Question ID fc3d783a 3.
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations
in one variable and
systems of
equations in two
variables
ID: fc3d783a
In the -plane, a line with equation intersects a parabola at exactly one point. If the parabola has
equation , where is a positive constant, what is the value of ?
ID: fc3d783a Answer
Correct Answer: 6
Rationale
The correct answer is . It’s given that a line with equation intersects a parabola with equation
, where is a positive constant, at exactly one point in the xy-plane. It follows that the system
of equations consisting of and has exactly one solution. Dividing both sides of the
equation of the line by yields . Substituting for in the equation of the parabola yields
. Adding and subtracting from both sides of this equation yields
. A quadratic equation in the form of , where , , and are constants,
has exactly one solution when the discriminant, , is equal to zero. Substituting for and for
in the expression and setting this expression equal to yields , or .
Adding to each side of this equation yields . Taking the square root of each side of this equation
yields . It’s given that is positive, so the value of is .
Question Difficulty: Hard
Question ID 4661e2a9 3.2
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations
in one variable and
systems of
equations in two
variables
ID: 4661e2a9
Which ordered pair is a solution to the
system of equations above?
A.
B.
C.
D.
ID: 4661e2a9 Answer
Correct Answer: A
Rationale
Choice A is correct. The solution to the given system of equations can be found by solving the first equation for
x, which gives , and substituting that value of x into the second equation which gives
. Rewriting this equation by adding like terms and expanding gives
. Subtracting from both sides of this equation gives . Adding to 2 to both sides
of this equation gives . Therefore, it follows that . Substituting for y in the first equation
yields . Adding to both sides of this equation yields . Therefore, the ordered pair
is a solution to the given system of equations.
Choice B is incorrect. Substituting for x and for y in the first equation yields , or
, which isn’t a true statement. Choice C is incorrect. Substituting for x and for y in the
second equation yields , or , which isn’t a true statement.
Choice D is incorrect. Substituting for x and for y in the second equation yields
, or , which isn’t a true statement.
Question Difficulty: Hard
Question ID f65288e8 3.3
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations
in one variable and
systems of
equations in two
variables
ID: f65288e8
If x is a solution to the given equation, which of the
following is a possible value of ?
A.
B.
C.
D.
ID: f65288e8 Answer
Correct Answer: A
Rationale
Choice A is correct. The given equation can be rewritten as . Multiplying both sides of this
equation by yields . Dividing both sides of this equation by 4 yields . Taking
the square root of both sides of this equation yields or . Therefore, a possible value of
is .
Choices B, C, and D are incorrect and may result from computational or conceptual errors.
Question Difficulty: Hard
Question ID f2f3fa00 3.4
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations
in one variable and
systems of
equations in two
variables
ID: f2f3fa00
During a 5-second time interval, the average acceleration a, in meters per
second squared, of an object with an initial velocity of 12 meters per second
is defined by the equation , where vf is the final velocity of
the object in meters per second. If the equation is rewritten in the form vf =
xa + y, where x and y are constants, what is the value of x ?
ID: f2f3fa00 Answer
Rationale
The correct answer is 5. The given equation can be rewritten in the form , like so:
It follows that the value of x is 5 and the value of y is 12.
Question Difficulty: Hard
Question ID 6ce95fc8 3.5
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.
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 c303ad23 3.6
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 3.7
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.
D.
ID: 7bd10ef3 Answer
Correct Answer: A
Rationale
Choice A is correct. The number of solutions to any quadratic equation in the form , where a,
b, and c are constants, can be found by evaluating the expression , which is called the discriminant. If
the value of is a positive number, then there will be exactly two real solutions to the equation. If the
value of is zero, then there will be exactly one real solution to the equation. Finally, if the value of
is negative, then there will be no real solutions to the equation.
The given equation is a quadratic equation in one variable, where t is a constant. Subtracting t
from both sides of the equation gives . In this form, , , and . The values of t
for which the equation has no real solutions are the same values of t for which the discriminant of this
equation is a negative value. The discriminant is equal to ; therefore, .
Simplifying the left side of the inequality gives . Subtracting 16 from both sides of the inequality
and then dividing both sides by 8 gives . Of the values given in the options, is the only value that is
less than . Therefore, choice A must be the correct answer.
Choices B, C, and D are incorrect and may result from a misconception about how to use the discriminant to
determine the number of solutions of a quadratic equation in one variable.
Question Difficulty: Hard
Question ID 66bce0c1 3.8
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 3.9
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 3d12b1e0 3.10
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 71014fb1 3.11
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 e9349667 3.12
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
2
equation for y gives y = –x – 1. Substituting the expression –x – 1 for y into the first equation gives –x – 1 = x
2
+ 2x + 1. Adding x + 1 to both sides of the equation yields x + 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 b03adde3 3.13
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 30281058 3.14
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.
B.
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 5910bfff 3.15
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 1697ffcf 3.16
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 ff2e5c76 3.17
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 2c5c22d0 3.18
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 3.19
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.
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 58b109d4 3.20
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
