REVIEW – MATHEMATICS, SURVEYING AND TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING

ALGEBRA 3 Sis is five years older than her siblings,

then how old are the quints today? Ans. 28
WORD PROBLEMS
AVERAGE PROBLEMS
Word problems require grammatical analysis in
order for us to successfully convert them into Average = Sum of all Terms/ Number of Terms
equations. We should look for the following
key words: WEIGHTED AVERAGE PROBLEMS

Addition Weighted Average = Sum (Term x Weight)/ Total

Sum, total, more than, greater than, Weight
consecutive increased by, plus, older than,
farther than INTEGER WORD PROBLEMS

Example: Integer word problems are word problems that

The sum of the length and width is 20. (l+w=20) involve integers or digits and their
The length is 2 more than the width. (l=w+2) relationships to each other.

Subtraction Consecutive integers are integers that follow

Difference, diminished by, fewer than, less in sequence.
than, decreased by, minus, subtracted from, For consecutive integers:
younger than n, n + 1, n + 2 or n-1, n, n+1
For consecutive odd or even integers:
Example: n, n + 2, n + 4 or n -2, n, n + 2
The difference between Jan's age and Alice's
age is 10. (J-A=10) DIGIT WORD PROBLEMS
Joan has 10 fewer coins than Alice. (J=A-10)
Same as the Integer Problems, but
Multiplication the relationship is limited on the digits of
Product, twice, doubled, tripled, times, the given number. Some problems will require
multiplied by, of treating the digits as individual numbers.
We could easily represent a 3 digit number
Example: by:
The product of the length and the width is 40. 100x + 10y + z
(lw = 40) with x,y and z being the digits.
The length is twice the width. (l = 2w)
John took half the number of marbles. (j=1/2m) Relations could then be easily made
thru this equation. If we flip the digits,
Division then we have:
Quotient, divided by, divided into, quotient 100z + 10y + x.
of, in, per
We could then just proceed to
solving the equations.

Example:
The length divided by the width is 4. (l/w = Problems:
4)
John travelled 100 miles in 3 hours. (j = 1. The difference between two positive
100/3) numbers is 20. If you square the larger
number and subtract ten times the smaller
AGE PROBLEMS number from the square, you get 575. What are
the two numbers? Ans. 25 and 5
To solve for Age Problems, remember that if
John's age moves back x years, Peter's age 2. In a three-digit number, the sum of the
also moves back x years. hundreds digit and the tens digit is 2 more
than the units digit. While the tens digit is
Problems: twice hundreds digit. When the digits are
reversed it is 396 more than the original
1. A man is currently 26 years older than his number. What is the original number? 𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑
son. Twelve years from the current time, the
man will be twice as old as his son. What is 3. One integer is four smaller than another.
the current age of the father? Ans. M=40 The sum of their reciprocals is 24/5 . What
are the numbers? Ans. 12
2. A man has three children. The oldest child
is three times as old as the youngest. The SPEED PROBLEMS
second child is six years older than the
youngest and six years younger than the Speed = Distance/ Time
oldest. How old are the children? Ans. 6, 12
and 18 Flying Towards Wind, Velocity is X (your
speed)+ Wind Velocity
3. Three years ago, the sum of the ages of the Flying Against Wind, Velocity is X - W
quintuplets and their older sister was 155. If
MIXTURE WORD PROBLEMS
 REVIEW – MATHEMATICS, SURVEYING AND TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING

Mixture problems are word problems where 1. When the population of group of bacteria at
items or quantities of different values are any time “t” is given by An=Aoe0.584t, If Ao = 4,
mixed together. find t when An =2100. t = 10.72

(Volume1 x Concentration) + (Volume2 x 2. A three-man crew can harvest the field in

Concentration) = Total Volume x Resulting six hours, while a four-man crew can harvest
Concentration the field in four hours. If the three-man
crew worked for one hour and then were joined
Problems: by the fourth man, how long will it take the
four-man crew to finish the job? How long
1. Four thousand (4000) kg of steel does it take from start to finish to do the
containing 7% nickel is to be made by mixing whole job? Ans. 4hrs and 20 mins
steel containing 12% nickel with steel
containing 4% nickel. How much of the steel 3. Sarah, Sue, and Sybil are making
containing 12% nickel is needed? 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏 𝒌𝒌𝒌𝒌 chocolate-chip cookies for the annual club
bake sale. Working alone, it would take Sarah
2. To get rid of a nasty strain of root worm, 8 hours to do all the baking. Sue could do
an insecticide mixture should have a the whole job in 10 hours, and it would take
concentration that’s 9% insecticide. A farmer Sybil 12 hours by herself. They all started
has two mixtures on hand — one with 5% working early in the morning. But, after
insecticide and the other with 15% 2 hours, Sybil said that she had to leave for
insecticide. What is the ratio of the 5% to an appointment and wouldn’t be back. One hour
15% mixtures that should be combined to get a after that, Sue got tired of listening to
9% mixture? If the farmer needs Sarah’s griping and left. How long did it
40 gallons of mixture, how many gallons of take Sarah to finish up the job by herself,
each should she use? Ans. 24 gal and 16 gal after the other two left? Ans. 1hr and 16 min

3. Two trains leave the same station CLOCK PROBLEMS

traveling in opposite directions. The first
train leaves at 2 p.m. The second train Solving clock problems requires familiarity
leaves a half-hour later and travels at a with the movement of the clock hands.
speed averaging 15 miles per hour faster than
the first train. By 8 o’clock that evening, When the minute hand moves 60 spaces, the
they’re 600 miles apart. How fast are the two hour hand moves 5 spaces, therefore the ratio
trains traveling? Ans. First 45mph 2nd 60mph of the to is 5:60 or 1/12. This means if the
minute hand moves x minutes the hour hand
moves x /12 minutes.

WORK WORD PROBLEMS When the second hand moves 60 spaces, the
minute hand moves 1 space. This means their
Work problems are similar to rate problems, ratio is 1/60, so when the second hand moves
where we need to treat the work done in x seconds, the minute hand moves x/60
relation to the rate on which it was done. seconds. The the hour hand moves x/60/12 so
The formula for “Work” Problems that involve the hour hand moves x/720 seconds.
two persons is
Note also that 1 revolution is 360 degrees
1/A+ 1/B = 1/C and every 5 minutes is equal to 30 degrees.
A= Time for A to finish
B= Time for B to finish x = distance traveled by the minute hand (in
C= Time for the 2 of them to finish together minutes)
x/12= distance traveled by the hour hand (in
This formula can be extended for more than minutes)
two persons. It can also be used in problems
that involve pipes filling up a tank. Note: Distances Together = 0
Perpendicular = 15 minutes
For work problems involving changes in Number Opposite = 30 minutes
of Workers, this can be solved using the
concept of: Problems:

Work Done = Number of Worker x Rate of Work 1. In three hours, the minute hand of the
clock rotates through an angle of: 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏∘
POPULATION WORD PROBLEMS
2. How many minutes after 4:00 PM will the
P =Poert
minute hand of the clock overtakes the hour
P = Po + rt
hand? 𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐. 𝟖𝟖𝟖𝟖 𝒎𝒎𝒎𝒎𝒎𝒎
P = Population at time t
Po = Initial Population 3. At what time after 12:00 noon will the
r = rate of increase hour hand and the minute hand of a clock
t = time first form an angle of 90°? 16.36 min

Problems: DIOPHANTINE EQUATION

 REVIEW – MATHEMATICS, SURVEYING AND TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING

A diophantine equation is an equation in

which the solutions are integers. The key
difference is that diophantine equations
present problems which lack at least 1
equation to complete the set of equations
needed to solve the problem. Solving this
kind of equation involves finding the set of
integers that will satisfy the equations.
Usually, the choices in the board
exam would be very useful as you could
substitute them directly and find out which
of them satisfies the equation

Problems:

1. Find the least positive integer value of x

in the following equation: 27x+14y=316.
a. 4 c. 10
b. 6 d. 7

2. A vendor has three items on sale: a DVD

for Php60, a remote for Php 20 and a bag
for Php 1. At the end of the day she sold
a total of 100 of the three items and has
taken exactly Php1717 of the total sales.
How many remotes did she sell?
a. 20 c. 38
b. 18 d. 23

3. Determine the number of positive integer

solutions (m,n) to the equation
1 1 1
+ =
𝑚𝑚 𝑛𝑛 96
Ans: 33

References:
- Math-Word-Problems-for-Dummies
- Math_Word_Problems_Demystified
 REVIEW – MATHEMATICS, SURVEYING AND TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING

ALGEBRA 3 the tank contain a mixture of which 60% is

alcohol? 𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐. 𝟒𝟒𝟒𝟒𝟒𝟒
AGE PROBLEMS
8. How much water must be added to 8 ounces
of 40% alcohol to produce a mixture that’s 7%
1. Mary is 24 years old. Mary is twice as old alcohol? Ans. 38 ounces
as Ana when Mary was as old as Anna now. How
old is Ana? 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏 9. A man fires a target with a bullet’s
velocity of 970m/s. After 3.5 seconds, he
2. A woman is three times as old as his hears the sound of the bullet that strikes
daughter. Four years ago, he was four times the target. Assuming sound has a constant
velocity of 340m/s, how far is the target
as old as his daughter was at that time. How
from the man? 𝟖𝟖𝟖𝟖𝟖𝟖. 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏 𝒎𝒎
old is the daughter? 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏
10. A molecule moves according to the
AVERAGE AND DIGIT WORD PROBLEMS equation S = ut + 1/2at², where S is the
distance in meters, u is the initial velocity
4. Find two consecutive even integers such in m/s, a is the acceleration in m/s², and t
that the square of the larger integer is 36 is the time in seconds. Given that when t = 2
more than the square of the smaller integer. sec, S = 98.21 m and when t=10 sec, S =
𝟖𝟖, 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏 292.867 m, determine the following:
The value of u in kph. 194.61 kph
5. The denominator of a certain fraction is 1
The value of “a” in kph/sec. −𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏. 𝟖𝟖𝟖𝟖 𝒌𝒌𝒌𝒌𝒌𝒌/𝒔𝒔
more than twice its numerator. If 3 is added
to both the numerator and the denominator the The value of S when t = 12 s. 𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐. 𝟗𝟗𝟗𝟗𝟗𝟗𝟗𝟗 𝒎𝒎
resulting fraction will be 3/5. Find the
original fraction. 𝟑𝟑/𝟕𝟕 WORK AND EXPONENTIAL PROBLEMS

6. A certain copier machine produces 13 4. A work order could be done by eleven

copies every 10 seconds. If the machine workers in 15 days. Five workers
operates continuously, how many copies will started the job. They were reinforced
with four more workers at the beginning of
it produce in an hour? 𝟒𝟒𝟒𝟒𝟒𝟒𝟒𝟒
the 6th day. Find the total number of days it
7. The average of 14 numbers is 11, If one took them to finish the job. 𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐 𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅
number is removed, the new average is 8. What
5. In the tank of a water tower, the intake
number was removed? 𝟓𝟓𝟓𝟓
valve closes automatically when the tank is
full and opens up again when 5/3 of the water
8. Determine the unit's digit in the
is drained off. The intake fills the tank in
expansion of 3855. 𝟕𝟕 4 hours, and the outlet drains the tank in 12
hours. If the outlet is open continuously,
9. Find the 1987th digit in the decimal then how long a time is it between two
equivalent of 1785/9999 starting from the different instances when the tank is
decimal point. 𝟖𝟖 completely full? Ans. 10hrs and 48 mins

6. The population density x miles from the

SPEED AND MIXTURE PROBLEMS center of a certain city is P(x) = 16 e-0.08x
thousand people per square mile.
4. Alberto can bicycle 2 miles per hour less a) What is the population density at
than twice as fast as Ollie, so Alberto the center of the city? 16 thousand people
didn’t leave for the rally until two hours per square mile
after Ollie left. If the total distance they b) What is the population density 10
travelled was 504 miles and if Ollie miles from the center of the city? 7.19
travelled for 10 hours, then how fast can thousand people per square mile
Alberto bicycle? Ans.38 mph c) What is the population density at a
distance of 9000 miles of the city? ≈ 𝟎𝟎
5. A boat takes 2/3 as much time to travel
downstream from A to B, as to return, 7. If 9 men can cut 26 trees in a day, how
if the rate of the river's current is
many trees can 20 men cut in a day? 𝟓𝟓𝟓𝟓
9kph, what is the speed of the boat in still
water? 𝟒𝟒𝟒𝟒 𝒌𝒌𝒌𝒌𝒌𝒌
CLOCK PROBLEMS
6. Jon leaves Chicago at noon and heads south
4. Brandon Ingram left his home at past 3:00
toward Bloomington traveling at 45 mph. Jane
o'clock PM as indicated in his wall clock.
leaves Bloomington heading north for Chicago
Between two to three hours after, he returned
at 1 p.m., traveling at 55 mph. If Chicago
home and noticed that the hands of the clock
and Bloomington are 145 miles apart, then
interchanged. At what time did he left his
what time will they meet? Ans. 2:00 pm
home? 𝟑𝟑: 𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑: 𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐. 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏 𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑
7. The gasoline tank of a car contains 60
5. At how many minutes after 4 PM will the
liters of gasoline and alcohol, the alcohol
hands of a clock be:
comprising 24%. How much of the mixture must
be drawn off and replaced by alcohol so that a) Together for the first time? 𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐. 𝟖𝟖𝟖𝟖 𝒎𝒎𝒎𝒎𝒎𝒎
 REVIEW – MATHEMATICS, SURVEYING AND TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING

b) Opposite each other for the first time?

54.55 min
c) Perpendicular to each other for the first
time? 5.45 min

6. It is now between 9 and 10 o’clock. In 4

min. The hour hand of a clock will be
directly opposite the position occupied by
the minute hand 3 minutes ago. Find what time
is it. 9:20

7. What time between 2 and 3 oclock will the

angle between the hands of the clock be
bisected by the line connecting the center of
the clock and the 3 o’clock mark? 2:18:27.69

8. The second hand of a clock is 7 inches

long. Find the speed of the tip of the second
hand.0.733 in/s
DIOPHANTINE EQUATIONS

1. Find the sum of all real integer n so that the expression

is an integer
12
𝑛𝑛 + 2
Ans: -24

2. Find the number of ordered positive integer triples

(x,y,z) that satisfy
1 1 1 1
+ + =
𝑥𝑥 𝑦𝑦 𝑧𝑧 2
Ans: 52
3. Find all positive integer ordered pairs (x,y) that
satisfy
2𝑥𝑥 + 3𝑦𝑦 = 35
Ans: (1, 11), (4, 9), (7, 7), (10, 5), (13, 3), (16, 1)