West African Examinations Council

WASSCE Mathematics (Core) · Paper 2 — Essay

Written answers, marked against a rubric.

8 exam-style questions, written to the West African Examinations Council format and free to read. The answers are here too — what they do not tell you is how many you would get right with a clock running.

Sit this paper timed All WASSCE Mathematics (Core) papers

1. (a) A man walks 6 km due north, then 8 km due east. Calculate his distance from the starting point. [7 marks] (b) Calculate the bearing of his final position from the starting point, correct to the nearest degree. [8 marks] (c) State one reason why a bearing is always given as a three-figure number. [5 marks]
2. (a) In triangle ABC, angle B = 90°, AB = 8 cm and BC = 15 cm. Calculate the length of AC. [5 marks] (b) Calculate angle A, correct to the nearest degree. [7 marks] (c) A ladder 13 m long leans against a vertical wall with its foot 5 m from the wall. Calculate how far up the wall it reaches. [8 marks]
3. (a) Solve the simultaneous equations 3x + 2y = 16 and 5x − y = 18. [8 marks] (b) Factorise completely 2x² − 7x − 15. [6 marks] (c) Given that x = 3 is a root of x² + kx − 12 = 0, find the value of k and the other root. [6 marks]
4. (a) A trader bought 120 oranges for ₦3,600 and sold them at ₦40 each. Calculate the percentage profit. [8 marks] (b) ₦250,000 is invested at 12% per annum compound interest for 3 years. Calculate the amount, correct to the nearest naira. [8 marks] (c) Explain, with reference to your answers, why compound interest exceeds simple interest over the same period. [4 marks]
5. (a) Express 0.000345 in standard form. [4 marks] (b) Simplify (2⁵ × 2⁻³) ÷ 2², leaving your answer as a whole number. [6 marks] (c) A sum of money is shared among Ada, Bola and Chidi in the ratio 3 : 4 : 5. If Chidi receives ₦15,000, calculate the total sum shared. [10 marks]

Reading these is not the same as sitting them.

Every question above is answerable given time. The exam does not give you time. Sit the whole paper on the real clock and the number you get back is the one that means something.

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3. (a) Solve the simultaneous equations 3x + 2y = 16 and 5x − y = 18. [8 marks] (b) Factorise completely 2x² − 7x − 15. [6 marks] (c) Given that x = 3 is a root of x² + kx − 12 = 0, find the value of k and the other root. [6 marks]

5. (a) Express 0.000345 in standard form. [4 marks] (b) Simplify (2⁵ × 2⁻³) ÷ 2², leaving your answer as a whole number. [6 marks] (c) A sum of money is shared among Ada, Bola and Chidi in the ratio 3 : 4 : 5. If Chidi receives ₦15,000, calculate the total sum shared. [10 marks]

Reading these is not the same as sitting them.

6. (a) Make r the subject of the formula V = πr²h. [6 marks] (b) Given that V = 550 cm³ and h = 7 cm, calculate r, taking π = 22/7. [8 marks] (c) State what happens to the volume of a cylinder when its radius is doubled and its height is unchanged, and justify your answer. [6 marks]