ANSWERS AND EXPLANATIONS: PROBLEM SET 18

Easy
1. B

The question asks for the sum of two complex numbers (numbers with a real part and an
imaginary part with an i in it). To add complex numbers, just treat i like a variable and
combine like terms: 5 + (–7) = 5 – 7 = –2 and 2i + 3i = 5i. Therefore, (5 + 2i) + (–7 + 3i)
= –2 + 5i. The correct answer is (B).

2. A

The question asks for a possible value of n + s and gives inequalities for the two variables.
Start by solving the inequalities. Subtract 5 from both sides of the first one to find
that n < 2. Add 6 to both sides of the second inequality to find that s < 2 as well. The
values for n and s must be integers, so both of them can be 1 or less. Therefore, the
greatest possible sum of n and s is 2. The correct answer is (A).

3. B

The question asks for the variable in a situation that will change if less expensive
carpeting is used. To figure this out, determine the meaning of each variable in the
expression. Choice (A) is n, which represents the number of rooms. This does not change
when the type of carpeting changes, so eliminate (A). Choice (B) is C, which is a constant,
with units of dollars per square meter. Since this seems to be related to the cost of the
carpet, keep (B). Choice (C) is l, which represents the length of each room. The length
would not change with a different type of carpet, so eliminate (C). Choice (D) is w, which
represents the width of each room. The width would not change with a different type of
carpet, so eliminate (D). Only one choice remains. The correct answer is (B).

Medium
4. C

The question asks for a line perpendicular to a given line. In the form y = mx + b, m is the
slope, which means that the line given by the equation y = 2x + 7 has a slope of 2. A line
perpendicular to y = 2x + 7 will have a slope that is the negative reciprocal to 2. Choice

(C) has a slope of − . The correct answer is (C).

5. A

The question asks for an expression that is equivalent to the given complex number. To

simplify a fraction of complex numbers, multiply the numerator and denominator by the

conjugate of the denominator. The conjugate is the same expression, but with the

opposite sign between terms. In this case, the denominator is 2 + 4i, so the conjugate of
 the denominator is 2 – 4i. Multiply the numerator and denominator by this conjugate to

get . Use FOIL (First, Outer, Inner, Last) on both the numerator and

denominator to get . Combine like terms to get . By

definition, i2 = –1, so substitute this to get = . Combine like

terms again to get . Since each of the answer choices is in the form of two

fractions, break up the fraction to get . Reduce both fractions by 2 to get

. The correct answer is (A).

6. A

The question asks about the slope of the line in an equation that models the situation.

Rewrite the equation y = A + (H + M)x in y = mx + b form, where m represents the slope

of the line and b represents the y-intercept. To do this, simply reverse the order of the

terms to get y = (H + M)x + A. When the question asks what the slope represents, it’s

really asking for the meaning of (H + M). Since H represents the daily cost of the hotel

and M represents the daily cost of meals, H + M represents the total daily cost of these

two things together. The correct answer is (A).

7. D

The question asks for the equation that models the amount of money in the bank account

over time. Interest is an example of exponential growth, which uses the formula final

amount = original amount(1 + rate)number of changes. The original amount is the initial

deposit, which is 1,250. The rate is 4% written in decimal form, which is 0.04. Because

the account pays annual interest, the number of changes is the number of years, which

is y. Therefore, the amount of money in the account after y years is 1,250(1 + 0.04)y =

1,250(1.04)y. The correct answer is (D).

8. B
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 The question asks for the weight of the sculpture 5 days after it is displayed. The

sculpture initially weighs 260 pounds and melts completely after 20 days. Since the

sculpture melts at a constant rate, it melts pounds per day. Therefore, after 5

days, a total of 5 × 13 = 65 pounds have melted. However, the question is not asking for

how much of the sculpture has melted after 5 days but for the weight of the sculpture at

that time. To get that weight, subtract the amount that has melted after 5 days from the

initial weight of the sculpture to get 260 – 65 = 195. The correct answer is (B).

Hard
9. B

The question asks for the radius of a circle modeled by the equation. To determine this,
get the equation in the standard form for a circle: (x – h)2 + (y – k)2 = r2, where (h, k)
represents the center of the circle and r represents the radius. To do this, complete the
square. Start by grouping the terms with x and grouping the terms with y to get (x2 – 6x)
+ (y2 + 8y) = –9. Now take half of the coefficient on x and square it. In this case, the
coefficient on x is –6. Half of the coefficient is –3, and the square is 9. Add 9 to both sides
to get (x2 – 6x + 9) + (y2 + 8y) = –9 + 9. Do the same for the coefficient on y. The
coefficient on y is 8. Half of 8 is 4, and the square of 4 is 16. Add 16 to both sides to get
(x2 – 6x + 9) + (y2 + 8y + 16) = –9 + 9 + 16. Simplify the right side to get (x2 – 6x + 9) +
(y2 + 8y + 16) = 16. Factor the x terms to get (x – 3)2 + (y2 + 8y + 16) = 16. Factor
the y terms to get (x – 3)2 + (y + 4)2 = 16. Note that completing the square is a deliberate
effort to get a quadratic that is the square of a binomial, so there will always be a way to
get the equation in this form. The question asks for the radius. The question is in the form
(x – h)2 + (y – k)2 = r2, so r2 = 16. Take the square root of both sides to get r = 4. The
correct answer is (B).

10. 60.7

The question asks for the percent of employees that received a raise. When dealing with

percents of an unknown, it is always easiest to make that unknown 100, so plug in 100 for

the total number of employees. The question says that 55% of the employees are male, so

there are 55 male employees and 45 female employees. If 64% of the female employees

receive a raise, then female employees receive a raise. This is a decimal but

that’s fine. While you can’t have fractions of people in the real world, the math will work

out fine for this problem and you won’t have to stress about finding a perfect number to

plug in. If 58% of male employees receive a raise, then male employees
 receive a raise. Therefore, a total of 28.8 + 31.9 = 60.7 employees receive a raise. Since

the total number of employees is 100, 60.7 employees represents 60.7%. The correct

answer is 60.7.

11. 47.4
The question asks what percent of the employees who receive raises are female, so

determine . If you did the work for the previous question, you already

have some numbers to work with. According to our previous calculations, there are 28.8
females who get raises out of 60.7 total employees who get raises. Therefore,

= . Unless otherwise specified, always enter as many

digits as you can into the grid-in box: the correct answer is 47.4.

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