Appendix A Review of Prerequisite Skills

Evaluating expressions
To evaluate the expression 2x2 − 7xy + 5 for x = 2 and y = −3, substitute 2 for x
and −3 for y in the expression. Then, simplify using the order of operations.

2x 2 − 7xy + 5 = 2(2)2 − 7(2)(−3) + 5

= 8 + 42 + 5
= 55
1. Evaluate for x = −2, y = 5, and z = 4.
a) x2 + 5x − y2 b) (2x + y)(3z − 2y) c) 8xy + 3y3 − 6z
d) −5y − 4x 2y2 + 3 e) 2z − y(3x2 − 4y) f) 8 + 6yx − 7y2
g) xyz − xy − xz − yz h) 5x2 − 9z2y + 1 i) (xz − xy)(xz + xy)
(x − y)(x + z) (x + 1)( y − 3) (x − 5)2( y − 3)2(z + 1)2
j)  k)  l) 
2
( y + z) (x − 6)(z + 1)
3
(x − y + z + 4)

Exponent laws
The exponent laws are used to simplify the following expression.
(3x 2y)3(8x 5y7)
The exponent 3 is shared by all parts inside 
2x4y9
the brackets:
(27x 6y 3)(8x 5y 7)
Multiply the numeric coefficients and add = 
2x4y9
exponents on like variables:
216x11y10
Divide the numeric coefficients and subtract = 
2x4 y9
exponents on like variables:
= 108x7y

1. Use the exponent laws to simplify each of the following.

a) (4x 2)5 b) (−3x 4y5)2 c) 5(2x3y)(5x2y2)3
(9x2y4)( − 15x5y7)
     
1 2 2 3 3 a2 5 b2 3
d)    e)   f) 
2 6
9 5 4 b a (3x y)(5x y )
(−2x3y3)3(5x2y)4
 
2 5
g) 2 (3x 2y3)(4x 3)2 h) 3 2
x (10xy )

496 MHR • Appendix A

Fractions, percents, decimals
The following table shows how equivalent fractions, percents, and decimals can
be expressed.
Fraction Percent Decimal
63
 63% 0.63
100
8 2
 =  8% 0.08
100 25
0.5 1
 =  0.5% 0.005
100 200
150 3
 =  150% 1.5
100 2

1. Copy and complete the following table. Express all fractions in their
simplest form.
Fraction Percent Decimal
75
a) 
100
1
b) 
2
2
c) 8
5
d) 34%
e) 0.03%
f) 5.6%
g) 0.45
h) 0.03
i) 2.68
2. Find the percent change when the price of gasoline jumps from $0.699/L to
$0.799/L.
3. A $25-shirt is on sale for 20% off. What is the total cost of the shirt,
including 8% PST and 7% GST?

Review of Prerequisite Skills • MHR 497

Graphing data
The table gives the ages of 80 cars sold at a used car lot.
Age (years) Frequency Percent
1 3 3.75
2 2 2.5
3 7 8.75
4 15 18.75
5 12 15
6 18 22.5
7 10 12.5
8 6 7.5
9 3 3.75
10 3 3.75
11 0 0
12 1 1.25

The percents were calculated by dividing each frequency by 80 and

multiplying by 100.
The most frequent age of cars sold was 6 years old, at 22.5% of the total.
The least frequent age was 11 years old, at 0% of the total.
These data can be graphed using a bar graph or a circle graph as shown below.

Ages of Used Cars Sold

20 Ages of Used Cars Sold

18 12
16
9 10 1 2
14
8 3
Frequency

12
10
7 4
8
6
4 6 5
2
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Age (Years)

498 MHR • Appendix A

 1. The table shows the number of tickets sold Day Tickets Sold
for a two-week theatre production of Little 1 2350
Shop of Horrors. 2 2350
a) Construct a line graph of the ticket sales. 3 2350
b) Describe the trend in ticket sales. 4 2350
5 2189
c) What types of graphs would not be
6 2012
suitable for these data?
7 1850
8 1878
9 1504
10 920
11 1267
12 1422
13 998
14 835

2. Grade 12 students were asked to provide the Number of Universities Frequency

number of universities to which they were 0 35
considering applying. The following results 1 25
were obtained. 2 56
a) How many students were surveyed? 3 27
4 18
b) Construct a bar graph.
5 12
c) Determine the percent of total responses
6 3
for each number.
d) Construct a circle graph.
e) What type of graph would not be suitable for these data?

Graphing exponential functions

In the exponential function y = 0.3(2)x, the base is 2, the numerical coefficient is
0.3, and the exponent is x. Complete a table of values by finding the value of y
for each value of x.

Plot the points on a grid and draw a smooth curve through the points.
x y y
10
−2 0.075
−1 0.15 8
0 0.3
1 0.6 6
2 1.2
3 2.4 4
4 4.8
5 9.6 2

y = 0.3(2)X
–2 0 2 4 x
Review of Prerequisite Skills • MHR 499
 1. Graph each of the following functions.
a) y = 2x b) y = 2–x
c) y = 1.5(2) x d) y = 3(0.5)x


1 x
e) y = 0.1(4)x f) y = 81 
3

Graphing linear equations

2
To graph the line y = x − 1 using the slope and y-intercept form y = mx + b,
3
2
identify the slope as m =  and the y-intercept as b = −1. Plot the y-intercept
3
first. Then, plot a second point by moving 3 to the right (run) and 2 upward
(rise) to the point (3, 2).
y

2
(3, 2)

–2 0 2 4 x
(0, –1)
–2

1. Graph each of the following using the slope and y-intercept.

5
a) y = x + 2 b) y = 4x − 5
3
1
c) y = −5x + 3 d) y = −x + 2
2
e) y = −x − 2 f) y = 6x − 7
g) 2x + y = 8 h) 3x + 4y = 10
i) 5x − 6y = 9

Graphing quadratic functions

To graph the function y = 2x2 − 12x + 7, you must first complete the square.

y = 2x2 − 12x + 7
2
Factor 2 from the x and x terms: y = 2(x2 − 6x) + 7
Add and subtract the square of half of the y = 2(x2 − 6x + 32 − 32) + 7
coefficient of x: y = 2(x2 − 6x + 9) − 2(9) + 7
Complete the square: y = 2(x − 3)2 − 11

500 MHR • Appendix A

To graph y = 2(x − 3)2 − 11, plot the vertex at (3, −11).
Sketch the parabola opening upward, stretched vertically a factor of 2.
To find the y-intercept, substitute x = 0 and evaluate y = 7.
To find the x-intercepts, substitute y = 0 and evaluate x =⋅ 5.3 or x =⋅ 0.7.
y
(0, 7)
6
y = 2(x – 3)2 – 11
4

(0.7, 0) (5.3, 0)
0 2 4 6 x
–2

–4

–6

–8

–10

–12 (3, –11)

1. Graph the following functions and estimate any x- and y-intercepts.

a) y = 3x2 b) y = −3x2 c) y = 2(x − 1)2 + 3
d) y = 3x2 + 6x − 5 e) y = −2x2 + 8x + 10 f) y = 5x2 − 8x + 2
g) y = x2 + 6x − 9 h) y = −x2 + 5x + 3 i) y = 4x2 + 6x + 1

Mean, median, mode

The following marks were scored on a test marked out of 50.

45 38 26 44 45 20 38 32 29 18 32 33 33 41 45 50 31 27 25 24
38 36 25 35 42 30 38 31 32 29 30 39 38 39 25 26 21 49 12 34

The marks can be organized into a stem-and-leaf plot.

Test Marks
1 2, 8
2 0, 1, 4, 5, 5, 5, 6, 6, 7, 9, 9
3 0, 0, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 9, 9
4 1, 2, 4, 5, 5, 5, 9
5 0

Review of Prerequisite Skills • MHR 501

The mean is the sum of all the measures, divided by the number of measures.
1325
mean = 
40
= 33.125

The median is the middle measure when all the measures are placed in order
from least to greatest.
1
 of 40 = 20
2
The median is the midpoint of the 20th and 21st measures.
(32 + 33)
 = 32.5
2
The mode is the most frequent measure.
mode = 38

1. Calculate the mean, median, and mode for each of the following sets of data.
a) Student ages in years:
18 16 13 15 16 18 18 18 15 17 17 18 14 15 16 18 19 20 19
16 14 17 17 18 15 16 18
b) Prices, in dollars, of the Mario Lemieux rookie card at various stores:
89 58 79 79 47 99 88 125 79 89 64 79 78 90 95 75 89 79 79

Number patterns
A pattern can be described by identifying the operation that is needed to find
successive terms.

44, 33, 22, . . . is a sequence of terms found by subtracting 11.

The next three terms would be 11, 0, −11.

1. Describe each of the following patterns. Find the next three terms.
a) 15, 12, 9 b) 4, 12, 36 c) 1, 4, 9
d) 2, 4, 6 e) 9, −3, 1 f) 80, −40, 20
g) 1, −1, 1, −1 h) 15, 5, −5 i) 1, 2, 4, 8, 16
3 1 1
j) , ,  k) p, pq, pqq, pqqq l) a, ab, abb, abbbb
4 2 3
m)

n)

502 MHR • Appendix A

Order of operations
To evaluate this expression, use the order of operations to multiply first and
then simplify by subtracting.

( − 2)( − 6) − (5)( − 3)2 = 12 − (5)(9)

= 12 − 45
= −33
1. Evaluate each expression.
a) (−3)(5) + (−6)(−8) b) (12)(11) − (−9)(7)
c) −10(3)(2) + (−12)(7)(−2) d) 0.3(5.5)2 − ( − 6.7)(2.1)3 + 4.2( − 1.1)5

2 5 7  4  3

1 3 2 3 2 8
e) 3.2  − 2.5  + 1.4  f) 

2 53 3 26 4
5 2 4 3 2 1 5 7
g)  −   h)  −   − 

Ratios of areas
One rectangle has dimensions of 6 cm by 7 cm. A second rectangle has
dimensions that are 3 times those of the first. The ratio of their areas can
be found in two ways.

Method 1: The area of the first rectangle is 6 × 7 = 42 cm2.

The area of the second rectangle is 18 × 21 = 378 cm2.
The ratio of their areas is 42:378 = 1:9.

Method 2: The dimensions have a ratio of 1:3.

The ratio of the areas is the square of the ratio of the dimensions.
So, the ratio is 12:32 = 1:9.
1. a) A triangle has base of 15 mm and height of 8 mm. The dimensions of
a second triangle are double those of the first. What is the ratio of their
areas?
b) The dimensions of a square are triple those of another square. What is
the ratio of the areas of the two squares?
c) The length and the width of a parallelogram are halved to create a second
parallelogram. What is the ratio of the areas of the two parallelograms?
d) A pyramid has edges that are five times as long as the edges of another
pyramid. What is the ratio of the volumes of the two pyramids?

Review of Prerequisite Skills • MHR 503

Scatter plots
The measurements of the neck and wrist circumferences, in centimetres, of
fifteen 17-year-old students, are recorded in the following table.
Neck 32 31 44 36 29 34 40 38 42 32 33 35 40 39 30
Wrist 15 15 19 17 15 16 21 17 20 16 17 17 18 17 12

Plot the data in a scatter plot, showing the linear relationship between the
two measurements. Construct a line of best fit through the data.
Wrist Circumference (cm)

22
20
18
Refer to Appendix B: Technology for
16
help in constructing the scatter plot
14
and line of best fit using technology.
12
10

0 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46
Neck Circumference (cm)

The slope of the line of best fit is positive.

Half of the points are above the line of best fit and the other half of the points
are below the line.

The line can be extrapolated to find the wrist circumference of a 17-year-old

person with a neck circumference of greater than 44 cm or less than 29 cm.
A person with a neck circumference of 47 cm would expect to have a wrist
circumference of about 21 cm. A person with a neck circumference of 28 cm
would expect to have a wrist circumference of about 14 cm.
1. The following table shows the temperature of Earth’s
atmosphere at various altitudes on a particular day.
a) Construct a scatter plot, with Altitude along the horizontal Altitude (km) Temperature (°C)
axis and Temperature along the vertical axis. 0 13
1 0
b) Describe the relationship between altitude and temperature.
2 −1
c) Draw a line of best fit through the data. Describe your steps.
4 −13
d) What is the slope of your line of best fit? What does the 5 −20
slope represent? 6 −27
e) Write an equation relating temperature to altitude. 8 −41
f) What would the temperature be at an altitude of 12 km? 10 −55

504 MHR • Appendix A

 2. In the city of Marktown, the annual cost, in dollars, of heating Floor Space (m2) Heating Cost ($)
a house relative to its floor space, in square metres, is shown in 140 1071
the following table. 160 1279
a) Construct a scatter plot, with Floor Space along the horizontal 180 1452
axis and Heating Cost along the vertical axis. 200 1599
220 1821
b) Describe the relationship between floor space and heating cost.
240 2002
c) Draw a line of best fit through the data. Describe your steps.
260 2242
d) What is the slope of your line of best fit? What does it 280 2440
represent?
e) Write an equation relating floor space and heating cost.
f) What would the heating cost be for a floor space of 350 m2?

Sigma notation
The following series can be written in sigma notation by writing a formula
representing the terms and by writing the lower and upper limits of the
variable, i, as 1 and 12, respectively.
12
12 + 22 + 32 + … + 122 =  i 2
i=1

1. Express the following series in sigma notation.

a) 2 + 4 + 8 + 16 + 32 + 64
b) 3! + 4! + 5! + … + 15!
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
c)  +  +  +  +  +  + 
2 3 4 5 6 7 8
d) 5x + 6x + 7x + 8x + 9x + 10x + 11x
2. Expand each of the following. Do not simplify.
10 8 15 6
k+1
a) 
i=1
3i b)  5(2)
m=1
m
c) 
i=4
(2i − 1) d) 
k=3 k
2

Similar triangles
In similar triangles, corresponding angles are F
equal and corresponding sides are proportional.
ABC~DEF because AB:DE = BC:EF = CA:FD = 1:2.
C
10 cm 8 cm

5 cm 4 cm

A 3 cm B D 6 cm E

Review of Prerequisite Skills • MHR 505

 1. Determine which of the following triangles are similar. Explain.
a) R b) U

9 cm 70º
5 cm

P 8 cm Q 30º 80º
S T
c) X d) H

65º
4.5 cm 2.5 cm

30º 85º
F 4 cm G
V W

e) L
4.5 cm

30º
J K
8 cm
Simplifying expressions
The expression (x − y)(2x − 3y)2 can be simplified by expanding the brackets
and then collecting like terms.

(x − y)(2x − 3y)2 = (x − y)(4x2 − 12xy + 9y2)

= 4x3 − 12x2y + 9xy2 − 4x2y + 12xy2 − 9y3
= 4x3 − 16x2y + 21xy2 − 9y3
1. Expand and simplify.
a) (x + 2y)2 b) (2x − 5)2 c) (x2 + y)2
d) (5x − 2y)2 e) (3x + 4)(2x + 1)2 f) (5y − 2)2(3y + 4)
g) (k − 3)2(k + 4) h) (5m − n)2(5m + 2n) i) (2y − 4x)(5y + 4x)2

Solving equations
To solve this equation, expand the brackets, then collect like terms on one
side of the equation.
5(x + 3) = 4(x + 7)
5x + 15 = 4x + 28
5x − 4x = 28 − 15
x = 13

To solve an equation involving exponents, take the root of each side.

x2 = 64
x = ± 64
x = ±8

506 MHR • Appendix A

 1. Solve for x.
a) 4x − 5 = 3x − 9 b) 4x + 3 = 2x − 9 c) 7x + 6 = 2x − 9
3 c 4.8 6.3
d) 8(x − 3) = 3(2x + 4) e)  =  f)  = 
4 10 1.2 y
3x − 2 2x + 1 5x − 2 3x + 1
g)  =  h)  =  i) x2 = 36
5 3 4 2
j) x 2 = 144 k) x3 = 8 l) x3 = 216

Substituting into equations

To simplify f( g(x)), substitute g(x) for x in f(x), expand each set of brackets
and simplify by collecting like terms.

Given f(x) = 2x2 − 3x + 1 and g(x) = 5x + 4.

f (g(x)) = 2(5x + 4)2 − 3(5x + 4) + 1
= 2(25x2 + 40x + 16) − 15x − 12 + 1
= 50x2 + 80x + 32 − 15x − 12 + 1
= 50x2 + 65x + 21
1. Given f (x) = 3x2 − 6, g(x) = x2 + 2, and h(x) = 2x + 1. Substitute and simplify.
a) f (−1) b) g(5) c) h(−10) d) g( f (x)) e) g( f (−1))
f) f (g(x)) g) f (g(4)) h) h( f (x)) i) f ( f (x)) j) f (h(2))
k) g(g(x)) l) g(g(10)) m) h(g(−1)) n) f (g(h(3)))
2. In general, are f (g(x)) and g( f (x)) equal? Explain.

Tree diagrams
The tree diagram on the right illustrates the number of ways to pick an Black White
Green Tan
outfit from a green, blue, or grey shirt, black or brown pants, and a white White
or tan jacket. Each new decision branches out from the previous one to Brown Tan
build a tree diagram. Black
White
Blue Tan
1. A spinner has four colours—red, green, orange, and purple. White
Brown Tan
Draw a tree diagram to illustrate the possible outcomes for two spins.
Black White
2. A hockey team played three games in a tournament. The results Tan
could be a win, loss, or tie. Draw a tree diagram to illustrate the Grey White
Brown Tan
possible outcomes in the tournament.
3. A family is planning a vacation. They could fly, drive, take the train, or take
the bus from Toronto to Sudbury. They could drive or take the bus from
Sudbury to Timmins. They could drive, take the train, or fly from Timmins
to Winnipeg. Draw a tree diagram to illustrate the possible ways of taking
their vacation.

Review of Prerequisite Skills • MHR 507