Questions

ADVANCED MATHEMATICS
Calculus (Adv), C4 Integration (Adv) 1. Calculus, 2ADV C4 2015 HSC 5 MC
Trapezoidal Rule (Y12)  RAP Data - Bottom 12%: School result (47%) was 13% below state average (60%)
Teacher: Michael Boulus
Using the trapezoidal rule with 4 subintervals, which expression gives the approximate area under
Exam Equivalent Time: 78 minutes (based on allocation of 1.5 minutes per mark) the curve between and ?

(A)
C4 Integration
(B)

(C)

(D)
2% 4% 6% 8% 10% 12% 14%
Integrals
*Analytics based on the average
Area Under Curves contribution to the 2ADV HSC
Trapezoidal Rule exams over the past decade.
Other Integration Applications

HISTORICAL CONTRIBUTION
C4 Integration has contributed a substantial 13.0% to past Advanced exams, on average over the
past decade.
This topic has been split into four sub-topics for analysis purposes: 1-Integrals (4.8%), 2-Areas Under
Curves (4.2%), 3-Trapezoidal Rule (2.0%) and 4-Other Integration Examples (2.0%).
This analysis looks at the Trapezoidal Rule.

HSC ANALYSIS - What to expect and common pitfalls

The Trapezoidal Rule is the surviving area approximation method in the new Advanced course, with
Simpson's Rule no longer examinable.
The past contribution per exam of 2.0% includes all past "area approximation" questions, including
those looking at Simpson's Rule, which we regard as the best estimate for mark allocations going
forward.
Trapezoidal Rule was not examined in the 2021 Advanced paper, the first time it has been omitted in
the last decade.
Beware of the myth that this sub-topic offers up the easiest marks in the course. While the standard
formula and calculations are generally well answered (except in 2019 Adv 16b, and 2014* Adv 16a),
the follow up questions have produced horrible results - sub-50% mean marks in 4 out of the last 8
years.
Where possible, past Simpson Rule approximation questions have been rewritten as Trapezoidal
Rule questions to help address the problem areas identified above.
An area that provides a great opportunity for scoring well, although we highly recommend a close
examination of the follow-up questions that have proven extremely challenging.
2. Calculus, 2ADV C4 2016* HSC 14a 3. Calculus, 2ADV C4 2020 HSC 20
The diagram shows the cross-section of a tunnel and a proposed enlargement. Kenzo is driving his car along a road while his friend records the velocity of the car, , in km/h
every minute over a 5-minute period. The table gives the velocity at time hours.

The distance covered by the car over the 5-minute period is given by

The heights, in metres, of the existing section at 1 metre intervals are shown in Table Use the trapezoidal rule and the velocity at each of the six time values to find the approximate
distance in kilometres the car has travelled in the 5-minute period. Give your answer correct to one
decimal place. (2 marks)

4. Calculus, 2ADV C4 2006* HSC 10a

Use the Trapezoidal rule with three function values to find an approximation to the value of

The heights, in metres, of the proposed enlargement are shown in Table

.

Give your answer correct to three decimal places. (2 marks)

5. Calculus, 2ADV C4 2011* HSC 5c

 RAP Data - Bottom 18%: School result (67%) was 9% below state average (76%)
Use the Trapezoidal rule with the measurements given to calculate the approximate increase in area.
(3 marks)
The table gives the speed of a jogger at time in minutes over a 20-minute period. The speed
is measured in metres per minute, in intervals of 5 minutes.

The distance covered by the jogger over the 20-minute period is given by .

Use the Trapezoidal rule and the speed at each of the five time values to find the approximate
distance the jogger covers in the 20-minute period. (3 marks)
6. Calculus, 2ADV C4 2005* HSC 6a 9. Calculus, 2ADV C4 2017* HSC 14b
Five values of the function are shown in the table.  Part ii: RAP Data - Bottom 3%: School result (33%) was 26% below state average (59%)

i. Find the exact value of . (1 mark)

ii. Using the Trapezoidal rule with three function values, find an approximation to the integral

Use the Trapezoidal rule with the five values given in the table to estimate

. (3 marks)
leaving your answer in terms of and . (2 marks)

7. Calculus, 2ADV C4 2022 HSC 13 iii. Using parts (i) and (ii), show that . (1 mark)

Use two applications of the trapezoidal rule to find an approximate value of . Give
your answer correct to 2 decimal places. (2 marks)

8. Calculus, 2ADV C4 2012* HSC 12d

At a certain location a river is 12 metres wide. At this location the depth of the river, in metres, has
been measured at 3 metre intervals. The cross-section is shown below.

i. Use the Trapezoidal rule with the five depth measurements to calculate the approximate area of the
cross-section (3 marks)
ii. The river flows at 0.4 metres per second.
Calculate the approximate volume of water flowing through the cross-section in 10 seconds. (1
mark)
10. Calculus, 2ADV C4 2018* HSC 15c 11. Calculus, 2ADV C4 2019 HSC 16b
 Part i: RAP Data - Bottom 12%: School result (50%) was 14% below state average (64%) A particle moves in a straight line, starting at the origin. Its velocity, , is given by
, where is in seconds.
The shaded region is enclosed by the curve and the line , as shown in the
The diagram shows the graph of the velocity against time.
diagram. The line meets the curve at and . Do NOT prove
this.

Using the Trapezoidal Rule with three function values, estimate the position of the particle when it
first comes to rest. Give your answer correct to two decimal places. (3 marks)

12. Calculus, 2ADV C4 2004* HSC 10a

i. Use the Trapezoidal rule with 3 function values to find an approximation to the area under the
i. Use integration to find the area of the shaded region. (2 marks) curve between and , where is positive. (2 marks)

ii. Use the Trapezoidal rule and four function values to approximate the area of the shaded region. (2
marks) ii. Using the result in part (i), show that . (1 mark)

The point is chosen on the curve so that the tangent at is parallel to the line
and the -coordinate of is positive
13. Calculus, 2ADV C4 2014* HSC 16a
iii. Show that the coordinates of are . (2 marks)
 RAP Data - Bottom 8%: School result (30%) was 17% below state average (47%)
iv. Using the perpendicular distance formula , find the area of . (2 marks) Use the Trapezoidal rule with five function values to show that

. (3 marks)
14. Calculus, 2ADV C4 2013* HSC 15a 16. Calculus, 2ADV C4 2010 HSC 3b
The diagram shows the front of a tent supported by three vertical poles. The poles are 1.2 m apart. i. Sketch the curve . (1 mark)
The height of each outer pole is 1.5 m, and the height of the middle pole is 1.8 m. The roof hangs
between the poles. ii. Use the trapezoidal rule with 3 function values to find an approximation to (2 marks)

iii. State whether the approximation found in part (ii) is greater than or less than the exact value of
. Justify your answer. (1 mark)

Copyright © 2004-22 The State of New South Wales (Board of Studies, Teaching and Educational Standards NSW)

The front of the tent has area ².

i. Use the trapezoidal rule to estimate . (1 mark)

ii. Does the Trapezoidal rule give a higher or lower estimate of the actual area? Justify your answer. (1
mark)

15. Calculus, 2ADV C4 2022 HSC 29

a. The diagram shows the graph of . Also shown on the diagram are the first 5 of an infinite
number of rectangular strips of width 1 unit and height for non-negative integer values of
. For example, the second rectangle shown has width 1 and height . (1 mark)

The sum of the areas of the rectangles forms a geometric series.

Show that the limiting sum of this series is 2.

b. Show that . (2 marks)

c. Use parts (a) and (b) to show that . (2 marks)

Worked Solutions 3. Calculus, 2ADV C4 2020 HSC 20

1. Calculus, 2ADV C4 2015 HSC 5 MC

weight 1 2 2 2 2 1

2. Calculus, 2ADV C4 2016* HSC 14a 4. Calculus, 2ADV C4 2006* HSC 10a

²
5. Calculus, 2ADV C4 2011* HSC 5c 8. Calculus, 2ADV C4 2012* HSC 12d

i.

ii. ♦ Mean mark 49%.

6. Calculus, 2ADV C4 2005* HSC 6a

7. Calculus, 2ADV C4 2022 HSC 13

Mean mark 59%.

COMMENT: A
surprisingly low mean
mark warrants attention.
9. Calculus, 2ADV C4 2017* HSC 14b

i.

ii.

π π
6 3

y = cos x

♦ Mean mark part (iii) 49%.

(iii)
10. Calculus, 2ADV C4 2018* HSC 15c

i.

iv.

ii.

iii.

²
11. Calculus, 2ADV C4 2019 HSC 16b 12. Calculus, 2ADV C4 2004* HSC 10a

i.
♦♦ Mean mark 30%.

ii.
13. Calculus, 2ADV C4 2014* HSC 16a 14. Calculus, 2ADV C4 2013* HSC 15a

♦ Mean mark below 50%. BE

i.
CAREFUL!

ii.

²
15. Calculus, 2ADV C4 2022 HSC 29
16. Calculus, 2ADV C4 2010 HSC 3b
a.
i.

b.
Mean mark part (b) 56%.

MARKER’S COMMENT: Many

students failed to illustrate
important features in their graph
ii.
such as the concavity, -axis
intercept and -axis asymptote
(this can be explicitly stated or
made graphically clear).

²
c.
♦♦♦ Mean mark part (c) iii.
9%.

♦♦♦ Mean mark 12%.

MARKER’S COMMENT: Best
responses commented on
concavity and that the trapezia lay
beneath the curve. Diagrams
featured in the best responses.
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