Algebraic Representation and Formulae

1. When x = –3 find the value of

x3 + 2x2.
2. Make s the subject of the formula
p = st – q.
3. The formula for changing degrees Celsius (C) to degrees Fahrenheit (F) is
9C
F= + 32.
5
Use the formula to change 6 degrees Celsius to degrees Fahrenheit.
Show all your working.
4. (a)

x cm

2x cm NOT TO SCALE
The perimeter of the rectangle in the diagram above is 36 centimetres.
(i) Find the value of x.
(ii) Using this value of x, calculate the area of the rectangle.
(b)
4z + 2

3y y+3

10z – 1 NOT TO SCALE

The diagram above shows another rectangle.
(i) In this rectangle 3y = y + 3.
Solve the equation to find y.
(ii) Write down an equation in z.
(iii) Solve the equation in part (b)(ii) to find z.
(c)
4a + b

a–b 3

17 NOT TO SCALE
The diagram above shows another rectangle.
(i) Write down two equations in a and b.
(ii) Solve these two equations simultaneously to find a and b.
5. The formula for the perimeter, P, of a rectangle with length a and width b is
P = 2a + 2b.
Make a the subject of the formula.
 Algebraic Representation and Formulae

6. = < >
Choose one of the symbols given above to complete each of the following statements.
When x = 6 and y = –7, then
(a) x …..……………….………… y
(b) x2 ………………….………… y2
(c) y – x …………….………… x – y
7.

The number of tennis balls (T) in the diagram is given by the formula
1
T = n(n + 1),
2
where n is the number of rows.
The diagram above has 4 rows.
How many tennis balls will there be in a diagram with 20 rows?
8. Make d the subject of the formula
d3
c= + 5,
2
9. (i) The cost of a book is $x.
Write down an expression in terms of x for the number of these books which are bought
for $40.
(ii) The cost of each book is increased by $2.
The number of books which are bought for $40 is now one less than before.
Write down an equation in x and show that it simplifies to x2 + 2x – 80 = 0.
(iii) Solve the equation x2 + 2x – 80 = 0
(iv) Find the original cost of one book.
10. Magazines cost $m each and newspapers cost $n each.
One magazine costs $2.55 more than one newspaper.
The cost of two magazines is the same as the cost of five newspapers.
(i) Write down two equations in m and n to show this information.
(ii) Find the values of m and n.
11. Angharad had an operation costing $500.
She was in hospital for x days.
The cost of nursing care was $170 for each day she was in hospital.
(a) Write down, in terms of x, an expression for the total cost of her operation and nursing
care.
(b) The total cost of her operation and nursing care was $2370.
Work out how many days Angharad was in hospital.
12. A kite has sides of length j cm and k cm.
j cm k cm

NOT TO SCALE
(i) Write down an expression in terms of j and k for the perimeter of the kite.
(ii) The perimeter of the kite is 72 centimetres.
Write down an equation in j and k.
(iii) If k = 2j, find the value of k.
 Algebraic Representation and Formulae
s −t 5 2 1
13. (i) Use the formula w = to find the value of w when s = , t = and r = .
r 6 3 2
Show all your working clearly.
(ii) Rearrange the formula in part (d)(i) to find s in terms of w, r and t.
14. The length, y, of a solid is inversely proportional to the square of its height, x.
(a) Write down a general equation for x and y.
Show that when x = 5 and y = 4.8 the equation becomes x2 y = 120.
(b) Find y when x = 2.
(c) Find x when y = 10
(d) Find x when y = x.
(e) Describe exactly what happens to y when x is doubled.
(f) Describe exactly what happens to x when y is decreased by 36%.
(g) Make x the subject of the formula x2y = 120.
15.
2x + 4

x+2 x

x2 – 40 NOT TO SCALE
The diagram shows a trapezium.
Two of its angles are 90°.
The lengths of the sides are given in terms of x
The perimeter is 62 units.
(i) Write down a quadratic equation in x to show this information. Simplify your equation.
(ii) Solve your quadratic equation.
(iii) Write down the only possible value of x.
(iv) Calculate the area of the trapezium.
16.

2y – 1
y

y+2 NOT TO SCALE

The diagram shows a right-angled triangle.
The lengths of the sides are given in terms of y.
(i) Show that 2y2 – 8y – 3 = 0.
(ii) Solve the equation 2y2 – 8y – 3 = 0, giving your answers to 2 decimal places.
(iii) Calculate the area of the triangle.
17. Make r the subject of the formula A = 4πr2.
18. Two quantities c and d are connected by the formula c = 2d + 30.
Find c when d = –100.
 Algebraic Representation and Formulae

19.

150 cm
7x cm

24x cm NOT TO SCALE

The right-angled triangle in the diagram has sides of length 7x cm, 24x cm and 150 cm.
(a) Show that x2 = 36
(b) Calculate the perimeter of the triangle.
20.
(x + 4) cm

R 4x cm

Q (x + 2) cm

(x + 12) cm NOT TO SCALE

(a) (i) Write down an expression for the area of rectangle R.
(ii) Show that the total area of rectangles R and Q is 5x2 + 30x + 24 square centimetres.
(b) The total area of rectangles R and Q is 64 cm2.
Calculate the value of x correct to 1 decimal place.
21.

x°
80° 95°
3y°

NOT TO SCALE
The diagram shows four angles around a point.
(i) Write down an equation in x and y.
(ii) Simplify your equation.
(iii) Find y when x = 65.
 Algebraic Representation and Formulae

22. (i)
A
a°

70°
2b° C
B NOT TO SCALE
Explain why a + 2b = 110 in the triangle above.
(ii)

b° a° NOT TO SCALE
Explain why a + b = 90 in the semi-circle above.
(iii) Solve the equations
a + 2b = 110,
a + b = 90.
(iv) Work out the size of angle ABC in the triangle in part (c)(i).
23. The surface area, A, of a cylinder, radius r and height h, is given by the formula
A = 2πrh + 2πr2.
(i) Calculate the surface area of a cylinder of radius 5 cm and height 9 cm.
(ii) Make h the subject of the formula.
(iii) A cylinder has a radius of 6 cm and a surface area of 377 cm2.
Calculate the height of this cylinder.
(iv) A cylinder has a surface area of 1200 cm2 and its radius and height are equal.
Calculate the radius.
24. (i) On Monday a shop receives $60.30 by selling bottles of water at 45 cents each.
How many bottles are sold?
(ii) On Tuesday the shop receives x cents by selling bottles of water at 45 cents each.
In terms of x, how many bottles are sold?
(iii) On Wednesday the shop receives (x – 75) cents by selling bottles of water at 48 cents
each.
In terms of x, how many bottles are sold?
(iv) The number of bottles sold on Tuesday was 7 more than the number of bottles sold on
Wednesday.
Write down an equation in x and solve your equation.
25. The equation of a straight line can be written in the form 3x + 2y – 8 = 0.
(a) Rearrange this equation to make y the subject.
(b) Write down the gradient of the line.
(c) Write down the co-ordinates of the point where the line crosses the y axis.
26. Kinetic energy, E, is related to mass, m, and velocity, v, by the formula
1
E = mv 2 .
2
(i) Calculate E when m = 5 and v = 12.
(ii) Calculate v when m = 8 and E = 225.
(ii) Make m the subject of the formula.
Algebraic Representation and Formulae
 Algebraic Representation and Formulae

27.
P Q

c m
2)

yc
y+

m
(
X

cm

(y
– 1)

+
(2y

1)
cm
R S NOT TO SCALE
In the diagram PQ is parallel to RS.
PS and QR intersect at X.
PX = y cm, QX = (y + 2) cm, RX = (2y – 1) cm and SX = (y + 1) cm.
(i) Show that y2 – 4y – 2 = 0.
(ii) Solve the equation y2 – 4y – 2 = 0.
Show all your working and give your answers correct to two decimal places.
(iii) Write down the length of RX.
28. A packet of sweets contains chocolates and toffees.
(a) There are x chocolates which have a total mass of 105 grams.
Write down, in terms of x, the mean mass of a chocolate.
(b) There are x + 4 toffees which have a total mass of 105 grams.
Write down, in terms of x, the mean mass of a toffee.
(c) The difference between the two mean masses in parts (a) and (b) is 0.8 grams.
Write down an equation in x and show that it simplifies to x2 + 4x – 525 = 0.
(d) (i) Factorise x2 + 4x – 525.
(ii) Write down the solutions of x2 + 4x – 525 = 0.
(e) Write down the total number of sweets in the packet.
(f) Find the mean mass of a sweet in the packet.
29.

Diagram 1 Diagram 2 Diagram 3

The first three diagrams in a sequence are shown above.
The diagrams are made up of dots and lines. Each line is one centimetre long.
(a) Make a sketch of the next diagram in the sequence.
(b) The table below shows some information about the diagrams.

Diagram 1 2 3 4 ----------- n
Area 1 4 9 16 ----------- x
Number of dots 4 9 16 p ----------- y
Number of one centimetre lines 4 12 24 q ----------- z
 Algebraic Representation and Formulae

(i) Write down the values of p and q.

(ii) Write down each of x, y and z in terms of n.
(c) The total number of one centimetre lines in the first n diagrams is given by the
expression
2 3
n + fn 2 + gn.
3
10
(i) Use n = 1 in this expression to show that f + g = .
3
32
(ii) Use n = 2 in this expression to show that 4 f + 2 g = .
3
(iii) Find the values of f and g.
(iv) Find the total number of one centimetre lines in the first 10 diagrams.
30. Use the formula
V2
P=
R
to calculate the value of P when V = 6 × 106 and R = 7.2 × 108.
31.

The length of time, T seconds, that the pendulum in the clock takes to swing is given by the
formula
6
T= .
(1 + g 2 )
Rearrange the formula to make g the subject.
32.

r
2r

5πr 2
The area of the shape is given by the formula A = .
2
(a) Calculate the area when r = 3 cm.
(b) Calculate the value of r when A = 200 cm2.
(c) Make r the subject of the formula.
33. Pencils cost 5 cents each and erasers cost 4 cents each.
(i) Work out the total cost of 10 pencils and 7 erasers.
(ii) Write down, in terms of p and e, the total cost of p pencils and e erasers.
 Algebraic Representation and Formulae

34. The cost of a pen is x cents and the cost of a ruler is y cents.
2 pens and 3 rulers have a total cost of 57 cents.
5 pens and 1 ruler have a total cost of 58 cents.
(i) Write down two equations in x and y.
(ii) Find the value of x and the value of y.
35. Each year a school organises a concert.
In 2007, the number of tickets sold was 210.
Adult tickets were $2.60 each and student tickets were $1.40 each.
The total amount received from selling the 210 tickets was $480.
How many student tickets were sold?
36. (a) When x = –3 and y = 4, find the value of
(i) x 3,
(ii) xy2.
z −1
(b) Simplify .
z −2
37. (a) When x = –4 and y = 6, find the value of
(i) x 3,
(ii) xy2.
z −1
(b) Simplify − 2 .
z
38. (a) The formula for the nth term of the sequence
n(n + 1)(2n + 1)
1, 5, 14, 30, 55, 91, … is .
6
Find the 20th term.
(b) The nth term of the sequence 10, 17, 26, 37, 50, ... is (n + 2)2 + 1.
Write down the formula for the nth term of the sequence 17, 26, 37, 50, 65, …
39. A student played a computer game 500 times and won 370 of these games.
He then won the next x games and lost none.
He has now won 75% of the games he has played.
Find the value of x.
40. (a) The formula for the nth term of the sequence
n(n + 1)(2n + 1)
1, 5, 14, 30, 55, 91, … is .
6
Find the 15th term.
(b) The nth term of the sequence 17, 26, 37, 50, 65,... is (n + 3)2 + 1.
Write down the formula for the nth term of the sequence 26, 37, 50, 65, 82,…
41. Donna sent p postcards and q letters to her friends.
(i) The total number of postcards and letters she sent was 12.
Write down an equation in p and q.
(ii) A stamp for a postcard costs 25 cents and a stamp for a letter costs 40 cents.
She spent 375 cents on stamps altogether.
Write down another equation in p and q.
(iii) Solve these equations to find the values of p and q.
42. The width of a rectangle is x centimetres.
The length of the rectangle is 3 centimetres more than the width.
Write down an expression, in terms of x, for
(i) the length of the rectangle,
(ii) the area of the rectangle.
 Algebraic Representation and Formulae
(iii) The area of the rectangle is 7 square centimetres.
Show that x2 + 3x – 7 = 0.

43. y = m2 – 4n2.
(i) Factorise m2 – 4n2.
(ii) Find the value of y when m = 4.4 and n = 2.8.
(iii) m = 2x + 3 and n = x – 1.
Find y in terms of x, in its simplest form.
(iv) Make n the subject of the formula y = m2 – 4n2.
44.

1 2 3 4 5 6
7 8 9 10 11 12
13 14 15 16 17 18
19 20 21 22 23 24
25 26 27 28 29 30
31 32 33 34 35 36

A 3 by 3 square x b c can be chosen from the 6 by 6 grid above.

d e f
g h i
(a) One of these squares is
8 9 10
14 15 16
20 21 22
In this square, x = 8, c = 10, g = 20 and i = 22.
For this square, calculate the value of
(i) (i – x) – (g – c),
(ii) cg – xi.
(b)

x b c
d e f
g h i
(i) c = x + 2. Write down g and i in terms of x.
(ii) Use your answers to part(b)(i) to show that (i – x) – (g – c) is constant.
(iii) Use your answers to part(b)(i) to show that cg – xi is constant.
(c) The 6 by 6 grid is replaced by a 5 by 5 grid as shown.

1 2 3 4 5
6 7 8 9 10
11 12 13 14 15
16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25

A 3 by 3 square x b c can be chosen from the 5 by 5 grid.

d e f
g h i

For any 3 by 3 square chosen from this 5 by 5 grid, calculate the value of
 Algebraic Representation and Formulae
(i) (i – x) – (g – c),
(ii) cg – xi.

(d) A 3 by 3 square is chosen from an n by n grid.

(i) Write down the value of (i – x) – (g – c).
(ii) Find g and i in terms of x and n.
(iii) Find cg – xi in its simplest form.
45. (a) Factorise ax2 + bx2.
(b) Make x the subject of the formula
ax2 + bx2 – d2 = p2
46. 2y = 75 – 7x
(i) Find y when x = 7.
(ii) Find x when y = 6.
47. Make x the subject of the equation 2y = 75 – 7x.
48.
C

x cm

y
A (x + 4) cm B

NOT TO SCALE

(a) When the area of triangle ABC is 48 cm2,

(i) show that x2 + 4x – 96 = 0,
(ii) solve the equation x2 + 4x – 96 = 0,
(iii) write down the length of AB.
1
(b) When tan y = , find the value of x.
6
(c) When the length of AC is 9 cm,
(i) show that 2x2 + 8x – 65 = 0,
(ii) solve the equation 2x2 + 8x – 65 = 0,
(Show your working and give your answers correct to 2 decimal places.)
(iii) calculate the perimeter of triangle ABC.
n(n + 1)
49. 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 +……………….. + n =
2
(a) (i) Show that this formula is true for the sum of the first 8 natural numbers.
(ii) Find the sum of the first 400 natural numbers.
(b) (i) Show that 2 + 4 + 6 + 8 + ………………... + 2n = n(n + 1).
(ii) Find the sum of the first 200 even numbers.
(iii) Find the sum of the first 200 odd numbers.
(c) (i) Use the formula at the beginning of the question to find the sum of the first 2n
natural numbers.
(ii) Find a formula, in its simplest form, for
1 + 3 + 5 + 7 + 9 + …………………... + (2n – 1).
Show your working.
 Algebraic Representation and Formulae

50. z = 2x – y
(a) Find z when x = –3 and y = 7.
(b) Make x the subject of the formula.
51. Rearrange the formula to make y the subject.
y
x+ =1
9
52. Rearrange the formula to make y the subject.
y
x+ =1
8
53. Garcia and Elena are each given x dollars.
(i) Elena spends 4 dollars.
Write down an expression in terms of x for the number of dollars she has now.
(ii) Garcia doubles his money by working and then is given another 5 dollars.
Write down an expression in terms of x for the number of dollars he has now.
(iii) Garcia now has three times as much money as Elena.
Write down an equation in x to show this.
(iv) Solve the equation to find the value of x.
54.
B

(x + 1) cm

A (x + 6) cm D (x + 2) cm C NOT TO SCALE

In triangle ABC, the line BD is perpendicular to AC.

AD = (x + 6) cm, DC = (x + 2) cm and the height BD = (x + 1) cm.
The area of triangle ABC is 40 cm2.
(i) Show that x2 + 5x – 36 = 0.
(ii) Solve the equation x2 + 5x – 36 = 0.
(iii) Calculate the length of BC.
55. Amira takes 9 hours 25 minutes to complete a long walk.
113
(i) Show that the time of 9 hours 25 minutes can be written as hours.
12
(ii) She walks (3y + 2) kilometres at 3 km/h and then a further (y + 4) kilometres at 2 km/h.
9 y + 16
Show that the total time taken is hours
6
9 y + 16 113
(iii) Solve the equation = .
6 12
 Algebraic Representation and Formulae
(iv) Calculate Amira’s average speed, in kilometres per hour, for the whole walk.

56.

Diagram 1 Diagram 2 Diagram 3 Diagram 4

The first four terms in a sequence are 1, 3, 6 and 10.
They are shown by the number of dots in the four diagrams above.
(a) Write down the next four terms in the sequence.
(b) (i) The sum of the two consecutive terms 3 and 6 is 9.
The sum of the two consecutive terms 6 and 10 is 16.
Complete the following statements using different pairs of terms.
The sum of the two consecutive terms ……..and …….is ……….
The sum of the two consecutive terms ……. and……..is ………..
(ii) What special name is given to these sums?
n(n + 1)
(e) (i) The formula for the nth term in the sequence 1, 3, 6, 10… is ,
k
where k is an integer.
Find the value of k.
(ii) Test your formula when n = 4, showing your working.
(iii) Find the value of the 180th term in the sequence.
(d) (i) Show clearly that the sum of the nth and the (n + 1)th terms is (n + 1)2.
(ii) Find the values of the two consecutive terms which have a sum of 3481.