Question ID 983412ea
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Geometry and Area and volume
Trigonometry
ID: 983412ea
A right square prism has a height of units. The volume of the prism is cubic units. What is the length, in units, of
an edge of the base?
ID: 983412ea Answer
Correct Answer: 12
Rationale
The correct answer is 12. The volume, 𝑉, of a right square prism can be calculated using the formula 𝑉 = 𝑠2 ℎ, where 𝑠
represents the length of an edge of the base and ℎ represents the height of the prism. It’s given that the volume of the
prism is 2,016 cubic units and the height is 14 units. Substituting 2,016 for 𝑉 and 14 for ℎ in the formula 𝑉 = 𝑠2 ℎ yields
2,016 = 𝑠2 14. Dividing both sides of this equation by 14 yields 144 = 𝑠2 . Taking the square root of both sides of this
equation yields two solutions: -12 = 𝑠 and 12 = 𝑠. The length can't be negative, so 12 = 𝑠. Therefore, the length, in units,
of an edge of the base is 12.
Question Difficulty: Hard
Question ID 5b2b8866
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Geometry and Area and volume
Trigonometry
ID: 5b2b8866
A rectangular poster has an area of square inches. A copy of the poster is made in which the length and width of the
original poster are each increased by . What is the area of the copy, in square inches?
ID: 5b2b8866 Answer
Correct Answer: 2592/5, 518.4
Rationale
The correct answer is 518.4. It's given that the area of the original poster is 360 square inches. Let 𝑙 represent the length,
in inches, of the original poster, and let 𝑤 represent the width, in inches, of the original poster. Since the area of a
rectangle is equal to its length times its width, it follows that 360 = 𝑙𝑤. It's also given that a copy of the poster is made in
which the length and width of the original poster are each increased by 20%. It follows that the length of the copy is the
20
length of the original poster plus 20% of the length of the original poster, which is equivalent to 𝑙 + 100 𝑙 inches. This
length can be rewritten as 𝑙 + 0.2𝑙 inches, or 1.2𝑙 inches. Similarly, the width of the copy is the width of the original poster
20
plus 20% of the width of the original poster, which is equivalent to 𝑤 + 100 𝑤 inches. This width can be rewritten as
𝑤 + 0.2𝑤 inches, or 1.2𝑤 inches. Since the area of a rectangle is equal to its length times its width, it follows that the area,
in square inches, of the copy is equal to 1.2𝑙1.2𝑤, which can be rewritten as 1.21.2𝑙𝑤. Since 360 = 𝑙𝑤, the area, in square
inches, of the copy can be found by substituting 360 for 𝑙𝑤 in the expression 1.21.2𝑙𝑤, which yields 1.21.2360, or 518.4.
Therefore, the area of the copy, in square inches, is 518.4.
Question Difficulty: Hard
Question ID 93de3f84
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Geometry and Area and volume
Trigonometry
ID: 93de3f84
The volume of right circular cylinder A is 22 cubic centimeters. What is the
volume, in cubic centimeters, of a right circular cylinder with twice the radius and
half the height of cylinder A?
A. 11
B. 22
C. 44
D. 66
ID: 93de3f84 Answer
Correct Answer: C
Rationale
Choice C is correct. The volume of right circular cylinder A is given by the expression , where r is the radius of its
circular base and h is its height. The volume of a cylinder with twice the radius and half the height of cylinder A is given
by , which is equivalent to . Therefore, the volume is twice the volume of cylinder A,
or .
Choice A is incorrect and likely results from not multiplying the radius of cylinder A by 2. Choice B is incorrect and likely
results from not squaring the 2 in 2r when applying the volume formula. Choice D is incorrect and likely results from a
conceptual error.
Question Difficulty: Hard
Question ID f7e626b2
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Geometry and Area and volume
Trigonometry
ID: f7e626b2
The dimensions of a right rectangular prism are 4 inches by 5 inches by
6 inches. What is the surface area, in square inches, of the prism?
A. 30
B. 74
C. 120
D. 148
ID: f7e626b2 Answer
Rationale
Choice D is correct. The surface area is found by summing the area of each face. A right rectangular prism consists of
three pairs of congruent rectangles, so the surface area is found by multiplying the areas of three adjacent rectangles by
2 and adding these products. For this prism, the surface area is equal to , or
, which is equal to 148.
Choice A is incorrect. This is the area of one of the faces of the prism. Choice B is incorrect and may result from adding
the areas of three adjacent rectangles without multiplying by 2. Choice C is incorrect. This is the volume, in cubic inches,
of the prism.
Question Difficulty: Hard
Question ID e10d8313
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Geometry and Lines, angles, and
Trigonometry triangles
ID: e10d8313
In the figure shown, points , , , and lie on line segment , and line segment intersects line segment at
point . The measure of is , the measure of is , the measure of is , and the
measure of is . What is the measure, in degrees, of ?
ID: e10d8313 Answer
Correct Answer: 123
Rationale
The correct answer is 123. The triangle angle sum theorem states that the sum of the measures of the interior angles of
a triangle is 180 degrees. It's given that the measure of ∠𝑆𝑄𝑋 is 48° and the measure of ∠𝑆𝑋𝑄 is 86°. Since points 𝑆, 𝑄,
and 𝑋 form a triangle, it follows from the triangle angle sum theorem that the measure, in degrees, of ∠𝑄𝑆𝑋 is
180 - 48 - 86, or 46. It's also given that the measure of ∠𝑆𝑊𝑈 is 85°. Since ∠𝑆𝑊𝑈 and ∠𝑆𝑊𝑅 are supplementary angles,
the sum of their measures is 180 degrees. It follows that the measure, in degrees, of ∠𝑆𝑊𝑅 is 180 - 85, or 95. Since
points 𝑅, 𝑆, and 𝑊 form a triangle, and ∠𝑅𝑆𝑊 is the same angle as ∠𝑄𝑆𝑋, it follows from the triangle angle sum theorem
that the measure, in degrees, of ∠𝑊𝑅𝑆 is 180 - 46 - 95, or 39. It's given that the measure of ∠𝑉𝑇𝑈 is 162°. Since ∠𝑉𝑇𝑈
and ∠𝑆𝑇𝑈 are supplementary angles, the sum of their measures is 180 degrees. It follows that the measure, in degrees,
of ∠𝑆𝑇𝑈 is 180 - 162, or 18. Since points 𝑅, 𝑇, and 𝑈 form a triangle, and ∠𝑈𝑅𝑇 is the same angle as ∠𝑊𝑅𝑆, it follows
from the triangle angle sum theorem that the measure, in degrees, of ∠𝑇𝑈𝑅 is 180 - 39 - 18, or 123.
Question Difficulty: Hard
Question ID f7dbde16
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Geometry and Lines, angles, and
Trigonometry triangles
ID: f7dbde16
In triangles and , angles and each have measure , , and . Which additional
piece of information is sufficient to prove that triangle is similar to triangle ?
A. and
B. and
C. The measures of angles and are and , respectively.
D. The measures of angles and are and , respectively.
ID: f7dbde16 Answer
Correct Answer: D
Rationale
Choice D is correct. Two triangles are similar if they have three pairs of congruent corresponding angles. It’s given that
angles 𝐿 and 𝑅 each measure 60°, and so these corresponding angles are congruent. If angle 𝑀 is 70°, then angle 𝑁 must
be 50° so that the sum of the angles in triangle 𝐿𝑀𝑁 is 180°. If angle 𝑇 is 50°, then angle 𝑆 must be 70° so that the sum of
the angles in triangle 𝑅𝑆𝑇 is 180°. Therefore, if the measures of angles 𝑀 and 𝑇 are 70° and 50°, respectively, then
corresponding angles 𝑀 and 𝑆 are both 70°, and corresponding angles 𝑁 and 𝑇 are both 50°. It follows that triangles 𝐿𝑀𝑁
and 𝑅𝑆𝑇 have three pairs of congruent corresponding angles, and so the triangles are similar. Therefore, the additional
piece of information that is sufficient to prove that triangle 𝐿𝑀𝑁 is similar to triangle 𝑅𝑆𝑇 is that the measures of angles
𝑀 and 𝑇 are 70° and 50°, respectively.
Choice A is incorrect. If the measures of two sides in one triangle are proportional to the corresponding sides in another
triangle and the included angles are congruent, then the triangles are similar. However, the two sides given are not
proportional and the angle given is not included by the given sides.
Choice B is incorrect. If the measures of two sides in one triangle are proportional to the corresponding sides in another
triangle and the included angles are congruent, then the triangles are similar. However, the angle given is not included
between the proportional sides.
Choice C is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.
Question Difficulty: Hard
Question ID 740bf79f
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Geometry and Lines, angles, and
Trigonometry triangles
ID: 740bf79f
In the figure above, what is the
length of ?
A. 2.2
B. 2.3
C. 2.4
D. 2.5
ID: 740bf79f Answer
Correct Answer: C
Rationale
Choice C is correct. First, is the hypotenuse of right , whose legs have lengths 3 and 4. Therefore,
, so and . Second, because corresponds to and because
corresponds to , is similar to . The ratio of corresponding sides of similar triangles is
constant, so . Since and it’s given that and , . Solving for NQ results in
, or 2.4.
Choices A, B, and D are incorrect and may result from setting up incorrect ratios.
Question Difficulty: Hard
Question ID 5b4757df
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Geometry and Lines, angles, and
Trigonometry triangles
ID: 5b4757df
In triangle , angle is a right angle, point lies on , point lies on , and is parallel to . If the length
of is units, the length of is units, and the area of triangle is square units, what is the length of
, in units?
ID: 5b4757df Answer
Correct Answer: 14.66, 14.67, 44/3
Rationale
44
The correct answer is 3
. It's given that in triangle 𝑅𝑆𝑇, angle 𝑇 is a right angle. The area of a right triangle can be found
1
using the formula 𝐴 = 𝑙1 𝑙2 , where 𝐴 represents the area of the right triangle, 𝑙1 represents the length of one leg of the
2
¯ ¯
triangle, and 𝑙2 represents the length of the other leg of the triangle. In triangle 𝑅𝑆𝑇, the two legs are 𝑅𝑇 and 𝑆𝑇.
¯ 1
Therefore, if the length of 𝑅𝑇 is 72 and the area of triangle 𝑅𝑆𝑇 is 792, then 792 = 2 72𝑆𝑇, or 792 = 36𝑆𝑇. Dividing both
¯ ¯
sides of this equation by 36 yields 22 = 𝑆𝑇. Therefore, the length of 𝑆𝑇 is 22. It's also given that point 𝐿 lies on 𝑅𝑆, point 𝐾
¯ ¯ ¯
lies on 𝑆𝑇, and 𝐿𝐾 is parallel to 𝑅𝑇. It follows that angle 𝐿𝐾𝑆 is a right angle. Since triangles 𝑅𝑆𝑇 and 𝐿𝑆𝐾 share angle 𝑆
and have right angles 𝑇 and 𝐾, respectively, triangles 𝑅𝑆𝑇 and 𝐿𝑆𝐾 are similar triangles. Therefore, the ratio of the length
¯ ¯ ¯ ¯ ¯
of 𝑅𝑇 to the length of 𝐿𝐾 is equal to the ratio of the length of 𝑆𝑇 to the length of 𝑆𝐾. If the length of 𝑅𝑇 is 72 and the
¯ ¯ ¯ 72 ¯
length of 𝐿𝐾 is 24, it follows that the ratio of the length of 𝑅𝑇 to the length of 𝐿𝐾 is , or 3, so the ratio of the length of 𝑆𝑇
24
¯ 22
to the length of 𝑆𝐾 is 3. Therefore, 𝑆𝐾
= 3. Multiplying both sides of this equation by 𝑆𝐾 yields 22 = 3𝑆𝐾. Dividing both
22 ¯ ¯ 22
sides of this equation by 3 yields = 𝑆𝐾. Since the length of 𝑆𝑇, 22, is the sum of the length of 𝑆𝐾, , and the length of
3 3
¯ ¯ 22 44
𝐾𝑇, it follows that the length of 𝐾𝑇 is 22 - , or . Note that 44/3, 14.66, and 14.67 are examples of ways to enter a
3 3
correct answer.
Question Difficulty: Hard
Question ID 1429dcdf
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Geometry and Right triangles and
Trigonometry trigonometry
ID: 1429dcdf
In the triangle shown, what is the value of ?
ID: 1429dcdf Answer
Correct Answer: .6956, .6957, 16/23
Rationale
16
The correct answer is 23
. In a right triangle, the sine of an acute angle is defined as the ratio of the length of the side
opposite the angle to the length of the hypotenuse. In the triangle shown, the length of the side opposite the angle with
16
measure 𝑥° is 16 units and the length of the hypotenuse is 23 units. Therefore, the value of sin𝑥° is . Note that 16/23,
23
.6956, .6957, 0.695, and 0.696 are examples of ways to enter a correct answer.
Question Difficulty: Hard
Question ID 6933b3d9
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Geometry and Right triangles and
Trigonometry trigonometry
ID: 6933b3d9
In triangle RST above, point W (not shown) lies on . What is the value of
?
ID: 6933b3d9 Answer
Rationale
The correct answer is 0. Note that no matter where point W is on , the sum of the measures of and
is equal to the measure of , which is . Thus, and are complementary angles. Since the
cosine of an angle is equal to the sine of its complementary angle, . Therefore,
.
Question Difficulty: Hard
Question ID 8027db3f
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Geometry and Right triangles and
Trigonometry trigonometry
ID: 8027db3f
In triangle , and angle is a right angle. What is the value of ?
ID: 8027db3f Answer
Correct Answer: .8823, .8824, 15/17
Rationale
15
The correct answer is 17
. It's given that angle 𝐽 is the right angle in triangle 𝐽𝐾𝐿. Therefore, the acute angles of triangle
𝐽𝐾𝐿 are angle 𝐾 and angle 𝐿. The hypotenuse of a right triangle is the side opposite its right angle. Therefore, the
hypotenuse of triangle 𝐽𝐾𝐿 is side 𝐾𝐿. The cosine of an acute angle in a right triangle is the ratio of the length of the side
24 8
adjacent to the angle to the length of the hypotenuse. It's given that cos𝐾 = 51
. This can be written as cos𝐾 = 17
. Since
the cosine of angle 𝐾 is a ratio, it follows that the length of the side adjacent to angle 𝐾 is 8𝑛 and the length of the
hypotenuse is 17𝑛, where 𝑛 is a constant. Therefore, 𝐽𝐾 = 8𝑛 and 𝐾𝐿 = 17𝑛. The Pythagorean theorem states that in a
right triangle, the square of the length of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of the lengths of the other
2 2 2 2 2 2
two sides. For triangle 𝐽𝐾𝐿, it follows that 𝐽𝐾 + 𝐽𝐿 = 𝐾𝐿 . Substituting 8𝑛 for 𝐽𝐾 and 17𝑛 for 𝐾𝐿 yields 8𝑛 + 𝐽𝐿 = 17𝑛 .
This is equivalent to 64𝑛2 + 𝐽𝐿2 = 289𝑛2 . Subtracting 64𝑛2 from each side of this equation yields 𝐽𝐿2 = 225𝑛2 . Taking the
𝐽𝐿 15𝑛
square root of each side of this equation yields 𝐽𝐿 = 15𝑛. Since cos𝐿 = , it follows that cos𝐿 = , which can be
𝐾𝐿 17𝑛
15
rewritten as cos𝐿 = 17
. Note that 15/17, .8824, .8823, and 0.882 are examples of ways to enter a correct answer.
Question Difficulty: Hard
Question ID c6dff223
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Geometry and Right triangles and
Trigonometry trigonometry
ID: c6dff223
Triangle is similar to triangle , where angle corresponds to angle and angles and are right angles.
The length of is times the length of . If , what is the value of ?
ID: c6dff223 Answer
Correct Answer: .7241, 21/29
Rationale
21
The correct answer is 29
. It's given that triangle 𝐴𝐵𝐶 is similar to triangle 𝐷𝐸𝐹, where angle 𝐴 corresponds to angle 𝐷 and
angles 𝐶 and 𝐹 are right angles. In similar triangles, the tangents of corresponding angles are equal. Therefore, if
21 21
tan𝐴 = , then tan𝐷 = . In a right triangle, the tangent of an acute angle is the ratio of the length of the leg opposite the
20 20
21 ¯
angle to the length of the leg adjacent to the angle. Therefore, in triangle 𝐷𝐸𝐹, if tan𝐷 = , the ratio of the length of 𝐸𝐹 to
20
¯ 21 ¯ ¯ ¯
the length of 𝐷𝐹 is 20
. If the lengths of 𝐸𝐹 and 𝐷𝐹 are 21 and 20, respectively, then the ratio of the length of 𝐸𝐹 to the
¯ 21
length of 𝐷𝐹 is 20
. In a right triangle, the sine of an acute angle is the ratio of the length of the leg opposite the angle to
¯ ¯
the length of the hypotenuse. Therefore, the value of sin𝐷 is the ratio of the length of 𝐸𝐹 to the length of 𝐷𝐸. The length
¯
of 𝐷𝐸 can be calculated using the Pythagorean theorem, which states that if the lengths of the legs of a right triangle are
2 ¯ ¯
𝑎 and 𝑏 and the length of the hypotenuse is 𝑐, then 𝑎2 + 𝑏 = 𝑐2 . Therefore, if the lengths of 𝐸𝐹 and 𝐷𝐹 are 21 and 20,
2 2 2 2
respectively, then 21 + 20 = 𝐷𝐸 , or 841 = 𝐷𝐸 . Taking the positive square root of both sides of this equation yields
¯ ¯ ¯
29 = 𝐷𝐸. Therefore, if the lengths of 𝐸𝐹 and 𝐷𝐹 are 21 and 20, respectively, then the length of 𝐷𝐸 is 29 and the ratio of
¯ ¯ 21 21 21
the length of 𝐸𝐹 to the length of 𝐷𝐸 is 29
. Thus, if tan𝐴 = 20
, the value of sin𝐷 is 29
. Note that 21/29, .7241, and 0.724 are
examples of ways to enter a correct answer.
Question Difficulty: Hard
Question ID c8345903
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Geometry and Circles
Trigonometry
ID: c8345903
The circle above has center O, the length of arc is , and
. What is the length of arc ?
A.
B.
C.
D.
ID: c8345903 Answer
Correct Answer: B
Rationale
Choice B is correct. The ratio of the lengths of two arcs of a circle is equal to the ratio of the measures of the central
angles that subtend the arcs. It’s given that arc is subtended by a central angle with measure 100°. Since the sum
of the measures of the angles about a point is 360°, it follows that arc is subtended by a central angle with
measure . If s is the length of arc , then s must satisfy the ratio . Reducing the
fraction to its simplest form gives . Therefore, . Multiplying both sides of by
yields .
Choice A is incorrect. This is the length of an arc consisting of exactly half of the circle, but arc is greater than half
of the circle. Choice C is incorrect. This is the total circumference of the circle. Choice D is incorrect. This is half the
length of arc , not its full length.
Question Difficulty: Hard
Question ID b0a72bdc
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Geometry and Circles
Trigonometry
ID: b0a72bdc
What is the diameter of the circle in the xy-plane with equation ?
A.
B.
C.
D.
ID: b0a72bdc Answer
Correct Answer: B
Rationale
2 2
Choice B is correct. The standard form of an equation of a circle in the xy-plane is 𝑥 - ℎ + 𝑦 - 𝑘 = 𝑟2 , where the
coordinates of the center of the circle are ℎ, 𝑘 and the length of the radius of the circle is 𝑟. For the circle in the xy-plane
2 2
with equation 𝑥 - 5 + 𝑦 - 3 = 16, it follows that 𝑟2 = 16. Taking the square root of both sides of this equation yields
𝑟 = 4 or 𝑟 = - 4. Because 𝑟 represents the length of the radius of the circle and this length must be positive, 𝑟 = 4.
Therefore, the radius of the circle is 4. The diameter of a circle is twice the length of the radius of the circle. Thus, 24
yields 8. Therefore, the diameter of the circle is 8.
Choice A is incorrect. This is the radius of the circle. Choice C is incorrect. This is the square of the radius of the circle.
Choice D is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.
Question Difficulty: Hard
Question ID 9e44284b
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Geometry and Circles
Trigonometry
ID: 9e44284b
In the xy-plane, the graph of is a
circle. What is the radius of the circle?
A. 5
B. 6.5
C.
D.
ID: 9e44284b Answer
Correct Answer: A
Rationale
Choice A is correct. One way to find the radius of the circle is to rewrite the given equation in standard form,
, where is the center of the circle and the radius of the circle is r. To do this, divide the
original equation, , by 2 to make the leading coefficients of and each equal to 1:
. Then complete the square to put the equation in standard form. To do so, first rewrite
as . Second, add 2.25 and 0.25 to
both sides of the equation: . Since ,
, and , it follows that . Therefore, the radius of the circle is
5.
Choices B, C, and D are incorrect and may be the result of errors in manipulating the equation or of a misconception
about the standard form of the equation of a circle in the xy-plane.
Question Difficulty: Hard
Question ID 196e8e6e
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Geometry and Circles
Trigonometry
ID: 196e8e6e
In the xy-plane, a circle has center with coordinates . Points and lie on the circle. Point has coordinates
, and is a right angle. What is the length of ?
A.
B.
C.
D.
ID: 196e8e6e Answer
Correct Answer: A
Rationale
¯ ¯
Choice A is correct. It's given that points 𝐴 and 𝐵 lie on the circle with center 𝐶. Therefore, 𝐴𝐶 and 𝐵𝐶 are both radii of the
¯ ¯ ¯
circle. Since all radii of a circle are congruent, 𝐴𝐶 is congruent to 𝐵𝐶. The length of 𝐴𝐶, or the distance from point 𝐴 to
point 𝐶, can be found using the distance formula, which gives the distance between two points, 𝑥1 , 𝑦1 and 𝑥2 , 𝑦2 , as
𝑥 - 𝑥 2 + 𝑦1 - 𝑦2 2 . Substituting the given coordinates of point 𝐴, ℎ + 1, 𝑘 + √102 , for 𝑥1 , 𝑦1 and the given coordinates of
√ 1 2
2 2
point 𝐶, ℎ, 𝑘, for 𝑥2 , 𝑦2 in the distance formula yields √ℎ + 1 - ℎ2 + 𝑘 + √102 - 𝑘 , or √12 + √102 , which is equivalent to
¯ ¯
√1 + 102 , or √103 . Therefore, the length of 𝐴𝐶 is √103 and the length of 𝐵𝐶 is √103 . It's given that angle 𝐴𝐶𝐵 is a right
¯ ¯ ¯
angle. Therefore, triangle 𝐴𝐶𝐵 is a right triangle with legs 𝐴𝐶 and 𝐵𝐶 and hypotenuse 𝐴𝐵. By the Pythagorean theorem, if
2
a right triangle has a hypotenuse with length 𝑐 and legs with lengths 𝑎 and 𝑏, then 𝑎2 + 𝑏 = 𝑐2 . Substituting √103 for 𝑎
2 2
and 𝑏 in this equation yields √103 + √103 = 𝑐2 , or 103 + 103 = 𝑐2 , which is equivalent to 206 = 𝑐2 . Taking the positive
¯
square root of both sides of this equation yields √206 = 𝑐. Therefore, the length of 𝐴𝐵 is √206 .
Choice B is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.
¯ ¯
Choice C is incorrect. This would be the length of 𝐴𝐵 if the length of 𝐴𝐶 were 103, not √103 .
Choice D is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.
Question Difficulty: Hard
