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Date May 2015 Marks available 3 Reference code 15M.2.sl.TZ2.1
Level SL only Paper 2 Time zone TZ2
Command term Find Question number 1 Adapted from N/A

Question

The following diagram shows triangle ABC.

BC=10 cm,AˆBC=80andBˆAC=35.

Find AC.

[3]
a.

Find the area of triangle ABC.

[3]
b.

Markscheme

evidence of choosing sine rule     (M1)

egACsin(AˆBC)=BCsin(BˆAC)

correct substitution     (A1)

egACsin80=10sin35

AC=17.1695

AC=17.2 (cm)     A1     N2

[3 marks]

a.

AˆCB=65(seen anywhere)     (A1)

correct substitution     (A1)

eg12×10×17.1695×sin65

area=77.8047

area=77.8 (cm2)     A1     N2

[3 marks]

Total [6 marks]

b.

Examiners report

Most candidates found this question straightforward and accessible.

Most recognized the need for the sine rule in part (a) to solve the problem. Occasionally, the setup had an incorrect match of angle and side. Some used radians instead of degrees, thus losing a mark.

a.

Part (b) was also well done by most of the candidates. Some right triangle trigonometry correct approaches were seen to find the area. A few candidates used the cosine rule or right angled trigonometry, which were less efficient methods and often wasted valuable time.

b.

Syllabus sections

Topic 3 - Circular functions and trigonometry » 3.6 » The sine rule, including the ambiguous case.
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