• Congratulations to the Class of 2024 on your results!
    Let us know how you went here
    Got a question about your uni preferences? Ask us here

Hard Questions (2 Viewers)

Nailgun

Cole World
Joined
Jun 14, 2014
Messages
2,193
Gender
Male
HSC
2016
Well, it is clear z > 0. By setting z to 1 (or any other positive constant), it's clear that the horizontal cross-section is that of an ellipse, which is stretched with major axis being the y-axis. By considering y or x being constant, it is clear the shape traced is that of a parabola. Hence the shape is an "elliptic paraboloid" (is that the right term?). Basically it's like a 3-d parabola that's stretched on the y-axis.

masterful paint skills View attachment 33073
wow thats actually pree impressive paint skills lol

would rep but

"You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to KingOfActing again."
 

tywebb

dangerman
Joined
Dec 7, 2003
Messages
2,206
Gender
Undisclosed
HSC
N/A
There is a second solution but it refers to theorems in a book which you might not have (IMO compendium, 1st edition, Theorems 2.26 and 2.27 on page 9). I have it so have attached them as well as the second solution.
 

Attachments

Last edited:

tywebb

dangerman
Joined
Dec 7, 2003
Messages
2,206
Gender
Undisclosed
HSC
N/A
Here's a funny one from Fort Street Leaving Certificate trial 1959 Question 3a:

Differentiate xxx
 

tywebb

dangerman
Joined
Dec 7, 2003
Messages
2,206
Gender
Undisclosed
HSC
N/A
Yeah. Well that's hard. But jokes aside, do you know that the Riemann Zeta function WAS actually examined in the HSC in 1975? So here is a not-so-hard question - HSC 1975 4 unit Q9i:



See if you can do it.
Actually this was not the first time this was examined. It was also in the Fort Street 1960 Leaving certificate trial Question 5a.

So that's interesting that the HSC in 1975 pinched a question from a school trial question 15 years prior - and from a Leaving certificate trial too!
 

Nailgun

Cole World
Joined
Jun 14, 2014
Messages
2,193
Gender
Male
HSC
2016
Here's a funny one from Fort Street Leaving Certificate trial 1959 Question 3a:

Differentiate xxx
this question wouldve been so scary before integrand and drsoccerball taught me logarithmic differentiation ahahah
 

leehuan

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 31, 2014
Messages
5,805
Gender
Male
HSC
2015
No. y=x^x^x

Anyway, here is the correct answer:

xxx(xx-1+xxlnx(1+lnx))
That's what happens when I can't see the question clearly enough because it is too small.

ln(y)=x^x.ln(x)

result quoted here out of laziness: d/dx x^x = x^x(1+ln(x))

1/y dy/dx = x^x(1+ln(x)).ln(x) + x^(x-1)
 

Carrotsticks

Retired
Joined
Jun 29, 2009
Messages
9,494
Gender
Undisclosed
HSC
N/A
Actually this was not the first time this was examined. It was also in the Fort Street 1960 Leaving certificate trial Question 5a.

So that's interesting that the HSC in 1975 pinched a question from a school trial question 15 years prior - and from a Leaving certificate trial too!
I don't think the HSC would have pinched it from a school trial.

Almost all standard courses dealing with infinite series will at some point have the proof of the p-series converging for p>1, and it most likely would have been the typical integral test proof.
 

tywebb

dangerman
Joined
Dec 7, 2003
Messages
2,206
Gender
Undisclosed
HSC
N/A
Here are some more papers from 1956-1962 containing some hard questions:

http://4unitmaths.com/lc1956-1962.pdf

By "hard" I mean compared to what is expected of current year 11's. Back in those days there was no year 12. That began in 1967 with the first hsc. They left school 1 year earlier than they do now and went to uni 1 year earlier. Some would say better prepared too.
 
Last edited:

dan964

what
Joined
Jun 3, 2014
Messages
3,479
Location
South of here
Gender
Male
HSC
2014
Uni Grad
2019
OP is a Year 12 student Extension 1. These are not in the scope of the HSC syllabus.

Also, these aren't particularly difficult problems. I am almost certain that my Year 11 class, who just learned Chain Rule less than a week ago, could do the second problem, given a 30 second introduction on how to compute partials.
yeah I know (they aren't too difficult, and not in the scope of syllabus), this thread is in the extra-curricular section.
 

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 0, Guests: 2)

Top