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Question ID a5663025
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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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
, where is a positive constant, at exactly one point in the xy-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

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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 . 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

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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

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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

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Question ID 6abec9a8
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 6abec9a8

What is the -intercept of the graph shown?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 6abec9a8 Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

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Choice B is correct. The y-intercept of a graph in the xy-plane is the point on the graph where . At ,
the corresponding value of is . Therefore, the y-intercept of the graph shown is .

Choice A is incorrect and may result from conceptual errors.

Choice C is incorrect. This is the y-intercept of a graph in the xy-plane that intersects the y-axis at , not
.

Choice D is incorrect. This is the y-intercept of a graph in the xy-plane that intersects the y-axis at , not .

Question Difficulty: Easy

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Question ID ad2ec615
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: ad2ec615

Which of the following is equivalent to the

expression ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: ad2ec615 Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. The term x4 can be factored as . Factoring –6 as yields values that add to –1, the
coefficient of x2 in the expression.

Choices A, C, and D are incorrect and may result from finding factors of –6 that don’t add to the coefficient of x2 in the
original expression.

Question Difficulty: Medium

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Question ID 42c71eb5
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: 42c71eb5

Which of the following is equivalent to

the expression above?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 42c71eb5 Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. The given expression can be rewritten as . Applying the

distributive property, the expression can be rewritten as , or
. Adding like terms yields . Substituting for in the given

expression yields . By the rules of exponents, the expression is equivalent to

. Applying the distributive property, this expression can be rewritten as ,

or . Adding like terms gives . Substituting for in the

rewritten expression yields , and adding like terms yields .

Choices B, C, and D are incorrect. Choices C and D may result from rewriting the expression as ,

instead of as . Choices B and C may result from rewriting the expression as , instead
of .

Question Difficulty: Medium

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Question ID 371cbf6b
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: 371cbf6b

The equation above is true for all x, where a and b are

constants. What is the value of ab ?

A. 18

B. 20

C. 24

D. 40

ID: 371cbf6b Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. If the equation is true for all x, then the expressions on both sides of the equation will be
equivalent. Multiplying the polynomials on the left-hand side of the equation gives
. On the right-hand side of the equation, the only -term is . Since the

expressions on both sides of the equation are equivalent, it follows that , which can be

rewritten as . Therefore, , which gives .

Choice A is incorrect. If , then the coefficient of on the left-hand side of the equation would be

, which doesn’t equal the coefficient of , , on the right-hand side. Choice B is incorrect. If

, then the coefficient of on the left-hand side of the equation would be , which doesn’t

equal the coefficient of , , on the right-hand side. Choice D is incorrect. If , then the coefficient of on

the left-hand side of the equation would be , which doesn’t equal the coefficient of , , on the
right-hand side.

Question Difficulty: Hard

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Question ID a05bd3a4
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: a05bd3a4

Which of the following expressions is

equivalent to ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: a05bd3a4 Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. The expression can be written as a difference of squares x2 – y2, which can be factored as (x + y)
(x – y). Here, y2 = 5, so , and the expression therefore factors as .

Choices A and B are incorrect and may result from misunderstanding how to factor a difference of squares. Choice D is
incorrect; (x + 5)(x – 1) can be rewritten as x2 + 4x – 5, which is not equivalent to the original expression.

Question Difficulty: Medium

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Question ID 40c09d66
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: 40c09d66

If for all positive values of x,

what is the value of ?

ID: 40c09d66 Answer

Rationale

The correct answer is . The value of can be found by first rewriting the left-hand side of the given equation as

. Using the properties of exponents, this expression can be rewritten as . This expression can be

rewritten by subtracting the fractions in the exponent, which yields . Thus, is . Note that 7/6, 1.166, and
1.167 are examples of ways to enter a correct answer.

Question Difficulty: Hard

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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

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Question ID 788bfd56
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 788bfd56

The function is defined by . What is the value of ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 788bfd56 Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. The value of is the value of when . It's given that the function is defined by
. Substituting for in this equation yields . Since the positive square root
of is , it follows that this equation can be rewritten as , or . Therefore, the value
of is .

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

Choice C is incorrect. This is the value of , not .

Choice D is incorrect. This is the value of , not .

Question Difficulty: Easy

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Question ID f89af023
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: f89af023

A rectangular volleyball court has an area of 162 square meters. If the length of
the court is twice the width, what is the width of the court, in meters?

A. 9

B. 18

C. 27

D. 54

ID: f89af023 Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. It’s given that the volleyball court is rectangular and has an area of 162 square meters. The formula
for the area of a rectangle is , where A is the area, is the length, and w is the width of the rectangle. It’s also
given that the length of the volleyball court is twice the width, thus . Substituting the given value into the
formula for the area of a rectangle and using the relationship between length and width for this rectangle yields
. This equation can be rewritten as . Dividing both sides of this equation by 2 yields

. Taking the square root of both sides of this equation yields . Since the width of a rectangle is a
positive number, the width of the volleyball court is 9 meters.

Choice B is incorrect because this is the length of the rectangle. Choice C is incorrect because this is the result of using
162 as the perimeter rather than the area. Choice D is incorrect because this is the result of calculating w in the
equation instead of .

Question Difficulty: Medium

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Question ID e53add44
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: e53add44

The function S above models the annual salary, in dollars, of an employee n

years after starting a job, where a is a constant. If the employee’s salary
increases by 4% each year, what is the value of a ?

A. 0.04

B. 0.4

C. 1.04

D. 1.4

ID: e53add44 Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. A model for a quantity S that increases by a certain percentage per time period n is an exponential

function in the form , where I is the initial value at time for r% annual increase. It’s given
that the annual increase in an employee’s salary is 4%, so . The initial value can be found by substituting 0 for n in
the given function, which yields . Therefore, . Substituting these values for r and I into the

form of the exponential function yields , or

. Therefore, the value of a in the given function is 1.04.

Choices A, B, and D are incorrect and may result from incorrectly representing the annual increase in the exponential
function.

Question Difficulty: Medium

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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

During a 5-second time interval, the average acceleration a, 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 y are 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

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Question ID 9654add7
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

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Question ID 34847f8a
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: 34847f8a

The equation above is true for all , where r and t are positive
constants. What is the value of rt ?

A.

B. 15

C. 20

D. 60

ID: 34847f8a Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. To express the sum of the two rational expressions on the left-hand side of the equation as the
single rational expression on the right-hand side of the equation, the expressions on the left-hand side must have the

same denominator. Multiplying the first expression by results in , and multiplying the second

expression by results in , so the given equation can be rewritten as

, or . Since the
two rational expressions on the left-hand side of the equation have the same denominator as the rational expression
on the right-hand side of the equation, it follows that . Combining like terms on the left-
hand side yields , so it follows that and . Therefore, the value of is .

Choice A is incorrect and may result from an error when determining the sign of either r or t. Choice B is incorrect and
may result from not distributing the 2 and 3 to their respective terms in

. Choice D is incorrect and may result from a calculation error.

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Question Difficulty: Hard

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Question ID cc776a04
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: cc776a04

Which of the following is an equivalent form of

?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: cc776a04 Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. The first expression can be rewritten as . Applying the

distributive property to this product yields . This difference can be

rewritten as . Distributing the factor of through the second

expression yields . Regrouping like terms, the expression becomes

. Combining like terms yields .

Choices A, B, and D are incorrect and likely result from errors made when applying the distributive property or
combining the resulting like terms.

Question Difficulty: Medium

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Question ID 263f9937
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 263f9937
Growth of a Culture of Bacteria
Number of bacteria per
Day
milliliter at end of day

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, the
number of bacteria increased from 2.5 × 105 to 5.0 × 105. At the end of day 3 there are 106 bacteria per milliliter. At the
end of day 4, there will be 106 × 2 bacteria per milliliter. At the end of day 5, there will be (106 × 2) × 2, or 106 × (22)
bacteria per milliliter, and so on. At the end of day d, the number of bacteria will be 106 × (2d – 3). If the number of
bacteria per milliliter will reach 5.12 × 108 at the end of day d, then the equation must hold.

Since 5.12 × 108 can be rewritten as 512 × 106, the equation is equivalent to . Rewriting 512 as 29 gives d
– 3 = 9, so d = 12. The number of bacteria per milliliter would reach 5.12 × 108 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 5.12 × 108
per milliliter by the end of any of these days.

Question Difficulty: Hard

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Question ID 926c246b
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 926c246b

The equation above estimates the global data traffic D, in terabytes, for the year
that is t years after 2010. What is the best interpretation of the number 5,640 in
this context?

A. The estimated amount of increase of data traffic, in terabytes, each year

B. The estimated percent increase in the data traffic, in terabytes, each year

C. The estimated data traffic, in terabytes, for the year that is t years after 2010

D. The estimated data traffic, in terabytes, in 2010

ID: 926c246b Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. Since t represents the number of years after 2010, the estimated data traffic, in terabytes, in 2010
can be calculated using the given equation when . Substituting 0 for t in the given equation yields

, or . Thus, 5,640 represents the estimated data traffic, in terabytes, in 2010.

Choice A is incorrect. Since the equation is exponential, the amount of increase of data traffic each year isn’t constant.
Choice B is incorrect. According to the equation, the percent increase in data traffic each year is 90%. Choice C is
incorrect. The estimated data traffic, in terabytes, for the year that is t years after 2010 is represented by D, not the
number 5,640.

Question Difficulty: Medium

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Question ID 137cc6fd
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: 137cc6fd

For what value of is the given expression equivalent to , where ?

ID: 137cc6fd Answer

Correct Answer: .0177, .0178, 4/225

Rationale

The correct answer is . An expression of the form , where is an integer greater than and , is equivalent

to . Therefore, the given expression, where , is equivalent to . Applying properties of

exponents, this expression can be rewritten as , or , which can be rewritten as

, or . It's given that the expression is equivalent to , where . It

follows that is equivalent to . Therefore, . Dividing both sides of this equation by

yields , or . Thus, the value of for which the given expression is equivalent to , where
, is . Note that 4/225, .0177, .0178, 0.017, and 0.018 are examples of ways to enter a correct answer.

Question Difficulty: Hard

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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

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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

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Question ID b39d74a0
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: b39d74a0

x y

0 0

1 1

2 8

3 27

The table shown includes some values of x and their corresponding values of y.
Which of the following graphs in the xy-plane could represent the relationship
between x and y ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: b39d74a0 Answer

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Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. Each pair of values shown in the table gives the ordered pair of coordinates for a point that lies on
the graph that represents the relationship between x and y in the xy-plane: , , , and . Only the graph
in choice B passes through the points listed in the table that are visible in the given choices.

Choices A, C, and D are incorrect. None of these graphs passes through the point .

Question Difficulty: Easy

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Question ID ea6d05bb
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: ea6d05bb

The expression is equivalent to the expression , where , , and are constants.

What is the value of ?

ID: ea6d05bb Answer

Correct Answer: -419

Rationale

The correct answer is . It's given that the expression is equivalent to the expression
, where , , and are constants. Applying the distributive property to the given expression,
, yields , which can be rewritten as
. Combining like terms yields . Since this expression is equivalent to
, it follows that the value of is .

Question Difficulty: Hard

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Question ID 1d3fee25
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: 1d3fee25

Which of the following is

equivalent to ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 1d3fee25 Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. Using the distributive property to multiply 3 and gives , which can be rewritten
as .

Choice A is incorrect and may result from rewriting the given expression as . Choice B is incorrect and may

result from incorrectly rewriting the expression as . Choice D is incorrect and may result from incorrectly
rewriting the expression as .

Question Difficulty: Easy

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Question ID 4ca30186
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of
equations in two
variables

ID: 4ca30186

The graph of a system of a linear equation and a nonlinear equation is shown. What is the solution to this
system?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 4ca30186 Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

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Choice C is correct. The solution to the system of two equations corresponds to the point where the graphs of the
equations intersect. The graphs of the linear equation and the nonlinear equation shown intersect at the point .
Thus, the solution to the system is .

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: Easy

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Question ID 911383f2
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of
equations in two
variables

ID: 911383f2

What is the product of the solutions to

the given equation?

A. 8

B. 3

C.

D.

ID: 911383f2 Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. By the zero-product property, if , then , , or .

Solving each of these equations for yields , , or . The product of these solutions is
.

Choice A is incorrect and may result from sign errors made when solving the given equation. Choice B is incorrect and
may result from finding the sum, not the product, of the solutions. Choice C is incorrect and may result from finding the
sum, not the product, of the solutions in addition to making sign errors when solving the given equation.

Question Difficulty: Medium

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Question ID b80d10d7
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of
equations in two
variables

ID: b80d10d7

What is the solution to the

equation above?

A. 0

B. 2

C. 3

D. 5

ID: b80d10d7 Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. Since is equivalent to 1, the right-hand side of the given equation can be rewritten as

, or . Since the left- and right-hand sides of the equation have the same
denominator, it follows that . Applying the distributive property of multiplication to the expression
yields , or . Therefore, . Subtracting x and 2 from both sides of this equation
yields .

Choices A, C, and D are incorrect. If , then . This can be rewritten as , which is a

false statement. Therefore, 0 isn’t a solution to the given equation. Substituting 3 and 5 into the given equation yields
similarly false statements.

Question Difficulty: Medium

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Question ID d8789a4c
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: d8789a4c

In the expression above, b and c are positive integers. If the expression is

equivalent to and , which of the following could be the value of c ?

A. 4

B. 6

C. 8

D. 10

ID: d8789a4c Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. If the given expression is equivalent to , then , where x isn’t equal to b.

Multiplying both sides of this equation by yields . Since the right-hand side of this
equation is in factored form for the difference of squares, the value of c must be a perfect square. Only choice A gives
a perfect square for the value of c.

Choices B, C, and D are incorrect. None of these values of c produces a difference of squares. For example, when 6 is

substituted for c in the given expression, the result is . The expression can’t be factored with integer

values, and therefore isn’t equivalent to .

Question Difficulty: Hard

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Question ID fcdf87b7
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of
equations in two
variables

ID: fcdf87b7

If the ordered pair satisfies the system of equations above,

what is one possible value of x ?

ID: fcdf87b7 Answer

Rationale

The correct answer is either 0 or 3. For an ordered pair to satisfy a system of equations, both the x- and y-values of the
ordered pair must satisfy each equation in the system. Both expressions on the right-hand side of the given equations
are equal to y, therefore it follows that both expressions on the right-hand side of the equations are equal to each other:
. This equation can be rewritten as , and then through factoring, the equation becomes

. Because the product of the two factors is equal to 0, it can be concluded that either or ,
or rather, or . Note that 0 and 3 are examples of ways to enter a correct answer.

Question Difficulty: Medium

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Question ID a520ba07
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: a520ba07

Which of the following expressions is equivalent

to the expression above?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: a520ba07 Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. One of the properties of radicals is . Thus, the given expression can be

rewritten as . Simplifying by taking the cube root of each part gives x1 ⋅ y2, or xy2.

Choices A, C, and D are incorrect and may be the result of incorrect application of the properties of exponents and
radicals.

Question Difficulty: Medium

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Question ID 652054da
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of
equations in two
variables

ID: 652054da

An oceanographer uses the equation to model the speed s, in knots,

of an ocean wave, where p represents the period of the wave, in seconds.
Which of the following represents the period of the wave in terms of the speed
of the wave?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 652054da Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. It’s given that p represents the period of the ocean wave, so the equation can be solved
for p to represent the period of the wave in terms of the speed of the wave. Multiplying both sides of the equation by

the reciprocal of will isolate p. This yields , which simplifies to . Therefore, .

Choices B, C, and D are incorrect and may result from errors made when rearranging the equation to solve for p.

Question Difficulty: Medium

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Question ID a255ae72
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: a255ae72

If and , which of the

following is equal to ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: a255ae72 Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. It’s given that and . Using the distributive property, the expression

can be rewritten as . Substituting and for and , respectively, in this expression

yields . Expanding this expression yields

. Combining like terms, this expression can be

rewritten as .

Choices A, C, and D are incorrect and may result from an error in using the distributive property, substituting, or
combining like terms.

Question Difficulty: Medium

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Question ID 3de7a7d7
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of
equations in two
variables

ID: 3de7a7d7

Which of the following is a solution to the

equation ?

A. 1

B. 2

C. 3

D. 4

ID: 3de7a7d7 Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. Subtracting x2 from both sides of the given equation yields x2 – 4 = 0. Adding 4 to both sides of the
equation gives x2 = 4. Taking the square root of both sides of the equation gives x = 2 or x = –2. Therefore, x = 2 is one
solution to the original equation.

Alternative approach: Subtracting x2 from both sides of the given equation yields x2 – 4 = 0. Factoring this equation
gives x2 – 4 = (x + 2)(x – 2) = 0, such that x = 2 or x = –2. Therefore, x = 2 is one solution to the original equation.

Choices A, C, and D are incorrect and may be the result of computation errors.

Question Difficulty: Easy

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Question ID 463eec13
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: 463eec13

If , which of the following expressions is

equivalent to ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 463eec13 Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. Taking the square root of an exponential expression halves the exponent, so

, which further reduces to . This can be rewritten as .

Choice A is incorrect and may result from neglecting the denominator of the given expression and from incorrectly

calculating the square root of 16. Choice B is incorrect and may result from rewriting as rather than . Choice
C is incorrect and may result from taking the square root of the variables in the numerator twice instead of once.

Question Difficulty: Medium

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Question ID 6e02cd78
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of
equations in two
variables

ID: 6e02cd78

In the xy-plane, what is the y-coordinate of the point of intersection of the

graphs of and ?

ID: 6e02cd78 Answer

Rationale

The correct answer is 1. The point of intersection of the graphs of the given equations is the solution to the system of
the two equations. Since and , it follows that , or .

Applying the distributive property to the left-hand side of this equation yields . Subtracting

from and adding 3 to both sides of this equation yields . Factoring the left-hand side of this equation

yields . By the zero product property, if , it follows that . Adding 2 to both

sides of yields . Substituting 2 for x in either of the given equations yields . For example,
substituting 2 for x in the second given equation yields , or . Therefore, the point of intersection of
the graphs of the given equations is . The y-coordinate of this point is 1.

Question Difficulty: Medium

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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

In the equation above, t 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

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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

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Question ID 50e40f08
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 50e40f08

If the given function is graphed in the xy-plane, where , what is the x-coordinate of an x-intercept of the
graph?

ID: 50e40f08 Answer

Correct Answer: -6, 4

Rationale

The correct answer is either or . The x-intercepts of a graph in the xy-plane are the points where . Thus, for
an x-intercept of the graph of , . Substituting for in the equation
yields . By the zero product property, and . Subtracting from both sides of
the equation yields . Adding to both sides of the equation yields . Therefore,
the x-coordinates of the x-intercepts of the graph of are and . Note that -6 and 4 are examples of ways
to enter a correct answer.

Question Difficulty: Medium

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Question ID 5355c0ef
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: 5355c0ef

The given expression can be rewritten as , where is a constant. What is the value of ?

ID: 5355c0ef Answer

Correct Answer: .09, 9/100

Rationale

The correct answer is . It's given that the expression can be rewritten as
. Applying the distributive property to the expression yields
. Therefore, can be rewritten as . It follows that in
the expressions and , the coefficients of are equivalent, the
coefficients of are equivalent, and the constant terms are equivalent. Therefore, , , and
. Solving any of these equations for yields the value of . Dividing both sides of the equation
by yields . Therefore, the value of is . Note that .09 and 9/100 are examples of ways to enter a
correct answer.

Question Difficulty: Hard

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Question ID a1bf1c4e
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: a1bf1c4e

Which of the following is equivalent to

the expression above?

A. (x + 3)2 + 5

B. (x + 3)2 – 5

C. (x – 3)2 + 5

D. (x – 3)2 – 5

ID: a1bf1c4e Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. The given quadratic expression is in standard form, and each answer choice is in vertex form.
Completing the square converts the expression from standard form to vertex form. The first step is to rewrite the
expression as follows: . The first three terms of the revised expression can be

rewritten as a perfect square as follows: . Combining the constant terms gives

Choice A is incorrect. Squaring the binomial and simplifying the expression in choice A gives .

Combining like terms gives , not . Choice C is incorrect. Squaring the binomial and simplifying

the expression in choice C gives . Combining like terms gives , not . Choice D

is incorrect. Squaring the binomial and simplifying the expression in choice D gives . Combining like

terms gives , not .

Question Difficulty: Medium

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Question ID c81b6c57
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: c81b6c57

In the expression , p is a constant. This

expression is equivalent to the expression . What is the value

of p ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: c81b6c57 Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. Using the distributive property, the first given expression can be rewritten as 6x2 + 3px + 24 – 16px
– 64x + 24, and then rewritten as 6x2 + (3p – 16p – 64)x + 24. Since the expression 6x2 + (3p – 16p – 64)x + 24 is
equivalent to 6x2 – 155x + 24, the coefficients of the x terms from each expression are equivalent to each other; thus
3p – 16p – 64 = –155. Combining like terms gives –13p – 64 = –155. Adding 64 to both sides of the equation gives –
13p = –71. Dividing both sides of the equation by –13 yields p = 7.

Choice A is incorrect. If p = –3, then the first expression would be equivalent to 6x2 – 25x + 24. Choice C is incorrect. If
p = 13, then the first expression would be equivalent to 6x2 – 233x + 24. Choice D is incorrect. If p = 155, then the first
expression would be equivalent to 6x2 – 2,079x + 24.

Question Difficulty: Hard

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Question ID 802549ac
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of
equations in two
variables

ID: 802549ac

Which of the following is a solution to

the given equation?

A. 1

B. 0

C.

D.

ID: 802549ac Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. Applying the distributive property on the left- and right-hand sides of the given equation yields
, or . Subtracting from and adding to both
sides of this equation yields . Subtracting 6 from both sides of this equation and then dividing both sides
by 10 yields .

Choices B, C, and D are incorrect. Substituting 0, , or for x in the given equation will result in a false statement. If
, the given equation becomes ; if , the given equation becomes ; and if , the given
equation becomes . Therefore, the values 0, , and aren’t solutions to the given equation.

Question Difficulty: Medium

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Question ID a4f61d75
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of
equations in two
variables

ID: a4f61d75

In the equation above, a is a constant and . If the equation has two integer
solutions, what is a possible value of a ?

ID: a4f61d75 Answer

Rationale

The correct answer is either 7, 8, or 13. Since the given equation has two integer solutions, the expression on the left-
hand side of this equation can be factored as , where c and d are also integers. The product of c and d
must equal the constant term of the original quadratic expression, which is 12. Additionally, the sum of c and d must be
a negative number since it’s given that , but the sign preceding a in the given equation is negative. The possible
pairs of values for c and d that satisfy both of these conditions are and , and , and and . Since
the value of is the sum of c and d, the possible values of are , , and
. It follows that the possible values of a are 7, 8, and 13. Note that 7, 8, and 13 are examples of
ways to enter a correct answer.

Question Difficulty: Medium

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Question ID a31417d1
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: a31417d1

From 2005 through 2014, the number of music CDs sold in the United States
declined each year by approximately 15% of the number sold the preceding
year. In 2005, approximately 600 million CDs were sold in the United States. Of
the following, which best models C, the number of millions of CDs sold in the
United States, t years after 2005?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: a31417d1 Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. A model for a quantity C that decreases by a certain percentage per time period t is an exponential

equation in the form , where I is the initial value at time for r% annual decline. It’s given that C
is the number of millions of CDs sold in the United States and that t is the number of years after 2005. It’s also given
that 600 million CDs were sold at time , so . This number declines by 15% per year, so . Substituting

these values into the equation produces , or .

Choice A is incorrect and may result from errors made when representing the percent decline. Choices C and D are
incorrect. These equations model exponential increases in CD sales, not exponential decreases.

Question Difficulty: Medium

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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

The graph of the function f, 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
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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

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Question ID 9afe2370
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

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Question ID 60fdb4d4
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: 60fdb4d4

Which expression is equivalent to

?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 60fdb4d4 Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. The given expression can be rewritten as .

Combining like terms yields .

Choices B, C, and D are incorrect and may be the result of errors when applying the distributive property.

Question Difficulty: Easy

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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

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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

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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

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Question ID c4cd5bcc
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: c4cd5bcc

In the xy-plane, the y-coordinate of the y-intercept of the graph of the function f
is c. Which of the following must be equal to c ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: c4cd5bcc Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. A y-intercept is the point in the xy-plane where the graph of the function crosses the y-axis, which is
where . It’s given that the y-coordinate of the y-intercept of the graph of function f is c. It follows that the
coordinate pair representing the y-intercept must be . Therefore, c must equal .

Choices B, C, and D are incorrect because , , and would represent the y-value of the coordinate where
, , and , respectively.

Question Difficulty: Medium

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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

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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

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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

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Question ID 78d5f91a
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 78d5f91a

For the function f defined above, what is

the value of ?

A.

B.

C. 7

D. 11

ID: 78d5f91a Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. Substituting for x in the given function f gives , which

simplifies to . This further simplifies to , or .

Choice A is incorrect and may result from correctly substituting for x in the function but incorrectly simplifying the

resulting expression to , or . Choice B is incorrect and may result from arithmetic errors.
Choice D is incorrect and may result from correctly substituting for x in the function but incorrectly simplifying the
expression to , or 11.

Question Difficulty: Medium

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Question ID d675744f
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: d675744f

Which of the following is the graph in the xy-

plane of the given equation?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: d675744f Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

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Choice D is correct. The y-intercept of the graph of an equation is the point , where b is the value of y when .
For the given equation, when . It follows that the y-intercept of the graph of the given equation is .
Additionally, for the given equation, the value of y doubles for each increase of 1 in the value of x. Therefore, the graph
contains the points , , , and . Only the graph shown in choice D passes through these points.

Choices A and B are incorrect because these are graphs of decreasing, not increasing, exponential functions. Choice C
is incorrect because the value of y increases by a growth factor greater than 2 for each increase of 1 in the value of x.

Question Difficulty: Medium

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Question ID a0b4103e
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: a0b4103e

The expression can be rewritten as , where k is a

positive constant. What is the value of k ?

A. 2

B. 6

C.

D.

ID: a0b4103e Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. Factoring out the coefficient , the given expression can be rewritten as . The

expression can be approached as a difference of squares and rewritten as . Therefore, k

must be .

Choice A is incorrect. If k were 2, then the expression given would be rewritten as , which is equivalent

to , not .

Choice B is incorrect. This may result from incorrectly factoring the expression and finding as the

factored form of the expression. Choice C is incorrect. This may result from incorrectly distributing the and

rewriting the expression as .

Question Difficulty: Hard

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Question ID 5377d9cf
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 5377d9cf

If ,

what is ?

A. –5

B. –2

C. 2

D. 5

ID: 5377d9cf Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. Substituting –1 for x in the equation that defines f gives . Simplifying

the expressions in the numerator and denominator yields , which is equal to or –5.

Choices B, C, and D are incorrect and may result from misapplying the order of operations when substituting –1 for x.

Question Difficulty: Easy

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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

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Question ID 49efde89
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: 49efde89

The expression is equivalent to for some

constant a. What is the value of a ?

A. 2

B. 3

C. 4

D. 7

ID: 49efde89 Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. It’s given that is equivalent to for some constant a. Distributing the x over each

term in the parentheses gives , which is in the same form as the first given expression, . The

coefficient of the second term in is 7. Therefore, the value of a is 7.

Choice A is incorrect. If the value of a were 2, then would be equivalent to , which isn’t equivalent to

. Choice B is incorrect. If the value of a were 3, then would be equivalent to , which isn’t

equivalent to . Choice C is incorrect. If the value of a were 4, then would be equivalent to ,

which isn’t equivalent to .

Question Difficulty: Easy

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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

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Question ID 75915e3c
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 75915e3c

For the function f defined above, what

is the value of ?

A. 9

B. 12

C. 18

D. 36

ID: 75915e3c Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. The value of is found by evaluating the expression when . Substituting 2 for x in

the given equation yields . Simplifying in the equation results in . Evaluating the right-hand
side of the equation yields . Therefore, the value of is 18.

Choice A is incorrect and may result from evaluating the expression as . Choice B is incorrect and may result from

evaluating the expression as . Choice D is incorrect and may result from evaluating the expression as .

Question Difficulty: Easy

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Question ID f44a29a8
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: f44a29a8

An object’s kinetic energy, in joules, is equal to the product of one-half the

object’s mass, in kilograms, and the square of the object’s speed, in meters per
second. What is the speed, in meters per second, of an object with a mass of 4
kilograms and kinetic energy of 18 joules?

A. 3

B. 6

C. 9

D. 36

ID: f44a29a8 Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. It’s given that an object’s kinetic energy, in joules, is equal to the product of one-half the object’s
mass, in kilograms, and the square of the object’s speed, in meters per second. This relationship can be represented by

the equation , where K is the kinetic energy, m is the mass, and v is the speed. Substituting a mass of 4

kilograms for m and a kinetic energy of 18 joules for K results in the equation , or . Dividing

both sides of this equation by 2 yields . Taking the square root of both sides yields and . Since
speed can’t be expressed as a negative number, the speed of the object is 3 meters per second.

Choice B is incorrect and may result from computation errors. Choice C is incorrect. This is the value of rather than

v. Choice D is incorrect. This is the value of rather than v.

Question Difficulty: Medium

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Question ID 0121a235
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

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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

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Question ID d71f6dbf
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: d71f6dbf

The height, in feet, of an object x seconds after it is thrown straight up in the air
can be modeled by the function . Based on the
model, which of the following statements best interprets the equation
?

A. The height of the object 1.4 seconds after being thrown straight up in the air is 1.64 feet.

B. The height of the object 1.64 seconds after being thrown straight up in the air is 1.4 feet.

The height of the object 1.64 seconds after being thrown straight up in the air is approximately 1.4 times as great
C. as its initial height.

D. The speed of the object 1.4 seconds after being thrown straight up in the air is approximately 1.64 feet per second.

ID: d71f6dbf Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. The value 1.4 is the value of x, which represents the number of seconds after the object was
thrown straight up in the air. When the function h is evaluated for x = 1.4, the function has a value of 1.64, which is the
height, in feet, of the object.

Choices B and C are incorrect and may result from misidentifying seconds as feet and feet as seconds. Additionally,
choice C may result from incorrectly including the initial height of the object as the input x. Choice D is incorrect and
may result from misidentifying height as speed.

Question Difficulty: Medium

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Question ID 630897df
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of
equations in two
variables

ID: 630897df

The speed of sound in dry air, v, can be modeled by the formula

, where T is the temperature in degrees Celsius and v is
measured in meters per second. Which of the following correctly expresses T
in terms of v ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 630897df Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. To express T in terms of v, subtract 331.3 from both sides of the equation, which gives v – 331.3 =

0.606T. Dividing both sides of the equation by 0.606 gives .

Choices A, B, and C are incorrect and are the result of incorrect steps while solving for T.

Question Difficulty: Medium

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Question ID 70753f99
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

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Question ID 568aaf27
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of
equations in two
variables

ID: 568aaf27

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

following is a possible value of x?

A. 0

B. 1

C. 2

D. 3

ID: 568aaf27 Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. Substituting from the second equation for y in the first equation yields . Subtracting

12 from both sides of this equation and rewriting the equation results in . Factoring the left-hand side

of this equation yields . Using the zero product property to solve for x, it follows that and
. Solving each equation for x yields and , respectively. Thus, two possible values of x are 3 and
. Of the choices given, 3 is the only possible value of x.

Choices A, B, and C are incorrect. Substituting 0 for x in the first equation gives , or ; then,

substituting 12 for y and 0 for x in the second equation gives , or , which is false. Similarly, substituting 1
or 2 for x in the first equation yields or , respectively; then, substituting 11 or 10 for y in the second
equation yields a false statement.

Question Difficulty: Easy

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Question ID 6676f055
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 6676f055

An engineer wanted to identify the best angle for a cooling fan in an engine in
order to get the greatest airflow. The engineer discovered that the function
above models the airflow , in cubic feet per minute, as a function of the
angle of the fan , in degrees. According to the model, what angle, in degrees,
gives the greatest airflow?

A. –0.28

B. 0.28

C. 27

D. 880

ID: 6676f055 Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. The function f is quadratic, so it will have either a maximum or a minimum at the vertex of the
graph. Since the coefficient of the quadratic term (–0.28) is negative, the vertex will be at a maximum. The equation f(
) = –0.28( – 27)2 + 880 is given in vertex form, so the vertex is at = 27. Therefore, an angle of 27 degrees gives
the greatest airflow.

Choices A and B are incorrect and may be the result of misidentifying which value in a quadratic equation in vertex
form represents the vertex. Choice D is incorrect. This choice identifies the maximum value of f( ) rather than the
value of for which f( ) is maximized.

Question Difficulty: Medium

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Question ID dd8ac009
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: dd8ac009

Time (years) Total amount (dollars)

Sara opened a savings account at a bank. The table shows the exponential relationship between the time , in years,
since Sara opened the account and the total amount , in dollars, in the account. If Sara made no additional deposits or
withdrawals, which of the following equations best represents the relationship between and ?

A. msup

B. msup

C. msup

D. msup

ID: dd8ac009 Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. It’s given that the relationship between and is exponential. The table shows that the value of
increases as the value of increases. Therefore, the relationship between and can be represented by an increasing
exponential equation of the form , where and are positive constants. The table shows that when
, . Substituting for and for in the equation yields , which is
equivalent to , or . Substituting for in the equation yields .
The table also shows that when , . Substituting for and for in the equation
yields , or . Dividing both sides of this equation by
yields . Subtracting from both sides of this equation yields . Substituting for in
the equation yields . Therefore, of the choices, choice B best represents the
relationship between and .

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: Medium

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Question ID 58dcc59f
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

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Question ID 9ed9f54d
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: 9ed9f54d

Which of the following is equivalent to

?

A.

B.

C. 5x

D. 5x2

ID: 9ed9f54d Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. Since is a common term in the original expression, like terms can be added:

. Distributing the constant term 5 yields .

Choice B is incorrect and may result from not distributing the negative signs in the expressions within the parentheses.
Choice C is incorrect and may result from not distributing the negative signs in the expressions within the parentheses
and from incorrectly eliminating the -term. Choice D is incorrect and may result from incorrectly eliminating the x-
term.

Question Difficulty: Easy

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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 the xy-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

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Question ID 294db8ec
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: 294db8ec

Which of the following is

equivalent to ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 294db8ec Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. The expression has two terms, and 4. The greatest common factor of these two

terms is 2. Factoring 2 from each of these terms yields , or .

Choices A and B are incorrect because 4 is not a factor of the term . Choice C is incorrect and may result from

factoring 2 from but not from 4.

Question Difficulty: Easy

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Question ID 84dd43f8
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

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Question ID 59d1f4b5
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

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Question ID 281a4f3b
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 281a4f3b

A certain college had 3,000 students enrolled in 2015. The college predicts that
after 2015, the number of students enrolled each year will be 2% less than the
number of students enrolled the year before. Which of the following functions
models the relationship between the number of students enrolled, , and
the number of years after 2015, x ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 281a4f3b Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. Because the change in the number of students decreases by the same percentage each year, the
relationship between the number of students and the number of years can be modeled with a decreasing exponential
function in the form , where is the number of students, a is the number of students in 2015, r is
the rate of decrease each year, and x is the number of years since 2015. It’s given that 3,000 students were enrolled in
2015 and that the rate of decrease is predicted to be 2%, or 0.02. Substituting these values into the decreasing
exponential function yields , which is equivalent to .

Choices A, B, and C are incorrect and may result from conceptual errors when translating the given information into a
decreasing exponential function.

Question Difficulty: Medium

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Question ID f237ccfc
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: f237ccfc

The sum of and can be written in the form

, where a, b, and c are constants. What is the value of ?

ID: f237ccfc Answer

Rationale

The correct answer is 32. The sum of the given expressions is . Combining like terms

yields . Based on the form of the given equation, , , and . Therefore, .

Alternate approach: Because is the value of when , it is possible to first make that
substitution into each polynomial before adding them. When , the first polynomial is equal to
and the second polynomial is equal to . The sum of 30 and 2 is 32.

Question Difficulty: Medium

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Question ID a391ed22
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: a391ed22

The expression above is equivalent to , where a, b, and c

are constants. What is the value of b?

ID: a391ed22 Answer

Rationale

The correct answer is . The expression can be written in the form , where a, b,
and c are constants, by multiplying out the expression using the distributive property of multiplication over addition.

The result is . This expression can be rewritten by multiplying

as indicated to give , which can be simplified to , or .

This is in the form , where the value of b is . Note that 5/2 and 2.5 are examples of ways to enter a
correct answer.

Question Difficulty: Medium

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Question ID c77ef2fb
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of
equations in two
variables

ID: c77ef2fb

Blood volume, , in a human can be determined using the equation

, where is the plasma volume and H is the hematocrit (the

fraction of blood volume that is red blood cells). Which of the following
correctly expresses the hematocrit in terms of the blood volume and the
plasma volume?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: c77ef2fb Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. The hematocrit can be expressed in terms of the blood volume and the plasma volume by solving

the given equation for H. Multiplying both sides of this equation by yields .

Dividing both sides by yields . Subtracting 1 from both sides yields . Dividing both

sides by yields .

Choices B, C, and D are incorrect and may result from errors made when manipulating the equation.

Question Difficulty: Medium

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Question ID b76a2815
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of
equations in two
variables

ID: b76a2815

The power P produced by a machine is represented by the equation above,

where W is the work performed during an amount of time t. Which of the
following correctly expresses W in terms of P and t ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: b76a2815 Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. Multiplying both sides of the equation by t yields , or , which expresses W
in terms of P and t. This is equivalent to W = Pt.

Choices B, C, and D are incorrect. Each of the expressions given in these answer choices gives W in terms of P and
t but doesn’t maintain the given relationship between W, P, and t. These expressions may result from performing
different operations with t on each side of the equation. In choice B, W has been multiplied by t, and P has been divided
by t. In choice C, W has been multiplied by t, and the quotient of P divided by t has been reciprocated. In choice D, W
has been multiplied by t, and P has been added to t. However, in order to maintain the relationship between the
variables in the given equation, the same operation must be performed with t on each side of the equation.

Question Difficulty: Easy

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Question ID 364a2d25
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of
equations in two
variables

ID: 364a2d25

If one solution to the system of equations above is ,

what is one possible value of x ?

ID: 364a2d25 Answer

Rationale

The correct answer is either 8 or 9. The first equation can be rewritten as . Substituting for y in the

second equation gives . By applying the distributive property, this can be rewritten as .

Subtracting 72 from both sides of the equation yields . Factoring the left-hand side of this equation
yields . Applying the Zero Product Property, it follows that and . Solving each
equation for x yields and respectively. Note that 8 and 9 are examples of ways to enter a correct answer.

Question Difficulty: Medium

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Question ID 100030d9
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 100030d9

A rubber ball bounces upward one-half the height that it falls each time it hits
the ground. If the ball was originally dropped from a distance of 20.0 feet above
the ground, what was its maximum height above the ground, in feet, between
the third and fourth time it hit the ground?

ID: 100030d9 Answer

Rationale

The correct answer is 2.5. After hitting the ground once, the ball bounces to feet. After hitting the
ground a second time, the ball bounces to feet. After hitting the ground for the third time, the ball
bounces to feet. Note that 2.5 and 5/2 are examples of ways to enter a correct answer.

Question Difficulty: Medium

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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

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Question ID 6e06a0a7
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: 6e06a0a7

Which of the following expressions is

equivalent to ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 6e06a0a7 Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. Expanding the given expression using the distributive property yields . Combining

like terms yields , or , which is equivalent to .

Choices A and B are incorrect and may result from incorrectly combining like terms. Choice C is incorrect and may
result from distributing only to a, and not to 3, in the given expression.

Question Difficulty: Easy

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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

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Question ID c7a187a7
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: c7a187a7

If the given function is graphed in the xy-plane, where , what is an x-intercept of the graph?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: c7a187a7 Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. It's given that . The x-intercepts of a graph in the xy-plane are the points where .
Thus, for an x-intercept of the graph of function , . Substituting for in the equation
yields . Factoring the right-hand side of this equation yields
. By the zero product property, and . Subtracting from both sides
of the equation yields . Adding to both sides of the equation yields .
Therefore, the x-intercepts of the graph of are and . Of these two x-intercepts, only
is given as a choice.

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: Medium

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Question ID ebe4bde0
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: ebe4bde0

The quadratic function graphed above models a particular measure of plant

diversity as a function of the elevation in a region of Switzerland. According to
the model, which of the following is closest to the elevation, in meters, at which
plant diversity is greatest?

A. 13,500

B. 3,000

C. 1,250

D. 250

ID: ebe4bde0 Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

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Choice C is correct. Each point on the graph represents the elevation x, in meters, and the corresponding
measure of plant diversity y in a region of Switzerland. Therefore, the point on the graph with the greatest y-coordinate
represents the location that has the greatest measure of plant diversity in the region. The greatest y-coordinate of any
point on the graph is approximately 13,500. The x-coordinate of that point is approximately 1,250. Therefore, the
closest elevation at which the plant diversity is the greatest is 1,250 meters.

Choice A is incorrect. This value is closest to the greatest y-coordinate of any point on the graph and therefore
represents the greatest measure of plant diversity, not the elevation where the greatest measure of plant diversity
occurs. Choice B is incorrect. At an elevation of 3,000 meters the measure of plant diversity is approximately 4,000.
Because there are points on the graph with greater y-coordinates, 4,000 can’t be the greatest measure of plant diversity,
and 3,000 meters isn’t the elevation at which the greatest measure of plant diversity occurs. Choice D is incorrect. At an
elevation of 250 meters, the measure of plant diversity is approximately 11,000. Because there are points on the graph
with greater y-coordinates, 11,000 can’t be the greatest measure of plant diversity and 250 meters isn’t the elevation at
which the greatest measure of plant diversity occurs.

Question Difficulty: Easy

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Question ID 635f54ee
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

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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

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Question ID 0980fcdd
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of
equations in two
variables

ID: 0980fcdd

A solution to the given system of equations is . Which of the

following is a possible value of xy ?

A. 0

B. 6

C. 12

D. 36

ID: 0980fcdd Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. Solutions to the given system of equations are ordered pairs that satisfy both equations in
the system. Adding the left-hand and right-hand sides of the equations in the system yields
, or . Subtracting y from both sides of this equation yields . Taking
the square root of both sides of this equation yields and . Therefore, there are two solutions to this
system of equations, one with an x-coordinate of 6 and the other with an x-coordinate of . Substituting 6 for x in the
second equation yields , or ; therefore, one solution is . Similarly, substituting for x in
the second equation yields , or ; therefore, the other solution is . It follows then that if
is a solution to the system, then possible values of are and . Only 0 is among
the given choices.

Choice B is incorrect. This is the x-coordinate of one of the solutions, . Choice C is incorrect and may result from
conceptual or computational errors. Choice D is incorrect. This is the square of the x-coordinate of one of the solutions,
.

Question Difficulty: Medium

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Question ID e1391dd6
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: e1391dd6

According to Moore’s law, the number of transistors included on

microprocessors doubles every 2 years. In 1985, a microprocessor was
introduced that had 275,000 transistors. Based on this information, in which of
the following years does Moore’s law estimate the number of transistors to
reach 1.1 million?

A. 1987

B. 1989

C. 1991

D. 1994

ID: e1391dd6 Answer

Rationale

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Choice B is correct. Let x be the number of years after 1985. It follows that represents the number of 2-year periods
that will occur within an x-year period. According to Moore’s law, every 2 years, the number of transistors included on

microprocessors is estimated to double. Therefore, x years after 1985, the number of transistors will double times.
Since the number of transistors included on a microprocessor was 275,000, or .275 million, in 1985, the estimated

number of transistors, in millions, included x years after 1985 can be modeled as . The year in which the

number of transistors is estimated to be 1.1 million is represented by the value of x when . Dividing

both sides of this equation by .275 yields , which can be rewritten as . Since the exponential equation

has equal bases on each side, it follows that the exponents must also be equal: . Multiplying both sides of the

equation by 2 yields . Therefore, according to Moore’s law, 4 years after 1985, or in 1989, the number of
transistors included on microprocessors is estimated to reach 1.1 million.

Alternate approach: According to Moore’s law, 2 years after 1985 (in 1987), the number of transistors included on a
microprocessor is estimated to be , or 550,000, and 2 years after 1987 (in 1989), the number of transistors
included on microprocessors is estimated to be , or 1,100,000. Therefore, the year that Moore’s law
estimates the number of transistors on microprocessors to reach 1.1 million is 1989.

Choices A, C, and D are incorrect. According to Moore’s law, the number of transistors included on microprocessors is
estimated to reach 550,000 in 1987, 2.2 million in 1991, and about 6.2 million in 1994.

Question Difficulty: Medium

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Question ID 87a3de81
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of
equations in two
variables

ID: 87a3de81

If a is a solution of the equation above and

, what is the value of a ?

ID: 87a3de81 Answer

Rationale

The correct answer is 3. The solution to the given equation can be found by factoring the quadratic expression. The
factors can be determined by finding two numbers with a sum of 1 and a product of . The two numbers that meet
these constraints are 4 and . Therefore, the given equation can be rewritten as . It follows that the
solutions to the equation are or . Since it is given that , a must equal 3.

Question Difficulty: Medium

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Question ID d46da42c
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: d46da42c

The function f is defined as shown. Which of the following graphs in the xy-
plane could be the graph of ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: d46da42c Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

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Choice D is correct. For the quadratic function , the vertex of the graph is , and because the term
is positive, the vertex is the minimum of the function. Choice D is the only option that meets these conditions.

Choices A, B, and C are incorrect. The vertex of each of these graphs doesn’t correspond to the minimum of the given
function.

Question Difficulty: Easy

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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

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Question ID 5bf0f84a
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 5bf0f84a

The function above models the height h, in feet, of an object above ground
t seconds after being launched straight up in the air. What does the number 72
represent in the function?

A. The initial height, in feet, of the object

B. The maximum height, in feet, of the object

C. The initial speed, in feet per second, of the object

D. The maximum speed, in feet per second, of the object

ID: 5bf0f84a Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. The variable t represents the seconds after the object is launched. Since , this means
that the height, in feet, at 0 seconds, or the initial height, is 72 feet.

Choices B, C, and D are incorrect and may be the result of misinterpreting the function in context.

Question Difficulty: Medium

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Question ID 70ebd3d0
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 70ebd3d0

The function N defined above can be used to model the number of species of
brachiopods at various ocean depths d, where d is in hundreds of meters.
Which of the following does the model predict?

A. For every increase in depth by 1 meter, the number of brachiopod species decreases by 115.

B. For every increase in depth by 1 meter, the number of brachiopod species decreases by 10%.

C. For every increase in depth by 100 meters, the number of brachiopod species decreases by 115.

D. For every increase in depth by 100 meters, the number of brachiopod species decreases by 10%.

ID: 70ebd3d0 Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. The function N is exponential, so it follows that changes by a fixed percentage for each
increase in d by 1. Since d is measured in hundreds of meters, it also follows that the number of brachiopod species
changes by a fixed percentage for each increase in ocean depth by 100 meters. Since the base of the exponent in the
model is 0.90, which is less than 1, the number of brachiopod species decreases as the ocean depth increases.
Specifically, the number of brachiopod species at a depth of meters is 90% of the number of brachiopod
species at a depth of d meters. This means that for each increase in ocean depth by 100 meters, the number of
brachiopod species decreases by 10%.

Choices A and C are incorrect. These describe situations where the number of brachiopod species are decreasing
linearly rather than exponentially. Choice B is incorrect and results from interpreting the decrease in the number of
brachiopod species as 10% for every 1-meter increase in ocean depth rather than for every 100-meter increase in ocean
depth.

Question Difficulty: Medium

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Question ID de39858a
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

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Question ID 2683b5db
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of
equations in two
variables

ID: 2683b5db

In a city, the property tax T, in dollars, is calculated using the formula above,
where P is the value of the property, in dollars. Which of the following
expresses the value of the property in terms of the property tax?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 2683b5db Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. To express the value of the property in terms of the property tax, the given equation must be solved
for P. Multiplying both sides of the equation by 100 gives . Adding 40,000 to both sides of the
equation gives . Therefore, .

Choice A is incorrect and may result from multiplying 40,000 by 0.01, then subtracting 400 from, instead of adding 400
to, the left-hand side of the equation. Choice B is incorrect and may result from multiplying 40,000 by 0.01. Choice C is
incorrect and may result from subtracting instead of adding 40,000 from the left-hand side of the equation.

Question Difficulty: Medium

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Question ID 1178f2df
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

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Question ID 97158b3a
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 97158b3a

The area A, in square centimeters, of a rectangular painting can be represented by the expression , where
is the width, in centimeters, of the painting. Which expression represents the length, in centimeters, of the painting?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 97158b3a Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. It's given that the expression represents the area, in square centimeters, of a
rectangular painting, where is the width, in centimeters, of the painting. The area of a rectangle can be calculated by
multiplying its length by its width. It follows that the length, in centimeters, of the painting is represented by the
expression .

Choice A is incorrect. This expression represents the width, in centimeters, of the painting, not its length, in
centimeters.

Choice B is incorrect. This is the difference between the length, in centimeters, and the width, in centimeters, of the
painting, not its length, in centimeters.

Choice D is incorrect. This expression represents the area, in square centimeters, of the painting, not its length, in
centimeters.

Question Difficulty: Medium

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Question ID 84e8cc72
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

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Question ID 12e7faf8
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: 12e7faf8

The equation is true for all , where a and d

are integers. What is the value of ?

A.

B.

C. 0

D. 1

ID: 12e7faf8 Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. Since the expression can be factored as , the given equation can be

rewritten as . Since , is also not equal to 0, so both the numerator and

denominator of can be divided by . This gives . Equating the coefficient of x on

each side of the equation gives . Equating the constant terms gives . The sum is .

Choice A is incorrect and may result from incorrectly simplifying the equation. Choices B and D are incorrect. They are
the values of d and a, respectively, not .

Question Difficulty: Hard

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Question ID 89fc23af
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: 89fc23af

Which of the following expressions is

equivalent to ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 89fc23af Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. The numerator of the given expression can be rewritten in terms of the denominator, , as

follows: , which is equivalent to . So the given expression is

equivalent to . Since the given expression is defined for ,

the expression can be rewritten as .

Long division can also be used as an alternate approach. Choices A, B, and C are incorrect and may result from errors
made when dividing the two polynomials or making use of structure.

Question Difficulty: Hard

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Question ID c3a72da5
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: c3a72da5

Which of the following is equivalent to the sum of

and ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: c3a72da5 Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. Adding the two expressions yields . Because the pair of terms and

and the pair of terms and each contain the same variable raised to the same power, they are like terms and

can be combined as and , respectively. The sum of the given expressions therefore simplifies to .

Choice A is incorrect and may result from adding the coefficients and the exponents in the given expressions. Choice B
is incorrect and may result from adding the exponents as well as the coefficients of the like terms in the given
expressions. Choice C is incorrect and may result from multiplying, rather than adding, the coefficients of the like terms
in the given expressions.

Question Difficulty: Medium

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Question ID 911c415b
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: 911c415b

The expression above can be written in the form , where a and b are
constants. What is the value of ?

ID: 911c415b Answer

Rationale

The correct answer is 6632. Applying the distributive property to the expression yields
. Then adding together and and collecting like

terms results in . This is written in the form , where and . Therefore

.

Question Difficulty: Hard

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Question ID dba7432e
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: dba7432e

x f(x)

0 5

The table above gives the values of the function f for some values of x. Which
of the following equations could define f ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: dba7432e Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. Each choice has a function with coefficient 5 and base 2, so the exponents must be analyzed.
When the input value of x increases, the output value of f(x) decreases, so the exponent must be negative. An exponent

of –x yields the values in the table: , , , and .

Choices A and B are incorrect and may result from choosing equations that yield an increasing, rather than decreasing,
output value of f(x) when the input value of x increases. Choice C is incorrect and may result from choosing an
equation that doesn’t yield the values in the table.

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Question Difficulty: Medium

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Question ID 16de54c7
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: 16de54c7

If the given expression is rewritten in the form , where k

is a constant, what is the value of k ?

ID: 16de54c7 Answer

Rationale

The correct answer is 4. It’s given that can be rewritten as ; it follows that

. Expanding the left-hand side of this equation yields

. Subtracting from both sides of this equation yields

. Using properties of equality, and . Either equation can be
solved for k. Dividing both sides of by yields . The equation can be rewritten as

. It follows that . Solving this equation for k also yields . Therefore, the value of k is 4.

Question Difficulty: Medium

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Question ID 2f958af9
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of
equations in two
variables

ID: 2f958af9

The formula above expresses the square of the speed v of a wave moving
along a string in terms of tension T, mass m, and length L of the string. What is
T in terms of m, v, and L ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 2f958af9 Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. To write the formula as T in terms of m, v, and L means to isolate T on one side of the equation.

First, multiply both sides of the equation by m, which gives , which simplifies to mv2 = LT. Next, divide

both sides of the equation by L, which gives , which simplifies to .

Choices B, C, and D are incorrect and may be the result of incorrectly applying operations to each side of the equation.

Question Difficulty: Medium

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Question ID d9137a84
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: d9137a84

Which expression represents the product of and ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: d9137a84 Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. The product of and can be represented by the expression

. Applying the distributive property to this expression yields
, or . This expression 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 C is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Question Difficulty: Medium

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Question ID 876a731c
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of
equations in two
variables

ID: 876a731c

If (x, y) is a solution of the system of equations above and

x > 0, what is the value of xy ?

A. 1

B. 2

C. 3

D. 9

ID: 876a731c Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

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Choice A is correct. Substituting for y in the second equation gives . This equation can be
solved as follows:

Apply the distributive property.

Subtract 2x and 6 from both sides of the equation.

Combine like terms.

Factor both terms on the left side of the equation

by 2x.
Thus, and are the solutions to the system. Since , only needs to be considered. The value of y

when is . Therefore, the value of xy is .

Choices B, C, and D are incorrect and likely result from a computational or conceptual error when solving this system of
equations.

Question Difficulty: Medium

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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

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Question ID df0ef054
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: df0ef054

Which of the following is equivalent to

the expression above?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: df0ef054 Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. Using the distributive property to multiply the terms in the parentheses yields
, which is equivalent to . Combining like terms

results in .

Choices A and D are incorrect and may result from conceptual errors when multiplying the terms in the given
expression. Choice B is incorrect and may result from adding, instead of multiplying, and .

Question Difficulty: Easy

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Question ID 4b642eef
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

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Question ID 3e9cc0c2
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: 3e9cc0c2

Which of the following is equivalent to

?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 3e9cc0c2 Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. Multiplying (1 – p) by each term of the polynomial within the second pair of parentheses gives (1 –
p)1 = 1 – p; (1 – p)p = p – p2; (1 – p)p2 = p2 – p3; (1 – p)p3 = p3 – p4; (1 – p)p4 = p4 – p5; (1 – p)p5 = p5 – p6; and (1 –
p)p6 = p6 – p7. Adding these seven expressions together and combining like terms gives 1 + (p – p) + (p2 – p2) + (p3 –
p3) + (p4 – p4) + (p5 – p5) + (p6 – p6) – p7, which can be simplified to 1 – p7.

Choices A, C, and D are incorrect and may result from incorrectly identifying the highest power of p in the expressions
or incorrectly combining like terms.

Question Difficulty: Medium

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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

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Question ID 7348f046
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: 7348f046

Which of the following is equivalent to

the given expression?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 7348f046 Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. Distributing the negative sign to the terms in the second parentheses yields . This
expression can be rewritten as . Combining like terms results in .

Choice A is incorrect and may result from not distributing the negative sign to the 7. Choice B is incorrect and may
result from adding to instead of subtracting . Choice D is incorrect and may result from adding
the product of and x to the product of 3 and 7.

Question Difficulty: Medium

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Question ID 928498f3
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of
equations in two
variables

ID: 928498f3

What are the solutions to the

given equation?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 928498f3 Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

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Choice A is correct. The quadratic formula, , can be used to find the solutions to an equation in

the form . In the given equation, , , and . Substituting these values into the

quadratic formula gives , or .

Choice B is incorrect and may result from using as the quadratic formula. Choice C is incorrect and

may result from using as the quadratic formula. Choice D is incorrect and may result from using

as the quadratic formula.

Question Difficulty: Medium

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Question ID b47419f4
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: b47419f4

Which of the following is equivalent to

the expression above?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: b47419f4 Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. By distributing the minus sign through the expression , the given expression can be

rewritten as , which is equivalent to . Combining like terms gives

, or .

Choice B is incorrect and may be the result of failing to distribute the minus sign appropriately through the second term

and simplifying the expression . Choice C is incorrect and may be the result of multiplying the

expressions and . Choice D is incorrect and may be the result of multiplying the expressions

and .

Question Difficulty: Medium

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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

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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

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Question ID 8838a672
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: 8838a672

Which of the following expressions is equivalent

to the expression above?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 8838a672 Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. Using the distributive property, the given expression can be rewritten as
. Combining like terms, this expression can be rewritten as

, which is equivalent to .

Choices A, C, and D are incorrect and may result from an error when applying the distributive property or an error when
combining like terms.

Question Difficulty: Medium

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Question ID eb268057
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of
equations in two
variables

ID: eb268057

Which of the following values of x

satisfies the given equation?

A.

B. 4

C. 32

D. 128

ID: eb268057 Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. Solving for x by taking the square root of both sides of the given equation yields or .
Of the choices given, satisfies the given equation.

Choice B is incorrect and may result from a calculation error when solving for x. Choice C is incorrect and may result
from dividing 64 by 2 instead of taking the square root. Choice D is incorrect and may result from multiplying 64 by 2
instead of taking the square root.

Question Difficulty: Easy

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Question ID 9f2ecade
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

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Question ID 0b3d25c5
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: 0b3d25c5

Which of the following is equivalent to

, where ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 0b3d25c5 Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. The given expression can also be written as . The trinomial can be

rewritten in factored form as . Thus, the entire expression can be rewritten as . Simplifying the

exponents yields .

Choices A, B, and C are incorrect and may result from errors made when simplifying the exponents in the expression

Question Difficulty: Medium

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Question ID e117d3b8
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: e117d3b8

If a and c are positive numbers, which of the following is

equivalent to ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: e117d3b8 Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. Using the property that for positive numbers x and y, with x = (a + c)3 and y = a + c,

it follows that . By rewriting (a + c)4 as ((a + c)2)2, it is possible to simplify the square

root expression as follows: .

Choice A is incorrect and may be the result of . Choice B is incorrect and may be the result of
incorrectly rewriting (a + c)2 as a2 + c2. Choice D is incorrect and may be the result of incorrectly applying properties of
exponents.

Question Difficulty: Hard

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Question ID 98f735f2
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of
equations in two
variables

ID: 98f735f2

The total revenue from sales of a product can be calculated using the formula
, where T is the total revenue, P is the price of the product, and Q is the
quantity of the product sold. Which of the following equations gives the
quantity of product sold in terms of P and T ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 98f735f2 Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. Solving the given equation for Q gives the quantity of the product sold in terms of P and T. Dividing

both sides of the given equation by P yields , or . Therefore, gives the quantity of product sold
in terms of P and T.

Choice A is incorrect and may result from an error when dividing both sides of the given equation by P. Choice C is
incorrect and may result from multiplying, rather than dividing, both sides of the given equation by P. Choice D is
incorrect and may result from subtracting P from both sides of the equation rather than dividing both sides by P.

Question Difficulty: Easy

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Question ID 6f5540a5
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.

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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

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Question ID 50418728
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 50418728

The graph of the polynomial function , where , is shown. The y-intercept of the graph is . What is the
value of ?

ID: 50418728 Answer

Correct Answer: -3

Rationale

The correct answer is . The y-intercept of the graph of a function in the xy-plane is the point where the graph
crosses the y-axis. The graph of the polynomial function shown crosses the y-axis at the point . It's given that
the y-intercept of the graph is . Thus, the value of is .

Question Difficulty: Easy

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Question ID f5e8ccf1
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: f5e8ccf1

The function f is defined above. Which of the following is NOT an x-intercept of

the graph of the function in the xy-plane?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: f5e8ccf1 Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

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Choice B is correct. The graph of the function f in the xy-plane has x-intercepts at the points , where .
Substituting 0 for in the given equation yields . By the zero product property, if
, then , , or . Solving each of these linear equations for x, it

follows that , , and , respectively. This means that the graph of the function f in the xy-plane has

three x-intercepts: , , and . Therefore, isn’t an x-intercept of the graph of the function f.
Alternate approach: Substitution may be used. Since by definition an x-intercept of any graph is a point in the form
where k is a constant, and since all points in the options are in this form, it need only be checked whether the

points in the options lie on the graph of the function f. Substituting for x and 0 for in the given equation

yields , or . Therefore, the point doesn’t lie on the graph

of the function f and can’t be an x-intercept of the graph.

Choices A, C, and D are incorrect because each of these points is an x-intercept of the graph of the function f in the xy-
plane. By definition, an x-intercept is a point on the graph of the form , where k is a constant. Substituting for x

and 0 for in the given equation yields , or . Since this is a true statement,
the point lies on the graph of the function f and is an x-intercept of the graph. Performing similar substitution

using the points and also yields the true statement , illustrating that these points also lie on the
graph of the function f and are x-intercepts of the graph.

Question Difficulty: Medium

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Question ID fb96a5b3
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: fb96a5b3

Which of the following expressions is

equivalent to ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: fb96a5b3 Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. Applying the distributive property to the given expression yields , or
. Adding the like terms and 2 results in the expression .

Choice A is incorrect and may result from multiplying by 2 without multiplying by 2 when applying the
distributive property. Choices C and D are incorrect and may result from computational or conceptual errors.

Question Difficulty: Easy

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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

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Question ID e597050f
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: e597050f

Which expression is equivalent to ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: e597050f Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. Combining like terms in the given expression yields , 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: Easy

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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

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Question ID 2d2ab76b
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of
equations in two
variables

ID: 2d2ab76b

When the equations above are graphed in the xy-plane, what are the
coordinates (x, y) of the points of intersection of the two graphs?

A. and

B. and

C. and

D. and

ID: 2d2ab76b Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. The two equations form a system of equations, and the solutions to the system correspond to the
points of intersection of the graphs. The solutions to the system can be found by substitution. Since the second
equation gives y = 3, substituting 3 for y in the first equation gives 3 = x2 – 1. Adding 1 to both sides of the equation
gives 4 = x2. Solving by taking the square root of both sides of the equation gives x = ±2. Since y = 3 for all values of x
for the second equation, the solutions are (2, 3) and (–2, 3). Therefore, the points of intersection of the two graphs are
(2, 3) and (–2, 3).

Choices B, C, and D are incorrect and may be the result of calculation errors.

Question Difficulty: Medium

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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

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Question ID 0354c7de
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: 0354c7de

Which of the following is equivalent to

the given expression?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 0354c7de Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. Since 5 is a factor of both terms, and 15, the given expression can be factored and rewritten as

Choice B is incorrect and may result from subtracting 5 from the constant when factoring 5 from the given expression.
Choice C is incorrect and may result from factoring 5 from only the first term, not both terms, of the given expression.
Choice D is incorrect and may result from adding 5 to the constant when factoring 5 from the given expression.

Question Difficulty: Easy

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Question ID c602140f
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: c602140f

Which of the following is equivalent to

the expression above?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: c602140f Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. Expanding all terms yields (x – 11y)(2x – 3y) – 12y(–2x + 3y), which is equivalent to 2x2 – 22xy –
3xy + 33y2 + 24xy – 36y2. Combining like terms gives 2x2 – xy – 3y2.

Choice A is incorrect and may be the result of using the sums of the coefficients of the existing x and y terms as the
coefficients of the x and y terms in the new expressions. Choice C is incorrect and may be the result of incorrectly
combining like terms. Choice D is incorrect and may be the result of using the incorrect sign in front of the 12y term.

Question Difficulty: Medium

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Question ID 4236c5a3
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of
equations in two
variables

ID: 4236c5a3

If , which of the following is a

possible value of x ?

A. 1

B.

C.

D.

ID: 4236c5a3 Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. If , then taking the square root of each side of the equation gives or
. Solving these equations for x gives or . Of these, is the only solution given as a
choice.

Choice A is incorrect and may result from solving the equation and making a sign error. Choice B is incorrect
and may result from solving the equation . Choice C is incorrect and may result from finding a possible value
of .

Question Difficulty: Easy

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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

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Question ID 3b4b8831
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of
equations in two
variables

ID: 3b4b8831

What is the negative solution to the given equation?

ID: 3b4b8831 Answer

Correct Answer: -3

Rationale

The correct answer is . Dividing both sides of the given equation by yields . Taking the square root of
both sides of this equation yields the solutions and . Therefore, the negative solution to the given
equation is .

Question Difficulty: Medium

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Question ID f5247e52
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of
equations in two
variables

ID: f5247e52

In the equation above, a and c are positive constants. How many times does
the graph of the equation above intersect the graph of the equation
in the xy-plane?

A. Zero

B. One

C. Two

D. More than two

ID: f5247e52 Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. It is given that the constants a and c are both positive; therefore, the graph of the given quadratic
equation is a parabola that opens up with a vertex on the y-axis at a point below the x-axis. The graph of the second
equation provided is a horizontal line that lies above the x-axis. A horizontal line above the x-axis will intersect a
parabola that opens up and has a vertex below the x-axis in exactly two points.

Choices A, B, and D are incorrect and are the result of not understanding the relationships of the graphs of the two
equations given. Choice A is incorrect because the two graphs intersect. Choice B is incorrect because in order for
there to be only one intersection point, the horizontal line would have to intersect the parabola at the vertex, but the
vertex is below the x-axis and the line is above the x-axis. Choice D is incorrect because a line cannot intersect a
parabola in more than two points.

Question Difficulty: Medium

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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

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Question ID f11ffa93
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of
equations in two
variables

ID: f11ffa93

What value of x satisfies the

equation above?

ID: f11ffa93 Answer

Rationale

The correct answer is 117. Squaring both sides of the given equation gives , or . Subtracting 4
from both sides of this equation gives .

Question Difficulty: Easy

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Question ID ee05c84e
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: ee05c84e

The function f is defined above. What is

the value of ?

A. 250

B. 500

C. 750

D. 2,000

ID: ee05c84e Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. Adding the like terms x and yields the equation . Substituting 20 for
x yields . The product is equal to 25, and the difference is equal to 30.
Substituting these values in the given equation gives , and multiplying 25 by 30 results in
.

Choices A, B, and D are incorrect and may result from conceptual or computational errors when finding the value of
.

Question Difficulty: Easy

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Question ID 5c00c2c1
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 5c00c2c1

There were no jackrabbits in Australia before 1788 when 24 jackrabbits were

introduced. By 1920 the population of jackrabbits had reached 10 billion. If the
population had grown exponentially, this would correspond to a 16.2% increase,
on average, in the population each year. Which of the following functions best
models the population of jackrabbits t years after 1788?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 5c00c2c1 Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. This exponential growth model can be written in the form , where is the
population t years after 1788, A is the initial population, and r is the yearly growth rate, expressed as a decimal. Since
there were 24 jackrabbits in Australia in 1788, . Since the number of jackrabbits increased by an average of

16.2% each year, . Therefore, the equation that best models this situation is .

Choices A, B, and D are incorrect and may result from misinterpreting the form of an exponential growth model.

Question Difficulty: Medium

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Question ID 974d33dc
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: 974d33dc

Which of the following expressions is equivalent to the sum of

and ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 974d33dc Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. Grouping like terms, the given expressions can be rewritten as . This

can be rewritten as .

Choice A is incorrect and may result from adding the two sets of unlike terms, and as well as and , and then

adding the respective exponents. Choice B is incorrect and may result from adding the unlike terms and as if they

were and and adding the unlike terms and as if they were and . Choice C is incorrect and may result
from errors when combining like terms.

Question Difficulty: Easy

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Question ID d4d513ff
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: d4d513ff

Which expression is equivalent to ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: d4d513ff Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is correct. Each term in the given expression, , has a common factor of . Therefore, the expression
can be rewritten as , or . Thus, the expression is equivalent to the given
expression.

Choice A is incorrect. This expression is equivalent to , not .

Choice B is incorrect. This expression is equivalent to , not .

Choice D is incorrect. This expression is equivalent to , not .

Question Difficulty: Easy

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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

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