Question ID beca03de

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear
functions
ID: beca03de
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?

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

ID: beca03de Answer

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 Difficulty: Medium

Question ID 52b1700c
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear
functions
ID: 52b1700c
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 ?

A. msup

B. msup

C. msup

D. msup

ID: 52b1700c Answer

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 Difficulty: Medium

Question ID f89af023
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear
functions
ID: f89af023
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?

A. 9

B. 18

C. 27

D. 54

ID: f89af023 Answer

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 Difficulty: Medium

Question ID e53add44
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear
functions
ID: e53add44

S
The function above models the annual salary, in dollars, of an employee years n
a
after starting a job, where is a constant. If the employee’s salary increases by
4% each year, what is the value of ?a
A. 0.04

B. 0.4

C. 1.04

D. 1.4

ID: e53add44 Answer

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 Difficulty: Medium

Question ID 926c246b
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear
functions
ID: 926c246b

D
The equation above estimates the global data traffic , in terabytes, for the year
t
that is years after 2010. What is the best interpretation of the number 5,640 in
this context?

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

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

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

ID: 926c246b Answer

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 Difficulty: Medium

Question ID 252a3b3a
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear
functions
ID: 252a3b3a

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

B.

C.

D. msup

ID: 252a3b3a Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. Each of the given choices is an equation of the form , where , , ,
xy x
and are positive constants. In the -plane, the graph of an equation of this form has -intercepts at , , and
x
. The graph shown has -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 y
or greater than correspond to negative -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
y
correspond to negative -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 y
correspond to positive, not negative, -
values.

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

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

Question Difficulty: Medium

Question ID cc6ccd71
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear
functions
ID: cc6ccd71

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

A. One

B. Two

C. Three

D. Four

ID: cc6ccd71 Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. If a value of satisfies , the graph of will contain a point and thus touch
x x
the -axis. Since there are points at which this graph touches the -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 Difficulty: Medium
Question ID d4950429
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear
functions
ID: d4950429
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 ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: d4950429 Answer

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 Difficulty: Medium

Question ID 752055d1
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear
functions
ID: 752055d1
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 ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 752055d1 Answer

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 Difficulty: Medium

Question ID 341ba5db
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear
functions
ID: 341ba5db
What is the minimum value of the given function?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 341ba5db Answer

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 Difficulty: Medium

Question ID 50e40f08
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear
functions
ID: 50e40f08
If the given function is graphed in the xy-plane, where x x
, what is the -coordinate of an -intercept of the graph?

ID: 50e40f08 Answer

Correct Answer: -6, 4

Rationale

The correct answer is either x xy

or . The -intercepts of a graph in the -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 x
. Therefore, the -
x
coordinates of the -intercepts of the graph of are and . Note that -6 and 4 are examples of ways to enter a
correct answer.

Question Difficulty: Medium

Question ID be0c419e
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear
functions
ID: be0c419e
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?

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.

ID: be0c419e Answer

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 Difficulty: Medium

Question ID a31417d1
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear
functions
ID: a31417d1
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
C
following, which best models , the number of millions of CDs sold in the United
t
States, years after 2005?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: a31417d1 Answer

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 Difficulty: Medium

Question ID db888cd6
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear
functions
ID: db888cd6

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
y
interpretation of the -intercept in this context?

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 .

ID: db888cd6 Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

y y
Choice D is correct. The -intercept of the graph is the point at which the graph crosses the -axis, or the point for which
y
the value of is . Therefore, the -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 y
catalogs. It follows that the -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 Difficulty: Medium

Question ID 6ecdbcb4
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear
functions
ID: 6ecdbcb4
The function is given. Which table of values represents ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 6ecdbcb4 Answer

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 Difficulty: Medium

Question ID 203774bc
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear
functions
ID: 203774bc
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?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 203774bc Answer

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 Difficulty: Medium

Question ID c4cd5bcc
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear
functions
ID: c4cd5bcc
xy y y
In the -plane, the -coordinate of the -intercept of the graph of the function is f
c . Which of the following must be equal to ?c
A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: c4cd5bcc Answer

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 Difficulty: Medium

Question ID 735a0a00
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear
functions
ID: 735a0a00
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?

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 .

ID: 735a0a00 Answer

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 Difficulty: Medium

Question ID 78d5f91a
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear
functions
ID: 78d5f91a

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

A.

B.

C. 7

D. 11

ID: 78d5f91a Answer

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 Difficulty: Medium

Question ID d675744f
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear
functions
ID: d675744f

Which of the following is the graph in the xy-

plane of the given equation?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: d675744f Answer

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 Difficulty: Medium

Question ID 67f4b449
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear
functions
ID: 67f4b449
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 ?

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 .

ID: 67f4b449 Answer

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 Difficulty: Medium

Question ID 44076c7d
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear
functions
ID: 44076c7d

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

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 44076c7d Answer

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 Difficulty: Medium

Question ID f44a29a8
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear
functions
ID: f44a29a8
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?

A. 3

B. 6

C. 9

D. 36

ID: f44a29a8 Answer

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 Difficulty: Medium

Question ID d71f6dbf
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear
functions
ID: d71f6dbf
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 ?

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.

ID: d71f6dbf Answer

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 Difficulty: Medium

Question ID 6676f055
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear
functions
ID: 6676f055

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?

A. –0.28

B. 0.28

C. 27

D. 880

ID: 6676f055 Answer

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(
– 27)2 + 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 Difficulty: Medium

Question ID 90bcaa61
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear
functions
ID: 90bcaa61
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?

ID: 90bcaa61 Answer

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 Difficulty: Medium

Question ID dd8ac009
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear
functions
ID: dd8ac009
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 ?

A. msup

B. msup

C. msup

D. msup

ID: dd8ac009 Answer

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 Difficulty: Medium

Question ID 281a4f3b
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear
functions
ID: 281a4f3b
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?
A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 281a4f3b Answer

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 Difficulty: Medium

Question ID 100030d9
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear
functions
ID: 100030d9
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?

ID: 100030d9 Answer

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 Difficulty: Medium

Question ID 7ba694f3
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear
functions
ID: 7ba694f3
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?

A. msup

B. msup

C. msup

D. msup

ID: 7ba694f3 Answer

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 Difficulty: Medium

Question ID c7a187a7
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear
functions
ID: c7a187a7
If the given function is graphed in the xy-plane, where x
, what is an -intercept of the graph?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: c7a187a7 Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. It's given that x

. The -intercepts of a graph in the xy-plane are the points where . Thus,
x
for an -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 x
. Therefore, the -intercepts of the graph of
are and x
. Of these two -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 Difficulty: Medium

Question ID a26c29f7
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear
functions
ID: a26c29f7
The function is defined by xy
. In the -plane, the graph of is the result of shifting the graph of
down units. Which equation defines function ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: a26c29f7 Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. If the graph of is the result of shifting the graph of down units in the xy-plane,
the function can be defined by an equation of the form . It’s given that and the graph of
is the result of shifting the graph of down units. Substituting for and for in the
equation yields .

Choice A is incorrect and may result from conceptual errors.

Choice B is incorrect and may result from conceptual errors.

Choice C is incorrect. This equation defines a function for which the graph of is the result of shifting the graph
of up, not down, units.

Question Difficulty: Medium

Question ID e1391dd6
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear
functions
ID: e1391dd6
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?

A. 1987

B. 1989

C. 1991

D. 1994

ID: e1391dd6 Answer

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 Difficulty: Medium

Question ID 3c600337
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear
functions
ID: 3c600337
The function is defined by . What is the value of ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 3c600337 Answer

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 Difficulty: Medium

Question ID 4209aefe
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear
functions
ID: 4209aefe
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?

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
.

ID: 4209aefe Answer

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 Difficulty: Medium

Question ID 5bf0f84a
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear
functions
ID: 5bf0f84a

h
The function above models the height , 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?

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

ID: 5bf0f84a Answer

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 Difficulty: Medium

Question ID c048055c
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear
functions
ID: c048055c
A model predicts that the population of Springfield 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 ?

A. msup

B. msup

C. msup

D. msup

ID: c048055c Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. It's given that a model predicts the population of Springfield 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 Difficulty: Medium

Question ID 70ebd3d0
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear
functions
ID: 70ebd3d0

N
The function defined above can be used to model the number of species of
d d
brachiopods at various ocean depths , where is in hundreds of meters. Which
of the following does the model predict?

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%.

ID: 70ebd3d0 Answer

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 Difficulty: Medium

Question ID 45df91ee
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear
functions
ID: 45df91ee
If the given function is graphed in the xy-plane, where y
, what is the -intercept of the graph?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 45df91ee Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

x y
Choice A is correct. The -coordinate of any -intercept of a graph is . Substituting for in the given equation yields
. Since any nonzero number raised to the power is , this gives , or . The - y
intercept of the graph is, therefore, the point .

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 Difficulty: Medium

Question ID 97158b3a
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear
functions
ID: 97158b3a
A
The area , 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?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 97158b3a Answer

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 Difficulty: Medium

Question ID d8ace155
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear
functions
ID: d8ace155
A company opens an account with an initial balance of . The account earns interest, and no additional
deposits or withdrawals are made. The account balance is given by an exponential function , where is the account
balance, in dollars, years after the account is opened. The account balance after years is . Which
equation could define ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: d8ace155 Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. Since it's given that the account balance, , in dollars, after years can be modeled by an
exponential function, it follows that function can be written in the form , where is the initial value of the
function and is a constant related to the growth of the function. It's given that the initial balance of the account is
, so it follows that the initial value of the function, or , must be . Substituting for in
the equation yields . It's given that the account balance after years, or when
, is . It follows that , or . Dividing each side of the equation
by yields . Taking the th root of both sides of this equation

yields , or is approximately equal to . Substituting for in the equation

yields , so the equation could define .

Choice B is incorrect. Substituting for in this function indicates an initial balance of , rather than
.

Choice C is incorrect. Substituting for in this function indicates an initial balance of , rather than
. Additionally, this function indicates the account balance is decreasing, rather than increasing, over time.

Choice D is incorrect. This function indicates the account balance is decreasing, rather than increasing, over time.

Question Difficulty: Medium

Question ID dba7432e
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear
functions
ID: dba7432e
x f(x)
0 5

f x
The table above gives the values of the function for some values of . Which
of the following equations could define ? f
A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: dba7432e Answer

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 Difficulty: Medium

Question ID f1c81b3b
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear
functions
ID: f1c81b3b
The exponential function is defined by , where is a positive constant. If , what is the
value of ?

ID: f1c81b3b Answer

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 Difficulty: Medium

Question ID 0aaef7aa
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear
functions
ID: 0aaef7aa
The function is defined by . What is the value of when is equal to ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 0aaef7aa Answer

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 Difficulty: Medium

Question ID b7cd6ca6
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear
functions
ID: b7cd6ca6
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?

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

ID: b7cd6ca6 Answer

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 Difficulty: Medium

Question ID f5e8ccf1
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear
functions
ID: f5e8ccf1

f
The function is defined above. Which of the following is NOT an -intercept of x
the graph of the function in the xy-plane?
A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: f5e8ccf1 Answer

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 Difficulty: Medium

Question ID 3918e8bc
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear
functions
ID: 3918e8bc
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?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 3918e8bc Answer

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 Difficulty: Medium

Question ID 7e5a3640
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear
functions
ID: 7e5a3640
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?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 7e5a3640 Answer

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 Difficulty: Medium

Question ID 4993b828
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear
functions
ID: 4993b828
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?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 4993b828 Answer

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 Difficulty: Medium

Question ID 981aca65
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear
functions
ID: 981aca65
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 ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 981aca65 Answer

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 xy
units to the right in the -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 Difficulty: Medium

Question ID 5c00c2c1
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear
functions
ID: 5c00c2c1
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 t
of jackrabbits years after 1788?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 5c00c2c1 Answer

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.

Question Difficulty: Medium