1.

Figure 3

A particle A of mass 2m moving at a velocity u on a smooth horizontal plane

strikes another particle B of mass m. The particle B, initially at rest before the
impact, then hits a vertical wall at a distance d away perpendicularly. (See Figure
1
3.) The coefficient of restitution at both impacts is .
Figure 1 2
(a) Find the velocities of A and B immediately after the first impact.
A particle of mass 2m is projected from a point O on horizontal ground with initial d
(b) Show that the particles will collide again at a point from the wall.
horizontal and vertical speeds u and v respectively. At the highest point A of its 4
trajectory, the particle splits into two equal parts. One part falls vertically (7 marks)
downwards with an initial speed 3 v.
(a) Determine the height of A above the ground. 4.
(b) Find the velocity of the other part when it hits the horizontal ground.
(6 marks)

2.

Figure 4
Figure 2
A(6, 0) and B(2, 3) are two points in the Oxy plane with origin O. Forces (in
Consider a non-uniform thin rod AB of mass m. For any point P on the rod, let I P suitable units) of magnitude and direction 2 OA , AB and 3 BO act along OA,
denote the moment of inertia of the rod about an axis through P perpendicular to AB and BO respectively. Let i and j be unit vectors along the x and y axes
the rod. Let C, D be two points on the rod such that AC = 2a, AD = 5a. Given that respectively.
(a) Find the resultant of the system of forces.
IC 7ma 2 , I D 4ma 2 ,
(b) Find the moment of the resultant about O.
(a) show that the centre of mass of the rod is at a distance 4a from A. (c) Determine the coordinates of the point where the line of action of the resultant
(b) determine I A . cuts the x axis.
(6 marks) (7 marks)

3. 5.
 Figure 5

A wedge ABC, with smooth faces CA and CB and right-angled at C, rests with AB
on a perfectly rough horizontal plane. (See Figure 5.) A particle released from rest
at C takes a time t1 to slide from C to A, and a time t 2 from C to B.
t2
(a) Show that tan ‘CAB .
t1
(b) Suppose a particle of mass m slides down CA.
(i) Find the reaction on the particle due to the wedge.
(ii) Show that the frictional force on the wedge is
mgt1t 2 Figure 7
.
t1  t 2
2 2

(7 marks) A particle P of mass m is attached to one end of a light elastic string of natural
mg
length l and modulus of elasticity mg (i.e. tension = u entension) . The other
6. l
end of the string is fastened to a fixed point A. At time t = 0, P is projected

vertically downwards with speed 2 gl from a point B at a distance l vertically

below A.
(a) Show that, when the string has an extension x, the speed v of P is given by
g 2
v2 [3l  (l  x) 2 ] .
l
(b) Using (a), determine the greatest length attained by the string.
Figure 6 (c) Show that the string will reach its greatest length at time

l 3
Two particles A and B move in a plane in an anti-clockwise direction along two t [Ɋ - cos -1 ( )] .
g 3
circles, centred O, of radii a and 2a respectively. The angular speeds of A and B
are 3Z and Z respectively, where Z is a constant. At time t = 0, A and B lie
on the positive x axis. Let V AB denote the velocity of A relative to B. 8. A boy drops a metal ball from rest into a dry well. After a time T, he hears the
(a) Determine V AB at time t in terms of unit vectors i and j along the x and y axes sound of the ball hitting the bottom of the well. Assume that sound travels at a
respectively. constant speed V and that air resistance is negligible.
(b) Find the greatest magnitude of V AB . (a) (i) Show that the depth of the well satisfies the following equation in x:
(7 marks) V2
x 2  2(VT  ) x  V 2T 2 0
g
7. (ii) Explain why the depth is given by the smaller root of the above
equation.
(b) Suppose V = 340 ms 1 and T = 3.5s.
(i) Find the depth of the well.
 (ii) After the impact, the ball rebounds vertically and then makes a second
impact with the bottom of the well. If the boy hears the second impact
4.6s after he hears the first, estimate the coefficient of restitution
between the ball and the bottom of the well.

9.

Figure 9

A particle A of mass m is connected to a fixed point O on a fixed vertical wire by a

light inextensible string of length a. The particle is also connected by an identical
string to a small ring B of mass m, which can slide on the wire. The system is
Figure 8 made to revolve about the wire with constant angular velocity Z so that both

Two identical uniform circular cylinders B and C, each of weight W, are placed in strings are taut and each makes an angle with the wire. (See Figure 9.)
4
contact on a rough horizontal plane. Another uniform circular cylinder A of the
same radius but of weight 2W is placed symmetrically on top of B and C, so that (a) Determine the tensions in AO and AB.
the system is in equilibrium. The axes of the cylinders are parallel and the centres
of mass are in the same vertical plane. The coefficient of friction at all contacts is 1
(b) The coefficient of friction between the ring and the wire is . Let R denote
P. 2
the normal reaction on the ring due to the wire, and f the frictional force
(a) Show that the friction and normal reaction on A due to C are respectively required to keep the ring in place. (Take the upward vertical as the positive
direction.)
(2  3 )W and W.
2 1
(i) Show that R maZ 2  mg .
4 2
(b) Show that P t 2  3 .
3 2
(ii) Show that f mg  maZ 2 .
2 4
(c) Explain how equilibrium will be broken if P gradually decreases.
7 2 g g
(iii) Show that dZ2 d 5 2 .
3 a a
10.

11.
 12.

Figure 10
Figure 11

A particle P of unit mass, initially at rest at the origin O, moves in a plane under
the action of two forces: One is of magnitude a along the radius vector OP and A uniform rod OA of mass m and length 2a is free to rotate in a vertical plane
the other of variable magnitude bv perpendicular to the velocity of P, where a, b
2
are constants and v is the speed of P. Let (r, T ) denote the position of P in polar about its end O, which is fixed. It is held in a position making an angle
3
with
coordinates. It is given that the radial and transverse components of the the downward vertical and then released. The moment of inertia of the rod about
1 d 2
acceleration of P are r  rT 2 and (r T ) respectively. an axes through its centre of mass perpendicular to it is
1
ma 2 .
r dt 3

(a) Show that (a) Show that when the rod makes an angle T with the downward vertical, the
angular speed T satisfies
rT
(i) sin I ,
r 2  (rT) 2 aT 2
3
g (1  2 cosT ) .
4

where I is the angle between OP and the velocity of P; (b) Find the horizontal and vertical components of the reaction on the rod at O
when A is vertically below O.

(ii) r  rT 2 a  brT ; (c) When A is vertically below O, the end O is released and the rod moves freely
under the action of gravity. The rod becomes vertical again after a time T.
1 d 2
(iii) (r T ) br .
r dt
2 a
(i) Show that T .
(b) Using (a) (ii) and (iii), show that 3 g

b
(i) T ; (ii) Find the kinetic energy of the rod at time T after release.
2

4a
(ii) r (1  cosT ) .
b2
1. A football team and a basketball team are formed in a school. The number of ­ dx
°° dt 3x  4 y
members in each team and some summary statistics of their weights are given as
®
follows: ° dy x y
¯° dt
Number of members Mean Standard deviation (7 marks)
Football team 16 62 kg 7.0 kg
Basketball team 10 67 kg 6.5 kg
5. The method of fixed-point iteration with iteration formula

It is known that there is only one student belonging to both teams and his weight 10
I : x n 1
is 69.5 kg. Find the mean and standard deviation of the weights of these 25 xn  4
students, giving the answers correct to one decimal places.
is applied to find the real root r of the equation
(6 marks)
x 3  4 x 2  10 0
in the interval [1, 2].
2. The time needed for a printer to print a page of a document varies according to the
(a) Show that the iteration converges to r for an arbitrary initial guess in [1, 2].
number of characters on the page. This printing time follows a normal distribution
(b) Using the formula I, with 1.5 as an initial guess, determine r correct to 3
with mean 35 seconds and standard deviation 4 seconds.
decimal places.
(a) One copy of a 10-page report is to be printed. Find the probability that the
(7 marks)
printing time exceeds 6 minutes.
(b) Suppose 10 copies of a single-page document are to be printed. Find the
6. Consider a function f ( x) e x . Let p(x) be the quadratic polynomial which equals
probability that the printing time exceeds 6 minutes.
f(x) at x = -1, 0 and 1.
(6 marks)
(a) Find p(x).
(b) Show that the error in using p(x) as an approximation to f(x) in the interval
3. A population consists of seven numbers, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7, whose probability
distribution is as follows:
> 1, 1@ is less than 0.18.
(7 marks)
Number 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Probability 0.15 0.02 0.36 0.04 0.26 0.04 0.13 7. In a radioactive series
S 0 o S1 o S 2 o ˜ ˜ ˜ o S n
A number is drawn from the population according to the above probability radioactive element S 0 decays into radioactive element S1 , which in turn decays
distribution. into radioactive element S 2 , and so on. The decay process continues until a stable
(a) Define the following events: element S n is formed, where n is a given integer greater than 1.
E: The outcome is an odd number. Let x k be the number of atoms of S k (k 0, 1, ˜ ˜ ˜ , n) present at time t, and
F: The outcome is a multiple of 3. assume that x k may be treated as a continuous variable. The rate of decay of
(i) Find P(E), P(F) and P(E ˆ F). S k (k 0, 1, ˜ ˜ ˜ , n - 1) is known to be x k atoms per unit time. The total number
(ii) Are the two events E and F independent? Explain briefly. of atoms, x0  x1  ˜ ˜ ˜  x n , is constant over time. At t = 0, x0 = N and
(b) Find the expected value of this number. x1 x 2 ˜ ˜ ˜ x n 0 .
(7 marks) (a) find x0 in terms of N and t.
t
(b) Prove that x k e t ³ x k 1e u du for k 1, 2 , ˜ ˜ ˜ , n - 1 .
4. Solve the following system of differential equations: 0
 N k t be?
(c) Prove that x k t e for k 1, 2, ˜ ˜˜, n - 1 .
k!
N t 10. At a farm, an egg is classified as medium if it weighs less than 62g, and as large if
(d) Prove that x n
(n  1)! ³0
u n 1e u du .
otherwise. From past experience , the weight of eggs follows a distribution with a
f probability density function as shown below:
Hence evaluate ³0
u n 1e u du .

1
³e
 x2
8. Consider the integral I 1 dx .
0

(a) Using Simpson’s rule with 2 subintervals, find an estimate for I 1 .

1
³e
 x2
(b) Consider another integral I 2 dx .
1

(i) Using the result of (a), find an estimate for I 2 .

(ii) If Simpson’s rule is applied to evaluate I 2 .
(c) Find the Taylor’s expansion of e  x
2
about 0, up to and including the term in The cost of producing an egg is $0.4. A medium egg is sold at $0.5 and a large egg
x2 . at $0.6.
Hence find an estimate for I 1 . (a) Show that the proportion of medium eggs is 0.68.
(d) By applying a suitable transformation and using the normal distribution table (b) Find the expected profit per egg sold.
on page 10, evaluate I 1 . (c) If five eggs are randomly selected, find
Hence compare the accuracy of the estimates for I 1 obtained in (a) and (c). (i) the probability of getting two medium and three large eggs;
(ii) the probability that they are sold for more than $2.7.
9. Circuit boards are produced by a machine. Each board may turn out to be (d) The farm manager proposes to modify the rule by classifying an egg as
defective (Outcome D) with probability 0.1, or good (Outcome Dc ) with medium if it weighs less than 60 g and as large if otherwise.
probability 0.9. They are tested on an electronic device one by one for the purpose (i) Find the proportion of medium eggs (based on the original
of sorting out defective boards. On testing each board, the device may either buzz classification rule) that will be reclassified as large by the manager.
(Response B) or remain silent (Response Bc ). The device is so designed that (ii) Under the manager’s proposal, how much more can the farm earn in
selling 500 dozen eggs?
P( B D ) = P( B c D c) , this common value being denoted by T . Suppose T =

0.95. 11. From past experience, the life of light bulbs manufactured by a factory is known
(a) Show that P(B) = 0.14. to follow a normal distribution with mean P hours and standard deviation V
(b) Find the probability that the device buzzes its second time upon testing the hours. It is known that 3.6% of the bulbs have a life less than 800 hours and 33%
tenth board. have a life exceeding 1024 hours.
(c) Find the probability that the device buzzes twice in testing no more than 10 (a) Find the values of P and V , giving the answers correct to the nearest integer.
boards. (b) After improving the production process, the factory advertises that the bulbs
(d) If the device buzzes on testing a board, find the probability that the board is now have a longer average life. To examine this claim, the Consumer Council
defective. inspects a random sample of ten bulbs and their observed lives (in hours) are
(e) The engineer feels that the probability found in (d) is not high enough. He as follows:
wants to improve it to 0.9 by changing the value of T . How large must T 1027 1074 925 1095 1084
 1054 1118 1083 1106 834
Assume that the population variance remains unchanged.
(i) State the null and alternative hypotheses for the Consumer Council.
(ii) Perform a suitable statistical test at 1% significance level.
(c) The factory thinks that, for a sample of ten bulbs, it is fairer to accept its claim
in (b) whenever the sample mean exceeds 1030 hours. Using this criterion,
(i) find the probability of committing a Type I error;
(ii) find the probability of committing a Type II error if, in fact, the true
value P is 1070 hours.

12. To estimate the perimeter p of a circular ring, its diameter P is measured ten
times. The results (in cm) are as follows:
12.47 12.53 12.50 12.49 12.48
12.52 12.51 12.51 12.50 12.49
It is known that these measurements can be modelled by a normal distribution
with mean P cm and standard deviation 0.01cm.
(a) Find a 95% confidence interval for P .
(b) The perimeter p is to be estimated by
pˆ Ɋ x
where x is the sample mean of the above ten measurements.
(i) Find p̂ and its standard deviation.
(ii) Find a 95% confidence interval for p.
(c) An alternative method is to directly measure the perimeter p of the ring ten
times. It is assumed that each measurement is normally distributed with mean
p cm and standard deviation 0.02cm,
(i) In comparison with the method used in (b), would this method give a
shorter 95% confidence interval for p? Explain your answer.
(ii) In order to attain a 0.99 probability that the estimate of p lies within
0.01 cm of the true value, how many additional measurements must be
made?