Question ID 005e9982
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Hard
ID: 005e9982
The given function models the number of advertisements a company sent to its clients each year, where
represents the number of years since , and . If is graphed in the xy-plane,
which of the following is the best interpretation of the y-intercept of the graph in this context?
A. The minimum estimated number of advertisements the company sent to its clients during the years
was .
B. The minimum estimated number of advertisements the company sent to its clients during the years
was .
C. The estimated number of advertisements the company sent to its clients in was .
D. The estimated number of advertisements the company sent to its clients in was .
ID: 005e9982 Answer
Correct Answer: D
Rationale
Choice D is correct. The y-intercept of a graph in the xy-plane is the point where . For the given function , the y-
intercept of the graph of in the xy-plane can be found by substituting for in the equation
, which gives . This is equivalent to , or . Therefore, the y-
intercept of the graph of is . It’s given that the function models the number of advertisements a
company sent to its clients each year. Therefore, represents the estimated number of advertisements the company
sent to its clients each year. It's also given that represents the number of years since . Therefore,
represents years since , or . Thus, the best interpretation of the y-intercept of the graph of is that
the estimated number of advertisements the company sent to its clients in was .
Choice A is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.
Choice B is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.
Choice C is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.
Question Difficulty: Hard
Question ID 23923e5b
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Hard
ID: 23923e5b
A quadratic function models the height, in feet, of an object above the ground in terms of the time, in
seconds, after the object is launched off an elevated surface. The model indicates the object has an initial
height of feet above the ground and reaches its maximum height of feet above the ground
seconds after being launched. Based on the model, what is the height, in feet, of the object above the
ground seconds after being launched?
A.
B.
C.
D.
ID: 23923e5b Answer
Correct Answer: C
Rationale
Choice C is correct. It's given that a quadratic function models the height, in feet, of an object above the ground in terms
of the time, in seconds, after the object is launched off an elevated surface. This quadratic function can be defined by an
equation of the form , where is the height of the object seconds after it was launched,
and , , and are constants such that the function reaches its maximum value, , when . Since the model
indicates the object reaches its maximum height of feet above the ground seconds after being launched,
reaches its maximum value, , when . Therefore, and . Substituting for and for
in the function yields . Since the model indicates the object has an
initial height of feet above the ground, the value of is when . Substituting for and for in the
equation yields , or . Subtracting from
both sides of this equation yields . Dividing both sides of this equation by yields . Therefore,
the model can be represented by the equation . Substituting for in this equation
yields , or . Therefore, based on the model, seconds after being
launched, the height of the object above the ground is feet.
Choice A is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.
Choice B is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.
Choice D is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.
Question Difficulty: Hard
Question ID f5f840a0
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Hard
ID: f5f840a0
For the function , , and for each increase in by , the value of decreases by .
What is the value of ?
ID: f5f840a0 Answer
Correct Answer: 3.44, 86/25
Rationale
The correct answer is . It’s given that and that for each increase in by , the value of decreases
by . Because the output of the function decreases by a constant percentage for each -unit increase in the value of
, this relationship can be represented by an exponential function of the form , where represents the
initial value of the function and represents the rate of decay,
expressed as a decimal. Because , the value of must be . Because the value of decreases by
for each -unit increase in , the value of must be , or . Therefore, the function can be defined by
. Substituting for in this function yields , which is equivalent to
, or . Either or may be entered as the correct answer.
Alternate approach: It’s given that and that for each increase in by , the value of decreases by .
Therefore, when , the value of is , or , of , which can be expressed as .
Since , the value of is . Similarly, when , the value of is of , which
can be expressed as . Since , the value of is . Either or may
be entered as the correct answer.
Question Difficulty: Hard
Question ID 3e4e3220
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Hard
ID: 3e4e3220
The table shows three values of and their corresponding values of , where and is a
quadratic function. What is the y-coordinate of the y-intercept of the graph of in the xy-plane?
ID: 3e4e3220 Answer
Correct Answer: -2112
Rationale
The correct answer is . It's given that is a quadratic function. It follows that can be defined by an equation of
the form , where , , and are constants. It's also given that the table shows three values of
and their corresponding values of , where . Substituting for in this equation yields
. This equation represents a quadratic relationship between and , where is either the
maximum or the minimum value of , which occurs when . For quadratic relationships between and , the
maximum or minimum value of occurs at the value of halfway between any two values of that have the same
corresponding value of . The table shows that x-values of and correspond to the same y-value, . Since is
halfway between and , the maximum or minimum value of occurs at an x-value of . The table shows that when
, . It follows that and . Subtracting from both sides of the equation yields
. Substituting for and for in the equation yields , or
. The value of can be found by substituting any x-value and its corresponding y-value for and ,
respectively, in this equation. Substituting for and for in this equation yields , or
. Subtracting from both sides of this equation yields , or . Dividing both
sides of this equation by yields . Substituting for , for , and for in the equation
yields . The y-intercept of the graph of in the xy-plane is
the point on the graph where . Substituting for in the equation yields
, or . This is equivalent to , so the y-intercept of the
graph of in the xy-plane is . Thus, the y-coordinate of the y-intercept of the graph of in
the xy-plane is .
Question Difficulty: Hard
Question ID b7f055bc
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions Hard
ID: b7f055bc
The function is defined by , where and are positive constants. The graph of
in the -plane passes through the points ( , ) and ( , ). What is the value of ?
A.
B.
C.
D.
ID: b7f055bc Answer
Correct Answer: C
Rationale
Choice C is correct. It’s given that the function is defined by and that the graph of in the xy-
plane passes through the points and . Substituting for and for in the equation
yields , or . Subtracting from both sides of this equation yields .
Substituting for and for in the equation yields . Subtracting from both
sides of this equation yields , which can be rewritten as . Taking the square root of both sides of this
equation yields and , but because it’s given that is a positive constant, must equal . Because the
value of is and the value of is , the value of is , or .
Choice A is incorrect and may result from finding the value of rather than the value of .
Choice B is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.
Choice D is incorrect and may result from correctly finding the value of as , but multiplying it by the y-value in the first
ordered pair rather than by the value of .
Question Difficulty: Hard
Question ID 536832c0
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations Hard
in one variable and
systems of
equations in two
variables
ID: 536832c0
In the -plane, a line with equation intersects a parabola at exactly one point. If the parabola
has equation , where is a positive constant, what is the value of ?
ID: 536832c0 Answer
Correct Answer: 6
Rationale
The correct answer is . It’s given that a line with equation intersects a parabola with equation
, where is a positive constant, at exactly one point in the xy-plane. It follows that the system of
equations consisting of and has exactly one solution. Dividing both sides of the equation of
the line by yields . Substituting for in the equation of the parabola yields . Adding
and subtracting from both sides of this equation yields . A quadratic equation in the form
of , where , , and are constants, has exactly one solution when the discriminant, , is
equal to zero. Substituting for and for in the expression and setting this expression equal to yields
, or . Adding to each side of this equation yields . Taking the square root
of each side of this equation yields . It’s given that is positive, so the value of is .
Question Difficulty: Hard
Question ID 9298a52e
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations Hard
in one variable and
systems of
equations in two
variables
ID: 9298a52e
The solution to the given system of equations is . What is the value of ?
ID: 9298a52e Answer
Correct Answer: -10
Rationale
The correct answer is . Adding to both sides of the second equation in the given system yields .
Substituting for in the first equation in the given system yields . Subtracting
from both sides of this equation yields . Factoring the left-hand side of this equation yields
, or . Taking the square root of both sides of this equation yields .
Subtracting from both sides of this equation yields . Therefore, the value of is .
Question Difficulty: Hard
Question ID 59cf1dd3
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations Hard
in one variable and
systems of
equations in two
variables
ID: 59cf1dd3
How many distinct real solutions does the given equation have?
A. Exactly one
B. Exactly two
C. Infinitely many
D. Zero
ID: 59cf1dd3 Answer
Correct Answer: D
Rationale
Choice D is correct. Any quantity that is positive or negative in value has a positive value when squared. Therefore, the
left-hand side of the given equation is either positive or zero for any value of . Since the right-hand side of the given
equation is negative, there is no value of for which the given equation is true. Thus, the number of distinct real
solutions for the given equation is zero.
Choices A, B, and C are incorrect and may result from conceptual errors.
Question Difficulty: Hard
Question ID 9f13fad1
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations Hard
in one variable and
systems of
equations in two
variables
ID: 9f13fad1
In the given equation, is a constant. The equation has exactly one solution. What is the value of ?
ID: 9f13fad1 Answer
Correct Answer: -1
Rationale
The correct answer is . A quadratic equation in the form , where , , and are constants, has
exactly one solution when its discriminant, , is equal to . In the given equation, ,
and . Substituting for and for in yields , or .
Since the given equation has exactly one solution, . Subtracting from both sides of this equation yields
. Dividing both sides of this equation by yields . Therefore, the value of is .
Question Difficulty: Hard
Question ID a1397504
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent Hard
expressions
ID: a1397504
The given expression can be rewritten as , where is a constant. What is the value of
?
ID: a1397504 Answer
Correct Answer: .09, 9/100
Rationale
The correct answer is . It's given that the expression can be rewritten as
. Applying the distributive property to the expression yields .
Therefore, can be rewritten as . It follows that in the expressions
and , the coefficients of are equivalent, the coefficients of are
equivalent, and the constant terms are equivalent. Therefore, , , and . Solving any of
these equations for yields the value of . Dividing both sides of the equation by yields .
Therefore, the value of is . Note that .09 and 9/100 are examples of ways to enter a correct answer.
Question Difficulty: Hard
Question ID eafd61d3
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent Hard
expressions
ID: eafd61d3
The expression is equivalent to the expression , where , , and are
constants. What is the value of ?
ID: eafd61d3 Answer
Correct Answer: -419
Rationale
The correct answer is . It's given that the expression is equivalent to the expression
, where , , and are constants. Applying the distributive property to the given expression,
, yields , which can be rewritten as
. Combining like terms yields . Since this expression is equivalent to
, it follows that the value of is .
Question Difficulty: Hard
Question ID 3138e379
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent Hard
expressions
ID: 3138e379
For what value of is the given expression equivalent to , where ?
ID: 3138e379 Answer
Correct Answer: .0177, .0178, 4/225
Rationale
The correct answer is . An expression of the form , where is an integer greater than and , is equivalent
to . Therefore, the given expression, where , is equivalent to . Applying properties of
exponents, this expression can be rewritten as , or , which can be rewritten as
, or . It's given that the expression is equivalent to , where . It
follows that is equivalent to . Therefore, . Dividing both sides of this equation by yields
, or . Thus, the value of for which the given expression is equivalent to , where , is
. Note that 4/225, .0177, .0178, 0.017, and 0.018 are examples of ways to enter a correct answer.
Question Difficulty: Hard