IGCSE Mathematics (9–1) 0980 · Algebra and graphs · 2

0580.C2.4.02 — 12a 5 ÷ 3a –2.: past paper questions

7 real questionsasked in 4 of the last 10 exam series2021–2025usually: Write

Real questions on 0580.c2.4.02 — 12a 5 ÷ 3a –2.

The newest 7 of 7 written questions. Open one to see it on the real paper.

0980/21 · October/November 2025 · Q18[4]
18 $f (x) = 2 x + 5$ $f (x) f (x) - f f (x) = a x^{2} + b x + c$ Find the value of $a$ , the value of $b$ and the value of $c$ .See it on the paper →
0980/21 · October/November 2025 · Q19[3]
19 Solve. $(\frac{1}{3})^{x} = 9^{x + 4}$ See it on the paper →
0980/21 · October/November 2025 · Q22[5]
22 Solve. $\frac{2}{x - 1} = \frac{x}{x + 2}$ See it on the paper →
0980/12 · May/June 2023 · Q19[2]
19 Simplify. $18 x^{12} \div 3 x^{3}$ See it on the paper →
0980/31 · October/November 2022 · Q3b[2]
Miguel works in an office. (b) White paper costs $w$ cents per sheet and pink paper costs $p$ cents per sheet. Miguel uses 56 sheets of white paper and 21 sheets of pink paper. Write down an expression, in terms of $w$ and $p$ , for the total cost, in cents, of the paper he uses.See it on the paper →
0980/22 · May/June 2021 · Q22[4]
22 Simplify. $\frac{2 x ^{2} - 5 x - 12}{3 x ^{2} - 12 x}$ See it on the paper →
0980/42 · May/June 2021 · Q3b[3]
(b) Simplify. $(5 x^{2} \times 2 x y^{4})^{3}$ See it on the paper →

What examiners said

Many correct answers were seen for this question. Dividing the indices instead of subtracting them was the main error, although not all divided 18 by 3 correctly, and often 15 from subtraction was seen. Some responses showed an attempt at factorisation.
— Examiner report, May/June 2023, 0980/12 Q19 (Cambridge)

Most candidates showed they understood that the expression 56w + 21p showed the total cost. However not all wrote this as the final answer and a large majority of candidates did not gain full credit because they changed this correct expression to an incorrect expression (for example 77wp).
— Examiner report, October/November 2022, 0980/31 Q3(b) (Cambridge)

There were many fully correct simplifications scoring all four marks and the majority of candidates scored at least one mark, usually for the correct factorisation of the denominator. The coefficient of 2 in the numerator caused problems for many, although various good strategies were seen to deal with this. Many resorted to using the quadratic formula or their calculators to solve the quadratic o...
— Examiner report, May/June 2021, 0980/22 Q22 (Cambridge)

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