Further Mathematics Past Questions and Answers

(a) The 3rd and 6th terms of a Geometric Progression (G.P) are 2 and 54 respectively. Find the : (i) common ratio ; (ii) first term ; (iii) sum of the first 10 terms, correct to the nearest whole number.
(b) The ratio of the coefficient of \(x^{4}\) to that of \(x^{3}\) in the binomial expansion of \((1 + 2x)^{n}\) is \(3 : 1\). Find the value of n.

(a) Using the same axes, sketch the curves \(y = 6 - x - x^{2}\) and \(y = 3x^{2} - 2x + 3\).
(b) Find the x- coordinates of the points of intersection of the two curves in (a).
(c) Calculatethe area of the finite region bounded by the two curves in (a).

(a) Evaluate \(\int_{1} ^{2} \frac{x}{\sqrt{5 - x^{2}}} \mathrm {d} x\)
(b)(i) Evaluate: \(\begin{vmatrix} 2 & -3 & 1 \\ 0 & 1 & -2 \\ 1 & 2 & -3 \end{vmatrix}\)
(ii) Using your answer in b(i), solve the simultaneous equations :
\(2x - 3y + z = 10\)
\(y - 2z = -7\)
\(x + 2y - 3z = -9\)

(a) Use the trapezium rule with five ordinates to evaluate \(\int_{0} ^{1} \frac{3}{1 + x^{2}} \mathrm {d} x\), correct to four significant figures.
(b) If \(A = \begin{pmatrix} 2 & 1 \\ 3 & 2 \end{pmatrix}\), find the image of the point (1, 2) under the linear transformation \(A^{2} + A + 2I\), where I is the \(2 \times 2\) unit matrix.

(a) Simplify \(^{n + 1}C_{3} - ^{n - 1}C_{3}\)
(b) A fair die is thrown five times. Calculate, correct to three decimal places, the probability of obtaining (i) at most two sixes ; (ii) exactly three sixes.