BMAT 2003-S1

On a particular experimental farm, it is found that the number of nematode worms per cubic metre in the soil tends to be greater when there is a lower concentration of fertiliser residues in the soil.

There are 15 entries for the BMAT from a sixth-form college. Three of the candidates are taking biology, chemistry, mathematics and physics; the remainder are taking three out of these four subjects. All 15 candidates are taking chemistry and 13 of them are taking biology. There are 9 girls.

At the end of daylight saving time, when clocks should be put back one hour, Julie puts hers forward one hour by mistake. Her friend Clare completely forgets about it and leaves hers unchanged. They had arranged to meet at 11 am the following day.

It has been shown that men are much less likely to use preventive medical care than women: men tend to wait for a crisis before seeking help, whereas women are quick to consult a doctor when they have only minor symptoms. The effect of this is that doctors are seeing men with advanced conditions which are more difficult – and expensive – to treat. Time and money spent on persuading men to seek advice at an earlier stage would easily be offset by savings on treating advanced conditions.

A cheetah’s top speed is 110 km/h and that of a zebra is 60 km/h. If both are running at top speed in a straight line and the cheetah is 100 m behind, how many seconds will it take the cheetah to catch the zebra?

On a Roman archaeological site, three coins were found with dates corresponding to 88, 123 and 157 AD. The coins were mixed with other Roman debris so must have entered the site during Roman occupation.

Gardeners are being encouraged to use alternatives to peat, as peat harvesting endangers the wetland habitats of wading birds. But gardening has become the most popular hobby in the UK, with thousands of people visiting garden centres to buy – among other things – peat-based compost. The habitats of wading birds will therefore inevitably decline if gardening continues to be so popular.

The Ruritanian Institute for Economic Studies has totalled up the effects of the Ruritanian Finance Minister’s six budgets prior to April 2003. Its calculations suggest that tax and benefit measures introduced by the Finance Minister have resulted in the redistribution of income from the better off to less well off. A lone parent, for example, is on average $24 better off in today’s money as a result of the Finance Minister’s measures – an 11% gain.

Chart 2 shows trends in the ‘Fair-E coefficient’ since 1982.

The Fair-E coefficient is a number between zero and one that measures the degree of inequality in the distribution of income in a given society. The coefficient would register zero inequality for a society in which each member received exactly the same income and it would register a coefficient of 1.0 if one member got all the income and the rest got nothing. In practice, coefficient values range from around 0.2 for, e.g., the Slovak and Czech republics and Poland, to around 0.6 for places like Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and Panama where powerful elites dominate the economy. The coefficient is particularly useful to show trends. It reveals the change towards greater equality in Cuba from 1953 to 1986 (0.55 to 0.22) and the growth of inequality in the USA in the last three decades when the Fair-E went from 0.35 in the 1970s to 0.40 in the 1990s (and still rising).

Assuming that the information and coefficient above are valid:

The Ruritanian Institute for Economic Studies has totalled up the effects of the Ruritanian Finance Minister’s six budgets prior to April 2003. Its calculations suggest that tax and benefit measures introduced by the Finance Minister have resulted in the redistribution of income from the better off to less well off. A lone parent, for example, is on average $24 better off in today’s money as a result of the Finance Minister’s measures – an 11% gain.

Chart 2 shows trends in the ‘Fair-E coefficient’ since 1982.

The Fair-E coefficient is a number between zero and one that measures the degree of inequality in the distribution of income in a given society. The coefficient would register zero inequality for a society in which each member received exactly the same income and it would register a coefficient of 1.0 if one member got all the income and the rest got nothing. In practice, coefficient values range from around 0.2 for, e.g., the Slovak and Czech republics and Poland, to around 0.6 for places like Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and Panama where powerful elites dominate the economy. The coefficient is particularly useful to show trends. It reveals the change towards greater equality in Cuba from 1953 to 1986 (0.55 to 0.22) and the growth of inequality in the USA in the last three decades when the Fair-E went from 0.35 in the 1970s to 0.40 in the 1990s (and still rising).

Assuming that the information and coefficient above are valid:

The Ruritanian Institute for Economic Studies has totalled up the effects of the Ruritanian Finance Minister’s six budgets prior to April 2003. Its calculations suggest that tax and benefit measures introduced by the Finance Minister have resulted in the redistribution of income from the better off to less well off. A lone parent, for example, is on average $24 better off in today’s money as a result of the Finance Minister’s measures – an 11% gain.

Chart 2 shows trends in the ‘Fair-E coefficient’ since 1982.

The Fair-E coefficient is a number between zero and one that measures the degree of inequality in the distribution of income in a given society. The coefficient would register zero inequality for a society in which each member received exactly the same income and it would register a coefficient of 1.0 if one member got all the income and the rest got nothing. In practice, coefficient values range from around 0.2 for, e.g., the Slovak and Czech republics and Poland, to around 0.6 for places like Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and Panama where powerful elites dominate the economy. The coefficient is particularly useful to show trends. It reveals the change towards greater equality in Cuba from 1953 to 1986 (0.55 to 0.22) and the growth of inequality in the USA in the last three decades when the Fair-E went from 0.35 in the 1970s to 0.40 in the 1990s (and still rising).

Assuming that the information and coefficient above are valid:

1. Many of the new benefits are means-tested and complicated, with the result that $4.5 billion-worth are going unclaimed.

2. According to the Ruritanian Ministry of Finance, the number of people paying top-rate income tax rose from 2.1 million to 3.2 million.

3. Since 1996-97 there has been a surge in the number of high earners.

The Ruritanian Institute for Economic Studies has totalled up the effects of the Ruritanian Finance Minister’s six budgets prior to April 2003. Its calculations suggest that tax and benefit measures introduced by the Finance Minister have resulted in the redistribution of income from the better off to less well off. A lone parent, for example, is on average $24 better off in today’s money as a result of the Finance Minister’s measures – an 11% gain.

Chart 2 shows trends in the ‘Fair-E coefficient’ since 1982.

The Fair-E coefficient is a number between zero and one that measures the degree of inequality in the distribution of income in a given society. The coefficient would register zero inequality for a society in which each member received exactly the same income and it would register a coefficient of 1.0 if one member got all the income and the rest got nothing. In practice, coefficient values range from around 0.2 for, e.g., the Slovak and Czech republics and Poland, to around 0.6 for places like Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and Panama where powerful elites dominate the economy. The coefficient is particularly useful to show trends. It reveals the change towards greater equality in Cuba from 1953 to 1986 (0.55 to 0.22) and the growth of inequality in the USA in the last three decades when the Fair-E went from 0.35 in the 1970s to 0.40 in the 1990s (and still rising).

Assuming that the information and coefficient above are valid:

At 11 years old, the children of parents who smoke are shorter on average than the children of parents who do not smoke. Therefore, parental smoking tends to reduce the growth rate of children up to 11 years old.

Julie has a bag of sweets which are red, blue and yellow. She invites Amanda to choose one. The probability of Amanda choosing a red sweet is 30%, and the probability of her choosing a blue one is twice the probability of her choosing a yellow one.

Doctors in Great Britain can work for the public health service, a commercial service, or both. 30% of doctors in Great Britain work, at least some of the time, for the commercial sector. On the basis of this information alone, deduce which of the following statements are true of doctors in Great Britain.

1. Some doctors work only in the public health service.

2. More doctors work in the public health service than the commercial sector.

3. Some doctors spend more time on commercial work than in the public health service.

Which two of these statements are equivalent?

Recent threats of terrorism in the UK have resulted in fear of air travel, and consequently more people are taking holidays in domestic resorts than abroad. The consequences for road planning, car parking and the rail network are immense, and travel agents risk going out of business. The government must act quickly to plan for these changes in holiday patterns.

Just four horses start in the 3:15 race, a short sprint. They are: Arctic Ape, Bistro, Crackdown and Drumbeat. At the first turn Bistro is ahead of Drumbeat and Crackdown is ahead of Arctic Ape, but nothing more specific is known. By the half way mark the only change is that Drumbeat has dropped back one place. Then, in the last furlong, Bistro moves up one place and that is how they finish.

A food supplement is diluted from concentrate by adding 8 parts water to 1 part concentrate. By mistake, Jean added 400 cm³ water to 40 cm³  concentrate.

Figure 1 shows the number of births and deaths recorded during each year, over a ten-year period on an island. The total population at the start of the ten-year period was 100 000 people.

The dates of two of the battles supposedly fought by the semi-legendary King Arthur have caused confusion because there are inconsistencies in the early manuscripts.

The Welsh Annals give the Battle of Badon as “year 72” and the Battle of Camlann as “year 93”. They also record the death of King Maelgwn of Gwynedd as “year 103”. There is definite evidence from the calculation of the dates of Easter that “year 9” in the Welsh Annals coincides with 455 AD in our modern dating system.

The dark age historian, Gildas, records these battles without any mention of Arthur. Records indicate that Gildas was born in the year of the battle of Badon and wrote his book “On the Ruin and Conquest of Britain” when he was 43.

However, Maelgwn was still alive when Gildas wrote his book, which is inconsistent with the other dates given by Gildas and the Welsh Annals.

The dates of two of the battles supposedly fought by the semi-legendary King Arthur have caused confusion because there are inconsistencies in the early manuscripts.

The Welsh Annals give the Battle of Badon as “year 72” and the Battle of Camlann as “year 93”. They also record the death of King Maelgwn of Gwynedd as “year 103”. There is definite evidence from the calculation of the dates of Easter that “year 9” in the Welsh Annals coincides with 455 AD in our modern dating system.

The dark age historian, Gildas, records these battles without any mention of Arthur. Records indicate that Gildas was born in the year of the battle of Badon and wrote his book “On the Ruin and Conquest of Britain” when he was 43.

However, Maelgwn was still alive when Gildas wrote his book, which is inconsistent with the other dates given by Gildas and the Welsh Annals.

The dates of two of the battles supposedly fought by the semi-legendary King Arthur have caused confusion because there are inconsistencies in the early manuscripts.

The Welsh Annals give the Battle of Badon as “year 72” and the Battle of Camlann as “year 93”. They also record the death of King Maelgwn of Gwynedd as “year 103”. There is definite evidence from the calculation of the dates of Easter that “year 9” in the Welsh Annals coincides with 455 AD in our modern dating system.

The dark age historian, Gildas, records these battles without any mention of Arthur. Records indicate that Gildas was born in the year of the battle of Badon and wrote his book “On the Ruin and Conquest of Britain” when he was 43.

However, Maelgwn was still alive when Gildas wrote his book, which is inconsistent with the other dates given by Gildas and the Welsh Annals.

The dates of two of the battles supposedly fought by the semi-legendary King Arthur have caused confusion because there are inconsistencies in the early manuscripts.

The Welsh Annals give the Battle of Badon as “year 72” and the Battle of Camlann as “year 93”. They also record the death of King Maelgwn of Gwynedd as “year 103”. There is definite evidence from the calculation of the dates of Easter that “year 9” in the Welsh Annals coincides with 455 AD in our modern dating system.

The dark age historian, Gildas, records these battles without any mention of Arthur. Records indicate that Gildas was born in the year of the battle of Badon and wrote his book “On the Ruin and Conquest of Britain” when he was 43.

However, Maelgwn was still alive when Gildas wrote his book, which is inconsistent with the other dates given by Gildas and the Welsh Annals.

The dates of two of the battles supposedly fought by the semi-legendary King Arthur have caused confusion because there are inconsistencies in the early manuscripts.

The Welsh Annals give the Battle of Badon as “year 72” and the Battle of Camlann as “year 93”. They also record the death of King Maelgwn of Gwynedd as “year 103”. There is definite evidence from the calculation of the dates of Easter that “year 9” in the Welsh Annals coincides with 455 AD in our modern dating system.

The dark age historian, Gildas, records these battles without any mention of Arthur. Records indicate that Gildas was born in the year of the battle of Badon and wrote his book “On the Ruin and Conquest of Britain” when he was 43.

However, Maelgwn was still alive when Gildas wrote his book, which is inconsistent with the other dates given by Gildas and the Welsh Annals.