THE CHINESE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG

Department of Mathematics
MATH1020 General Mathematics (Fall 2022)
Suggested Solutions of Final Exam

Answer-Only Questions
1. Solve the inequality |x − 2| ≤ 1.

Answer: 1≤x≤3

2. Let ~a, ~b be vectors in R3 such that ~a × ~b = 2i − k. Find

  
~a × 4~a − 5~b · ~b.

Answer: ~0

3. Let ~u = (1, 3, 1) and ~v = (1, 2, −2). Find the projection of ~u onto ~v .

 
5 10 10
Answer: , ,−
9 9 9

4. Consider the following points in R3 :

O(0, 0, 0), A(1, 2, 4), B(2, 0, 1), C(−1, 1, 0).

−→ −−→ −→
Find the volume of the parallelepiped with adjacent sides OA, OB and OC.

Answer: 5

2
5. Suppose θ is in quadrant IV and cos θ = . Find the exact value of tan θ.
3
√
Answer: 5
−
2

4 3π x
6. Given cos x = and < x < 2π. Find the exact value of cos .
5 2 2

3
Answer: −√
10
 2

7. Suppose 3x = 2x+3 . Express x in terms of α = ln 2 and β = ln 3.

3α
Answer:
β−α

8. Find all horizontal asymptotes, if any, of the graph of the function:

ex + e−x
f (x) = .
2x
If the graph has no horizontal asymptotes, write ”NONE”.

Answer: NONE

2x
9. Find f −1 (x) if f (x) = .
x−1

x
Answer:
x−2

∞
X 2k k
10. Find the radius of convergence of the power series x .
k=1
k + 1

1
Answer:
2

11. Let
∞
X
f (x) = (k + 1)xk = 1 + 2x + 3x2 + 4x3 + 5x4 + · · · ,
k=0
∞
X (−1)k x2 x3 x4
g(x) = xk = −x + − + − ···
k=1
k 2 3 4

Compute the power series for f (x)g(x) up to and including the x3 term.

3 7
Answer: −x − x2 − x3
2 3
 3

12. Suppose

(1 − x)1020 = a + bx + cx2 + “terms of degree higher than 2”.

Find the values of a, b and c.

1020 × 1019
Answer: a = 1, b = −1020, c = = 519690
2

13. Compute the exact value of

∞
X 5 5 5 5 5
k
= 5 − + 2 − 3 + 4 − ··· .
k=0
(−2) 2 2 2 2

10
Answer:
3

14. Consider the random variable X with probability mass function p.

k −1 0 1 2 3
p(k) 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.2

Find E[X].

Answer: 0.7

15. Suppose X is a random variable with expected value 14. Find the expected value
of the random variable 2X − 3.

Answer: 25

16. A basketball player is shooting free throws until a shot is made. Suppose on average
he needs 4 total attempts. Let X be the total number of attempts. Find the
standard deviation of X.

√
Answer: 12

17. An earthquake occurs in a city 3 times every 100 years on average. Find the prob-
ability that exactly 1 earthquake will occur in the city in the next 10 years.

Answer: 0.3e−0.3 ≈ 0.222

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2 − ti
18. Let t be a real number. Express in the form of a + bi, where a, b are real
3t + i
numbers in terms of t.

3t2 + 2
 
5t
Answer: + − 2 i
9t2 + 1 9t + 1

√
19. Find the principal argument of the conjugate of the complex number z = 1 + 3i.

π
Answer: −
3
 π π  π π
20. Let z1 = 2 cos + i sin , z2 = 3 cos + i sin . Find the modulus and the
3 3 5 5
z1
principal argument of the complex number .
z2

 
z1 2 z1 2π
Answer: = , Arg =
z2 3 z2 15
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Long Questions
For question 21-28, points will only be awarded for answers with sufficient justifications.

21. (10 pts) Consider the following curve in the xy-plane.

~r(t) = (3t + 1, t − 1) for − 2 ≤ t ≤ 2.

(a) Find an equation relating the x and y components of ~r(t).

(b) Graph ~r(t) for −2 ≤ t ≤ 2 in the xy-plane.

Solution:

(a)

y = t − 1 =⇒ t = y + 1
x = 3t + 1
x = 3(y + 1) + 1
x = 3y + 4

(b) For t = −2, x = −5 and y = −3.

For t = 2, x = 7 and y = 1.
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22. (10 pts) Consider the function f (x) = |x + 2| − |x − 3|.

(a) Rewrite f (x) as a piecewise function without using absolute value.

(b) Sketch the graph of y = f (x) for −4 ≤ x ≤ 4 in the xy-plane.

Solution:

(a)

−(x + 2) + (x − 3) = −5
 for x < −2
f (x) = (x + 2) + (x − 3) = 2x − 1 for − 2 ≤ x < 3

(x + 2) − (x − 3) = 5 for x ≥ 3


(b)
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23. (10 pts) Solve the following equations.

√
3
(a) cos 3x cos x = sin 3x sin x − , for x ∈ [0, π];
2
(b) tan2 x = 3 tan x + 4, for x ∈ R.

Solution:

(a)
√
3
cos 3x cos x = sin 3x sin x −
√ 2
3
cos 3x cos x − sin 3x sin x = −
√2
3
cos (3x + x) = −
√2
3
cos 4x = −
2
5π 7π 17π 19π
4x = , , ,
6 6 6 6
5π 7π 17π 19π
x= , , ,
24 24 24 24

(b)

tan2 x = 3 tan x + 4
tan2 x − 3 tan x − 4 = 0
(tan x + 1)(tan x − 4) = 0
tan x = −1 or 4
π
x = nπ − or nπ + arctan(4) for n ∈ Z
4
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24. (10 pts) Determine if the following series are convergent. Justify your answers.
∞
X 2k − 6
(a) .
k=1
3k + 5
∞
X (−1)k 2k
(b) .
k=1
3k + 1

Solution:

(a)
6
2k − 6 2− k 2
lim ak = lim = lim 5 = 6= 0
k→∞ k→∞ 3k + 5 k→∞ 3 + 3
k
∞
X 2k − 6
Hence, diverges by the k-th term test.
k=1
3k + 5
(b)
2
ak+1 (−1)k+1 2k+1 3k + 1 2(3k + 1) 2+ 3k 2
lim = lim k+1
× k k
= lim k+1
= lim 1 = <1
k→∞ ak k→∞ 3 +1 (−1) 2 k→∞ 3 +1 k→∞ 3 +
3k
3

∞
X (−1)k 2k
Hence, converges by the ratio test.
k=1
3k + 1
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25. (14 pts)

(a) Find the partial fraction decomposition of
2
.
x3 −x
(b) For n > 4, simplify the partial sum
n
X 2
Sn = .
k=2
k3 −k

(c) Compute
∞
X 2
.
k=2
k3 −k

Solution:
(a) Note that x3 − x = x(x − 1)(x + 1). Let
2 A B C A(x − 1)(x + 1) + Bx(x + 1) + Cx(x − 1)
= + + =
x3 −x x x−1 x+1 x(x − 1)(x + 1)
Then
A(x − 1)(x + 1) + Bx(x + 1) + Cx(x − 1) = 2
Put x = 0. We have −A = 2 and A = −2.
Put x = 1. We have 2B = 2 and B = 1.
Put x = −1. We have 2C = 2 and C = 1.
Hence,
2 2 1 1
3
=− + + .
x −x x x−1 x+1
(b)
n n  
X 2 X 2 1 1
= − + +
k=2
k3 − k k=2
k k − 1 k+1
n n n
X 2 X 1 X 1
=− + +
k=2
k k=2
k − 1 k=2 k + 1
n n−1 n+1
X 2 1 X1 X
=− + +
k=2
k k=1 k k=3 k
n−1
! n−1
! n−1
!
2 X2 2 1 1 X1 X 1 1 1
= − − − + + + + + +
2 k=3 k n 1 2 k=3 k k=3
k n n+1
1 1 1
= + −
2 n+1 n
(c)
∞ n  
X 2 X 2 1 1 1 1
3
= lim 3
= lim + − =
k=2
k − k n→∞ k=2 k − k n→∞ 2 n + 1 n 2
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26. (12 pts)

 2022
1
(a) Find the constant term and the coefficient of x in 4x − . You can leave
x
your answers in terms of powers and binomial coefficients.
(b) Find
C11020 + C21020 + ... + C1020
1020
.
You can leave your answers in terms of powers.

Solution:

(a)
 2022 X2022  k X2022
1 2022 2022−k 1
4x − = Ck (4x) − = Ck2022 (−1)k 42022−k x2022−2k
x k=0
x k=0

For the constant term, 2022 − 2k = 0 and so k = 1011.

Hence, the constant term is
2022
C1011 (−1)1011 42022−1011 = −C1011
2022 1011
4 .

For the x term, 2022 − 2k = 1 and so k = 2021/2. There is no such term since
k is an integer.
Hence, the coefficient of x is 0.

1020
X
1020
(b) Note that (1 + x) = Ck1020 xk . Put x = 1, we have
k=0

C01020 + C11020 + C21020 + ... + C1020

1020
= (1 + 1)1020 = 21020

Hence,
C11020 + C21020 + ... + C1020
1020
= 21020 − C01020 = 21020 − 1.
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27. (14 pts) A biased coin has probability 0.4 showing heads when flipped. Suppose
that the coin is flipped 20 times and successive flips are independent. Let X be the
number of heads that appear in the 20 flips.

(a) For 0 ≤ k ≤ 20, find the probability mass function P (X = k). Express your
answer in terms of k.
(b) Find E[X].
(c) For 0 ≤ k ≤ 19, simplify the ratio
P (X = k + 1)
.
P (X = k)

(d) Find k such that P (X = k) is the largest.

Solution:

(a) P (X = k) = Ck20 × 0.4k × 0.620−k

(b) E[X] = 20 × 0.4 = 8

(c)

P (X = k + 1) C 20 × 0.4k+1 × 0.620−k−1
= k+120
P (X = k) Ck × 0.4k × 0.620−k
20!
× 0.4
(k + 1)!(20 − k − 1)!
=
20!
× 0.6
k!(20 − k)!
2(20 − k)
=
3(k + 1)

(d) For P (X = k + 1) > P (X = k),

P (X = k + 1)
>1
P (X = k)
2(20 − k)
>1
3(k + 1)
40 − 2k > 3k + 3
37 > 5k
37
>k
5
k≤7

Similarly P (X = k + 1) < P (X = k) when k ≥ 8.

Hence, P (X = k) is the largest when k = 8.

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28. (10 pts) Recall that for any complex number z 6= ±1, we have
n
X z 2n+2 − 1
z 2k = .
k=0
z2 − 1

(a) Show that for any complex number z 6= −1, 0, 1,

n
X z 2n+1 − z −1
z 2k = .
k=0
z − z −1

(b) Let θ be a real number and 0 < θ < π. Put z = cos θ + i sin θ . Using the
previous part or otherwise, find positive constants A, B, C such that
1020
X (sin Aθ)(sin Bθ)
sin 2kθ = .
k=0
sin Cθ

Solution:

(a) Since z 6= −1, 0, 1,

n z 2n+2 −1
X
2k z 2n+2 − 1 z z 2n+1 − z −1
z = = z 2 −1
=
k=0
z2 − 1 z
z − z −1

(b)
1020
X (cos θ + i sin θ)2041 − (cos θ + i sin θ)−1
(cos θ + i sin θ)2k =
k=0
(cos θ + i sin θ) − (cos θ + i sin θ)−1
1020
X (cos 2041θ + i sin 2041θ) − (cos θ − i sin θ)
(cos 2kθ + i sin 2kθ) =
k=0
(cos θ + i sin θ) − (cos θ − i sin θ)
1020 1020
X X (cos 2041θ − cos θ) + i(sin 2041θ + sin θ) i
cos 2kθ + i sin 2kθ = ·
k=0 k=0
2i sin θ i
i(cos 2041θ − cos θ) − (sin 2041θ + sin θ)
=
−2 sin θ

Comparing the imaginary part gives

1020
X cos 2041θ − cos θ
sin 2kθ =
k=0
−2 sin θ
−2 sin 2041θ+θ sin 2041θ−θ



2 2
=
−2 sin θ
(sin 1021θ)(sin 1020θ)
=
sin θ
Hence, A = 1021, B = 1020 and C = 1 give one of the possible answers.