Majority of the candidates performed well in the (a) part and many of them scored full marks. They were expected to:
Reduce the numerator thus 31/2 + 7/8 = 37/12 + 7/8 = 95/24
and reduce the denominator (21/4 - 1 ) to 50/24. Hence
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95/24 / 50/24 = 95/24 x 24/50 or 19/10.
Many candidates found the (b) part to be a little challenging.
P = m/2 - n² /5m implies that n2/5m = m/2 - P. This makes n² =
5m ( m/2 - P). Thus n = ± 5m (m/2 – P) when P = 14, m = -8,
n = ± 96 = ± 9.80 to 3 s.f.
Very few candidates successfully obtained the correct answer in (ii).
