VCAA ID: _____________________________

TEACHER: MZB / FBG / KJG / LMK / RDM / ALN / JDP / NLT

MATHEMATICAL METHODS CAS, UNIT 3

SAC 1 2021
APPLICATION TASK
FUNCTIONS AND CALCULUS

PART 3
Writing time: 40 minutes

When Time allowed Marks allocated

PART 1 Week 7, In class 40 mins 20 marks
PART 2 Week 7, In class 40 mins 20 marks
PART 3 Week 7, In class 40 mins 20 marks
PART 4 Mon 7 June, 4:00 – 5:40pm 90 mins 45 marks

Instructions for students

• Write your VCAA ID and circle your teacher’s initials on the cover of the SAC.
• A CAS calculator, a scientific calculator, and a bound reference may be used throughout
this SAC.
• Answer all questions in the spaces provided.
• In all questions where a numerical answer is required, an exact answer must be given
unless otherwise specified.
• In questions where more than one mark is available, appropriate working must be shown.
 PART 3
Question 1 (11 marks)
After successfully retrieving the rare gemstone, Tasmania Jones is on yet another quest to retrieve a lost
Ark. On this quest, he is captured by an island tribe, tied up and sedated.

His captors inject Tasmania with a sedative so that the amount, 𝑏𝑏 milligrams, of the drug in Tasmania’s
bloodstream 𝑡𝑡 hours after the injection is given by the function

𝑡𝑡
𝑏𝑏(𝑡𝑡) = 500 �𝑒𝑒 −4 − 𝑒𝑒 −𝑡𝑡 � , 𝑡𝑡 ≥ 0

The graph of 𝑦𝑦 = 𝑏𝑏(𝑡𝑡) is shown below for 0 ≤ 𝑡𝑡 ≤ 4.

amount of
sedative (mg)

time (hours)

a. Find the time, in hours, it takes for the sedative to reach a maximum amount in the
bloodstream after the first injection. Express your answer in the form 𝑎𝑎 log 𝑒𝑒 (𝑐𝑐), where
𝑎𝑎, 𝑐𝑐 ∈ 𝑅𝑅. 2 marks

Mathematical Methods, SAC 1 2021

 PART 3
Within 10 mins of receiving the first injection of the sedative, Tasmania is classified as partially sedated but
he is not fully sedated until the amount of sedative in the blood reaches 150 mg.

b. How long after the first injection will Tasmania need to be given a second injection in
order to ensure that he remains fully sedated? Give your answer in hours correct to one
decimal place. 2 marks

To be safe, it is decided that Tasmania will be given a second injection after 4 hours. The second injection
will contain the same amount of sedative as the first injection. The amount of sedative in the bloodstream
from each injection administered independently is shown on the graph below.

c. i. On the graph above, sketch the total amount of sedative in Tasmania’s bloodstream
during the 8 hours after the first injection was given. 2 marks

Mathematical Methods, SAC 1 2021

 PART 3
ii. Find the maximum amount of sedative in the bloodstream in the first 8 hours and the
time at which this maximum occurs. Give your answers correct to two decimal
places. 2 marks

The guard minding Tasmania Jones has not changed his watch due to daylight savings and there is confusion
about when Tasmania should be given the second injection. The guard ends up giving Tasmania the second
injection of the sedative five hours after the first injection, which means that Tasmania is no longer fully
sedated when the second injection is given.

d. For how long, in minutes correct to two decimal places, will Tasmania be only partially
sedated before the guard comes to give him the second injection? 1 mark

Mathematical Methods, SAC 1 2021

 PART 3
In his line of work, Tasmania Jones finds himself in these kinds of situations frequently. He knows that if he
was not under the influence of the sedative, he would be able to untie himself and escape out the window in
exactly 11 minutes.

e. Tasmania estimates that under partial sedation, the time he needs to escape might be
50% longer than usual. If this is the case, show that Tasmania would be able to escape
before the guard arrives with the second injection. 1 mark

f. If Tasmania’s escape time is actually slowed by 𝑝𝑝%, find the maximum value of 𝑝𝑝 that
would enable Tasmania to escape just as the guard is entering the room. Give your
answer as a percentage correct to one decimal place. 1 mark

Mathematical Methods, SAC 1 2021

 PART 3
Question 2 (9 marks)
Tasmania successfully makes it to a nearby river before the guard catches him, and he is able to escape in a
small wooden boat.

On the floor of the boat, Tasmania finds a discarded map which shows the river on which he is currently
travelling. The map is shown below and has a scale of 1 unit = 1 km.

Waterfall

River

Dirt
track

The river can be modelled by part of the function:

𝑥𝑥 3 3𝑥𝑥 2
𝑟𝑟(𝑥𝑥) = − + − 9𝑥𝑥 + 18
16 2

Tasmania orients the map and determines that he is currently located on the river at the point with
45
coordinates �3, �. The river flows from west to east, so he is travelling along the river in an easterly
16
direction.

a. Tasmania is familiar with this area and knows that there is a waterfall located at the
northernmost turning point of the river. Give the coordinates of the waterfall. 1 mark

Mathematical Methods, SAC 1 2021

 PART 3
To avoid the waterfall, Tasmania must leave the river before the point found in part a.
b. The map shows a dirt track, which joins the river at two points. This track is tangent to
the river at 𝑥𝑥 = 5.
i. Find the equation of the line representing the dirt track. 1 mark

ii. Find the length of the dirt track, in kilometres correct to two decimal places. 2 marks

Tasmania would prefer to travel further on the river, and not so far on land, since he knows he will be able to
move more quickly on the river.
He knows this area well and is sure that there is another track not marked on the map. This unmarked track
meets with the marked track due south of the waterfall at a right angle.
c. Show that the unmarked track has equation 𝑦𝑦 = −
16
𝑥𝑥 +
1177
. 2 marks
21 56

Mathematical Methods, SAC 1 2021

 PART 3
d. Find, correct to two decimal places, the coordinates of the point between Tasmania’s
current location and the waterfall, where the unmarked track meets the river. 2 marks

Tasmania plans to leave the river at the point found in part d. and to walk along the unmarked track until it
crosses the marked track. He will then walk along the marked track to re-join the river after the waterfall.

e. Calculate, in kilometres correct to two decimal places, the distance he will walk via this
route. 1 mark

END OF PART 3

Mathematical Methods, SAC 1 2021