Kaplan Math Foundation Review TEL

Math
Foundation Review
Teacher’s Edition
Founda
tion

Trigonometry

A. Definitions

• The functions of sine (sin), cosine (cos), and tangent (tan), etc., are initially defined with reference to a
right triangle (a triangle with a right or 90° angle).

hypotenuse
opposite

θ
adjacent

1. The trigonometric functions are defined as follows:

opposite
• sin θ = hypotenuse

adjacent
• cos θ = hypotenuse

opposite sin θ
• tan θ = adjacent (= )
cos θ

2. Mnemonic device

• SOH CAH TOA

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3. In terms of x-y coordinates

r
y
θ
x

y y
• sin θ = r =
x2 + y2

x x
• cos θ = r =
x + y2
2

y
• tan θ = x

• From this we can see why it is always true that sin2θ + cos2θ = 1.

• With this way of defining the trigonometric functions, we can extend the concept to angles that are
negative or greater than 90°. For example, for θ = 130°:

r
y
50° 130°

The three sides involved have the same lengths as the ones that would define a 50° angle. The only
difference is that the value of x is now negative as defined in the x-y coordinate system. We thus say that
sin 130° = sin 50°, cos 130° = –cos 50°, etc.

• Trigonometric identities:
sin x° = sin (180° – x°) cos x° = –cos (180° – x°)

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sin (–x°) = –sin x° cos (–x°) = cos x°

B. 30°-60° and 45°-45° reference triangles

• The sin, cos, and tan values for some special angles should be memorized: 30°, 45°, 60°. This is done most
easily by referring to “reference triangles”:

o 45o
2 30
√2
1
√3
60o 45
o

1 1

1 3 1 3
• sin 30° = 2 cos 30° = 2 tan 30° = = 3
3

3 1
• sin 60° = 2 cos 60° = 2 tan 60° = 3

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1 2 1 2
• sin 45° = = 2 cos 45° = = 2 tan 45° = 1
2 2

• Note from the examples above that sin x° = cos (90° – x°). This is true in general.

• Because of the above values, it is worthwhile memorizing the approximate values of 2 and 3:
2 ≈ 1.4; 3 ≈ 1.7.

1. Radians

π
• 2π radians correspond to a full circle, i.e. 2π radians = 360°. Therefore, π radians = 180°, 6 radians = 30°,
etc. (The word “radian” is often omitted.) For example:
π 1
cos 4 = cos 45° =
2

Founda
tion

Geometry

A. Circles

d
•
Ο
r

1. Radius and diameter

• r = radius, d = diameter; d = 2r

2. Circumference

• circumference = 2πr = πd

3. Area

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• area = πr2

A road is 120π feet long. How many rotations will a tire of radius 6 inches make as it backs down the entire length of
the road?

A: 120. The number of rotations is the number of circumferences of the tire that go into 120π feet. One
circumference is 2πr = 2π(6 inches) = 12π inches = π feet. Therefore, 120π feet/π feet = 120.

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x°
4. The area of the sector OAB is given by 360° (πr2)

x°
O A
r

• The rationale behind this formula is as follows: the area of the entire circle is πr2, and the sector takes up a
fraction of x°/360°.

What is the area of the 60° sector of a circle of radius 6 cm?

60° 1
A: 6π cm2. The area of the sector is 360° (π62) = 6 x 36π = 6π.

5. Length of an arc

• The length of an arc is also found by the same manner: fraction of circle x circumference of whole circle:
x°
The length of the arc AB in the diagram above is given by 360° (2πr) . A 90° arc in a circle of radius 12
90°
inches is 360° (24π) = 6π inches.

• Note how the unit of radian is especially useful in this case: An angle of x radians corresponds to a
x
fraction of 2π of the whole circle (since 2π radians correspond to 360° which is the whole circle). The
x
length of the arc subtended by an angle of x radians is therefore 2π (2πr) = xr. In fact, this is the
motivation behind the definition of the radian.

B. Volume

l
h
w

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1. Volume of a rectangular solid

• length x width x height

2. Volume of sphere

4 3
• 3 πr

3. Volume of cylinder

• πr2h

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Founda
tion

Vectors

A. Addition and Subtraction

1. Pictorial method

• In the pictorial method, we get a visual idea of where the resultant vector would point. This is done most
commonly by lining up the two vectors to be added “head-to-tail”:

A+B
B

• Note that just like regular addition, vector addition is commutative:

A
A+B
B B
B+A
A

• A + B and B + A have the same magnitude and point in the same direction.

• The negative of a vector is the vector that has the same magnitude but points in the opposite direction.
This enables us to define vector subtraction as follows:

A – B = A + (–B)
A
B –B
A + (–B) –B
=A–B

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• Another variation of the pictorial method is the “tail-to-tail” method, where we look at the parallelogram
formed by placing the tails of the vectors together:

B
A+B

2. Resolving vectors into components

• The pictorial method, whether “head-to-tail” or “tail-to-tail,” is obviously not very useful if we want
actual numbers. To get more specific results, we need to resolve each vector into its components. Use of
trigonometry is called for:

B
A+B
A |A| sin θ + |B| sin β
|A| sin θ B |B| sin β
β A
θ
|A| cos θ |B| cos β
|A| cos θ + |B| cos β

• Any vector can be expressed as the sum of two perpendicular vectors. In the example above, vector A is
the sum of a vector of magnitude |A|cosθ pointing in the horizontal direction, and a vector of magnitude
|A|sinθ pointing in the vertical direction. Similarly, vector B is the sum of a vector of magnitude |B|cosβ
pointing in the horizontal direction, and a vector of magnitude |B|sinβ pointing in the vertical direction.
We can add parallel components directly. The horizontal component of the vector (A + B) is |A|cosθ +
|B|cosβ, and its vertical component is |A|sinθ + |B|sinβ.

• The magnitude of the vector (A + B) can be found by using the Pythagorean theorem.

• Example: A plane is flying at a speed of 200 mph towards 45° north of west. A wind of 20 mph is blowing
from the southwest in a direction 30° north of east. What is the net velocity of the plane in this wind?
The net velocity would be the vector sum of the plane’s own velocity and that of the wind. A diagram is
always helpful. Note that the two vectors are not necessarily to scale:

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plane
N
200 mph
200 sin 45°

wind
45° 30°
W E
200 cos 45°

2
The horizontal component of the plane’s own velocity has a magnitude of 200 cos 45° = 200 2 = 100 2

mph. Since it points to the west, we may want to designate it as –100 2 . (Or equivalently, we can say that
the angle the vector makes with the horizontal is 135° and so the horizontal component is
200 cos 135° = –200 cos 45° = –100 2 .) The horizontal component of the wind velocity is 20 cos 30° = 20
3
2 = 10 3 . The horizontal component of the net velocity is therefore –100 2 + 10 3 ≈ –124.
The vertical component of the plane’s own velocity is 200 sin 45° = 100 2 . The vertical component of the
wind velocity is 20 sin 30° = 10. The net vertical component is therefore 100 2 + 10 ≈ 151:

net velocity
N

151

x
W E
–124

The magnitude of the net velocity is 1512 + 1242 ≈ 188.

As for the direction, we can say that tan x = 151/124. So the velocity is at an angle of inverse tan (151/124)
north of west.

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Founda
tion

Powers and Roots

Rule Example
ab x ac = a(b + c) 52 x 53 = 5(2+3) = 55
52 x 53 = (5 x 5) x (5 x 5 x 5) = 5 x 5 x 5 x 5 x 5 = 55
ab 53
= a(b – c) = 5(3 – 2) = 51 = 5
ac 52
53 5 x 5 x 5
= =5
52 5x5
(ab)c = a(b x c) (52)3 = 5(2 x 3) = 56
(52)3 = (5 x 5)3 = (5 x 5) x (5 x 5) x (5 x 5) = 56
1 1
a–b = b 5–2 = 2
a 5
BUT BEWARE!
ab + ac ≠ a(b + c) 23 + 22 = (2 x 2 x 2) + (2 x 2) ≠ 25

A. Rules

• It is important to realize that a negative exponent does not necessarily lead to a negative value.

• A negative number raised to an even exponent is positive: (–3)2 = 9

• A negative number raised to an odd exponent is negative: (–3)3 = –27

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• A number between 0 and 1 raised to a positive exponent becomes smaller: (0.5)2 = 0.25.

3
If a = 5 , what is a–3?

3 3–3 53 125
A: (5 )–3 = –3 = 3 = 27
5 3

Rule Example
a x b = axb 2 x 3 = 6
a c + b c = (a + b) c 2 7 +3 7 =5 7

BUT BEWARE!
a + b ≠ a+b ! 9 + 16 ≠ 25
( 9 + 16 = 3 + 4 = 7 ≠ 5)

0.0064 = ?
A: 0.08. Calculation of squares and square roots of decimals is often tricky because of the placement of the
decimal place. Remember that if a number x is between 0 and 1, its square is going to be less than x itself.
Conversely, if x is between 0 and 1, its square root is larger than x itself. (0.2)2 is NOT 0.4, but 0.04.
0.0009 is NOT 0.0003, but 0.03. If in doubt, we can always verify by expressing the decimal as a fraction,
or better yet, in scientific notation (see below):
64 64 8
0.0064 = 10000 = = 100 = 0.08
10000
Note how in taking the square root of 10000, we have halved the number of zeroes.

• The issue of taking square roots of decimals is a common arithmetic mistake in Hardy-Weinberg
calculations, for example.

Founda
tion

Scientific Notation

A. Definition

• Scientific notation is a convenient way of expressing very large and very small numbers and is also useful
in arithmetic manipulations.

• In scientific notation, numbers are written as something times 10 to the power of an integer. The
“something” strictly should be a number with a magnitude between 1 and 10, although in actual
calculations it is sometimes more convenient to ignore this rule. (Examples below.)

• Examples of numbers expressed in scientific notation: 2.875 x 1022, 3 x 10–2, 9.89 x 104, –4.0 x 1010. Note
that the integer to which 10 is raised can be either positive or negative. This integer is called the exponent.

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• Converting between regular numbers and scientific notation involves shifting decimal places:
380 = 3.8 x 102
0.25 = 2.5 x 10–1
0.00957 = 9.57 x 10–3

• Any number raised to the power zero = 1. A number such as 5.288 is therefore equivalent to 5.288 x 100.

B. Addition and subtraction

• Numbers in scientific notation can be added and subtracted directly only when they have the same
exponent:
0.000428 + 0.003297 = 4.28 x 10–4 + 3.297 x 10–3
= 0.428 x 10–3 + 3.297 x 10–3
= (0.428 + 3.297) x 10–3
= 3.725 x 10–3

C. Multiplication and division

• Scientific notation is especially convenient for multiplication and division. We can group together the
powers of ten and work on them together:
(4 x 103) (2 x 105)
(4000 x 200000) / (0.00006 x 8000000) =
(6 x 10–5) (8 x 106)
4 x 2 103 x 105 1
= 6 x 8 x –5 6 = 6 x 10(3+5–(–5)–6)
10 x 10
= 0.17 x 107 = 1.7 x 106

D. Squares and square roots

• For the question discussed in the section above, we can use scientific notation:

0.0064 = 64 x 10–4 = 64 x 10–4 = 8 x (10–4)1/2 = 8 x 10–2

(Technically, since 64 is not between 1 and 10, 64 x 10–4 is not truly scientific notation, but we want the
number before the power of ten to be a perfect square.)
Similarly, (0.004)2 = (4 x 10–3)2 = (4)2 x (10–3)2 = 16 x 10–6 = 1.6 x 10–5

Founda
tion

Ratios

A. A ratio is essentially the same as a fraction

4 2
• The ratio of 4:2 is the same as the ratio 2:1 since 2 = 1 .

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B. Direct Relationship

• Two quantities are directly proportional when as the value of one is increased or decreased by a factor of
x, the other does so as well. For example, if a and b are directly proportional, then if the value of a is
tripled, the value of b is tripled as well.

a
• If a and b are directly proportional, then we can always write a = kb. where k is some constant, or b = k.

• We can say, for example, that the circumference of a circle is proportional to its radius, with
proportionality constant 2π. The area of a circle is proportional to the square of the radius, with
proportionality constant π.

C. Inverse Relationship

• a and b are inversely proportional if as one increases by a factor of x, the other must decrease by the same
factor. In these cases, we can always write ab = k, where k is some constant. If a is increased by a factor of
5, for example, the value of b must change to b/5 in order to preserve the equality:
1
(5a)(5 b) = ab = k

• MCAT will often ask us to determine the proportionality relationship between two quantities in an
equation, or the ratio of a new value to an old value as something else is changed. For example:

(i) The gauge pressure in a fluid is given by P = ρgh, where P is the gauge pressure (the pressure above
atmospheric pressure), ρ is the density of the fluid, g is the acceleration due to gravity, and h is the depth
beneath the surface of the fluid. We can say that the gauge pressure is directly proportional to the density
and to the depth beneath the surface.

(ii) The magnitude of the gravitational force between two objects is given by
Gm1m2
F=
r2
where G is the gravitational constant, m1 and m2 are the masses of the two objects, and r is the distance
between their centers of mass. We can say that the magnitude of the force is inversely proportional to the
distance squared.

(iii) If the separation between two masses is tripled, what is the ratio of the new gravitational force to the
old one? If r is tripled, r2 has increased by a factor of 9. F must therefore be 1/9 its old value, or Fnew:Fold =
(1/9):1 = 1:9. Drawing the analogy between ratios and fractions again, we could have approached this via:
Fnew Gm1m2 Gm1m2 Gm1m2 rold2 rold2 rold 1 1
Fnew:Fold = F = 2 / 2 = 2 x Gm m = 2 = (r ) 2 = (3 ) 2 = 9
old rnew rold rnew 1 2 rnew new

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Founda
tion

Percentages

A. Definition

• A percentage is a special kind of fraction or ratio.

y
• y% is exactly the same as 100 .

y 1
• “y% of n” is therefore 100 x n. For example, 50 % of 2238 is the same as 2 x 2238 = 1119.

• 100% is the same as 1, and so multiplying or dividing a number by 100% does not change its value: It just
changes the way it is expressed.

B. Conversion from a fraction to a percentage

3 3
• To convert a fraction to a percentage, we multiply by 100%: 4 = 4 x 100% = 75%

C. Conversion from a percentage to a fraction

60% 3
• To convert a percentage to a fraction, we divide by 100%: 60% = 100% =
5

D. Conversions between decimals and percentages

• Conversions between decimals and percentages are even easier: We need only to move the decimal place
since we are multiplying or dividing by 100.
0.623 = 0.623 x 100% = 62.3%
45% = 0.45

What is 25% of 0.8?

1
A: 25% of 0.8 = 0.25 x 0.8 = 4 x 0.8 = 0.2

2 5
9 is what percent of 18 ?
2 5
A: The part here is 9 while the whole is 18 . Applying the equation involves algebraic manipulation:
5 2
y% x 18 = 9

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2 5 2 18 4 4
y% = 9 / 18 = 9 x 5 = 5 = 5 x 100% = 80%.

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E. Percent increase

amount of increase
• % increase = original whole x 100%

F. Percent decrease

amount of decrease
• % decrease = original whole x 100%

G. New whole

• New whole = original whole ± amount of change

Founda
tion

Conversion of Units and Dimensional Analysis

A. Addition and subtraction

• We can only add and subtract quantities with the same units (or dimensions).

B. Multiplication and division

• In multiplication and division, the units are multiplied and divided just as the numbers are. For example:
1 hour
(3.6 miles) / (1.8 miles/hour) = 3.6 miles x 1.8 miles = 2 hours

• The fact that units can cancel just like common factors in a number is used in the conversion of units. For
example:
There are 12 inches in 1 foot, 3 feet in 1 yard, and 231 cubic inches in 1 gallon.
What is the number of gallons in 2 cubic yards?

We want to arrange all the factors so that the unit we are left with is the gallon. We always start with what
we are trying to convert:

2 cubic yards = 2 yd3

3 ft 12 in 1 gallon
= 2 yd3 x ( 1 yd )3 x ( 1 ft )3 x
231 in3
2 x 33 x 123
= 231 gallons ≈ 404 gallons

Note that since 3 ft = 1 yd, 12 in = 1 ft, etc., the fractions all have a value of 1 and so we are not changing
the value of “2 cubic yards” when we multiply by all the factors.

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A car is traveling at the speed of 66 miles per hour. What is its speed in meters per second, if 1 mile = 5280 ft, and 1
m = 3.3 ft?
miles 1 hour 1min 5280 ft 1m 66 x 5280
A: 66 hour x 60 min x 60 sec x 1 mile x 3.3 ft = m/s ≈ 30 m/s
60 x 60 x 3.3

Founda
tion

Interpretation of Graphs

A. Graphs plot the relationship between two quantities

• The quantity plotted on the vertical axis (y-axis) is traditionally called the dependent variable. The
quantity plotted on the horizontal axis (x-axis) is traditionally called the independent variable. The reason
is because a plot is generally a visual representation of a function of the form y = f(x). The y-value thus
depends on what value of x we give.

B. Graphs of straight lines can always be written in the form y = mx + b

• m is known as the slope and b is called the y-intercept. Different straight lines have different values of m
and/or b.

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1. y-intercept

• The y-intercept, b, is the y-value of the point where the line intersects the y-axis. It can be positive or
negative. For example:

y y

b=4
(0, 4)
x
(0, –2)
b = –2

2. Slope

• The slope can be calculated from the x and y values of any two points on the line
y2 – y1
m=x –x
2 1

(x2, y2)

y2 – y1
(x1, y1)
x2 – x1

• The steeper the line, the larger the numerator will be relative to the denominator, and so the higher the
value of the slope.

3. Positive versus negative slope

• Lines sloping up to the right have a positive slope; lines sloping down to the right have a negative slope:

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(x1, y1)

y2 – y1

(x2, y2)
x2 – x1

• In the line shown above, y2 < y1, and so the numerator (y2 – y1) is negative. The denominator is still
positive, and so m is negative.

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y y

m<0
m>0 b>0
b>0

x x
y y

m>0
b<0

x m<0 x
b<0

• A horizontal line has a slope of zero. The equation for such a line is thus y = (0)x + b or y = b.

• A vertical line has an infinite slope. Its equation is x = k, where k is some constant

m=0
y=b

y
x=k

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Founda
tion

Logarithms and Exponentials

A. Definitions

• In general, the logarithm can be defined by the following relationships: if ay = x, then we can write logax
= y.

• I.e., “the base-a logarithm of x is the number such that when a is raised to it, we get x.”

• In practice, we only deal with two different types of logarithms, differing in the value of their base (the
value of a): (1) common logarithm which is based on the number 10 and (2) natural logarithm which is
based on the number e (= 2.718281828…).

1. Common logarithm

• For common logarithm we usually omit writing out the base explicitly, for example: log 10 = log10 10. I.e.,
it is the number such that when 10 is raised to its power, we get 10. So log 10 = log10 10 = 1.

N = 10; log10 N = log N = 1

N = 100; log10 N = log N = 2
N = 1000; log10 N = log N = 3
N = 0.1; log10 N = log N = –1
N = 0.000001; log10 N = log N = –6

• Note that if log x is greater than log y by 1, x is 10 times larger than y. This is one reason why we use
logarithms: we can deal with a much larger range of numbers without having to work with clunky
decimals. This is the primary motivation behind the pH scale.

• pH, you may remember, is defined as –log[H+]. A solution with a pH of 2 therefore has a concentration of
protons that is 10 times that of pH 3. (Note the negative.)

• The common logarithmic scale is also used in the decibel scale that describes the intensity of sound.

• Another reason why logarithms are useful is that we can exploit the following properties:
log (mn) = log m + log n
log (m/n) = log m – log n
log (mn) = n log m

• These properties (which are actually not limited to common logs) can be used to approximate values for
logarithms. For example:
log (4.527 x 10–5) = log 4.527 + log 10–5
log 10–5 = –5

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(Make sure you understand this step. We are looking for the number such that when 10 is raised to its
power, we get 10–5. What is this number? –5!)
∴ log (4.527 x 10–5) = log 4.527 – 5

So far, this equality is exact. To go further without using a calculator, we will need to approximate. What
is the log of 4.527? Again, it is the number x such that 10x = 4.527. Can we establish a range for this? 101 =
10, and 100 = 1, and so x has to be between 0 and 1 in order for 10x to equal 4.527.
log (4.527 x 10–5), therefore, has to be between 0 – 5 and 1 – 5, or between –5 and –4.

Depending on how accurate we need to be, we can go a step further and try to narrow the range more.
100.5 = 10 which is about 3 point something. We can therefore conclude that 4.527 is between 100.5 and
101, or that log 4.527 is between 0.5 and 1. log (4.527 x 10–5) is therefore between –4.5 and –4.

2. Natural logarithm

• For natural logarithm we generally write “ln”: ln x = loge x. I.e. we are looking for the number y such that
ey = x.

• Natural logarithms are used when we deal with radioactive decay, for example. The population of a
sample after a period of time t is given by the equation:
N = N0e–kt
where N is the size of the population at time t, N0 is the initial population, and k is some (positive)
constant. The graph of N as a function of time would look like:
N
N0

• If we take the natural logarithm of both sides of the equation, we get:

ln N = ln (N0e–kt)
= ln N0 + ln (e–kt)
= ln N0 – kt

• The important thing is to recognize the last equation as that of a straight line, with ln N as the dependent
variable, and t as the independent variable. The slope is –k, and the y-intercept is ln N0.

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N ln N
N0
ln N 0

t t

• A plot where one of the axes is plotted as a logarithmic value is sometimes called a “semilog plot.”

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