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18
Chapter

Australian Curriculum
content descriptions
• ACMNA208

Number and Algebra

Rates and direct

34
125 proportion
78
6
42
Speed and the rate of flow of water or other liquids are important examples of

9
rates. We encounter many different kinds of rates in everyday life.

2
Simple rates provide examples of direct proportion. The distance travelled

0
4
by a body moving at constant speed is directly proportional to the time it
travels.Another familiar example from science is that, for a body moving with

8
constant acceleration, the distance travelled is proportional to the square of the
time travelling.

0
There is a huge variety of applications of proportion, and this will become
evident through the many examples in this chapter.

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Cambridge University Press
18A Rates

Rates were introduced in ICE-EM Mathematics Year 8 Book 2. They are a measure of how
one quantity changes for every unit of another quantity. For example:
50 km/h means that at car travels 50 km in 1 hour.
20 L/min means 20 L of water flows in 1 minute.
30 km/L means a vehicle travels 30 km on 1 L (of fuel).
In each of these examples we are describing a constant rate of change or an average rate of
change.

Speed
Speed is one of the most familiar rates. It is a measure of how fast something is travelling.
Many of the techniques introduced here can be applied in other rate situations.

Constant speed
If the speed of an object does not change over time, we say that the object is travelling with
constant speed.
Three quantities are associated with questions that involve constant speed. These are distance,
time and, of course, constant speed.

Finding the distance given a fixed speed

A car travels at a constant speed of 60 km/h.
• The car travels 60 km in 1 hour.
• The car travels 120 km in 2 hours.
• The car travels 60t km in t hours.
From these observations we can write the formula:
Distance travelled = speed × time taken
or in symbols
  d = vt
Suppose that a car is travelling at 60 km/h. The formula becomes:
  d = 60t
We can complete a table of values for the distance d (in kilometres) travelled by the car
after t hours (see next page). The graph can be drawn by first plotting any two of the points.

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 t (h) 0 1    2    3    4
d (km) 0 60 120 180 240

d
240
d = 60t (4, 240)
210

180
(3, 180)
150

120
(2, 120)
90

60
(1, 60)
30

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 t

The graph has a gradient of 60 and a d-axis intercept of 0. The gradient is the speed of the car
in kilometres per hour.

Example 1

Maurice jogs at 6 km/h for 40 minutes.

a What is Maurice’s speed in:
i metres per minute (m/min)
ii metres per second (m/s)?
b How far does Maurice jog? Give your answers in:
i kilometres
ii metres

Solution

6000
a i 6 km/h = 6000 m/h = = 100 m/min
60
100 5
ii 6 km/h = 100 m/min = = m/s
60 3
40
b i Distance travelled in 40 min = 6 ×
60
= 4 km
ii Distance travelled in 40 min = 4 × 1000
= 4000 m

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 Example 2

A car is travelling at 100 km/h.

a What is the formula for the distance d (in kilometres) travelled by the car
in t hours?
b What is the gradient of the straight-line graph of d against t?

Solution

a In 1 hour, the car travels 100 km.

In 2 hours, the car travels 200 km.
The formula is d = 100t.
b The gradient of the graph of d against t is 100.

Average speed
When we drive a car or ride a bike, it is very rare for our speed to remain the same for a long
period of time. Most of the time, especially in the city, we are slowing down or speeding up,
so our speed is not constant. If we travel 20 km in 1 hour, we say that our average speed
is 20 km/h.
distance travelled
Average speed =
time taken

Example 3

A car travels 140 km in 1 hour 45 minutes. What is the average speed of the car?

Solution

7
1 hour 45 minutes = 1 43 hours = hours
4
distance travelled
Average speed =
time taken
7
= 140 ÷
4
4
= 140 ×
7
= 80 km/h

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 Constant rate
Every question involving a constant rate gives rise to a straight-line graph. The gradient of the
line is the constant rate.

Example 4

A cylindrical tank can hold a maximum of 40 L of water. It has 10 L of water in it to

start with. Water is flowing slowly in at a rate of 5 L per minute.
a Prepare a table of values showing how much water is in the container at 1-minute
intervals from 0 up to 6 minutes.
b Plot the graph of the volume V (in litres) of water in the tank against time t
(in minutes) since the start.
c Give the formula for V in terms of t.

Solution

a t (min) 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
V (L) 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

b V
40
(6, 40)
35
(5, 35)
30
(4, 30)
25
(3, 25)
20
(2, 20)
15
(1, 15)
10
(0, 10)
5

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 t

c From the graph, the gradient is 5 and the V-axis intercept is 10 L. The formula is
V = 5t + 10, where t takes values from 0 to 6 minutes inclusively.

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 Example 5

A man is walking home at 6 km/h. He starts at a point 18 km from his home. Draw
a graph representing his trip home. State the gradient and vertical axis intercept, and
give a formula that describes the trip.

Solution

Let d km be the distance from home after travelling for t hours.

When t = 0, d = 18
When t = 3, d = 0
The graph can be drawn now that we have two points.
d
18 (0, 18)
15

12

4 (3, 0)
0 1 2 3 4 5 t

The d-axis intercept is 18.

The gradient is – 6.
Thus, the formula is d = – 6t + 18, 0 ≤ t ≤ 3.

Exercise 18A
1 Doug walks at 5 km/h for 45 minutes. How far does he walk? Give your answer
in metres.
2 Tranh runs at 8 m/s for 10.5 seconds. How far does he run?
Example 1 3 a Convert 50 km/h into metres per second.
b Convert 10 m/s into kilometres per hour.
c Convert 9.5 m/s into kilometres per hour.

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Example 3 4 a A plane travels 800 km in 1 hour 15 minutes. What is the average speed of the plane?
b A car travels 84 km in 50 minutes. What is the average speed of the car? Give your
answer in kilometres per hour.
c Yusef walks the 2.1 km to the beach in 22 minutes. What is Yusef’s average speed?
Give your answer in metres per second.
Example 2 5 A car is travelling at 80 km/h.
a What is the formula for the distance d (in kilometres) travelled by the car in t hours?
b What is the gradient of the straight-line graph of d against t?
6 Clarice cycles at 12 m/s.
a What is the formula for the distance d (in kilometres) travelled by Clarice in t hours?
b What is the gradient of the straight-line graph of d against t?
Example 4 7 Maria decides to drive to the next town, which is 100 km away. She drives at 80 km/h.
a What is Maria’s speed in kilometres per minute?
b Let t denote the number of minutes that have elapsed since Maria set out. Prepare
a table of values showing how far (d km) she is from her starting point at
15-minute intervals.
c Plot the graph of d against t.
d Give the formula for d in terms of t.
e Use the formula to find how far Maria has driven after 44 minutes.
8 A particular car can travel 12 km for every litre of petrol.
a How far can the car go on 3 L of petrol?
b What is the formula for the distance d (in kilometres) travelled by the car while using
k litres of petrol?
c What is the gradient of the straight-line graph of d against k?
d Sketch the graph of d against k.
e Use your formula to find the distance the car can travel with 6.5 L of petrol.

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 9 Water is flowing from a tank at a constant rate. The graph shows the volume of water
(V litres) in the tank after t hours.
a What is the volume of water in the tank initially? V

b At what rate is water flowing from the tank? 60

c Give the formula for V in terms of t.

d How many litres of water will be in the tank
after 7 hours?
0 12 t
e i What would be the formula for V in terms
of t if there were initially 120 L of water in
the tank and water flowed out at
6 L per hour?
ii How long would it take the tank to empty under these conditions?
Example 5 10 A man is walking to a town at 6.5 km/h. He starts at a point 20 km from the town.
a Draw a graph of distance travelled against time taken.
b State the gradient and vertical axis intercept.
c Give a formula for the distance travelled d km after t hours.
11 A tank can hold up to 50 L of water. It is full to start with. Water is flowing slowly out at
a rate of 5 L per minute.
a Prepare a table of values showing how much water is in the tank at 1-minute intervals.
b Plot the graph of the volume V (in litres) of water in the tank against time t (in minutes)
since the start.
c Give the formula for V in terms of t.

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 18B Direct proportion

In the previous section we looked at questions involving constant rates. Constant rates
provide examples of direct proportion. We introduce direct proportion with a constant
speed situation.
David drives from his home at a constant speed of 100 km/h. The formula for the distance
d km travelled in t hours is d = 100t. David will go twice as far in twice the time, three times
as far in three times the time and so on.
We say that d is directly proportional to t and the number 100 is called the constant
of proportionality.
The statement ‘d is directly proportional to t’ is written as d ∝ t. d
d = 100t
The graph of d against t is a straight line passing through the origin.
(t, 100t)
The gradient of the line is 100.
By considering the gradient of the line, we see that for values t1 and
(1, 100)
t2 with corresponding values d1 and d2: 0 t

d1 d
= 2 = 100
t1 t2

That is, the constant of proportionality is the gradient of the graph of d = 100t.

In general:

• The variable y is said to be directly proportional to x if y = kx for some non-zero constant k.

• The constant k is called the constant of proportionality.
• The statement ‘y is directly proportional to x’ is written symbolically as
y∝x
We know that the graph of y = kx is a straight line passing through the origin. Its gradient k is
the constant of proportionality. (The values that x can take are often the positive real numbers,
but this is not always the case.)
y

y = kx

0 x

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 Example 6

A ribbon has width 3 cm. A section of length l cm is cut off. The area A cm2 of the
cut-off ribbon is given by the formula A = 3l. Write a proportion statement and sketch
the graph of A against l.

Solution

A is directly proportional to l and A

we can write A ∝ l.
A = 3
The constant of proportionality is 3.
(1, 3)

0


Finding the constant of proportionality

If we can relate two variables so that the graph is a straight line through the origin,
the constant of proportionality is the gradient of this line. So to find the constant of
proportionality, just one pair of values is needed.

Example 7

The cost $C of carpet 3 m wide is directly proportional to the length of carpet,

l metres. If 15 m of carpet cost $1650, find
a the formula for C in terms of l
b the cost of 22 m of carpet

Solution

a It is given that: C∝l

Therefore C = kl, for some constant k
C = 1650 when l = 15
so 1650 = k × 15
  k = 110
Thus C = 110l
b When l = 22 C = 110 × 22
  = 2420
22 metres of carpet costs $2420.

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 Example 8

In an electrical wire, the resistance (R ohms) varies directly with the length (L m) of the wire.
a If a wire 6 m long has a resistance of 5 ohms, what would be the resistance in a
wire of length 4.5 m?
b How long is a wire for which the resistance is 3.8 ohms?

Solution

First, find the constant of proportionality.

R = kL
When L = 6 and R = 5
5 = 6k
5
so k=
6
5L
Thus R=
6
5 × 4.5
a When L = 4.5, R =
6
R = 3.75
The resistance of a wire of length 4.5 m is 3.75 ohms.

b When R = 3.8,
5L
3.8 =
6
L = 4.56
The length of a wire of resistance 5 ohms is 4.56 m.

Change of variable d
d = 4.9t2
A metal ball is dropped from the top of a tall building and the (2, 19.6)
distance it falls is recorded each second.
From physics, the formula for d metres, the distance the ball has
fallen in t seconds, is given by d = 4.9t2. (1, 4.9)
In this case, we say that d is directly proportional to the square of t. 0
t

We plot the graph of d against t. Note that, since t is positive,

the graph is half a parabola.

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 We can also draw the graph of d against t2. d
d = 4.9t2

(4, 19.6)
t 0 1 2 3
t2 0 1 4 9
d 0 4.9 19.6 44.1 (1, 4.9)
0
t2
This is a straight line passing through the origin. The gradient of
this line is 4.9.
d is directly proportional to t2, which is written as d ∝ t2.
This means that for any two values t1 and t2­ with corresponding values d1 and d2­:
d1 d2
= = 4.9
t12 t22
So once again the gradient of the line is the constant of proportionality.

Example 9

From physics, the energy E microjoules (abbreviated as E mJ) of a body in motion

is directly proportional to the square of its speed, v m/s. If a body travelling at a speed
of 10 m/s has energy 400 mJ, find:
a the constant of proportionality
b the formula for E in terms of v
c the energy of the body when it travels at a speed of 15 m/s
d the speed if the moving body has energy 500 mJ

Solution

a Energy is directly proportional to the square of the speed:

E ∝ v2
so E = kv2, for some constant k
Now E = 400 when v = 10
so 400 = 100k
 k = 4
b From part a, E = 4v2
c When v = 15
   E = 4 × 152
      = 900
Therefore the body travelling at speed 15 m/s has energy of 900 mJ.
(continued on next page)

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 d When E = 500
500 = 4 × v2
v2 = 125
v = 125 (v > 0)
=5 5
≈ 11.18 m/s (correct to two decimal places)
Therefore the body has energy 500 mJ when travelling at a speed of 11.18 m/s.

The procedure for solving this question was:

• Write down the statement of proportionality.
• Write this statement as an equation involving a constant k.
• Use the information in the question to find the value of k.
• Rewrite the formula with the known value of k.
• Substitute in the given values to determine the required quantity.

Example 10

The mass w grams of a plastic material required to mould a solid ball is directly proportional
to the cube of the radius r centimetres of the ball. If 40 g of plastic is needed to make a ball of
radius 2.5 cm, what size ball can be made from 200 g of the same type of plastic?

Solution

w ∝ r3
w = kr3
w = 40 when r = 2.5
Thus 40 = k × (2.5)3
k = 2.56
So the formula is w = 2.56r3
When w = 200, 200 = 2.56r3
r3 = 78.125
r = 3 78.125
r ≈ 4.27    (correct to two decimal places)

A ball with a radius of approximately 4.27 cm can be made from 200 g of plastic.
Note: It is a fact that the mass of a ball of constant density is given by density × volume.
4
The volume of a ball is π r 3 and so the mass of a ball is proportional to r3.
3

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 Increase and decrease
If one quantity is proportional to another, we can investigate what happens to one of the
quantities when the other is changed.
Suppose that a ∝ b. Then a = kb for a positive constant k.
If the value of b is doubled, the value of a is doubled. For example, if b = 1, then a = k.
So b = 2 gives a = 2k. Similarly, if the value of b is tripled, the value of a is tripled.

Example 11

Given that a ∝ b3, what is the change in a when b is:

a doubled b halved?

Solution

Since a ∝ b3, a = kb3 for some positive constant k.

a To see the effect of doubling b, choose b = 1.
(Any value can be chosen, but b = 1 is the easiest to deal with.)
When b = 1, a = k
When b = 2, a = 8k
When b is doubled, a is multiplied by 8
b When b = 1, a = k
1 k
When b = , a =
2 8
When b is halved, a is divided by 8

Example 12

Given that y ∝ x , what is the percentage change in:

a y when x is increased by 20% b x when y is decreased by 30%?

Solution

Since y ∝ x , y = k x
a When x = 1, y = k
If x is increased by 20%, x = 1.2
(continued on next page)

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 y = k 1.2
≈ 1.095k
y is approximately 109.5% of its previous value.
So y has increased by approximately 9.5%.
y2
b If y = k x, y2 = k2x and x = (making x the subject)
k2
1
When y = 1, x =
k2 0.49
If y is decreased by 30%, y = 0.7 and x =
k2
x is 49% of its previous value.
So x has decreased by 51%.

Direct proportion
• y is directly proportional to x if there is a positive constant k such that y = kx.
• The symbol used for ‘is proportional to’ is ∝. We write y ∝ x.
• The constant k is called the constant of proportionality.
• If y is directly proportional to x, the graph of y against x is a straight line through the
origin. The gradient of the line is the constant of proportionality.

Exercise 18B
All variables take positive values only.
Exercise 6, 7 1 a Given that a ∝ b and b = 0.5 when a = 1, find the formula for a in terms of b.
b Given that m ∝ n and m = 9.6 when n = 3, find the formula for m in terms of n.
2 Consider the following table of values.
x 0 1 2 3 4 5
y 0 2 8 18 32 50

a Set up a new table of values for y and x2.

b Plot the graph of y against x2. What type of graph do you obtain?
c Find the gradient of the graph of y against x2.
d Assuming that there is a simple relationship between the two variables, find a formula
for y in terms of x.

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 3 Consider the following table of values.
p 0 1 4 9 16
q 0 3 6 9 12

a Plot the graph of q against p.

q
b Complete the table of values and calculate for each pair (q, p ).
p
c Assuming that there is a simple relationship between the two variables, find a formula
for q in terms of p.
4 Write each of the following in symbols.
a The distance d kilometres travelled by a motorist is directly proportional to t hours
of travel.
b The total cost $C is directly proportional to the number n of items bought.
c The voltage V in a circuit is directly proportional to the resistance R.
d The area A of a square is directly proportional to the square of its side length l.
e The volume V of a sphere is directly proportional to the cube of its radius r.
f The distance d kilometres to the visible horizon is directly proportional to the square
root of the height h metres above sea level.
5 Write each of the following in words.
a P∝Q b l ∝ m2 c a2 ∝ b d p3 ∝ l 2

Exercise 8  iven that p ∝ q and p = 9 when q = 1.5, find the formula for p in terms of q and the
6 a G
exact value of:
i p when q = 4 ii q when p = 27

 iven that m ∝ n2 and m = 10 when n = 2, find the formula for m in terms of n and the
b G
exact value of:
i m when n = 5 ii n when m = 12

 iven that a ∝ b and a = 15 when b = 9, find the formula for a in terms of b and the
c G
exact value of:
i a when b = 16 ii b when a = 12.5

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 1
d Given that y ∝ x 2 and y = 20 when x = 4, find the formula for y in terms of x and the
exact value of:
i y when x = 36 ii x when y = 200

7 In each of the following, find the formula connecting the pronumerals.

a R ∝ s and s = 7 when R = 14
b P ∝ T and P = 12 when T = 50
c a is directly proportional to the square root of b and a = 3 when b = 4
d V is directly proportional to r3 and V = 216 when r = 3
8 In each of the following tables y ∝ x. Find the constant of proportionality in each case
and complete the table.
a b
x 0 1 2 3 x 2 8 12 18
y 0 7 y 1

c x 3 6 15
d x 2 6 15
y 24 72 y 9.5 19

9 On a particular road map, a distance of 0.5 cm on the map represents an actual distance
of 8 km. What actual distance would a distance of 6.5 cm on the map represent?
10 The estimated cost $C of building a brick veneer house on a concrete slab is directly
proportional to the area A of floor space in square metres. If it costs $80 000 for 150 m2,
how much floor space could you expect for $126 400?
Exercise 9 11 The mass m kilograms of a steel beam of uniform cross-section is directly proportional
to its length l metres. If a 6 m section of the beam has a mass of 400 kg, what will be the
mass, to the nearest kilogram, of a section 5 m long?
Exercise 10 12 The power p kilowatts needed to run a boat varies as the cube of its speeds metres per
second. If 400 kW will run a boat at 3 m/s, what power, to the nearest kilowatt, is needed
to run the same boat at 5 m/s?
Exercise 11 13 If air resistance is neglected, the distance d metres that an object falls from rest is
directly proportional to the square of the time t seconds of the fall. An object falls 9.6 m
in 1.4 seconds. How far will the object fall in 2.8 seconds?

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 14 Given that y ∝ x2, what is the effect on y when x is:
a doubled
b multiplied by 4
c divided by 5?
15 The surface area of a sphere, A cm2, is directly proportional to the square of the
radius, r centimetres. What is the effect on:
a the surface area when the radius is doubled
b  the radius when the surface area is doubled?
16 Given that m ∝ n4, what is the effect on:
a m when n is doubled
b m when n is halved
c n when m is multiplied by 16
d n when m is divided by 4?
Exercise 12 17 Given that a ∝ b , what is the effect, to two decimal places, on a when b is:
a increased by 21% b decreased by 12%?

18 Given that p ∝ 3 q , what is the effect on:

a p when q is increased by 10%
b p when q is decreased by 10%
c q when p is increased by 20%
d q when p is decreased by 20%?

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 Review exercise

1 Andrew walks at 5 km/h for 1 hour and 45 minutes. How far does he walk? Give your
answer in metres.
2 Lisbeth runs at 7.5 m/s for 12 seconds. How far does she run?
3 a Convert 80 km/h into metres per second.
b Convert 8 m/s into kilometres per hour.
c Convert 25 m/s into kilometres per hour.
4 a A plane travels 1000 km in 1 hour 20 minutes. What is the average speed of the plane?
b A car travels 125 km in 1 hour 20 minutes. What is the average speed of the car? Give
your answer in kilometres per hour.
5 A car is travelling at 95 km/h.
a What is the formula for the distance d (in kilometres) travelled by the car in t hours?
b What is the gradient of the straight-line graph of d against t?
6 Write each of the following in words.
a x ∝ y b p ∝ n2 c a∝ b d p ∝ q3

7 a Given that p ∝ q and p = 12 when q = 1.5, find the exact value of:
i p when q = 6 ii q when p = 81
b Given that a ∝ b2 and a = 20 when b = 4, find the formula for a in terms of b and find
the exact value of:
i a when b = 5 ii a when b = 12
8 In each of the following tables y ∝ x. Find the constant of proportionality in each case
and complete the table.
a b
x 0 1 2 3 x 2 8 12 18
y 0 12 y 3

9 Given that y ∝ x3, what is the effect on y when x is:

a doubled b multiplied by 3 c divided by 4?
10 Given that m ∝ n5, what is the effect on:
a m when n is doubled b m when n is halved?
11 Given that a ∝ b2, what is the effect on a when b is:
a increased by 5% b decreased by 8%?

268 ICE-EM M at h ematics  y ear 9 B O O K 2

ISBN 978-1-107-64843-2 © The University of Melbourne / AMSI 2014 Cambridge University Press
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 Challenge exercise

1 If a ∝ c and b ∝ c, prove that a + b, a – b and ab are directly proportional to c.

1
2 It is known that a ∝ x, b ∝ and y = a + b. If y = 30 when x = 2 or x = 3, find an
x2
expression for y in terms of x.
3 If x and y are positive numbers x2 + y2 varies directly as x + y and y = 2 when x = 2,
4
find the value of y when x = .
5
4 For stones of the same quality, the value of a diamond is proportional to the square of
its weight. Find the loss incurred by cutting a diamond worth $C into two pieces whose
weights are in the ratio a : b.
5 If a + b ∝ a – b, prove that a2 + b2 ∝ ab.
6 One car travelling at 80 km/h leaves Melbourne at 8 a.m. It is followed at 10 a.m. by
another car travelling on the same road at 110 km/h. At what time will the second car
overtake the first?
7 A salesman travelled from town A to town B, which is a distance of 200 km. The graph
shows his distance (d kilometres) from town A, t hours after noon.
From the graph, find: d
a the distance travelled:
200
i in the first hour
ii in the third hour 100

b the speed at which the salesman travelled during:

0 1 2 3 4 t
i the first hour
ii the third hour
c how far from town A the salesman was after 2 hours of travelling
d at what time the salesman was first 50 km from town B
8 Two aeroplanes pass each other in flight while travelling in opposite directions. Each
of the planes continues on its flight for 45 minutes, after which the planes are 840 km
3
apart. The speed of the first aeroplane is the speed of the other aeroplane. Calculate the
4
average speed of each aeroplane.

C h a p ter 1 8 R ates an d d irect p ro p ortion 269

ISBN 978-1-107-64843-2 © The University of Melbourne / AMSI 2014 Cambridge University Press
Photocopying is restricted under law and this material must not be transferred to another party.
 9 The following graph shows the distance from town A against time for two cyclists, Albert
and Bob. Town B is 48 km from town A.
Distance
Town B
48 km

ert
Alb

Bo
b

Town A 0 Time
Noon 1 p.m. 2 p.m. 3 p.m. 4 p.m.

a How far did Albert travel?

b What was Albert’s speed?
c What was Bob’s speed?
d After how many hours do the two cyclists pass each other?

270 ICE-EM M at h ematics  y ear 9 B O O K 2

ISBN 978-1-107-64843-2 © The University of Melbourne / AMSI 2014 Cambridge University Press
Photocopying is restricted under law and this material must not be transferred to another party.