STEP Solutions 2016

Mathematics

STEP 9465/9470/9475

November 2016
The Admissions Testing Service is a department of Cambridge English
Language Assessment, which is part of Cambridge Assessment,
a not-forprofit department of the University of Cambridge.

Cambridge English Language Assessment offers the worlds leading

qualifications for learners and teachers of the English language. Over 4 million
people from 130 countries take Cambridge English exams every year.

2
Contents

STEP Mathematics (9465, 9470, 9475)

Solutions Page
STEP Mathematics I 5
STEP Mathematics II 19
STEP Mathematics III 24

3
4
 STEPI2016Solutions

Question1

Asastartertothepaper,thisisastraightforwardquestionintermsofitsearlydemandsandinvolveslittle
morethantheneedtosortoutsomeclearlysignpostedalgebra.Tobeginwith,itisclearthat,whenevern
isodd,theexpression(xn+1)has(x+1)asafactor(bytheFactorTheorem),sothat
qn(x)= x 2 n  x 2 n  1  x 2 n  2  ...  x 3  x 2  x  1 .
Examiningthepn(x)sinturn,usingthebinomialtheorem(andPascalsTriangleforthecoefficients),gives
 
p1(x)= x 2  2 x  1  3x(1) = x 2  x  1 ,
p2(x)= x  4 x  6 x
4 3 2

 4 x  1  5 x( x 2  x  1) = x 4  x 3  x 2  x  1 ,and
p3(x)= x  6 x  15x
6 5 4 3

 20 x  15x 2  6 x  1 7x( x 2  x  1 )2.
Expanding( x 2  x  1 )2isrelativelystraightforward,anditisrelativelyeasytoobtaintherequiredresults.

There are several ways to demonstrate that two given expressions of the given kind are not identically
equal.Oneistoexpandthembothaspolynomialsandshowthattheyarenotthesame.Inthiscase,
p4(x)= x 8  x 7  x 6  2 x 5  7 x 4  2 x 3  x 2  x  1 whileq4(x)= x 8  x 7  x 6  x 5  x 4  x 3  x 2  x  1 .
Alternatively,oneneedonlyshowthatonecorrespondingpairofcoefficientsarenotthesamehere,the
coefficientsof(say)x5arenotequal.However,thesimplestthingistofindanyonevalueofxforwhichthe
twoexpressionsgivedifferentvalues.Itturnsout,infact,thatonlyx=0actuallydoesgiveequaloutputs,
soalmostanychosenvalueofxwouldsuffice,andthekeyisthentochooseoneforwhichtheworking
19  1
involvestheminimumofeffort,suchasp4(1)=289.1.33=13zq4(1)= 1 .
11

In(ii)(a),thegivennumericalexpressionisclearlythatforq1(x)withx=300.Sincepandqarethesame
thingwhenn=1,weinsteadexaminep1(300),anditbecomesclearthatifxis3timesaperfectsquare(in
thiscase3u102)thenwecanusethedifferenceoftwosquaresfactorisationon(301)2(3u10)2togetthe
answer271u331.

Part(b)hasasimilarthinggoingon,buthereweneedxtobe7timesaperfectsquare,andwefindthat

>
we have 77  1 @
3 2
 78 714  77  1 , which again requires the use of the differenceoftwosquares
2

>   3
@ >  
factorisationandyields 77  1  718  711  74 u 77  1  718  711  7 4 or
3
@
7 21
 3.7  3.7  1  7  7
14 7 18 11
 7  u 7  3.7
4 21 14
 3.7  1  718  711  7 4 ,
7

eitherofwhichanswerswouldsuffice.
              








5

Question2

Onceagain,thisquestionbeginswithaverysimpleinstruction,todifferentiate afunctionofx,andwill
clearlyinvolvetheuseofboththeProductRule(twice)andtheChainRule(inordertodealwiththelog.
termandthesquareroot).Inprinciple,thislooksverystraightforward,thoughthekeyistobecarefulnot
tooverlooksomeaspectofthevariousprocessesatplay,andthentosimplifytheresultingexpressionsina
suitableway.Tobeginwith,onewillobtainsomethingthatlooksquitemessy:

dy
dx
ax 2
 bx  c  1
x  1 x
2
u 1  12 1  x 2 > @ 1
2


.2 x  2ax  b  ln x  1  x 2  
+ dx  e  12 1  x 2 2 .2 x  d 1  x 2 

1

> @
anditiseasytobeputoff;itisespeciallyimportantnottoattempttoomuchinyourhead.Youshould
findthissimplifiesto
dy ax 2  bx  c > 1  x  x@+ 2ax  blnx 
2
 xdx  e
dx >x  1 x 2
@ u
1 x 2
1  x 2 +
1 x 2
 d 1 x2 

1 1 x 2
andcollectinguptermssuitably,andnotingthat { leadstoanexpressionwhichcontains
1 x 2 1 x2

onlysimplemultiplesof
1
1 x 2

and ln x  1  x 2 ;namely 
dy
dx
( a  2 d ) x 2  (b  e ) x  ( c  d )
1 x 2

+ 2ax  b  ln x  1  x 2 . 

Alltheresultsoftheremainingpartsofthequestioncannowbededucedbychoosingsuitablevaluesfor
theconstantsatoe.

In(i),choosinga=d=0,b=1,e=1andc=0gives
dy (0) x 2  (0) x  (0)
dx 1 x 2
+ 0  1 ln x  1  x 2 ,so  
  
that ln x  1  x 2 dx= x ln x  1  x 2  1  x 2 (+C). 
In(ii),choosinga=b=e=0andc=d= 12 gives
dy
dx
(0  1) x 2  (0) x  (1)
1 x 2
 
+ 0  0 ln x  1  x 2 ,sothat

 
1  x 2 dx= 12 ln x  1  x 2  12 x 1  x 2 (+C).
Andin(iii),choosinga= 12 ,b=e=0,c= 14 andd=  14 gives
dy
dx
( 12  12 ) x 2  (0) x  ( 14  14 )
1 x 2

+  x  0 ln x  1  x 2  

andhence x ln x  1  x 2 dx= 12 x 2   1
4
ln x  
1  x 2  14 x 1  x 2 (+C).
              




6
 
Question3

Ifyouhavenotseenthissortoffunctionbefore,thenitisworthwhileplayingaroundwithsuchthingsas
partofyourpreparationfortheSTEPs,whichfrequentlytestperfectlysimpleideasincontextsthatarenot
astandardpartofAlevel(orequivalent)courses.Beingabletothinkthingsthroughcalmlyandcarefully
underexaminationconditionsisanespeciallyhighlevelskill,butonethatcanbepractised.

In this case, the integer part function is a relatively simple one to deal with, as it only changes values
whenthefunctionitactsonhitsanintegervalue.Beforecommencingworkonthisquestion,notethatthe
integerpartofanegativenumberistheonetotheleftofit(ifitliesbetweenintegers,ofcourse),and
manyfunctionplottingpackagesaresettogorightfornegativenumbers,whichisunfortunate.Thereis
also the small matter of how to illustrate the y values at those points when the step occurs  the
traditionistoemployafilledcircle()forinclusionandanopencircle()forexclusion.Withabitof
careyoushouldfindthatthefourgraphsrequiredherelookasfollows.

(i)         (ii)











(iii)         (iv)









              







7
Question4

AswithQ2,thisbeginswithasimpleinstructiontodifferentiate;again,theideaisthatyouwilltidyupthe
z
finalanswerforlaterreference.UsingtheQuotientandChainRuleson y gives
1 z2
1  z 2 .1  z. 12 1  z 2  2 .2 z
1
dy
 
= 2

dz 1 z2
1
whichsimplifiesto .
1  z 
3
2 2

The given expression in part (ii) initially appears to be quite awful, until you realise that writing, for
d2 y dz
2
instance, z
dy
turns dx N into dx N ,andthiscannowbeseentobeastandard
1  z 
3 3
dx dy 2 2 2 2

1 
dx
dz
separable variables firstorder differential equation:  N dx . Using (i)s result then gives
1  z 
3
2 2

z
N ( x  c) (wheretheusual+chasbeenincorporatedintoaslightlymorehelpfulformhere).
1 z2
u
Rearranging this for z or z2 leads to  z 2 N 2 ( x  c) 2 ( z 2  1)   z r
 where (again) the more
1 u2
complicatedlookingtermhasbeengivenanewlabel,whichisasimplebuteffectivedevicetomakewhat
todonextmoreobvious:here,u=N(x+c).

dy d y d u du
Wenowsubstitutebackforz= . andusetheChainRule(e.g.)with N toobtainanother
d x d u dx dx
dy u u
separablevariablesfirstorderdifferentialequation, N r or N dy r du.Atthis
du 1 u2 1 u2
u
point,youshouldbeabletoseethat ducanbeintegrated(byrecognition,reversechainrule
1 u2
orasubstitution) to give  1  u 2 . Substituting for u then gives ky  d # 1  N 2 ( x  c ) 2  and
squaring both sides leads towards a circle equation (Ny  d ) 2 1  N 2 ( x  c) 2  or
2 2
d 1 d
( x  c) 2  y  ,whichistheequationofacircle,withcentre  c,  andaradiuswhichis
N N N
thereciprocalofthecurvature .
              






8
Question5

ThissortofsituationisrelativelycommoninMathsChallengesandtheusualapproachistojoinallthe
circles centres to the points of tangential contact and then form some rightangled triangles by
considering(here)thehorizontallinethroughBscentre.Becauseofthewellknown(GCSE)CircleTheorem
tangent perpendicularto radius result, it is the case that each of AB, BC and CA is astraight line. This
enablesustousePythagorasTheorem:
PR=PQ+QR ( a  c ) 2  ( a  c ) 2 = (b  a ) 2  (b  a ) 2 + (c  b ) 2  (c  b ) 2 
which simplifies to 4ac = 4ab + 4bc  and, upon division throughout by 4abc , gives the required
1 1 1
answer  .
b c a

There are many ways to approach the next result, but it should be clear that each will, at some stage,
require the replacement of the bs with as and cs (or equivalent). The most direct route would be to
examinetheLHSandRHSof(**)separately,andthenshowthattheymatchup.Thiswouldlooklike:
1 1 1 2 2 1 4 6 4 1 4 12 4 8 8
LHS= 2 2  2  2  2  2 2     2 = 2   2   .
a c 2
b a c a a ac ac c ac c a ac c a ac c ac 
2
1 1 1 1
2 2 2
1 1 1 2 2 2 2 1 1 1
RHS=    
a     4  
a b c a ac c c a ac c a ac c 
1 3 1 2 2
4 2   2   ,andtheseareclearlythesame.
 a ac c a ac c ac

Working in the other direction is trickier, but not much more so, and it is again helpful to relabel the
variables to make things look simpler, especially if we can somehow remove the need for everything to
appearasafraction.So,followinganinitialobservationthat
2
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2
2 2  2  2 =    2  2  2   
a b c a b c a b c ab bc ca
1 1 1
wecouldwrite x ,y ,z ,sothatwearenowtryingtoprovethat
a b c
x4  y4  z4 2x2 y 2  2 y 2 z 2  2z 2 x2 . 
(Althoughitisnotessentialtodothisatthisstage,itisoftenthecasethatfolksforgettodoitattheendif
theydont;andthatistoconsiderthegivenconditionsb<c<a,whichtranslatetoy>z>x.)

Now, completing the square: x 2  z 2  y 2 2
4 x 2 z 2   x 2  z 2  y 2 r 2 xz   z # x 
2
y 2 , and there
arethefourcasestoconsider:y=xz,y=zx,y=x+zory=xz.Considerationoftheabove
1 1 1
conditionsonx,y,zthenshowsthatonlyy=x+zissuitable,andso  ,asrequired.
b c a
              






9
Question6

This is a fairly straightforward vectors question that involves little beyond working with the vector
equationofaline.Tobeginwith,youarerequiredtoexplainacoupleofintroductoryresultsthatrelyon
thefactthattwo(nonzero)vectorsaremultiplesofeachotherifandonlyiftheyareparallel.Thus,OX||
OAx=ma,with0<m<1,sinceXisbetweenOandA;andBC||OAcb=kaandsoc=ka+b,with
k<0sinceBCisintheoppositedirectiontoOA.

Then, lines OB and AC have vector equations r = E b and r = a + D (c  a) respectively, for some scalar
parametersDandE.Replacingcbyka+bandequatingthetworsforthepointofintersectionthengives
Eb=a+D(ka+ba).Sinceaandbarenotparallel,wecanequatetermstofindthat1D+Dk=0and
1 1
D=E.SolvingleadstoD=E ,sothatd= b.
1 k 1 k

1
Inanexactlysimilarway,wethenhaveY=XDBCma+D b  ma =b+Eka.(Notethatthereis
1 k
no reason why we have to use differentsymbols for the scalar parameterseach time, as they are of no
D
actualsignificanceinrelationtotheproblem.)Equatingcoefficients m Dm Ek=0and 1 ,so
1 k
thaty=kma+b.

1
Next,Z=OYAB(1D)a+Db=E kma  b  ,andso1DkmE=0andD=E ,givingz=
1  km
km 1 1 km 1 1
a+ b;andT=DZ OA  Da= b+ E a b b ,whence D=
1  km 1  km 1  k 1  km 1  km 1  k
Ekm 1 E E m
and0=  ,sothatt= a .
1  km 1  k 1  km 1  m

Noticethatallthathasbeendonesofaristoworkoutthepositionvectorsofthepointscreatedasthe
intersectionsofvariouspairsoflines.Ifthisisdifficulttovisualize,thenadiagramshouldbedrawnfirst.

Allthatremainsistosetupthelengthsofthevariouslinesegmentsofinterest.IfwecallOA=a,thenit
m m2
a , TA =
1
follows that OX = ma, OT = a , TX = a and XA = (1  m)a. (Note that the
1  m 1  m m
1 
shrewd solver would simply take, w.l.o.g., the value of a to be 1, as it isan arbitrary length and cancels
throughoutanyoftheworkingthatfollowsinordertoobtainthetwogivenanswers,
1 1 1 1 1 m 2 1
1   andOT.OA= a ( ma ) . a =OX.TA.
OT a m OA OX  1 m 1 m
              





10
Question7

Firstly,ST=thesetofallpositiveoddnumbers;andST=I.

Next,wemustshowthattheproductoftwodifferentelementsofSisalsoanelementofS,andthendoa
similarthingfortwodifferentelementsofT.Thisinvolvesnotingthat
(4a+1)(4b+1)=4(4ab+a+b)+1,
whichisanelementofS;and
(4a+3)(4b+3)=4(4ab+3a+3b+2)+1,
whichis,infact,inSratherthanT.

Theresultofpart(iii)essentiallyrequiresproofbycontradiction,sowefirstsupposethattisanelementof
T,andthatalloftsprimefactorsareinS.Notingthattherearenoevenfactors,wecanwrite
t=(4a+1)(4b+1)(4c+1)(4n+1).
ButwehavealreadynotedthattheproductofanypairofelementsofSwillalwaysyieldanotherelement
ofS,andhence(inductively,Isuppose),t=4{}+1isalwaysinS.Whichcontradictstheassumption
thattisanelementofT.
 
Forpart(iv)(a),wenotethatanelementofTiseitherTprimeorTcomposite.Ifitisthelatter,thenitcan
beexpressedasaproductofTprimes.However,wehavealreadyestablishedthateverypairoffactorsinT
multiply to give an element of S, as do every pair of elements of T. So, after every pairingup of this
elements factors, there must be an odd one left over to multiply by in order to give an element of T.
Hence,altogether,thereisanoddnumberofthem.

Forthefinalpartofthequestion,wearerequiredtofindnonprimesinSthatareproductsofelementsof
T that can be regrouped suitably. One such example involves the numbers 9, 21, 33 and 77, each of
whichisbothSprimeandaproductofelementsinT:
9=3u3,21=3u7,33=3u11and77=7u11;with3,7and11inT.
This leads to the example 9 u 77 = 21 u 33 (= 693). Of course, the main purpose of the question is to
demonstrate the existence of perfectly reasonable numbersets (in this case, S), having the standard
properties of multiplication, yet for which the unique factorisation principle no longer holds. This is a
very important principle relating to prime numbers within the set of positive integers, which you have
beentaught(quiterightly)toassume,butthatIimagineyouhaveneverhadreasontothinkthatitmight
notnecessarilyholdinthiscase,orinothersimilarsituations.
              










11
Question8

Thisisasimpleideainvolvingtermsofseries. Themostimportantthing here istobesurethatyoucan
justifytheformofthenthtermforanygivenseries.Tobeginwith,itishelpfultorealisethattheBinomial
Theoremappliedtothenegativeintegers,givesthefollowingresults:
(1  x) 1 1  x  x 2  x 3  ...  x n  ... ,withthecoefficientofxnbeing1;
(1  x) 2 1  2 x  3x 2  4 x 3  ...  (n  1) x n  ... ,withthecoefficientofxnbeing(n+1);and
(1  x) 3 1  3x  6 x 2  10 x 3  ...  12 (n  1)(n  2) x n  ... ,havingthetriangularnumbersascoefficients;
etc.
Havingestablishedtheseresults,itiseasytoshowthat
0  x  2 x 2  3x 3  ...  nx n  ... =x (1  x) 2 
andthat
x(1  x) 3  
x 1  3x  6 x 2  10 x 3  ...  12 n(n  1) x n  1  ... = 0  x  3x 2  6 x 3  ...  12 n(n  1) x n  ... 
hascoefficientofx equaltoun= 12 n  12 n  .
n 2


2x x
Usingthesefirsttworesults:2u(2nd)(1st)gives  withun=n2. 
(1  x) (1  x)
3 2


Thereareseveralwaystoproceedwithpart(ii)(a);thesimplestbeingtonotethat

a  akx  ak 2 x 2  ak 3 x 3  ...  ak n x n  ... = a  kx a  akx  ak 2 x 2  ak 3 x 3  ...  ak n x n  ...  
=a+kxf(x)
1
andsof(x) a .
1  kx
Forpart(ii)(b),youshouldnotethatthegivensecondorderrecurrencerelation(i.e.twoprecedingterms
areinvolved)requirestwostartingtermsbeforethingsgetgoingsystematically,soitisbesttosplitoffthe
firsttwotermsoftheseriesbeforeattemptingtomakeuseofthisdefiningfeature.
f f f f
Writingf(x)= 0  x  u n x n = 0  x  u n  1  u n  2 x n = x  x u n  1 x n  1  x 2 u n  2 x n  2 
n 2 n 2 n 2 n 2

Note:wearetryingtorecreatef(x)ontherighthandside    
f f
  = x  x u n x n  x 2 u n x n = x  x^f ( x)  0` x 2 f ( x) 
n 1 n 0

x
sothatf(x)= .
1 x  x2
              









12
Question9

AswithallStaticsproblems,itissoimportanttohaveacleardiagram,suitablymarkedwithalltherelevant
forces(andpreferablyinthecorrectdirections).Thegivendiagramappearstogivethesituationwhenthe
horizontalrailismorethanhalfwayalongtherod;inthisconfiguration,therodwillslipsothattheendA
slidesdownthewall,andtotheleftrelativetothecontactatP(asshownbelow).

      RP
        B 
   FAGbPFP  
    Ta     
   A  RA


      W
      
     d

Thenextessentialpartofanysolutionistowritedownallthekeystatementsbeforeattemptingtoprocess
them in some way. The guidance resolve twice and take moments is surely a stock part of every
mechanics teachers repertoire, and it is sound advice. It is customary to resolve in two perpendicular
directions (vertically and horizontally here) and to find some point about which to take moments that
minimisestheclutterofsubsequentalgebraandtrigonometry(Ahasbeenchosenhere).Theadditional
useoftheFrictionLawfor,onthisoccasion,thecaseoflimitingequilibriumatthetwopointsofcontactis
alsoneeded.Thisgivesusthefollowingingredientsforuseinasolution.
FrictionLaw FA=ORAandFP=PRP.
Res.n W=FA+RPsinT+FPcosT
Res.o RA=RPcosTFPsinT
A  WasinT=RP(a+b)

EliminatingtheFsfromthetworesolvingstatementsgives
W=ORA+RPsinT+PRPcosTandRA=RPcosTPRPsinT
andintroducingdinthemomentsstatement(notingthatitneedstoappearintheanswer)gives
Wasin2T=RPd.
SincethislastequationinvolvesjusttheforcesWandRPitmakessensetoeliminateRAnext,toget
W RP O cosT  OP sin T  sin T  P cos T . 
Finally,dividingtheselasttwoleadstothegivenanswer,
dcosec2T a[O  P ] cosT  [1  OP ]sin T  .

ForthecasewhenPislessthanhalfwayalongtherod,whichwillnowslideupthewallatA(etc.),wecan
simplywriteFA oFA;FP oFP;a+b oab,orjustswitchthesignsof Oand P,aseverythingelse
remainsunchanged.Thecorrespondingresultisthusshowntobe
dcosec2T a [O  P ] cosT  [1  OP ]sin T  .
              

13
   
Question10

When it comes to it, collisions questions involve only the use of two (sometimes three, if energy
considerations are involved) principles. In this case, the principles of Conservation of Linear Momentum
(CLM)andNewtons(Experimental)LawofRestitution(NELorNLR).Diagramsarealsoquiteimportantin
thesetypesofquestions,butlargelytoenablethesolvertobeclearaboutwhatdirectionsarebeingtaken
aspositive:rememberthatvelocityandmomentumarevectorialinnature.Ifyouareeverunsureabout
whichdirectionanyoftheobjects(particlesorspheres,etc.)willbemovinginafterthecollisionhastaken
place,thenjusthavethemallgoingthesameway;thismakesitmucheasiertointerpretnegativesignsin
anylateranswers.

Tobeginwith,therearetwoseparatecollisions,betweenA/BandC/D,asshownbelow.

  ou  o0  0m   um


    A  B    C  D


    ovA ovB   mvC  mvD

ForcollisionA/B  CLM:m(Ou=OvA+vB)andNEL:eu=vBvA
andforcollisionC/D  CLM:m(u=vC+vD)andNEL:eu=vCvD
Solvingeachpairofequations,separately,gives
O e O (1  e)
vA u , v B u , vC 12 (1  e)u and vD 12 (1  e)u ;
O 1 O 1
eventhoughsomeoftheseturnoutnottoberequired(thoughtheymaybelateron,ofcourse).

ThereisthenafurthercollisionbetweenB/C:

  ovB  vCm  

    B  C    


    o0  owC   
CLM:m(vBvC)=mwCandNEL:e(vB+vC)=wC

Now,substitutingpreviousanswersintermsofeandu,andidentifyingfore,leadstotherequiredanswer
O 1
e .Tojustifythefollowingconditionone,notethat
3O  1
O  1 1 3O  3 1 3O  1  4 1 4
e  3
 1
3O  1 3 3O  1 3 3O  1 3 3O  1 3
sincethetermbeingsubtractedispositive.(Itisnotsufficientsimplytoshowthateo 13 .)  


14
 (1  e)(O  1)
Finally,usingwC= u frompreviouswork,andequatingthistovD,gives
2(O  1)
(1  e)(O  1)
u = 12 (1  e)u ;
2(O  1)
andsubstitutingfore(e.g.)enablesustosolveforOandthenfinde: O 5  2 ,e= 5  2 .
              

 

15
Question11

Projectilesquestionsareoftenstraightforwardinprinciple,butcanoftenrequirebothcarefulthoughtand
sometrickytrigonometricmanipulation.Occasionally,thereistheadditionalrequirementtomaximiseor
minimisesomethingorotherusingcalculus.
Tobeginwith,itisusefultoknow(ortobeabletoderivequickly)theTrajectoryEquationoftheparabola:
gx 2 gx 2
y x tan D  .Settingy=handrearrangingthengives 2h cos 2 D  2 x sin D cosD ,andit
2u cos D
2 2
u 2

shouldbefairlyclearfromthegivenanswerthatalittlebitofworkusingthedoubleangleformulaewill
gx 2
leadtotherequiredresult h(1  cos 2D )  x sin 2D .
u2

d gx 2 dx
Differentiatingw.r.t.D 2 h 2 sin 2D   x.2 cos 2D  sin 2D . .Noticethatthereisactually
dD u dD

noneedtorearrangefor
d
... sincewerequirebothderivativetermstodisappear.Thisimmediately
dD
gh 2 tan 2 2D
leads to x = h tan2D ; and, substituting back, we get  h(1  cos 2D )  h tan 2D sin 2D . By
u2
cancellingoneofthehsand(e.g.)writingalltrig.termsinc=cos2Dthenyields

gh 1  c 2  1 c 
1 c
2
 gh  ghc 2  
u 2 c 2  c 3  c  c 3 .
u 2c 2 c
Asaquadraticinc: 0 u 2
 >  @
 gh c 2  u 2 c  gh = u 2  gh c  gh (c  1) notethatitisalwaysworthtrying
tofactorisebeforedeployingthemessierquadraticformula.
gh
Wenowhavecos2D= 2 ,andsubstitutingx=htan2Dandy=hin '2 x 2  y 2 ,thengives
u  gh
'2 h2sec22Di.e. ' h sec 2D 
u 2  gh u2
sothat ' h.  h ,asrequired.
gh g
              















16
Question12

Bizarrely,thisprobabilityquestionconcerningtossingfaircoinshasallofitsanswersequalto 12 .Asone
mightimagine,suchananswercanbeobtainedinverymanywaysindeedandsothekeyistomakeyour
workingreallyclearastohowtheanswerisarrivedat.Merelywritingdownawholeloadoffractionson
thepageisreallynotveryenlightening.Thereneedstobesome(visible)systematicapproachtocounting
cases,followedbythenumericalworkthatgoeswithit.Forinstance,inpart(i),wecouldbreakdownthe
answerintoeachpossiblevalueforAandthevaluesofBthatcouldthengowithit.
e.g. p(A=0).p(B=1,2or3)+p(A=1).p(B=2or3)+p(A=2).p(B=3)= 14 u 78  2 u 14 u 84  14 u 18 = 12 .

Forpart(ii),oneshouldbynowhavebeenabletoseehowtheresultsarise,andcanappealtoasimilar
process;e.g. 18 u  461641   83 u  61641   83 u  4161   18 u 161  noticetheappearanceofthebinomialcoefficients
1
forcountingtherelevantnumbersofBspossiblevalues.Thisgives 128 15  3 u11  3 u 5  1 1
128 64 = 12 .

Inpart(iii),youshouldnotethat,wheneachofthemhastossedncoins,
p(BhasmoreHs)=p(AhasmoreHs)=p2
andthatp(AH=BH)=p1.Thusp1+2p2=1.

Next,consideringwhathappenswhenBtossestheextracoin,
p(BhasmoreHs)=p(BalreadyhasmoreHs)up(BgetsT)
+p(Balreadyhasmore,orequal,Hs)up(BgetsH)
= p2 u 2  ( p1  p2 ) u 12 = 12 ( p1  2 p2 ) 12 .
1

              

 

17
Question13

Fortheithemail,thepdfis f i (t ) Oe Ot .Integratingthisgivesthecdf: Fi (t )  e  Ot +C,andF(0)=0
C=1.

Then,fornemailssentsimultaneously,
 n
F(t)=P(Tdt)=1P(allntakelongerthant)= 1  e Ot ,
(usingtheproductofnindependentprobabilities)
= 1  Oe Ont .
DifferentiatingthisthengivestherequiredpdfofT,f(t)= nOe Ont .

f
Findinganexpectedvalueisastandardintegrationprocess:E(T)= t u nOe Ont dt,andthisrequiresthe
0

f
 e Ont f 1
>
useofintegrationbyparts:E(T)=  te Ont @ + nOe O
f  nt
dt=[0]+ = .
O n 0 nO
0
0


Fortheveryfinalpart,onecouldgoagainthroughtherouteofpdfsandcdfs,butitshouldbeobviousthat
thewaitingtimeforthe2ndemailissimplythe1stfromtheremaining(n1)withexpectedarrivaltime
1 1 1 1 1 1
,givingatotalwaitingtimeof   .
(n  1)O nO (n  1)O O n (n  1)
              

18
 STEP//2016Solutions
Question1
Use and torepresentthevalueoftheparameterateachofthepointsPandQ.The
equationsofthetwotangentscanthereforebefoundintermsof and andthefactthat
POQisarightanglecanbeusedtofindarelationshipbetween and .Thepointof
intersectionofthetwotangentscanthereforebefoundintermsofjust andthisisapair
ofparametricequationsforthecurvethatthepointofintersectionmakes.
Substitutingtheparametricequationsfor intotheequationfor givesacubicequation
in whichcanbesolvedbyinspectiontoshowthattherearejusttwointersectionsandso
thetwocurvesjusttouch,butdonotcross.

Question2
Substitute intotheexpressiontoshowthat isafactor.Oncethisis
done,thesymmetryshowsthat and mustalsobefactorsandtherefore
thereisjustaconstantmultiplierthatneedstobededucedtoobtainthefullfactorisationof
(*).
Forpart(i),choicesof,andneedtobemadesothat







Oncethesehavebeenidentifiedthesolutionstotheequationfollowfromthefactorisation
alreadydeduced.
Oncethesubstitution hasbeenmadeitisonlynecessarytoidentifythepartsof
theexpressionwhichdifferfrom(*)inthefirstpartofthequestion(whicharisefromthe 
and terms).Thefactorisationandsolutionoftheequationthenfollowasimilarprocess
tothefirstpartofthequestion.


 

19
Question3
Thedifferentiationtoshowtheresultinpart(i)shouldnotpresentmuchdifficulty,although
itisimportanttoshowthatalloftheterms(andnoothers)arepresent.
Forpart(ii)observethateachindividualtermof hasapositivecoefficient,soforany
positivevalueofthevalueof mustbepositive.
Forpart(iii),usetheresultinpart(i)torewrite intermsof andnotethat 
and mustbe0.Thismeansthatanypairofrootsmusthaveagradientofthesame
sign,whichleadstoanargumentthattheremustbeanotherrootbetweenthetwo.Asthis
wouldleadtoaninfinitenumberofrootstoapolynomial,therecannotbemorethanone
root.
Toestablishthenumberofrootsinthetwocasesconsiderthebehaviourofthegraphas
andas 

Question4
Theequationgivencanberewrittenasaquadraticin.Thediscriminantthenestablishes
therequiredresult.Toshowthesecondresult,showthat ,
whichcanbeshownbywriting intheform andthenthisresult
isaquadraticinequalitythatleadsdirectlytothenextresult.

Inthecase ,carefulmanipulationofsurdsshowstherequiredresultandsothe

valueofmustbethevalueofobtainedintheprevioussection.Finally,thevalueof
canbeobtainedbyreturningtotheoriginalequationandsubstitutinginthevaluesthatare
known.

 

20
Question5
Thebinomialexpansionfor shouldbeeasyenough,itisthenrequiredtowrite

theproductintermsoffactorialssothattheexpressioncanbewrittenintermsof.

Sincetheexpansionof involvesacoefficientof1foreveryterm,thecoefficientof
intheexpansionof issimplythesumofthecoefficientsofallofthe
termsintheexpansionof uptoandincludingthetermin .
Theproductsinthesumontherighthandsideoftheresultinpart(ii)shouldbe
recognisableasbinomialcoefficientsinthecasewherethepowerisapositiveinteger,so
use

andcomparecoefficientsasinpart(i).
Similarlyforpart(iii),identifythattheresultwillcomefromconsiderationof


Question6
Parts(i)and(ii)onlyrequireverificationineachofthecases,sosimplydifferentiatethe
functionsgivenandsubstituteintothedifferentialequationtoconfirmthattheyare
solutions.Remembertocheckaswellthattheboundaryconditionsaresatisfied.
Forpart(iii),differentiatethegivenformulaforandsubstituteintothedifferential
equation.Byobservingthatthenewdifferentialequationisofthesameformas(*),butfor
insteadof,theexpressionfor canbeestablished.
Forpart(iv),againdifferentiatethegivenformula,beingcarefulabouttheapplicationofthe
chainruleandsubstitute.Again,bycomparingwith(*)thefinalresultshouldbeclear.

Question7
Thefirstresultcanbeshownbyusingasubstitutionintotheintegral,beingcarefulto
explainthechangeofsignwhenthelimitsoftheintegralareswitched.
Simpleapplicationofknowledgeoftrigonometricgraphsoncethesubstitutionhasbeen
madecanbeusedtoshowthattwicetheintegralisequivalenttointegratingthefunction1
overtheinterval.
Similarly,theremainingintegralscanallberearrangedusingstandardtrigonometric
identitiesandknowledgeoflogarithmsintoformsthatcanbeintegratedfromstandard
resultsoncethesubstitutionfrom(*)hasbeenmade.


21

Question8
Theintegralrequiredatthestartofthequestionshouldbeastraightforwardoneto
evaluate.Whenmakingasketchtoillustratetheresultinthesecondpart,ensurethatthe
sumisindicatedbyaseriesofrectangles,withthegraphofthecurvepassingthroughthe
midpointsofthetops.
Inpart(i),theintegralthatwouldmatchthesumgivenresultsinananswerof2,sothisis
thefirstoftheestimates.Theremainingestimatesarisefromusingtheintegraltoestimate
mostofthesum,buttakingthefirstfewtermsastheexactvalues(soineachcasethe
integrationistakenfromadifferentlowerlimit).
Forpart(ii),evaluatetheintegralforoneparticulartermofthesumandnotethatitis

approximately .Finally,usingthemostaccurateestimatefor thesumfrom 


onwardscanbecalculatedandthenthefirsttwovaluesof canbeaddedtoachievethe

desiredresult.

Question9
Theresultinpart(i)followsfromconsiderationofkineticenergylostandworkdone.
Inpart(ii)applyconservationofmomentumtothecombinedblockandbulletafterthe
bullethitstheblock.Bycomparingtothecaseinpart(i)themotionofthebulletuntilitisat
restrelativetotheblockcanbeanalysed.Oncealloftherelevantequationsofmotionhave
beenwrittendown,aseriesofsimultaneousequationswillhavebeenfoundfromwhichthe
valuesofandcanbefound.

Question10
Thefirstrequirementwillbetofindthecentreofmassofthetriangle.Oncethisisdonea
diagramwillbeveryusefulandnotationswillneedtobeaddedforvariousdistances,angles
andthefrictionalforce.Fromthisdiagramtheforcescanberesolvedintwoperpendicular
directionsandmomentscanbetaken.Thisleadstoaseriesofequationswhichcanbe
solvedtoworkoutthevaluethatthefrictionalforcewouldhavetotaketopreventslipping.
Fromthistherequiredresultcanbeestablished.

 

22
Question11
Theparticlesmustcollideiftheywouldbeinthesamepositionforoneparticularvalueof.
Therefore,writingouttheequationsofmotionforthetwoparticlesandeliminatingthe
variablesthatarenotneededtherequiredresultcanbereached.
Forthesecondpart,thetimeofthecollisioncanbefoundbyconsideringtheheightsofthe
bulletandtargetattimeandnotingthatthesemustbeequal.Oncethevalueofhas
beenfound,thefactthatthismustbepositiveleadstotheinequalitythatisrequiredforthe
firstresult.
Forthefinalpart,notethatgravityaffectsboththebulletandtargetinthesameway,soifit
isignoredthenthetimeofcollision(ifthereisone)willbethesameandthisisasituationas
inpart(i).Clearly,inpart(i)thetwoobjectsmustbemovingtowardseachotherifthereis
tobeacollision.

Question12
Replacewith intheresultthatyoumuststartwithandthenobservethat
isthesameas .Thecorrespondingresultforfourevents
shouldbeclear,butcaremustbetakentoincludeallofthepossiblepairs.
Theresultsforparts(i),(ii)and(iii)shouldbeclearfromconsiderationofarrangementsin
eachcaseandtheresultrequiredfollowsfromthegeneralisationoftheresultfromthestart
ofthequestion.
Theprobabilitythatthefirstcardisinthecorrectpositionandnoneoftheothersiscanbe
establishedandthereforetheprobabilitythatexactlyonecardisinthecorrectpositionwill
betimesthat.

Question13
Forpart(i)theapproximationofthebinomialdistributionbyanormaldistributionshould
beknownandtheareaunderthecurve(applyingacontinuitycorrection)canthenbe
approximatedbyarectangle.
Thesecondresultfollowsfromasimilarapproximationandtheuseoftheformulafora
probabilityfromthebinomialdistribution.
Part(iii)followsfromanapproximationofaPoissondistributionwithanormaldistribution
andagainapproximatingtherequiredareabyarectangle.

23
^dW///^

1. Part(i)ismostsimplydealtwithbythesuggestedmethod,changeofvariable,anditis
worthcompletingthesquareinthedenominatortosimplifythealgebraleadingtoatrivialintegral.
Part(ii)caneitherbeattemptedimmediatelyusingintegrationbyparts,startingfrom and

obtaining  andthenwritingthenumeratoras

 .Alternatively,useofthesamesubstitutionin
asinpart(i)leadstotheneedtointegrate ,whichinturncanbewrittenas
,withthesecondtermbeingsusceptible
tointegrationbyparts.Part(iii)followsfromthepreviouspartsbyinductionusingpart(ii)to
achievetheinductivestepand(i)thebasecase.

2. Therearenumerouscorrectwaysthroughthisquestion.Workingparametricallywith
 , givesanormalas andimposingthatthispassesthrough

yields (*)whichhasrootsand,theformergiving(i).Asa
consequence, and ,sothatQR, ,simplifiesto

,andthuspassesthrough for(ii).Tcanbeshowntobe ,

which,ofcourse,lieson ,andas(*)hadtworealdistinctroots,and, ,which

yields .

3. Differentiating,multiplyingbydenominatorsanddividingbytheexponentialfunction,gives
which,invokingthefactortheorem,givesthefirst
requiredresult.DenotingthedegreeofPbypandthatofQbyqinthisexpressionyields
andhencethedesiredresultin(i).Furthermore,inthegivencase,substitution
inthesameresultandpostulating yieldsconsistentequationsfor,and
andthus .
Forpart(ii),commencingasinpart(i)demonstratesagainthatQhasafactor as
.Supposing ,where and
,with andsubstitutingintheexpressionalreadyderivedleadstoa
contradiction.

4. Theconsideredexpressionequatesto andso,bythemethodofdifferences,

,andletting ,thedesiredresultisobtained.


Writingas andsimilarly ,theresultofpart(i)with can

beusedtoobtaintheresult.Careneedstobetakentowrite
as

whichwiththepreviousdeductionof(ii)canbe
simplifiedto .

5. Thebinomialexpansion,evaluatedfor ,appreciatingthattermsaresymmetrical
containstwotermsequaltotheLHSoftheinequality,andsotruncatingtothemgivesdoublethe

requiredresultin(i).Appreciatingthatisanintegerandthatif ,
withpaprime,impliespdividesthenumeratorandnotthedenominatorofthisexpressionand
hencedividestheintegerthencanbeextendedforallsuchprimesyieldingtheresult,withthe
deductionfollowingfrom(i).For(iii),itcanbeshownthat andwriting as

24
 ,combiningthegivenresultand(ii),thedesiredresultisobtained.Part(iv)is
obtainedbyuseofstronginductionwiththesupposition, forall forsome
particular ,andconsideringthecaseskevenandoddseparatelyandmakinguseof(iii).

6. Using , and

if .If ,then .If ,the


expressioncanbewrittenas with and .If ,

then ,andif ,theexpressioncanbewrittenas

with and .Forpart(i),solvingsimultaneouslygives

,whichgivesthedesiredsolutionsusingthefirstresultofthequestion.

Similarlyforpart(ii)usingtheappropriateresult, .For(iii),we


requirethattheconditionsfor(i)givetwosolutions,i.e.that and ,andso

,andviceversa,ifthisappliesthereareindeedtwosolutions.For(iv),werequire

case(i)togivecoincidentsolutions,i.e. andhence ,andso


.Thereverseargumentalsoapplies.

7. Considering establishesbythefactortheoremthateachfactorontheLHSisafactor
oftheRHS,andcomparingcoefficientsof betweenthetwosidesestablishesthatnonumerical
factorisrequired.Forpart(i),representing by ,thentherearetwocasestoconsider,will


berepresentedeitherby ,or .Theproductofmoduliisthemodulioftheproductof
factors,andtheproductofthefactorscanbesimplifiedusingthestemandchoosinginturnasthe
representationsoftogivetherequiredresultinbothcases.Proceedingsimilarlyfornodd,the
firstcaseyields ,andthesecond, ,if ,and if .
Usingthesamerepresentationsforthe inpart(ii),andthesametechniquewiththemoduli,the
stemcanbedividedby togive 
whichthengivesthedesiredresultwhen .

8. Thefirstresultin(i)isobtainedbythesubstitution (followedbyasecond )!.

Substitutingforintheinitialstatementusingtheresultobtainedreadilyleadsto 
whichissimplyverified.Alternatively,subtractingtheresultfromtheinitialequationleadsto
whichsubstitutinggivestherequiredresultagain.Inpart(ii),substitutingfor

intheequationforgivesanequationfor whichcanbesubstitutedintheequationto


besolvedtogivethedesiredresult.Similarly,inpart(iii),substituting forgivesanequationfor


and ,andthenrepeatingthissubstitutionintheequationjustobtainedgivesan


equationfor and.Addingthegivenandlastequationsandsubtractingthatfirstfound


leadsto .


9. Therearenumerouswaystoobtain viae.g.knowledgeofthecentroidofa

triangle,Pythagorastheorem,trigonometryoracombinationofthese,leadingtotheinitial
extensionresult.Pythagorastheoremcanbeusedtofindandhencethegiventension.The
equationofmotioninthedirectioncombinesthetensioninandtheresolvedpartsofthe
tensionsintheothertwosprings.Writingthecosineoftheanglebetweenandproducedas

25



,leadsto whichmakingan




approximationforsmallandthebinomialexpansionleadsto ,andhence

thefinalresult.

10. Resolvingalongalineofgreatestslopeinitially,bearinginmindtheaccelerationdueto
circularmotion,givesanexpressionfortheinitialtensioninthestringwhichcanbesubstitutedin
theexpressionobtainedfornormalcontactforceobtainedbyresolvingperpendiculartotheslope.
Requiringapositivenormalcontactforcethengivesthedesiredresult.Tocompletecircles,there
mustbeatensioninthestringwhentheparticleisatthehighestpointitcanreachontheplane.
Conservingenergygives andresolvingdowntheplaneyields

' resultingin ;thiscombinedwiththefirst

resultwillgivethefinaldesiredresult.(Thefirstresultcanbefoundelegantlybyresolving
perpendicularlytothestring.)

11. Inpart(i),expressingtheresistanceas,thenthezeroaccelerationconditiongives

.Writingtheequationofmotionusing ,andsolvingthedifferentialequationby


separatingvariables,theintegrationgives whichevaluatedand

rearrangedistherequiredresult.Part(ii)followsasimilarroute,insteadexpressingtheresistance

as ,with .Thesametechniqueforthedifferentialequationgivesaslightlysimpler


integrationtoyieldtheresult. canbemanipulatedtobe whichcan

beshowntobepositiveusingtheappropriateboundsandsoansweringpart(iii)that isthe
larger.

12. Usingthebinomialdistribution, , ,writing as

enablesChebyshevtobeappliedwith leadingtotherequiredresultin(i).
Similarly,inpart(ii),consideringaPoissondistributionwithmean,andappreciatingthat
implies inthesecircumstances,thesamevalueofasinpart(i)with
Chebyshevleadstothedesiredresult.

13. Showingthat hasthesamekurtosisasrequirestheexpectationsof ,

,and tobeobtainedandsubstituted.Forpart(i),the
numeratorcanbeobtainedbyanintegrationbypartsreducingtheintegraltotheonethatgivesthe
variance.Expanding as ,wherethe
summationisoverallvalueswithoutrepetition,andtakingtheexpectationofthesetermsgivesthe
requestedresultinpart(ii).Defining ,thekurtosisof bythefirstresultgives
 anddefiningasin(ii),thekurtosisof is,usingtheresultof(ii),

givingtherequiredanswer.

26
27
.

The Admissions Testing Service is part of Cambridge English Language Assessment, a not-for-profit department of
the University of Cambridge. We offer a range of tests and tailored assessment services to support selection and
recruitment for educational institutions, professional organisations and governments around the world. Underpinned
by robust and rigorous research, our services include:

x assessments in thinking skills

x admission tests for medicine and healthcare
x behavioural styles assessment
x subject-specific admissions tests.

Admissions Testing Service

Cambridge English
Language Assessment
1 Hills Road
Cambridge
CB1 2EU
United Kingdom

Admissions tests support:

www.admissionstestingservice.org/help