The CENTRE for EDUCATION in

MATHEMATICS and COMPUTING

EXTRA CHALLENGES – SET VI

This resource may be copied in its entirety, but is not to be used for commercial purposes without permission from the Centre for
Education in Mathematics and Computing, University of Waterloo.

Answers:

1. Let x represent the number of part-time staff. There are seven more full-time staff than
the number of part-time staff. Thus, there are (x + 7) full-time staff. The sports store
employs 25 people so,
x + (x + 7) = 25
2x + 7 = 25
2x = 18
x=9

Therefore, 9 people work part-time at the sports store.

2. Let x represent the time, in hours, it takes to drive from Waterloo to Cambridge. Since the
whole trip took 6 hours, then 6 − x is the time it takes to drive from Cambridge to Ottawa.
The whole trip was 500 km thus,
50 x + 100(6 − x) = 550
50x + 600 − 100x = 550
−50x = −50
x =1

It took Danielle 1 hour to drive from Waterloo to Cambridge. Therefore, it took 5 hours to
drive from Cambridge to Ottawa. Thus, it is 100 km/h × 5 h = 500 km from Cambridge to
Ottawa.

3. Let s1 represent the length of the shaft of the first hockey stick, in metres.
Let s2 represent the length of the shaft of the second hockey stick, in metres.

First Hockey Stick Second Hockey Stick

s1 1.1 m s2
1.3 m

0.5 m 0.8 m

For more activities and resources from the University of Waterloo’s Faculty of Mathematics, please visit www.cemc.uwaterloo.ca.
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 The CENTRE for EDUCATION in
MATHEMATICS and COMPUTING

EXTRA CHALLENGES – SET VI

This resource may be copied in its entirety, but is not to be used for commercial purposes without permission from the Centre for
Education in Mathematics and Computing, University of Waterloo.

Using the Pythagorean Theorem: Using the Pythagorean Theorem:

0.52 + 1.12 =
( s1 ) 2 0.82 + 1.32 =
( s2 ) 2
1.46 = ( s1 ) 2 2.33 = ( s2 ) 2
s1 = 1.46 s2 = 2.33
s1  1.2 m s2  1.5 m

The blades of each hockey stick are 38 cm = 0.38 m in length. Thus, the length of the first
hockey stick is 1.2 + 0.38 = 1.58 m and the second hockey stick is 1.5 + 0.38 = 1.88 m .
Therefore, the second hockey stick is 0.3 m longer that the first hockey stick.

4. When a ball is thrown up vertically its initial velocity will decrease over time because of
gravity. When the velocity is zero the ball is no longer going up. At that instant, the ball
will begin to descend. Thus, the tennis ball will reach its maximum height when the
velocity equals 0 m/s. So we get,
V= 17 − 5t
Where V = 0 , = 0 17 − 5t
5t = 17
t = 3.4

Therefore, the tennis ball will reach its maximum height at 3.4 seconds after it was
initially thrown upwards.

5. The cylindrical tank must hold a maximum of 12 700 m3 of water.

a. If the cylindrical tank is to be built with a 20 m diameter and 18 m height then the
maximum
volume it can hold is,
Vcylinder = π r 2 h
Where r = 10 and h = 18 , = π (10)2 (18)
= 5654.87 m 3

Therefore, this tank would not be able to hold 12 700 m3 of water.

For more activities and resources from the University of Waterloo’s Faculty of Mathematics, please visit www.cemc.uwaterloo.ca.
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 The CENTRE for EDUCATION in
MATHEMATICS and COMPUTING

EXTRA CHALLENGES – SET VI

This resource may be copied in its entirety, but is not to be used for commercial purposes without permission from the Centre for
Education in Mathematics and Computing, University of Waterloo.

b. The height is 18 m and the maximum volume, V , the cylindrical tank must hold is
12 700 m3. So,
Vcylinder = π r 2 h
Where V = 12700 and h = 18 ,12 700 = π r (18)
2

705.556  π r 2
224.585  r 2
r = 224.585
r  14.986
2r = 29.972

Since d = 2r , then the diameter of the cylindrical tank should be 30 m, correct to

the nearest metre.

For more activities and resources from the University of Waterloo’s Faculty of Mathematics, please visit www.cemc.uwaterloo.ca.
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