle.
A. 15° C. 90°
B. 75° D. 120°

53. CE Board Nov 1993

If sin 3A = cos 6B then:
A. A + B = 180° C. A – 2B = 30°
B. A + 2B = 30° D. A + B = 30°

54. CE Board Nov 1991, Nov 1993, May 1994

Solve for x from the given trigonometric equation:
arctan(1 – x) + arctan(1 + x) = arctan 1/8
A. 4 C. 8
B. 6 D. 2

55. CE Board May 1994

Solve for x: x = (tan θ + cot θ)²sin²θ - tan²θ.
A. sin θ C. 1
B. cos θ D. 2

56. CE Board Nov 1996

Find the value of sin(90º + A)
A. cos A C. sin A
B. -cos A D. -sin A

57. The angle of inclination of ascend of a road having 8.25% grade

is ____degrees.
A. 5.12 C. 1.86
B. 4.72 D. 4.27

58. CE Board May 2000

Two sides of a triangle measures 18 cm and 6 cm. The third side
may be:
A. 12 C. 10
B. 13 D. 11

59. What are the exact values of the cosine and tangent trigonometric
functions of acute angle A, given that sin A = 3/7?
A. cos A = 7/2√10; tan A = 2√10/3
B. cos A = 2√10/7; tan A = 3√10/20
C. cos A = 2√10/3; tan A = 7/2√10
D. cos A = 2√10/7; tan A = 7√10/20

60. CE Board Nov 2015

Towers A and B are constructed on a horizontal plain, B being 200
m above the plain. The angle of elevation of the top of the tower
A as seen from point C in the plain (in the same vertical plane
with A and B)is 50º, while the angle of depression of C viewed
from the top of the tower B is 28º28’ and the angle subtended at
the top of tower B by the top of tower A and C is 50º. Find the
height of A.

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 A. 419.60 m C. 674.36 m
B. 516.59 m D. 234.64 m

61. CE Board May 2015

The angle of elevation of the top point D of a tower from A is
25º. From another point B, the angle of elevation of the top of
the tower at D is 56º. Points A and B is 300 m apart and are the
same horizontal planes as the foot C of the tower. The horizontal
angle subtended by A and B at the foot of the tower is 90º. Find
the height of the tower in meters.
A. 423.11 m C. 133.45 m
B. 106.42 m D. 204.08 m

62. CE Board Nov 2000

A flagpole 3 m high stands at the top of a pedestal 2 m high
located at one side of a pathway. At the opposite side of the
pathway directly facing the flagpole, the flagpole subtends the
same angle as the pedestal. What is the width of the pathway?
A. 4.47 m C. 6.28 m
B. 3.21 m D. 8.41 m

63. CE Board May 2001

what is the period of the graph y = sin x?
A. π C. 2π
B. 3π/2 D. π/2

64. In the spherical triangle ABC, A = 116º19’, B = 55º30’, C =

80º37. Find the value of a.
A. 118.67º C. 113.62º
B. 110.12º D. 115.57º

65. Determine the area of the spherical triangle ABC if A = 140º, B =

75º, C = 86º, r = 40m.
A. 3340 m^2 C. 3358 m^2
B. 3379 m^2 D. 3361 m^2

66. CE Board May 2002

Given a triangle ABC with sides AB = 30 cm, BC = 36 cm, and AC =
48 cm. Find the distance of the point of intersection of
perpendicular bisectors to side BC.
A. 15.92 cm C. 12.36 cm
B. 18.21 cm D. 10.47 cm

67. CE Board May 1995

In triangle ABC, angle C = 70 degrees, angle A = 45 degrees, AB =
40 m. What is the length of median drawn from vertex A to side
BC?
A. 36.8 cm C. 36.3 cm
B. 37.1 cm D. 37.4 cm

68. CE Board May 1999

The sides of a triangle ABC are AB = 15 cm, BC = 18 cm, and CA =
24 cm. Determine the distance from the point of intersection of
the angular bisectors to side AB
A. 5.21 cm C. 4.73 cm

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 B. 3.78 cm D. 6.25 cm

69. A ship sailed in the direction of S 42º W at a speed of 15

nautical miles per hour. Two hours later another ship left the
same port in the direction of N 60º W at a speed of 18 nautical
miles per hour. After how many hours will the second ship be
directly north of the first ship?
A. 2.44 C. 3.62
B. 3.12 D. 4.88

70. CE Board Nov. 1998

A truck travels from point M northward for 30 min. then eastward
for one hour, then shifted N 30º W. If the constant speed is 40
kph, how far directly from M, in km. will be it after 2 hours?
A. 43.5 C. 47.9
B. 45.2 D. 41.6

71. In triangle BCD, BC = 25 m, and CD = 10 m. Compute the possible

perimeter of the triangle.
A. 69 C. 71
B. 70 D. 72

72. Point P is inside the isosceles right triangle ABC. AP is 15 cm,

BP is 9 cm and CP is 12 cm as shown in the figure MSTE 69.
Determine the area of the triangle ABC.

A. 188.16 cm^2 C. 165.80 cm^2

B. 149.19 cm^2 D. 135.50 cm^2

73. If coversine θ is 0.12, find the value of θ.

A. 61.64 C. 29.61
B. 28.36 D. 63.84

74. CE Board May 1994

If coversine θ is 0.134, find the value of θ.
A. 60 C. 30
B. 45 D. 20

75. If versine θ is 0.4, find the value of θ.

A. 36.87 C. 72.18
B. 53.13 D. 34.56

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 FIGURE MSTE 69

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