ACT math practice test 6

1. On the real number line, -0.578 is

between and for some integer z. What is the

value of z?
A. -5790
B. -590
C. -580
D. -570
E. -50
2. The stem-and-leaf plot below shows the scores
received on a given test by the 32 students in Mrs.
Brown's algebra class. What was the median score on this
algebra test?
Stem Leaf
51 2 3 4 6 7
63 3 4 5 5 8 9
70 1 2 4 6 7 7 7 9
80 3 4 4 5 6
91 1 2 5
Key: 5|1 = 51
F. 72
G. 73
H. 74
J. 76
K. 77

3. Angle R has a measure of π radians. Angle R and

Angle S are coterminal. Angle S could have which of the
following measures?
A. 12°
B. 36°
C. 45°
D. 90°
E. 135°

4. Which of the following complex numbers equals (

-5i) (4 + 3i) ?

F. 4 - 15i2

G. ( + 4) - 2i

H. (4 + 15) + (3 - 20)i

J. (4 - 15) + (3 - 20)i
K. (3 + 15) + (4 + 20)i
5. If y = 2 is one solution to the equation y2 + cy - 8 = 0,
then the other solution is:
A. -6
B. -4
C. -2
D. 2
E. 4
6. For all x such that cos x ≠ 0, the

expression is equivalent to which of the

following?

(Note: )
F. csc2 x
G. csc2 x·tan x
H. sec3 x
J. sin x
K. 1
7. All quadrilaterals in one of the following categories have
diagonals that do NOT bisect each other. Which
category?
A. Trapezoid (1 pair of parallel sides)
B. Parallelogram (2 pairs of parallel sides)
C. Rectangle (4 congruent angles)
D. Rhombus (4 congruent sides)
E. Square (4 congruent sides and angles)
8. Three line segments are graphed in the standard (x, y)
coordinate plane below. Line segment PQ has
endpoints P(0, -1) and Q(0, -5), P'Q' is the image
of PQ after a rotation counterclockwise by 150°about the
origin, and P"Q" is P'Q' projected onto the x-axis. What is
the length, in coordinate units, of P"Q"?
F.

G.

H.

J.
K. 2
9. Consecutive terms of a certain geometric sequence
have a constant integer ratio between adjacent terms. The
product of the first three terms of the sequence is 1,728.
Which of the following values CANNOT be the first term of
the arithmetic sequence?
A. 7
B. 6
C. 4
D. 3
E. 2

10. Given p(x) = , which of the following

expressions is equal to p (x) for all real numbers x ?
-1

F.

G.

H.
J. (x - 4)3
K. x3 + 4
Answers and Explanations
1. Correct Answer: C
Explanation:
C When asked for a specific value and given numbers in the answer choices, Plug In The Answers. Start with (C) and

assume that z = -580. The value for is or -0.58. The value for is , which

equals or -0.57. The given value of -0.578 is between these two numbers on the number line, so (C) is the
credited response.
2. Correct Answer: G
Explanation:
G Each of the numbers on the stem-and-leaf plot under the "leaf" heading represents one score on the test. To find the
median of this list of scores, the middle number needs to be determined. Start by crossing off 4 scores from the top row
of the list and 4 scores from the bottom of the list, like this:

Continue in this manner, crossing off the same numbers of scores from the front and back ends of the list, until the
middle of the list is reached.

If there were an odd number of scores on the list, the single score in the middle would be the median. With an even
number of scores, the median is the average of the middle two scores. In this case, the middle two numbers are 72 and
74. The average of these two numbers is 73, so (G) is the credited response.

3. Correct Answer: E
Explanation:
E The question gives the measure of Angle R in radians, but the answers contain degree measures. Start by

converting π radians into degrees. The unit circle is 2π radians and a circle has 360°, so 2π = 360° and π = 180°.

Therefore, π radians = (180°) = 1,575°. "Coterminal," or having the same terminal angle, means that the angle
measures are equivalent on the unit circle. From a measure of 1,575°, it is necessary to go down to the much smaller
measures in the answer choices. So subtract 360°from 1,575°as many times as is needed to hit one of the answer
choices. 1,575°- 360°= 1,215°- 360°= 855°- 360°= 495°- 360°= 135°. Therefore, 1,575°and 135°are coterminal,
so (E) is the credited response.
4. Correct Answer: H
Explanation:
H This looks ugly, but there are pairs of numbers in parentheses. That indicates that it is possible to use FOIL (First,

Outer, Inner, Last) to multiply the binomials together. The result is 4 +3 i - 20i - 15i2. The middle two terms can

be combined to get 4 + (3 - 20)i -15i2. At this point, (G) and (J) can be eliminated because they do not contain

4 . Choice (F) does not contain (3 - 20)i, so it can be eliminated as well. Neither (H) nor (J) match the equation
exactly, but now there is a 50-50 chance of choosing the right answer. To get the exact answer, however, it is
necessary to know that i2 is equal to -1, so 15i2equals -15. Most calculators also include a button for i, so

calculating i2 on a calculator can help if this rule doesn't come to mind. This changes the equation into 4 + (3 -

20)i -(-15) or 4 + (3 - 20)i + 15, which makes (H) the credited response.
5. Correct Answer: B
Explanation:
B If y = 2 is a solution to the equation, that means to plug in 2 for y to solve the equation for c. The equation becomes
22 + c(2) - 8 = 0, which simplifies to 4 + 2c - 8 = 0 or 2c - 4 = 0. Add 4 to both sides of the equation to get 2c = 4, so c =
2. Plug this value for c into the original equation to get y2 + 2y - 8 = 0. Now use FOIL to determine the two factors of this
equation. The factors are (y - 2) and (y + 4). To find the solutions for a quadratic, set each factor equal to zero and
solve. The question already stated that y = 2 was a solution, so focus on (y + 4) = 0. Subtract 4 from each side to
get y = -4. (B) is the credited response.
6. Correct Answer: H
Explanation:
H One way to solve a tricky trig question like this would be to get everything into terms of sine and cosine before trying
to simplify it. A better approach on most tricky trig problems is to Plug In a value for x and to rely on the calculator to do
the hard work. Pick a value like x = 20°and plug in, making sure the calculator is in degrees, not radians. Taking it in

bite-sized pieces to avoid errors, calculate that csc 20°= = 2.924 (approximately), tan 20°= 0.364, and

cos2 20°= (0.939)2 = 0.883. Therefore, = = 1.205. Now Plug in x = 20 on each of the
answer choices to see which one equals approximately 1.205. Choice (K) definitely does not, so it can be eliminated.
For (F), csc 20°= 2.924, so csc3 20°= (2.924)3 = 24.999. This is not 1.205, so (F) can be eliminated. Choice (G) can be

rewritten as ( )(tan 20°) = ( )(tan 20°) = (8.55)(0.364) = 3.1122, so (G) can also be eliminated.
Choice (H) equals = = 1.205, so (H) seems to be the credited response. Check (J) just to be certain;
sin 20°= 0.34202, which is not 1.205, so (J) can be eliminated, and (H) is the credited response.
7. Correct Answer: A
Explanation:
A Draw examples of each of these types of quadrilateral, including the diagonals. If the diagonals bisect each other, or
divide each other in two equal parts, eliminate them. Choice (A) will look like this:

The diagonals do not bisect each other, so (A) seems to be the credited response. Check the other answer choices,
just to be certain. They will look like this:

The diagonals in all these categories do bisect each other, so (A) is the credited response.

8. Correct Answer: K
Explanation:
K Start by determining the length of PQ. Since it spans the y-coordinate values from -1 to -5, it is 4 units in length. This
means that P'Q' is also 4 units in length, since it is just a rotation of PQ. Now make P'Q' the hypotenuse of a right
triangle by drawing a line from point P' out to the right and a line from point Q' down so that they meet in a right angle,
like this:
As PQ rotated counterclockwise, the first 90°it rotated brought it up to the positive x-axis. The rest of the rotation
brought it to its current position, so it rotated an additional 60°into the first quadrant, because 150°- 90°= 60°. This
means that the angle between P'Q' and the base of the right triangle is 60°, and the other angle is 30°. P'Q' is the
hypotenuse, so it is the 2x side of this 30:60:90 triangle. The base, which is opposite the 30°, is the x side, so it is 2
units in length. This base is the same length as the projection of P'Q' onto the x-axis, also known as P"Q".
Therefore, P"Q" is 2 units in length, and (K) is the credited response.
9. Correct Answer: A
Explanation:
A A geometric sequence is a series of numbers in which each term after the first is obtained by multiplying by the same
number, which could be positive, negative, or fractional. For example, 3, 6, 12 is a geometric sequence, because each

term is multiplied by 2 to get the next term. Similarly, the ratio between adjacent terms is the same, because = =
2. To check if each of the answer choices could be the first term of the given geometric sequence, Plug In the Answers.
The constant must be positive, because the product of the 3 terms is positive. For choice (A), assume 7 is the first term
and multiply it by a small, positive integer, such as 2. The sequence in this case would be 7, 14, 28, and the product
would be 2,744. This is too big, but there can't be a sequence with a ratio of 1, so there is no way to make it smaller.
Therefore, choice (A) contains the number that cannot be the first term. Choice (B) works if the sequence is 6, 12, 24,
(C) works with 4, 12, 36, (D) works with 3, 12, 48, and (E) works with 2, 12, 72.
10. Correct Answer: K
Explanation:
K When there are variables in the answer choices, Plug In. The p-1(x) notation means the inverse of the p(x) function, or
the function that undoes what p(x) does to a number. To Plug In on these, plug a number into the first function, get a
value out, and plug that value into the second function. If the second function is the inverse of the first, the original
number will be the result. Start with the function in the question and try to pick a value of x that will make the math
simple, but don't worry about finding the perfect number. Even if the answer is a weird decimal, only one answer choice

should have the same weird decimal. In this case, x = 12 will work nicely, because p(12) = = = 2. Plug
this value of 2 into each answer choice to see which function equals 12, the number originally plugged into the p(x)

function. Choice (F) becomes - 4 = 1.26 - 4 = -2.74, which is not equal to 12, so (F) can be eliminated. Choice (G)
will also be negative, so it can be eliminated. Choice (H) is = = 1.817, and Choice (J) is (2 - 4)3 = (-2)3 =
-8, so both answers can be eliminated. Choice (K) is 23 + 4 = 8 + 4 = 12, which was the original value of x, so (K) is the
credited response.
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