Question ID 91e7ea5e 3.

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 a9084ca4 3.2

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

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 b8f13a3a 3.3

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: b8f13a3a
Function is defined by , where and are constants. In the xy-plane, the graph of
has a y-intercept at . The product of and is . What is the value of ?
ID: b8f13a3a Answer
Correct Answer: 20

Rationale

The correct answer is . It’s given that . Substituting for in the equation
yields . It’s given that the y-intercept of the graph of is
. Substituting for and for in the equation yields ,
which is equivalent to , or . Adding to both sides of this equation yields
. It’s given that the product of and is , or . Substituting for in this equation yields
. Dividing both sides of this equation by yields .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 7902bed0 3.4

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 7902bed0
A machine launches a softball from ground level. The softball reaches a maximum height of meters above
the ground at seconds and hits the ground at seconds. Which equation represents the height above
ground , in meters, of the softball seconds after it is launched?
A.
B.
C. msup

D. msup

ID: 7902bed0 Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. An equation representing the height above ground , in meters, of a softball seconds after
it is launched by a machine from ground level can be written in the form , where , , and
are positive constants. In this equation, represents the time, in seconds, at which the softball reaches its
maximum height of meters above the ground. It's given that this softball reaches a maximum height of
meters above the ground at seconds; therefore, and . Substituting for and for
in the equation yields . It's also given that this softball hits
the ground at seconds; therefore, when . Substituting for and for in the equation
yields , which is equivalent to ,
or . Adding to both sides of this equation yields . Dividing both sides
of this equation by yields . Substituting for in the equation yields
. Therefore, represents the height above ground , in
meters, of this softball seconds after it is launched.

Choice A is incorrect. This equation represents a situation where the maximum height is meters above the
ground at seconds, not meters above the ground at seconds.

Choice B is incorrect. This equation represents a situation where the maximum height is meters above
the ground at seconds, not seconds.

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 4a0d0399 3.5

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 4a0d0399
The function is defined by , where and are constants. In the -plane, the graph of
has an -intercept at and a -intercept at . What is the value of ?
ID: 4a0d0399 Answer
Correct Answer: -324

Rationale

The correct answer is . It's given that the function is defined by , where and are
constants. It's also given that the graph of has a y-intercept at . It follows that
. Substituting for and for in yields , or
. Subtracting from each side of this equation yields . Therefore, the value of is
.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 9654add7 3.6

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 9654add7

The revenue , in dollars, that a company receives from sales of a

product is given by the function f above, where x is the unit price, in dollars,
of the product. The graph of in the xy-plane intersects the x-axis
at 0 and a. What does a represent?
A. The revenue, in dollars, when the unit price of the product is $0
B. The unit price, in dollars, of the product that will result in maximum revenue
C. The unit price, in dollars, of the product that will result in a revenue of $0
D. The maximum revenue, in dollars, that the company can make

ID: 9654add7 Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. By definition, the y-value when a function intersects the x-axis is 0. It’s given that the
graph of the function intersects the x-axis at 0 and a, that x is the unit price, in dollars, of a product, and that
, where , is the revenue, in dollars, that a company receives from the sales of the product. Since

the value of a occurs when , a is the unit price, in dollars, of the product that will result in a revenue of $0.

Choice A is incorrect. The revenue, in dollars, when the unit price of the product is $0 is represented by ,
when . Choice B is incorrect. The unit price, in dollars, of the product that will result in maximum
revenue is represented by the x-coordinate of the maximum of f. Choice D is incorrect. The maximum revenue,
in dollars, that the company can make is represented by the y-coordinate of the maximum of f.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 263f9937 3.7

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 263f9937
Growth of a Culture of Bacteria
Day Number of bacteria per
milliliter at end of day
1
2
3
A culture of bacteria is growing at an exponential rate, as shown in the table
above. At this rate, on which day would the number of bacteria per milliliter
reach ?
A. Day 5
B. Day 9
C. Day 11
D. Day 12

ID: 263f9937 Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. The number of bacteria per milliliter is doubling each day. For example, from day 1 to day 2,
5 5 6
the number of bacteria increased from 2.5 × 10 to 5.0 × 10 . At the end of day 3 there are 10 bacteria per
6 6
milliliter. At the end of day 4, there will be 10 × 2 bacteria per milliliter. At the end of day 5, there will be (10 ×
6 2 6
2) × 2, or 10 × (2 ) bacteria per milliliter, and so on. At the end of day d, the number of bacteria will be 10 ×
d–3 8
(2 ). If the number of bacteria per milliliter will reach 5.12 × 10 at the end of day d, then the equation
8 6
must hold. Since 5.12 × 10 can be rewritten as 512 × 10 , the equation is equivalent
9
to . Rewriting 512 as 2 gives d – 3 = 9, so d = 12. The number of bacteria per milliliter would reach
8
5.12 × 10 at the end of day 12.

Choices A, B, and C are incorrect. Given the growth rate of the bacteria, the number of bacteria will not reach
8
5.12 × 10 per milliliter by the end of any of these days.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 18e35375 3.8

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 18e35375

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

ID: 18e35375 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 9afe2370 3.9

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 9afe2370
The population P of a certain city y years after the last census is modeled by the equation below, where r is
a constant and is the population when .

If during this time the population of the city decreases by a fixed percent
each year, which of the following must be true?
A.
B.
C.
D.

ID: 9afe2370 Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. The term (1 + r) represents a percent change. Since the population is decreasing, the
percent change must be between 0% and 100%. When the percent change is expressed as a decimal rather than
as a percent, the percentage change must be between 0 and 1. Because (1 + r) represents percent change, this
can be expressed as 0 < 1 + r < 1. Subtracting 1 from all three terms of this compound inequality results in –1 < r
< 0.

Choice A is incorrect. If r < –1, then after 1 year, the population P would be a negative value, which is not
possible. Choices C and D are incorrect. For any value of r > 0, 1 + r > 1, and the exponential function models
growth for positive values of the exponent. This contradicts the given information that the population is
decreasing.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 0121a235 3.10

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 0121a235
x p(x)

The table above gives selected values of a polynomial function p. Based on

the values in the table, which of the following must be a factor of p ?
A.
B.
C.
D.

ID: 0121a235 Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. According to the table, when x is or 2, . Therefore, two x-intercepts of the

graph of p are and . Since and are x-intercepts, it follows that and are
factors of the polynomial equation. This is because when , the value of is 0. Similarly, when ,
the value of is 0. Therefore, the product is a factor of the polynomial function p.

Choice A is incorrect. The factor corresponds to an x-intercept of , which isn’t present in the table.
Choice B is incorrect. The factor corresponds to an x-intercept of , which isn’t present in the table.
Choice C is incorrect. The factors and correspond to x-intercepts and , respectively,

which aren’t present in the table.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 70753f99 3.11

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 70753f99
The function f is defined by . The graph of f in the xy-
plane is a parabola. Which of the following intervals contains the x-
coordinate of the vertex of the graph of f ?
A.
B.
C.
D.

ID: 70753f99 Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. The graph of a quadratic function in the xy-plane is a parabola. The axis of symmetry of
the parabola passes through the vertex of the parabola. Therefore, the vertex of the parabola and the midpoint
of the segment between the two x-intercepts of the graph have the same x-coordinate. Since

, the x-coordinate of the vertex is . Of the shown intervals, only the

interval in choice B contains –2. Choices A, C, and D are incorrect and may result from either calculation errors
or misidentification of the graph’s x-intercepts.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 58dcc59f 3.12

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 58dcc59f
A landscaper is designing a rectangular garden. The length of the garden is
to be 5 feet longer than the width. If the area of the garden will be
104 square feet, what will be the length, in feet, of the garden?
ID: 58dcc59f Answer
Rationale

The correct answer is 13. Let w represent the width of the rectangular garden, in feet. Since the length of the
garden will be 5 feet longer than the width of the garden, the length of the garden will be feet. Thus the
area of the garden will be . It is also given that the area of the garden will be 104 square feet.

Therefore, , which is equivalent to . Factoring this equation results in

. Therefore, and . Because width cannot be negative, the width of the

garden must be 8 feet. This means the length of the garden must be feet.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 84dd43f8 3.13

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 84dd43f8
For the function , , and for each increase in by , the value of decreases by . What is the
value of ?
ID: 84dd43f8 Answer
Correct Answer: 3.44, 86/25

Rationale

The correct answer is . It’s given that and that for each increase in by , the value of
decreases by . Because the output of the function decreases by a constant percentage for each -unit
increase in the value of , this relationship can be represented by an exponential function of the form
, where represents the initial value of the function and represents the rate of decay,
expressed as a decimal. Because , the value of must be . Because the value of decreases by
for each -unit increase in , the value of must be , or . Therefore, the function can be
defined by . Substituting for in this function yields , which is equivalent
to , or . Either or may be entered as the correct answer.

Alternate approach: It’s given that and that for each increase in by , the value of decreases
by . Therefore, when , the value of is , or , of , which can be expressed as
. Since , the value of is . Similarly, when , the value of is
of , which can be expressed as . Since , the value of is .
Either or may be entered as the correct answer.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 59d1f4b5 3.14

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 59d1f4b5

The equation above models the number of members, M, of a gym t years

after the gym opens. Of the following, which equation models the number
of members of the gym q quarter years after the gym opens?

A.
B.
C.
D.

ID: 59d1f4b5 Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. In 1 year, there are 4 quarter years, so the number of quarter years, q, is 4 times the number

of years, t ; that is, . This is equivalent to , and substituting this into the expression for M in terms

of t gives .

Choices B and D are incorrect and may be the result of incorrectly using instead of . (Choices B

and D are nearly the same since is equivalent to , which is approximately .) Choice C is
incorrect and may be the result of incorrectly using and unnecessarily dividing 0.02 by 4.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 01668cd6 3.15

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 01668cd6
The functions and are defined by the given equations, where . Which of the following equations
displays, as a constant or coefficient, the maximum value of the function it defines, where ?
I.
II.
A. I only
B. II only
C. I and II
D. Neither I nor II

ID: 01668cd6 Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. Functions and are both exponential functions with a base of . Since is less
than , functions and are both decreasing exponential functions. This means that and decrease
as increases. Since and decrease as increases, the maximum value of each function occurs at
the least value of for which the function is defined. It's given that functions and are defined for .
Therefore, the maximum value of each function occurs at . Substituting for in the equation defining
yields , which is equivalent to , or . Therefore, the maximum
value of is . Since the equation doesn't display the value , the equation
defining doesn't display the maximum value of . Substituting for in the equation defining yields
, which can be rewritten as , or ,
which is equivalent to . Therefore, the maximum value of is . Since the equation
displays the value , the equation defining displays the maximum value of .
Thus, only equation II displays, as a constant or coefficient, the maximum value of the function it defines.

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 635f54ee 3.16

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 635f54ee

The surface area of a cube is , where a is a positive constant. Which

of the following gives the perimeter of one face of the cube?
A.
B.
C.
D.

ID: 635f54ee Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. A cube has 6 faces of equal area, so if the total surface area of a cube is , then the

area of one face is . Likewise, the area of one face of a cube is the square of one of its edges; therefore, if

the area of one face is , then the length of one edge of the cube is . Since the perimeter of one face of a

cube is four times the length of one edge, the perimeter is .

Choice A is incorrect because if the perimeter of one face of the cube is , then the total surface area of the

cube is , which is not . Choice C is incorrect because if the perimeter of one face of

the cube is 4a, then the total surface area of the cube is , which is not . Choice D is
incorrect because if the perimeter of one face of the cube is 6a, then the total surface area of the cube is

, which is not .
Question Difficulty: Hard
Question ID de39858a 3.17

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: de39858a
The function is defined by , where and are positive constants. The graph of in the
-plane passes through the points ( , ) and ( , ). What is the value of ?
A.
B.
C.
D.

ID: de39858a Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. It’s given that the function is defined by and that the graph of in
the xy-plane passes through the points and . Substituting for and for in the
equation yields , or . Subtracting from both sides of this equation
yields . Substituting for and for in the equation yields .
Subtracting from both sides of this equation yields , which can be rewritten as . Taking the
square root of both sides of this equation yields and , but because it’s given that is a positive
constant, must equal . Because the value of is and the value of is , the value of is , or .

Choice A is incorrect and may result from finding the value of rather than the value of .

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

Choice D is incorrect and may result from correctly finding the value of as , but multiplying it by the y-value
in the first ordered pair rather than by the value of .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 1178f2df 3.18

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 1178f2df

The table shows three values of and their corresponding values of , where and is a quadratic
function. What is the y-coordinate of the y-intercept of the graph of in the xy-plane?
ID: 1178f2df Answer
Correct Answer: -2112

Rationale

The correct answer is . It's given that is a quadratic function. It follows that can be defined by an
equation of the form , where , , and are constants. It's also given that the table
shows three values of and their corresponding values of , where . Substituting
for in this equation yields . This equation represents a quadratic relationship
between and , where is either the maximum or the minimum value of , which occurs when .
For quadratic relationships between and , the maximum or minimum value of occurs at the value of
halfway between any two values of that have the same corresponding value of . The table shows that x-
values of and correspond to the same y-value, . Since is halfway between and , the maximum
or minimum value of occurs at an x-value of . The table shows that when , . It follows that
and . Subtracting from both sides of the equation yields . Substituting
for and for in the equation yields , or
. The value of can be found by substituting any x-value and its corresponding y-value for
and , respectively, in this equation. Substituting for and for in this equation yields
, or . Subtracting from both sides of this equation yields
, or . Dividing both sides of this equation by yields . Substituting for ,
for , and for in the equation yields . The y-intercept of
the graph of in the xy-plane is the point on the graph where . Substituting for in the
equation yields , or . This is
equivalent to , so the y-intercept of the graph of in the xy-plane is .
Thus, the y-coordinate of the y-intercept of the graph of in the xy-plane is .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 84e8cc72 3.19

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 84e8cc72
A quadratic function models the height, in feet, of an object above the ground in terms of the time, in seconds,
after the object is launched off an elevated surface. The model indicates the object has an initial height of feet
above the ground and reaches its maximum height of feet above the ground seconds after being
launched. Based on the model, what is the height, in feet, of the object above the ground seconds after being
launched?
A.
B.
C.
D.

ID: 84e8cc72 Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. It's given that a quadratic function models the height, in feet, of an object above the ground
in terms of the time, in seconds, after the object is launched off an elevated surface. This quadratic function
can be defined by an equation of the form , where is the height of the object
seconds after it was launched, and , , and are constants such that the function reaches its maximum
value, , when . Since the model indicates the object reaches its maximum height of feet above
the ground seconds after being launched, reaches its maximum value, , when . Therefore,
and . Substituting for and for in the function yields
. Since the model indicates the object has an initial height of feet above the
ground, the value of is when . Substituting for and for in the equation
yields , or . Subtracting from both
sides of this equation yields . Dividing both sides of this equation by yields .
Therefore, the model can be represented by the equation . Substituting for
in this equation yields , or . Therefore, based on the model,
seconds after being launched, the height of the object above the ground is feet.

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 4b642eef 3.20

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 4b642eef
The total distance d, in meters, traveled by an object moving in a straight
line can be modeled by a quadratic function that is defined in terms of t,
where t is the time in seconds. At a time of 10.0 seconds, the total distance
traveled by the object is 50.0 meters, and at a time of 20.0 seconds, the
total distance traveled by the object is 200.0 meters. If the object was at a
distance of 0 meters when , then what is the total distance traveled, in
meters, by the object after 30.0 seconds?
ID: 4b642eef Answer
Rationale

The correct answer is 450. The quadratic equation that models this situation can be written in the form
, where a, b, and c are constants. It’s given that the distance, d, the object traveled was 0 meters
when seconds. These values can be substituted into the equation to solve for a, b, and c:

. Therefore, , and it follows that . Since it’s also given that d is 50 when t is
10 and d is 200 when t is 20, these values for d and t can be substituted to create a system of two linear
equations: and , or and . Subtracting the

first equation from the second equation yields , or . Substituting for a in the first equation

and solving for b yields . Therefore, the equation that represents this situation is . Evaluating

this function when seconds yields , or meters.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 9f2ecade 3.21

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 9f2ecade

The function h is defined above, where a, b, and c are integer constants. If

the zeros of the function are 6, and 7, what is the value of c ?

ID: 9f2ecade Answer

Rationale

The correct answer is 210. Since , 6, and 7 are zeros of the function, the function can be rewritten as

. Expanding the function yields . Thus, ,

, and . Therefore, the value of c is 210.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 6f5540a5 3.22

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 6f5540a5
Kao measured the temperature of a cup of hot chocolate placed in a room
with a constant temperature of 70 degrees Fahrenheit (°F). The
temperature of the hot chocolate was 185°F at 6:00 p.m. when it started
cooling. The temperature of the hot chocolate was 156°F at 6:05 p.m. and
135°F at 6:10 p.m. The hot chocolate’s temperature continued to decrease.
Of the following functions, which best models the temperature , in
degrees Fahrenheit, of Kao’s hot chocolate m minutes after it started
cooling?
A.
B.

C.

D.

ID: 6f5540a5 Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. The hot chocolate cools from 185°F over time, never going lower than the room
temperature, 70°F. Since the base of the exponent in this function, 0.75, is less than 1, decreases as time
increases. Using the function, the temperature, in °F, at 6:00 p.m. can be estimated as and is equal to

. The temperature, in °F, at 6:05 p.m. can be estimated as and is equal to

, which is approximately 156°F. Finally, the temperature, in °F, at 6:10 p.m. can be estimated as

and is equal to , which is approximately 135°F. Since these three given values of m
and their corresponding values for can be verified using the function , this is
the best function out of the given choices to model the temperature of Kao’s hot chocolate after m minutes.

Choice A is incorrect because the base of the exponent, , results in the value of increasing over time
rather than decreasing. Choice B is incorrect because when m is large enough, becomes less than 70.
Choice C is incorrect because the maximum value of at 6:00 p.m. is 115°F, not 185°F.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID b73ee6cf 3.23

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
t
initial population is 50,000, the population after t years is given by 50,000(1.03) . It follows that the equation
t
60,000 = 50,000(1.03) 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 7eed640d 3.24

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 43926bd9 3.25

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 a7711fe8 3.26

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.
D.

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 1a722d7d 3.27

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