SAT Math Practice: Linear and Exponential Growth

This free worksheet goes with the “You’ll stay slow on SAT Math until you fix this” video
and gives you extra practice with the linear and exponential growth questions covered in the
episode. Work through each section after watching to reinforce the rate-of-change strategies
from the lesson.

Questions from the video

1.
9
F (x) = (x − 273.15) + 32
5
The function F gives the temperature, in degrees Fahrenheit, that corresponds to a
temperature of x kelvins. If a temperature increased by 9.10 kelvins, by how much did
the temperature increase, in degrees Fahrenheit?
A. 16.38

B. 48.38

C. 475.29

D. 507.29

2.
9
F (x) = (x − 273.15) + 32
5
The function F gives the temperature, in degrees Fahrenheit, that corresponds to a
temperature of x kelvins. If a temperature increased by 9.10 Fahrenheit, by how much
did the temperature increase, in kelvins?

3.
f (x) = 34 x + 9
For the given function f , what is the change in f (x) when x increases by 8?

4.
f (x) = 34 x + 9
For the given function f , what is the change in x when f (x) increases by 8?

1
5.
In the relationship between variables x and y, each increase of 7 in the value of x decreases
the value of y by 4. When the value of x is 14, the value of y is 10. Which equation
represents this relationship?
A. y = − 47 x + 10

B. y = − 47 x + 18

C. y = − 74 x + 10

D. y = − 74 x + 69
2

6.
During a specific 2-hour period of the day, the mean photosynthetic rate, P (x), of a
plant species increases at a constant rate in terms of the photochemical energy available,
x. During this period, P (300) = 9.8 and the mean photosynthetic rate increases by 0.13
−2 · s−1 when the photochemical


micromoles per meter squared per second µmol · m
energy available increases by 5 µmol · m−2 · s−1 . Which equation gives the mean pho-

tosynthetic rate, in µmol · m−2 · s−1 , in terms of the photochemical energy available, in
µmol · m−2 · s−1 , during this period?
A. P (x) = 0.026x + 9.8

B. P (x) = 0.026x + 2

C. P (x) = 9.8x + 0.026

D. P (x) = 9.8x − 2, 930.2

2
7.
30

Temperature (degrees Celsius)

25

20

15

10

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Depth (meters)

As part of a study on sedimentary habitats, the water temperature was recorded at

different depths below the surface of the water in the northern Alboran Sea. The data
shown in the scatterplot give the recorded temperature, in degrees Celsius, for 7 depths,
in meters, below the surface of the water. Which of the following is closest to the slope
of a line of best fit for the data shown?

A. −8.05

B. −0.17

C. −6.05

D. −2.17

3
8.
g(x) = 7x + 4
For the given linear function g, which table shows three values of x and their correspond-
ing values of g(x)?

x g(x)

−1 0
A.
0 4

1 8

x g(x)

−1 −7
B.
0 0

1 7

x g(x)

−1 3
C.
0 7

1 11

x g(x)

−1 −3
D.
0 4

1 11

4
 9.
x y

p−4 n

p n + 17

p+4 n + 34

There is a linear relationship between x and y. The table shows three values of x, in
terms of a constant p, and their corresponding values of y, in terms of a constant n.
What is the slope of the line in the xy-plane that represents this relationship?
A. 17
n+17
B. 4
17
C. 4
n
D. p−4

10.
The exponential function f is defined by f (x) = abx , where a and b are positive constants.
If f (s) = t and f (s + 1) = t − 0.87t, where s and t are constants, what is the value of b?
A. 0.13

B. 0.87

C. 1.13

D. 1.87

11.
An exponential function f is defined by f (x) = cx , where c is a constant greater than 1.
If f (6) = 25 · f (4), what is the value of c?

5
Linear Growth Questions
Remember that linear change is just "rise over run": every fixed step in x adds the same
amount to y. Use that constant slope to translate any change in one variable into the
matching change in the other without re-solving the whole equation.

1.
A line in the xy-plane has a slope of − 12 and passes through the point (0, 3). Which
equation represents this line?
A. y = − 12 x − 3

B. y = − 12 x + 3

C. y = 21 x − 3

D. y = 12 x + 3

2. 17
Line k is defined by y = 7 x + 4. Line j is parallel to line k in the xy-plane. What is
the slope of line j?
7
A. 17
17
B. 7

C. 4

D. 17

6
3.
5
4
3
2
1

−5 −4 −3 −2 −1 1 2 3 4 5
−1
−2
−3
−4
−5

What is the equation of the line shown in the xy-plane above?

A. y = 3x − 3

B. y = −3x + 3

C. y = 13 x − 3

D. y = − 13 x + 3

7
4.
The table shows three values of x and their corresponding values of y, where n is a
constant, for the linear relationship between x and y. What is the slope of the line that
represents this relationship in the xy-plane?

x y

−6 n + 184

−3 n + 92

0 n

A. − 92
3
3
B. − 92
n+92
C. −3
2n−92
D. 3

5.
In the xy-plane, the graph of the linear function f contains the points (0, 3) and (7, 31).
Which equation defines f , where y = f (x)?
A. f (x) = 28x + 34

B. f (x) = 3x + 38

C. f (x) = 4x + 3

D. f (x) = 7x + 3

6.
The relationship between two variables, x and y, is linear. For every increase in the
value of x by 1, the value of y increases by 8. When the value of x is 2, the value of y is
18. Which equation represents this relationship?
A. y = 2x + 18

B. y = 2x + 8

C. y = 8x + 2

D. y = 3x + 26

8
7.
y
14

12

10

x
O 2 4 6 8 10 12 14

The point with coordinates (d, 4) lies on the line shown. What is the value of d?
7
A. 2
26
B. 7
24
C. 7
27
D. 8

9
 8.
During a 75-minute cryogenic recalibration window, the mean nutrient flux density, Q(z),
of a bio-reactive coolant lattice increases at a constant rate with respect to the photonic
enthalpy gradient, z. During this window, Q(180) = 12.4 and
the mean flux density
rises by 0.042 milligrams per liter per minute mg · L−1 · min−1 whenever the photonic
enthalpy gradient increases by 8 microkilojoules per mole-lumen µkJ · mol−1 · lm−1 .

Which equation gives the mean nutrient flux density, in mg · L−1 · min−1 , in terms of the
photonic enthalpy gradient, in µkJ · mol−1 · lm−1 , during this window?
A. Q(z) = 0.042z + 12.4

B. Q(z) = 0.00525z + 12.4

C. Q(z) = 0.00525z + 11.455

D. Q(z) = 12.4z − 1, 881

9.
5
C(x) = (x − 32)
9
The function C gives the temperature, in degrees Celsius, that corresponds to a temper-
ature of x degrees Fahrenheit. If a temperature increased by 24.30 degrees Fahrenheit,
by how much did the temperature increase, in degrees Celsius?
A. 11.25

B. 13.50

C. 15.30

D. 18.20

10.
5
C(x) = (x − 32)
9
The function C gives the temperature, in degrees Celsius, that corresponds to a temper-
ature of x degrees Fahrenheit. If a temperature increased by 24 degrees Celsius, by how
much did the temperature increase, in degrees Fahrenheit?

10
Exponential Growth Questions
Exponential patterns grow by a constant multiplier, not a constant add-on. When two
outputs are one step apart, divide the later value by the earlier one to grab the growth
factor b, then use repeated multiplication to move farther along the sequence.

1.
Nina is selling coins from her coin collection. When she started selling the coins, there
were 3,400 coins in the collection. At the end of each week for 3 weeks after Nina started
selling the coins, the number of coins in the collection had decreased by 21 of the coins
in the collection at the end of the previous week. Which equation gives the number of
coins, c, in the collection w weeks after Nina started selling the coins, where 0 ≤ w ≤ 3?
1
A. c = w 2

B. c = 3, 400w
1 w


C. c = 1, 700 2
1 w


D. c = 3, 400 2

2.

x h(x)

0 1.25

2 1.80

4 2.59

The table shows the exponential relationship between the number of years, x, since Hana
started training in pole vault, and the estimated height h(x), in meters, of her best pole
vault for that year. Which of the following functions best represents this relationship,
where x ≤ 4?
A. h(x) = 1.20(0.25)x

B. h(x) = 1.20(1.25)x

C. h(x) = 1.25(0.20)x

D. h(x) = 1.25(1.20)x

11
3.
The number of bacteria in a liquid medium doubles every day. There are 83,000 bacteria
in the liquid medium at the start of an observation. Which of the following represents
the number of bacteria, y, in the liquid medium t days after the start of the observation?
A. y = 12 (83, 000)t

B. y = 2(83, 000)t

t
C. y = 83, 000 12

D. y = 83, 000(2)t

4.
The function P (t) = 1,800(1.07)t gives the estimated number of sea lions in a certain
area, where t is the number of years since a study began. What is the best interpretation
of P (0) = 1,800 in this context?
A. The estimated number of sea lions in the area was 1.07 when the study began.

B. The estimated number of sea lions in the area was 1,800 when the study began.

C. The estimated number of sea lions in the area increased by 1.07 each year during
the study.

D. The estimated number of sea lions in the area increased by 1,800 each year during
the study.

5.
The function f is defined by f (x) = 41(0.28)x . For any positive integer n, the value of
f (n) is p% less than the value of f (n − 1). What is the value of p?
A. 72

B. 59

C. 41

D. 28

6.
x3 y3

t 120

t+2 187.5

In the given table, the function f is defined by f (x) = abx , where a, b are constants.
What is the value of b?

12
 7.
The function f is defined by f (x) = abx , where a, b are constants. The value of f (x)
increases by p% for every increase of x by 1. If f (t + 3) = 1.44 · f (t + 1), what is the
value of p?

8.
The function f is defined by f (x) = abx , where a, b are constants. The value of f (x)
decreases by p% for every increase of x by 4. If f (s + 1) = f (s) − 0.22 · f (s), what is the
value of p?

9. x
The function f is defined by f (x) = ab n , where a, b, and n are constants and b is an
integer. If f (3) = 6 and f (5) = 150, what is the value of f (6)?

10.
x
f (x) = 18(2.10) 2
The function f is defined by the given equation. The value of f (x) increases by p% for
every increase of x by 4. For which of the following functions, where n is a positive
constant, does the value of g(x) increase by p% for every increase of x by 1?
A. g(x) = n(1.05)x

B. g(x) = n(2.10)x

C. g(x) = n(3.41)x

D. g(x) = n(4.41)x

13
Answers
Set 1: Questions from the video
1. A

2. 5.055, 5.056, 91/18

3. 6

4. 10.66, 10.67, 32/3

5. B

6. B

7. B

8. D

9. C

10. A

11. 5

Set 2: Linear growth questions

1. B

2. B

3. B

4. A

5. C

6. C

7. C

8. C

9. B

10. 43.2, 216/5

14
Set 3: Exponential growth questions
1. D

2. D

3. D

4. B

5. A

6. 1.25

7. 20

8. 62.98

9. 750

10. D

15