CIVIL ENGINEERING BOARD EXAM PROBLEMS PHILIPPINES

ALGEBRA MODULE 1 August 24, 2020

INTRODUCTION

Algebra is a branch of mathematics dealing with symbols and the rules for manipulating those symbols. In elementary algebra, those symbols (today
written as Latin and Greek letters) represent quantities without fixed values, known as variables.

The word algebra comes from the Arabic ‫( اﻟﺟﺑر‬al-jabr lit. "the restoring of broken parts") from the title of the early 9th century book cIlm al-jabr wa l-muqābala
"The Science of Restoring and Balancing" by the Persian mathematician and astronomer al-Khwarizmi. In his work, the term al-jabr referred to the operation of
moving a term from one side of an equation to the other, ‫ اﻟﻣﻘﺎﺑﻠﺔ‬al-muqābala "balancing" referred to adding equal terms to both sides. Shortened to just algeber
or algebra in Latin, the word eventually entered the English language during the fifteenth century, from either Spanish, Italian, or Medieval Latin.

FIELDS OF ALGEBRA

1. Elementary algebra is the most basic form of algebra. It is taught to students who are presumed to have no knowledge of mathematics beyond the
basic principles of arithmetic. In arithmetic, only numbers and their arithmetical operations (such as +, −, ×, ÷) occur. In algebra, numbers are often
represented by symbols called variables (such as a, n, x, y or z).
2. Abstract algebra extends the familiar concepts found in elementary algebra and arithmetic of numbers to more general concepts.
3. Linear algebra, in which the specific properties of linear equations, vector spaces and matrices are studied.
4. Boolean algebra, a branch of algebra abstracting the computation with the truth values false and true.

REAL NUMBER SYSTEM

The real numbers is the set of numbers containing all of the rational numbers and all of the irrational numbers. The real numbers are “all the numbers” on the
number line. There are infinitely many real numbers just as there are infinitely many numbers in each of the other sets of numbers.

Figure 1 : The complex number system © CK12

Natural numbers – numbers that is used for counting that starts from 1,2,3,4 and so on.
Whole numbers – numbers that includes zero.
Integers – numbers that now includes negative numbers.
Rational numbers – consists of all the numbers that can be expressed as a quotient of two integers .
Parts: Numerator – the dividend of a number
Denonminator – the divisor of a number

Rational numbers as decimals

TERMINATING DECIMALS – decimals have exact value. Ans. 1/4 = 0.25
REPEATING DECIMALS – decimals have repeating its digits. Ans. 1/3 = 0.333333

Irrational numbers - set of all numbers whose decimal representations are neither terminating nor repeating. Irrational numbers cannot be expressed as a quotient
of integers. Examples: √3 , e, π

Imaginary numbers- these numbers having the negative square root or even roots.

Complex numbers – these having in the form of a + bi

Absolute value - is the distance from 0 to a on a number line. Because absolute value describes a distance, it is never negative. Ex. |-1| = 1

PROPERTIES OF REAL NUMBERS

Commutative property - adding or multiplying numbers, order is neglected.

a + b = b + a ; ab = ba

Associative property – adding or multiplying three numbers, no effect on the resulting sum of product in any of two numbers to be operated.

(a + b) + c = a + (b + c) ; ab(c) = a(bc)

Distributive property – multiplying a number by a sum of two numbers, gets the same result. As getting multiplied by the number each of the terms.

a (b + c) = ab + ac ; (b+c)a = ab + bc

THE PEMDAS

P – Parentheses , Brackets and the like

E – Exponents and Roots
M – Multiplication
D – Division
A - Addition
S – Subtraction

Examples:

1. 1 + 2 × 3

1+6=7 .
SOLUTION:

2. 10 − 3 × 6 + 10 + 6 + 1 × 4
SOLUTION:

3. 5 + 6 2 3 + 9
SOLUTION:

4. 6 − 12 ÷ −13 + 14 ×2
EXERCISES: Evaluate the following numbers:

−5√30 − 5 + −2 −21 −7 − −9
1. . 11. . 2.5
4 + |7 − 10| 19 6 −3 − 1 −2

5 + −2 2
2. . ∞ 12. √36 × 3 − √16 ÷ 2 . 53
6 ⋅ √9 − 9 ⋅ 2

3. 1 + 3|−4 − −8 | + 2|3 + −5 | . 81 13. 2 − 4|−4 − 3| + −2 !

. −10

5 + 12 6 −6
4. + . − 16 14. 2 ⋅ 5 + 7 ⋅ 4 − 20 . 26
−13 −2 5

5 −4
5. 32 − 3 ÷ 9 × 10 " −4 ÷8+3 . 39 15. − √11 − 2 . 0
7

6. 40 − 4 + 6 ÷ 2 + 3 . 38 16. 7 ⋅ 6 − 4 + 1" . 27

4 7+5
7. 8−3 +2⋅5 −7+4⋅6 . 52 17. . 16
2+1

16 − 4 |−2| + 1
8. 6+ −2 . 6 18. . −1
2 −2 −7 − √4

3 +3
9. # $ +1 . 25 19. 18 + 2 ∙ 3 − 10 . 14
−2 −3

10 . 2 ⋅ 3 − 5 + 8 ⋅ 2 − 1 . 11 20. 4 15 − 9 + 8 2 . 88

EXPONENTS AND RADICALS

EXPONENTS - a quantity representing the power to which a given number or expression is to be raised, usually expressed as a raised symbol beside the number
or expression.

RADICALS - is the mathematical opposite of an exponent, in the same sense that addition is the opposite of subtraction. The smallest radical is the square root,
represented with the symbol .

LAWS OF EXPONENTS
LAWS OF RADICALS

CONJUGATE – set of two numbers that has the same quantity but the opposite sign in the middle. (More important when studying limits of functions)
EXAMPLES

1. &' (
)

SOLUTION:

2. ' " * '* +

SOLUTION:

−2 -!
3,
−2 .
SOLUTION:

= -32

3/ 0" 1 2
4.
4/ 0 1 0

SOLUTION:

4'"
5. 3 (
*
SOLUTION
6. &32/-2 1 ( 4 +
5

SOLUTION:

7. √10 − 2√10 + 3√10

6 3

SOLUTION:

→ Simplified

√5
8.
√2 − √7
SOLUTION:

9. &'* &' *
) 6

SOLUTION:

EXERCISES - Simplify the following:

√54' * " 3* )√'

)

1. & 7 ∙ 6&7 . &7+ 11. .

89

√16' *
)
2
3

/ 0 1! 1- 7 35 − 7√3
2. : ; . 12. .
5 125/ . 5 + √3 22

0+
40 / 1 ! / 2ℎ ? 0 @ ! 2ℎ @
3. < = . 13. .
- " 3?@ 3? !
2 / 0 1! 81

4 5 GH- − 10 5 G0- −2 −2 + 1
4. ABA CD'EF .9 14. .
2 5 G 3× 2 ( 12

5√3/
5. &75/ 1 0! . 15. I&/ ( 1 J . /1 √/
1
6. &/ − 6/ + 9 . |/ − 3| 16. √6 √15 √10 . 30

- - −5/1 0 0 1-2
7. 277 K( E 0- . 37K E 0 17. .
5/ ! 1 0! 125/ (

/1 !
8. −2 ⋅5 . −200 18. 2 /1 0 0
4/ 0 1 0-
.
2

/ + &1 L/ + &1M
9. 2√40 + √135 . 7√5 19. .
/ − &1 / −1
3 3 3

64/-
10. √' ⋅ &' . ' 20. 4/ ! 1 ! 0 .
1-
4

CONVERSION OF UNITS, SCIENTIFIC NOTATION AND NUMERICAL PREFIXES

CONVERSION FACTOR - a number used to change one set of units to another, by multiplying or dividing. When a conversion is necessary, the appropriate
conversion factor to an equal value must be used.

Note: MKS and CGS system will be discussed further in Engineering Mechanics.

INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM OF UNITS (SI UNITS) or METRIC SYSTEM - a system of physical units ( SI units ) based on the meter, kilogram, second, ampere,
kelvin, candela, and mole, together with a set of prefixes to indicate multiplication or division by a power of ten.

SI SYSTEM and ENGLISH SYSTEM ENGINEERNG BASE UNITS

IMPERIAL OR ENGLISH UNITS or US CUSTOMARY UNITS - are the units of measurement used in England up to 1826 (when they were replaced by Imperial
units), which evolved as a combination of the Anglo-Saxon and Roman systems of units. Various standards have applied to English units at different times, in
different places, and for different applications.

CONVERSION FACTORS
I. LINEAR , DEPTHS AND DISTANCES
 1 fathom = 6 feet = 1.8288 m
1 nautical mile = 6076.1155 feet = 1.852 meters
METRIC CONVERSION
1 meter = 1000 mm = 100 cm

II. TIME
1 hour = 60 minutes
1 minute = 60 seconds
1 hour = 60 minutes = 3600 seconds (60 × 60)
1 day = 24 hours = 1440 minutes = 86400 seconds
1 week = 7 days
1 month = 30 or 31 days
1 year = 365 days = 52 weeks = 12 months
1 decade = 10 years
1 score = 20 years
1 century = 100 years (21st century starts at year 2000)
1 millennium = 1,000 years (Note: third millennium starts at year 2000)

III. AREA
1 square meter = 1,000,000 square millimeter
1 hectare = 10,000 m^2
1 square kilometer = 100 hectares = 1,000,000 m^2
1 square inch = 645.16 mm^2
1 square feet = 144 in^2 = 92903.04 mm^2
1 square yard = 1296 in^2 = 836,127.36 mm^2
1 acre = 0.40469 ha = 4046.856 m^2 = 43560 ft^2
1 square mile = 2.59 km^3

IV. MASS
1 gram = 1000 milligrams
1 dram = 1.77185 grams
1 ounce = 28.3 grams = 16 drams
1 pound = 454 grams = 16 ounces
1 kilogram = 1000 grams = 2.20462 pounds
1 hundredweight = 100 pounds = 50.8023 kg
1 slug = 14.5939 kg = 32.174 lbs
1 Metric ton = 1000 kg = 2204.62 lbs
1 short ton = 2000 lbs = 907.185
1 long or Imperial ton = 2240 lbs = 1016.05

V. WEIGHT AND FORCE

1 Newton = 100,000 dyne = 0.2248 lb
1 kilogram = 9.80665 N (widely used is 9.81)
1 slug = 143.1173 N or 0.143117 kN
1 pound = 4.448 N

VI. VOLUME
1liter = 1000 mm = 1000 cc
1 cubic inch = 16.387064 mL
1 cubic feet = 28.31685 L = 1728 cu in.
1 fluid ounce = 29.5737 mL = 1.80469 cu in.
1 pint = 16 fl oz. = 473.176 mL
1 gallon = 3.78541 L = 8 pints = 128 fl oz
1 quart = 32 fl oz = 946.353 mL
1 barrel = 158.9873 liters = 42 gallons

VII. SPEED
1 feet per second = 0.3048 meters per second
1 meter per second = 3.6 kilometers per hour
1 mile per hour = 1.46667 feet per seconds
1 meter per second = 2.23694 miles per hour
1 mile per hour = 1.60934 kilometers per hour
1 knot = 1.852 kilometers per hour = 1.15078 miles per hour
 VIII. ACCELERATION
1 foot per second squared = 0.3048 meter per second squared
1 gravity = 9.81 m/s^2 = 32.2 ft/s^2

IX. WORK ,MOMENT, ENERGY AND HEAT

1 foot pound = 1.35582 joule
1 calorie = 4184 joules = 4.1868 watts = 3.08596 ft lb
1 watt = 3,600 Joules
1 horsepower = 746 watts = 550 ft lb = 2545 BTU
1 British thermal unit = 252.164 calories = 1055.06 Joules

X. PRESSURES AND STRESSES

1 Pound per square inch = 6.8948 kilo Pascals
1 atmosphere = 101.3 kPa = 760 mm Hg = 14.6959 Psi
1 MPa = 1,000 kPa
1 kPa = 20.88543 pound per square foot
1 kilogram per square centimeter = 98.0665 kPa = 14.2233 pounds per square inch
1 MPa = 145.038 pounds per square inch

XI. STRUCTURAL CONVERSIONS AND UNIT WEIGHTS (DENSITIES)

1 kilonewton per cubic meter = 6.36588 pounds per cubic feet
1 kilonewton per cubic meter = 101.97177 kg/m^3
1 gram per cubic cm = 1000 kg/m^3
1 Newton meter = 8.85075 pound inch
1 pound foot = 1.35582 N.m
1 kilonewton meter = 737.562
1 kilopound = 4.448 kN
1 pound per inch = 175.126835 N/m
1 kilonewton per meter = 68.5218 pound per foot

XII. TEMPERATURE
1 Fahrenheit = 1.8C +32
1 Degree = (F - 32)/1.8
1 Kelvin = 273.15 + C (For Fahrenheit , convert to Celsius)
1 Rankine = F + 459.67 = 0.555556 Kelvin
1 Reaumur = 0.8C (For F Scales, convert to Celsius)

XIII. ANGULAR UNITS

1 radian = 57.296 degrees
1 revolution = 360° = 2π radians = 400 gradians = 6400 mils
1 gradian = 0.9 degrees = 16 mils

XIV. MISCELLANEOUS
1 dozen = 12 units
1 baker’s dozen = 13 units
1 gross = 144 units
1 small gross = 10 dozens = 120 units
1 great gross = 1728 units
1 teaspoon = 4.92892 ml
1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons
1 cup = 236.588 mL
1 byte = 8 bits
1 MbPS = 1000 KBPs
1 carat = 0.2 gram

PHILIPPINE SYSTEM OF MEASUREMENTS

A. MASS
1 punto = 1/3 catty
1 chinanta = 12 catty
1 lachsa = 48 catty
1 caban = 97 catty
1 pecul = 100 catty
1 jeydon = 1,000 catty
1 kaban = 60.33 (nowadays 50 kg)
 B. AREA
1 loan = 0.1 balita
1 quignon = 10 balita
1 stub = 100 balita
1 balita = 2795 m^2

C. VOLUME
1 kaban = 25 ganta
1 ganta = 8 chupa
1 chupa = 3.75 mL
1 apatan = 1⁄4 chupa

PREFIXES OF SI UNITS

SCIENTIFIC NOTATION

A positive number is written in scientific notation if it is written as the product of a number a , where 1 ≤ a ≤ 10 and an integral units r of 10:

a × 10^r

Steps:
1. Move the decimal point in the original number until the new number has a value between 1 and 10.
2. Count the number of decimal places the decimal point was moved in Step 1. If the original number is 10 or greater, the count is positive. If the original
number is less than 1, the count is negative.
3. Write the product of the new number in Step 1 by 10 raised to an exponent equal to the count found in Step 2.
EXAMPLES – CONVERSION OF UNITS

1. Convert -25° C to Kelvin.

SOLUTION:

K = 273.15 + °C = 273.15 – 25 = 248.15 K. Ans.

2. There are only 14 peaks whose summits are over 8000 m above sea level. They are the tallest peaks in the world and are referred to as “eight-
thousanders.” What is the elevation, in feet, of an elevation of 8000 m?
SOLUTION:

3. Convert 0.02515 ft^3 to cm^3.

SOLUTION:

4. How many kilonewton per cubic meters are equivalent to 95.05 pounds per cubic feet?
SOLUTION:

5. Convert 0.357 atm to torr (1 atm = 760 torr)

SOLUTION:
 6. Convert 20 dram to milliliters.
SOLUTION

7. On an interstate highway in a rural region of Wyoming, a car is traveling at a speed of 38.0 m/s. Is this car exceeding the speed limit of 75.0 mi/h?
SOLUTION

SCIENTIFIC NOTATION – Convert the following numbers into scientific notation.

1. 444
SOLUTION:
Move the decimal points two places leftwards. Therefore, 444 = 4.44 x 10^2 Ans.

2. 0.0068
SOLUTION:
Move the decimal points three place rightwards . The position of the non zero digit is the negative power of 10.
0.0068 = 6.8 x 10^-3 Ans.

2,400,000,000 × 0.0000045
3. Evaluate:

0.00003 × 1500

SOLUTION

4. The amount of water surface area on the Earth is 140 million square miles. Convert in scientific notation.
SOLUTION:

140,000,000 move eight decimal places to the left. → 1.4 x 10^8 square miles. Ans.

EXERCISES A
Convert the following system of units :

1. 84 inches to feet Ans. 7 feet

2. 1 hectoliter to cubic meter Ans. 100 m^3
3. 7 kilograms to grams Ans. 7,000 g
4. 23 square nano meters to square decimeter Ans. 2.3 (10^-15) sq decimeter
5. 24 carats to grams Ans. 0.48 grams
6. 1.65 gigaliters to megaliters Ans. 1650 megaliters
7. 450 GB to kb. 4.5 x 10^8 kilobytes
8. 2.5 cavans to kilograms Ans. 125 kgs
9. 4 cups and 3 tablespoons to mL. Ans. 990.712228
10. Convert 0.9 pg to fg. Ans. 9 x 10^-10 fg
11. Convert 7 days 6 hours into hours. Ans. 174 hours
 12. Ron covers a distance of 1710 m in 3 minutes. Find his speed in km/hr. Ans. 34.2 km/hr
13. The distance from the university to home is 10 mi and it usually takes 20 min to drive this distance. Calculate the average speed in meters per second
(m/s). Ans. 13m/s
14. The volume of a tetrachloride having a mass of 1200 kg is 0.952 m^3. Specific weight. Ans. 12.36 kN/m^3
15. 15 Reaumur to Fahrenheit . Ans. 65.75° F

EXERCISES B – Write the following into scientific notation.

1. 0.00000032 Ans. 3.2 x 10^-7

2. At their closest points, Mars and Earth are approximately 75,000,000 kilometers apart . Express the distance in meters. Ans. 7.5 x 10^10 m
3. According to state census information, the population of LaVergne, Tennessee in 2012 was 3.3777 * 104. The population of Murfreesboro, Tennessee
in 2012 was 1.14038 * 105. What was the combined population of both cities? Ans. 1.47815 x 10^5
4. Simplify: (3.4 x 10^6) ÷ (2 x 10^-10 ) Ans. 1.7 × 10^16
5. As of December 2011, the national debt was $15.2 trillion, or 15.2 * 1012 dollars.
6. At that time, the U.S. population was approximately 312,000,000 (312 million), or 3.12 * 10^8 If the national debt was evenly divided among every
individual in the United States, how much would each citizen have to pay? Ans. 4.87 x 10^4
7. 5 megavolts to volts . Ans. 5 x 10^6 volts
8. The Memphis Grizzlies play in the FedEx Forum. The FedEx Forum can hold approximately x 1.5 × 10^4 people. If the Grizzlies play 41 games in the
FedEx Forum and all of the seats were full for all of the games, how many people were there total? Ans. 6.15× 10^5 people
9. Simplify: (7.245 x 10^9) ÷ (2.1× 10^-3) Ans. 3.45 x 10^12
10. A computer was used to draw a rectangle with an area of 0.000007 square meter. Find the area in square centimeters. Ans. 7 x 10^-2 cm^2

NEXT TOPICS ON AUGUST 26 , 2020:

1. Operations on Algebraic Expressions

2. Special Products and Factoring
3. Rational Expressions
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