Fundamentals of Engineering Exam Sample Math Questions

Directions: Select the best answer.

y
of y = x 2 z + 3z 2 x + 6( x + z ) is:
x
a. 2 xz + 3 z 2 + 6
b. x 2 z + 6 zx + 6 z
c. 2 x + 9
d. 2 x + 6 z + 6

1. The partial derivative

2. If the functional form of a curve is known, differentiation can be used to determine all of
the following EXCEPT the
a. concavity of the curve.
b. location of the inflection points on the curve.
c. number of inflection points on the curve.
d. area under the curve between certain bounds.
3. Which of the following choices is the general solution to this differential equation:

dy
+ 5 y = 0; y (0) = 1?
dt
a. e 5t
b. e 5t

c. e

5t

d. 5e 5t
2

4. If D is the differential operator, then the general solution to (D + 2 ) y = 0

C1 e 4 x
b. C1 e 2 x
c. e 4 x (C1 + C 2 x )
d. e 2 x (C1 + C 2 x )
a.

5. A particle traveled in a straight line in such a way that its distance S from a given point
on that line after time t was S = 20t 3 t 4 . The rate of change of acceleration at time t=2
is:
a. 72
b. 144
c. 192
d. 208
6. Which of the following is a unit vector perpendicular to the plane determined by the
vectors A=2i + 4j and B=i + j - k?
a. -2i + j - k
b.
c.
d.

1
5
1

6
1
6

(i + 2j)
(-2i + j - k)
(-2i - j - k)

7. If sin( y ) = x y , then y using implicit differentiation would be

a.

y
cos( y) x

b.

sin( y )
x2

c.

cos( y)
x

d.

x
cos( x) + x

(Questions 8-10) Under certain conditions, the motion of an oscillating spring and mass is
described by the differential equation

d 2x
+ 16 x = 0, where x is displacement in meters and t is
dt 2

time in seconds. At t=0, the displacement is .08 m and the velocity is 0 m per second; that is
x(0) = .08 and x(0) = 0.
8. The solution that fits the initial conditions is:
a. x = sin( 4t )
b. x = .02 sin( 4t ) + .08 cos( 4t )
c. x = 4 cos(4t )
d. x = .08 cos( 4t )
9. The maximum amplitude of the motions is:
a. 0.02 m
b. 0.08 m
c. 0.16 m
10. The period of motion is
a. / 2 sec
b. sec

c. 2 sec

d. 0.32 m
d. 3 sec

11. The equation of the line normal to the curve defined by the function y ( x) = 8 2 x 2 at
the point (1,6) is:
a.
b.
c.
d.

y6
=4
x 1
y6 1
=
x 1 4
y6
= 4
x 1
y+6
= 4
x +1

12. The Laplace transform of the step function of magnitude a is:

a.

1
s+a

b.

a
s

c.

a
s+a

d.

a
s2

e. s + a

13. The only point of inflection on the curve representing the equation y = x 3 + x 2 3 is at x
equal to:
a.

b. 1

c. 0

d. 1

e. 2

14. The indefinite integral of x 3 x + 1 is

a.
b.
c.
d.

x4
4
x3
3
x3
3
x4
4

x2
2
x2

2
x2

2
x2

+x
+x
+ x+C
+ x+C

15. Consider a function of x equal to the determinant shown here: f ( x) =

x x2
x4

x3

. The first

derivative f (x ) of this function with respect to x is equal to

a.
b.
c.
d.

3x 2 8 x 3
3x 2 + 7 x 6
4x3 6x5
x4 x6

Questions 16-17, relate to the three vectors A, B, and C in Cartesian coordinates; the unit
vectors i, j, and k are parallel to the x, y, and z axes, respectively.
A = 2i+3j+k

B = 4i-2j-2k

C = i-k

16. The angle between the vectors A and B is:

a. 180!
b. 0 !
c. 45 !
d. 90 !

e. 180!

17. The scalar projection of A on C is:

a.

2
2

b.

1
14

c. 0

d.

1
14

e.

2
2

18. The polar coordinates for the Cartesian coordinate pair ( -3, -5.2) is:
a.
b. 6,120!
c. 6,60 !
d. 6,150!
6,150!
19. A paraboloid 4 units high is formed by rotating x 2 = y about the y-axis. Compute the
volume for this paraboloid.
a. 4
b. 6
c. 8
d. 10

20. Let y = f (x) be a continuous function on the interval from x=a to x=b. The average
value of the curve between a and b is:

a.

2
x dx

xdx

c.

ba
b

b.

ba
b

f 2 ( x)dx

d.

ba

f ( x)dx
a

ba

5 1
1 2 3
21. Let A =
, and B = 6 0 . The (2,1) entry of AB is:

1 2 9
4 7
a. 29

b. 53

c. 33

d. 64

22. The general equation of second degree is Ax 2 + Bxy + Cy 2 + Dx + Ey + F = 0.

The values of the coefficients in the general equation for the parabola shown in the diagram
could be
a. B, C, D, and F each equal to 0; A and E both positive.
b. B, C, D, and F each equal to 0; A negative and E positive.
c. A, B, E, and F each equal to 0; C and D positive.
d. A, B, E, and F each equal to 0; D negative and C positive.
e. A, D, E, and F each equal to 0; B negative and C positive.
23. Use Eulers method to compute x(0.15) from the differential equation
initial condition x(0) = 2 , where the step size h = 0.15.
a. -3.05
b. -2.7
c. 2.7
d. 3.05

dx
= x 3 + 1, with
dt

24. A graph of x 3 2 x 5 = 0 indicates there is a root close to x = 2. Use one iteration of

Newtons method (aka Newton-Raphson method), to find the approximation, x 2 given
that our guess is x1 = 2.
a. 1.9
b. 2.05

c. 2.1

d. 2.09

25. The diagram shown below shows two intersecting curves: y = x, and y =

1 2
x .
3

Which of the following expressions gives the distance from the y-axis to the centroid of
the area bounded by the two curves shown in the diagram?
3

a.

dx

x + 3 x

dx

b.

dx

x + 3 x
0
3

c.

x
0
3

1
x 3 dx
3

x 3 x

0
3

d.

x 3 x
0
3

x 3 x
0

dx

dx

dx

dx

26. Find the value of the limit: lim

x 0

a. 0

b.

sin x
x

c. 1

d. 2

d2y
dy
+ 5 + 4 y = x(t ) . The
2
dx
dx

27. *The following equation describes a 2nd order system:

system may be described as:
a. non-linear
b. over-damped

c. critically damped

d. under-damped

28. Find the solution as t , for y + 4 y + 4 y = 20.

a. y = 0

b. y = e 2t

c. y = te 2t

d. y = 5

29. It takes a pigeon X, 2 hours to fly straight home averaging 20 km/h. It takes pigeon Y, 2
hours and 20 minutes to fly straight home averaging 30 km/h. If both pigeons start from
the same spot but fly at an angle 120 ! to each other, about how far apart do they live?
a. 96 km
b. 87 km
c. 80 km
d. 73 km
30. A matrix B has Eigen-values (characteristic values) found from which of the following
equations?
a. B I = 0
b.
c.
d.

!
BI = x
B =
!
Bx I = 0

31. The divergence of the vector function u = xyi + 2 y 2 j yzk at the point (0, 1, 1) is
a. -4
b. -1
c. 0
d. 4
32. A right circular cone cut parallel with the axis of symmetry could reveal a
a. circle
b. hyperbola
c. ellipse
d. parabola
33. If y = cos(x), then

dy
=
dx

a.

sin(x)

b.

tan( x) cos( x)

1
sec( x )
d. sec( x) sin( x)
c.

34. Write the complex product (3 + 4i )(1 2i ) in polar form.

a.

5.39;158 !

b. 11.18;79.7 !

c. 11.18;10.3 !

d. 5.39;21.8 !

[ ][ ]

Questions 35-37: Given the set of equations represented by a i , j x j = [ri ], where

2 x1 + 3x 2 = 12
2 x1 + x 2 = 2

[ ]

35. Determine the adjoint matrix a i , j

a.

1 3
2 2

1 1

3 2

1 1

3 2

b.

1 3

1 2

c.

d.

[ ]

36. Determine the inverse matrix a i , j

a.

1 3
2 2

1 1 3
4 2 2

b.

c.

1 1 1
2 3 2

d.

1 1 3
5 1 2

[ ]

37. Determine the Eigen-values (characteristic values) associated with the matrix a i , j .
a. 2, 6

b. 5, 0

c. 0, 4

d. 4, -1

38. If log a 10 = 0.25, then log10 a =

a. 4
b. .5
c. .25
d. 2
39. Find the distance between the points P ( 1, -3, 5 ) and Q ( -3, 4, -2 ).
a.

10

40. The roots of F =

a. -1, -2, -3

b.

14

c. 8

d.

x 3 + 6 x 2 + 11x + 6
, are:
x +1
b. 2, -3

c. -2, -3

114

d. 2, 3

41. Find the x-value of the absolute minimum for the equation y = 6 x x 3 in the interval
3 x 3.
a. -3

b. 2

c. 0

d. 3

Problems 42 & 43 use the following information: The population of a bacteria colony doubles
every 3 days and has a present population of 50000.
42. What is the equation describing the population growth?
a. 50,000 (1+t / 3)
b.

50,000 2t / 3
t

50,000 (2) 3
d. 50,000 (2) t
c.

43. How long will it take for the population to triple?

a. 1.6 days
b. 4.5 days
c. 4.8 days

d. 7.5 days

44. *The area enclosed by the curve r = 2(sin + cos ) is

a.
b. /2
c. 2
d. 4
45. The derivative of cos 3 5 x is
a. 3 sin 2 5 x
b. 15 sin 2 5 x
c. cos 2 5 xsin x
d. 15 cos 2 (5 x) sin 5 x
2

46.

1 + x 3 dx =

a. 52/9

47. If sin =
a.
b.
c.
d.

b. 0

c. 52/3

d. 26/3

, which of the following statements must be true?

a2 + b2
b
tan 1 =
a 2
b
tan 1 =
a
b

cos 1
=
a2 + b2 2
a
cos 1
=
a2 + b2

48. Suppose f (t ) = t 2 . The area under the curve for 0 t 2 , estimated by using the
trapezoidal rule with t = 0.5 , is most nearly:
a. 4.0
b. 2.75
c. 2.67
d. 1.33

cos( ) + i sin( ) is exactly equal to:

a. cos(3 ) + i sin(3 )
c. cos + i sin
3
3
3
3
b. cos i sin
d. cos 3 i sin 3

49. The expression

( )

( )

( )

( )

( )

( )

50. The equation of a sphere with center at ( 0, 1, -2 ) and a radius of 9 is:

a. x 2 + ( y 1) 2 + ( z + 2) 2 = 81

x 2 + ( y + 1) 2 + ( z 2) 2 = 81
c. x 2 + ( y + 1) 2 + ( z 2) 2 = 9
d. x 2 + ( y 1) 2 + ( z + 2) 2 = 9
b.