Question ID 3f5a3602

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Algebra Systems of two linear

equations in two
variables

ID: 3f5a3602

What system of linear equations is represented by the lines shown?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 3f5a3602 Answer

Correct Answer: D
Rationale
Choice D is correct. A line in the xy-plane that passes through the points and has slope , where
, and can be defined by an equation of the form . One of the lines shown in the graph
passes through the points and . Substituting for , for , for , and for in the equation
yields , or . Substituting for , for and for in the equation
yields , which is equivalent to . Adding to both sides of
this equation yields . Multiplying both sides of this equation by yields .
Therefore, an equation of this line is . Similarly, the other line shown in the graph passes through the
points and . Substituting for , for , for , and for in the equation yields
, or . Substituting for , for , and for in the equation yields
, which is equivalent to . Adding to both sides of this equation yields
. Multiplying both sides of this equation by yields . Therefore, an equation of this line is
. So, the system of linear equations represented by the lines shown is and
.

Choice A is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Choice B is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Choice C is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID edc1b7b7
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Algebra Systems of two linear

equations in two
variables

ID: edc1b7b7

The solution to the given system of equations is . What is the value of ?

ID: edc1b7b7 Answer

Correct Answer: 3

Rationale
The correct answer is . Adding the second equation to the first equation in the given system of equations yields
, or . Dividing both sides of this equation by yields
. Substituting for in the first equation, , yields , or
. Subtracting from both sides of this equation yields . Dividing both sides of this
equation by yields . Substituting for and for in the expression yields , or . Therefore,
the value of is .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 3008cfc3
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Algebra Linear equations in

two variables

ID: 3008cfc3

The table gives the coordinates of two points on a line in the xy-plane. The y-intercept of the line is , where
and are constants. What is the value of ?

ID: 3008cfc3 Answer

Correct Answer: 33

Rationale
The correct answer is . It’s given in the table that the coordinates of two points on a line in the xy-plane are and
. The y-intercept is another point on the line. The slope computed using any pair of points from the line will
be the same. The slope of a line, , between any two points, and , on the line can be calculated using
the slope formula, . It follows that the slope of the line with the given points from the table, and
, is , which is equivalent to , or . It's given that the y-intercept of the line is
. Substituting for and the coordinates of the points and into the slope formula yields
, which is equivalent to , or . Multiplying both sides of this equation by yields
. Subtracting from both sides of this equation yields . Dividing both sides of this equation
by yields . Therefore, the value of is .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 4becad44
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Algebra Systems of two linear

equations in two
variables

ID: 4becad44

One of the two equations in a system of linear equations is given. The system has no solution. Which equation could be
the second equation in this system?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 4becad44 Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale
Choice B is correct. A system of two linear equations in two variables, and , has no solution when the lines in the xy-
plane representing the equations are parallel and distinct. Two lines are parallel and distinct if their slopes are the same
and their y-intercepts are different. The slope of the graph of the given equation, , in the xy-plane can be
found by rewriting the equation in the form , where is the slope of the graph and is the y-intercept.
Adding to each side of the given equation yields . Dividing each side of this equation by yields
, or . It follows that the slope of the graph of the given equation is and the y-intercept is
. Therefore, the graph of the second equation in the system must also have a slope of , but must not have a y-
intercept of . Multiplying each side of the equation given in choice B by yields , or . It follows
that the graph representing the equation in choice B has a slope of and a y-intercept of . Since the slopes of the
graphs of the two equations are equal and the y-intercepts of the graphs of the two equations are different, the equation
in choice B could be the second equation in the system.

Choice A is incorrect. This equation can be rewritten as . It follows that the graph of this equation has a slope of
, so the system consisting of this equation and the given equation has exactly one solution, rather than no solution.

Choice C is incorrect. This equation can be rewritten as . It follows that the graph of this equation has a
slope of and a y-intercept of , so the system consisting of this equation and the given equation has infinitely
many solutions, rather than no solution.

Choice D is incorrect. This equation can be rewritten as . It follows that the graph of this equation has a
slope of , so the system consisting of this equation and the given equation has exactly one solution, rather than no
solution.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID d1b66ae6
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Algebra Systems of two linear

equations in two
variables

ID: d1b66ae6

If satisfies the system of equations

above, what is the value of y ?

ID: d1b66ae6 Answer

Rationale

The correct answer is . One method for solving the system of equations for y is to add corresponding sides of the two
equations. Adding the left-hand sides gives , or 4y. Adding the right-hand sides yields

. It follows that . Finally, dividing both sides of by 4 yields or . Note that 3/2 and 1.5 are
examples of ways to enter a correct answer.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 3cdbf026
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Algebra Linear equations in

two variables

ID: 3cdbf026

The graph of the equation is a line in the xy-plane, where a and k are

constants. If the line contains the points and , what is the value
of k ?

A.

B.

C. 2

D. 3

ID: 3cdbf026 Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale
Choice A is correct. The value of k can be found using the slope-intercept form of a linear equation, , where
m is the slope and b is the y-coordinate of the y-intercept. The equation can be rewritten in the form

. One of the given points, , is the y-intercept. Thus, the y-coordinate of the y-intercept must be

equal to . Multiplying both sides by k gives . Dividing both sides by gives .

Choices B, C, and D are incorrect and may result from errors made rewriting the given equation.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 00723d16
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Algebra Linear equations in

two variables

ID: 00723d16

Line 𝓁 is defined by . Line is perpendicular to line 𝓁 in the xy-plane. What is the slope of line ?

ID: 00723d16 Answer

Correct Answer: 0.25, 1/4

Rationale
The correct answer is . For an equation in slope-intercept form , represents the slope of the line in the
xy-plane defined by this equation. It's given that line 𝓁 is defined by . Subtracting from both sides of
this equation yields . Dividing both sides of this equation by yields , or
. Thus, the slope of line 𝓁 in the xy-plane is . Since line is perpendicular to line 𝓁 in the xy-plane, the
slope of line is the negative reciprocal of the slope of line 𝓁. The negative reciprocal of is . Note that
1/4 and .25 are examples of ways to enter a correct answer.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID ff501705
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Algebra Systems of two linear

equations in two
variables

ID: ff501705

In the given system of equations, is a constant. If the system has no solution, what is the value of ?

ID: ff501705 Answer

Correct Answer: 6

Rationale
The correct answer is . A system of two linear equations in two variables, and , has no solution if the lines
represented by the equations in the xy-plane are parallel and distinct. Lines represented by equations in standard form,
and , are parallel if the coefficients for and in one equation are proportional to the
corresponding coefficients in the other equation, meaning ; and the lines are distinct if the constants are not
proportional, meaning is not equal to or . The first equation in the given system is .
Multiplying each side of this equation by yields . Adding to each side of this equation
yields , or . The second equation in the given system is . Multiplying
each side of this equation by yields . Subtracting from each side of this equation yields
. Subtracting from each side of this equation yields . Therefore, the two equations in
the given system, written in standard form, are and . As previously stated, if this system
has no solution, the lines represented by the equations in the xy-plane are parallel and distinct, meaning the proportion
, or , is true and the proportion is not true. The proportion is not true.
Multiplying each side of the true proportion, , by yields . Therefore, if the system has no solution,
then the value of is .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 8c5e6702
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Algebra Linear functions

ID: 8c5e6702

A window repair specialist charges for the first two hours of repair plus an hourly fee for each additional hour. The
total cost for hours of repair is . Which function gives the total cost, in dollars, for hours of repair, where
?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 8c5e6702 Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale
Choice A is correct. It’s given that the window repair specialist charges for the first two hours of repair plus an
hourly fee for each additional hour. Let represent the hourly fee for each additional hour after the first two hours. Since
it’s given that is the number of hours of repair, it follows that the charge generated by the hourly fee after the first two
hours can be represented by the expression . Therefore, the total cost, in dollars, for hours of repair is
. It’s given that the total cost for hours of repair is . Substituting for and for
into the equation yields , or . Subtracting
from both sides of this equation yields . Dividing both sides of this equation by yields . Substituting
for in the equation yields , which is equivalent to
, or . Therefore, the total cost, in dollars, for hours of repair is
.

Choice B is incorrect. This function represents the total cost, in dollars, for hours of repair where the specialist charges
, rather than , for the first two hours of repair.

Choice C is incorrect. This function represents the total cost, in dollars, for hours of repair where the specialist charges
, rather than , for the first two hours of repair, and an hourly fee of , rather than , after the first two
hours.

Choice D is incorrect. This function represents the total cost, in dollars, for hours of repair where the specialist charges
, rather than , for the first two hours of repair, and an hourly fee of , rather than , after the first two
hours.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 2937ef4f
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Algebra Linear equations in

one variable

ID: 2937ef4f

Hector used a tool called an auger to remove corn from a storage bin at a
constant rate. The bin contained 24,000 bushels of corn when Hector began to
use the auger. After 5 hours of using the auger, 19,350 bushels of corn remained
in the bin. If the auger continues to remove corn at this rate, what is the total
number of hours Hector will have been using the auger when 12,840 bushels of
corn remain in the bin?

A. 3

B. 7

C. 8

D. 12

ID: 2937ef4f Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale
Choice D is correct. After using the auger for 5 hours, Hector had removed 24,000 – 19,350 = 4,650 bushels of corn from

the storage bin. During the 5-hour period, the auger removed corn from the bin at a constant rate of
bushels per hour. Assuming the auger continues to remove corn at this rate, after x hours it will have removed 930x
bushels of corn. Because the bin contained 24,000 bushels of corn when Hector started using the auger, the equation
24,000 – 930x = 12,840 can be used to find the number of hours, x, Hector will have been using the auger when 12,840
bushels of corn remain in the bin. Subtracting 12,840 from both sides of this equation and adding 930x to both sides of
the equation yields 11,160 = 930x. Dividing both sides of this equation by 930 yields x = 12. Therefore, Hector will have
been using the auger for 12 hours when 12,840 bushels of corn remain in the storage bin.

Choice A is incorrect. Three hours after Hector began using the auger, 24,000 – 3(930) = 21,210 bushels of corn
remained, not 12,840. Choice B is incorrect. Seven hours after Hector began using the auger, 24,000 – 7(930) = 17,490
bushels of corn will remain, not 12,840. Choice C is incorrect. Eight hours after Hector began using the auger, 24,000 –
8(930) = 16,560 bushels of corn will remain, not 12,840.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 9bbce683
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Algebra Linear equations in

two variables

ID: 9bbce683

For line , the table shows three values of and their corresponding values of . Line is the result of translating line
down units in the xy-plane. What is the x-intercept of line ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 9bbce683 Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale
Choice D is correct. The equation of line can be written in slope-intercept form , where is the slope of
the line and is the y-intercept of the line. It’s given that line contains the points , , and
. Therefore, its slope can be found as , or . Substituting for in the equation yields
. Substituting for and for in this equation yields , or .
Subtracting from both sides of this equation yields . Substituting for in yields
. Since line is the result of translating line down units, an equation of line is , or .
Substituting for in this equation yields . Solving this equation for yields . Therefore, the x-
intercept of line is .

Choice A is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Choice B is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Choice C is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 2b15d65f
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Algebra Linear functions

ID: 2b15d65f

An economist modeled the demand Q for a certain product as a linear function

of the selling price P. The demand was 20,000 units when the selling price was
$40 per unit, and the demand was 15,000 units when the selling price was $60
per unit. Based on the model, what is the demand, in units, when the selling price
is $55 per unit?

A. 16,250

B. 16,500

C. 16,750

D. 17,500

ID: 2b15d65f Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale
Choice A is correct. Let the economist’s model be the linear function , where Q is the demand, P is the
selling price, m is the slope of the line, and b is the y-coordinate of the y-intercept of the line in the xy-plane, where .
Two pairs of the selling price P and the demand Q are given. Using the coordinate pairs , two points that satisfy the
function are and . The slope m of the function can be found using the formula

. Substituting the given values into this formula yields , or .

Therefore, . The value of b can be found by substituting one of the points into the function. Substituting
the values of P and Q from the point yields , or . Adding
10,000 to both sides of this equation yields . Therefore, the linear function the economist used as the model
is . Substituting 55 for P yields . It follows that when the
selling price is $55 per unit, the demand is 16,250 units.

Choices B, C, and D are incorrect and may result from calculation or conceptual errors.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 686b7244
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Algebra Linear equations in

two variables

ID: 686b7244

A certain apprentice has enrolled in hours of training courses. The equation represents this
situation, where is the number of on-site training courses and is the number of online training courses this apprentice
has enrolled in. How many more hours does each online training course take than each on-site training course?

ID: 686b7244 Answer

Correct Answer: 5

Rationale
The correct answer is . It's given that the equation represents the situation, where is the number of
on-site training courses, is the number of online training courses, and is the total number of hours of training
courses the apprentice has enrolled in. Therefore, represents the number of hours the apprentice has enrolled in on-
site training courses, and represents the number of hours the apprentice has enrolled in online training courses.
Since is the number of on-site training courses and is the number of online training courses the apprentice has
enrolled in, is the number of hours each on-site course takes and is the number of hours each online course takes.
Subtracting these numbers gives , or more hours each online training course takes than each on-site training
course.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 1b1deebe
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Algebra Systems of two linear

equations in two
variables

ID: 1b1deebe

In the given system of equations, and are constants. The graphs of these equations in the xy-plane intersect at the
point . What is the value of ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 1b1deebe Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale
Choice D is correct. It’s given that the graphs of the given system of equations intersect at the point . Therefore,
is the solution to the given system. Multiplying the first equation in the given system by yields
. Adding this equation to the second equation in the system yields
, or . Since is the solution to the system, the
value of can be found by substituting for in this equation, which yields . Dividing both sides
of this equation by yields . Subtracting from both sides of this equation yields .
Dividing both sides of this equation by yields .

Choice A is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Choice B is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Choice C is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID be9cb6a2
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Algebra Linear functions

ID: be9cb6a2

The cost of renting a backhoe for up to days is for the first day and for each additional day. Which of the
following equations gives the cost , in dollars, of renting the backhoe for days, where is a positive integer and
?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: be9cb6a2 Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale
Choice D is correct. It's given that the cost of renting a backhoe for up to days is for the first day and for
each additional day. Therefore, the cost , in dollars, for days, where , is the sum of the cost for the first day,
, and the cost for the additional days, . It follows that , which is
equivalent to , or .

Choice A is incorrect. This equation represents a situation where the cost of renting a backhoe is for the first day
and for each additional day.

Choice B is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Choice C is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID db422e7f
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Algebra Linear equations in

two variables

ID: db422e7f

Line is defined by . Line is perpendicular to line in the xy-plane. What is the slope of line ?

ID: db422e7f Answer

Correct Answer: .5, 1/2

Rationale
The correct answer is . For an equation in slope-intercept form , represents the slope of the line in the
xy-plane defined by this equation. It's given that line is defined by . Subtracting from both sides of this
equation yields . Dividing both sides of this equation by yields , or .
Thus, the slope of line is . If line is perpendicular to line , then the slope of line is the negative reciprocal of the
slope of line . The negative reciprocal of is . Note that 1/2 and .5 are examples of ways to enter a
correct answer.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 45cfb9de
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Algebra Linear inequalities in

one or two variables

ID: 45cfb9de

Adam’s school is a 20-minute walk or a 5-minute bus ride away from his house.
The bus runs once every 30 minutes, and the number of minutes, w, that Adam
waits for the bus varies between 0 and 30. Which of the following inequalities
gives the values of w for which it would be faster for Adam to walk to school?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 45cfb9de Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale
Choice D is correct. It is given that w is the number of minutes that Adam waits for the bus. The total time it takes Adam
to get to school on a day he takes the bus is the sum of the minutes, w, he waits for the bus and the 5 minutes the bus
ride takes; thus, this time, in minutes, is w + 5. It is also given that the total amount of time it takes Adam to get to school
on a day that he walks is 20 minutes. Therefore, w + 5 > 20 gives the values of w for which it would be faster for Adam to
walk to school.

Choices A and B are incorrect because w – 5 is not the total length of time for Adam to wait for and then take the bus to
school. Choice C is incorrect because the inequality should be true when walking 20 minutes is faster than the time it
takes Adam to wait for and ride the bus, not less.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 571174f3
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Algebra Systems of two linear

equations in two
variables

ID: 571174f3

In the given system of equations, and are constants. The system has infinitely many solutions. What is the value of
?

ID: 571174f3 Answer

Correct Answer: .2857, 2/7

Rationale
The correct answer is . It’s given that the system has infinitely many solutions. A system of two linear equations has
infinitely many solutions if and only if the two linear equations are equivalent. Multiplying each side of the first equation
in the system by yields , or . Since this equation is equivalent to the
second equation and has the same right side as the second equation, the coefficients of and , respectively, should
also be the same. It follows that and . Therefore, the value of is , or . Note that 2/7, .2857, 0.285,
and 0.286 are examples of ways to enter a correct answer.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 979c6ebc
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Algebra Systems of two linear

equations in two
variables

ID: 979c6ebc

For each real number , which of the following points lies on the graph of each equation in the xy-plane for the given
system?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 979c6ebc Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale
Choice D is correct. Dividing each side of the second equation in the given system by yields . It follows
that the two equations in the given system are equivalent and any point that lies on the graph of one equation will also lie
on the graph of the other equation. Substituting for in the equation yields . Subtracting
from each side of this equation yields . Dividing each side of this equation by yields .
Therefore, the point lies on the graph of each equation in the xy-plane for each real number .

Choice A is incorrect. Substituting for in the equation yields . Subtracting from each
side of this equation yields . Dividing each side of this equation by yields . Therefore, the
point , not the point , lies on the graph of each equation.

Choice B is incorrect. Substituting for in the equation yields . Subtracting from each
side of this equation yields . Dividing each side of this equation by yields . Therefore, the
point , not the point , lies on the graph of each equation.

Choice C is incorrect. Substituting for in the equation yields , or

. Subtracting from each side of this equation yields , or
. Dividing each side of this equation by yields . Therefore, the point
, not the point , lies on the graph of each equation.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 797a81fb
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Algebra Systems of two linear

equations in two
variables

ID: 797a81fb

How many solutions does the given system of equations have?

A. Exactly one

B. Exactly two

C. Infinitely many

D. Zero

ID: 797a81fb Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale
Choice D is correct. A system of two linear equations in two variables, and , has zero solutions if the lines
representing the equations in the xy-plane are distinct and parallel. Two lines are distinct and parallel if they have the
same slope but different y-intercepts. Each equation in the given system can be written in slope-intercept form
, where is the slope of the line representing the equation in the xy-plane and is the y-intercept.
Adding to both sides of the first equation in the given system of equations, , yields
. Dividing both sides of this equation by yields . It follows that the first equation in the
given system of equations has a slope of and a y-intercept of . Adding to both sides of the second
equation in the given system of equations, , yields . Dividing both sides of this
equation by yields . It follows that the second equation in the given system of equations has a slope of
and a y-intercept of . Since the slopes of these lines are the same and the y-intercepts are different, it
follows that the given system of equations has zero solutions.

Alternate approach: To solve the system by elimination, multiplying the second equation in the given system of
equations, , by yields . Adding this equation to the first equation in the given
system of equations, , yields , or . Since this
equation isn't true, the given system of equations has zero solutions.

Choice A is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Choice B is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Choice C is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 4f1342d6
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Algebra Systems of two linear

equations in two
variables

ID: 4f1342d6

In August, a car dealer completed more than times the number of sales the car dealer completed in September. In
August and September, the car dealer completed sales. How many sales did the car dealer complete in September?

ID: 4f1342d6 Answer

Correct Answer: 87

Rationale
The correct answer is . It’s given that in August, the car dealer completed more than times the number of sales
the car dealer completed in September. Let represent the number of sales the car dealer completed in September. It
follows that represents the number of sales the car dealer completed in August. It’s also given that in August
and September, the car dealer completed sales. It follows that , or .
Subtracting from each side of this equation yields . Dividing each side of this equation by yields .
Therefore, the car dealer completed sales in September.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID b5f62071
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Algebra Systems of two linear

equations in two
variables

ID: b5f62071

In the given system of equations, is a constant. If the system has no solution, what is the value of ?

ID: b5f62071 Answer

Correct Answer: -28

Rationale
The correct answer is . A system of two linear equations in two variables, and , has no solution if the lines
represented by the equations in the xy-plane are distinct and parallel. The graphs of two lines in the xy-plane represented
by equations in the form , where , , and are constants, are parallel if the coefficients for and in
one equation are proportional to the corresponding coefficients for and in the other equation. The first equation in the
given system, , can be written in the form by subtracting from both sides of
the equation to yield . The second equation in the given system, , can be written in the
form by adding to both sides of the equation to yield . The coefficient of in the
second equation is times the coefficient of in the first equation. That is, . For the lines to be parallel, the
coefficient of in the second equation must also be times the coefficient of in the first equation. Therefore,
, or . Thus, if the given system has no solution, the value of is .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 38bf4e04
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Algebra Linear equations in

one variable

ID: 38bf4e04

A factory makes -inch, -inch, and -inch concrete screws. During a certain day, the number of -inch concrete screws
that the factory makes is times the number of -inch concrete screws, and the number of -inch concrete screws is
. During this day, the factory makes concrete screws total. Which equation represents this situation?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 38bf4e04 Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale
Choice D is correct. It's given that during a certain day at a factory, the number of -inch concrete screws the factory
makes is and the number of -inch concrete screws the factory makes is . It's also given that during this day the
number of -inch concrete screws the factory makes is times the number of -inch concrete screws, or . Therefore,
the total number of -inch, -inch, and -inch concrete screws is , or . It's given that during this day,
the factory makes concrete screws total. Thus, the equation represents this situation.

Choice A is incorrect. This equation represents a situation where the total length, in inches, of all the concrete screws,
rather than the total number of concrete screws, is .

Choice B is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Choice C is incorrect. This equation represents a situation where the total number of -inch concrete screws and -inch
concrete screws, not including the -inch concrete screws, is .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID b7e6394d
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Algebra Linear equations in

one variable

ID: b7e6394d

Alan drives an average of 100 miles each week. His car can travel an average of
25 miles per gallon of gasoline. Alan would like to reduce his weekly expenditure
on gasoline by $5. Assuming gasoline costs $4 per gallon, which equation can
Alan use to determine how many fewer average miles, m, he should drive each
week?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: b7e6394d Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale
Choice D is correct. Since gasoline costs $4 per gallon, and since Alan’s car travels an average of 25 miles per gallon, the

expression gives the cost, in dollars per mile, to drive the car. Multiplying by m gives the cost for Alan to drive

m miles in his car. Alan wants to reduce his weekly spending by $5, so setting m equal to 5 gives the number of
miles, m, by which he must reduce his driving.

Choices A, B, and C are incorrect. Choices A and B transpose the numerator and the denominator in the fraction. The

fraction would result in the unit miles per dollar, but the question requires a unit of dollars per mile. Choices A and C
set the expression equal to 95 instead of 5, a mistake that may result from a misconception that Alan wants to reduce
his driving by 5 miles each week; instead, the question says he wants to reduce his weekly expenditure by $5.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 95cad55f
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Algebra Linear inequalities in

one or two variables

ID: 95cad55f

A laundry service is buying detergent and fabric softener from its supplier. The
supplier will deliver no more than 300 pounds in a shipment. Each container of
detergent weighs 7.35 pounds, and each container of fabric softener weighs
6.2 pounds. The service wants to buy at least twice as many containers of
detergent as containers of fabric softener. Let d represent the number of
containers of detergent, and let s represent the number of containers of fabric
softener, where d and s are nonnegative integers. Which of the following
systems of inequalities best represents this situation?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 95cad55f Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale
Choice A is correct. The number of containers in a shipment must have a weight less than or equal to 300 pounds. The
total weight, in pounds, of detergent and fabric softener that the supplier delivers can be expressed as the weight of each
container multiplied by the number of each type of container, which is 7.35d for detergent and 6.2s for fabric softener.
Since this total cannot exceed 300 pounds, it follows that . Also, since the laundry service wants to
buy at least twice as many containers of detergent as containers of fabric softener, the number of containers of
detergent should be greater than or equal to two times the number of containers of fabric softener. This can be
expressed by the inequality .

Choice B is incorrect because it misrepresents the relationship between the numbers of each container that the laundry
service wants to buy. Choice C is incorrect because the first inequality of the system incorrectly doubles the weight per
container of detergent. The weight of each container of detergent is 7.35, not 14.7 pounds. Choice D is incorrect because
it doubles the weight per container of detergent and transposes the relationship between the numbers of containers.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID ee2f611f
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Algebra Linear inequalities in

one or two variables

ID: ee2f611f

A local transit company sells a monthly pass for $95 that allows an unlimited
number of trips of any length. Tickets for individual trips cost $1.50, $2.50, or
$3.50, depending on the length of the trip. What is the minimum number of trips
per month for which a monthly pass could cost less than purchasing individual
tickets for trips?

ID: ee2f611f Answer

Rationale
The correct answer is 28. The minimum number of individual trips for which the cost of the monthly pass is less than the
cost of individual tickets can be found by assuming the maximum cost of the individual tickets, $3.50. If n tickets costing
$3.50 each are purchased in one month, the inequality 95 < 3.50n represents this situation. Dividing both sides of the
inequality by 3.50 yields 27.14 < n, which is equivalent to n > 27.14. Since only a whole number of tickets can be
purchased, it follows that 28 is the minimum number of trips.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 25e1cfed
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Algebra Linear equations in

one variable

ID: 25e1cfed

How many solutions does the equation have?

A. Exactly one

B. Exactly two

C. Infinitely many

D. Zero

ID: 25e1cfed Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale
Choice C is correct. Applying the distributive property to each side of the given equation yields
. Applying the commutative property of addition to the right-hand side of this equation yields
. Since the two sides of the equation are equivalent, this equation is true for any value of .
Therefore, the given equation has infinitely many solutions.

Choice A is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Choice B is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Choice D is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID fdee0fbf
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Algebra Linear equations in

two variables

ID: fdee0fbf

In the xy-plane, line k intersects the y-axis at the point and passes
through the point . If the point lies on line k, what is the value of w
?

ID: fdee0fbf Answer

Rationale
The correct answer is 74. The y-intercept of a line in the xy-plane is the ordered pair of the point of intersection of

the line with the y-axis. Since line k intersects the y-axis at the point , it follows that is the y-intercept of
this line. An equation of any line in the xy-plane can be written in the form , where m is the slope of the line
and b is the y-coordinate of the y-intercept. Therefore, the equation of line k can be written as , or
. The value of m can be found by substituting the x- and y-coordinates from a point on the line, such as ,
for x and y, respectively. This results in . Solving this equation for m gives . Therefore, an equation of
line k is . The value of w can be found by substituting the x-coordinate, 20, for x in the equation of line k and
solving this equation for y. This gives , or . Since w is the y-coordinate of this point, .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 541bef2f
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Algebra Linear inequalities in

one or two variables

ID: 541bef2f

Which point is a solution to the given system of inequalities in the xy-plane?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 541bef2f Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale
Choice D is correct. A point is a solution to a system of inequalities in the xy-plane if substituting the x-coordinate
and the y-coordinate of the point for and , respectively, in each inequality makes both of the inequalities true.
Substituting the x-coordinate and the y-coordinate of choice D, and , for and , respectively, in the first inequality in
the given system, , yields , or , which is true. Substituting for and for in the
second inequality in the given system, , yields , or , which is true. Therefore, the
point is a solution to the given system of inequalities in the xy-plane.

Choice A is incorrect. Substituting for and for in the inequality yields , or ,

which is not true.

Choice B is incorrect. Substituting for and for in the inequality yields , or

, which is not true.

Choice C is incorrect. Substituting for and for in the inequality yields , or , which
is not true.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID f75bd744
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Algebra Systems of two linear

equations in two
variables

ID: f75bd744

In the given system of equations, is a constant. If the system has no solution, what is the value of ?

ID: f75bd744 Answer

Correct Answer: 8

Rationale
The correct answer is . The given system of equations can be solved using the elimination method. Multiplying both
sides of the second equation in the given system by yields , or . Adding this
equation to the first equation in the given system, , yields
, or . Subtracting from both sides of
this equation yields , or . If the given system
has no solution, then the equation has no solution. If this equation has no solution, the
coefficients of on each side of the equation, and , must be equal, which yields the equation .
Dividing both sides of this equation by yields . Thus, if the system has no solution, the value of is .

Alternate approach: A system of two linear equations in two variables, and , has no solution if the lines represented by
the equations in the xy-plane are parallel and distinct. Lines represented by equations in the form , where
, , and are constant terms, are parallel if the ratio of the x-coefficients is equal to the ratio of the y-coefficients, and
distinct if the ratio of the x-coefficients are not equal to the ratio of the constant terms. Subtracting from both sides
of the first equation in the given system yields , or .
Subtracting from both sides of the second equation in the given system yields , or
. The ratio of the x-coefficients for these equations is , or . The ratio of the y-coefficients for
these equations is . The ratio of the constant terms for these equations is , or . Since the ratio of the x-
coefficients, , is not equal to the ratio of the constants, , the lines represented by the equations are distinct. Setting
the ratio of the x-coefficients equal to the ratio of the y-coefficients yields . Multiplying both sides of this
equation by yields , or . Therefore, when , the lines represented by these
equations are parallel. Thus, if the system has no solution, the value of is .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID d0e614a6
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Algebra Linear equations in

two variables

ID: d0e614a6

Which table gives three values of and their corresponding values of for the given equation?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: d0e614a6 Answer

Correct Answer: D
Rationale
Choice D is correct. Each of the tables gives the same three values of : , , and . Substituting for in the given
equation yields , or . Subtracting from both sides of this equation yields .
Multiplying both sides of this equation by yields . Therefore, when , the corresponding value of for the
given equation is . Substituting for in the given equation yields , or .
Subtracting from both sides of this equation yields . Multiplying both sides of this equation by yields
. Therefore, when , the corresponding value of for the given equation is . Substituting for in the
given equation yields , or . Subtracting from both sides of this equation yields
. Multiplying both sides of this equation by yields . Therefore, when , the corresponding value
of for the given equation is . The table in choice D gives x-values of , , and and corresponding y-values of ,
, and , respectively. Therefore, the table in choice D gives three values of and their corresponding values of for
the given equation.

Choice A is incorrect. This table gives three values of and their corresponding values of for the equation
.

Choice B is incorrect. This table gives three values of and their corresponding values of for the equation
.

Choice C is incorrect. This table gives three values of and their corresponding values of for the equation
.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID b3abf40f
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Algebra Linear functions

ID: b3abf40f

The function gives the temperature, in degrees Fahrenheit, that corresponds to a temperature of kelvins. If a
temperature increased by kelvins, by how much did the temperature increase, in degrees Fahrenheit?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: b3abf40f Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale
Choice A is correct. It’s given that the function gives the temperature, in degrees
Fahrenheit, that corresponds to a temperature of kelvins. A temperature that increased by kelvins means that the
value of increased by kelvins. It follows that an increase in by increases by , or .
Therefore, if a temperature increased by kelvins, the temperature increased by degrees Fahrenheit.

Choice B is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Choice C is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Choice D is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID e6cb2402
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Algebra Linear equations in

one variable

ID: e6cb2402

In the given equation, is a constant. The equation has no solution. What is the value of ?

ID: e6cb2402 Answer

Correct Answer: .9411, .9412, 16/17

Rationale
The correct answer is . It's given that the equation has no solution. A linear equation in the
form , where , , , and are constants, has no solution only when the coefficients of on each side
of the equation are equal and the constant terms aren't equal. Dividing both sides of the given equation by yields
, or . Since the coefficients of on each side of the equation must be
equal, it follows that the value of is . Note that 16/17, .9411, .9412, and 0.941 are examples of ways to enter a
correct answer.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 415ab1d2
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Algebra Linear functions

ID: 415ab1d2

The graph of the linear function is shown. If and are positive constants, which equation could define
?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 415ab1d2 Answer

Correct Answer: A
Rationale
Choice A is correct. It’s given that the graph of the linear function is shown. This means that the graph of
can be translated down units to create the graph of and the y-coordinate of every point on
the graph of can be decreased by to find the resulting point on the graph of . The y-
intercept of the graph of is . Translating the graph of down units results in a y-
intercept of the graph of at the point , or . The graph of slants down from
left to right, so the slope of the graph is negative. The translation of a linear graph changes its position, but does not
change its slope. It follows that the slope of the graph of is also negative. The equation of a linear function
can be written in the form , where is the y-coordinate of the y-intercept and is the slope of the graph
of . It's given that and are positive constants. Since the y-coordinate of the y-intercept and the slope of the
graph of are both negative, it follows that could define .

Choice B is incorrect. This could define a linear function where its graph has a positive, not negative, y-intercept.

Choice C is incorrect. This could define a linear function where its graph has a positive, not negative, slope.

Choice D is incorrect. This could define a linear function where its graph has a positive, not negative, y-intercept and a
positive, not negative, slope.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 6c71f3ec
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Algebra Linear inequalities in

one or two variables

ID: 6c71f3ec

A salesperson’s total earnings consist of a base salary of dollars per year, plus commission earnings of of the
total sales the salesperson makes during the year. This year, the salesperson has a goal for the total earnings to be at
least times and at most times the base salary. Which of the following inequalities represents all possible values of
total sales , in dollars, the salesperson can make this year in order to meet that goal?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 6c71f3ec Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale
Choice B is correct. It’s given that a salesperson's total earnings consist of a base salary of dollars per year plus
commission earnings of of the total sales the salesperson makes during the year. If the salesperson makes
dollars in total sales this year, the salesperson’s total earnings can be represented by the expression . It’s also
given that the salesperson has a goal for the total earnings to be at least times and at most times the base salary,
which can be represented by the expressions and , respectively. Therefore, this situation can be represented by the
inequality . Subtracting from each part of this inequality yields . Dividing
each part of this inequality by yields . Therefore, the inequality represents
all possible values of total sales , in dollars, the salesperson can make this year in order to meet their goal.

Choice A is incorrect. This inequality represents a situation in which the total sales, rather than the total earnings, are at
least times and at most times, rather than at least times and at most times, the base salary.

Choice C is incorrect. This inequality represents a situation in which the total sales, rather than the total earnings, are at
least times and at most times the base salary.

Choice D is incorrect. This inequality represents a situation in which the total earnings are at least times and at most
times, rather than at least times and at most times, the base salary.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID e9908930
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Algebra Linear functions

ID: e9908930

For the linear function , the table shows three values of and their corresponding values of . If
, which equation defines ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: e9908930 Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale
Choice B is correct. An equation that defines a linear function can be written in the form , where
and are constants. It's given in the table that when , . Substituting for and for in the
equation yields , or . Adding to both sides of this equation yields
. Substituting for in the equation yields . It's also given in the table
that when , . Substituting for and for in the equation yields
, or . Multiplying both sides of this equation by yields . Substituting for in
the equation yields , or . If , substituting
for in this equation yields , or .

Choice A is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Choice C is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Choice D is incorrect. This is an equation that defines the linear function , not .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 9aaf7786
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Algebra Linear equations in

two variables

ID: 9aaf7786

In the xy-plane, line has a slope of and an x-intercept of . What is the y-coordinate of the y-intercept of line
?

ID: 9aaf7786 Answer

Correct Answer: -10

Rationale
The correct answer is . A line in the xy-plane can be represented by the equation , where is the slope
of the line and is the y-coordinate of the y-intercept. It's given that line has a slope of . Therefore, . It's
also given that line has an x-intercept of . Therefore, when , . Substituting for , for ,
and for in the equation yields , which is equivalent to . Subtracting
from both sides of this equation yields . Therefore, the y-coordinate of the y-intercept of line is .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID b988eeec
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Algebra Linear functions

ID: b988eeec

The functions and are defined as and . If the function is defined as

, what is the x-coordinate of the x-intercept of the graph of in the xy-plane?

ID: b988eeec Answer

Correct Answer: -12

Rationale
The correct answer is . It's given that the functions and are defined as and .
If the function is defined as , then substituting for and for in this
function yields . This can be rewritten as , or . The x-
intercept of a graph in the xy-plane is the point on the graph where . The equation representing the graph of
is . Substituting for in this equation yields . Subtracting from both sides of this
equation yields , or . Therefore, the x-coordinate of the x-intercept of the graph of in the xy-
plane is .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 70feb725
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Algebra Systems of two linear

equations in two
variables

ID: 70feb725

During a month, Morgan ran r miles at 5 miles per hour and biked b miles at
10 miles per hour. She ran and biked a total of 200 miles that month, and she
biked for twice as many hours as she ran. What is the total number of miles that
Morgan biked during the month?

A. 80

B. 100

C. 120

D. 160

ID: 70feb725 Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale
Choice D is correct. The number of hours Morgan spent running or biking can be calculated by dividing the distance she
traveled during that activity by her speed, in miles per hour, for that activity. So the number of hours she ran can be

represented by the expression , and the number of hours she biked can be represented by the expression . It’s

given that she biked for twice as many hours as she ran, so this can be represented by the equation , which
can be rewritten as . It’s also given that she ran r miles and biked b miles, and that she ran and biked a total of 200
miles. This can be represented by the equation . Substituting for b in this equation yields , or
. Solving for r yields . Determining the number of miles she biked, b, can be found by substituting 40 for r
in , which yields . Solving for b yields .

Choices A, B, and C are incorrect because they don’t satisfy that Morgan biked for twice as many hours as she ran. In
choice A, if she biked 80 miles, then she ran 120 miles, which means she biked for 8 hours and ran for 24 hours. In choice
B, if she biked 100 miles, then she ran 100 miles, which means she biked for 10 hours and ran for 20 hours. In choice C, if
she biked 120 miles, then she ran for 80 miles, which means she biked for 12 hours and ran for 16 hours.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 1a621af4
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Algebra Linear inequalities in

one or two variables

ID: 1a621af4

A number is at most less than times the value of . If the value of is , what is the greatest possible value of ?

ID: 1a621af4 Answer

Correct Answer: -14

Rationale
The correct answer is . It's given that a number is at most less than times the value of . Therefore, is less
than or equal to less than times the value of . The expression represents times the value of . The expression
represents less than times the value of . Therefore, is less than or equal to . This can be shown by
the inequality . Substituting for in this inequality yields or, . Therefore, if the
value of is , the greatest possible value of is .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID af2ba762
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Algebra Linear functions

ID: af2ba762
According to data provided by the US Department of Energy, the average price per gallon of regular gasoline in the
United States from September 1, 2014, to December 1, 2014, is modeled by the function F defined below, where
is the average price per gallon x months after September 1.

The constant 2.74 in this function estimates which of the following?

A. The average monthly decrease in the price per gallon

B. The difference in the average price per gallon from September 1, 2014, to December 1, 2014

C. The average price per gallon on September 1, 2014

D. The average price per gallon on December 1, 2014

ID: af2ba762 Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale
Choice D is correct. Since 2.74 is a constant term, it represents an actual price of gas rather than a measure of change in
gas price. To determine what gas price it represents, find x such that F(x) = 2.74, or 2.74 = 2.74 – 0.19(x – 3). Subtracting
2.74 from both sides gives 0 = –0.19(x – 3). Dividing both sides by –0.19 results in 0 = x – 3, or x = 3. Therefore, the
average price of gas is $2.74 per gallon 3 months after September 1, 2014, which is December 1, 2014.

Choice A is incorrect. Since 2.74 is a constant, not a multiple of x, it cannot represent a rate of change in price. Choice B
is incorrect. The difference in the average price from September 1, 2014, to December 1, 2014, is F(3) – F(0) = 2.74 –
0.19(3 – 3) – (2.74 – 0.19(0 – 3)) = 2.74 – (2.74 + 0.57) = –0.57, which is not 2.74. Choice C is incorrect. The average
price per gallon on September 1, 2014, is F(0) = 2.74 – 0.19(0 – 3) = 2.74 + 0.57 = 3.31, which is not 2.74.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID b9835972
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Algebra Linear equations in

two variables

ID: b9835972

In the xy-plane, line 𝓁 passes through the point and is parallel to the line represented by the equation .
If line 𝓁 also passes through the point , what is the value of ?

ID: b9835972 Answer

Correct Answer: 24

Rationale
The correct answer is . A line in the xy-plane can be defined by the equation , where is the slope of the
line and is the y-coordinate of the y-intercept of the line. It's given that line 𝓁 passes through the point . Therefore,
the y-coordinate of the y-intercept of line 𝓁 is . It's given that line 𝓁 is parallel to the line represented by the equation
. Since parallel lines have the same slope, it follows that the slope of line 𝓁 is . Therefore, line 𝓁 can be
defined by an equation in the form , where and . Substituting for and for in
yields the equation , or . If line 𝓁 passes through the point , then when ,
for the equation . Substituting for and for in the equation yields , or .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID d1f50dbe
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Algebra Linear functions

ID: d1f50dbe

One gallon of stain will cover square feet of a surface. A yard has a total fence area of square feet. Which
equation represents the total amount of stain , in gallons, needed to stain the fence in this yard twice?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: d1f50dbe Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale
Choice D is correct. It's given that represents the total fence area, in square feet. Since the fence will be stained twice,
the amount of stain, in gallons, will need to cover square feet. It’s also given that one gallon of stain will cover
square feet. Dividing the total area, in square feet, of the surface to be stained by the number of square feet covered by
one gallon of stain gives the number of gallons of stain that will be needed. Dividing by yields , or .
Therefore, the equation that represents the total amount of stain , in gallons, needed to stain the fence of the yard twice
is .

Choice B is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Choice C is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID e1248a5c
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Algebra Systems of two linear

equations in two
variables

ID: e1248a5c

In the system of equations below, a and c are constants.

If the system of equations has an infinite number of solutions , what is the
value of a ?

A.

B. 0

C.

D.

ID: e1248a5c Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale
Choice D is correct. A system of two linear equations has infinitely many solutions if one equation is equivalent to the
other. This means that when the two equations are written in the same form, each coefficient or constant in one equation
is equal to the corresponding coefficient or constant in the other equation multiplied by the same number. The equations
in the given system of equations are written in the same form, with x and y on the left-hand side and a constant on the
right-hand side of the equation. The coefficient of y in the second equation is equal to the coefficient of y in the first
equation multiplied by 3. Therefore, a, the coefficient of x in the second equation, must be equal to 3 times the coefficient

of x in the first equation: , or .

Choices A, B, and C are incorrect. When , , or , the given system of equations has one solution.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 05bb1af9
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Algebra Linear equations in

two variables

ID: 05bb1af9

The graph of is shown. Which equation defines function ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 05bb1af9 Answer

Correct Answer: A
Rationale
Choice A is correct. An equation for the graph shown can be written in slope-intercept form , where is the
slope of the graph and its y-intercept is . Since the y-intercept of the graph shown is , the value of is . Since
the graph also passes through the point , the slope can be calculated as , or . Therefore, the value of is
. Substituting for and for in the equation yields . It’s given that an equation
for the graph shown is . Substituting for in the equation yields
. Subtracting from both sides of this equation yields .

Choice B is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Choice C is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Choice D is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID cc7ffe02
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Algebra Linear equations in

two variables

ID: cc7ffe02

Keenan made cups of vegetable broth. Keenan then filled small jars and large jars with all the vegetable broth he
made. The equation represents this situation. Which is the best interpretation of in this context?

A. The number of large jars Keenan filled

B. The number of small jars Keenan filled

C. The total number of cups of vegetable broth in the large jars

D. The total number of cups of vegetable broth in the small jars

ID: cc7ffe02 Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale
Choice C is correct. It’s given that the equation represents the situation where Keenan filled small jars
and large jars with all the vegetable broth he made, which was cups. Therefore, represents the total number of
cups of vegetable broth in the small jars and represents the total number of cups of vegetable broth in the large jars.

Choice A is incorrect. The number of large jars Keenan filled is represented by , not .

Choice B is incorrect. The number of small jars Keenan filled is represented by , not .

Choice D is incorrect. The total number of cups of vegetable broth in the small jars is represented by , not .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID ae2287e2
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Algebra Linear equations in

one variable

ID: ae2287e2

A certain product costs a company $65 to make. The product is sold by a

salesperson who earns a commission that is equal to 20% of the sales price of
the product. The profit the company makes for each unit is equal to the sales
price minus the combined cost of making the product and the commission. If
the sales price of the product is $100, which of the following equations gives the
number of units, u, of the product the company sold to make a profit of $6,840 ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: ae2287e2 Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale
Choice A is correct. The sales price of one unit of the product is given as $100. Because the salesperson is awarded a
commission equal to 20% of the sales price, the expression 100(1 – 0.2) gives the sales price of one unit after the
commission is deducted. It is also given that the profit is equal to the sales price minus the combined cost of making the
product, or $65, and the commission: 100(1 – 0.2) – 65. Multiplying this expression by u gives the profit of u units: (100(1
– 0.2) – 65)u. Finally, it is given that the profit for u units is $6,840; therefore (100(1 – 0.2) – 65)u = $6,840.

Choice B is incorrect. In this equation, cost is subtracted before commission and the equation gives the commission, not
what the company retains after commission. Choice C is incorrect because the number of units is multiplied only by the
cost but not by the sale price. Choice D is incorrect because the value 0.2 shows the commission, not what the company
retains after commission.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 1362ccde
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Algebra Systems of two linear

equations in two
variables

ID: 1362ccde

The solution to the given system of equations is . What is the value of ?

ID: 1362ccde Answer

Correct Answer: 35

Rationale
The correct answer is . The first equation in the given system of equations defines as . Substituting
for in the second equation in the given system of equations yields . Applying the distributive
property on the left-hand side of this equation yields . Subtracting from each side of this
equation yields . Subtracting from each side of this equation yields . Substituting for in
the first equation of the given system of equations yields , or . Substituting for and
for into the expression yields , or .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 52cb8ea4
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Algebra Systems of two linear

equations in two
variables

ID: 52cb8ea4

If is the solution to the system of equations above,

what is the value of ?

A.

B.

C. 5

D. 13

ID: 52cb8ea4 Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale
Choice B is correct. Subtracting the second equation, , from the first equation, , results in
, or . Combining like terms on the left-hand side of this equation
yields .

Choice A is incorrect and may result from miscalculating as . Choice C is incorrect and may result from
miscalculating as 5. Choice D is incorrect and may result from adding 9 to 4 instead of subtracting 9 from 4.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 7866a908
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Algebra Systems of two linear

equations in two
variables

ID: 7866a908

A sample of a certain alloy has a total mass of grams and is silicon by mass. The sample was created by
combining two pieces of different alloys. The first piece was silicon by mass and the second piece was
silicon by mass. What was the mass, in grams, of the silicon in the second piece?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 7866a908 Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale
Choice B is correct. Let represent the total mass, in grams, of the first piece, and let represent the total mass, in
grams, of the second piece. It's given that the sample has a total mass of grams. Therefore, the equation
represents this situation. It's also given that the sample is silicon by mass. Therefore, the total
mass of the silicon in the sample is , or , grams. It's also given that the first piece was silicon by
mass and the second piece was silicon by mass. Therefore, the masses, in grams, of the silicon in the first and
second pieces can be represented by the expressions and , respectively. Since the sample was created by
combining the first and second pieces, and the total mass of the silicon in the sample is grams, the equation
represents this situation. Subtracting from both sides of the equation yields
. Substituting for in the equation yields
. Distributing on the left-hand side of this equation yields
. Combining like terms on the left-hand side of this equation yields
. Subtracting from both sides of this equation yields . Dividing both sides of
this equation by yields . Substituting for in the expression representing the mass, in grams, of the
silicon in the second piece, , yields , or . Therefore, the mass, in grams, of the silicon in the
second piece is .

Choice A is incorrect. This is the mass, in grams, of the silicon in the first piece, not the second piece.

Choice C is incorrect. This is the total mass, in grams, of the second piece, not the mass, in grams, of the silicon in the
second piece.

Choice D is incorrect. This is the total mass, in grams, of the first piece, not the mass, in grams, of the silicon in the
second piece.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 301faf80
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 301faf80

The product of two positive integers is . If the first integer is greater than twice the second integer, what is the
smaller of the two integers?

ID: 301faf80 Answer

Correct Answer: 14

Rationale
The correct answer is . Let represent the first integer and represent the second integer. If the first integer is
greater than twice the second integer, then . It's given that the product of the two integers is ; therefore
. Substituting for in this equation yields , which can be written as
. Subtracting from each side of this equation yields . The left-hand side of
this equation can be factored by finding two values whose product is , or , and whose sum is . The two
values whose product is and whose sum is are and . Thus, the equation can be
rewritten as , which is equivalent to , or
. By the zero product property, it follows that or . Subtracting from
both sides of the equation yields . Dividing both sides of this equation by yields .
Since is a positive integer, the value of isn't . Adding to both sides of the equation yields .
Substituting for in the equation yields . Dividing both sides of this equation by yields
. Therefore, the two integers are and , so the smaller of the two integers is .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 02060533
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 02060533

The table shows three values of and their corresponding values of , where and is a linear function.
What is the y-intercept of the graph of in the xy-plane?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 02060533 Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale
Choice A is correct. It's given that the table shows values of and their corresponding values of , where
. It's also given that is a linear function. It follows that an equation that defines can be written in the
form , where represents the slope and represents the y-coordinate of the y-intercept of the
graph of in the xy-plane. The slope of the graph of can be found using two points, and
, that are on the graph of , and the formula . Since the table shows values of and their
corresponding values of , substituting values of and in the equation can be used to define
function . Using the first pair of values from the table, and , yields , or .
Multiplying each side of this equation by yields , so the point is on the graph of
. Using the second pair of values from the table, and , yields , or .
Multiplying each side of this equation by yields , so the point is on the graph of .
Substituting and for and , respectively, in the formula yields
, or . Substituting for in the equation yields . Since
, substituting for and for in the equation yields , or
. Adding to both sides of this equation yields . It follows that is the y-coordinate of the y-
intercept of the graph of . Therefore, the y-intercept of the graph of is .

Choice B is incorrect. is the y-coordinate of the y-intercept of the graph of .

Choice C is incorrect. is the slope of the graph of .

Choice D is incorrect. is the x-coordinate of the x-intercept of the graph of .

Question Difficulty: Hard
Question ID 91e7ea5e
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 91e7ea5e

The quadratic function h is defined as shown. In the xy-plane, the graph of

intersects the x-axis at the points and , where t is a constant.
What is the value of t ?

A. 1

B. 2

C. 4

D. 8

ID: 91e7ea5e Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale
Choice D is correct. It’s given that the graph of intersects the x-axis at and , where t is a constant.
Since this graph intersects the x-axis when or when , it follows that and . If ,

then . Adding 32 to both sides of this equation yields . Dividing both sides of this

equation by 2 yields . Taking the square root of both sides of this equation yields . Adding 4 to both
sides of this equation yields . Therefore, the value of t is 8.

Choices A, B, and C are incorrect and may result from calculation errors.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 358f18bc
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 358f18bc

What is the minimum value of the given function?

ID: 358f18bc Answer

Correct Answer: 1728

Rationale
The correct answer is . The given function can be rewritten in the form , where is a
positive constant and the minimum value, , of the function occurs when the value of is . By completing the square,
can be written as , or
. This equation is in the form , where , , and
. Therefore, the minimum value of the given function is .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 3a9d60b2
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: 3a9d60b2

What is the positive solution to the given equation?

ID: 3a9d60b2 Answer

Correct Answer: 9

Rationale
The correct answer is . The given equation can be rewritten as . Dividing each side of this equation by
yields . By the definition of absolute value, if , then or . Subtracting
from each side of the equation yields . Dividing each side of this equation by yields .
Similarly, subtracting from each side of the equation yields . Dividing each side of this equation
by yields . Therefore, since the two solutions to the given equation are and , the positive solution to the
given equation is .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 8490cc45
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 8490cc45

The function is defined by . What is the y-intercept of the graph of in the xy-plane?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 8490cc45 Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale
Choice A is correct. The y-intercept of the graph of in the xy-plane occurs at the point on the graph where
. In other words, when , the corresponding value of is the y-coordinate of the y-intercept. Substituting
for in the given equation yields , which is equivalent to , or .
Thus, when , the corresponding value of is . Therefore, the y-intercept of the graph of in the xy-
plane is .

Choice B is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Choice C is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Choice D is incorrect. This could be the y-intercept for , not .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID ba0edc30
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: ba0edc30

One solution to the given equation can be written as , where is a constant. What is the value of ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: ba0edc30 Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale
Choice B is correct. Adding to each side of the given equation yields . To complete the square, adding
to each side of this equation yields , or . Taking the square root of each side of
this equation yields . Adding to each side of this equation yields . Since it's given that
one of the solutions to the equation can be written as , the value of must be .

Alternate approach: It's given that is a solution to the given equation. It follows that . Substituting

for in the given equation yields , or

. Expanding the products on the left-hand side of this equation yields

, or . Adding to each side of this equation yields .

Choice A is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Choice C is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Choice D is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID fc3d783a
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: fc3d783a

In the -plane, a line with equation intersects a parabola at exactly one point. If the parabola has equation
, where is a positive constant, what is the value of ?

ID: fc3d783a Answer

Correct Answer: 6

Rationale
The correct answer is . It’s given that a line with equation intersects a parabola with equation
, where is a positive constant, at exactly one point in the xy-plane. It follows that the system of
equations consisting of and has exactly one solution. Dividing both sides of the equation of
the line by yields . Substituting for in the equation of the parabola yields . Adding
and subtracting from both sides of this equation yields . A quadratic equation in the form
of , where , , and are constants, has exactly one solution when the discriminant, , is
equal to zero. Substituting for and for in the expression and setting this expression equal to yields
, or . Adding to each side of this equation yields . Taking the square root
of each side of this equation yields . It’s given that is positive, so the value of is .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID a9084ca4
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: a9084ca4

The given function models the number of advertisements a company sent to its clients each year, where represents
the number of years since , and . If is graphed in the xy-plane, which of the following is the
best interpretation of the y-intercept of the graph in this context?

A. The minimum estimated number of advertisements the company sent to its clients during the years was .

B. The minimum estimated number of advertisements the company sent to its clients during the years was .

C. The estimated number of advertisements the company sent to its clients in was .

D. The estimated number of advertisements the company sent to its clients in was .

ID: a9084ca4 Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale
Choice D is correct. The y-intercept of a graph in the xy-plane is the point where . For the given function , the y-
intercept of the graph of in the xy-plane can be found by substituting for in the equation
, which gives . This is equivalent to , or . Therefore, the y-
intercept of the graph of is . It’s given that the function models the number of advertisements a
company sent to its clients each year. Therefore, represents the estimated number of advertisements the company
sent to its clients each year. It's also given that represents the number of years since . Therefore,
represents years since , or . Thus, the best interpretation of the y-intercept of the graph of is that
the estimated number of advertisements the company sent to its clients in was .

Choice A is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Choice B is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Choice C is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 2c6f214f
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 2c6f214f

The first term of a sequence is . Each term after the first is times the preceding term. If represents the th term of
the sequence, which equation gives in terms of ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 2c6f214f Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale
Choice D is correct. Since represents the th term of the sequence and is the first term of the sequence, the value of
is when the value of is . Since each term after the first is times the preceding term, the value of is when
the value of is . Therefore, the value of is , or , when the value of is . More generally, the value of
is for a given value of . Therefore, the equation gives in terms of .

Choice A is incorrect. This equation describes a sequence for which the first term is , rather than , and each term
after the first is , rather than , times the preceding term.

Choice B is incorrect. This equation describes a sequence for which the first term is , rather than , and each term after
the first is , rather than , times the preceding term.

Choice C is incorrect. This equation describes a sequence for which the first term is , rather than .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 781c2f6e
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 781c2f6e

The function is defined by , where and are integer constants and . The
functions and are equivalent to function , where and are constants. Which of the following equations displays
the y-coordinate of the y-intercept of the graph of in the xy-plane as a constant or coefficient?

A. I only

B. II only

C. I and II

D. Neither I nor II

ID: 781c2f6e Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale
Choice D is correct. A y-intercept of a graph in the xy-plane is a point where the graph intersects the y-axis, or a point
where . Substituting for in the equation defining function yields , or
. So, the y-coordinate of the y-intercept of the graph is , or equivalently, .
It's given that function is equivalent to function , where . It follows that . Since can't be
equal to , the coefficient can't be equal to . Since , the constant , which is equal to , can't be
equal to . Therefore, function doesn't display the y-coordinate of the y-intercept of the graph of
in the xy-plane as a constant or coefficient. It's also given that function is equivalent to function , where .
The equation defining can be rewritten as . It follows that . Since
can't be equal to , the coefficient can't be equal to . Since , the constant , which is equal to
, can't be equal to . Therefore, function doesn't display the y-coordinate of the y-intercept of the
graph of in the xy-plane as a constant or coefficient. Thus, neither function nor function displays the y-
coordinate of the y-intercept of the graph of in the xy-plane as a constant or coefficient.

Choice A is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Choice B is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Choice C is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 4661e2a9
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: 4661e2a9

Which ordered pair is a solution to the

system of equations above?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 4661e2a9 Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale
Choice A is correct. The solution to the given system of equations can be found by solving the first equation for x, which
gives , and substituting that value of x into the second equation which gives . Rewriting

this equation by adding like terms and expanding gives . Subtracting from both sides of

this equation gives . Adding to 2 to both sides of this equation gives . Therefore, it follows that

. Substituting for y in the first equation yields . Adding to both sides of this equation

yields . Therefore, the ordered pair is a solution to the given system of equations.

Choice B is incorrect. Substituting for x and for y in the first equation yields , or ,

which isn’t a true statement. Choice C is incorrect. Substituting for x and for y in the second equation yields

, or , which isn’t a true statement. Choice D is incorrect.

Substituting for x and for y in the second equation yields , or

, which isn’t a true statement.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 371cbf6b
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: 371cbf6b

The equation above is true for all x, where a and b are

constants. What is the value of ab ?

A. 18

B. 20

C. 24

D. 40

ID: 371cbf6b Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale
Choice C is correct. If the equation is true for all x, then the expressions on both sides of the equation will be equivalent.
Multiplying the polynomials on the left-hand side of the equation gives . On the

right-hand side of the equation, the only -term is . Since the expressions on both sides of the equation are

equivalent, it follows that , which can be rewritten as . Therefore,

, which gives .

Choice A is incorrect. If , then the coefficient of on the left-hand side of the equation would be

, which doesn’t equal the coefficient of , , on the right-hand side. Choice B is incorrect. If ,

then the coefficient of on the left-hand side of the equation would be , which doesn’t equal the

coefficient of , , on the right-hand side. Choice D is incorrect. If , then the coefficient of on the left-hand

side of the equation would be , which doesn’t equal the coefficient of , , on the right-hand side.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID c3b116d7
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: c3b116d7

Which of the following expressions is(are) a factor of ?

A. I only

B. II only

C. I and II

D. Neither I nor II

ID: c3b116d7 Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale
Choice B is correct. The given expression can be factored by first finding two values whose sum is and whose product
is , or . Those two values are and . It follows that the given expression can be rewritten as
. Since the first two terms of this expression have a common factor of and the last two terms
of this expression have a common factor of , this expression can be rewritten as . Since the
two terms of this expression have a common factor of , it can be rewritten as . Therefore,
expression II, , is a factor of , but expression I, , is not a factor of .

Choice A is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Choice C is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Choice D is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 40c09d66
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: 40c09d66

If for all positive values of x,

what is the value of ?

ID: 40c09d66 Answer

Rationale

The correct answer is . The value of can be found by first rewriting the left-hand side of the given equation as

. Using the properties of exponents, this expression can be rewritten as . This expression can be rewritten

by subtracting the fractions in the exponent, which yields . Thus, is . Note that 7/6, 1.166, and 1.167 are
examples of ways to enter a correct answer.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID b8f13a3a
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: b8f13a3a

Function is defined by , where and are constants. In the xy-plane, the graph of
has a y-intercept at . The product of and is . What is the value of ?

ID: b8f13a3a Answer

Correct Answer: 20

Rationale
The correct answer is . It’s given that . Substituting for in the equation
yields . It’s given that the y-intercept of the graph of is .
Substituting for and for in the equation yields , which is
equivalent to , or . Adding to both sides of this equation yields . It’s
given that the product of and is , or . Substituting for in this equation yields .
Dividing both sides of this equation by yields .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 8e1da169
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 8e1da169

The function is defined by the given equation. For what value of does reach its minimum?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 8e1da169 Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale
Choice B is correct. It's given that , which can be rewritten as .
Since the coefficient of the -term is positive, the graph of in the xy-plane opens upward and reaches its
minimum value at its vertex. For an equation in the form , where , , and are constants, the x-
coordinate of the vertex is . For the equation , , , and . It
follows that the x-coordinate of the vertex is , or . Therefore, reaches its minimum when the value of is
.

Choice A is incorrect. This is one of the x-coordinates of the x-intercepts of the graph of in the xy-plane.

Choice C is incorrect. This is one of the x-coordinates of the x-intercepts of the graph of in the xy-plane.

Choice D is incorrect. This is the y-coordinate of the vertex of the graph of in the xy-plane.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID f65288e8
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: f65288e8

If x is a solution to the given equation, which of the

following is a possible value of ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: f65288e8 Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. The given equation can be rewritten as . Multiplying both sides of this equation by

yields . Dividing both sides of this equation by 4 yields . Taking the square root of

both sides of this equation yields or . Therefore, a possible value of is .

Choices B, C, and D are incorrect and may result from computational or conceptual errors.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 2c288148
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: 2c288148

In the given equation, is a constant. The equation has exactly one real solution. What is the minimum possible value of
?

ID: 2c288148 Answer

Correct Answer: 231

Rationale
The correct answer is . It's given that . Squaring both sides of this equation yields
, which is equivalent to the given equation if . It follows that if a solution to the equation
satisfies , then it's also a solution to the given equation; if not, it's extraneous. The
equation can be rewritten as . Adding to both sides of this
equation yields . Subtracting from both sides of this equation yields
. The number of solutions to a quadratic equation in the form ,
where , , and are constants, can be determined by the value of the discriminant, . Substituting for ,
for , and for in yields , or . The equation
has exactly one real solution if the discriminant is equal to zero, or .
Subtracting from both sides of this equation yields . Dividing both sides of this equation by yields
. Therefore, if , then the equation has exactly one real solution.
Substituting for in this equation yields , or ,
which is equivalent to . Taking the square root of both sides of this equation yields .
Adding to both sides of this equation yields . To check whether this solution satisfies , the
solution, , can be substituted for in , which yields , or . Since is greater
than , it follows that if , or , then the given equation has exactly one real solution. If ,
then the discriminant, , is negative and the given equation has no solutions. Therefore, the minimum possible
value of is .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 40491607
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 40491607

In the xy-plane, when the graph of the function , where , is shifted up units, the resulting graph is defined by
the function . If the graph of crosses through the point , where is a constant, what is the value of ?

ID: 40491607 Answer

Correct Answer: 48

Rationale
The correct answer is . It's given that in the xy-plane, when the graph of the function , where , is shifted up
units, the resulting graph is defined by the function . Therefore, function can be defined by the equation
. It's given that . Substituting for in the
equation yields . For the point , the value of is .
Substituting for in the equation yields ,
or . It follows that the graph of crosses through the point . Therefore, the value of is .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 7902bed0
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 7902bed0

A machine launches a softball from ground level. The softball reaches a maximum height of meters above the
ground at seconds and hits the ground at seconds. Which equation represents the height above ground , in
meters, of the softball seconds after it is launched?

A.

B.

C. msup

D. msup

ID: 7902bed0 Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale
Choice D is correct. An equation representing the height above ground , in meters, of a softball seconds after it is
launched by a machine from ground level can be written in the form , where , , and are positive
constants. In this equation, represents the time, in seconds, at which the softball reaches its maximum height of
meters above the ground. It's given that this softball reaches a maximum height of meters above the ground at
seconds; therefore, and . Substituting for and for in the equation
yields . It's also given that this softball hits the ground at seconds; therefore,
when . Substituting for and for in the equation yields
, which is equivalent to , or . Adding
to both sides of this equation yields . Dividing both sides of this equation by yields .
Substituting for in the equation yields . Therefore,
represents the height above ground , in meters, of this softball seconds after it is
launched.

Choice A is incorrect. This equation represents a situation where the maximum height is meters above the ground at
seconds, not meters above the ground at seconds.

Choice B is incorrect. This equation represents a situation where the maximum height is meters above the ground
at seconds, not seconds.

Choice C is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 4a0d0399
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 4a0d0399

The function is defined by , where and are constants. In the -plane, the graph of has an
-intercept at and a -intercept at . What is the value of ?

ID: 4a0d0399 Answer

Correct Answer: -324

Rationale
The correct answer is . It's given that the function is defined by , where and are constants. It's
also given that the graph of has a y-intercept at . It follows that . Substituting for
and for in yields , or . Subtracting from each side of this
equation yields . Therefore, the value of is .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID f2f3fa00
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: f2f3fa00

During a 5-second time interval, the average acceleration a, in meters per second
squared, of an object with an initial velocity of 12 meters per second is defined

by the equation , where vf is the final velocity of the object in

meters per second. If the equation is rewritten in the form vf = xa + y, where x
and y are constants, what is the value of x ?

ID: f2f3fa00 Answer

Rationale

The correct answer is 5. The given equation can be rewritten in the form , like so:

It follows that the value of x is 5 and the value of y is 12.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 9654add7
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 9654add7

The revenue , in dollars, that a company receives from sales of a product is

given by the function f above, where x is the unit price, in dollars, of the product.
The graph of in the xy-plane intersects the x-axis at 0 and a. What does
a represent?

A. The revenue, in dollars, when the unit price of the product is $0

B. The unit price, in dollars, of the product that will result in maximum revenue

C. The unit price, in dollars, of the product that will result in a revenue of $0

D. The maximum revenue, in dollars, that the company can make

ID: 9654add7 Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale
Choice C is correct. By definition, the y-value when a function intersects the x-axis is 0. It’s given that the graph of the
function intersects the x-axis at 0 and a, that x is the unit price, in dollars, of a product, and that , where , is
the revenue, in dollars, that a company receives from the sales of the product. Since the value of a occurs when ,a
is the unit price, in dollars, of the product that will result in a revenue of $0.

Choice A is incorrect. The revenue, in dollars, when the unit price of the product is $0 is represented by , when .
Choice B is incorrect. The unit price, in dollars, of the product that will result in maximum revenue is represented by the x-
coordinate of the maximum of f. Choice D is incorrect. The maximum revenue, in dollars, that the company can make is
represented by the y-coordinate of the maximum of f.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 34847f8a
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: 34847f8a

The equation above is true for all , where r and t are positive
constants. What is the value of rt ?

A.

B. 15

C. 20

D. 60

ID: 34847f8a Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale
Choice C is correct. To express the sum of the two rational expressions on the left-hand side of the equation as the single
rational expression on the right-hand side of the equation, the expressions on the left-hand side must have the same

denominator. Multiplying the first expression by results in , and multiplying the second expression

by results in , so the given equation can be rewritten as

, or . Since the
two rational expressions on the left-hand side of the equation have the same denominator as the rational expression on
the right-hand side of the equation, it follows that . Combining like terms on the left-hand
side yields , so it follows that and . Therefore, the value of is .

Choice A is incorrect and may result from an error when determining the sign of either r or t. Choice B is incorrect and
may result from not distributing the 2 and 3 to their respective terms in

. Choice D is incorrect and may result from a calculation error.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 263f9937
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 263f9937
Growth of a Culture of Bacteria
Number of bacteria per
Day
milliliter at end of day

A culture of bacteria is growing at an exponential rate, as shown in the table

above. At this rate, on which day would the number of bacteria per milliliter reach
?

A. Day 5

B. Day 9

C. Day 11

D. Day 12

ID: 263f9937 Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale
Choice D is correct. The number of bacteria per milliliter is doubling each day. For example, from day 1 to day 2, the
number of bacteria increased from 2.5 × 105 to 5.0 × 105. At the end of day 3 there are 106 bacteria per milliliter. At the
end of day 4, there will be 106 × 2 bacteria per milliliter. At the end of day 5, there will be (106 × 2) × 2, or 106 × (22)
bacteria per milliliter, and so on. At the end of day d, the number of bacteria will be 106 × (2d – 3). If the number of
bacteria per milliliter will reach 5.12 × 108 at the end of day d, then the equation must hold.

Since 5.12 × 108 can be rewritten as 512 × 106, the equation is equivalent to . Rewriting 512 as 29 gives d –
3 = 9, so d = 12. The number of bacteria per milliliter would reach 5.12 × 108 at the end of day 12.

Choices A, B, and C are incorrect. Given the growth rate of the bacteria, the number of bacteria will not reach 5.12 × 108
per milliliter by the end of any of these days.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID fada6b03
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: fada6b03

One solution to the given equation can be written as , where is a constant. What is the value of ?

ID: fada6b03 Answer

Correct Answer: 120

Rationale
The correct answer is . The solutions to a quadratic equation of the form can be calculated using
the quadratic formula and are given by . The given equation is in the form , where

, , and . It follows that the solutions to the given equation are , which is
equivalent to , or . It's given that one solution to the equation can be
written as . The solution is in this form. Therefore, the value of is .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 137cc6fd
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: 137cc6fd

For what value of is the given expression equivalent to , where ?

ID: 137cc6fd Answer

Correct Answer: .0177, .0178, 4/225

Rationale
The correct answer is . An expression of the form , where is an integer greater than and , is equivalent

to . Therefore, the given expression, where , is equivalent to . Applying properties of

exponents, this expression can be rewritten as , or , which can be rewritten as

, or . It's given that the expression is equivalent to , where . It

follows that is equivalent to . Therefore, . Dividing both sides of this equation by yields
, or . Thus, the value of for which the given expression is equivalent to , where , is
. Note that 4/225, .0177, .0178, 0.017, and 0.018 are examples of ways to enter a correct answer.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 6ce95fc8
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: 6ce95fc8

Which of the following is a solution to

the equation above?

A. 2

B.

C.

D.

ID: 6ce95fc8 Answer

Correct Answer: D
Rationale

Choice D is correct. A quadratic equation in the form , where a, b, and c are constants, can be solved

using the quadratic formula: . Subtracting from both sides of the given equation yields

. Applying the quadratic formula, where , , and , yields

. This can be rewritten as . Since , or , the

equation can be rewritten as . Dividing 2 from both the numerator and denominator yields or

. Of these two solutions, only is present among the choices. Thus, the correct choice is D.

Choice A is incorrect and may result from a computational or conceptual error. Choice B is incorrect and may result from

using instead of as the quadratic formula. Choice C is incorrect and

may result from rewriting as instead of .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 4dd4efcf
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 4dd4efcf

In the given quadratic function, and are constants. The graph of in the xy-plane is a parabola that opens
upward and has a vertex at the point , where and are constants. If and , which of the
following must be true?

A. I only

B. II only

C. I and II

D. Neither I nor II

ID: 4dd4efcf Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale
Choice D is correct. It's given that the graph of in the xy-plane is a parabola with vertex . If
, then for the graph of , the point with an x-coordinate of and the point with an x-coordinate
of have the same y-coordinate. In the xy-plane, a parabola is a symmetric graph such that when two points have the
same y-coordinate, these points are equidistant from the vertex, and the x-coordinate of the vertex is halfway between
the x-coordinates of these two points. Therefore, for the graph of , the points with x-coordinates and are
equidistant from the vertex, , and is halfway between and . The value that is halfway between and is
, or . Therefore, . The equation defining can also be written in vertex form, .
Substituting for in this equation yields , or . This equation is
equivalent to , or . Since , it follows
that and . Dividing both sides of the equation by yields , or . Since ,
it's not true that . Therefore, statement II isn't true. Substituting for in the equation yields
, or . Subtracting from both sides of this equation yields . If , then
, or . Since could be any value less than , it's not necessarily true that . Therefore, statement I
isn't necessarily true. Thus, neither I nor II must be true.

Choice A is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Choice B is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Choice C is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID f5aa5040
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: f5aa5040

In the xy-plane, a line with equation for some constant intersects a parabola at exactly one point. If the
parabola has equation , what is the value of ?

ID: f5aa5040 Answer

Correct Answer: 20.25, 81/4

Rationale
The correct answer is . The given linear equation is . Dividing both sides of this equation by yields .
Substituting for in the equation of the parabola yields . Adding and to both sides of this
equation yields . Since it’s given that the line and the parabola intersect at exactly one point, the
equation must have exactly one solution. An equation of the form , where ,
, and are constants, has exactly one solution when the discriminant, , is equal to . In the equation
, where , , and , the discriminant is . Setting the
discriminant equal to yields , or . Adding to both sides of this equation yields
. Dividing both sides of this equation by yields . Note that 81/4 and 20.25 are examples of ways to
enter a correct answer.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 2992ac30
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 2992ac30

The function models the population, in thousands, of a certain city years after . According to the model, the
population is predicted to increase by every months. What is the value of ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 2992ac30 Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale
Choice A is correct. It’s given that the function models the population, in thousands, of a certain city years after
. The value of the base of the given exponential function, , corresponds to an increase of for every increase of
in the exponent, . If the exponent is equal to , then . Multiplying both sides of this equation by
yields . If the exponent is equal to , then . Multiplying both sides of this equation by yields ,
or . Therefore, the population is predicted to increase by every of a year. It’s given that the population is
predicted to increase by every months. Since there are months in a year, of a year is equivalent to ,
or , months. Therefore, the value of is .

Choice B is incorrect. This is the number of months in which the population is predicted to increase by according to
the model , not .

Choice C is incorrect. This is the number of months in which the population is predicted to increase by according to
the model , not .

Choice D is incorrect. This is the number of months in which the population is predicted to increase by according to
the model , not .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 841ef26c
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 841ef26c

The function is defined by . For what value of does reach its minimum?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 841ef26c Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale
Choice A is correct. It's given that . Since , it follows that
. Expanding the quantity in this equation yields
. Distributing the and the yields
. Combining like terms yields .
Therefore, . For a quadratic function defined by an equation of the form
, where , , and are constants and is positive, reaches its minimum, , when the value
of is . The equation can be rewritten in this form by completing the square. This
equation is equivalent to , or . This equation can
be rewritten as , or , which is equivalent to
. This equation is in the form , where , , and .
Therefore, reaches its minimum when the value of is .

Choice B is incorrect. This is the value of for which , rather than , reaches its minimum.

Choice C is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Choice D is incorrect. This is the value of for which , rather than , reaches its minimum.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID ea6d05bb
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: ea6d05bb

The expression is equivalent to the expression , where , , and are constants.

What is the value of ?

ID: ea6d05bb Answer

Correct Answer: -419

Rationale
The correct answer is . It's given that the expression is equivalent to the expression
, where , , and are constants. Applying the distributive property to the given expression,
, yields , which can be rewritten as
. Combining like terms yields . Since this expression is equivalent to
, it follows that the value of is .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 09d21d79
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 09d21d79

The graph of is shown, where and are constants. What is the value of ?

ID: 09d21d79 Answer

Correct Answer: -24

Rationale
The correct answer is . Since the graph passes through the point , it follows that when the value of is ,
the value of is . Substituting for and for in the given equation yields , or .
Therefore, the value of is . Substituting for in the given equation yields . Since the graph
passes through the point , it follows that when the value of is , the value of is . Substituting for
and for in the equation yields , or , which is
equivalent to . Adding to each side of this equation yields . Dividing each side of this equation
by yields . Since the value of is and the value of is , it follows that the value of is , or .

Alternate approach: The given equation represents a parabola in the xy-plane with a vertex at . Therefore, the
given equation, , which is written in standard form, can be written in vertex form, ,
where is the vertex of the parabola and is the value of the coefficient on the term when the equation is
written in standard form. It follows that . Substituting for , for , and for in this equation yields
, or . Squaring the binomial on the right-hand side of this equation yields
. Multiplying each term inside the parentheses on the right-hand side of this equation by
yields , which is equivalent to . From the given equation ,
it follows that the value of is and the value of is . Therefore, the value of is , or .
Question Difficulty: Hard
Question ID 433184f1
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: 433184f1

Which expression is equivalent to ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 433184f1 Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. The expression can be rewritten as . To add the two terms of this
expression, the terms can be rewritten with a common denominator. Since , the expression can be
rewritten as . Since , the expression can be rewritten as . Therefore, the
expression can be rewritten as , which is equivalent to
. Applying the distributive property to each term of the numerator yields , or . Adding
like terms in the numerator yields .

Choice A is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Choice B is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Choice C is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID d135f4bf
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: d135f4bf

The function is defined by . In the xy-plane, the graph of is the result of

translating the graph of up units. What is the value of ?

ID: d135f4bf Answer

Correct Answer: 76

Rationale
The correct answer is . It's given that the graph of is the result of translating the graph of up
units in the xy-plane. It follows that the graph of is the same as the graph of . Substituting
for in the equation yields . It's given that .
Substituting for in the equation yields
. Substituting for in this equation yields ,
or . Thus, the value of is .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID d8789a4c
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: d8789a4c

In the expression above, b and c are positive integers. If the expression is

equivalent to and , which of the following could be the value of c ?

A. 4

B. 6

C. 8

D. 10

ID: d8789a4c Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. If the given expression is equivalent to , then , where x isn’t equal to b.

Multiplying both sides of this equation by yields . Since the right-hand side of this equation
is in factored form for the difference of squares, the value of c must be a perfect square. Only choice A gives a perfect
square for the value of c.

Choices B, C, and D are incorrect. None of these values of c produces a difference of squares. For example, when 6 is

substituted for c in the given expression, the result is . The expression can’t be factored with integer

values, and therefore isn’t equivalent to .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID d0a53ef5
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: d0a53ef5

What is the smallest solution to the given equation?

ID: d0a53ef5 Answer

Correct Answer: -3

Rationale
The correct answer is . Squaring both sides of the given equation yields , which can be rewritten
as . Subtracting and from both sides of this equation yields . This
quadratic equation can be rewritten as . According to the zero product property,
equals zero when either or . Solving each of these equations for yields or .
Therefore, the given equation has two solutions, and . Of these two solutions, is the smallest solution to the
given equation.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 271ffad7
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 271ffad7

A quadratic function models a projectile's height, in meters, above the ground in terms of the time, in seconds, after it
was launched. The model estimates that the projectile was launched from an initial height of meters above the ground
and reached a maximum height of meters above the ground seconds after the launch. How many seconds after
the launch does the model estimate that the projectile will return to a height of meters?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 271ffad7 Answer

Correct Answer: B
Rationale
Choice B is correct. It's given that a quadratic function models the projectile's height, in meters, above the ground in
terms of the time, in seconds, after it was launched. It follows that an equation representing the model can be written in
the form , where is the projectile's estimated height above the ground, in meters,
seconds after the launch, is a constant, and is the maximum height above the ground, in meters, the model estimates
the projectile reached seconds after the launch. It's given that the model estimates the projectile reached a maximum
height of meters above the ground seconds after the launch. Therefore, and . Substituting
for and for in the equation yields . It's also given that the
model estimates that the projectile was launched from an initial height of meters above the ground. Therefore, when
, . Substituting for and for in the equation yields
, or . Subtracting from both sides of this equation yields .
Dividing both sides of this equation by yields . Substituting for in the equation
yields . Therefore, the equation
models the projectile's height, in meters, above the ground seconds after it was
launched. The number of seconds after the launch that the model estimates that the projectile will return to a height of
meters is the value of when . Substituting for in yields
. Subtracting from both sides of this equation yields . Dividing
both sides of this equation by yields . Taking the square root of both sides of this equation yields
two equations: and . Adding to both sides of the equation yields . Adding
to both sides of the equation yields . Since seconds after the launch represents the time at which
the projectile was launched, must be the number of seconds the model estimates that the projectile will return to a
height of meters.

Alternate approach: It's given that a quadratic function models the projectile's height, in meters, above the ground in
terms of the time, in seconds, after it was launched. It's also given that the model estimates that the projectile was
launched from an initial height of meters above the ground and reached a maximum height of meters above the
ground seconds after the launch. Since the model is quadratic, and quadratic functions are symmetric, the model
estimates that for any given height less than the maximum height, the time the projectile takes to travel from the given
height to the maximum height is the same as the time the projectile takes to travel from the maximum height back to the
given height. Thus, since the model estimates the projectile took seconds to travel from meters above the ground to
its maximum height of meters above the ground, the model also estimates the projectile will take more seconds
to travel from its maximum height of meters above the ground back to meters above the ground. Thus, the model
estimates that the projectile will return to a height of meters seconds after it reaches its maximum height, which is
seconds after the launch.

Choice A is incorrect. The model estimates that seconds after the launch, the projectile reached a height of
meters, not meters.

Choice C is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Choice D is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID ee857afb
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: ee857afb

The given equation relates the variables and . For what value of does the value of reach its minimum?

ID: ee857afb Answer

Correct Answer: 7

Rationale
The correct answer is . When an equation is of the form , where , , and are constants, the value
of reaches its minimum when . Since the given equation is of the form , it follows that
, , and . Therefore, the value of reaches its minimum when , or .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 2c05d312
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: 2c05d312

In the given equation, and are positive constants. The product of the solutions to the given equation is , where is
a constant. What is the value of ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 2c05d312 Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale
Choice A is correct. The left-hand side of the given equation is the expression . Applying the
distributive property to this expression yields . Since the first two terms of this expression have
a common factor of and the last two terms of this expression have a common factor of , this expression can be
rewritten as . Since the two terms of this expression have a common factor of , it can be
rewritten as . Therefore, the given equation can be rewritten as . By the zero
product property, it follows that or . Subtracting from both sides of the equation
yields . Subtracting from both sides of the equation yields . Dividing both sides of
this equation by yields . Therefore, the solutions to the given equation are and . It follows that the
product of the solutions of the given equation is , or . It’s given that the product of the solutions of the
given equation is . It follows that , which can also be written as . It’s given that and
are positive constants. Therefore, dividing both sides of the equation by yields . Thus, the
value of is .

Choice B is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Choice C is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Choice D is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 1fe32f7d
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: 1fe32f7d

In the given equation, is a positive integer. The equation has no real solution. What is the greatest possible value of ?

ID: 1fe32f7d Answer

Correct Answer: 51

Rationale
The correct answer is . A quadratic equation of the form , where , , and are constants, has no
real solution if and only if its discriminant, , is negative. In the given equation, and .
Substituting for and for in this expression yields a discriminant of , or .
Since this value must be negative, , or . Taking the positive square root of each side of this
inequality yields . Since is a positive integer, and the greatest integer less than is , the greatest possible
value of is .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID a45ffacb
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: a45ffacb

Function is defined by , where and are constants. In the xy-plane, the graph of
has a y-intercept at . The product of and is . What is the value of ?

ID: a45ffacb Answer

Correct Answer: 5

Rationale
The correct answer is . It’s given that . Substituting for in the equation
yields . It’s given that the y-intercept of the graph of is . Substituting for
and for in the equation yields , which is equivalent to
, or . Adding to both sides of this equation yields . It’s given that the
product of and is , or . Substituting for in this equation yields . Dividing both sides
of this equation by yields .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 821e724e
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 821e724e

The function is defined by , where is a constant. In the xy-plane, the graph of

passes through the point . What is the value of ?

ID: 821e724e Answer

Correct Answer: 336

Rationale
The correct answer is . By the zero product property, if , then , which gives
, or , which gives . Therefore, when and when . Since the graph of
passes through the point , it follows that , so . Substituting for in the equation
yields . The value of can be calculated by substituting for
in this equation, which yields , or .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID d8e84431
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: d8e84431

The area of a rectangular banner is square inches. The banner's length , in inches, is inches longer than its
width, in inches. Which equation represents this situation?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: d8e84431 Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale
Choice A is correct. It’s given that the banner’s length , in inches, is inches longer than its width, in inches. It follows
that the banner’s width, in inches, can be represented by the expression . The area of a rectangle is the product of
its length and its width. It's given that the area of the banner is square inches, so it follows that
, or . Subtracting from each side of this equation yields
. Therefore, the equation that represents this situation is .

Choice B is incorrect and may result from representing the width, in inches, of the banner as , rather than .

Choice C is incorrect and may result from representing the width, in inches, of the banner as , rather than .

Choice D is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 18e35375
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 18e35375

The function is defined by the given equation. For what value of does reach its minimum?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 18e35375 Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale
Choice D is correct. It's given that , which can be rewritten as . Since
the coefficient of the -term is positive, the graph of in the xy-plane opens upward and reaches its minimum
value at its vertex. The x-coordinate of the vertex is the value of such that reaches its minimum. For an equation
in the form , where , , and are constants, the x-coordinate of the vertex is . For the
equation , , , and . It follows that the x-coordinate of the vertex is ,
or . Therefore, reaches its minimum when the value of is .

Alternate approach: The value of for the vertex of a parabola is the x-value of the midpoint between the two x-
intercepts of the parabola. Since it’s given that , it follows that the two x-intercepts of the
graph of in the xy-plane occur when and , or at the points and . The
midpoint between two points, and , is . Therefore, the midpoint between and
is , or . It follows that reaches its minimum when the value of is .

Choice A is incorrect. This is the y-coordinate of the y-intercept of the graph of in the xy-plane.

Choice B is incorrect. This is one of the x-coordinates of the x-intercepts of the graph of in the xy-plane.

Choice C is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID c303ad23
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: c303ad23

If , what is the value of ?

ID: c303ad23 Answer

Correct Answer: 5

Rationale
The correct answer is . Dividing each side of the given equation by yields . Adding to each side of
this equation yields . Therefore, if , the value of is .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 2cb17792
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: 2cb17792

In the given system of equations, is a constant. The system has exactly one distinct real solution. What is the value of
?

ID: 2cb17792 Answer

Correct Answer: 17.5, 35/2

Rationale
The correct answer is . Subtracting the second equation from the first equation yields
, or . This is equivalent to
. It's given that the system has exactly one distinct real solution; therefore, this equation has
exactly one distinct real solution. An equation of the form , where , , and are constants, has
exactly one distinct real solution when the discriminant, , is equal to . The equation
is of this form, where , , and . Substituting these values into the
discriminant, , yields . Setting the discriminant equal to yields
, or . Subtracting from both sides of this equation yields
. Dividing both sides of this equation by yields . Note that 35/2 and 17.5 are examples of ways
to enter a correct answer.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID ce508fb0
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: ce508fb0

The functions and are defined by the given equations.

If , where is a constant, what is the value of ?

ID: ce508fb0 Answer

Correct Answer: -4.9, -49/10

Rationale
The correct answer is . The value of is the value of when . Substituting for in the
equation yields , or , which is
equivalent to , or . Since it's given that , it follows that and the value of
is the value of . Substituting for in the equation yields
, or , which is equivalent to , or . Note
that -4.9 and -49/10 are examples of ways to enter a correct answer.

Question Difficulty: Hard