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 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
xy
, where is a positive constant, at exactly one point in the -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
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
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
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear
equations in one
variable and
systems of
equations in two
variables
ID: f2f3fa00
a
During a 5-second time interval, the average acceleration , 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
yare 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
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 f5aa5040
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear
equations in one
variable and
systems of
equations in two
variables
ID: f5aa5040
xy
In the -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 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 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 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

t
In the equation above, 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 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 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

f
The graph of the function , 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 thexy-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 5910bfff
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear
equations in one
variable and
systems of
equations in two
variables
ID: 5910bfff

D
The formula above can be used to approximate the dew point , in degrees
T
Fahrenheit, given the temperature , 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 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
xy
the -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 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 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 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 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 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 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 a54753ca
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty
SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear
equations in one
variable and
systems of
equations in two
variables
ID: a54753ca
xy
In the -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

xy
Choice C is correct. In the -plane, the graph of the line y
is a horizontal line that crosses the -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 y
should be equal to the -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 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