Name ……………………………………………………..…………… Admission Number ………………….

Class ……………..………….. Date ………..…………...……………… Candidate’s Signature…….………….

MERISHAW SCHOOL
FORM 3 MATHEMATICS
Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education

121 – MATHEMATICS (Alt. A)

HOLIDAY ASSIGNMENT – 2 ½ hours

121 - Mathematics Paper

August – 2025
8.00 a.m. – 10.30 a.m.

Instructions to candidates

a) Write your name and admission number in the spaces provided above.
b) Write your class, the date of examination and sign in the spaces provided above.
c) This paper consists of two sections; Section I and Section II.
d) Answer all the questions in Section I and any five questions from in Section II.
e) Show all the steps in your calculations, giving your answers at each stage in the spaces provided below
each question.
f) Marks may be given for correct working even if the answer is wrong.
g) Non – programmable silent electronic calculators and KNEC Mathematical tables may be used, except
where stated otherwise.
h) This paper consists of 10 printed pages.
i) Candidates should check the question paper to ascertain that all the pages are printed as indicated and that
no questions are missing.
j) Candidates should answer the questions in English.
For Examiner’s Use Only
Section I

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Total

Section II

17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Total
Grand Total
 SECTION I (50 Marks)
Answer all the questions in this section in the spaces provided.
1 1 5
9 –3 ÷
1 Without using tables or calculator, evaluate: 2 3 9
(3 marks)
3 1 1
of 6 +1
5 4 2

2 Solve for x in the equation: 32(x–3) × 8(x+4) = 64 ÷ 2x (3 marks)

• •
3 Express the recurring decimal 17.804 into a mixed fraction. (3 marks)
 16m2 – 9n2
4 Simplify the expression; (3 marks)
4m2 – mn – 3n2

3 7
5 Use reciprocal, squares and square root tables to evaluate – giving your answers to 4
(0.6241)
2
873.8

significant figures. (4 marks)

6 Given that OA = 2i + 3j and OB = 3i – 2j . Find the magnitude of AB to one decimal places. (3 marks)
7 In the figure below AB is parallel to CD, AD and BC intersect at T. Given that AT: TD =1:3 and CB = 12cm.
Calculate the length of TB. (3 marks)

8 Calculate the volume of a prism whose length is 25cm and whose cross-section is an equilateral triangle of
side 3cm. (3 marks)

9 Three tanks are capable of holding 36, 84 and 90 litres of milk. Determine the capacity of the greatest vessel
which can be used to fill each one of them an exact number of times. (3 marks)
10 Three tractors, each working eight hours a day, can plough a field in five days. How many days would two
such tractors, working 10 hours a day, take to plough the same field? (3 marks)

11 A Kenyan bank buys and sells foreign currencies as shown below.

Buying Selling
1 US Dollar Kshs.85.62 Kshs.87.70
1 UK Pound Kshs.142.35 Kshs.143.70
A Japanese travelling from France arrives in Kenya with 5000 Euros. He converts all the 5000 Euros to
Kenyan shillings at the bank. While in Kenya he spends a total of Kshs.289 350 and then converts the
remaining shillings to Japanese Yen at the bank. Calculate the amount in Japanese Yen that he receives.
(3 marks)

12 In a 4 x 400m relay competition, a team of athletes each completed their round in 45 sec, 43 sec, 44 sec and
45 sec respectively. If the race started at 1:35:31 p.m, find the time when the team completed the race.
(2 marks)
 5
13 Evaluate log 56 + log160 – 2 log 0.3 without using mathematical tables or calculator. (3 marks)
7

14 Using a pair of compasses and ruler only, construct a quadrilateral ABCD in which AB = 4 cm, BC = 6 cm,
AD = 3 cm, angle ABC = 135o and angle DAB = 60o. Measure the size of angle BCD. (4 marks)
15 In the triangle below, point D divides AC in the ratio 1:1. AB = 6.4 cm, 3ABD = 39° and 3BAD = 78° .

Calculate correct to one decimal place;

(a) The length BD. (2 marks)

(b) The length BC. (2 marks)

3 4 c
16 Simplify – leaving your answer in the form a + b where a, b and c are integers. (3 marks)
2– 3 2+ 3
 SECTION II (50 Marks)
Answer any five questions from this section in the spaces provided.

17 A factory packs fruit jam in cylindrical tins of radius 5 cm and height 15 cm. The tins are then packed into
rectangular cartons each measuring 60 cm long, 30 cm wide and 30 cm high.

(a) Determine the maximum number of tins that can be packed in one carton. (2 marks)

(b) An empty carton and an empty tin weighs 560 g and 300 g respectively. The jam packed in one tin weighs
990 g. A pick – up which can carry a maximum of 600 kg is used to transport the jam.

Determine the maximum number of cartons the pick – up can carry. (4 marks)

(c) The factory delivered a pick – up full of cartons of jam to a retailer. The factory sells one carton to a
retailer for Kshs.2 880. The retailer sells each tin at Kshs.110

Calculate the percentage profit made by the retailer. (4 marks)

18 Two lines L1: 2 y – 3x – 6 = 0 and L2: 3y + x – 20 = 0 intersect at point A.
(a) Find the coordinates of A. (3 marks)

(b) A third line L3 is perpendicular to L2 at point A. Find the equation of L3 in the form y = mx + c , where m
and c are constants. (3 marks)

(c) Another line L4 is parallel to L1 and passes through (–1, 3) . Find the x and y intercepts of L4. (4 marks)
19 (a) Complete the table below for the function y = 3x2 – 2x –1 for –3 x 4. (2 marks)

x –3 –2 –1 0 1 2 3 4
y 15

(b) Draw the graph of the function y = 3x2 – 2x –1 for –3 x 4. Use a scale of 1 cm to represent 1
unit in the x – axis and 2 cm to represent 10 units in the y – axis. (3 marks)

(c) Draw the line y = 3x + 1 on the same axes hence find the values of x for which y = 3x + 1 and

y = 3x2 – 2x –1 are equal. (3 marks)

(d) Write down the simplified quadratic equation whose roots are the solutions of the simultaneous equation
in (c) above. (2 marks)
20 The diagram below shows the speed-time graph for a bus travelling between two stations. The bus begins
from rest and accelerates uniformly for 30 seconds. It then travels at a constant speed for 60 seconds and
finally decelerates uniformly for 40 seconds. Given that the distance between the two stations is 2090m.
calculate:

(a) The maximum speed, in km/h the bus attained. (3 marks)

(b) The acceleration in the first 30 seconds. (2 marks)

(c) The distance travelled during the last 20 seconds. (2 marks)

(d) The time the bus takes to travel the first half of the journey. (3 marks)
21 The frequency distribution table below represents the marks scored by students in a mathematics contest.
Marks 21– 25 26 – 30 31 – 35 36 – 40 41– 45 46 – 50 51 – 55
Frequency 3 4 5 7 3 2 1
(a) State the modal frequency. (1 mark)

(b) Calculate the mean mark. (5 marks)

(c) Calculate the median mark. (4 marks)

22 A forest is enclosed by four straight boundaries AB, BC, CD and DA. Point B is 25km on a bearing of 3150
from A, C is directly south of B on a bearing of 260 0 from A and D is 30km on a bearing of 2100 from C.
(a) Using a scale of 1:500,000, represents the above information on a scale drawing. (3 marks)

(b) Using the scale drawing, determine the;

(i) Distance, in kilometres, of D from A. (2 marks)

(ii) Bearing of A from D. (1 mark)

(c) Calculate the area, correct to 1 decimal place, of the forest in square kilometres. (4 marks)
23 Triangle PQR whose vertices are P ( 2, 2 ) , Q ( 4, 2) and R (4, 4) is mapped onto triangle P Q R whose

coordinates are P (–4, 2 ) , Q (–4, 4) and R (–6, 4) under a rotation.

(a) On the grid plot triangle PQR and triangle P Q R (2 marks)

(b) By construction, find the centre and angle of rotation (4 marks)

(c) Triangle P Q R is the image of triangle P Q R under reflection on the line y = –1. Draw triangle
P Q R hence state its coordinates (2 marks)

(d) State the pair of triangles that are

(i) Directly congruent (1 mark)

(ii) Oppositely congruent (1 mark)

24 (a) Complete the table below giving the values correct to one decimal place. (2 marks)

x 0 30 60 90 120 150 180 210 240 270 300 330 360

1
y = 2 cos x° 2.0 1.7 1.4 0.0 –1.0 –1.4 –1.9
2
y = 3sin x° 0.0 1.5 3.0 2.6 0.0 –1.5 –2.6 –2.6 0.0

1
(b) On the grid provided and using the same axis, draw the graphs of y = 2 cos x° and y = 3sin x° for
2

0° x 360° . (5 marks)
Scale : 2 cm to represent 1 unit on the y – axis.
1 cm to represent 30o on the x – axis.

(c) Using the graphs in part (b):

1
(i) Find the values of x for which 2 cos x° – 3sin x° = 0 (2 marks)
2

1
(ii) Determine the values of y for which 2 cos x° = 3sin x° (1 mark)
2
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