Name: ___________________________ Class: ___________ ( )

1 Approximation and Errors

Challenging Worksheet
1

1. Peter is the son of John and May. The following facts are known:
(I) May is 28 years old now.
(II) The product of the ages of John and May = 900, cor. to 2 sig. fig.
(III) The product of the ages of John, May and Peter = 3 580, cor. to 3 sig. fig.
Find the present ages of John and Peter.
(Suppose all of their ages are integers.)

Solution

Let a and b be the present ages of John and Peter respectively.

From (I) and (II), Hints

Rounding off integers from

( 894 / 895 / 896 ) to ( 904 /
905 / 906 ) to 2 significant
figures give 900.

From (I) and (III), Hints

Rounding off integers from

to to 3 significant figures
give 3 580.

© Oxford University Press 2021 Challenging Worksheet 1 2A01-1

 Oxford Mathematics for the New Century

2. Janet wants to measure the length of a book. If she uses a ruler with scale interval 1 cm, the
1
relative error of the measurement is 40 . If she uses a ruler with scale interval 0.25 cm, the
1
relative error of the measurement is 164 . Can each of the following be the actual length of the
book?
(a) 20.35 cm
(b) 20.49 cm

Solution

Let u cm be the actual length of the book, Hints

Find the ranges of u when a ruler

with scale interval 1 cm and 0.25 cm
is used respectively.

(a)

(b)

© Oxford University Press 2021 Challenging Worksheet 1 2A01-2

 Oxford Mathematics for the New Century

© Oxford University Press 2021 Challenging Worksheet 1 2A01-3

 Oxford Mathematics for the New Century

3. Kenny wants to find the moving speed (u mm/s) of his pet tortoise. He first marks two points P and Q
on a straight road and then measures the distance PQ with a ruler (as shown in Fig. A):

P Q

Fig. A

Then he measures the time taken by the tortoise to move from P to Q using a stopwatch. Fig. B
shows the time when the tortoise reaches Q:

P Q

Fig. B

Find all the possible integral values of u.

Solution

In Fig. A, the scale interval of the ruler is mm.

© Oxford University Press 2021 Challenging Worksheet 1 2A01-4

 Oxford Mathematics for the New Century

In Fig. B, the scale interval of the stopwatch is s.

Lower limit of the actual speed = Hints

To get a smaller fraction, we take a

( smaller / larger ) numerator and a
( smaller / larger ) denominator.

Upper limit of the actual speed =

© Oxford University Press 2021 Challenging Worksheet 1 2A01-5

 Oxford Mathematics for the New Century

4. The following solid is formed by removing two right square prisms from a cube. There are two
square holes on each of the upper base and lower base of the solid.

Suppose all measured lengths on the solid are correct to the nearest 0.5 cm. Can the actual volume of
the solid be greater than 425 cm3? Explain your answer.

Solution

Hints

To get a larger difference, we subtract

a ( smaller / larger ) value from a
( smaller / larger ) value.

© Oxford University Press 2021 Challenging Worksheet 1 2A01-6

 Oxford Mathematics for the New Century

5. A bag contains 100 identical calcium blocks. Benson and Dora use different methods to estimate the
volume of each calcium block:
(1) Benson melts 20 blocks and pours the liquid obtained into a beaker with scale interval of
1 cm3.

Then he divides the measured value by 20 to obtain the result.

(2) Dora weighs a block with a scale which shows weights (x g) correct to the nearest 0.1 g.

Then she uses the following formula to estimate the volume of the block:
x
Volume = 1.6 cm3
(Note: This formula comes from the fact that calcium weighs 1.6 g per cm3.)
(a) Whose measurement is more accurate? Explain your answer.
(b) Samuel makes the following claim:
‘Using the results obtained by Benson and Dora, I can estimate the volume of each calcium
block correct to the nearest 0.01 cm3.’
Do you agree? If yes, determine his estimated value.

Solution

(a) Hints

A smaller relative error indicates that

the measurement is more accurate.

© Oxford University Press 2021 Challenging Worksheet 1 2A01-7

 Oxford Mathematics for the New Century

(b) Hints

Let v cm3 be the actual volume of each

calcium block. Consider the ranges of v
corresponding to the estimation methods
of Benson and Dora.

© Oxford University Press 2021 Challenging Worksheet 1 2A01-8