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

Question ID 48f83c34
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 48f83c34

A right rectangular prism has a height of inches. The length of the prism's base is inches, which is inches more than
the width of the prism's base. Which function gives the volume of the prism, in cubic inches, in terms of the length of the
prism's base?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 48f83c34 Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale
Choice D is correct. The volume of a right rectangular prism can be represented by a function that gives the volume of the
prism, in cubic inches, in terms of the length of the prism's base. The volume of a right rectangular prism is equal to the area
of its base times its height. It's given that the length of the prism's base is inches, which is inches more than the width of
the prism's base. This means that the width of the prism's base is inches. It follows that the area of the prism's base,
in square inches, is and the volume, in cubic inches, of the prism is . Thus, the function that gives
the volume of this right rectangular prism, in cubic inches, in terms of the length of the prism's base, , is
.

Choice A is incorrect. This function would give the volume of the prism if the height were inches more than the length of its
base and the width of the base were inches more than its length.

Choice B is incorrect. This function would give the volume of the prism if the height were inches more than the length of its
base.

Choice C is incorrect. This function would give the volume of the prism if the width of the base were inches more than its
length, rather than the length of the base being inches more than its width.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 6e7ae9fc
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 6e7ae9fc

The function is defined by . The value of is , where is a constant. What is the sum
of all possible values of ?

ID: 6e7ae9fc Answer

Correct Answer: 25

Rationale
The correct answer is . The value of is the value of when , where is a constant. Substituting
for in the given equation yields , which is equivalent to
. It’s given that the value of is . Substituting for in the
equation yields . Since the product of the three
factors on the right-hand side of this equation is equal to , at least one of these three factors must be equal to . Therefore,
the possible values of can be found by setting each factor equal to . Setting the first factor equal to yields .
Adding to both sides of this equation yields . Therefore, is one possible value of . Setting the second factor
equal to yields . Adding to both sides of this equation yields . Therefore, is a second possible value
of . Setting the third factor equal to yields . Taking the square root of both sides of this equation yields
. Adding to both sides of this equation yields . Therefore, is a third possible value of . Adding the
three possible values of yields , or . Therefore, the sum of all possible values of is .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 3a01a5ee
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: 3a01a5ee

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

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 3a01a5ee Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale
Choice D is correct. By the definition of absolute value, if , then or .
Subtracting from both sides of the equation yields . Dividing both sides of this equation by
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 , and it follows
that the sum of the solutions to the given equation is , or .

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

Choice B is incorrect. This is a solution, not the sum of the solutions, to the given equation.

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 1a722d7d
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 1a722d7d

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

, what is the value of ?

A. 10.00

B. 10.25

C. 10.75

D. 11.00

ID: 1a722d7d Answer

Correct Answer: D

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

This means that for all values of x. Therefore:

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID a7711fe8
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: a7711fe8

What is the minimum value of the function f

defined by ?

A.

B.

C. 2

D. 4

ID: a7711fe8 Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. The given quadratic function f is in vertex form, , where is the vertex of the

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 161126cf
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 161126cf

The function is defined by the given equation. The equation can be rewritten as , where is a
constant. Which of the following is closest to the value of ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 161126cf Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. The equation can be rewritten as , which is equivalent to

, or approximately . Since it's given that can be rewritten as
, where is a constant, it follows that is approximately equal to . Therefore, is
approximately equal to . It follows that the value of is approximately equal to . Of the given choices, is
closest to the value of .

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 a8ae0d22
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: a8ae0d22

Two variables, and , are related such that for each increase of in the value of , the value of increases by a factor of .
When , . Which equation represents this relationship?

A. msup

B. msup

C. msup

D. msup

ID: a8ae0d22 Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale
Choice D is correct. Since the value of increases by a constant factor, , for each increase of in the value of , the
relationship between and is exponential. An exponential relationship between and can be represented by an equation
of the form , where is the value of when and increases by a factor of for each increase of in the
value of . Since when , . Since increases by a factor of for each increase of in the value of ,
. Substituting for and for in the equation yields . Thus, the equation
represents the relationship between and .

Choice A is incorrect and may result from conceptual errors.

Choice B is incorrect. This equation represents a relationship where for each increase of in the value of , the value of
increases by a factor of , not , and when , is equal to , not .

Choice C is incorrect and may result from conceptual errors.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID a54753ca
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: a54753ca

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

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: a54753ca Answer

Correct Answer: C

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

or . Thus, the value of is equal to .

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

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 1853bb35
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 1853bb35

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

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 1853bb35 Answer

Correct Answer: C

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

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

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 7e6ea718
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 7e6ea718

In the given equation, and are unique positive constants. When the equation is graphed in the xy-plane, how many
distinct x-intercepts does the graph have?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 7e6ea718 Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale
Choice B is correct. An x-intercept of a graph in the xy-plane is a point on the graph where the value of is . Substituting
for in the given equation yields . By the zero product property, the solutions to this
equation are , , , and . However, and are identical. It's given that and are
unique positive constants. It follows that the equation has unique solutions:
, , and . Thus, the graph of the given equation has distinct x-intercepts.

Choice A is incorrect and may result from conceptual errors. Choice C is incorrect and may result from conceptual errors.

Choice D is incorrect and may result from conceptual errors.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID c8e9a011
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: c8e9a011

The given equation relates the variables , , and , where , , and . Which expression is equivalent to ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: c8e9a011 Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale
Choice D is correct. Adding to each side of the given equation yields . The fractions on the right side of
this equation have a common denominator of ; therefore, the equation can be written as , or
, which is equivalent to . Dividing each side of this equation by yields . Since , , ,
and are all positive quantities, taking the reciprocal of each side of the equation yields an equivalent
equation: . Multiplying each side of this equation by yields .

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

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

Choice C is incorrect. This is equivalent to rather than .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 4d7064a6
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 4d7064a6

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

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 4d7064a6 Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale
Choice D is correct. It's given that , which can be rewritten as . Since
the coefficient of the -term is positive, the graph of in the xy-plane opens upward and reaches its minimum
value at its vertex. The x-coordinate of the vertex is the value of such that reaches its minimum. For an equation in
the form , where , , and are constants, the x-coordinate of the vertex is . For the equation
, , , and . It follows that the x-coordinate of the vertex is , or .
Therefore, reaches its minimum when the value of is .

Alternate approach: The value of for the vertex of a parabola is the x-value of the midpoint between the two x-intercepts of
the parabola. Since it’s given that , it follows that the two x-intercepts of the graph of
in the xy-plane occur when and , or at the points and . The midpoint between two points,
and , is . Therefore, the midpoint between and is , or
. It follows that reaches its minimum when the value of is .

Choice A is incorrect. This is the y-coordinate of the y-intercept of the graph of in the xy-plane.

Choice B is incorrect. This is one of the x-coordinates of the x-intercepts of the graph of in the xy-plane.

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 4d037075
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 4d037075

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

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 4d037075 Answer

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

Choice A is incorrect. This could define function if .

Choice B is incorrect. This could define function if .

Choice D is incorrect. This could define function if .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 43926bd9
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 43926bd9

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

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

ID: 43926bd9 Answer

Rationale

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

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

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

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 7eed640d
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 7eed640d

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

A. The initial height of the projectile

B. The maximum height of the projectile

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

D. The time at which the projectile hits the ground

ID: 7eed640d Answer

Correct Answer: D

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 08d03fe4
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 08d03fe4

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

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 08d03fe4 Answer

Correct Answer: C

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

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

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID b73ee6cf
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: b73ee6cf

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

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

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: b73ee6cf Answer

Correct Answer: D

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 7355b9d9
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: 7355b9d9

If is a factor of the expression , where and are constants and , what is the value of ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 7355b9d9 Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale
Choice D is correct. If is a factor of the expression , then the expression can be written as
, where and are constants. This expression can be rewritten as , or
. Since this expression is equivalent to , it follows that , ,
and . Dividing each side of the equation by yields . Substituting for in the equation
yields . Adding to each side of this equation yields . Substituting for in the equation
yields . Since is positive, dividing each side of this equation by yields .
Multiplying each side of this equation by yields .

Alternate approach: The expression can be written as , which is a difference of two squares. It

follows that is equivalent to . It’s given that is a factor of

, so the factor is equal to . Adding to both sides of the equation

yields . Since is positive, dividing both sides of this equation by yields

. Squaring both sides of this equation yields . Multiplying both sides of this equation by yields
.

Choice A is incorrect. This value of gives the expression , or . This expression

doesn't have as a factor.

Choice B is incorrect. This value of gives the expression , or . This expression

doesn't have as a factor.

Choice C is incorrect. This value of gives the expression , or . This expression

doesn't have as a factor.
Question Difficulty: Hard
Question ID ad038c19
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: ad038c19

Which of the following is

equivalent to ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: ad038c19 Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

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

expression yields . Combining like terms gives .

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID ef926848
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: ef926848

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

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: ef926848 Answer

Correct Answer: A

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

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

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 5910bfff
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: 5910bfff

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

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 5910bfff Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

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

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

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

. Multiplying both sides by results in the formula .

Choices B, C, and D are incorrect and may result from errors made when rewriting the given formula.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 1697ffcf
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: 1697ffcf

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

points and . What is the value of a ?

ID: 1697ffcf Answer

Rationale

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

left-hand side of the equation gives . Therefore, the possible values for x are 0 and 5. Since , the two
intersection points are and . Therefore, .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 20291f47
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: 20291f47

Which expression is equivalent to ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 20291f47 Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

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

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

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 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 e51bf5b1
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: e51bf5b1

Which of the following expressions has a factor of , where is a positive integer constant?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: e51bf5b1 Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale
Choice D is correct. Since each choice has a term of , which can be written as , and each choice has a term of
, which can be written as , the expression that has a factor of , where is a positive integer constant, can
be represented as . Using the distributive property of multiplication, this expression is equivalent to
, or . Combining the x-terms in this expression yields
. It follows that the coefficient of the x-term is equal to . Thus, from the given choices,
must be equal to , , , or . Therefore, must be equal to , , , or , respectively, and must be equal
to , , , or , respectively. Of these four values of , only , or , is a positive integer. It follows that must be
equal to because this is the only choice for which the value of is a positive integer constant. Therefore, the expression
that has a factor of is .

Choice A is incorrect. If this expression has a factor of , then the value of is , which isn't positive.

Choice B is incorrect. If this expression has a factor of , then the value of is , which isn't an integer.

Choice C is incorrect. If this expression has a factor of , then the value of is , which isn't an integer.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 3d12b1e0
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: 3d12b1e0

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

ID: 3d12b1e0 Answer

Correct Answer: -1

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 2c88af4d
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: 2c88af4d

The expression , where and , is

equivalent to which of the following?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 2c88af4d Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

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

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

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

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

, and 1, respectively.
Question Difficulty: Hard
Question ID 22fd3e1f
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: 22fd3e1f

Which of the following expressions is

equivalent to , for ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 22fd3e1f Answer

Correct Answer: D
Rationale

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

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

simplified to .

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

has a value of 0.

Choice B is incorrect and results from omitting the factor x in the factorization of . Choice C is incorrect and may result
from incorrectly factoring as instead of .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 74473be4
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: 74473be4

Which quadratic equation has no real solutions?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 74473be4 Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale
Choice D is correct. The number of solutions to a quadratic equation in the form , where , , and are
constants, can be determined by the value of the discriminant, . If the value of the discriminant is greater than zero,
then the quadratic equation has 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 less than zero, then the quadratic equation has no
real solutions. For the quadratic equation in choice D, , , , and . Substituting
for , for , and for in yields , or . Since is less than zero, it follows that
the quadratic equation has no real solutions.

Choice A is incorrect. The value of the discriminant for this quadratic equation is . Since is greater than zero, it
follows that this quadratic equation has two real solutions.

Choice B is incorrect. The value of the discriminant for this quadratic equation is . Since zero is equal to zero, it follows that
this quadratic equation has exactly one real solution.

Choice C is incorrect. The value of the discriminant for this quadratic equation is . Since is greater than zero, it
follows that this quadratic equation has two real solutions.

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 4fb8a648
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: 4fb8a648

A solution to the given system of equations is . What is the greatest possible value of ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 4fb8a648 Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale
Choice A is correct. It's given that and ; therefore, it follows that .
This equation can be rewritten as . Subtracting from both sides of this equation yields
. This equation can be rewritten as , or .
By the zero product property, or . Subtracting from both sides of the equation yields
. Subtracting from both sides of the equation yields . Therefore, the given system of equations
has solutions, , that occur when and . Since is greater than , the greatest possible value of
is .

Choice B is incorrect. This is the negative of the greatest possible value of when for the second equation in the
given system of equations.

Choice C is incorrect. This is the value of when for the first equation in the given system of equations.

Choice D is incorrect. This is the value of when for the second equation in the given system of equations.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 133f3e41
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of equations
in two variables

ID: 133f3e41

The given equation relates the positive variables , , , and . Which of the following is equivalent to ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 133f3e41 Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. Multiplying each side of the given equation by yields .

Distributing on each side of this equation yields , or . Adding to each
side of this equation yields . Multiplying by , by , and by yields ,
which is equivalent to . Since , and it's given that , , , and are positive, it follows that the
reciprocals of each side of this equation are also equal. Thus, , or . Therefore, is
equivalent 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 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 f89e1d6f
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: f89e1d6f

If , which of the following is equivalent to the

expression ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: f89e1d6f Answer

Correct Answer: C

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard