©TAMU Math Department 2021

Math 140 Practice Exam I

Purpose of this Practice Exam

This set of questions is designed to be a practice exam for students enrolled in MATH 140 at Texas
A&M University. Students should use this practice exam to better gauge how well prepared they are
for the actual exam they will take in class.

Format of this Practice Exam

The problems are a blend of problems used on exams from previous semesters and from a variety of
instructors. The actual exam students may take will differ in length of time, the number of questions,
and type of questions. Some exams may be all workout with partial credit, a mix of workout and
multiple choice, or also include True/False and/or matching.

Guidelines for this Practice Exam

For the best experience and evaluation of exam preparedness, students should work through the
problems on this practice exam using the same criteria and conditions used on an actual in-class*
exam. Thus, when taking this practice exam students should:

• Sit at a desk where the environment is free from distractions and noises.

• Have approved writing utensils, a non-CAS graphing calculator with its memory cleared, and
their TAMU ID on their desk.

• Set aside all items except those approved for an in-class exam. Non-approved items will include all
notes, textbooks, cell phones, smart watches, computers, tablets, and any other items indicated
by a specific instructor.

* In the event an in-class exam is given in an online format, approved items and procedures may vary.

After setting up the testing environment, students should set a timer for 75 minutes and work through
the exam, as they would in class. When the 75-minute timer expires, or when the student finishes the
exam (whichever comes first), students should grade their own exam by comparing their answers to
the answers given on the exam answer key. Students should not access the answers to the exam
until they are ready to grade their own exam. For the problems worked incorrectly, students should
revisit their class notes, reread the textbook, work more problems related to the missed concepts,
visit their instructor’s office hours, or visit the Math Learning Center to better understand the missed
concepts. In doing so, students should focus on why their answer is incorrect and how to correctly
work similar problems.

This practice exam is NOT designed to be an exam review. Students should use this prac-
tice exam to rehearse the exam experience, and thus, should follow the guidelines given above to best
evaluate their exam preparedness.

Textbook Sections Covered on Math 140 Practice Exam I

This practice exam covers Sections 1.1 to 2.4 from the textbook authored by Bollinger & Coffelt,
Mathematics for Business and Social Sciences.
 ©TAMU Math Department 2021

Exam Part I - Multiple Choice (3 points each)

Mark the best choice on your paper. No work is necessary for full credit, as no partial credit will be given.
   
1 7 4 2 6 −8
1. If C =  0 −3 9  +  −1 5 10 , find the value of c12 .
−6 −1 5 −4 0 1

(a) c12 does not exist.

(b) 41
(c) 13
(d) −33
(e) −1

2. Determine the slope, m, to the line graphed to the right.

2
(a) m =
3
10
4
(b) m = −
3
2 x
(c) m = − −5 5
3 12x + 9y = −48
42
(d) m =
3
(e) None of these
y

3. An item is purchased for $30,000 and it depreciates at a constant rate of $100 per month. If the
item reaches scrap value after 20 years, what is the item’s value after 24 years?

(a) $28,000
(b) $27,600
(c) $0
(d) $1,200
(e) $6,000
 ©TAMU Math Department 2021

4. Solve the following system of linear equations. The answers are formatted as (x, y, z).

x − 5z = y
2x = 3y + z − 6
4y − 2z = 7 − 7x

(a) (0, 2, 0)
 
142 25 17
(b) − ,− ,
57 57 57
 
40 1
(c) , 5, −
9 9
 
17 87 59
(d) − , ,−
66 44 132
(e) No solution

5. What is the equation of the line with an undefined slope passing through the point (c, d)?

(a) y = c (b) y = d (c) x = c (d) x = d (e) cx + dy = 0

6. What is the result of performing the row operation 5R2 + R3 −→ R3 on the following matrix?
 
1 2 1 6
 0 1 −4 10 
0 −5 3 −12
 
1 2 1 6
(a)  0 1 −4 10 
0 0 −17 38
 
1 2 1 6
(b)  0 5 −20 50 
0 −5 3 −12
 
1 2 1 6
(c)  0 5 −20 50 
0 0 −17 38
 
1 0 0 104/17
(d)  0 1 0 18/17 
0 0 1 −38/17
(e) None of these
 ©TAMU Math Department 2021

7. State the number of solutions to the linear system of equations which corresponds to the following
augmented matrix.  
1 0 0
 0 1 0 
 
 0 0 1 
0 0 0

(a) Infinitely many

(b) 2
(c) 0
(d) 3
(e) 1

 
a −5
8. Determine the additive inverse of the matrix .
−2 c
 
−a 5
(a)
2 −c
 
a −2
(b)
−5 c
 
0 0
(c)
0 0
 
c −2
(d)
−5 a
 
−c 2
(e)
5 −a

9. Which of the following statements is/are TRUE about a system of two linear equations in two
unknowns that has no solution?
I. The slopes of the lines are the same. V. The system is inconsistent.
II. The y-intercepts of the lines are the same. VI. The system is dependent.
III. The slopes of the lines are different. VII. The system is independent.
IV. The y-intercepts of the lines are different.

(a) I, IV, and V only

(b) I, II, and VI only
(c) III and VII only
(d) I and V only
(e) I, IV, and VII only
 ©TAMU Math Department 2021

10. Which of the following augmented matrices are in reduced row-echelon form?
(* indicates any real number.)
   
1 2 0 ∗   1 0 5 ∗
1 3 0 ∗
A= 0 1 0 ∗  B= C= 0 1 4 ∗ 
0 0 1 ∗
0 0 1 ∗ 0 0 0 0

   
−1 0 ∗ 0 1 ∗
D= E=
0 1 ∗ 1 0 ∗

(a) A and B only

(b) C and E only
(c) None of these matrices are in reduced row-echelon form.
(d) D only
(e) B and C only

11. What size is matrix A if (AB)T − C results in a 2 × 5 matrix and matrix B is 3 × 2?

(a) 2 × 3
(b) 3 × 5
(c) 2 × 5
(d) 5 × 2
(e) 5 × 3

12. Consumers will buy 1000 items if the price per item is $35. However, if the price increases by
$10, consumers’ demand will drop to 750 items. Assuming linear demand, how many items (to
the nearest item) will consumers take if the item is free?

(a) 650
(b) 1875
(c) Infinitely many
(d) 75
(e) 150
 ©TAMU Math Department 2021

13. Matrix N represents the number of GM (G), Ford (F), and Toyota (T) cars available for rental
in Los Angeles (L), New York City (N) and St. Louis (S) for a particular car rental agency.
Matrix R gives the number of repair parts needed per car type per year, according to past repair
records.
G F T T ires Batteries P lugs
   
L 100 200 300 G 4 0.5 6
N = N  300 100 300  R= F 3 0.5 7 
S 200 200 100 T 3 1 4

Determine the meaning of the matrix product N R.

(a) The product is mathematically possible, but is meaningless.

(b) The total number of repair parts needed in each city per year.
(c) The total number of repair parts needed per car type per year.
(d) The product is not mathematically possible.
(e) None of these

14. If a company has a revenue function given by R(x) = 25x, and its profit function passes through
the point (75, 0), what is the break-even point for the company?

(a) Not enough information given to determine

(b) (75, 3)
(c) (75, 0)
(d) (75, 1875)
(e) None of these

15. Suppose x, y, and z represent the number of TVs, radios, and DVD players a store sells and
the store determines that (x, y, z) = (−8 + 2t, t, 10 − t) on a given day. For what values of the
parameter t will a real-world solution exist for the company on that day?

(a) t ≥ 0
(b) t = 4, 5, 6, . . . , 10
(c) 0 ≤ t ≤ 10
(d) t = 0, 1, 2, . . . , 10
(e) 4 ≤ t ≤ 10
 ©TAMU Math Department 2021

16. Consider the following scenario:

Suppose an instructor is teaching two MATH 140 sections. Section 601 has 52 fresh-
men, 36 sophomores, 10 juniors, and 2 seniors, while section 602 has no seniors, 30
juniors, 20 sophomores, and 50 freshmen.

Which of the matrices below is a way to properly organize the information given above using a
4 × 2 matrix?
 
52 36 10 2
(a)
50 20 30 0
 
52 36 10 2
(b)
0 30 20 50
 
52 0
 36 30 
(c) 
 10 20 


2 50
 
52 50
 36 20 
(d) 
 10 30 


2 0

(e) None of these

Exam Part II - Workout (Points as indicated)

Appropriate, legible work must be shown to receive full credit. This includes stating any special features used
on your calculator. DO NOT just put an answer.

(8 points)

17. SET UP (but DO NOT SOLVE) a system of linear equations that you would use to solve
the following word problem. You must clearly define any variables used.

A company selling pizzas sells small, medium and large pizzas for $5, $8, and $15, respectively.
On one night, the company sold a total of 46 pizzas. If 7 less small pizzas were sold than the
total number of medium and large pizzas sold that night, and the revenue from the large pizzas
sold that night was two times as much as the revenue from the medium pizzas sold, how many
of each size pizza did the company sell on that night?
 ©TAMU Math Department 2021

(8 points)

18. Given the following matrix equation, determine the values of a, c, d, and e.
Place your answers in the appropriate blanks below.
     T
(a + 2) c 8 5 0 −11
4 −3 =
1 −3 −d 9 −7 e

a= c= d= e=

(5 points)
31
19. A line has a slope of − . If y increases by 4 units, what is the corresponding change in x? Fill
11
in the blanks below to express your final answer.

x by units
 ©TAMU Math Department 2021

(8 points)

20. Consider the two equations below where x represents the quantity of books (in hundreds) and p
represents the price per book, in dollars.

Equation A: −4x + 80p = 320 Equation B: x + 10p = 850

(a) If the given equations are the demand and supply functions for the book market, which
equation is the demand function? A or B (Circle one.)

(b) Give a short mathematical reason for your answer to part (a).

(c) Determine the equilibrium point for this market and give the appropriate values (with units)
in the blanks below.

EQ Quantity: EQ Price:
 ©TAMU Math Department 2021

(7 points)

21. Compute and simplify the matrix product given below, if possible. To receive full credit, you
must show all intermediate steps. If the matrix product is not possible, you must explain why
not.  
  2 k
7 −3 h 
−5 9 =
5 g −1
8 −6
 ©TAMU Math Department 2021

(8 points)

22. Solve the following system of linear equations. If there are infinitely many solutions, give both
the parametric (general) solution AND one particular (specific) solution. Place your answer(s)
in the given blanks below.

−4x + y + 13z = 70
x + 2y − z = 23

Solution: (x, y, z) =

Particular (Specific) Solution:

(Write NA in this blank, if this is not applicable to your solution.)
 ©TAMU Math Department 2021

(8 points)

23. A company makes and sells spatulas. The company can make 100 spatulas for a total cost of
$1450 and 400 spatulas for a total cost of $1600. The company makes $1750 in profit when
they make and sell 900 spatulas. Let x represent the number of spatulas made and sold by the
company, and determine the following.

(a) Find the company’s linear cost function, C(x). Place your answer in the given blank below.

C(x) =

(b) Find the company’s linear revenue function, R(x). Place your answer in the given blank
below.

R(x) =