Question ID 3cdbf026 3.

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Algebra Linear equations in

two variables

ID: 3cdbf026
The graph of the equation is a line in the xy-plane, where a and
k are constants. If the line contains the points and , what is
the value of k ?
A.
B.
C.
D.

ID: 3cdbf026 Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. The value of k can be found using the slope-intercept form of a linear equation,
, where m is the slope and b is the y-coordinate of the y-intercept. The equation can be

rewritten in the form . One of the given points, , is the y-intercept. Thus, the y-

coordinate of the y-intercept must be equal to . Multiplying both sides by k gives . Dividing
both sides by gives .

Choices B, C, and D are incorrect and may result from errors made rewriting the given equation.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID fdee0fbf 3.2

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Algebra Linear equations in

two variables

ID: fdee0fbf
In the xy-plane, line k intersects the y-axis at the point and passes
through the point . If the point lies on line k, what is the value
of w ?
ID: fdee0fbf Answer
Rationale

The correct answer is 74. The y-intercept of a line in the xy-plane is the ordered pair of the point of

intersection of the line with the y-axis. Since line k intersects the y-axis at the point , it follows that
is the y-intercept of this line. An equation of any line in the xy-plane can be written in the form

, where m is the slope of the line and b is the y-coordinate of the y-intercept. Therefore, the
equation of line k can be written as , or . The value of m can be found by substituting

the x- and y-coordinates from a point on the line, such as , for x and y, respectively. This results in

. Solving this equation for m gives . Therefore, an equation of line k is . The value of
w can be found by substituting the x-coordinate, 20, for x in the equation of line k and solving this equation for
y. This gives , or . Since w is the y-coordinate of this point, .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 0b46bad5 3.3

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Algebra Linear equations in

two variables

ID: 0b46bad5

In the equation above, a and b are constants and . Which of the

following could represent the graph of the equation in the xy-plane?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 0b46bad5 Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. The given equation can be rewritten in slope-intercept form, ,

where m represents the slope of the line represented by the equation, and k represents the y-coordinate of the
y-intercept of the line. Subtracting ax from both sides of the equation yields , and dividing both

sides of this equation by b yields , or . With the equation now in slope-intercept

form, it shows that , which means the y-coordinate of the y-intercept is 1. It’s given that a and b are both

greater than 0 (positive) and that . Since , the slope of the line must be a value between and
0. Choice C is the only graph of a line that has a y-value of the y-intercept that is 1 and a slope that is between
and 0.

Choices A, B, and D are incorrect because the slopes of the lines in these graphs aren’t between and 0.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID c362c210 3.4

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Algebra Linear equations in

two variables

ID: c362c210

The points plotted in the coordinate plane above represent the possible
numbers of wallflowers and cornflowers that someone can buy at the
Garden Store in order to spend exactly $24.00 total on the two types of
flowers. The price of each wallflower is the same and the price of each
cornflower is the same. What is the price, in dollars, of 1 cornflower?
ID: c362c210 Answer
Rationale

The correct answer is 1.5. The point corresponds to the situation where 16 cornflowers and 0 wallflowers
are purchased. Since the total spent on the two types of flowers is $24.00, it follows that the price of 16
cornflowers is $24.00, and the price of one cornflower is $1.50. Note that 1.5 and 3/2 are examples of ways to
enter a correct answer.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 98d3393a 3.5

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Algebra Linear equations in

two variables

ID: 98d3393a
Line in the xy-plane is perpendicular to the line with equation
. What is the slope of line ?
A.

B.
C.
D. The slope of line is undefined.

ID: 98d3393a Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. It is given that line is perpendicular to a line whose equation is x = 2. A line whose
equation is a constant value of x is vertical, so must therefore be horizontal. Horizontal lines have a slope of
0, so has a slope of 0.

Choice B is incorrect. A line with slope is perpendicular to a line with slope 2. However, the line with
equation x = 2 is vertical and has undefined slope (not slope of 2). Choice C is incorrect. A line with slope –2 is

perpendicular to a line with slope . However, the line with equation x = 2 has undefined slope (not slope of

). Choice D is incorrect; this is the slope of the line x = 2 itself, not the slope of a line perpendicular to it.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 0366d965 3.6

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Algebra Linear equations in

two variables

ID: 0366d965
x y
3 7
k 11
12 n
The table above shows the coordinates of three points on a line in the xy-
plane, where k and n are constants. If the slope of the line is 2, what is the
value of ?

ID: 0366d965 Answer

Rationale

The correct answer is 30. The slope of a line can be found by using the slope formula, . It’s given that

the slope of the line is 2; therefore, . According to the table, the points and lie on the

line. Substituting the coordinates of these points into the equation gives . Multiplying both sides of
this equation by gives , or . Solving for k gives . According to the
table, the points and also lie on the line. Substituting the coordinates of these points into

gives . Solving for n gives . Therefore, , or 30.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID c4ea43ef 3.7

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Algebra Linear equations in

two variables

ID: c4ea43ef

To earn money for college, Avery works two part-time jobs: A and B. She
earns $10 per hour working at job A and $20 per hour working at job B. In
one week, Avery earned a total of s dollars for working at the two part-time
jobs. The graph above represents all possible combinations of numbers of
hours Avery could have worked at the two jobs to earn s dollars. What is the
value of s ?
A. 128
B. 160
C. 200
D. 320

ID: c4ea43ef Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. Avery earns $10 per hour working at job A. Therefore, if she works a hours at job A, she will
earn dollars. Avery earns $20 per hour working at job B. Therefore, if she works b hours at job B, she will
earn dollars. The graph shown represents all possible combinations of the number of hours Avery could
have worked at the two jobs to earn s dollars. Therefore, if she worked a hours at job A, worked b hours at job B,
and earned s dollars from both jobs, the following equation represents the graph: , where s is a
constant. Identifying any point from the graph and substituting the values of the coordinates for a and b,

respectively, in this equation yield the value of s. For example, the point , where and , lies on
the graph. Substituting 16 for a and 0 for b in the equation yields , or .
Similarly, the point , where and , lies on the graph. Substituting 0 for a and 8 for b in the
equation yields , or .

Choices A, C, and D are incorrect. If the value of s is 128, 200, or 320, then no points on the graph will
satisfy this equation. For example, if the value of s is 128 (choice A), then the equation becomes
 . The point , where and , lies on the graph. However, substituting 16 for a
and 0 for b in yields , or , which is false. Therefore,
doesn’t satisfy the equation, and so the value of s can’t be 128. Similarly, if (choice C) or
(choice D), then substituting 16 for a and 0 for b yields and , respectively, which are both

false.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID cb58833c 3.8

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Algebra Linear equations in

two variables

ID: cb58833c
The line with the equation is graphed in the xy‑plane. What
is the x-coordinate of the x‑intercept of the line?
ID: cb58833c Answer
Rationale

The correct answer is 1.25. The y-coordinate of the x-intercept is 0, so 0 can be substituted for y, giving

. This simplifies to . Multiplying both sides of by 5 gives . Dividing both

sides of by 4 gives , which is equivalent to 1.25. Note that 1.25 and 5/4 are examples of ways to
enter a correct answer.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID a7a14e87 3.9

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Algebra Linear equations in

two variables

ID: a7a14e87
In the xy-plane, line k is defined by . Line j is perpendicular to line
k, and the y-intercept of line j is . Which of the following is an equation
of line j ?
A.
B.
C.
D.

ID: a7a14e87 Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. It’s given that line j is perpendicular to line k and that line k is defined by the equation
. This equation can be rewritten in slope-intercept form, , where m represents the slope of
the line and b represents the y-coordinate of the y-intercept of the line, by subtracting x from both sides of the
equation, which yields . Thus, the slope of line k is . Since line j and line k are perpendicular, their

slopes are opposite reciprocals of each other. Thus, the slope of line j is 1. It’s given that the y-intercept of line j
is . Therefore, the equation for line j in slope-intercept form is , which can be rewritten as
.

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID a1fd2304 3.10

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Algebra Linear equations in

two variables

ID: a1fd2304
How many liters of a 25% saline solution must be added to 3 liters of a 10%
saline solution to obtain a 15% saline solution?
ID: a1fd2304 Answer
Rationale

The correct answer is 1.5. The total amount, in liters, of a saline solution can be expressed as the liters of each
type of saline solution multiplied by the percent concentration of the saline solution. This gives ,
, and , where x is the amount, in liters, of 25% saline solution and 10%, 15%, and 25% are
represented as 0.10, 0.15, and 0.25, respectively. Thus, the equation must be true.
Multiplying 3 by 0.10 and distributing 0.15 to yields . Subtracting 0.15x and
0.30 from each side of the equation gives . Dividing each side of the equation by 0.10 yields
. Note that 1.5 and 3/2 are examples of ways to enter a correct answer.

Question Difficulty: Hard