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 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 8490cc45
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 8490cc45

The function is defined by . What is the y-intercept of the graph of in the xy-plane?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 8490cc45 Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. The y-intercept of the graph of in the xy-plane occurs at the point on the graph where .
In other words, when , the corresponding value of is the y-coordinate of the y-intercept. Substituting for in the
given equation yields , which is equivalent to , or . Thus, when
, the corresponding value of is . Therefore, the y-intercept of the graph of in the xy-plane 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. This could be the y-intercept for , not .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID ba0edc30
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: ba0edc30

One solution to the given equation can be written as , where is a constant. What is the value of ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: ba0edc30 Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. Adding to each side of the given equation yields . To complete the square, adding to
each side of this equation yields , or . Taking the square root of each side of this
equation yields . Adding to each side of this equation yields . Since it's given that one of the
solutions to the equation can be written as , the value of must be .

Alternate approach: It's given that is a solution to the given equation. It follows that . Substituting

for in the given equation yields , or

. Expanding the products on the left-hand side of this equation yields

, or . Adding to each side of this equation yields .

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 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 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 2c6f214f
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 2c6f214f

The first term of a sequence is . Each term after the first is times the preceding term. If represents the th term of the
sequence, which equation gives in terms of ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 2c6f214f Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. Since represents the th term of the sequence and is the first term of the sequence, the value of
is when the value of is . Since each term after the first is times the preceding term, the value of is when the
value of is . Therefore, the value of is , or , when the value of is . More generally, the value of is
for a given value of . Therefore, the equation gives in terms of .

Choice A is incorrect. This equation describes a sequence for which the first term is , rather than , and each term after
the first is , rather than , times the preceding term.

Choice B is incorrect. This equation describes a sequence for which the first term is , rather than , and each term after the
first is , rather than , times the preceding term.

Choice C is incorrect. This equation describes a sequence for which the first term is , rather than .

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 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 ?

I.
II.

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 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 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 7902bed0
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 7902bed0

A machine launches a softball from ground level. The softball reaches a maximum height of meters above the ground
at seconds and hits the ground at seconds. Which equation represents the height above ground , in meters, of the
softball seconds after it is launched?

A.

B.

C. msup

D. msup

ID: 7902bed0 Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. An equation representing the height above ground , in meters, of a softball seconds after it is
launched by a machine from ground level can be written in the form , where , , and are positive
constants. In this equation, represents the time, in seconds, at which the softball reaches its maximum height of meters
above the ground. It's given that this softball reaches a maximum height of meters above the ground at seconds;
therefore, and . Substituting for and for in the equation yields
. It's also given that this softball hits the ground at seconds; therefore, when
. Substituting for and for in the equation yields , which
is equivalent to , or . Adding to both sides of this equation yields
. Dividing both sides of this equation by yields . Substituting for in the equation
yields . Therefore, represents the
height above ground , in meters, of this softball seconds after it is launched.

Choice A is incorrect. This equation represents a situation where the maximum height is meters above the ground at
seconds, not meters above the ground at seconds.

Choice B is incorrect. This equation represents a situation where the maximum height is meters above the ground at
seconds, not seconds.

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 4a0d0399
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 4a0d0399

The function is defined by , where and are constants. In the -plane, the graph of has an -
intercept at and a -intercept at . What is the value of ?

ID: 4a0d0399 Answer

Correct Answer: -324

Rationale

The correct answer is . It's given that the function is defined by , where and are constants. It's
also given that the graph of has a y-intercept at . It follows that . Substituting for
and for in yields , or . Subtracting from each side of this
equation yields . Therefore, the value of is .

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 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 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 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 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 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 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?
I.
II.

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 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 841ef26c
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 841ef26c

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

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 841ef26c Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. It's given that . Since , it follows that

. Expanding the quantity in this equation yields
. Distributing the and the yields
. Combining like terms yields .
Therefore, . For a quadratic function defined by an equation of the form
, where , , and are constants and is positive, reaches its minimum, , when the value of
is . The equation can be rewritten in this form by completing the square. This equation is
equivalent to , or . This equation can be rewritten
as , or , which is equivalent to
. This equation is in the form , where , , and .
Therefore, reaches its minimum when the value of is .

Choice B is incorrect. This is the value of for which , rather than , reaches its minimum.

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

Choice D is incorrect. This is the value of for which , rather than , reaches its minimum.

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 d135f4bf
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: d135f4bf

The function is defined by . In the xy-plane, the graph of is the result of

translating the graph of up units. What is the value of ?

ID: d135f4bf Answer

Correct Answer: 76

Rationale

The correct answer is . It's given that the graph of is the result of translating the graph of up units in
the xy-plane. It follows that the graph of is the same as the graph of . Substituting for in the
equation yields . It's given that . Substituting
for in the equation yields .
Substituting for in this equation yields , or . Thus, the value of is .

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 d0a53ef5
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: d0a53ef5

What is the smallest solution to the given equation?

ID: d0a53ef5 Answer

Correct Answer: -3

Rationale

The correct answer is . Squaring both sides of the given equation yields , which can be rewritten as
. Subtracting and from both sides of this equation yields . This quadratic
equation can be rewritten as . According to the zero product property, equals zero
when either or . Solving each of these equations for yields or . Therefore, the
given equation has two solutions, and . Of these two solutions, is the smallest solution to the given equation.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 271ffad7
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 271ffad7

A quadratic function models a projectile's height, in meters, above the ground in terms of the time, in seconds, after it was
launched. The model estimates that the projectile was launched from an initial height of meters above the ground and
reached a maximum height of meters above the ground seconds after the launch. How many seconds after the
launch does the model estimate that the projectile will return to a height of meters?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 271ffad7 Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. It's given that a quadratic function models the projectile's height, in meters, above the ground in terms of
the time, in seconds, after it was launched. It follows that an equation representing the model can be written in the form
, where is the projectile's estimated height above the ground, in meters, seconds after the
launch, is a constant, and is the maximum height above the ground, in meters, the model estimates the projectile
reached seconds after the launch. It's given that the model estimates the projectile reached a maximum height of
meters above the ground seconds after the launch. Therefore, and . Substituting for and for in
the equation yields . It's also given that the model estimates that the
projectile was launched from an initial height of meters above the ground. Therefore, when , . Substituting
for and for in the equation yields , or .
Subtracting from both sides of this equation yields . Dividing both sides of this equation by yields
. Substituting for in the equation yields .
Therefore, the equation models the projectile's height, in meters, above the ground
seconds after it was launched. The number of seconds after the launch that the model estimates that the projectile will
return to a height of meters is the value of when . Substituting for in
yields . Subtracting from both sides of this equation yields .
Dividing both sides of this equation by yields . Taking the square root of both sides of this equation
yields two equations: and . Adding to both sides of the equation yields . Adding
to both sides of the equation yields . Since seconds after the launch represents the time at which the
projectile was launched, must be the number of seconds the model estimates that the projectile will return to a height of
meters.

Alternate approach: It's given that a quadratic function models the projectile's height, in meters, above the ground in terms of
the time, in seconds, after it was launched. It's also given that the model estimates that the projectile was launched from an
initial height of meters above the ground and reached a maximum height of meters above the ground seconds after
the launch. Since the model is quadratic, and quadratic functions are symmetric, the model estimates that for any given
height less than the maximum height, the time the projectile takes to travel from the given height to the maximum height is
the same as the time the projectile takes to travel from the maximum height back to the given height. Thus, since the model
estimates the projectile took seconds to travel from meters above the ground to its maximum height of meters
above the ground, the model also estimates the projectile will take more seconds to travel from its maximum height of
meters above the ground back to meters above the ground. Thus, the model estimates that the projectile will return to
a height of meters seconds after it reaches its maximum height, which is seconds after the launch.

Choice A is incorrect. The model estimates that seconds after the launch, the projectile reached a height of meters,
not meters.

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 ee857afb
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: ee857afb

The given equation relates the variables and . For what value of does the value of reach its minimum?

ID: ee857afb Answer

Correct Answer: 7

Rationale

The correct answer is . When an equation is of the form , where , , and are constants, the value of
reaches its minimum when . Since the given equation is of the form , it follows that ,
, and . Therefore, the value of reaches its minimum when , or .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 2c05d312
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: 2c05d312

In the given equation, and are positive constants. The product of the solutions to the given equation is , where is a
constant. What is the value of ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 2c05d312 Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. The left-hand side of the given equation is the expression . Applying the
distributive property to this expression yields . 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, the given equation can be rewritten as . By the zero
product property, it follows that or . Subtracting from both sides of the equation yields
. Subtracting from both sides of the equation yields . Dividing both sides of this equation
by yields . Therefore, the solutions to the given equation are and . It follows that the product of the
solutions of the given equation is , or . It’s given that the product of the solutions of the given equation is .
It follows that , which can also be written as . It’s given that and are positive constants.
Therefore, dividing both sides of the equation by yields . Thus, 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: Hard

Question ID 1fe32f7d
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: 1fe32f7d

In the given equation, is a positive integer. The equation has no real solution. What is the greatest possible value of ?

ID: 1fe32f7d Answer

Correct Answer: 51

Rationale

The correct answer is . A quadratic equation of the form , where , , and are constants, has no real
solution if and only if its discriminant, , is negative. In the given equation, and . Substituting
for and for in this expression yields a discriminant of , or . Since this value
must be negative, , or . Taking the positive square root of each side of this inequality yields
. Since is a positive integer, and the greatest integer less than is , the greatest possible value of is .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID a45ffacb
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: a45ffacb

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: a45ffacb Answer

Correct Answer: 5

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 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 c303ad23
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: c303ad23

If , what is the value of ?

ID: c303ad23 Answer

Correct Answer: 5

Rationale

The correct answer is . Dividing each side of the given equation by yields . Adding to each side of this
equation yields . Therefore, if , the value of is .

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 03ff48d2
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: 03ff48d2

In the given equation, is an integer constant. If the equation has no real solution, what is the least possible value of ?

ID: 03ff48d2 Answer

Correct Answer: 50

Rationale

The correct answer is . An equation of the form , where , , and are constants, has no real solutions
if and only if its discriminant, , is negative. Applying the distributive property to the left-hand side of the equation
yields . Adding to each side of this equation yields .
Substituting for , for , and for in yields a discriminant of , or . If
the given equation has no real solution, it follows that the value of must be negative. Therefore,
. Adding to both sides of this inequality yields . Dividing both sides of this inequality by
yields , or . Since it's given that is an integer, the least possible value of is .

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 2f51abc2
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 2f51abc2

The function is defined by the given equation. For which of the following values of does ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 2f51abc2 Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. The value of for which can be found by substituting for and for in the given
equation, , which yields . For this equation to be true, either or
. Adding to both sides of the equation yields . Dividing both sides of this
equation by yields . To check whether is the value of , substituting for in the equation
yields , which is equivalent to , or , which isn't a
true statement. Therefore, isn't the value of . Adding to both sides of the equation yields .
Dividing both sides of this equation by yields . To check whether is the value of , substituting for in the
equation yields , which is equivalent to , or , which is a
true statement. Therefore, the value of for which 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: Hard

Question ID 17d0e87d
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: 17d0e87d

The given equation relates the distinct positive real numbers , , and . Which equation correctly expresses in terms of
and ?

A.

B.

C. msup

D. msup

ID: 17d0e87d Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. Dividing each side of the given equation by yields , or . Because it's
given that each of the variables is positive, squaring each side of this equation yields the equivalent equation

. Subtracting from each side of this equation yields , or .

Choice A is incorrect. This equation isn't equivalent to the given equation.

Choice B is incorrect. This equation isn't equivalent to the given equation.

Choice D is incorrect. This equation isn't equivalent to the given equation.

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

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 ebb717ab
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: ebb717ab

In the given equation, is a constant. The equation has no real solutions if . What is the least possible value of ?

ID: ebb717ab Answer

Correct Answer: 289

Rationale

The correct answer is . A quadratic equation of the form , where , , and are constants, has no real
solutions when the value of the discriminant, , is less than . In the given equation, , and
. Therefore, the discriminant of the given equation can be expressed as , or . It
follows that the given equation has no real solutions when . Adding to both sides of this inequality yields
. Dividing both sides of this inequality by yields , or . It's given that the equation
has no real solutions when . Therefore, the least possible value of is .

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 b7c74b73
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: b7c74b73

The function gives the value, in dollars, of a certain piece of equipment after months of use. If the value of the
equipment decreases each year by of its value the preceding year, what is the value of ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: b7c74b73 Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. For a function of the form , where , , and are constants and , the value of
decreases by for every increase of by . In the given function, , , and .
Therefore, for the given function, the value of decreases by , or , for every increase of by .
Since represents the value, in dollars, of the equipment after months of use, it follows that the value of the equipment
decreases every months by of its value the preceding months. Since there are months in a year, the value of
the equipment decreases each year by of its value the preceding year. Thus, the value of is .

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

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 3d12b1e0
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: 3d12b1e0

In the given equation, is a constant. The equation has exactly one solution. What is the value of ?

ID: 3d12b1e0 Answer

Correct Answer: -1

Rationale

The correct answer is . A quadratic equation in the form , where , , and are constants, has exactly
one solution when its discriminant, , is equal to . In the given equation, , and
. Substituting for and for in yields , or . Since the given
equation has exactly one solution, . Subtracting from both sides of this equation yields .
Dividing both sides of this equation by yields . Therefore, the value of is .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 2c88af4d
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: 2c88af4d

The expression , where and , is

equivalent to which of the following?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 2c88af4d Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. For and , and are equivalent to and , respectively. Also, and are

equivalent to and , respectively. Therefore, the given expression can be rewritten as .

Choices A, B, and C are incorrect because these choices are not equivalent to the given expression for and .

For example, for and , the value of the given expression is ; the values of the choices, however, are ,

, and 1, respectively.
Question Difficulty: Hard
Question ID ffdbcad4
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: ffdbcad4

The expression , where is a constant, can be rewritten as , where , , and are integer
constants. Which of the following must be an integer?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: ffdbcad4 Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. It's given that can be rewritten as . The expression

can be rewritten as , or . Therefore, is equivalent to
. It follows that . Dividing each side of this equation by yields . Since is an integer,
must be an integer. Therefore, must also be an integer.

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 71014fb1
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: 71014fb1

How many distinct real solutions does the given equation have?

A. Exactly one

B. Exactly two

C. Infinitely many

D. Zero

ID: 71014fb1 Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. Any quantity that is positive or negative in value has a positive value when squared. Therefore, the left-
hand side of the given equation is either positive or zero for any value of . Since the right-hand side of the given equation is
negative, there is no value of for which the given equation is true. Thus, the number of distinct real solutions for the given
equation is zero.

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 22fd3e1f
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: 22fd3e1f

Which of the following expressions is

equivalent to , for ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 22fd3e1f Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. Since and , the fraction can be written as

. It is given that , so the common factor is not equal to 0. Therefore, the fraction can be further

simplified to .

Choice A is incorrect. The expression is not equivalent to because at , as a value of 1 and

has a value of 0.

Choice B is incorrect and results from omitting the factor x in the factorization of . Choice C is incorrect and may result
from incorrectly factoring as instead of .
Question Difficulty: Hard
Question ID a0b4103e
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: a0b4103e

The expression can be rewritten as , where k is a

positive constant. What is the value of k ?

A. 2

B. 6

C.

D.

ID: a0b4103e Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. Factoring out the coefficient , the given expression can be rewritten as . The expression

can be approached as a difference of squares and rewritten as . Therefore, k must be .

Choice A is incorrect. If k were 2, then the expression given would be rewritten as , which is equivalent to

, not .

Choice B is incorrect. This may result from incorrectly factoring the expression and finding as the factored

form of the expression. Choice C is incorrect. This may result from incorrectly distributing the and rewriting the

expression as .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 2cd6b22d
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: 2cd6b22d

How many distinct real solutions does the given equation have?

A. Exactly one

B. Exactly two

C. Infinitely many

D. Zero

ID: 2cd6b22d Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. The number of solutions of a quadratic equation of the form , where , , and are
constants, can be determined by the value of the discriminant, . If the value of the discriminant is positive, then the
quadratic equation has exactly two distinct real solutions. If the value of the discriminant is equal to zero, then the quadratic
equation has exactly one real solution. If the value of the discriminant is negative, then the quadratic equation has zero real
solutions. In the given equation, , , , and . Substituting these values for , , and
in yields , or . Since the value of its discriminant is negative, the given equation has zero
real solutions. Therefore, the number of distinct real solutions the given equation has is zero.

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 f2d60b99
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: f2d60b99

The function gives a metal ball's height above the ground , in inches, seconds after it started
moving on a track, where . Which of the following is the best interpretation of the vertex of the graph of
in the xy-plane?

A. The metal ball's minimum height was inches above the ground.

B. The metal ball's minimum height was inches above the ground.

C. The metal ball's height was inches above the ground when it started moving.

D. The metal ball's height was inches above the ground when it started moving.

ID: f2d60b99 Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. The graph of a quadratic equation in the form , where , , and are positive
constants, is a parabola that opens upward with vertex . The given function is in the form
, where , , , and . Therefore, the graph of is a parabola that
opens upward with vertex . Since the parabola opens upward, the vertex is the lowest point on the graph. It follows that
the y-coordinate of the vertex of the graph of is the minimum value of . Therefore, the minimum value of
is . It’s given that represents the metal ball’s height above the ground, in inches, seconds
after it started moving on a track. Therefore, the best interpretation of the vertex of the graph of is that the metal
ball’s minimum height was inches above the ground.

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: Hard

Question ID e9349667
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: e9349667

If and are the two solutions to the system of equations

above, what is the value of ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: e9349667 Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. The system of equations can be solved using the substitution method. Solving the second equation for y
gives y = –x – 1. Substituting the expression –x – 1 for y into the first equation gives –x – 1 = x2 + 2x + 1. Adding x + 1 to
both sides of the equation yields x2 + 3x + 2 = 0. The left-hand side of the equation can be factored by finding two numbers
whose sum is 3 and whose product is 2, which gives (x + 2)(x + 1) = 0. Setting each factor equal to 0 yields x + 2 = 0 and x +
1 = 0, and solving for x yields x = –2 or x = –1. These values of x can be substituted for x in the equation y = –x – 1 to find the
corresponding y-values: y = –(–2) – 1 = 2 – 1 = 1 and y = –(–1) – 1 = 1 – 1 = 0. It follows that (–2, 1) and (–1, 0) are the
solutions to the given system of equations. Therefore, (x1, y1) = (–2, 1), (x2, y2) = (–1, 0), and y1 + y2 = 1 + 0 = 1.

Choice A is incorrect. The solutions to the system of equations are (x1, y1) = (–2, 1) and (x2, y2) = (–1, 0). Therefore, –3 is the
sum of the x-coordinates of the solutions, not the sum of the y-coordinates of the solutions. Choices B and C are incorrect
and may be the result of computation or substitution errors.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 1f353a9e
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 1f353a9e

The given function models the number of coupons a company sent to their customers at the end of each year, where
represents the number of years since the end of , and . If is graphed in the ty-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 coupons the company sent to their customers during the years was .

B. The minimum estimated number of coupons the company sent to their customers during the years was .

C. The estimated number of coupons the company sent to their customers at the end of was .

D. The estimated number of coupons the company sent to their customers at the end of was .

ID: 1f353a9e Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. The y-intercept of a graph in the ty-plane is the point where . For the given function , the y-
intercept of the graph of in the ty-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 coupons a company sent to their customers at
the end of each year. Therefore, represents the estimated number of coupons the company sent to their customers at
the end of each year. It's also given that represents the number of years since the end of . Therefore, represents
years since the end of , or the end of . Thus, the best interpretation of the y-intercept of the graph of
is that the estimated number of coupons the company sent to their 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: Hard

Question ID b03adde3
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: b03adde3

If , what is t
in terms of u ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: b03adde3 Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. Multiplying both sides of the given equation by yields . Dividing both sides of this

equation by yields . Adding 2 to both sides of this equation yields , which can be rewritten

as . Since the fractions on the right-hand side of this equation have a common denominator, adding

the fractions yields . Applying the distributive property to the numerator on the right-hand side of this

equation yields , which is equivalent to .

Choices A, B, and C are incorrect and may result from various misconceptions or miscalculations.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 1ce9ffcd
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: 1ce9ffcd

In the given equation, is a constant. The equation has exactly one solution. What is the value of ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 1ce9ffcd Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. It's given that the equation has exactly one solution. A quadratic equation of the
form has exactly one solution if and only if its discriminant, , is equal to zero. It follows that
for the given equation, and . Substituting for and for into yields , or
. Since the discriminant must equal zero, . Subtracting from both sides of this equation yields
. Dividing each side of this equation by yields . Therefore, the value of is .

Choice A is incorrect. If the value of is , this would yield a discriminant that is greater than zero. Therefore, the given
equation would have two solutions, rather than exactly one solution.

Choice B is incorrect. If the value of is , this would yield a discriminant that is greater than zero. Therefore, the given
equation would have two solutions, rather than exactly one solution.

Choice D is incorrect. If the value of is , this would yield a discriminant that is less than zero. Therefore, the given
equation would have no real solutions, rather than exactly one solution.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 104bff62
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: 104bff62

In the given equation, is a positive constant. Which of the following is one of the solutions to the given equation?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 104bff62 Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. If , then neither side of the given equation is defined and there can be no solution.
Therefore, . Subtracting from both sides of the given equation yields , or

. Squaring both sides of this equation yields , or . Since is

positive and, therefore, nonzero, the expression is defined and equivalent to . It follows that the equation
can be rewritten as , or , which is equivalent to
. Adding to both sides of this equation yields . Taking the square root of both sides of this
equation yields two solutions: and . Therefore, of the given choices, is
one of the solutions to the given equation.

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 92f812bb
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 92f812bb

In the xy-plane, a parabola has vertex and intersects the x-axis at two points. If the equation of the parabola is
written in the form , where , , and are constants, which of the following could be the value of
?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 92f812bb Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. The equation of a parabola in the xy-plane can be written in the form , where is a
constant and is the vertex of the parabola. If is positive, the parabola will open upward, and if is negative, the
parabola will open downward. It’s given that the parabola has vertex . Substituting for and for in the
equation gives , which can be rewritten as , or
. Distributing the factor of on the right-hand side of this equation yields
. Therefore, the equation of the parabola, , can be written in
the form , where , , and . Substituting for and for in
the expression yields , or . Since the vertex of the parabola, , is
below the x-axis, and it’s given that the parabola intersects the x-axis at two points, the parabola must open upward.
Therefore, the constant must have a positive value. Setting the expression equal to the value in choice D yields
. Adding to both sides of this equation yields . Dividing both sides of this equation by
yields , which is a positive value. Therefore, if the equation of the parabola is written in the form ,
where , , and are constants, the value of could be .

Choice A is incorrect. If the equation of a parabola with a vertex at is written in the form , where
, , and are constants and , then the value of will be negative, which means the parabola will open
downward, not upward, and will intersect the x-axis at zero points, not two points.

Choice B is incorrect. If the equation of a parabola with a vertex at is written in the form , where
, , and are constants and , then the value of will be negative, which means the parabola will open
downward, not upward, and will intersect the x-axis at zero points, not two points.

Choice C is incorrect. If the equation of a parabola with a vertex at is written in the form , where
, , and are constants and , then the value of will be , which is inconsistent with the equation of a
parabola.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 7dbd46d9
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: 7dbd46d9

The graphs of the equations in the given system of equations intersect at the point in the -plane. What is a possible
value of ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 7dbd46d9 Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. It's given that the graphs of the equations in the given system of equations intersect at the point .
Therefore, this intersection point is a solution to the given system. The solution can be found by isolating in each equation.
The given equation can be rewritten to isolate by subtracting from both sides of the equation, which
gives . The given equation can be rewritten to isolate by subtracting from both sides
of the equation, which gives . With each equation solved for , the value of from one equation can be
substituted into the other, which gives . Adding and to both sides of this equation results in
. Dividing both sides of this equation by results in . This equation can be
rewritten by factoring the left-hand side, which yields . By the zero-product property, if
, then , or . It follows that , or . Since only is
given as a choice, a possible 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: 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 158591f0
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: 158591f0

What is the sum of the solutions to the given equation?

ID: 158591f0 Answer

Correct Answer: 29/3, 9.666, 9.667

Rationale

The correct answer is . Applying the distributive property to the left-hand side of the given equation, ,
yields . Applying the distributive property to the right-hand side of the given equation, , yields
. Thus, the equation becomes . Combining like terms on the left- and right-hand
sides of this equation yields , or . For a quadratic equation in
the form , where , , and are constants, the quadratic formula gives the solutions to the equation in the

form . Substituting for , for , and for from the equation into the

quadratic formula yields , or . It follows that the solutions to the given equation
are and . Adding these two solutions gives the sum of the solutions: , which is
equivalent to , or . Note that 29/3, 9.666, and 9.667 are examples of ways to enter a correct answer.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID bba18ecb
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: bba18ecb

When the quadratic function is graphed in the xy-plane, where , its vertex is . One of the x-intercepts of
this graph is . What is the other x-intercept of the graph?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: bba18ecb Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. Since the line of symmetry for the graph of a quadratic function contains the vertex of the graph, the x-
coordinate of the vertex of the graph of is the x-coordinate of the midpoint of its two x-intercepts. The midpoint of
two points with x-coordinates and has x-coordinate , where . It′s given that the vertex is and
one of the x-intercepts is . Substituting for and for in the equation yields
. Multiplying each side of this equation by yields . Adding to each side of this
equation yields . Therefore, the other x-intercept is .

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 70753f99
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 70753f99

The function f is defined by . The graph of f in the xy-plane is

a parabola. Which of the following intervals contains the x-coordinate of the vertex
of the graph of f ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 70753f99 Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. The graph of a quadratic function in the xy-plane is a parabola. The axis of symmetry of the parabola
passes through the vertex of the parabola. Therefore, the vertex of the parabola and the midpoint of the segment between
the two x-intercepts of the graph have the same x-coordinate. Since , the x-coordinate of the vertex is

. Of the shown intervals, only the interval in choice B contains –2. Choices A, C, and D are incorrect and
may result from either calculation errors or misidentification of the graph’s x-intercepts.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 58dcc59f
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 58dcc59f

A landscaper is designing a rectangular garden. The length of the garden is to be 5

feet longer than the width. If the area of the garden will be 104 square feet, what
will be the length, in feet, of the garden?

ID: 58dcc59f Answer

Rationale

The correct answer is 13. Let w represent the width of the rectangular garden, in feet. Since the length of the garden will be 5
feet longer than the width of the garden, the length of the garden will be feet. Thus the area of the garden will be
. It is also given that the area of the garden will be 104 square feet. Therefore, , which is equivalent

to . Factoring this equation results in . Therefore, and . Because

width cannot be negative, the width of the garden must be 8 feet. This means the length of the garden must be
feet.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 2d1614a1
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 2d1614a1

The function models the population, in thousands, of a certain city years after . According to the model, the
population is predicted to increase by every months. What is the value of ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 2d1614a1 Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. It's given that the function models the population of the city years after . Since there are
months in a year, months is equivalent to years. Therefore, the expression can represent the number of years in
-month periods. Substituting for in the given equation yields , which is equivalent
to . Therefore, for each -month period, the predicted population of the city is times, or
of, the previous population. This means that the population is predicted to increase by every months.

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

Choice B is incorrect. Each year, the predicted population of the city is times the previous year's predicted population,
which is not the same as an increase of .

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 30281058
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: 30281058

In the xy-plane, the graph of intersects line p at and , where a

and b are constants. What is the slope of line p ?

A. 6

B. 2

C.

D.

ID: 30281058 Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. It’s given that the graph of and line p intersect at and . Therefore, the value of y
when is the value of a, and the value of y when is the value of b. Substituting 1 for x in the given equation yields

, or . Similarly, substituting 5 for x in the given equation yields , or . Therefore, the

intersection points are and . The slope of line p is the ratio of the change in y to the change in x between these

two points: , or 6.

Choices B, C, and D are incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors in determining the values of a, b, or
the slope of line p.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 84dd43f8
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 84dd43f8

For the function , , and for each increase in by , the value of decreases by . What is the value of
?

ID: 84dd43f8 Answer

Correct Answer: 3.44, 86/25

Rationale

The correct answer is . It’s given that and that for each increase in by , the value of decreases by
. Because the output of the function decreases by a constant percentage for each -unit increase in the value of , this
relationship can be represented by an exponential function of the form , where represents the initial value of
the function and represents the rate of decay,
expressed as a decimal. Because , the value of must be . Because the value of decreases by for
each -unit increase in , the value of must be , or . Therefore, the function can be defined by
. Substituting for in this function yields , which is equivalent to ,
or . Either or may be entered as the correct answer.

Alternate approach: It’s given that and that for each increase in by , the value of decreases by .
Therefore, when , the value of is , or , of , which can be expressed as . Since
, the value of is . Similarly, when , the value of is of , which can be
expressed as . Since , the value of is . Either or may be entered
as the correct answer.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 59d1f4b5
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 59d1f4b5

The equation above models the number of members, M, of a gym t years after the
gym opens. Of the following, which equation models the number of members of
the gym q quarter years after the gym opens?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 59d1f4b5 Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. In 1 year, there are 4 quarter years, so the number of quarter years, q, is 4 times the number of years, t ;

that is, . This is equivalent to , and substituting this into the expression for M in terms of t gives

Choices B and D are incorrect and may be the result of incorrectly using instead of . (Choices B and D are

nearly the same since is equivalent to , which is approximately .) Choice C is incorrect and may be
the result of incorrectly using and unnecessarily dividing 0.02 by 4.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 01668cd6
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 01668cd6

The functions and are defined by the given equations, where . Which of the following equations displays, as a
constant or coefficient, the maximum value of the function it defines, where ?
I.
II.

A. I only

B. II only

C. I and II

D. Neither I nor II

ID: 01668cd6 Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. Functions and are both exponential functions with a base of . Since is less than ,
functions and are both decreasing exponential functions. This means that and decrease as increases.
Since and decrease as increases, the maximum value of each function occurs at the least value of for which
the function is defined. It's given that functions and are defined for . Therefore, the maximum value of each
function occurs at . Substituting for in the equation defining yields , which is equivalent to
, or . Therefore, the maximum value of is . Since the equation
doesn't display the value , the equation defining doesn't display the maximum value of . Substituting for in the
equation defining yields , which can be rewritten as , or
, which is equivalent to . Therefore, the maximum value of is . Since the equation
displays the value , the equation defining displays the maximum value of . Thus, only
equation II displays, as a constant or coefficient, the maximum value of the function it defines.

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 5910bfff
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: 5910bfff

The formula above can be used to approximate the dew point D, in degrees
Fahrenheit, given the temperature T, in degrees Fahrenheit, and the relative
humidity of H percent, where . Which of the following expresses the relative
humidity in terms of the temperature and the dew point?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 5910bfff Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. It’s given that . Solving this formula for H expresses the relative humidity in

terms of the temperature and the dew point. Subtracting T from both sides of this equation yields .

Multiplying both sides by yields . Subtracting 100 from both sides yields

. Multiplying both sides by results in the formula .

Choices B, C, and D are incorrect and may result from errors made when rewriting the given formula.
Question Difficulty: Hard
Question ID fbb96bb1
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: fbb96bb1

Which of the following are solutions to the given equation, where is a constant and ?
I.
II.
III.

A. I and II only

B. I and III only

C. II and III only

D. I, II, and III

ID: fbb96bb1 Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. Subtracting the expression from both sides of the given equation yields
, which can be rewritten as . Since the two
terms on the right-hand side of this equation have a common factor of , it can be rewritten as
, or . Since is equivalent to , the
equation can be rewritten as . By the zero product property, it
follows that or . Adding to both sides of the equation yields . Adding
to both sides of the equation yields . Therefore, the two solutions to the given equation
are and . Thus, only and , not , are solutions to the given equation.

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

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID ad038c19
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: ad038c19

Which of the following is

equivalent to ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: ad038c19 Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. The expression can be rewritten as . Using the distributive property, the

expression yields . Combining like terms gives .

Choices A, B, and C are incorrect and may result from errors using the distributive property on the given expression or
combining like terms.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID ef926848
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: ef926848

Square P has a side length of inches. Square Q has a perimeter that is inches greater than the perimeter of square P.
The function gives the area of square Q, in square inches. Which of the following defines ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: ef926848 Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. Let represent the side length, in inches, of square P. It follows that the perimeter of square P is
inches. It's given that square Q has a perimeter that is inches greater than the perimeter of square P. Thus, the perimeter
of square Q is inches greater than inches, or inches. Since the perimeter of a square is times the side
length of the square, each side length of Q is , or inches. Since the area of a square is calculated by
multiplying the length of two sides, the area of square Q is , or square inches. It follows that
function is defined by .

Choice B is incorrect. This function represents a square with side lengths inches.

Choice C is incorrect. This function represents a square with side lengths inches.

Choice D is incorrect. This function represents a square with side lengths inches.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 77c0cced
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: 77c0cced

In the given system of equations, is a constant. The graphs of the equations in the given system intersect at exactly one
point, , in the xy-plane. What is the value of ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 77c0cced Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. It's given that the graphs of the equations in the given system intersect at exactly one point, , in the
xy-plane. Therefore, is the only solution to the given system of equations. The given system of equations can be
solved by subtracting the second equation, , from the first equation, . This yields
, or . Since the given system has only one solution, this
equation has only one solution. A quadratic equation in the form , where , , and are constants, has one
solution if and only if the discriminant, , is equal to zero. Substituting for , for , and for in the
expression yields . Setting this expression equal to zero yields
, or . Subtracting from both sides of this equation yields .
Dividing both sides of this equation by yields . Substituting for in the equation
yields , or . Factoring from the right-hand side of this equation yields
. Dividing both sides of this equation by yields , which is equivalent to
, or . Taking the square root of both sides of this equation yields . Adding to
both sides of this equation yields .

Choice A is incorrect. This is the value of , not .

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 635f54ee
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 635f54ee

The surface area of a cube is , where a is a positive constant. Which of the

following gives the perimeter of one face of the cube?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 635f54ee Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. A cube has 6 faces of equal area, so if the total surface area of a cube is , then the area of one

face is . Likewise, the area of one face of a cube is the square of one of its edges; therefore, if the area of one face is

, then the length of one edge of the cube is . Since the perimeter of one face of a cube is four times the length of

one edge, the perimeter is .

Choice A is incorrect because if the perimeter of one face of the cube is , then the total surface area of the cube is

, which is not . Choice C is incorrect because if the perimeter of one face of the cube is 4a, then

the total surface area of the cube is , which is not . Choice D is incorrect because if the perimeter of

one face of the cube is 6a, then the total surface area of the cube is , which is not .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 1697ffcf
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: 1697ffcf

In the xy-plane, the graph of intersects the graph of at the

points and . What is the value of a ?

ID: 1697ffcf Answer

Rationale

The correct answer is 5. The intersection points of the graphs of and can be found by solving the
system consisting of these two equations. To solve the system, substitute x for y in the first equation. This gives
. Subtracting x from both sides of the equation gives . Factoring out of each term on the
left-hand side of the equation gives . Therefore, the possible values for x are 0 and 5. Since , the two
intersection points are and . Therefore, .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 20291f47
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: 20291f47

Which expression is equivalent to ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 20291f47 Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. Factoring the denominator in the second term of the given expression gives . This
expression can be rewritten with common denominators by multiplying the first term by , giving .
Adding these two terms yields . Using the distributive property to rewrite this expression gives
. Combining the like terms in the numerator of this expression gives .

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

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 42f8e4b4
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: 42f8e4b4

One of the factors of is , where is a positive constant. What is the smallest possible value of ?

ID: 42f8e4b4 Answer

Correct Answer: 8

Rationale

The correct answer is . Since each term of the given expression, , has a factor of , the expression
can be rewritten as , or . Since the values and have a sum of
and a product of , the expression can be factored as . Therefore, the given
expression can be factored as . It follows that the factors of the given expression are , , , and
. Of these factors, only and are of the form , where is a positive constant. Therefore, the
possible values of are and . Thus, the smallest possible value of is .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID de39858a
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: de39858a

The function is defined by , where and are positive constants. The graph of in the -plane
passes through the points ( , ) and ( , ). What is the value of ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: de39858a Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. It’s given that the function is defined by and that the graph of in the xy-
plane passes through the points and . Substituting for and for in the equation
yields , or . Subtracting from both sides of this equation yields .
Substituting for and for in the equation yields . Subtracting from both
sides of this equation yields , which can be rewritten as . Taking the square root of both sides of this
equation yields and , but because it’s given that is a positive constant, must equal . Because the value of
is and the value of is , the value of is , or .

Choice A is incorrect and may result from finding the value of rather than the value of .

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

Choice D is incorrect and may result from correctly finding the value of as , but multiplying it by the y-value in the first
ordered pair rather than by the value of .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 1178f2df
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 1178f2df

The table shows three values of and their corresponding values of , where and is a quadratic function.
What is the y-coordinate of the y-intercept of the graph of in the xy-plane?

ID: 1178f2df Answer

Correct Answer: -2112

Rationale

The correct answer is . It's given that is a quadratic function. It follows that can be defined by an equation of the
form , where , , and are constants. It's also given that the table shows three values of and
their corresponding values of , where . Substituting for in this equation yields
. This equation represents a quadratic relationship between and , where is either the
maximum or the minimum value of , which occurs when . For quadratic relationships between and , the maximum
or minimum value of occurs at the value of halfway between any two values of that have the same corresponding
value of . The table shows that x-values of and correspond to the same y-value, . Since is halfway between
and , the maximum or minimum value of occurs at an x-value of . The table shows that when , . It
follows that and . Subtracting from both sides of the equation yields . Substituting
for and for in the equation yields , or . The
value of can be found by substituting any x-value and its corresponding y-value for and , respectively, in this equation.
Substituting for and for in this equation yields , or . Subtracting from
both sides of this equation yields , or . Dividing both sides of this equation by yields .
Substituting for , for , and for in the equation yields .
The y-intercept of the graph of in the xy-plane is the point on the graph where . Substituting for in the
equation yields , or . This is equivalent to
, so the y-intercept of the graph of in the xy-plane is . Thus, the y-coordinate of the y-
intercept of the graph of in the xy-plane is .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 84e8cc72
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 84e8cc72

A quadratic function models the height, in feet, of an object above the ground in terms of the time, in seconds, after the
object is launched off an elevated surface. The model indicates the object has an initial height of feet above the ground
and reaches its maximum height of feet above the ground seconds after being launched. Based on the model, what
is the height, in feet, of the object above the ground seconds after being launched?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 84e8cc72 Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. It's given that a quadratic function models the height, in feet, of an object above the ground in terms of
the time, in seconds, after the object is launched off an elevated surface. This quadratic function can be defined by an
equation of the form , where is the height of the object seconds after it was launched, and ,
, and are constants such that the function reaches its maximum value, , when . Since the model indicates the
object reaches its maximum height of feet above the ground seconds after being launched, reaches its
maximum value, , when . Therefore, and . Substituting for and for in the function
yields . Since the model indicates the object has an initial height of
feet above the ground, the value of is when . Substituting for and for in the equation
yields , or . Subtracting from both sides of
this equation yields . Dividing both sides of this equation by yields . Therefore, the model can be
represented by the equation . Substituting for in this equation yields
, or . Therefore, based on the model, seconds after being launched, the
height of the object above the ground is feet.

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

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 12e7faf8
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: 12e7faf8

The equation is true for all , where a and d

are integers. What is the value of ?

A.

B.

C. 0

D. 1

ID: 12e7faf8 Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. Since the expression can be factored as , the given equation can be rewritten

as . Since , is also not equal to 0, so both the numerator and denominator of

can be divided by . This gives . Equating the coefficient of x on each side of the equation
gives . Equating the constant terms gives . The sum is .

Choice A is incorrect and may result from incorrectly simplifying the equation. Choices B and D are incorrect. They are the
values of d and a, respectively, not .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 89fc23af
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: 89fc23af

Which of the following expressions is

equivalent to ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 89fc23af Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. The numerator of the given expression can be rewritten in terms of the denominator, , as follows:

, which is equivalent to . So the given expression is equivalent to

. Since the given expression is defined for , the expression can

be rewritten as .

Long division can also be used as an alternate approach. Choices A, B, and C are incorrect and may result from errors made
when dividing the two polynomials or making use of structure.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 911c415b
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: 911c415b

The expression above can be written in the form , where a and b are
constants. What is the value of ?

ID: 911c415b Answer

Rationale

The correct answer is 6632. Applying the distributive property to the expression yields .

Then adding together and and collecting like terms results in . This is written

in the form , where and . Therefore .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID b74f2feb
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: b74f2feb

The expression is equivalent to , where and are positive constants and . What is the value of
?

ID: b74f2feb Answer

Correct Answer: 361/8, 45.12, 45.13

Rationale

The correct answer is . The rational exponent property is , where , and are integers, and .
This property can be applied to rewrite the given expression as , or

. This expression can be rewritten by multiplying the constants, which gives . The
multiplication exponent property is , where . This property can be applied to rewrite the expression
as , or . Therefore, . It's given that is equivalent
to ; therefore, and . It follows that . Finding a common denominator on the right-hand
side of this equation gives , or . Note that 361/8, 45.12, and 45.13 are examples of ways to
enter a correct answer.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 5edc8c98
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: 5edc8c98

In the given equation, and are positive constants. The sum of the solutions to the given equation is , where
is a constant. What is the value of ?

ID: 5edc8c98 Answer

Correct Answer: .0625, 1/16

Rationale

The correct answer is . Let and represent the solutions to the given equation. Then, the given equation can be
rewritten as , or . Since this equation is equivalent to the given
equation, it follows that . Dividing both sides of this equation by yields ,
or . Therefore, the sum of the solutions to the given equation, , is equal to . Since it's
given that the sum of the solutions to the given equation is , where is a constant, it follows that . Note
that 1/16, .0625, 0.062, and 0.063 are examples of ways to enter a correct answer.

Alternate approach: The given equation can be rewritten as , where and are positive
constants. Dividing both sides of this equation by yields . The solutions for a quadratic
equation in the form , where , , and are constants, can be calculated using the quadratic
formula, and . It follows that the sum of the solutions to a quadratic equation in the
form is , which can be rewritten as ,
which is equivalent to , or . In the equation , , , and
. Substituting for and for in yields , which can be rewritten as . Thus, the
sum of the solutions to the given equation is . Since it's given that the sum of the solutions to the given equation
is , where is a constant, it follows that .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID cd358b89
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: cd358b89

Function is defined by . Function is defined by . The graph of

in the xy-plane has x-intercepts at , , and , where , , and are distinct constants. What is the
value of ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: cd358b89 Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. It's given that . Since , it follows that

. Combining like terms yields .
Therefore, . The x-intercepts of a graph in the xy-plane are the points where . The x-
coordinates of the x-intercepts of the graph of in the xy-plane can be found by solving the equation
. Applying the zero product property to this equation yields three equations: , , and
. Solving each of these equations for yields , , and , respectively. Therefore, the x-
intercepts of the graph of are , , and . It follows that the values of , , and are , , and
. Thus, the value of is , which is equal to .

Choice A is incorrect. This is the value of if .

Choice C is incorrect. This is the value of if .

Choice D is incorrect. This is the value of if .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID f89e1d6f
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: f89e1d6f

If , which of the following is equivalent to the

expression ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: f89e1d6f Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. Factoring –1 from the second, third, and fourth terms gives x2 – c2 – 2cd – d2 = x2 – (c2 + 2cd + d2). The
expression c2 + 2cd + d2 is the expanded form of a perfect square: c2 + 2cd + d2 = (c + d)2. Therefore, x2 – (c2 + 2cd + d2) =
x2 – (c + d)2. Since a = c + d, x2 – (c + d)2 = x2 – a2. Finally, because x2 – a2 is the difference of squares, it can be expanded
as x2 – a2 = (x + a)(x – a).

Choices A and B are incorrect and may be the result of making an error in factoring the difference of squares x2 – a2. Choice
D is incorrect and may be the result of incorrectly combining terms.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID ff2e5c76
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: ff2e5c76

What is the sum of the solutions to the given equation?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: ff2e5c76 Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. Adding to each side of the given equation yields . To complete the square, adding
, or , to each side of this equation yields , or . Taking the square
root of each side of this equation yields . Adding to each side of this equation yields
. Therefore, the solutions to the given equation are and . The sum of these solutions is
, or .

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 4b642eef
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 4b642eef

The total distance d, in meters, traveled by an object moving in a straight line can
be modeled by a quadratic function that is defined in terms of t, where t is the time
in seconds. At a time of 10.0 seconds, the total distance traveled by the object is
50.0 meters, and at a time of 20.0 seconds, the total distance traveled by the
object is 200.0 meters. If the object was at a distance of 0 meters when , then
what is the total distance traveled, in meters, by the object after 30.0 seconds?

ID: 4b642eef Answer

Rationale

The correct answer is 450. The quadratic equation that models this situation can be written in the form ,
where a, b, and c are constants. It’s given that the distance, d, the object traveled was 0 meters when seconds. These

values can be substituted into the equation to solve for a, b, and c: . Therefore, , and it follows that

. Since it’s also given that d is 50 when t is 10 and d is 200 when t is 20, these values for d and t can be

substituted to create a system of two linear equations: and , or

and . Subtracting the first equation from the second equation yields , or . Substituting for a

in the first equation and solving for b yields . Therefore, the equation that represents this situation is .

Evaluating this function when seconds yields , or meters.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 2c5c22d0
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: 2c5c22d0

How many solutions are there to the

system of equations above?

A. There are exactly 4 solutions.

B. There are exactly 2 solutions.

C. There is exactly 1 solution.

D. There are no solutions.

ID: 2c5c22d0 Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. The second equation of the system can be rewritten as . Substituting for y in the first

equation gives . This equation can be solved as shown below:

Substituting 1 for x in the equation gives . Therefore, is the only solution to the system of
equations.

Choice A is incorrect. In the xy-plane, a parabola and a line can intersect at no more than two points. Since the graph of the
first equation is a parabola and the graph of the second equation is a line, the system cannot have more than 2 solutions.
Choice B is incorrect. There is a single ordered pair that satisfies both equations of the system. Choice D is incorrect
because the ordered pair satisfies both equations of the system.
Question Difficulty: Hard
Question ID fc3dfa26
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: fc3dfa26

What value of x satisfies the

equation above?

A.

B.

C.

D. 3

ID: fc3dfa26 Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. Each fraction in the given equation can be expressed with the common denominator . Multiplying

by yields , and multiplying by yields . Therefore, the given equation can be

written as . Multiplying each fraction by the denominator results in the equation

, or . This equation can be solved by setting a quadratic expression equal to 0,

then solving for x. Subtracting from both sides of this equation yields . The expression
can be factored, resulting in the equation . By the zero product property, or . To solve
for x in , 1 can be added to both sides of the equation, resulting in . Dividing both sides of this equation by

2 results in . Solving for x in yields . However, this value of x would result in the second fraction of
the original equation having a denominator of 0. Therefore, is an extraneous solution. Thus, the only value of x that

satisfies the given equation is .

Choice A is incorrect and may result from solving but not realizing that this solution is extraneous because it
would result in a denominator of 0 in the second fraction. Choice B is incorrect and may result from a sign error when solving
for x. Choice D is incorrect and may result from a calculation error.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 6d9e01a2
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 6d9e01a2

The given equation defines the function . For what value of does reach its minimum?

ID: 6d9e01a2 Answer

Correct Answer: 25/4, 6.25

Rationale

The correct answer is . The given equation can be rewritten in the form , where , , and are
constants. When , is the value of for which reaches its minimum. The given equation can be rewritten as
, which is equivalent to . This equation can

be rewritten as , or , which is equivalent to

. Therefore, , so the value of for which reaches its minimum is . Note that
25/4 and 6.25 are examples of ways to enter a correct answer.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 9f2ecade
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 9f2ecade

The function h is defined above, where a, b, and c are integer constants. If the
zeros of the function are 6, and 7, what is the value of c ?

ID: 9f2ecade Answer

Rationale

The correct answer is 210. Since , 6, and 7 are zeros of the function, the function can be rewritten as

. Expanding the function yields . Thus, , , and

. Therefore, the value of c is 210.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 6011a3f8
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: 6011a3f8

In the given equation, is a constant. For which of the following values of will the equation have more than one real
solution?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 6011a3f8 Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. A quadratic equation of the form , where , , and are constants, has either no real
solutions, exactly one real solution, or exactly two real solutions. That is, for the given equation to have more than one real
solution, it must have exactly two real solutions. When the value of the discriminant, or , is greater than 0, the given
equation has exactly two real solutions. In the given equation, , and . Therefore, the
given equation has exactly two real solutions when , or . Adding to both sides
of this inequality yields . Taking the square root of both sides of yields two possible inequalities:
or . Of the choices, only choice A satisfies or .

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: Hard

Question ID 0e61101e
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 0e61101e

The function is defined by the given equation. If , which of the following equations defines the function
?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 0e61101e Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. It’s given that and . Substituting for in gives

. Rewriting this equation using properties of exponents gives , which is
equivalent to . Multiplying and in this equation gives . Since
, .

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 e117d3b8
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: e117d3b8

If a and c are positive numbers, which of the following is

equivalent to ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: e117d3b8 Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. Using the property that for positive numbers x and y, with x = (a + c)3 and y = a + c, it

follows that . By rewriting (a + c)4 as ((a + c)2)2, it is possible to simplify the square root

expression as follows: .

Choice A is incorrect and may be the result of . Choice B is incorrect and may be the result of
incorrectly rewriting (a + c)2 as a2 + c2. Choice D is incorrect and may be the result of incorrectly applying properties of
exponents.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 04bbce67
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 04bbce67

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

ID: 04bbce67 Answer

Correct Answer: -7

Rationale

The correct answer is . For a quadratic function defined by an equation of the form , where , ,
and are constants and , the function reaches its minimum when . In the given function, , , and
. Therefore, the value of for which reaches its minimum is .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 6f5540a5
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 6f5540a5

Kao measured the temperature of a cup of hot chocolate placed in a room with a
constant temperature of 70 degrees Fahrenheit (°F). The temperature of the hot
chocolate was 185°F at 6:00 p.m. when it started cooling. The temperature of the
hot chocolate was 156°F at 6:05 p.m. and 135°F at 6:10 p.m. The hot chocolate’s
temperature continued to decrease. Of the following functions, which best models
the temperature , in degrees Fahrenheit, of Kao’s hot chocolate m minutes
after it started cooling?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 6f5540a5 Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. The hot chocolate cools from 185°F over time, never going lower than the room temperature, 70°F. Since
the base of the exponent in this function, 0.75, is less than 1, decreases as time increases. Using the function, the

temperature, in °F, at 6:00 p.m. can be estimated as and is equal to . The temperature, in °F, at

6:05 p.m. can be estimated as and is equal to , which is approximately 156°F. Finally, the

temperature, in °F, at 6:10 p.m. can be estimated as and is equal to , which is approximately 135°F.
Since these three given values of m and their corresponding values for can be verified using the function

, this is the best function out of the given choices to model the temperature of Kao’s hot
chocolate after m minutes.
Choice A is incorrect because the base of the exponent, , results in the value of increasing over time rather than
decreasing. Choice B is incorrect because when m is large enough, becomes less than 70. Choice C is incorrect
because the maximum value of at 6:00 p.m. is 115°F, not 185°F.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 9cb9beec
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: 9cb9beec

In the given system of equations, is a positive constant. The system has exactly one distinct real solution. What is the
value of ?

ID: 9cb9beec Answer

Correct Answer: 14.5, 29/2

Rationale

The correct answer is . According to the first equation in the given system, the value of is . Substituting for
in the second equation in the given system yields . Adding to both sides of this equation yields
. If the given system has exactly one distinct real solution, it follows that
has exactly one distinct real solution. A quadratic equation in the form , where , , and are constants,
has exactly one distinct real solution if and only if the discriminant, , is equal to . The equation
is in this form, where , , and . Therefore, the discriminant of the equation
is , or . Setting the discriminant equal to to solve for yields
. Adding to both sides of this equation yields . Dividing both sides of this equation by yields
, or . Therefore, if the given system of equations has exactly one distinct real solution, the value of is .
Note that 29/2 and 14.5 are examples of ways to enter a correct answer.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 1fe10d97
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 1fe10d97

The given function models the population of Lowell years after a census. Which of the following functions best models
the population of Lowell months after the census?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 1fe10d97 Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. It’s given that the function models the population of Lowell years after a census. Since there are
months in a year, months after the census is equivalent to years after the census. Substituting for in the
equation yields . Therefore, the function that best models the
population of Lowell months after the census is .

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 b73ee6cf
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: b73ee6cf

The population of a town is currently 50,000, and the population is estimated to

increase each year by 3% from the previous year. Which of the following equations
can be used to estimate the number of years, t, it will take for the population of the
town to reach 60,000 ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: b73ee6cf Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. Stating that the population will increase each year by 3% from the previous year is equivalent to saying
that the population each year will be 103% of the population the year before. Since the initial population is 50,000, the
population after t years is given by 50,000(1.03)t. It follows that the equation 60,000 = 50,000(1.03)t can be used to estimate
the number of years it will take for the population to reach 60,000.

Choice A is incorrect. This equation models how long it will take the population to decrease from 60,000 to 50,000, which is
impossible given the growth factor. Choice B is incorrect and may result from misinterpreting a 3% growth as growth by a
factor of 3. Additionally, this equation attempts to model how long it will take the population to decrease from 60,000 to
50,000. Choice C is incorrect and may result from misunderstanding how to model percent growth by multiplying the initial
amount by a factor greater than 1.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 08d03fe4
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 08d03fe4

For the exponential function , the value of is , where is a constant. Which of the following equivalent forms of the
function shows the value of as the coefficient or the base?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 08d03fe4 Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. For the form of the function in choice C, , the value of can be found as
, which is equivalent to , or . Therefore, , which is shown in as the
coefficient.

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

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 7eed640d
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 7eed640d

The quadratic function above models the height above the ground h, in feet, of a
projectile x seconds after it had been launched vertically. If is graphed in
the xy-plane, which of the following represents the real-life meaning of the positive
x-intercept of the graph?

A. The initial height of the projectile

B. The maximum height of the projectile

C. The time at which the projectile reaches its maximum height

D. The time at which the projectile hits the ground

ID: 7eed640d Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. The positive x-intercept of the graph of is a point for which . Since models
the height above the ground, in feet, of the projectile, a y-value of 0 must correspond to the height of the projectile when it is
0 feet above ground or, in other words, when the projectile is on the ground. Since x represents the time since the projectile
was launched, it follows that the positive x-intercept, , represents the time at which the projectile hits the ground.

Choice A is incorrect and may result from misidentifying the y-intercept as a positive x-intercept. Choice B is incorrect and
may result from misidentifying the y-value of the vertex of the graph of the function as an x-intercept. Choice C is incorrect
and may result from misidentifying the x-value of the vertex of the graph of the function as an x-intercept.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 43926bd9
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 43926bd9

For the exponential function f, the table above shows several values of x and their corresponding values of , where a

is a constant greater than 1. If k is a constant and , what is the value of k ?

ID: 43926bd9 Answer

Rationale

The correct answer is 8. The values of for the exponential function f shown in the table increase by a factor of for

each increase of 1 in x. This relationship can be represented by the equation , where b is a constant. It’s given

that when , . Substituting 2 for x and for into yields . Since

, it follows that . Thus, an equation that defines the function f is . It follows that the value

of k such that can be found by solving the equation , which yields .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 4d037075
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 4d037075

The rational function is defined by an equation in the form , where and are constants. The partial graph of
is shown. If , which equation could define function ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 4d037075 Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. It's given that and that the graph shown is a partial graph of . Substituting for
in the equation yields . The graph passes through the point . Substituting for
and for in the equation yields . Multiplying each side of this equation by yields
, or . The graph also passes through the point . Substituting for and for
in the equation yields . Multiplying each side of this equation by yields , or
. Substituting for in this equation yields . Adding to each side of this
equation yields . Subtracting from each side of this equation yields . Dividing each side of this
equation by yields . Substituting for in the equation yields , or . Substituting
for and for in the equation yields . It's given that . Substituting for
in the equation yields , which is equivalent to . It follows that
.

Choice A is incorrect. This could define function if .

Choice B is incorrect. This could define function if .

Choice D is incorrect. This could define function if .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 4d7064a6
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 4d7064a6

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

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 4d7064a6 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 1853bb35
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 1853bb35

For the function , the value of decreases by for every increase in the value of by . If , which
equation defines ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 1853bb35 Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. Since the value of decreases by a fixed percentage, , for every increase in the value of by ,
the function is a decreasing exponential function. A decreasing exponential function can be written in the form
, where is the value of and the value of decreases by for every increase in the value of
by . If , then . Since the value of decreases by for every increase in the value of by ,
. Substituting for and for in the equation yields , which is
equivalent to , or .

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. For this function, the value of increases, rather than decreases, by for every increase in the
value of by .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID a54753ca
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: a54753ca

In the xy-plane, the graph of the equation intersects the line at exactly one point. What is the
value of ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: a54753ca Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. In the xy-plane, the graph of the line is a horizontal line that crosses the y-axis at and the
graph of the quadratic equation is a parabola. A parabola can intersect a horizontal line at exactly
one point only at its vertex. Therefore, the value of should be equal to the y-coordinate of the vertex of the graph of the
given equation. For a quadratic equation in vertex form, , the vertex of its graph in the xy-plane is .
The given quadratic equation, , can be rewritten as ,

or . Thus, the value of is equal to .

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

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID a7711fe8
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: a7711fe8

What is the minimum value of the function f

defined by ?

A.

B.

C. 2

D. 4

ID: a7711fe8 Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. The given quadratic function f is in vertex form, , where is the vertex of the
graph of in the xy-plane. Therefore, the vertex of the graph of is . In addition, the y-coordinate of
the vertex represents either the minimum or maximum value of a quadratic function, depending on whether the graph of the
function opens upward or downward. Since the leading coefficient of f (the coefficient of the term ) is 1, which is
positive, the graph of opens upward. It follows that at , the minimum value of the function f is .

Choice B is incorrect and may result from making a sign error and from using the x-coordinate of the vertex. Choice C is
incorrect and may result from using the x-coordinate of the vertex. Choice D is incorrect and may result from making a sign
error.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 1a722d7d
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 1a722d7d

Let the function p be defined as , where c is a constant. If

, what is the value of ?

A. 10.00

B. 10.25

C. 10.75

D. 11.00

ID: 1a722d7d Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. The value of p(12) depends on the value of the constant c, so the value of c must first be determined. It
is given that p(c) = 10. Based on the definition of p, it follows that:

This means that for all values of x. Therefore:

Choice A is incorrect. It is the value of p(8), not p(12). Choices B and C are incorrect. If one of these values were correct, then
x = 12 and the selected value of p(12) could be substituted into the equation to solve for c. However, the values of c that
result from choices B and C each result in p(c) < 10.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 58b109d4
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: 58b109d4

The solution to the given system of equations is . What is the value of ?

ID: 58b109d4 Answer

Correct Answer: -10

Rationale

The correct answer is . Adding to both sides of the second equation in the given system yields .
Substituting for in the first equation in the given system yields . Subtracting from
both sides of this equation yields . Factoring the left-hand side of this equation yields
, or . Taking the square root of both sides of this equation yields .
Subtracting from both sides of this equation yields . Therefore, the value of is .

Question Difficulty: Hard