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 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 6. It’s given that a line with equation 2𝑦 = 4 . 5 intersects a parabola with equation 𝑦 = - 4𝑥2 + 𝑏𝑥,
where 𝑏 is a positive constant, at exactly one point in the xy-plane. It follows that the system of equations consisting of
2𝑦 = 4 . 5 and 𝑦 = - 4𝑥2 + 𝑏𝑥 has exactly one solution. Dividing both sides of the equation of the line by 2 yields 𝑦 = 2 . 25.
Substituting 2.25 for 𝑦 in the equation of the parabola yields 2 . 25 = - 4𝑥2 + 𝑏𝑥. Adding 4𝑥2 and subtracting 𝑏𝑥 from both
sides of this equation yields 4𝑥2 - 𝑏𝑥 + 2 . 25 = 0. A quadratic equation in the form of 𝑎𝑥2 + 𝑏𝑥 + 𝑐 = 0, where 𝑎, 𝑏, and 𝑐 are
constants, has exactly one solution when the discriminant, 𝑏2 - 4𝑎𝑐, is equal to zero. Substituting 4 for 𝑎 and 2.25 for 𝑐 in the
expression 𝑏2 - 4𝑎𝑐 and setting this expression equal to 0 yields 𝑏2 - 4 ( 4 ) ( 2 . 25 ) = 0, or 𝑏2 - 36 = 0. Adding 36 to each
side of this equation yields 𝑏2 = 36. Taking the square root of each side of this equation yields 𝑏 = ± 6. It’s given that 𝑏 is
positive, so the value of 𝑏 is 6.

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 𝑥 = 0. For the given function 𝑓, the y-
𝑥
intercept of the graph of 𝑦 = 𝑓𝑥 in the xy-plane can be found by substituting 0 for 𝑥 in the equation 𝑦 = 9,0000.66 , which
gives 𝑦 = 9,0000.660 . This is equivalent to 𝑦 = 9,0001, or 𝑦 = 9,000. Therefore, the y-intercept of the graph of 𝑦 = 𝑓𝑥 is
0, 9,000. It’s given that the function 𝑓 models the number of advertisements a company sent to its clients each year.
Therefore, 𝑓𝑥 represents the estimated number of advertisements the company sent to its clients each year. It's also given
that 𝑥 represents the number of years since 1997. Therefore, 𝑥 = 0 represents 0 years since 1997, or 1997. Thus, the best
interpretation of the y-intercept of the graph of 𝑦 = 𝑓𝑥 is that the estimated number of advertisements the company sent to
its clients in 1997 was 9,000.

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 d0a7871e
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: d0a7871e

If is a solution to the system of equations above, which of the

following could be the value of x ?

A. –1

B. 0

C. 2

D. 3

ID: d0a7871e Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale
Choice A is correct. It is given that y = x + 1 and y = x2 + x. Setting the values for y equal to each other yields x + 1 = x2 + x.
Subtracting x from each side of this equation yields x2 = 1. Therefore, x can equal 1 or –1. Of these, only –1 is given as a
choice.

Choice B is incorrect. If x = 0, then x + 1 = 1, but x2 + x = 02 + 0 = 0 ≠︀1. Choice C is incorrect. If x = 2, then x + 1 = 3, but x2 + x

= 22 + 2 = 6 ≠︀3. Choice D is incorrect. If x = 3, then x + 1 = 4, but x2 + x = 32 + 3 = 12 ≠︀4.

Question Difficulty: Medium

Question ID dd4ab4c4
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: dd4ab4c4

Which of the following is a factor of

the polynomial above?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: dd4ab4c4 Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. The first and last terms of the polynomial are both squares such that and .
The second term is twice the product of the square root of the first and last terms: . Therefore, the

polynomial is the square of a binomial such that , and is a factor.

Choice A is incorrect and may be the result of incorrectly factoring the polynomial. Choice C is incorrect and may be the
result of dividing the second and third terms of the polynomial by their greatest common factor. Choice D is incorrect and
may be the result of not factoring the coefficients.

Question Difficulty: Medium

Question ID b8caaf84
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: b8caaf84

If and , which of the following is

equivalent to ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: b8caaf84 Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale
Choice B is correct. It’s given that and . Substituting the values for p and v into the expression

yields . Multiplying the terms yields .

Using the distributive property to rewrite yields . Therefore, the entire expression can be represented as

. Combining like terms yields .

Choice A is incorrect and may result from subtracting, instead of adding, the term . Choice C is incorrect. This is the
result of multiplying the terms . Choice D is incorrect and may result from distributing 2, instead of , to the
term .

Question Difficulty: Medium

Question ID 7f81d0c3
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: 7f81d0c3

What values satisfy the

equation above?

A. and

B. and

C. and

D. and

ID: 7f81d0c3 Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale
Choice C is correct. Using the quadratic formula to solve the given expression yields

. Therefore, and satisfy the given equation.

Choices A and B are incorrect and may result from incorrectly factoring or incorrectly applying the quadratic formula. Choice
D is incorrect and may result from a sign error.

Question Difficulty: Medium

Question ID e312081b
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: e312081b

Which of the following is equivalent to

the given expression?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: e312081b Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale
Choice B is correct. Using the associative and commutative properties of addition, the given expression

can be rewritten as . Adding these like terms results in .

Choice A is incorrect and may result from adding . Choice C is incorrect and may result from adding

. Choice D is incorrect and may result from adding .

Question Difficulty: Easy

Question ID a5663025
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: a5663025

A system of equations consists of a quadratic equation and a linear equation. The

equations in this system are graphed in the xy-plane above. How many solutions
does this system have?

A. 0

B. 1

C. 2

D. 3

ID: a5663025 Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale
Choice C is correct. The solutions to a system of two equations correspond to points where the graphs of the equations
intersect. The given graphs intersect at 2 points; therefore, the system has 2 solutions.

Choice A is incorrect because the graphs intersect. Choice B is incorrect because the graphs intersect more than once.
Choice D is incorrect. It’s not possible for the graph of a quadratic equation and the graph of a linear equation to intersect
more than twice.

Question Difficulty: Medium

Question ID 3c95093c
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: 3c95093c

Which of the following inequalities is equivalent

to the inequality above?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 3c95093c Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale
Choice B is correct. Both sides of the given inequality can be divided by 3 to yield .

Choices A, C, and D are incorrect because they are not equivalent to (do not have the same solution set as) the given
inequality. For example, the ordered pair is a solution to the given inequality, but it is not a solution to any of the
inequalities in choices A, C, or D.

Question Difficulty: Easy