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AS Pure Mathematics · Edexcel 8MA0 · free A-level maths worksheet

Straight lines

Gradient, y = mx + c and ax + by + c = 0, parallel and perpendicular lines, distances, modelling.

12 original questions, 61 marks. Print the worksheet, mark it with the answers sheet, and use the solutions to see every step written out by hand.

Worksheet PDFWorked solutions PDFAnswers PDF

The questions

1

The line L has equation 3x − 4y + 12 = 0

  1. Find the gradient of L.
  2. Find the coordinates of the points where L crosses the x-axis and the y-axis.
3 marks
Show answer
a) 34 b) (-4, 0) and (0, 3)
2

The points A and B have coordinates (−2, 7) and (4, −2) respectively.

Find an equation of the line through A and B, giving your answer in the form ax + by + c = 0, where a, b and c are integers.

3 marks
Show answer
3x + 2y - 8 = 0
3

The line l1 has equation 2x − 5y + 3 = 0

The line l2 is perpendicular to l1 and passes through the point P(5, −1).

Find an equation of l2 in the form y = mx + c

3 marks
Show answer
y = -52x + 232
4

The points A(−3, 4) and B(5, 8) are joined to form the line segment AB.

Find an equation of the perpendicular bisector of AB, giving your answer in the form ax + by + c = 0, where a, b and c are integers.

4 marks
Show answer
2x + y - 8 = 0
5

The points A(1, k) and B(k, 9), where k is a constant, lie on a line that is perpendicular to the line with equation 3x + y = 7

Find the value of k.

3 marks
Show answer
k = 7
6

The line l1 has equation y = 3x − 5 and the line l2 has equation x + 2y − 11 = 0

The lines meet at the point P, as shown in the sketch.

  1. Find the coordinates of P.

The line l1 crosses the x-axis at R and the line l2 crosses the x-axis at Q.

  1. Find the exact area of triangle PQR.
xyl₁l₂PRQ
5 marks
Show answer
a) (3, 4) b) 563
7

The points A(−1, 2), B(3, 5) and C(6, 1) are three vertices of the square ABCD.

  1. Show that AB = BC.
  2. Show that AB is perpendicular to BC.
  3. Find the area of the square ABCD.
  4. Find the coordinates of D.
7 marks
Show answer
a) AB = BC = 5 b) 34 × -43 = -1 c) 25 d) (2, -2)
8

The point A has coordinates (2, −1).

The point B lies on the line with equation y = 2x + 1 and the distance AB is 2√5

Find the possible coordinates of B.

5 marks
Show answer
(-2, -3) or (65, 175)
9

The line l1 has equation 4x + 3y = 24 and crosses the x-axis at A and the y-axis at B.

The line l2 is parallel to l1 and passes through the point C(9, 8).

  1. Find an equation of l2 in the form ax + by = c

The line l2 crosses the x-axis at D.

  1. Find the coordinates of D.
  2. Explain why ABCD is a parallelogram and find its area.
6 marks
Show answer
a) 4x + 3y = 60 b) (15, 0) c) AB parallel to DC and BC parallel to AD; area 72
10

A household's monthly gas bill, £C, is modelled by C = a + bE, where E is the number of kWh of gas used that month and a and b are constants.

In March the household used 820 kWh and the bill was £162.40. In June the household used 300 kWh and the bill was £68.80

  1. Find the values of a and b.
  2. Interpret the value of b in the context of the model.
  3. Use the model to estimate the bill for a month in which 1500 kWh are used, and comment on the reliability of your estimate.
6 marks
Show answer
a) a = 14.8, b = 0.18 b) each extra kWh adds £0.18 to the bill c) £284.80; 1500 kWh is well outside the data so the estimate may be unreliable
11

The triangle ABC has vertices A(−4, 1), B(6, −4) and C(2, 8).

  1. Find an equation of the line through C that is perpendicular to AB.

This line meets AB at the point N.

  1. Find the coordinates of N.
  2. Hence find the area of triangle ABC. You must show all your working.
8 marks
Show answer
a) y = 2x + 4 b) (-2, 0) c) 50
12

Two candles, A and B, are lit at the same time. Their heights are modelled as linear functions of the time t hours after lighting.

  • Candle A is 30 cm tall when lit and 22 cm tall 4 hours later.
  • Candle B is 24 cm tall when lit and burns down completely in 16 hours.
  1. Find, for each candle, an equation for its height h cm in terms of t.
  2. Find the time at which the two candles are the same height, and that height.
  3. Find the interval of time for which candle A is still burning but is shorter than candle B.
  4. Give one limitation of the model.
8 marks
Show answer
a) A: h = 30 - 2t; B: h = 24 - 1.5t b) t = 12 hours, height 6 cm c) 12 < t < 15 d) e.g. a candle may not burn at a constant rate (draughts, the wick)

Every question here is original and written by Robinson Tuition. It follows the Edexcel AS specification and suits AQA and OCR AS maths too; this is not an exam-board paper.

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