Question 1

Natasha carries out an experiment on the growth of mould. She believes that the growth can be
modelled by an exponential function

P ( t ) =A e kt,
where P is the area covered by mould in mm2 , t is the time in days since the start of
the experiment and A and k are constants.
The area covered by mould is 112 mm2 at the start of the experiment and 360 mm2 after 5 days.
a. Write down the value of A . [1 mark]
b. Find the value of k . [3 marks]

Question 2
The size of the population ( P ) of migrating birds in a particular town can be
+¿¿
approximately modelled by the equation P=a sin ( bt ) +c , a , b , c ∈ R , where t is measured in
months from the time of the initial measurements.
In a 12 month period the maximum population is 2600  and occurs when t=3 and the minimum
population is 800 and occurs when t=9 .
This information is shown on the graph below.
 a. Find the value of a . [2 marks]
b. Find the value of b . [2 marks]
c. Find the value of c . [1 mark]
d. Find the value of t at which the population first reaches 2200 . [2 marks]

Question 3
Boris recorded the number of daylight hours on the first day of each month in a northern
hemisphere town.
This data was plotted onto a scatter diagram. The points were then joined by a smooth curve,
with minimum point ( 0 , 8 ) and maximum point ( 6 , 16 ) as shown in the following diagram.
Let the curve in the diagram be y=f ( t ) , where t is the time, measured in months, since Boris first
recorded these values.
Boris thinks that f ( t ) might be modelled by a quadratic function.
a. Write down one reason why a quadratic function would not be a good model for the
number of hours of daylight per day, across a number of years. [1 mark]
Paula thinks that a better model is f ( t )=a cos ( bt )+ d , t ≥ 0, for specific values of a , b and d .
For Paula’s model, use the diagram to write down
b. the amplitude. [1 mark]
c. the period. [1 mark]
d. the equation of the principal axis. [2 marks]
e. Hence or otherwise find the equation of this model in the form: f ( t )=a cos ( bt )+ d
[3 marks]
f. For the first year of the model, find the length of time when there are more than 10 hours
and 30 minutes of daylight per day. [4 marks]
g. The true maximum number of daylight hours was 16 hours and 14 minutes. Calculate the
percentage error in the maximum number of daylight hours Boris recorded in the
diagram. [3 marks]

Question 4
The Texas Star is a Ferris wheel at the state fair in Dallas. The Ferris wheel has a diameter of
61.8 m. To begin the ride, a passenger gets into a chair at the lowest point on the wheel, which is
2.7 m above the ground, as shown in the following diagram. A ride consists of multiple
revolutions, and the Ferris wheel makes 1.5 revolutions per minute.

The height of a chair above the ground, h , measured in metres, during a ride on the Ferris wheel
can be modelled by the function h ( t )=−a cos ( bt ) +d , where t is the time, in seconds, since a
passenger began their ride.
Calculate the value of
a. a . [2 marks]
b. b . [2 marks]
c. d . [2  marks]
d. A ride on the Ferris wheel lasts for 12 minutes in total.
Calculate the number of revolutions of the Ferris wheel per ride. [2 marks]
e. For exactly one ride on the Ferris wheel, suggest an appropriate domain for h ( t ).
[1 marks]
f. an appropriate range for h ( t ). [2 marks]

Big Tex is a 16.7  metre-tall cowboy statue that stands on the horizontal ground next to the Ferris
wheel.
 g. By considering the graph of h ( t ), determine the length of time during one revolution
of the Ferris wheel for which the chair is higher than the cowboy statue. [2 marks]
h. There is a plan to relocate the Texas Star Ferris wheel onto a taller platform which will
increase the maximum height of the Ferris wheel to 65.2 m. This will change the value of
one parameter, a , b or d , found in part (a).
Identify which parameter will change. [1 marks]
i. Find the new value of the parameter identified in part (e)(i). [2 marks]

Question 5
A wind turbine is designed so that the rotation of the blades generates electricity. The turbine is
built on horizontal ground and is made up of a vertical tower and three blades.
The point A is on the base of the tower directly below point B at the top of the tower. The height
of the tower, AB, is 90 m . The blades of the turbine are centred at B and are each of length 40 m .
This is shown in the following diagram.
The end of one of the blades of the turbine is represented by point C on the diagram. Let h be the
height of C above the ground, measured in metres, where h varies as the blade rotates.
a. Find the maximum value of h . [1 mark]
b. minimum value of h . [1  mark]
c. The blades of the turbine complete 12 rotations per minute under normal conditions,
moving at a constant rate. Find the time, in seconds, it takes for the blade [BC ] to make
one complete rotation under these conditions. [1 mark]
d. Calculate the angle, in degrees, that the blade [BC ] turns through in one second.
[2 mark]
e. The height, h , of point C can be modelled by the following function. Time, t , is
measured from the instant when the blade [BC ] first passes [ AB] and is measured in
seconds. h ( t )=90−40 cos ( 72 t ) , t ≥ 0. Write down the amplitude of the function. [1 mark]
f. Find the period of the function. [1 mark]
g. Sketch the function h ( t ) for 0 ≤ t ≤ 5, clearly labelling the coordinates of the maximum and
minimum points. [3 marks]
h. Find the height of C above the ground when t=2. [2 marks]
 i. Find the time, in seconds, that point C is above a height of 100 m, during each complete
rotation. [3  marks]
j. Looking through his window, Tim has a partial view of the rotating wind turbine. The
position of his window means that he cannot see any part of the wind turbine that is more
than 100 m above the ground. This is illustrated in the following diagram.

At any given instant, find the probability that point C is visible from Tim’s window. [3  marks]
k. The wind speed increases. The blades rotate at twice the speed, but still at a constant rate.
At any given instant, find the probability that Tim can see point C from his window. Justify your
answer. [2 marks]