Question ID: beca03de

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

A rectangle has a length that is times its width. The function represents this situation, where is the area, in square feet, of

the rectangle and . Which of the following is the best interpretation of in this context?

Answer

A. The length of the rectangle, in feet

B. The area of the rectangle, in square feet

C. The difference between the length and the width of the rectangle, in feet

D. The width of the rectangle, in feet

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. It's given that a rectangle has a length that is times its width. It's also given that the function represents

this situation, where is the area, in square feet, of the rectangle and . The area of a rectangle can be calculated by multiplying the

rectangle's length by its width. Since the rectangle has a length that is times its width, it follows that represents the width of the rectangle,

in feet, and represents the length of the rectangle, in feet. Therefore, the best interpretation of in this context is that it's the length of

the rectangle, in feet.

Choice B is incorrect. This is the best interpretation of , not , in the given function.

Choice C is incorrect and may result from conceptual errors.

Choice D is incorrect. This is the best interpretation of , not , in the given function.
Question ID: 4e18fc5d

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations in Medium

one variable and systems

of equations in two

variables

Question

The given equation relates the distinct positive numbers , , and . Which equation correctly expresses in terms of and ?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. It’s given that is positive. Therefore, multiplying each side of the given equation by yields , which is

equivalent to . Thus, the equation correctly expresses in terms of and .

Choice B is incorrect. This equation is equivalent to .

Choice C is incorrect. This equation is equivalent to .

Choice D is incorrect. This equation is equivalent to .

Question ID: a5663025

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations in Medium

one variable and systems

of equations in two

variables

Question

A system of equations consists of a quadratic equation and a linear equation. The equations in this system are graphed in the xy-plane above.

How many solutions does this system have?

Answer

A. 0

B. 1

C. 2

D. 3

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. The solutions to a system of two equations correspond to points where the graphs of the equations intersect. The given

graphs intersect at 2 points; therefore, the system has 2 solutions.

Choice A is incorrect because the graphs intersect. Choice B is incorrect because the graphs intersect more than once. Choice D is incorrect. It’s

not possible for the graph of a quadratic equation and the graph of a linear equation to intersect more than twice.
Question ID: d0a7871e

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations in Medium

one variable and systems

of equations in two

variables

Question

If is a solution to the system of equations above, which of the following could be the value of x ?

Answer

A. – 1

B. 0

C. 2

D. 3

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

2 2
Choice A is correct. It is given that y = x + 1 and y = x + x. Setting the values for y equal to each other yields x + 1 = x + x. Subtracting x from

each side of this equation yields x

2
= 1. Therefore, x can equal 1 or – 1. Of these, only –
1 is given as a choice.

Choice B is incorrect. If x = 0, then x + 1 = 1, but x

2
+ x = 0
2
+ 0 = 0 ≠ 1. Choice C is incorrect. If x = 2, then x + 1 = 3, but x
2 2
+ x = 2 + 2 = 6 ≠ 3.

Choice D is incorrect. If x = 3, then x + 1 = 4, but x

2
+ x = 3
2
+ 3 = 12 ≠ 4.
Question ID: dd4ab4c4

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent expressions Medium

Question

Which of the following is a factor of the polynomial above?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. The first and last terms of the polynomial are both squares such that and . The second term

is twice the product of the square root of the first and last terms: . Therefore, the polynomial is the square of a binomial

such that , and is a factor.

Choice A is incorrect and may be the result of incorrectly factoring the polynomial. Choice C is incorrect and may be the result of dividing the

second and third terms of the polynomial by their greatest common factor. Choice D is incorrect and may be the result of not factoring the

coefficients.
Question ID: b8caaf84

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent expressions Medium

Question

If and , which of the following is equivalent to ?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. It’s given that and . Substituting the values for p and v into the expression yields

. Multiplying the terms yields . Using the distributive

property to rewrite yields . Therefore, the entire expression can be represented as

. Combining like terms yields .

Choice A is incorrect and may result from subtracting, instead of adding, the term . Choice C is incorrect. This is the result of multiplying

the terms . Choice D is incorrect and may result from distributing 2, instead of , to the term .
Question ID: 7f81d0c3

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations in Medium

one variable and systems

of equations in two

variables

Question

What values satisfy the equation above?

Answer

A. and

B. and

C. and

D. and

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. Using the quadratic formula to solve the given expression yields .

Therefore, and satisfy the given equation.

Choices A and B are incorrect and may result from incorrectly factoring or incorrectly applying the quadratic formula. Choice D is incorrect and

may result from a sign error.

Question ID: 71b74a44

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

The given equation estimates the value, in dollars, of a certain piece of equipment years after it was purchased. According to the given

equation, what was the estimated value, in dollars, of the piece of equipment at the time it was purchased?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. It’s given that estimates the value, in dollars, of a certain piece of equipment years after it was

purchased. The estimated value of the piece of equipment at the time it was purchased corresponds to the value of when . Substituting

for in the equation yields , which is equivalent to , or . Therefore, the

estimated value, in dollars, of the piece of equipment at the time it was purchased was .

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

Choice B is incorrect. This was the estimated value, in dollars, of the piece of equipment year after it was purchased.

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

Question ID: 52931bfa

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent expressions Medium

Question

Which expression is equivalent to , where ?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. The given expression has a common factor of in the denominator, so the expression can be rewritten as .

The three terms in this expression have a common factor of . Since it's given that , can't be equal to , which means

can't be equal to . Therefore, each term in the expression, , can be divided by , which gives .

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 ID: 39714777

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

The given equation relates the value of and its corresponding value of for the function . What is the minimum value of the function ?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. For a quadratic function defined by an equation of the form , where , , and are constants and

, the minimum value of the function is . Subtracting from both sides of the given equation yields . This function is in the

form , where , , and . Therefore, the minimum value of the function is .

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 ID: cb29c54c

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

A physics class is planning an experiment about a toy rocket. The equation gives the estimated height , in feet, of

the toy rocket seconds after it is launched into the air. Which of the following is the best interpretation of the vertex of the graph of the

equation in the xy-plane?

Answer

A. This toy rocket reaches an estimated maximum height of feet seconds after it is launched into the air.

B. This toy rocket reaches an estimated maximum height of feet seconds after it is launched into the air.

C. This toy rocket reaches an estimated maximum height of feet seconds after it is launched into the air.

D. This toy rocket reaches an estimated maximum height of feet seconds after it is launched into the air.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. The vertex of the graph of a quadratic equation is where it reaches its minimum or maximum value. When a quadratic

equation is written in the form , the vertex of the parabola represented by the equation is . In the given

equation , the value of is and the value of is . It follows that the vertex of the graph of this equation in the

xy-plane is . Additionally, since in the given equation, the graph of the quadratic equation opens down, and the

vertex represents a maximum. It’s given that the value of represents the estimated height, in feet, of the toy rocket seconds after it is

launched into the air. Therefore, this toy rocket reaches an estimated maximum height of feet seconds after it is launched into the air.

Choice A is incorrect. The in the equation is an indicator of how narrow the graph of the equation is rather than where it reaches its maximum.

Choice C is incorrect. The in the equation is an indicator of how narrow the graph of the equation is rather than where it reaches its maximum.

Choice D is incorrect. This is an interpretation of the vertex of the graph of the equation , not of the equation

.
Question ID: ad2ec615

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent expressions Medium

Question

Which of the following is equivalent to the expression ?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. The term x

4
can be factored as . Factoring – 6 as yields values that add to – 1, the coefficient of x
2
in the

expression.

Choices A, C, and D are incorrect and may result from finding factors of – ’
6 that don t add to the coefficient of x
2
in the original expression.
Question ID: 42c71eb5

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent expressions Medium

Question

Which of the following is equivalent to the expression above?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. The given expression can be rewritten as . Applying the distributive property, the

expression can be rewritten as , or . Adding like terms

yields . Substituting for in the given expression yields . By the rules of exponents,

the expression is equivalent to . Applying the distributive property, this expression can be rewritten as

, or . Adding like terms gives . Substituting

for in the rewritten expression yields , and adding like terms yields .

Choices B, C, and D are incorrect. Choices C and D may result from rewriting the expression as , instead of as

. Choices B and C may result from rewriting the expression as , instead of .

Question ID: 52b1700c

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

Time (years) Total amount (dollars)

Rosa opened a savings account at a bank. The table shows the exponential relationship between the time , in years, since Rosa opened the

account and the total amount , in dollars, in the account. If Rosa made no additional deposits or withdrawals, which of the following equations

best represents the relationship between and ?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. It’s given that the relationship between and is exponential. The table shows that the value of increases as the value of

increases. Therefore, the relationship between and can be represented by an increasing exponential equation of the form ,

where and are positive constants. The table shows that when , . Substituting for and for in the equation

yields , which is equivalent to , or . Substituting for in the equation

yields . The table also shows that when , . Substituting for and for in the equation

yields , or . Dividing both sides of this equation by yields approximately

. Subtracting from both sides of this equation yields that the value of is approximately . Substituting for in the

equation yields . Therefore, of the choices, choice C best represents the relationship between 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 D is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Question ID: b4acba95

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations in Medium

one variable and systems

of equations in two

variables

Question

How many distinct real solutions does the given equation have?

Answer

A. Exactly two

B. Exactly one

C. Zero

D. Infinitely many

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. The number of solutions of a quadratic equation of the form , where , , and are constants, can be

determined by the value of the discriminant, . If the value of the discriminant is positive, then the quadratic equation has exactly two

distinct real solutions. If the value of the discriminant is equal to zero, then the quadratic equation has exactly one real solution. If the value of

the discriminant is negative, then the quadratic equation has zero real solutions. In the given equation, , , ,

and . Substituting these values for , , and in yields , or . Since the value of its discriminant is

positive, the given equation has exactly two distinct real solutions.

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 ID: ff8c5844

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

For the exponential function , the table shows four values of and their corresponding values of . Which equation defines ?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. It's given that function is exponential. Therefore, an equation defining can be written in the form , where

and are constants. The table shows that when , . Substituting for and for in the equation yields

, which is equivalent to . Substituting for in the equation yields . The table also shows that when

, . Substituting for and for in the equation yields , which is equivalent to .

Substituting for in the equation yields .

Choice A is incorrect. For this function, is equal to , not .

Choice B is incorrect. For this function, is equal to , not .

Choice C is incorrect. For this function, is equal to , not .

Question ID: a05bd3a4

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent expressions Medium

Question

Which of the following expressions is equivalent to ?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. The expression can be written as a difference of squares x

2
– 2
y , which can be factored as (x + y)(x – 2
y). Here, y = 5, so

, and the expression therefore factors as .

Choices A and B are incorrect and may result from misunderstanding how to factor a difference of squares. Choice D is incorrect; (x + 5)(x – 1)

can be rewritten as x
2
+ 4x – 5, which is not equivalent to the original expression.
Question ID: f423771c

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

The table shows the exponential relationship between the number of years, , since Hana started training in pole vault, and the estimated height

, in meters, of her best pole vault for that year. Which of the following functions best represents this relationship, where ?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. The table shows an increasing exponential relationship between the number of years, , since Hana started training in pole

vault and the estimated height , in meters, of her best pole vault for that year. The relationship can be written as , where and

are positive constants. It's given that when , . Substituting for and for in yields ,

or . Substituting for in yields . It's also given that when , . Substituting for

and for in yields . Dividing each side of this equation by yields , or is

approximately equal to . Since is positive, is approximately equal to , or . Substituting for in yields

Choice A is incorrect. When , the value of in this function is equal to rather than , and it is decreasing rather than

increasing.

Choice B is incorrect. When , the value of in this function is equal to rather than .

Choice C is incorrect. This function is decreasing rather than increasing.

Question ID: 1d3c5c95

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

An entomologist recommended a program to reduce a certain invasive beetle population in an area. The given function estimates this beetle

species' population years after , where . Which of the following is the best interpretation of in this context?

Answer

A. The estimated initial beetle population for this species and area in

B. The estimated beetle population for this species and area years after

C. The estimated percent decrease in the beetle population for this species and area each year after

D. The estimated percent decrease in the beetle population for this species and area every years after

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. For an exponential function in the form , where and are positive constants and , the initial value of

, or the value of when , is and the value of decreases by each time increases by . Therefore, the initial

value of the function , or the value of when , is . Therefore, the best interpretation of in this

context is the estimated initial beetle population for this species and area in .

Choice B is incorrect. The estimated beetle population for this species and area years after is , or approximately , not

Choice C is incorrect. The estimated percent decrease in the beetle population for this species and area each year after is ,

or , not .

Choice D is incorrect. The estimated percent decrease in the beetle population for this species and area every years after is

, or approximately , not .
Question ID: ae05d37b

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

The function gives the number of bacteria in a population minutes after an initial observation. How much time, in

minutes, does it take for the number of bacteria in the population to double?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. It’s given that minutes after an initial observation, the number of bacteria in a population is . This expression

consists of the initial number of bacteria, , multiplied by the expression . The time, in minutes, it takes for the number of bacteria to

double is the increase in the value of that causes the expression to double. Since the base is , the expression will double when the

exponent increases by . Since the exponent of this expression is , the exponent will increase by when increases by . Therefore, the

time, in minutes, it takes for the number of bacteria in the population to double is .

Choice A is incorrect. This is the base of the exponent, not the time it takes for the number of bacteria in the population to double.

Choice C is incorrect. This is the number of minutes it takes for the population to double twice.

Choice D is incorrect. This is the number of bacteria that are initially observed, not the time it takes for the number of bacteria in the population

to double.
Question ID: 02add2d2

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

A company has a newsletter. In January , there were customers subscribed to the newsletter. For the next months after January

, the total number of customers subscribed to the newsletter each month was greater than the total number subscribed the previous

month. Which equation gives the total number of customers, , subscribed to the company's newsletter months after January , where

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. It's given that in January , there were customers subscribed to a company's newsletter and for the next

months after January , the total number of customers subscribed to the newsletter each month was greater than the total number

subscribed the previous month. It follows that this situation can be represented by the equation , where is the total number

of customers subscribed to the company's newsletter months after January , is the number of customers subscribed to the newsletter

in January , and the total number of customers subscribed to the newsletter each month was greater than the total number subscribed

the previous month. Substituting for and for in this equation yields , or .

Choice A is incorrect. This equation represents a situation where the total number of customers subscribed each month was less, not

greater, than the total number subscribed the previous month.

Choice C is incorrect. This equation represents a situation where the total number of customers subscribed each month was , not ,

greater than the total number subscribed the previous month.

Choice D is incorrect. This equation represents a situation where the total number of customers subscribed each month was , not ,

greater than the total number subscribed the previous month.

Question ID: 3206b905

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent expressions Medium

Question

Which of the following expressions is equivalent to ?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. Since is a common factor of each term in the given expression, the expression can be rewritten as .

Choice A is incorrect. This expression is equivalent to .

Choice B is incorrect. This expression is equivalent to .

Choice C is incorrect. This expression is equivalent to .

Question ID: f89af023

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

A rectangular volleyball court has an area of 162 square meters. If the length of the court is twice the width, what is the width of the court, in

meters?

Answer

A. 9

B. 18

C. 27

D. 54

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. It’s given that the volleyball court is rectangular and has an area of 162 square meters. The formula for the area of a

rectangle is , where A is the area, is the length, and w is the width of the rectangle. It’s also given that the length of the volleyball

court is twice the width, thus . Substituting the given value into the formula for the area of a rectangle and using the relationship

between length and width for this rectangle yields . This equation can be rewritten as . Dividing both sides of this

equation by 2 yields . Taking the square root of both sides of this equation yields . Since the width of a rectangle is a positive

number, the width of the volleyball court is 9 meters.

Choice B is incorrect because this is the length of the rectangle. Choice C is incorrect because this is the result of using 162 as the perimeter

rather than the area. Choice D is incorrect because this is the result of calculating w in the equation instead of

.
Question ID: 768b60d2

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

For the exponential function , the value of is , where is a constant. Of the following equations that define the function , which equation

shows the value of as the coefficient or the base?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. Each of the given choices is an equation of the form , where , , and are constants. For an equation of

this form, the coefficient, , is equal to the value of the function when the exponent is equal to , or when . It follows that in the equation

, the coefficient, , is equal to the value of . Substituting for in this equation yields , which is

equivalent to , or . Thus, the value of is and the equation shows the value of as the

coefficient.

Choice A is incorrect. This equation shows the value of , not , as the coefficient.

Choice C is incorrect. This equation shows the value of , not , as the coefficient.

Choice D is incorrect. This equation shows the value of , not , as the coefficient.
Question ID: e53add44

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

The function S above models the annual salary, in dollars, of an employee n years after starting a job, where a is a constant. If the employee’s

salary increases by 4% each year, what is the value of a ?

Answer

A. 0.04

B. 0.4

C. 1.04

D. 1.4

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. A model for a quantity S that increases by a certain percentage per time period n is an exponential function in the form

, where I is the initial value at time for r% annual increase. It’s given that the annual increase in an employee’s

salary is 4%, so . The initial value can be found by substituting 0 for n in the given function, which yields . Therefore,

. Substituting these values for r and I into the form of the exponential function yields

, or . Therefore, the value of a in the given function is 1.04.

Choices A, B, and D are incorrect and may result from incorrectly representing the annual increase in the exponential function.
Question ID: b4a6ed81

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent expressions Medium

Question

The expression is equivalent to , where is a constant. What is the value of ?

Correct Answer: 6

Rationale

The correct answer is . Applying the distributive property to the expression yields . Since is

equivalent to , it follows that is also equivalent to . Since these expressions are equivalent, it follows

that corresponding coefficients are equivalent. Therefore, and . Solving either of these equations for will yield the value

of . Dividing both sides of by yields . Therefore, the value of is .

Question ID: 4618501a

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

A conservation scientist implemented a program to reduce the population of a certain species in an area. The given function estimates this

species' population years after , where . Which of the following is the best interpretation of in this context?

Answer

A. The estimated percent decrease in the population for this species and area every years after

B. The estimated percent decrease in the population for this species and area each year after

C. The estimated population for this species and area years after

D. The estimated initial population for this species and area in

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. Substituting for in the given equation yields , which is equivalent to , or

. It’s given that the function estimates the species’ population years after , so it follows that the estimated population of the

species is in . Therefore, the best interpretation of in this context is the estimated initial population for this species and area in

Choice A is incorrect and may result from conceptual errors.

Choice B is incorrect. The estimated percent decrease in the population for this species and area each year after is , not .

Choice C is incorrect. The estimated population for this species and area years after is , or approximately , not .
Question ID: cc776a04

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent expressions Medium

Question

Which of the following is an equivalent form of ?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. The first expression can be rewritten as . Applying the distributive property to

this product yields . This difference can be rewritten as

. Distributing the factor of through the second expression yields

. Regrouping like terms, the expression becomes

. Combining like terms yields .

Choices A, B, and D are incorrect and likely result from errors made when applying the distributive property or combining the resulting like terms.
Question ID: 926c246b

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

The equation above estimates the global data traffic D, in terabytes, for the year that is t years after 2010. What is the best interpretation of the

number 5,640 in this context?

Answer

A. The estimated amount of increase of data traffic, in terabytes, each year

B. The estimated percent increase in the data traffic, in terabytes, each year

C. The estimated data traffic, in terabytes, for the year that is t years after 2010

D. The estimated data traffic, in terabytes, in 2010

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. Since t represents the number of years after 2010, the estimated data traffic, in terabytes, in 2010 can be calculated using

the given equation when . Substituting 0 for t in the given equation yields , or . Thus, 5,640

represents the estimated data traffic, in terabytes, in 2010.

Choice A is incorrect. Since the equation is exponential, the amount of increase of data traffic each year isn’t constant. Choice B is incorrect.

According to the equation, the percent increase in data traffic each year is 90%. Choice C is incorrect. The estimated data traffic, in terabytes, for

the year that is t years after 2010 is represented by D, not the number 5,640.
Question ID: ff2c1431

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations in Medium

one variable and systems

of equations in two

variables

Question

The given equation relates the positive numbers , , and . Which equation correctly gives in terms of and ?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. It's given that the equation relates the positive numbers , , and . Dividing both sides of the given

equation by yields . Subtracting from both sides of this equation yields , or . It follows that the

equation correctly gives in terms of and .

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 ID: 6bdcac03

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations in Medium

one variable and systems

of equations in two

variables

Question

How many distinct real solutions does the given equation have?

Answer

A. Exactly one

B. Exactly two

C. Infinitely many

D. Zero

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. Since the square of a real number is never negative, the given equation isn't true for any real value of . Therefore, the given

equation has zero distinct real 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 ID: 252a3b3a

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

Which of the following could be the equation of the graph shown in the xy-plane?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. Each of the given choices is an equation of the form , where , , , and are positive

constants. In the xy-plane, the graph of an equation of this form has x-intercepts at , , and . The graph shown has x-
intercepts at , , and . Therefore, and . Of the given choices, only choices A and B have and . For an

equation in the form , if all values of that are less than or greater than correspond to negative y-values,
then the sum of all the exponents of the factors on the right-hand side of the equation is even. In the graph shown, all values of less than or

greater than correspond to negative y-values. Therefore, the sum of all the exponents of the factors on the right-hand side of the equation
must be even. For choice A, the sum of these exponents is , or , which is odd. For choice B, the sum of

these exponents is , or , which is even. Therefore, could be the equation of the graph shown.

Choice A is incorrect. For the graph of this equation, all values of less than correspond to positive, not negative, y-values.
Choice C is incorrect. The graph of this equation has x-intercepts at , , and , rather than x-intercepts at , , and

Choice D is incorrect. The graph of this equation has x-intercepts at , , and , rather than x-intercepts at , , and

.
Question ID: 3d7d7534

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations in Medium

one variable and systems

of equations in two

variables

Question

What is a solution to the given equation?

Correct Answer: 30, -30

Rationale

The correct answer is either or . Adding to each side of the given equation yields . Since a product of two

factors is equal to if and only if at least one of the factors is , either or . Adding to each side of the equation

yields . Subtracting from each side of the equation yields . Therefore, the solutions to the given

equation are and . Note that -30 and 30 are examples of ways to enter a correct answer.
Question ID: cc6ccd71

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

The graph of is shown, where the function is defined by and , , , and are constants. For how

many values of does ?

Answer

A. One

B. Two

C. Three

D. Four

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. If a value of satisfies , the graph of will contain a point and thus touch the x-axis. Since there
are points at which this graph touches the x-axis, there are values of for which .

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 ID: 95d1c344

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

The graph models the number of active projects a company was working on months after the end of November , where .

According to the model, what is the predicted number of active projects the company was working on at the end of November ?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. It's given that the graph models the number of active projects a company was working on months after the end of

November . Therefore, the value of that corresponds to the end of November is . The point at which is the y-intercept of the
graph. It follows that the y-intercept of the graph shown is the point . Therefore, according to the model, the predicted number of active

projects the company was working on at the end of November is .

Choice A is incorrect. This is the value of that corresponds to the end of November , not the predicted number of active projects the

company was working on at the end of November .

Choice C is incorrect. This is the predicted number of active projects the company was working on months after the end of November .

Choice D is incorrect. This is the predicted number of active projects the company was working on months after the end of November .
Question ID: 911383f2

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations in Medium

one variable and systems

of equations in two

variables

Question

What is the product of the solutions to the given equation?

Answer

A. 8

B. 3

C.

D.

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. By the zero-product property, if , then , , or . Solving each of

these equations for yields , , or . The product of these solutions is .

Choice A is incorrect and may result from sign errors made when solving the given equation. Choice B is incorrect and may result from finding

the sum, not the product, of the solutions. Choice C is incorrect and may result from finding the sum, not the product, of the solutions in addition

to making sign errors when solving the given equation.

Question ID: b80d10d7

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations in Medium

one variable and systems

of equations in two

variables

Question

What is the solution to the equation above?

Answer

A. 0

B. 2

C. 3

D. 5

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. Since is equivalent to 1, the right-hand side of the given equation can be rewritten as , or .

Since the left- and right-hand sides of the equation have the same denominator, it follows that .

Applying the distributive property of multiplication to the expression yields , or . Therefore, .

Subtracting x and 2 from both sides of this equation yields .

Choices A, C, and D are incorrect. If , then . This can be rewritten as , which is a false statement.

Therefore, 0 isn’t a solution to the given equation. Substituting 3 and 5 into the given equation yields similarly false statements.
Question ID: fde6f3bb

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent expressions Medium

Question

The functions and are defined by the equations shown. Which expression is equivalent to ?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. It’s given that and . Substituting for and for in the expression

yields . This expression can be rewritten as , or , which is

equivalent to .

Choice A is incorrect. This expression is equivalent to , not .

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

Choice C is incorrect. This expression is equivalent to , not .

Question ID: d4950429

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

A rectangle has a length of units and a width of units. If the rectangle has an area of square units, what is the value of ?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. The area of a rectangle is equal to its length multiplied by its width. Multiplying the given length, units, by the given width,

units, yields square units. If the rectangle has an area of square units, it follows that , or

. Subtracting from both sides of this equation yields . Factoring the left-hand side of this equation yields

. Applying the zero product property to this equation yields two solutions: and . Since is the rectangle’s

length, in units, which must be positive, the value of is .

Choice A is incorrect. This is the width, in units, of the rectangle, not the value of .

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

Choice D is incorrect. This is the area, in square units, of the rectangle, not the value of .
Question ID: 752055d1

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

A scientist initially measures bacteria in a growth medium. hours later, the scientist measures bacteria. Assuming exponential

growth, the formula gives the number of bacteria in the growth medium, where and are constants and is the number of

bacteria hours after the initial measurement. What is the value of ?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. It’s given that the formula gives the number of bacteria in a growth medium, where and are constants and

is the number of bacteria hours after the initial measurement. It’s also given that a scientist initially measures bacteria in the growth

medium. Since the initial measurement is hours after the initial measurement, it follows that when , . Substituting for and

for in the given equation yields , or , which is equivalent to . It’s given that hours

later, the scientist measures bacteria, or when , . Substituting for , for , and for in the given

equation yields . Dividing each side of this equation by yields , or , which is equivalent to

. Dividing both sides of this equation by yields . Therefore, the value of is .

Choice A is incorrect. This is the value of the reciprocal of .

Choice C is incorrect. This is the value of the reciprocal of .

Choice D is incorrect. This is the value of .

Question ID: fcdf87b7

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations in Medium

one variable and systems

of equations in two

variables

Question

If the ordered pair satisfies the system of equations above, what is one possible value of x ?

Rationale
The correct answer is either 0 or 3. For an ordered pair to satisfy a system of equations, both the x- and y-values of the ordered pair must satisfy

each equation in the system. Both expressions on the right-hand side of the given equations are equal to y, therefore it follows that both

expressions on the right-hand side of the equations are equal to each other: . This equation can be rewritten as

, and then through factoring, the equation becomes . Because the product of the two factors is equal to 0, it can be

concluded that either or , or rather, or . Note that 0 and 3 are examples of ways to enter a correct answer.
Question ID: 3148fe3e

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations in Medium

one variable and systems

of equations in two

variables

Question

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

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. Adding to each side of the second equation in the given system of equations yields . Substituting

for in the first equation yields . Subtracting from each side of this equation yields .

This equation can be rewritten as . Taking the square root of each side of this equation yields . Subtracting from each

side of this equation yields . Therefore, the value of is .

Choice A is incorrect. This is the value of , not .

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 ID: a520ba07

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent expressions Medium

Question

Which of the following expressions is equivalent to the expression above?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. One of the properties of radicals is . Thus, the given expression can be rewritten as .

Simplifying by taking the cube root of each part gives x1 y2, or xy2.

Choices A, C, and D are incorrect and may be the result of incorrect application of the properties of exponents and radicals.
Question ID: 652054da

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations in Medium

one variable and systems

of equations in two

variables

Question

An oceanographer uses the equation to model the speed s, in knots, of an ocean wave, where p represents the period of the wave, in

seconds. Which of the following represents the period of the wave in terms of the speed of the wave?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. It’s given that p represents the period of the ocean wave, so the equation can be solved for p to represent the

period of the wave in terms of the speed of the wave. Multiplying both sides of the equation by the reciprocal of will isolate p. This yields

, which simplifies to . Therefore, .

Choices B, C, and D are incorrect and may result from errors made when rearranging the equation to solve for p.
Question ID: 0380bbdc

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations in Medium

one variable and systems

of equations in two

variables

Question

If , what is the value of ?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. Dividing each side of the given equation by yields . Squaring both sides of this equation yields .

Multiplying each side of this equation by yields . Therefore, the value of is .

Choice A is incorrect. This is the value of , not .

Choice C is incorrect. This is the value of , not .

Choice D is incorrect. This is the value of , not .

Question ID: a255ae72

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent expressions Medium

Question

If and , which of the following is equal to ?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. It’s given that and . Using the distributive property, the expression can be rewritten as

. Substituting and for and , respectively, in this expression yields

. Expanding this expression yields

. Combining like terms, this expression can be rewritten as

Choices A, C, and D are incorrect and may result from an error in using the distributive property, substituting, or combining like terms.
Question ID: dd3b1e1a

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

For the given function , the graph of in the xy-plane passes through the point , where is a constant. What is the value of ?

Correct Answer: 17

Rationale

The correct answer is . It's given that the graph of in the xy-plane passes through the point , where is a constant. It follows

that equals . Substituting for in the given function yields , or . Therefore, the value of is .
Question ID: 1e7a1deb

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent expressions Medium

Question

If and , which expression is equivalent to ?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. Substituting for and for in the expression yields . This

expression can be rewritten as . By applying the distributive property, this expression can be rewritten as

, which is equivalent to , 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 and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Question ID: 95ed0b69

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations in Medium

one variable and systems

of equations in two

variables

Question

The given equation relates the distinct positive numbers , , and . Which equation correctly expresses in terms of and ?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. To express in terms of and , the given equation must be solved for . Since it's given that is a positive

number, is not equal to zero. Therefore, multiplying both sides of the given equation by yields the equivalent equation

. Since it's given that is a positive number, is not equal to zero. Therefore, dividing each side of the equation by yields

the equivalent equation .

Choice B is incorrect. This equation is equivalent to .

Choice C is incorrect. This equation is equivalent to .

Choice D is incorrect. This equation is equivalent to .

Question ID: 463eec13

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent expressions Medium

Question

If , which of the following expressions is equivalent to ?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. Taking the square root of an exponential expression halves the exponent, so , which further

reduces to . This can be rewritten as .

Choice A is incorrect and may result from neglecting the denominator of the given expression and from incorrectly calculating the square root of

16. Choice B is incorrect and may result from rewriting as rather than . Choice C is incorrect and may result from taking the square

root of the variables in the numerator twice instead of once.

Question ID: 341ba5db

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

What is the minimum value of the given function?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. For a quadratic function defined by an equation of the form , where , , and are constants and

, the minimum value of the function is . In the given function, , , and . Therefore, the minimum value of the given

function is .

Choice A is incorrect. This is the value of for which the given function reaches its minimum value, not the minimum value of the function.

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 ID: 6e02cd78

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations in Medium

one variable and systems

of equations in two

variables

Question
In the xy-plane, what is the y-coordinate of the point of intersection of the graphs of and ?

Rationale
The correct answer is 1. The point of intersection of the graphs of the given equations is the solution to the system of the two equations. Since

and , it follows that , or . Applying the distributive property to the left-

hand side of this equation yields . Subtracting from and adding 3 to both sides of this equation yields

. Factoring the left-hand side of this equation yields . By the zero product property, if

, it follows that . Adding 2 to both sides of yields . Substituting 2 for x in either of the given

equations yields . For example, substituting 2 for x in the second given equation yields , or . Therefore, the point of

intersection of the graphs of the given equations is . The y-coordinate of this point is 1.
Question ID: 15c364bf

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

A sample of a certain isotope takes years to decay to half its original mass. The function gives the approximate mass of

this isotope, in grams, that remains years after a -gram sample starts to decay. Which statement is the best interpretation of

in this context?

Answer

A. Approximately grams of the sample remains years after the sample starts to decay.

B. The mass of the sample has decreased by approximately grams years after the sample starts to decay.

C. The mass of the sample has decreased by approximately grams years after the sample starts to decay.

D. Approximately grams of the sample remains years after the sample starts to decay.

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. In the given function, represents the approximate mass, in grams, of the sample that remains years after the sample

starts to decay. It follows that the best interpretation of is that approximately grams of the sample remains years after the

sample starts to decay.

Choice B is incorrect. The mass of the sample has decreased by approximately , or , grams, not grams, years after the

sample starts to decay.

Choice C is incorrect. The mass of the sample has decreased by approximately grams, not grams, years after the sample starts to

decay.

Choice D is incorrect. This would be the best interpretation of , not .

Question ID: 6bd40794

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations in Medium

one variable and systems

of equations in two

variables

Question

What is a positive solution to the given equation?

Correct Answer: 10, 16

Rationale

The correct answer is either or . Applying the zero product property to the given equation yields four equations: , ,

, and . Adding to both sides of the equation yields . Adding to both sides of the equation

yields . Subtracting from both sides of the equation yields . Subtracting from both sides of the

equation yields . Therefore, the solutions to the given equation are , , , and . It follows that there are two

positive solutions to the given equation: and . Note that 10 and 16 are examples of ways to enter a correct answer.
Question ID: f28944ff

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

Which table gives three values of and their corresponding values of for function ?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. Substituting for in the given function yields , which is equivalent to , or

. Therefore, when , the corresponding value of for function is . Substituting for in the given function yields

, which is equivalent to , or . Therefore, when , the corresponding value of for function is .

Substituting for in the given function yields , which is equivalent to , or . Therefore, when , the

corresponding value of for function is . Of the choices given, only the table in choice D gives these three values of and their

corresponding values of for function .

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

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

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

Question ID: 11ccf3e1

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations in Medium

one variable and systems

of equations in two

variables

Question

The given equation relates the numbers , , and . Which equation correctly expresses in terms of and ?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. Subtracting from each side of the given equation results in . Dividing each side of this equation by

results in .

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 ID: 50e40f08

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

If the given function is graphed in the xy-plane, where , what is the x-coordinate of an x-intercept of the graph?

Correct Answer: -6, 4

Rationale

The correct answer is either or . The x-intercepts of a graph in the xy-plane are the points where . Thus, for an x-intercept of the graph
of , . Substituting for in the equation yields . By the zero product

property, and . Subtracting from both sides of the equation yields . Adding to both sides of the

equation yields . Therefore, the x-coordinates of the x-intercepts of the graph of are and . Note that -6 and 4 are

examples of ways to enter a correct answer.

Question ID: c4259674

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

The function is defined by . What is the value of ?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. It’s given that function is defined by the equation . The value of is the value of when .

Substituting for in the given equation yields , which is equivalent to , or .

Choice A is incorrect. This is the value of when , rather than .

Choice B is incorrect. This is the value of when , rather than .

Choice D is incorrect. This is the value of when , rather than .

Question ID: 13e57f0a

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations in Medium

one variable and systems

of equations in two

variables

Question

What is the positive solution to the given equation?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. Multiplying each side of the given equation by 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

two equations: and . Subtracting from each side of the equation yields . Dividing each

side of this equation by yields , or . Therefore, is a solution to the given equation. Subtracting from each side of the

equation yields . Dividing each side of this equation by yields . Therefore, the given equation has two

solutions, and . Since is positive, it follows that is the positive solution to the given equation.

Alternate approach: Adding and to each side of the given equation yields . The right-hand side of this equation can

be rewritten as . Factoring out the common factor of from the first two terms of this expression and the common

factor of from the second two terms yields . Factoring out the common factor of from these two terms

yields the expression . Since this expression is equal to , it follows that either or . Adding to each

side of the equation yields . Dividing each side of this equation by yields . Therefore, is a positive solution to the

given equation. Subtracting from each side of the equation yields . Therefore, the given equation has two solutions, and

. Since is positive, it follows that is the positive solution to the given equation.

Choice A is incorrect. Substituting for in the given equation yields , which is false.

Choice C is incorrect. Substituting for in the given equation yields , which is false.

Choice D is incorrect. Substituting for in the given equation yields , which is false.
Question ID: be0c419e

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

Immanuel purchased a certain rare coin on January 1. The function , where , gives the predicted value, in dollars,

of the rare coin years after Immanuel purchased it. What is the best interpretation of the statement “ is approximately equal to ” in this

context?

Answer

A. When the rare coin's predicted value is approximately dollars, it is greater than the predicted value, in dollars, on January 1 of the

previous year.

B. When the rare coin’s predicted value is approximately dollars, it is times the predicted value, in dollars, on January 1 of the previous year.

C. From the day Immanuel purchased the rare coin to years after Immanuel purchased the coin, its predicted value increased by a total of

approximately dollars.

D. years after Immanuel purchased the rare coin, its predicted value is approximately dollars.

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. It’s given that the function gives the predicted value, in dollars, of a certain rare coin years after

Immanuel purchased it. It follows that represents the predicted value, in dollars, of the coin years after Immanuel purchased it. Since the

value of is the value of when , it follows that “ is approximately equal to ” means that is approximately equal to

when . Therefore, the best interpretation of the statement “ is approximately equal to ” in this context is years after Immanuel

purchased the rare coin, its predicted value is approximately dollars.

Choice A is incorrect and may result from conceptual errors.

Choice B is incorrect and may result from conceptual errors.

Choice C is incorrect and may result from conceptual errors.

Question ID: a1bf1c4e

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent expressions Medium

Question

Which of the following is equivalent to the expression above?

Answer

2
A. (x + 3) + 5

B. (x + 3)
2
– 5

C. (x – 2
3) + 5

D. (x – 2
3) – 5

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. The given quadratic expression is in standard form, and each answer choice is in vertex form. Completing the square

converts the expression from standard form to vertex form. The first step is to rewrite the expression as follows:

. The first three terms of the revised expression can be rewritten as a perfect square as follows:

. Combining the constant terms gives .

Choice A is incorrect. Squaring the binomial and simplifying the expression in choice A gives . Combining like terms gives

, not . Choice C is incorrect. Squaring the binomial and simplifying the expression in choice C gives

. Combining like terms gives , not . Choice D is incorrect. Squaring the binomial and simplifying

the expression in choice D gives . Combining like terms gives , not .

Question ID: 802549ac

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations in Medium

one variable and systems

of equations in two

variables

Question

Which of the following is a solution to the given equation?

Answer

A. 1

B. 0

C.

D.

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. Applying the distributive property on the left- and right-hand sides of the given equation yields

, or . Subtracting from and adding to both sides of this

equation yields . Subtracting 6 from both sides of this equation and then dividing both sides by 10 yields .

Choices B, C, and D are incorrect. Substituting 0, , or for x in the given equation will result in a false statement. If , the given

equation becomes ; if , the given equation becomes ; and if , the given equation becomes .

Therefore, the values 0, , and aren’t solutions to the given equation.

Question ID: 75a32330

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations in Medium

one variable and systems

of equations in two

variables

Question

Which graph represents the given system of equations?

Answer

A.
B.

C.
D.

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. The graph of a quadratic equation in the form has its vertex at . The first equation in the given system of

equations is , so the graph of this quadratic equation has its vertex at . The graph of a linear equation of the form

has a slope of and a y-intercept at . The second equation in the given system of equations is , so the graph of this

linear equation has a slope of and a y-intercept at . Of the choices, only choice A has the graph of a quadratic equation with its vertex

at and the graph of a linear equation with a slope of and a y-intercept at .

Choice B is incorrect. This graph represents a system in which the second equation is , not .

Choice C is incorrect. This graph represents a system in which the first equation is , not .

Choice D is incorrect. This graph represents a system in which the first equation is , not , and the second equation

is , not .
Question ID: a4f61d75

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations in Medium

one variable and systems

of equations in two

variables

Question

In the equation above, a is a constant and . If the equation has two integer solutions, what is a possible value of a ?

Rationale
The correct answer is either 7, 8, or 13. Since the given equation has two integer solutions, the expression on the left-hand side of this equation

can be factored as , where c and d are also integers. The product of c and d must equal the constant term of the original

quadratic expression, which is 12. Additionally, the sum of c and d must be a negative number since it’s given that , but the sign preceding

a in the given equation is negative. The possible pairs of values for c and d that satisfy both of these conditions are and , and ,

and and . Since the value of is the sum of c and d, the possible values of are , , and

. It follows that the possible values of a are 7, 8, and 13. Note that 7, 8, and 13 are examples of ways to enter a correct

answer.
Question ID: e1f9000d

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

The function estimates an object’s height, in feet, above the ground seconds after the object is dropped, where is a constant. The function

estimates that the object is feet above the ground when it is dropped at . Approximately how many seconds after being dropped

does the function estimate the object will hit the ground?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. It's given that the function estimates that the object is feet above the ground when it's dropped at .

Substituting for and for in the function yields , or . Substituting for in the function

yields . When the object hits the ground, its height will be feet above the ground. Substituting for in

yields . Adding to each side of this equation yields . Dividing each side of this equation

by yields . Since the object will hit the ground at a positive number of seconds after it's dropped, the value of can be found by

taking the positive square root of each side of this equation, which yields . It follows that the function estimates the object will hit the

ground approximately seconds after being dropped.

Choice A is incorrect. The function estimates that seconds after being dropped, the object's height will be feet, or

feet, above the ground.

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 ID: a31417d1

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

From 2005 through 2014, the number of music CDs sold in the United States declined each year by approximately 15% of the number sold the

preceding year. In 2005, approximately 600 million CDs were sold in the United States. Of the following, which best models C, the number of

millions of CDs sold in the United States, t years after 2005?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. A model for a quantity C that decreases by a certain percentage per time period t is an exponential equation in the form

, where I is the initial value at time for r% annual decline. It’s given that C is the number of millions of CDs sold in the

United States and that t is the number of years after 2005. It’s also given that 600 million CDs were sold at time , so . This number

declines by 15% per year, so . Substituting these values into the equation produces , or .

Choice A is incorrect and may result from errors made when representing the percent decline. Choices C and D are incorrect. These equations

model exponential increases in CD sales, not exponential decreases.

Question ID: 6d04c89d

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent expressions Medium

Question

The expression is equivalent to , where b is a constant and . What is the value of b?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. Since the given expressions are equivalent and the numerator of the second expression is of the numerator of the first

expression, the denominator of the second expression must also be of the denominator of the first expression. By the distributive property,

is equivalent to , or . Therefore, 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 ID: bd4d0e0c

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

The function is defined by . What is the value of ?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. The value of is the value of when . The function is defined by . Substituting

for in this equation yields . This equation can be rewritten as , or .

Therefore, 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 ID: db888cd6

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

The graph gives the estimated number of catalogs , in thousands, a company sent to its customers at the end of each year, where represents

the number of years since the end of , where . Which statement is the best interpretation of the y-intercept in this context?

Answer

A. The estimated total number of catalogs the company sent to its customers during the first years was .

B. The estimated total number of catalogs the company sent to its customers from the end of to the end of was .

C. The estimated number of catalogs the company sent to its customers at the end of was .

D. The estimated number of catalogs the company sent to its customers at the end of was .

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. The y-intercept of the graph is the point at which the graph crosses the y-axis, or the point for which the value of is

. Therefore, the y-intercept of the given graph is the point . It's given that represents the number of years since the end of .

Therefore, represents years since the end of , which is the same as the end of . It's also given that represents the estimated

number of catalogs, in thousands, that the company sent to its customers at the end of the year. Therefore, represents catalogs. It

follows that the y-intercept means that the estimated number of catalogs the company sent to its customers at the end of 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 ID: 6ecdbcb4

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

The function is given. Which table of values represents ?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. It’s given that and . Substituting for in the

equation yields . Substituting for in this equation yields

, or . Substituting for in the equation yields , or

. Substituting for in the equation yields , or . Therefore,

when then , when then , and when then . Thus, the table of values in choice B represents

Choice A is incorrect. This table represents rather than .

Choice C is incorrect. This table represents rather than .

Choice D is incorrect. This table represents rather than .

Question ID: 0bebc08c

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations in Medium

one variable and systems

of equations in two

variables

Question

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

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. The first equation in the given system of equations is . Substituting for in the second equation in the given system

of equations yields , or . Substituting for and for in the expression yields , or . Therefore, 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 ID: 203774bc

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

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?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. Let be the first integer and let be the second integer. If the first integer is greater than twice the second integer, then

. If the product of the two integers is , then . Substituting for in this equation results in

. Distributing the to both terms in the parentheses results in . Subtracting from both sides of this equation results

in . 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 and . Subtracting from both sides of the equation yields

. Dividing both sides of this equation by yields . Since is a positive integer, the value of is not . Adding to both

sides of the equation yields . Substituting for in the equation yields . Dividing both sides of this

equation by results in . Therefore, the two integers are and , so the smaller of the two integers is .

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

Choice C is incorrect. This is the larger of the two integers.

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

Question ID: 7d3a84bf

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

y
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
x
O 50 100 150 200 250
50
100
150
200

The graph shows the estimated boiling point , in degrees Celsius, of a normal paraffin with a molecular weight of grams per mole, where

. Which statement is the best interpretation of the point ?

Answer

A. A normal paraffin with a molecular weight of grams per mole has an estimated boiling point of degrees Celsius.

B. A normal paraffin with a molecular weight of grams per mole has an estimated boiling point of degrees Celsius.

C. The minimum estimated boiling point for normal paraffins corresponds to a paraffin with a molecular weight of grams per mole and

an estimated boiling point of degrees Celsius.

D. The maximum estimated boiling point for normal paraffins corresponds to a paraffin with a molecular weight of grams per mole and

an estimated boiling point of degrees Celsius.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. It’s given that the graph shows the estimated boiling point , in degrees Celsius, of a normal paraffin with a molecular weight

of grams per mole. It follows that for the point , represents the molecular weight, in grams per mole, of a normal

paraffin and represents its estimated boiling point, in degrees Celsius. Therefore, the best interpretation of the point is

that a normal paraffin with a molecular weight of grams per mole has an estimated boiling point of degrees Celsius.

Choice A is incorrect. This statement represents a situation where , not , represents the boiling point, in degrees Celsius, and , not ,

represents the molecular weight, in grams, per mole.

Choice C is incorrect and may result from conceptual errors.

Choice D is incorrect and may result from conceptual errors.

Question ID: c4cd5bcc

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

In the xy-plane, the y-coordinate of the y-intercept of the graph of the function f is c. Which of the following must be equal to c ?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. A y-intercept is the point in the xy-plane where the graph of the function crosses the y-axis, which is where . It’s given

that the y-coordinate of the y-intercept of the graph of function f is c. It follows that the coordinate pair representing the y-intercept must be

. Therefore, c must equal .

Choices B, C, and D are incorrect because , , and would represent the y-value of the coordinate where , , and

, respectively.
Question ID: dc77e0dc

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

The function models the intensity of an X-ray beam, in number of particles in the X-ray beam, millimeters below the surface of a sample of

iron. According to the model, what is the estimated number of particles in the X-ray beam when it is at the surface of the sample of iron?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. It's given that the function models the intensity of an X-ray beam, in number of particles in the X-ray beam, millimeters

below the surface of a sample of iron. When the X-ray beam is at the surface of the sample of iron, it is millimeters below the surface, so the

value of is . Substituting for in the function yields . Since any positive number raised to the power

of is equal to , it follows that , or . Therefore, the estimated number of particles in the X-ray beam at the surface

of the sample of iron 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 ID: 062f86db

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations in Medium

one variable and systems

of equations in two

variables

Question

What is the positive solution to the given equation?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. The left-hand side of the given equation can be factored as . Therefore, the given equation,

, can be written as . Applying the zero product property to this equation yields and .

Subtracting from both sides of the equation yields . Dividing both sides of this equation by yields . Adding

to both sides of the equation yields . Therefore, the two solutions to the given equation, , are and .

It follows that is the positive solution to the given equation.

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 ID: 0a74365c

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

The population of the town of Smithville doubled every years from to . The population of this town was in . What

was the population of this town in ?

Correct Answer: 15000

Rationale

The correct answer is . Let represent the population of Smithville years after . Since the population doubled every years, the

relationship between and can be represented by an exponential equation in the form , where is the population of Smithville in

and the population increases by a factor of every years. It’s given that the population doubled, or increased by a factor of , every

years. Therefore, and . Substituting for and for in the equation yields . It's also given that the

population of this town was in . The number of years from to is , or years. Therefore, when

, the value of is . Substituting for and for in the equation yields , or

, which is equivalent to . Dividing both sides of this equation by yields . Therefore, the population of

this town in was .

Question ID: 5f10c095

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations in Medium

one variable and systems

of equations in two

variables

Question

The graph of a system of a linear equation and a quadratic equation is shown. A solution to the system is . What is a possible value of ?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. The solutions to the system correspond to the points where the graphs of the equations intersect. The graphs of the linear

equation and the quadratic equation shown intersect at approximately and . It follows that the possible values of are and .

Of these two possible values, only is given as a choice.

Choice B is incorrect. This is the x-value of the vertex of the graph of the quadratic equation, not the x-value of a solution to the system.

Choice C is incorrect. This is the approximate y-value, not the x-value, of a solution to the system.

Choice D is incorrect. This is the x-value of an x-intercept of the graph of the quadratic equation.
Question ID: 735a0a00

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

The equation gives the estimated stock price , in dollars, for a certain company days after a new product launched, where . Which

statement is the best interpretation of in this context?

Answer

A. The company's estimated stock price increased every day after the new product launched.

B. The company's estimated stock price increased every days after the new product launched.

C. day after the new product launched, the company's estimated stock price is .

D. days after the new product launched, the company's estimated stock price is .

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. In the given equation, represents the number of days after a new product launched, where , and represents

the estimated stock price, in dollars, for a certain company. Therefore, the best interpretation of in this context is that day

after the new product launched, the company's estimated stock price is .

Choice A is incorrect and may result from conceptual errors.

Choice B is incorrect and may result from conceptual errors.

Choice D is incorrect and may result from conceptual errors.

Question ID: 68607eca

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

On April , there were views of an advertisement posted on a website. Every days after April , the number of views of the advertisement

had increased by of the number of views days earlier. The function gives the predicted number of views days after April . Which

equation defines ?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. It’s given that on April , there were views of the advertisement. It’s also given that every days after April , the number

of views of the advertisement had increased by of the number of views days earlier. This situation can be represented by an exponential

function of the form , where is the number of views on April and every days after April , the number of views had

increased by of the number of views days earlier. It follows that , , and . Substituting for , for , and for in

the equation yields , or .

Choice A is incorrect. This function gives the predicted number of views for an advertisement for which every days, the number of views was

, rather than increased by , of the number of views days earlier.

Choice B is incorrect. This function gives the predicted number of views for an advertisement for which every days, the number of views was

of the number of views days earlier, rather than an advertisement for which every days, the number of views had increased by of

the number of views days earlier.

Choice D is incorrect. This function gives the predicted number of views for an advertisement for which every days, rather than every days,

the number of views had increased by of the number of views days earlier, rather than days earlier.
Question ID: 5639dd1a

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations in Medium

one variable and systems

of equations in two

variables

Question

What is the positive solution to the given equation?

Correct Answer: 22

Rationale

The correct answer is . The given equation, , is equivalent to . Taking the square root of each side of this equation

yields . Thus, the positive solution to the given equation is .

Question ID: 717a1964

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations in Medium

one variable and systems

of equations in two

variables

Question

What is one of the solutions to the given equation?

Correct Answer: 2, -12

Rationale

The correct answer is either or . The left-hand side of the given equation can be rewritten by factoring. The two values that multiply to

and add to are and . It follows that the given equation can be rewritten as . Setting each factor equal to yields

two equations: and . Subtracting from both sides of the equation results in . Adding to both

sides of the equation results in . Note that 2 and -12 are examples of ways to enter a correct answer.
Question ID: 78d5f91a

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

For the function f defined above, what is the value of ?

Answer

A.

B.

C. 7

D. 11

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. Substituting for x in the given function f gives , which simplifies to

. This further simplifies to , or .

Choice A is incorrect and may result from correctly substituting for x in the function but incorrectly simplifying the resulting expression to

, or . Choice B is incorrect and may result from arithmetic errors. Choice D is incorrect and may result from

correctly substituting for x in the function but incorrectly simplifying the expression to , or 11.
Question ID: d675744f

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

Which of the following is the graph in the xy-plane of the given equation?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.
Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. The y-intercept of the graph of an equation is the point , where b is the value of y when . For the given equation,

when . It follows that the y-intercept of the graph of the given equation is . Additionally, for the given equation, the value of y

doubles for each increase of 1 in the value of x. Therefore, the graph contains the points , , , and . Only the graph

shown in choice D passes through these points.

Choices A and B are incorrect because these are graphs of decreasing, not increasing, exponential functions. Choice C is incorrect because the

value of y increases by a growth factor greater than 2 for each increase of 1 in the value of x.
Question ID: f880f910

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

The area of a triangle is square centimeters. The length of the base of the triangle is centimeters greater than the height of the triangle.

What is the height, in centimeters, of the triangle?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. The area, , of a triangle is given by the formula , where represents the length of the base of the triangle and

represents its height. It’s given that the area of a triangle is square centimeters and that the length of the base of this triangle is

centimeters greater than the height of the triangle. Let represent the height, in centimeters, of the triangle. It follows that the length of the base

of the triangle can be expressed as . Substituting for , for , and for in the formula yields

, or . Multiplying both sides of this equation by yields . Applying the distributive property on

the right-hand side of this equation yields . Subtracting from both sides of this equation yields . In

factored form, this equation is equivalent to . Applying the zero product property, it follows that or

. Subtracting from both sides of the equation yields . Adding to both sides of the equation yields

. Since represents the height of the triangle, it must be positive. Therefore, the height, in centimeters, of the triangle is .

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 ID: 67f4b449

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

The function gives the area of a rectangle, , if its width is and its length is times its width. Which of

the following is the best interpretation of ?

Answer

A. If the width of the rectangle is , then the area of the rectangle is .

B. If the width of the rectangle is , then the length of the rectangle is .

C. If the width of the rectangle is , then the length of the rectangle is .

D. If the width of the rectangle is , then the area of the rectangle is .

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. The function gives the area of the rectangle, in , if its width is . Since the value of is the value of if

, it follows that means that is if . In the given context, this means that if the width of the rectangle is

, then the area of the rectangle is .

Choice B is incorrect and may result from conceptual errors.

Choice C is incorrect and may result from conceptual errors.

Choice D is incorrect and may result from interpreting as the width, in , of the rectangle if its area is , rather than as the area, in ,

of the rectangle if its width is .

Question ID: 44076c7d

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

For the quadratic function , the table shows three values of and their corresponding values of . Which equation defines ?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. The equation of a quadratic function can be written in the form , where , , and are constants. It’s

given in the table that when , the corresponding value of is . Substituting for and for in the equation

gives , which is equivalent to , or . It’s given in

the table that when , the corresponding value of is . Substituting for and for in the equation

gives , or . It’s given in the table that when , the corresponding value of is . Substituting for

and for in the equation gives , which is equivalent to , or

. Adding to the equation gives . Dividing

both sides of this equation by gives . Since , substituting for into the equation

gives . Subtracting from both sides of this equation gives . Substituting for in the equations and

gives and , respectively. Since , substituting for in the

equation gives , or . Subtracting from both sides of this equation gives .

Dividing both sides of this equation by gives . Substituting for into the equation gives , or

. Subtracting from both sides of this equation gives . Substituting for , for , and for in the equation

gives , which is equivalent to , or . Therefore,

defines .

Choice A is incorrect. If , then when , the corresponding value of is , not .

Choice B is incorrect. If , then when , the corresponding value of is , not .

Choice C is incorrect. If , then when , the corresponding value of is , not , and when , the

corresponding value of is , not .

Question ID: fad2f98c

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations in Medium

one variable and systems

of equations in two

variables

Question

What is one of the solutions to the given equation?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. Applying the zero product property to the given equation yields , , and . Dividing each side of

the equation by yields . Adding to each side of the equation yields . Subtracting from each side of the

equation yields . Therefore, the solutions to the given equation are , , and . Thus, one of the solutions to the given

equation is .

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 ID: 769b612d

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

The function g is defined by . What is the value of when is equal to ?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. It’s given that . Since can be written as , substituting for in this equation yields

. Because the bases on the left-hand side and right-hand side of this equation are equal, it follows that the exponents must be equal.

Therefore, . Adding to both sides of this equation yields . Dividing both sides of this equation by yields .

Therefore, the value of when is equal to is .

Choice A is incorrect. This is the value of when is equal to , not .

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

Choice D is incorrect. This is the value of , not , when is equal to .

Question ID: a267bd29

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations in Medium

one variable and systems

of equations in two

variables

Question

Which of the following is a solution to the given equation?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. Adding to both sides of the given equation yields . To complete the square, adding , or , to both

sides of this equation yields , or . Taking the square root of both sides of this equation yields

, or . Subtracting from both sides of this equation yields . Therefore, the solutions to the given

equation are and . Of these two solutions, only is given as a choice.

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 ID: f44a29a8

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

An object’s kinetic energy, in joules, is equal to the product of one-half the object’s mass, in kilograms, and the square of the object’s speed, in

meters per second. What is the speed, in meters per second, of an object with a mass of 4 kilograms and kinetic energy of 18 joules?

Answer

A. 3

B. 6

C. 9

D. 36

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. It’s given that an object’s kinetic energy, in joules, is equal to the product of one-half the object’s mass, in kilograms, and the

square of the object’s speed, in meters per second. This relationship can be represented by the equation , where K is the kinetic

energy, m is the mass, and v is the speed. Substituting a mass of 4 kilograms for m and a kinetic energy of 18 joules for K results in the equation

, or . Dividing both sides of this equation by 2 yields . Taking the square root of both sides yields

and . Since speed can’t be expressed as a negative number, the speed of the object is 3 meters per second.

Choice B is incorrect and may result from computation errors. Choice C is incorrect. This is the value of rather than v. Choice D is incorrect.

This is the value of rather than v.

Question ID: d71f6dbf

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

The height, in feet, of an object x seconds after it is thrown straight up in the air can be modeled by the function .

Based on the model, which of the following statements best interprets the equation ?

Answer

A. The height of the object 1.4 seconds after being thrown straight up in the air is 1.64 feet.

B. The height of the object 1.64 seconds after being thrown straight up in the air is 1.4 feet.

C. The height of the object 1.64 seconds after being thrown straight up in the air is approximately 1.4 times as great as its initial height.

D. The speed of the object 1.4 seconds after being thrown straight up in the air is approximately 1.64 feet per second.

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. The value 1.4 is the value of x, which represents the number of seconds after the object was thrown straight up in the air.

When the function h is evaluated for x = 1.4, the function has a value of 1.64, which is the height, in feet, of the object.

Choices B and C are incorrect and may result from misidentifying seconds as feet and feet as seconds. Additionally, choice C may result from

incorrectly including the initial height of the object as the input x. Choice D is incorrect and may result from misidentifying height as speed.
Question ID: 630897df

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations in Medium

one variable and systems

of equations in two

variables

Question

The speed of sound in dry air, v, can be modeled by the formula , where T is the temperature in degrees Celsius and v is

measured in meters per second. Which of the following correctly expresses T in terms of v ?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. To express T in terms of v, subtract 331.3 from both sides of the equation, which gives v – 331.3 = 0.606T. Dividing both

sides of the equation by 0.606 gives .

Choices A, B, and C are incorrect and are the result of incorrect steps while solving for T.
Question ID: 5805e747

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent expressions Medium

Question

Which expression is equivalent to ?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. Applying the distributive property, the given expression can be written as . Grouping like terms in this

expression yields . Combining like terms in this expression 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 ID: 04887c7b

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent expressions Medium

Question

The functions , , and are defined as shown. If , where , , and are constants, what is the value of

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. It’s given that , , and . It’s also given that

, where , , and are constants. Substituting for , for , and for in this equation yields

. Applying the distributive property to the left-hand side of this equation yields

, or . Combining like

terms on the left-hand side of this equation yields . It follows that the value of is .

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 ID: 6676f055

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

An engineer wanted to identify the best angle for a cooling fan in an engine in order to get the greatest airflow. The engineer discovered that the

function above models the airflow , in cubic feet per minute, as a function of the angle of the fan , in degrees. According to the model,

what angle, in degrees, gives the greatest airflow?

Answer

A. –
0.28

B. 0.28

C. 27

D. 880

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. The function f is quadratic, so it will have either a maximum or a minimum at the vertex of the graph. Since the coefficient of

the quadratic term (– 0.28) is negative, the vertex will be at a maximum. The equation f( ) = – 0.28( – 2
27) + 880 is given in vertex form, so the

vertex is at = 27. Therefore, an angle of 27 degrees gives the greatest airflow.

Choices A and B are incorrect and may be the result of misidentifying which value in a quadratic equation in vertex form represents the

vertex. Choice D is incorrect. This choice identifies the maximum value of f( ) rather than the value of for which f( ) is maximized.
Question ID: 29ed5d39

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations in Medium

one variable and systems

of equations in two

variables

Question

The given equation relates the numbers and , where is not equal to and . Which equation correctly expresses in terms of ?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. To express in terms of , the given equation must be solved for . Subtracting from both sides of the given equation

yields . Since is not equal to , multiplying both sides of this equation by yields . It's given that , which

means is not equal to . Therefore, dividing both sides of by yields , or .

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 ID: 90bcaa61

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

The function gives the number of bacteria in a population minutes after an initial observation. How much time, in

minutes, does it take for the number of bacteria in the population to double?

Correct Answer: 410

Rationale

The correct answer is . It's given that minutes after an initial observation, the number of bacteria in a population is . This

expression consists of the initial number of bacteria, , multiplied by the expression . The time it takes for the number of bacteria to

double is the increase in the value of that causes the expression to double. Since the base of the expression is , the expression

will double when the exponent increases by . Since the exponent of the expression is , the exponent will increase by when

increases by . Therefore the time, in minutes, it takes for the number of bacteria in the population to double is .
Question ID: 895628b5

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations in Medium

one variable and systems

of equations in two

variables

Question

Which ordered pair is the solution to the given system of equations?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. The second equation in the given system of equations is . Substituting for in the first equation of

the given system yields . Factoring out of the left-hand side of this equation yields .

An expression with a factor of the form is equal to zero when . Each side of this equation has a factor of , so each side of

the equation is equal to zero when . Substituting for into the equation yields

, or , which is true. Substituting for into the second equation in the given system of equations yields ,

or . Therefore, the solution to the system of equations is the ordered pair .

Choice A is incorrect and may result from switching the order of the solutions for and .

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 ID: 26eb61c1

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent expressions Medium

Question

Which expression is equivalent to ?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. Since each term of the given expression has a common factor of , it may be rewritten as , or

Choice A is incorrect. This expression is equivalent to , not .

Choice B is incorrect. This expression is equivalent to , not .

Choice D is incorrect. This expression is equivalent to , not .

Question ID: 8f65cddc

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations in Medium

one variable and systems

of equations in two

variables

Question

The given equation relates the positive numbers , , and . Which equation correctly expresses in terms of and ?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. Multiplying each side of the given equation by yields the equivalent equation . Dividing each side of this equation

by yields , or .

Choice A is incorrect. This equation is not equivalent to the given equation.

Choice B is incorrect. This equation is not equivalent to the given equation.

Choice D is incorrect. This equation is not equivalent to the given equation.

Question ID: 2926cc6d

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations in Medium

one variable and systems

of equations in two

variables

Question

Which of the following is a solution to the given equation?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. Since a product of two factors is equal to if and only if at least one of the factors is , either or .

Subtracting from each side of the equation yields . Dividing each side of this equation by yields . Adding to

each side of the equation yields . Dividing each side of this equation by yields . It follows that the solutions to the

given equation are and . Therefore, is a solution to the given equation.

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 ID: dd8ac009

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

Time (years) Total amount (dollars)

Sara opened a savings account at a bank. The table shows the exponential relationship between the time , in years, since Sara opened the

account and the total amount , in dollars, in the account. If Sara made no additional deposits or withdrawals, which of the following equations

best represents the relationship between and ?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. It’s given that the relationship between and is exponential. The table shows that the value of increases as the value of

increases. Therefore, the relationship between and can be represented by an increasing exponential equation of the form ,

where and are positive constants. The table shows that when , . Substituting for and for in the equation

yields , which is equivalent to , or . Substituting for in the equation

yields . The table also shows that when , . Substituting for and for in the equation

yields , or . Dividing both sides of this equation by yields .

Subtracting from both sides of this equation yields . Substituting for in the equation yields

. Therefore, of the choices, choice B best represents the relationship between and .

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 ID: dbe9b217

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

The function is defined by . What is the value of ?

Correct Answer: 68

Rationale

The correct answer is . It's given that the function is defined by . Substituting for in this equation yields

, or , which is equivalent to . Therefore, the value of is .

Question ID: 42f19012

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent expressions Medium

Question

Which expression is equivalent to , where ?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. Since , multiplying the exponent of the given expression by yields an equivalent expression: .

Since , the expression can be rewritten as . Applying properties of exponents, this expression can be rewritten

as . An expression of the form , where and , is equivalent to . Therefore, is equivalent to .

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 ID: 9ff88bb5

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

A competitive diver dives from a platform into the water. The graph shown gives the height above the water , in meters, of the diver seconds

after diving from the platform. What is the best interpretation of the x-intercept of the graph?

Answer

A. The diver reaches a maximum height above the water at seconds.

B. The diver hits the water at seconds.

C. The diver reaches a maximum height above the water at seconds.

D. The diver hits the water at seconds.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. It’s given that the graph shows the height above the water , in meters, of a diver seconds after diving from a platform. The

x-intercept of a graph is the point at which the graph intersects the x-axis, or when the value of is . The graph shown intersects the x-axis
between and . In other words, the diver is meters above the water, or hits the water, between and seconds after diving from

the platform. Of the given choices, only choice B includes an interpretation where the diver hits the water between and seconds. Therefore,

the best interpretation of the x-intercept of the graph is the diver hits the water at seconds.

Choice A is incorrect and may result from conceptual errors.

Choice C is incorrect. This is the best interpretation of the maximum value, not the x-intercept, of the graph.
Choice D is incorrect and may result from conceptual errors.
Question ID: 94ff3e2d

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

The function is defined by . What is the value of ?

Correct Answer: .5, 1/2

Rationale

The correct answer is . The value of is the value of when . Substituting for in the given equation yields ,

which is equivalent to , or . Therefore, the value of is . Note that 1/2 and .5 are examples of ways to enter a correct

answer.
Question ID: 281a4f3b

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

A certain college had 3,000 students enrolled in 2015. The college predicts that after 2015, the number of students enrolled each year will be

2% less than the number of students enrolled the year before. Which of the following functions models the relationship between the number of

students enrolled, , and the number of years after 2015, x ?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. Because the change in the number of students decreases by the same percentage each year, the relationship between the

number of students and the number of years can be modeled with a decreasing exponential function in the form , where

is the number of students, a is the number of students in 2015, r is the rate of decrease each year, and x is the number of years since 2015.

It’s given that 3,000 students were enrolled in 2015 and that the rate of decrease is predicted to be 2%, or 0.02. Substituting these values into the

decreasing exponential function yields , which is equivalent to .

Choices A, B, and C are incorrect and may result from conceptual errors when translating the given information into a decreasing exponential

function.
Question ID: 5ae4803e

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations in Medium

one variable and systems

of equations in two

variables

Question

What is the solution to the given equation?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. Since the left-hand side of the given equation has a factor of in both the numerator and the denominator, the solution

to the given equation can be found by solving the equation . Adding to both sides of this equation yields . Substituting for

in the given equation yields , or . Therefore, the solution to the given equation is .

Choice A is incorrect. Substituting for in the given equation yields , or , which is false.

Choice B is incorrect. Substituting for in the given equation yields , or , which is false.

Choice D is incorrect. Substituting for in the given equation yields , or , which is false.
Question ID: f237ccfc

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent expressions Medium

Question
The sum of and can be written in the form , where a, b, and c are constants. What is the value of

Rationale
The correct answer is 32. The sum of the given expressions is . Combining like terms yields

. Based on the form of the given equation, , , and . Therefore, .

Alternate approach: Because is the value of when , it is possible to first make that substitution into each

polynomial before adding them. When , the first polynomial is equal to and the second polynomial is equal to

. The sum of 30 and 2 is 32.

Question ID: a391ed22

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent expressions Medium

Question

The expression above is equivalent to , where a, b, and c are constants. What is the value of b?

Rationale
The correct answer is . The expression can be written in the form , where a, b, and c are

constants, by multiplying out the expression using the distributive property of multiplication over addition. The result is

. This expression can be rewritten by multiplying as indicated to give

, which can be simplified to , or . This is in the form ,

where the value of b is . Note that 5/2 and 2.5 are examples of ways to enter a correct answer.
Question ID: b3b07f0c

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

For the quadratic function , the table shows three values of and their corresponding values of . Which equation defines ?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. According to the table, , , and . Let the quadratic function be defined by

. Therefore, , , and . Substituting for in the equation

yields , or . Substituting for in the equation yields , or

. Substituting for in the equation yields , or . By the factor theorem, if

and , then , where is a constant. Since , substituting for and for in the

equation yields , or , which is equivalent to . Dividing both

sides of this equation by yields . Substituting for in the equation yields .

Since , it follows that . Subtracting from both sides of the equation yields

. Substituting for in this equation yields .

Choice A is incorrect. If this equation defined , then when , the value of would be , not .

Choice C is incorrect. If this equation defined , then when , the value of would be , not .

Choice D is incorrect. If this equation defined , then when , the value of would be , not .
Question ID: c77ef2fb

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations in Medium

one variable and systems

of equations in two

variables

Question

Blood volume, , in a human can be determined using the equation , where is the plasma volume and H is the hematocrit

(the fraction of blood volume that is red blood cells). Which of the following correctly expresses the hematocrit in terms of the blood volume and

the plasma volume?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. The hematocrit can be expressed in terms of the blood volume and the plasma volume by solving the given equation

for H. Multiplying both sides of this equation by yields . Dividing both sides by yields

. Subtracting 1 from both sides yields . Dividing both sides by yields .

Choices B, C, and D are incorrect and may result from errors made when manipulating the equation.
Question ID: 99c5e794

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

A model predicts that the population of Bergen was in . The model also predicts that each year for the next years, the population

increased by of the previous year's population. Which equation best represents this model, where is the number of years after , for

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. It's given that a model predicts the population of Bergen in was . The model also predicts that each year for the

next years, the population increased by of the previous year's population. The predicted population in one of these years can be found by

multiplying the predicted population from the previous year by . Since the predicted population in was , the predicted

population year later is . The predicted population years later is this value times , which is , or

. The predicted population years later is this value times , or . More generally, the predicted population, ,

years after is represented by the equation .

Choice A is incorrect. Substituting for in this equation indicates the predicted population in was rather than .

Choice B is incorrect. Substituting for in this equation indicates the predicted population in was rather than .

Choice C is incorrect. This equation indicates the predicted population is decreasing, rather than increasing, by each year.
Question ID: 5ae186b4

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations in Medium

one variable and systems

of equations in two

variables

Question

What is the solution to the given equation?

Correct Answer: -9

Rationale

The correct answer is . Since is in the denominator of a fraction in the given equation, can't be equal to . Since isn't equal to ,

multiplying both sides of the given equation by yields an equivalent equation, . Dividing both sides of this equation by yields

. Therefore, is the solution to the given equation.

Question ID: 364a2d25

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations in Medium

one variable and systems

of equations in two

variables

Question

If one solution to the system of equations above is , what is one possible value of x ?

Rationale
The correct answer is either 8 or 9. The first equation can be rewritten as . Substituting for y in the second equation gives

. By applying the distributive property, this can be rewritten as . Subtracting 72 from both sides of the

equation yields . Factoring the left-hand side of this equation yields . Applying the Zero Product

Property, it follows that and . Solving each equation for x yields and respectively. Note that 8 and 9 are

examples of ways to enter a correct answer.

Question ID: 1be909aa

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent expressions Medium

Question

Which expression is equivalent to , where and ?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. For positive values of , , where and are integers. Since it's given that and , this property can

be applied to rewrite the given expression as , which is equivalent to . For positive values of , . This

property can be applied to rewrite the expression as , which is equivalent to .

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 ID: 100030d9

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question
A rubber ball bounces upward one-half the height that it falls each time it hits the ground. If the ball was originally dropped from a distance of

20.0 feet above the ground, what was its maximum height above the ground, in feet, between the third and fourth time it hit the ground?

Rationale
The correct answer is 2.5. After hitting the ground once, the ball bounces to feet. After hitting the ground a second time, the

ball bounces to feet. After hitting the ground for the third time, the ball bounces to feet. Note that 2.5 and 5/2

are examples of ways to enter a correct answer.

Question ID: 7ba694f3

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

The number of bacteria in a liquid medium doubles every day. There are bacteria in the liquid medium at the start of an observation.

Which represents the number of bacteria, , in the liquid medium days after the start of the observation?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. Since the number of bacteria doubles every day, the relationship between and can be represented by an exponential

equation of the form , where is the number of bacteria at the start of the observation and the number of bacteria increases by a

factor of every day. It’s given that there are bacteria at the start of the observation. Therefore, . It’s also given that the

number of bacteria doubles, or increases by a factor of , every day. Therefore, . Substituting for and for in the equation

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. This equation represents a situation where the number of bacteria is decreasing by half, not doubling, every day.
Question ID: c7a187a7

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

If the given function is graphed in the xy-plane, where , what is an x-intercept of the graph?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. It's given that . The x-intercepts of a graph in the xy-plane are the points where . Thus, for an x-intercept of
the graph of function , . Substituting for in the equation yields . Factoring the

right-hand side of this equation yields . By the zero product property, and . Subtracting from

both sides of the equation yields . Adding to both sides of the equation yields . Therefore, the x-
intercepts of the graph of are and . Of these two x-intercepts, only is given as a choice.

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 ID: 99269e03

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

The table shows three values of and their corresponding values of for the equation . In the table, is a constant. What is the

value of ?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. It's given that the table shows three values of and their corresponding values of for the equation . It's also

given that when the corresponding value of is , and is a constant. Substituting for and for in the given equation yields

, or . Therefore, the value of is .

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 ID: a1262cdb

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations in Medium

one variable and systems

of equations in two

variables

Question

The equation relates the variables , , and . Which of the following correctly expresses the value of in terms of ?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. Subtracting from each side of the given equation yields . Therefore, the expression correctly expresses the

value of in terms of .

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 ID: 0980fcdd

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations in Medium

one variable and systems

of equations in two

variables

Question

A solution to the given system of equations is . Which of the following is a possible value of xy ?

Answer

A. 0

B. 6

C. 12

D. 36

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. Solutions to the given system of equations are ordered pairs that satisfy both equations in the system. Adding the left-

hand and right-hand sides of the equations in the system yields , or . Subtracting y from

both sides of this equation yields . Taking the square root of both sides of this equation yields and . Therefore, there

are two solutions to this system of equations, one with an x-coordinate of 6 and the other with an x-coordinate of . Substituting 6 for x in the

second equation yields , or ; therefore, one solution is . Similarly, substituting for x in the second equation

yields , or ; therefore, the other solution is . It follows then that if is a solution to the system, then

possible values of are and . Only 0 is among the given choices.

Choice B is incorrect. This is the x-coordinate of one of the solutions, . Choice C is incorrect and may result from conceptual or

computational errors. Choice D is incorrect. This is the square of the x-coordinate of one of the solutions, .
Question ID: e1391dd6

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question
According to Moore’s law, the number of transistors included on microprocessors doubles every 2 years. In 1985, a microprocessor was

introduced that had 275,000 transistors. Based on this information, in which of the following years does Moore’s law estimate the number of

transistors to reach 1.1 million?

Answer
A. 1987

B. 1989

C. 1991

D. 1994

Rationale
Choice B is correct. Let x be the number of years after 1985. It follows that represents the number of 2-year periods that will occur within an

x-year period. According to Moore’s law, every 2 years, the number of transistors included on microprocessors is estimated to double. Therefore,

x years after 1985, the number of transistors will double times. Since the number of transistors included on a microprocessor was 275,000,

or .275 million, in 1985, the estimated number of transistors, in millions, included x years after 1985 can be modeled as . The year

in which the number of transistors is estimated to be 1.1 million is represented by the value of x when . Dividing both sides

of this equation by .275 yields , which can be rewritten as . Since the exponential equation has equal bases on each side, it

follows that the exponents must also be equal: . Multiplying both sides of the equation by 2 yields . Therefore, according

to Moore’s law, 4 years after 1985, or in 1989, the number of transistors included on microprocessors is estimated to reach 1.1 million.

Alternate approach: According to Moore’s law, 2 years after 1985 (in 1987), the number of transistors included on a microprocessor is estimated

to be , or 550,000, and 2 years after 1987 (in 1989), the number of transistors included on microprocessors is estimated to be

, or 1,100,000. Therefore, the year that Moore’s law estimates the number of transistors on microprocessors to reach 1.1 million is

1989.

Choices A, C, and D are incorrect. According to Moore’s law, the number of transistors included on microprocessors is estimated to reach

550,000 in 1987, 2.2 million in 1991, and about 6.2 million in 1994.
Question ID: 3c600337

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

The function is defined by . What is the value of ?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. The value of is the value of when . Substituting for in the given function yields , or

, which is equivalent to . Therefore, the value of is .

Choice A is incorrect. This is the value of , not .

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

Choice C is incorrect. This is the value of , not .

Question ID: 290cdc2c

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent expressions Medium

Question

Which expression is equivalent to , where ?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. An expression in the form , where and , is equivalent to . It follows that , where , is equivalent

to .

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 ID: 87a3de81

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations in Medium

one variable and systems

of equations in two

variables

Question

If a is a solution of the equation above and , what is the value of a ?

Rationale
The correct answer is 3. The solution to the given equation can be found by factoring the quadratic expression. The factors can be determined by

finding two numbers with a sum of 1 and a product of . The two numbers that meet these constraints are 4 and . Therefore, the given

equation can be rewritten as . It follows that the solutions to the equation are or . Since it is given that

, a must equal 3.
Question ID: 4209aefe

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

The function models the value, in dollars, of a certain bank account by the end of each year from through ,

where is the number of years after . Which of the following is the best interpretation of “ is approximately equal to ” in this

context?

Answer

A. The value of the bank account is estimated to be approximately dollars greater in than in .

B. The value of the bank account is estimated to be approximately dollars in .

C. The value, in dollars, of the bank account is estimated to be approximately times greater in than in .

D. The value of the bank account is estimated to increase by approximately dollars every years between and .

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. It’s given that the function models the value, in dollars, of a certain bank account by the end of each

year from through , where is the number of years after . It follows that represents the estimated value, in dollars, of the

bank account years after . Since the value of is the value of when , it follows that “ is approximately equal to ”

means that is approximately equal to when . In the given context, this means that the value of the bank account is estimated to

be approximately dollars years after . Therefore, the best interpretation of the statement “ is approximately equal to ” in this

context is the value of the bank account is estimated to be approximately dollars in .

Choice A is incorrect and may result from conceptual errors.

Choice C is incorrect and may result from conceptual errors.

Choice D is incorrect and may result from conceptual errors.

Question ID: 482a445b

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent expressions Medium

Question

Which expression is equivalent to ?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. The expression can be written as , which is equivalent to .

Distributing and to yields , or . The expression is equivalent to

. Distributing and to yields , or . Therefore, the expression

is equivalent to , or . Combining like terms in this

expression yields .

Choice A is incorrect. Equivalent expressions must be equivalent for any value of . Substituting for in this expression yields , whereas

substituting for in the given expression yields .

Choice C is incorrect. Equivalent expressions must be equivalent for any value of . Substituting for in this expression yields , whereas

substituting for in the given expression yields .

Choice D is incorrect. Equivalent expressions must be equivalent for any value of . Substituting for in this expression yields , whereas

substituting for in the given expression yields .

Question ID: f1fa0821

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

The graph gives the estimated population , in thousands, of a town years since , where . Which of the following best

describes the increase in the estimated population from to ?

Answer

A. The estimated population at is times the estimated population at .

B. The estimated population at is times the estimated population at .

C. The estimated population at is times the estimated population at .

D. The estimated population at is times the estimated population at .

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. On the graph shown, the y-axis represents estimated population, in thousands. The graph shows that when , the y-
coordinate is . Therefore, the estimated population at is thousand. The graph also shows that when , the y-coordinate is .

Therefore, the estimated population at is thousand. Dividing thousand by thousand yields ; therefore, thousand is times

thousand. It follows that the estimated population at is times the estimated population at .

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 ID: 5bf0f84a

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

The function above models the height h, in feet, of an object above ground t seconds after being launched straight up in the air. What does the

number 72 represent in the function?

Answer

A. The initial height, in feet, of the object

B. The maximum height, in feet, of the object

C. The initial speed, in feet per second, of the object

D. The maximum speed, in feet per second, of the object

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. The variable t represents the seconds after the object is launched. Since , this means that the height, in feet, at 0

seconds, or the initial height, is 72 feet.

Choices B, C, and D are incorrect and may be the result of misinterpreting the function in context.
Question ID: 4b6f0a3f

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations in Medium

one variable and systems

of equations in two

variables

Question

What is the sum of the solutions to the given equation?

Correct Answer: 5

Rationale

The correct answer is . The given quadratic equation can be rewritten in factored form as . Based on the zero product

property, it follows that or . Adding to both sides of the equation yields . Subtracting from both sides

of the equation yields . Therefore, the solutions to the given equation are and . It follows that the sum of the solutions to

the given equation is , or .

Question ID: c048055c

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

A model predicts that the population of Bergen was in . The model also predicts that each year for the next years, the population

increased by of the previous year's population. Which equation best represents this model, where is the number of years after , for

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. It's given that a model predicts the population of Bergen in was . The model also predicts that each year for the

next years, the population increased by of the previous year's population. The predicted population in one of these years can be found by

multiplying the predicted population from the previous year by . Since the predicted population in was , the predicted

population year later is . The predicted population years later is this value times , which is , or

. The predicted population years later is this value times , or . More generally, the predicted population, ,

years after is represented by the equation .

Choice A is incorrect. Substituting for in this equation indicates the predicted population in was rather than .

Choice B is incorrect. Substituting for in this equation indicates the predicted population in was rather than .

Choice C is incorrect. This equation indicates the predicted population is decreasing, rather than increasing, by each year.
Question ID: 70ebd3d0

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

The function N defined above can be used to model the number of species of brachiopods at various ocean depths d, where d is in hundreds of

meters. Which of the following does the model predict?

Answer

A. For every increase in depth by 1 meter, the number of brachiopod species decreases by 115.

B. For every increase in depth by 1 meter, the number of brachiopod species decreases by 10%.

C. For every increase in depth by 100 meters, the number of brachiopod species decreases by 115.

D. For every increase in depth by 100 meters, the number of brachiopod species decreases by 10%.

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. The function N is exponential, so it follows that changes by a fixed percentage for each increase in d by 1. Since d is

measured in hundreds of meters, it also follows that the number of brachiopod species changes by a fixed percentage for each increase in

ocean depth by 100 meters. Since the base of the exponent in the model is 0.90, which is less than 1, the number of brachiopod species

decreases as the ocean depth increases. Specifically, the number of brachiopod species at a depth of meters is 90% of the number of

brachiopod species at a depth of d meters. This means that for each increase in ocean depth by 100 meters, the number of brachiopod species

decreases by 10%.

Choices A and C are incorrect. These describe situations where the number of brachiopod species are decreasing linearly rather than

exponentially. Choice B is incorrect and results from interpreting the decrease in the number of brachiopod species as 10% for every 1-meter

increase in ocean depth rather than for every 100-meter increase in ocean depth.
Question ID: 0f9f8ea7

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

The given equation, where is a positive constant, gives the predicted number of bacteria, , in a growth medium hours after the number of

bacteria was initially measured. According to the equation, what was the predicted number of bacteria initially measured in the growth medium?

Correct Answer: 3600

Rationale

The correct answer is . The predicted number of bacteria initially measured in the growth medium is the value of when .

Substituting for in the given equation yields . Since is positive, this equation is equivalent to . Therefore, when

, the value of is . Thus, the predicted number of bacteria initially measured in the growth medium is .
Question ID: 2683b5db

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations in Medium

one variable and systems

of equations in two

variables

Question

In a city, the property tax T, in dollars, is calculated using the formula above, where P is the value of the property, in dollars. Which of the following

expresses the value of the property in terms of the property tax?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. To express the value of the property in terms of the property tax, the given equation must be solved for P. Multiplying both

sides of the equation by 100 gives . Adding 40,000 to both sides of the equation gives .

Therefore, .

Choice A is incorrect and may result from multiplying 40,000 by 0.01, then subtracting 400 from, instead of adding 400 to, the left-hand side of

the equation. Choice B is incorrect and may result from multiplying 40,000 by 0.01. Choice C is incorrect and may result from subtracting instead

of adding 40,000 from the left-hand side of the equation.

Question ID: f8871ccd

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent expressions Medium

Question

Which expression is equivalent to ?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. In the given expression, can be rewritten as , or . Applying the distributive property to the

expression yields , or . Combining like terms in this expression yields

. Thus, is equivalent to .

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 ID: 40f2e601

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations in Medium

one variable and systems

of equations in two

variables

Question

The given equation relates the positive numbers , , and . Which equation correctly expresses in terms of and ?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. It's given that the values of , , and are positive. Therefore, dividing each side of the given equation by yields

. Subtracting from each side of this equation yields . Dividing each side of this equation by yields

, or .

Choice A is incorrect. This equation is equivalent to , not .

Choice B is incorrect. This equation is equivalent to , not .

Choice C is incorrect. This equation is equivalent to , not .

Question ID: 7f87deff

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

What is an x-coordinate of an x-intercept of the graph of in the xy-plane?

Correct Answer: 14, -5, -4

Rationale

The correct answer is either , , or . The x-intercepts of a graph in the xy-plane are the points at which the graph intersects the x-axis, or
when the value of is . Substituting for in the given equation yields . Dividing both sides of this equation by

yields . Applying the zero product property to this equation yields three equations: , , and

. Adding to both sides of the equation yields , subtracting from both sides of the equation yields

, and subtracting from both sides of the equation yields . Therefore, the x-coordinates of the x-intercepts of the
graph of the given equation are , , and . Note that 14, -5, and -4 are examples of ways to enter a correct answer.
Question ID: 97158b3a

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

The area A, in square centimeters, of a rectangular painting can be represented by the expression , where is the width, in

centimeters, of the painting. Which expression represents the length, in centimeters, of the painting?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. It's given that the expression represents the area, in square centimeters, of a rectangular painting, where is

the width, in centimeters, of the painting. The area of a rectangle can be calculated by multiplying its length by its width. It follows that the length,

in centimeters, of the painting is represented by the expression .

Choice A is incorrect. This expression represents the width, in centimeters, of the painting, not its length, in centimeters.

Choice B is incorrect. This is the difference between the length, in centimeters, and the width, in centimeters, of the painting, not its length, in

centimeters.

Choice D is incorrect. This expression represents the area, in square centimeters, of the painting, not its length, in centimeters.
Question ID: 24016dee

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent expressions Medium

Question

Which expression is equivalent to ?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. The given expression is equivalent to , or . Combining like terms in this expression

yields .

Choice A is incorrect. This expression is equivalent to , not .

Choice C is incorrect. This expression is equivalent to , not .

Choice D is incorrect. This expression is equivalent to , not .

Question ID: c3a72da5

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent expressions Medium

Question

Which of the following is equivalent to the sum of and ?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. Adding the two expressions yields . Because the pair of terms and and the pair of

terms and each contain the same variable raised to the same power, they are like terms and can be combined as and ,

respectively. The sum of the given expressions therefore simplifies to .

Choice A is incorrect and may result from adding the coefficients and the exponents in the given expressions. Choice B is incorrect and may

result from adding the exponents as well as the coefficients of the like terms in the given expressions. Choice C is incorrect and may result from

multiplying, rather than adding, the coefficients of the like terms in the given expressions.
Question ID: dba7432e

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

x f(x)

0 5

The table above gives the values of the function f for some values of x. Which of the following equations could define f ?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. Each choice has a function with coefficient 5 and base 2, so the exponents must be analyzed. When the input value of x

increases, the output value of f(x) decreases, so the exponent must be negative. An exponent of – x yields the values in the table: ,

, , and .

Choices A and B are incorrect and may result from choosing equations that yield an increasing, rather than decreasing, output value of f(x) when

’
the input value of x increases. Choice C is incorrect and may result from choosing an equation that doesn t yield the values in the table.
Question ID: 16de54c7

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent expressions Medium

Question

If the given expression is rewritten in the form , where k is a constant, what is the value of k ?

Rationale
The correct answer is 4. It’s given that can be rewritten as ; it follows that

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

Subtracting from both sides of this equation yields . Using properties of equality, and

. Either equation can be solved for k. Dividing both sides of by yields . The equation

can be rewritten as . It follows that . Solving this equation for k also yields . Therefore, the value of k is 4.
Question ID: 2f958af9

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations in Medium

one variable and systems

of equations in two

variables

Question

The formula above expresses the square of the speed v of a wave moving along a string in terms of tension T, mass m, and length L of the string.

What is T in terms of m, v, and L ?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. To write the formula as T in terms of m, v, and L means to isolate T on one side of the equation. First, multiply both sides of

2
the equation by m, which gives , which simplifies to mv = LT. Next, divide both sides of the equation by L, which gives

, which simplifies to .

Choices B, C, and D are incorrect and may be the result of incorrectly applying operations to each side of the equation.
Question ID: 4d425cef

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

For the polynomial function , the graph of in the xy-plane passes through the points , , and . Which of the

following must be a factor of ?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. It's given that is a polynomial function and the graph of in the xy-plane passes through the points ,

, and . A point in the form on the graph of means that is a factor of . Since the graph of the function passes

through the point , must be a factor of .

Choice A is incorrect. This is a factor if the graph of passed through .

Choice B is incorrect. This is a factor if the graph of passed through .

Choice D is incorrect. This is a factor if the graph of passed through .

Question ID: cbc4c163

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

The function f is defined by . What is the value of ?

Correct Answer: 11/4, 2.75

Rationale

The correct answer is . It’s given that the function is defined by . Substituting for in this equation yields

, which is equivalent , or . Therefore, the value of is . Note that 11/4 or

2.75 are examples of ways to enter a correct answer.

Question ID: 876a731c

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations in Medium

one variable and systems

of equations in two

variables

Question

If (x, y) is a solution of the system of equations above and x > 0, what is the value of xy ?

Answer

A. 1

B. 2

C. 3

D. 9

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. Substituting for y in the second equation gives . This equation can be solved as follows:

Apply the distributive property.

Subtract 2x and 6 from both sides of the equation.

Combine like terms.

Factor both terms on the left side of the equation

by 2x.

Thus, and are the solutions to the system. Since , only needs to be considered. The value of y when is

. Therefore, the value of xy is .

Choices B, C, and D are incorrect and likely result from a computational or conceptual error when solving this system of equations.
Question ID: 3934dd0a

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations in Medium

one variable and systems

of equations in two

variables

Question

Which quadratic equation has exactly one distinct real solution?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. Taking the square root of both sides of yields . Subtracting from both sides of this equation

yields . Therefore, this equation has exactly one distinct real solution.

Choice B is incorrect. This equation has no distinct real solutions, not exactly one distinct real solution.

Choice C is incorrect. This equation has exactly two distinct real solutions, not exactly one distinct real solution.

Choice D is incorrect. This equation has exactly two distinct real solutions, not exactly one distinct real solution.
Question ID: f1c81b3b

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

The exponential function is defined by , where is a positive constant. If , what is the value of ?

Correct Answer: 11875

Rationale

The correct answer is . It's given that the exponential function is defined by , where is a positive constant, and

. It follows that when , . Substituting for and for in the given equation yields .

Dividing each side of this equation by yields . Taking the cube root of both sides of this equation gives . Substituting for

and for in the equation yields , or . Therefore, the value of is .

Question ID: bef4b1c6

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations in Medium

one variable and systems

of equations in two

variables

Question

What is the positive solution to the given equation?

Correct Answer: 5

Rationale

The correct answer is . Multiplying both sides of the given equation by results in . Applying the distributive property of

multiplication to the right-hand side of this equation results in . Subtracting from both sides of this equation results in

. The right-hand side of this equation can be rewritten by factoring. The two values that multiply to and add to are

and . It follows that the equation can be rewritten as . Setting each factor equal to yields two

equations: and . Subtracting from both sides of the equation results in . Adding to both sides

of the equation results in . Therefore, the positive solution to the given equation is .
Question ID: c19d1fb0

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

An egg is thrown from a rooftop. The equation represents this situation, where is the height of the egg above the

ground, in meters, seconds after it is thrown. According to the equation, what is the height, in meters, from which the egg was thrown?

Correct Answer: 18

Rationale

The correct answer is . It's given that an egg is thrown from a rooftop and that the equation represents this situation,

where is the height of the egg above the ground, in meters, seconds after it is thrown. If follows that the height, in meters, from which the egg

was thrown is the value of when . Substituting for in the equation yields , or

. Therefore, according to the equation, the height, in meters, from which the egg was thrown is .
Question ID: 3e9cc0c2

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent expressions Medium

Question

Which of the following is equivalent to ?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. Multiplying (1 – p) by each term of the polynomial within the second pair of parentheses gives (1 – p)1 = 1 – p; (1 – p)p = p –
2
p ; (1 – 2
p)p
2
= p – 3
p ; (1 – 3
p)p = p
3
– 4
p ; (1 – p)p
4 4
= p – 5
p ; (1 – p)p
5
= p
5
– 6
p ; and (1 – p)p
6 6
= p – 7
p . Adding these seven expressions

together and combining like terms gives 1 + (p – p) + (p

2
– 2
p ) + (p
3
– 3
p ) + (p
4
– 4
p ) + (p
5
– 5
p ) + (p
6
– p )
6
– 7
p , which can be simplified to 1 –
7
p .

Choices A, C, and D are incorrect and may result from incorrectly identifying the highest power of p in the expressions or incorrectly combining

like terms.
Question ID: 7348f046

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent expressions Medium

Question

Which of the following is equivalent to the given expression?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. Distributing the negative sign to the terms in the second parentheses yields . This expression can be

rewritten as . Combining like terms results in .

Choice A is incorrect and may result from not distributing the negative sign to the 7. Choice B is incorrect and may result from adding to

instead of subtracting . Choice D is incorrect and may result from adding the product of and x to the product of 3 and 7.
Question ID: 0aaef7aa

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

The function is defined by . What is the value of when is equal to ?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. It's given that . Substituting for in this equation yields . Dividing each side of this equation by

yields . Taking the cube root of each side of this equation yields . Therefore, when is equal to , 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 ID: 928498f3

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations in Medium

one variable and systems

of equations in two

variables

Question

What are the solutions to the given equation?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. The quadratic formula, , can be used to find the solutions to an equation in the form

. In the given equation, , , and . Substituting these values into the quadratic formula gives

, or .

Choice B is incorrect and may result from using as the quadratic formula. Choice C is incorrect and may result from using

as the quadratic formula. Choice D is incorrect and may result from using as the quadratic

formula.
Question ID: 26e83bbc

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent expressions Medium

Question

Functions and are given, and in function , is a constant. If , what is the value of ?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. Multiplying the given functions and yields . Applying the distributive property to

the right-hand side of this equation yields . Applying the distributive property once again

to the right-hand side of this equation yields , which is equivalent to

. Factoring out from the second and third terms yields

. Since the left-hand sides of and are equal, it

follows that , or , and , or . Adding to each side of

yields . Dividing each side of this equation by yields . Similarly, dividing each side of by yields .

Therefore, the value of 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 D is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Question ID: b7cd6ca6

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

The equation gives the estimated number of employees at a restaurant, where is the number of years since the restaurant

opened. Which of the following is the best interpretation of the number in this context?

Answer

A. The estimated number of employees when the restaurant opened

B. The increase in the estimated number of employees each year

C. The number of years the restaurant has been open

D. The percent increase in the estimated number of employees each year

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. For an exponential function of the form , where and —

are constants, the initial value of the function that is,

the value of the function when —

is and the value of the function increases by a factor of each time increases by . Since the function

gives the estimated number of employees at a restaurant and is the number of years since the restaurant opened, the best

interpretation of the number in this context is the estimated number of employees when , or when the restaurant opened.

Choice B is incorrect and may result from conceptual errors.

Choice C is incorrect and may result from conceptual errors.

Choice D is incorrect and may result from conceptual errors.

Question ID: b47419f4

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent expressions Medium

Question

Which of the following is equivalent to the expression above?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. By distributing the minus sign through the expression , the given expression can be rewritten as

, which is equivalent to . Combining like terms gives , or .

Choice B is incorrect and may be the result of failing to distribute the minus sign appropriately through the second term and simplifying the

expression . Choice C is incorrect and may be the result of multiplying the expressions and .

Choice D is incorrect and may be the result of multiplying the expressions and .
Question ID: 8838a672

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent expressions Medium

Question

Which of the following expressions is equivalent to the expression above?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. Using the distributive property, the given expression can be rewritten as . Combining like

terms, this expression can be rewritten as , which is equivalent to .

Choices A, C, and D are incorrect and may result from an error when applying the distributive property or an error when combining like terms.
Question ID: f76c1858

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations in Medium

one variable and systems

of equations in two

variables

Question

What is the positive solution to the given equation?

Correct Answer: 4

Rationale

The correct answer is . The left-hand side of the given equation can be factored as . Therefore, the given equation,

, can be written as . Applying the zero product property to this equation yields and .

Subtracting from both sides of the equation yields . Dividing both sides of this equation by yields . Adding

to both sides of the equation yields . Therefore, the two solutions to the given equation, , are and .

It follows that is the positive solution to the given equation.

Question ID: 0af701e7

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

The function is defined by . What value of satisfies ?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. It's given that the function is defined by . It's also given that . Substituting for in

the function yields and substituting for in the function yields .

Therefore, and . Substituting for and for in the equation yields

. Subtracting from both sides of this equation yields . Dividing both sides of this equation by yields .

By the definition of absolute value, if , then or . Dividing both sides of each of these equations by yields

or , respectively. Thus, of the given choices, a value of that satisfies 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 D is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Question ID: 0b3d25c5

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent expressions Medium

Question

Which of the following is equivalent to , where ?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. The given expression can also be written as . The trinomial can be rewritten in factored

form as . Thus, the entire expression can be rewritten as . Simplifying the exponents yields .

Choices A, B, and C are incorrect and may result from errors made when simplifying the exponents in the expression .
Question ID: 4880eecb

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

The product of a positive number and the number that is more than is . What is the value of ?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. The number that's more than can be represented by the expression . It's given that the product of and is

, so it follows that , or . Subtracting from each side of this equation yields .

Factoring the left-hand side of this equation yields . Applying the zero product property to this equation yields two

solutions: and . Since is a positive number, the value of is .

Choice A is incorrect. If , the product of and the number that's more than would be , or , not .

Choice C is incorrect. This is the value of the number that's more than , not the value of .

Choice D is incorrect. If , the product of and the number that's more than would be , or , not .
Question ID: f5e8ccf1

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

The function f is defined above. Which of the following is NOT an x-intercept of the graph of the function in the xy-plane?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. The graph of the function f in the xy-plane has x-intercepts at the points , where . Substituting 0 for

in the given equation yields . By the zero product property, if , then

, , or . Solving each of these linear equations for x, it follows that , , and ,

respectively. This means that the graph of the function f in the xy-plane has three x-intercepts: , , and . Therefore,

isn’t an x-intercept of the graph of the function f.

Alternate approach: Substitution may be used. Since by definition an x-intercept of any graph is a point in the form where k is a constant,

and since all points in the options are in this form, it need only be checked whether the points in the options lie on the graph of the function f.

Substituting for x and 0 for in the given equation yields , or . Therefore,

the point doesn’t lie on the graph of the function f and can’t be an x-intercept of the graph.

Choices A, C, and D are incorrect because each of these points is an x-intercept of the graph of the function f in the xy-plane. By definition, an x-

intercept is a point on the graph of the form , where k is a constant. Substituting for x and 0 for in the given equation yields

, or . Since this is a true statement, the point lies on the graph of the function f and is an

x-intercept of the graph. Performing similar substitution using the points and also yields the true statement , illustrating

that these points also lie on the graph of the function f and are x-intercepts of the graph.
Question ID: aa95fb33

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

The graph of the rational function is shown, where and . Which of the following is the graph of , where ?

Answer

A.
B.

C.
D.

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. It's given that the graph of the rational function is shown, where and . The graph shown passes through

the point . It follows that when the value of is , the value of is . When the value of is , the value of is , or .

Therefore, the graph of passes through the point . Of the given choices, choice D is the only graph that passes through the

point and is therefore the graph of .

Choice A is incorrect. This is the graph of , rather than .

Choice B is incorrect. This is the graph of , rather than .

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

Question ID: 09e5e4d3

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations in Medium

one variable and systems

of equations in two

variables

Question

If , what is the value of ?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. Multiplying both sides of the given equation by yields . Therefore, the value of 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 D is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Question ID: 6acdcece

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations in Medium

one variable and systems

of equations in two

variables

Question

The given equation relates the positive numbers , , and . Which equation correctly expresses in terms of and ?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. Multiplying both sides of the given equation by yields . Distributing on the left-hand side of this equation

yields , or . Therefore, the equation correctly expresses in terms of 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 ID: 3918e8bc

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

An object is kicked from a platform. The equation represents this situation, where is the height of the object above the

ground, in meters, seconds after it is kicked. Which number represents the height, in meters, from which the object was kicked?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. It’s given that the equation represents this situation, where is the height, in meters, of the object

seconds after it is kicked. It follows that the height, in meters, from which the object was kicked is the value of when . Substituting for

in the equation yields , or . Therefore, the object was kicked from a height of meters.

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 ID: 1dd13816

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent expressions Medium

Question

The given expression is equivalent to , where is a constant. What is the value of ?

Correct Answer: 9

Rationale

The correct answer is . The given expression can be rewritten as . By applying the distributive property, this

expression can be rewritten as , which is equivalent to . Adding like terms in this

expression yields . Since it's given that is equivalent to , it follows that is equivalent to

. Therefore, the coefficients of in these two expressions must be equivalent, and the value of must be .
Question ID: 30a07668

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations in Medium

one variable and systems

of equations in two

variables

Question

A solution to the given system of equations is , where . What is the value of ?

Correct Answer: 6

Rationale

The correct answer is . It’s given that and . Since , substituting for in the second equation of the given

system yields . Subtracting from both sides of this equation yields . This equation can be rewritten as

. By the zero product property, or . Adding to both sides of the equation yields .

Subtracting from both sides of the equation yields . Therefore, solutions to the given system of equations occur when

and when . It’s given that a solution to the given system of equations is , where . Since is greater than , it follows

that the value of is .

Question ID: 2d2ab76b

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations in Medium

one variable and systems

of equations in two

variables

Question

When the equations above are graphed in the xy-plane, what are the coordinates (x, y) of the points of intersection of the two graphs?

Answer

A.

and

B.

and

C.

and

D.

and

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. The two equations form a system of equations, and the solutions to the system correspond to the points of intersection of

the graphs. The solutions to the system can be found by substitution. Since the second equation gives y = 3, substituting 3 for y in the first

equation gives 3 = x
2
– 2
1. Adding 1 to both sides of the equation gives 4 = x . Solving by taking the square root of both sides of the equation

gives x = ±2. Since y = 3 for all values of x for the second equation, the solutions are (2, 3) and ( –2, 3). Therefore, the points of intersection of the

two graphs are (2, 3) and ( – 2, 3).

Choices B, C, and D are incorrect and may be the result of calculation errors.
Question ID: da602115

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations in Medium

one variable and systems

of equations in two

variables

Question

If , what is the positive value of ?

Correct Answer: 28

Rationale

The correct answer is . The given absolute value equation can be rewritten as two linear equations: and , or

. Adding to both sides of the equation results in . Dividing both sides of this equation by results in

. Adding to both sides of the equation results in . Dividing both sides of this equation by results in

. Therefore, the two values of are , or , and , or . Thus, the positive value of is .

Alternate approach: The given equation can be rewritten as , which is equivalent to . Dividing both sides of

this equation by yields . This equation can be rewritten as two linear equations: and , or

. Therefore, the positive value of is .

Question ID: 7e5a3640

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

Bacteria are growing in a liquid growth medium. There were cells per milliliter during an initial observation. The number of cells per

milliliter doubles every hours. How many cells per milliliter will there be hours after the initial observation?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. Let represent the number of cells per milliliter hours after the initial observation. Since the number of cells per milliliter

doubles every hours, the relationship between and can be represented by an exponential equation of the form , where is the

number of cells per milliliter during the initial observation and the number of cells per milliliter increases by a factor of every hours. It’s given

that there were cells per milliliter during the initial observation. Therefore, . It’s also given that the number of cells per

milliliter doubles, or increases by a factor of , every hours. Therefore, and . Substituting for , for , and for in the

equation yields . The number of cells per milliliter there will be hours after the initial observation is the value of

in this equation when . Substituting for in the equation yields , or . This is

equivalent to , or . Therefore, hours after the initial observation, there will be cells per milliliter.

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 ID: faeae876

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations in Medium

one variable and systems

of equations in two

variables

Question

How many distinct real solutions does the given equation have?

Answer

A. Exactly two

B. Exactly three

C. Exactly five

D. Exactly seven

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. The given equation can be rewritten as , which is equivalent to

. Applying the zero product property in this equation yields , ,

, , , and . The equation has no solution. Subtracting from both sides of the equation

yields . Adding to both sides of the equation yields . Subtracting from both sides of the equation

yields . The discriminant of a quadratic equation of the form is . If the discriminant is positive, the equation

has two distinct real solutions. If the discriminant is zero, the equation has one distinct real solution. If the discriminant is negative, the equation

has no real solutions. In the equation , , , and . Substituting these values in the equation for the

discriminant, , yields , or . Since the discriminant is negative, this equation has no real solutions. In the

equation , , , and . Substituting these values in the equation for the discriminant, , yields , or

. Since the discriminant is negative, this equation has no real solutions. Therefore, the distinct real solutions to the given equation are

, , and . Thus, the given equation has exactly three distinct real solutions.

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 ID: 4eaf0a3a

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent expressions Medium

Question

Which expression is equivalent to , where and are positive?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. For positive values of and , , , and . Therefore, the given expression, , can

be rewritten as . This expression is equivalent to , which can be rewritten as , 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 and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Question ID: 52e589f9

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

The function gives the predicted body mass , in , of a certain animal days after it was born in a wildlife reserve, where

. Which of the following is the best interpretation of the statement “ is approximately equal to ” in this context?

Answer

A. The predicted body mass of the animal was approximately days after it was born.

B. The predicted body mass of the animal was approximately days after it was born.

C. The predicted body mass of the animal was approximately days after it was born.

D. The predicted body mass of the animal was approximately days after it was born.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. In the statement " is approximately equal to ," the input of the function, , is the value of , the elapsed time, in

days, since the animal was born. The approximate value of the function, , is the predicted body mass, in kilograms, of the animal after that

time has elapsed. Therefore, the predicted body mass of the animal was approximately days after it was born.

Choice A is incorrect. This would be the best interpretation of the statement " is approximately equal to ."

Choice C is incorrect. The number is the number of weeks, not the number of days, after the animal was born.

Choice D is incorrect. This would be the best interpretation of the statement " is approximately equal to ."
Question ID: 4993b828

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

The area , in square centimeters, of a rectangular cutting board can be represented by the expression , where is the width, in

centimeters, of the cutting board. Which expression represents the length, in centimeters, of the cutting board?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. It's given that the expression represents the area, in square centimeters, of a rectangular cutting board, where

is the width, in centimeters, of the cutting board. The area of a rectangle can be calculated by multiplying its length by its width. It follows that the

length, in centimeters, of the cutting board is represented by the expression .

Choice A is incorrect. This expression represents the area, in square centimeters, of the cutting board, not its length, in centimeters.

Choice B is incorrect. This expression represents the width, in centimeters, of the cutting board, not its length.

Choice C is incorrect. This is the difference between the length, in centimeters, and the width, in centimeters, of the cutting board, not its length,

in centimeters.
Question ID: 1853bb35

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

For the function , the value of decreases by for every increase in the value of by . If , which equation defines ?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. Since the value of decreases by a fixed percentage, , for every increase in the value of by , the function is a

decreasing exponential function. A decreasing exponential function can be written in the form , where is the value of

and the value of decreases by for every increase in the value of by . If , then . Since the value of

decreases by for every increase in the value of by , . Substituting for and for in the equation

yields , which is equivalent to , or .

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. For this function, the value of increases, rather than decreases, by for every increase in the value of by .
Question ID: c602140f

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent expressions Medium

Question

Which of the following is equivalent to the expression above?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. Expanding all terms yields (x – 11y)(2x – 3y) – –

12y( 2x + 3y), which is equivalent to 2x
2
– 22xy – 3xy + 33y
2
+ 24xy – 2
36y .

Combining like terms gives 2x

2
– xy – 2
3y .

Choice A is incorrect and may be the result of using the sums of the coefficients of the existing x and y terms as the coefficients of the x and y

terms in the new expressions. Choice C is incorrect and may be the result of incorrectly combining like terms. Choice D is incorrect and may be

the result of using the incorrect sign in front of the 12y term.
Question ID: fcb78856

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations in Medium

one variable and systems

of equations in two

variables

Question

The given equation relates the positive numbers , , and . Which equation correctly expresses in terms of and ?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. It's given that the equation relates the positive numbers , , and . Dividing each side of the given equation by

yields , or . Thus, the equation correctly expresses in terms of and .

Choice B is incorrect. This equation can be rewritten as .

Choice C is incorrect. This equation can be rewritten as .

Choice D is incorrect. This equation can be rewritten as .

Question ID: 981aca65

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

In the given function , is a constant. The graph of function in the xy-plane, where , is translated units down and units to the

right to produce the graph of . Which equation defines function ?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. It's given that the graph of is produced by translating the graph of units down and units to the right in

the xy-plane. Therefore, function can be defined by an equation in the form . Function is defined by the equation

, where is a constant. Substituting for in the equation yields . Substituting

for in the equation yields , or . Therefore, the equation that

defines function is .

Choice A is incorrect. This equation defines a function whose graph is produced by translating the graph of units down and units

to the left, not units down and units to the right.

Choice C is incorrect. This equation defines a function whose graph is produced by translating the graph of units to the left, not

units down and units to the right.

Choice D is incorrect. This equation defines a function whose graph is produced by translating the graph of units to the right, not

units down and units to the right.

Question ID: 7a4475df

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

A function estimates that there were animals in a population in . Each year from to , the function estimates that the

number of animals in this population increased by of the number of animals in the population the previous year. Which equation defines this

function, where is the estimated number of animals in the population years after ?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. It's given that a function estimates that there were animals in a population in and that each year from to

, the number of animals in this population increased by of the number of animals in the population the previous year. It follows that this

situation can be represented by the function , where is the estimated number of animals in the population years

after , is the estimated number of animals in the population in , and each year the estimated number of animals increased by .

Substituting for and for in this function yields , or .

Choice A is incorrect. This function represents a population in which each year the number of animals increased by , not , of the

number of animals in the population the previous year.

Choice B is incorrect. This function represents a population in which each year the number of animals increased by , not , of the number

of animals in the population the previous year.

Choice D is incorrect. This function represents a population in which each year the number of animals decreased, rather than increased, by

of the number of animals in the population the previous year.

Question ID: 3b4b8831

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations in Medium

one variable and systems

of equations in two

variables

Question

What is the negative solution to the given equation?

Correct Answer: -3

Rationale

The correct answer is . Dividing both sides of the given equation by yields . Taking the square root of both sides of this equation

yields the solutions and . Therefore, the negative solution to the given equation is .
Question ID: f5247e52

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations in Medium

one variable and systems

of equations in two

variables

Question

In the equation above, a and c are positive constants. How many times does the graph of the equation above intersect the graph of the equation

in the xy-plane?

Answer

A. Zero

B. One

C. Two

D. More than two

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. It is given that the constants a and c are both positive; therefore, the graph of the given quadratic equation is a parabola that

opens up with a vertex on the y-axis at a point below the x-axis. The graph of the second equation provided is a horizontal line that lies above the

x-axis. A horizontal line above the x-axis will intersect a parabola that opens up and has a vertex below the x-axis in exactly two points.

Choices A, B, and D are incorrect and are the result of not understanding the relationships of the graphs of the two equations given. Choice A is

incorrect because the two graphs intersect. Choice B is incorrect because in order for there to be only one intersection point, the horizontal line

would have to intersect the parabola at the vertex, but the vertex is below the x-axis and the line is above the x-axis. Choice D is incorrect

because a line cannot intersect a parabola in more than two points.

Question ID: be1b8c74

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations in Medium

one variable and systems

of equations in two

variables

Question

The given equation relates the positive numbers , , and . Which equation correctly expresses in terms of and ?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. To express in terms of and , the given equation can be rewritten such that is isolated on one side of the equation.

Since it’s given that is a positive number, is not equal to zero. Therefore, dividing both sides of the given equation by yields the

equivalent equation , or .

Choice A is incorrect. This equation is equivalent to .

Choice C is incorrect. This equation is equivalent to .

Choice D is incorrect. This equation is equivalent to .

Question ID: 5c00c2c1

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Medium

Question

There were no jackrabbits in Australia before 1788 when 24 jackrabbits were introduced. By 1920 the population of jackrabbits had reached 10

billion. If the population had grown exponentially, this would correspond to a 16.2% increase, on average, in the population each year. Which of

the following functions best models the population of jackrabbits t years after 1788?

Answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. This exponential growth model can be written in the form , where is the population t years after

1788, A is the initial population, and r is the yearly growth rate, expressed as a decimal. Since there were 24 jackrabbits in Australia in 1788,

. Since the number of jackrabbits increased by an average of 16.2% each year, . Therefore, the equation that best models

this situation is .

Choices A, B, and D are incorrect and may result from misinterpreting the form of an exponential growth model.