Question ID 91e7ea5e

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 91e7ea5e

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

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

A. 1

B. 2

C. 4

D. 8

ID: 91e7ea5e Answer

Correct Answer: D

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

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

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID a9084ca4
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: a9084ca4

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

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

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

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

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

ID: a9084ca4 Answer

Correct Answer: D

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

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

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID b8f13a3a
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: b8f13a3a

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

ID: b8f13a3a Answer

Correct Answer: 20

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 9654add7
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 9654add7

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

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

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

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

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

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

ID: 9654add7 Answer

Correct Answer: C

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 263f9937
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

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

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

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

A. Day 5

B. Day 9

C. Day 11

D. Day 12

ID: 263f9937 Answer

Correct Answer: D

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

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 4dd4efcf
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 4dd4efcf

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

A. I only

B. II only

C. I and II

D. Neither I nor II

ID: 4dd4efcf Answer

Correct Answer: D

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

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

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 18e35375
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 18e35375

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

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 18e35375 Answer

Correct Answer: D

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

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

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

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID ce579859
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: ce579859

A model estimates that at the end of each year from to , the number of squirrels in a population was
more than the number of squirrels in the population at the end of the previous year. The model estimates that at the end
of , there were squirrels in the population. Which of the following equations represents this model, where is
the estimated number of squirrels in the population years after the end of and ?

A. msup

B. msup

C. msup

D. msup

ID: ce579859 Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale
Choice B is correct. Since the model estimates that the number of squirrels in the population increased by a fixed
percentage, , each year, the model can be represented by an exponential equation of the form ,
where is the estimated number of squirrels in the population at the end of , and the model estimates that at the
end of each year, the number is more than the number at the end of the previous year. Since the model estimates
that at the end of each year, the number was more than the number at the end of the previous year, .
Substituting for in the equation yields , which is equivalent to
, or . It’s given that the estimated number of squirrels at the end of was . This
means that when , . Substituting for and for in the equation yields ,
or . Dividing each side of this equation by yields . Substituting for in the equation
yields .

Choice A is incorrect. This equation represents a model where at the end of each year, the estimated number of squirrels
was of, not more than, the estimated number at the end of the previous year.

Choice C is incorrect. This equation represents a model where at the end of each year, the estimated number of squirrels
was of, not more than, the estimated number at the end of the previous year, and the estimated number of
squirrels at the end of , not the end of , was .

Choice D is incorrect. This equation represents a model where the estimated number of squirrels at the end of , not
the end of , was .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 9afe2370
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 9afe2370
The population P of a certain city y years after the last census is modeled by the equation below, where r is a constant
and is the population when .

If during this time the population of the city decreases by a fixed percent each
year, which of the following must be true?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 9afe2370 Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale
Choice B is correct. The term (1 + r) represents a percent change. Since the population is decreasing, the percent change
must be between 0% and 100%. When the percent change is expressed as a decimal rather than as a percent, the
percentage change must be between 0 and 1. Because (1 + r) represents percent change, this can be expressed as 0 < 1
+ r < 1. Subtracting 1 from all three terms of this compound inequality results in –1 < r < 0.

Choice A is incorrect. If r < –1, then after 1 year, the population P would be a negative value, which is not possible.
Choices C and D are incorrect. For any value of r > 0, 1 + r > 1, and the exponential function models growth for positive
values of the exponent. This contradicts the given information that the population is decreasing.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 0121a235
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 0121a235

x p(x)

The table above gives selected values of a polynomial function p. Based on the
values in the table, which of the following must be a factor of p ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 0121a235 Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale
Choice D is correct. According to the table, when x is or 2, . Therefore, two x-intercepts of the graph of p are

and . Since and are x-intercepts, it follows that and are factors of the
polynomial equation. This is because when , the value of is 0. Similarly, when , the value of is
0. Therefore, the product is a factor of the polynomial function p.

Choice A is incorrect. The factor corresponds to an x-intercept of , which isn’t present in the table. Choice B is
incorrect. The factor corresponds to an x-intercept of , which isn’t present in the table. Choice C is incorrect.
The factors and correspond to x-intercepts and , respectively, which aren’t present in the table.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 3a9d60b2
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: 3a9d60b2

What is the positive solution to the given equation?

ID: 3a9d60b2 Answer

Correct Answer: 9

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID fc3d783a
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: fc3d783a

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

ID: fc3d783a Answer

Correct Answer: 6

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 4661e2a9
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: 4661e2a9

Which ordered pair is a solution to the

system of equations above?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 4661e2a9 Answer

Correct Answer: A

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

, which isn’t a true statement.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID f65288e8
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: f65288e8

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

following is a possible value of ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: f65288e8 Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

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

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

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID f2f3fa00
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: f2f3fa00

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

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

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

ID: f2f3fa00 Answer

Rationale

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 6ce95fc8
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: 6ce95fc8

Which of the following is a solution to

the equation above?

A. 2

B.

C.

D.

ID: 6ce95fc8 Answer

Correct Answer: D
Rationale

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

may result from rewriting as instead of .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID f5aa5040
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: f5aa5040

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

ID: f5aa5040 Answer

Correct Answer: 20.25, 81/4

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 7bd10ef3
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: 7bd10ef3

In the equation above, t is a constant. If the equation has no real solutions, which
of the following could be the value of t ?

A.

B.

C. 1

D. 3

ID: 7bd10ef3 Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. The number of solutions to any quadratic equation in the form , where a, b, and c

are constants, can be found by evaluating the expression , which is called the discriminant. If the value of

is a positive number, then there will be exactly two real solutions to the equation. If the value of is

zero, then there will be exactly one real solution to the equation. Finally, if the value of is negative, then there
will be no real solutions to the equation.

The given equation is a quadratic equation in one variable, where t is a constant. Subtracting t from both

sides of the equation gives . In this form, , , and . The values of t for which the
equation has no real solutions are the same values of t for which the discriminant of this equation is a negative value.
The discriminant is equal to ; therefore, . Simplifying the left side of the inequality
gives . Subtracting 16 from both sides of the inequality and then dividing both sides by 8 gives . Of the
values given in the options, is the only value that is less than . Therefore, choice A must be the correct answer.

Choices B, C, and D are incorrect and may result from a misconception about how to use the discriminant to determine
the number of solutions of a quadratic equation in one variable.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 66bce0c1
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: 66bce0c1

What is the solution set of the

equation above?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 66bce0c1 Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. Subtracting 4 from both sides of isolates the radical expression on the left side

of the equation as follows: . Squaring both sides of yields . This

equation can be rewritten as a quadratic equation in standard form: . One way to solve this quadratic

equation is to factor the expression by identifying two numbers with a sum of and a product of .

These numbers are and 1. So the quadratic equation can be factored as . It follows that 5 and
are the solutions to the quadratic equation. However, the solutions must be verified by checking whether 5 and satisfy

the original equation, . When , the original equation gives , or

, which is false. Therefore, does not satisfy the original equation. When , the original equation gives

, or , which is true. Therefore, is the only solution to the original equation, and so the
solution set is .

Choices A, C, and D are incorrect because each of these sets contains at least one value that results in a false statement
when substituted into the given equation. For instance, in choice D, when 0 is substituted for x into the given equation, the
result is , or . This is not a true statement, so 0 is not a solution to the given
equation.
Question Difficulty: Hard
Question ID 97e50fa2
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: 97e50fa2

The graph of the function f, defined by , is shown in

the xy-plane above. If the function g (not shown) is defined by ,
what is one possible value of a such that ?

ID: 97e50fa2 Answer

Rationale

The correct answer is either 2 or 8. Substituting in the definitions for f and g gives and

, respectively. If , then . Subtracting 10 from both sides of

this equation gives . Multiplying both sides by gives . Expanding gives

. Combining the like terms on one side of the equation gives . One way to solve

this equation is to factor by identifying two numbers with a sum of and a product of 16. These
numbers are and , so the quadratic equation can be factored as . Therefore, the possible
values of a are either 2 or 8. Note that 2 and 8 are examples of ways to enter a correct answer.

Alternate approach: Graphically, the condition implies the graphs of the functions and
intersect at . The graph is given, and the graph of may be sketched as a line with y-intercept 10
and a slope of (taking care to note the different scales on each axis). These two graphs intersect at and
.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 371cbf6b
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: 371cbf6b

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

constants. What is the value of ab ?

A. 18

B. 20

C. 24

D. 40

ID: 371cbf6b Answer

Correct Answer: C

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

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

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

, which gives .

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

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

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

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID c3b116d7
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: c3b116d7

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

A. I only

B. II only

C. I and II

D. Neither I nor II

ID: c3b116d7 Answer

Correct Answer: B

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

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

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 40c09d66
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: 40c09d66

If for all positive values of x,

what is the value of ?

ID: 40c09d66 Answer

Rationale

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

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 34847f8a
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: 34847f8a

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

A.

B. 15

C. 20

D. 60

ID: 34847f8a Answer

Correct Answer: C

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

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

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

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

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 137cc6fd
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: 137cc6fd

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

ID: 137cc6fd Answer

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

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

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

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

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID ea6d05bb
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: ea6d05bb

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

What is the value of ?

ID: ea6d05bb Answer

Correct Answer: -419

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 433184f1
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: 433184f1

Which expression is equivalent to ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 433184f1 Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

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

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

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID d8789a4c
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: d8789a4c

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

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

A. 4

B. 6

C. 8

D. 10

ID: d8789a4c Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

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

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

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

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

values, and therefore isn’t equivalent to .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 5355c0ef
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: 5355c0ef

The given expression can be rewritten as , where is a constant. What is the value of ?

ID: 5355c0ef 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 c81b6c57
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: c81b6c57

In the expression , p is a constant. This

expression is equivalent to the expression . What is the value

of p ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: c81b6c57 Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale
Choice B is correct. Using the distributive property, the first given expression can be rewritten as 6x2 + 3px + 24 – 16px –
64x + 24, and then rewritten as 6x2 + (3p – 16p – 64)x + 24. Since the expression 6x2 + (3p – 16p – 64)x + 24 is
equivalent to 6x2 – 155x + 24, the coefficients of the x terms from each expression are equivalent to each other; thus 3p
– 16p – 64 = –155. Combining like terms gives –13p – 64 = –155. Adding 64 to both sides of the equation gives –13p =
–71. Dividing both sides of the equation by –13 yields p = 7.

Choice A is incorrect. If p = –3, then the first expression would be equivalent to 6x2 – 25x + 24. Choice C is incorrect. If p
= 13, then the first expression would be equivalent to 6x2 – 233x + 24. Choice D is incorrect. If p = 155, then the first
expression would be equivalent to 6x2 – 2,079x + 24.

Question Difficulty: Hard