Question ID 301faf80

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 301faf80

The product of two positive integers is . If the first integer is greater than twice the second integer, what is the smaller
of the two integers?

ID: 301faf80 Answer

Correct Answer: 14

Rationale
The correct answer is . Let represent the first integer and represent the second integer. If the first integer is greater
than twice the second integer, then . It's given that the product of the two integers is ; therefore .
Substituting for in this equation yields , which can be written as . Subtracting
from each side of this equation yields . The left-hand side of this equation can be factored by
finding two values whose product is , or , and whose sum is . The two values whose product is and
whose sum is are and . Thus, the equation can be rewritten as
, which is equivalent to , or . By the
zero product property, it follows that or . Subtracting from both sides of the equation
yields . Dividing both sides of this equation by yields . Since is a positive integer, the
value of isn't . Adding to both sides of the equation yields . Substituting for in the
equation yields . Dividing both sides of this equation by yields . Therefore, the two
integers are and , so the smaller of the two integers is .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 02060533
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 02060533

The table shows three values of and their corresponding values of , where and is a linear function.
What is the y-intercept of the graph of in the xy-plane?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 02060533 Answer

Correct Answer: A
Rationale

Choice A is correct. It's given that the table shows values of and their corresponding values of , where .
It's also given that is a linear function. It follows that an equation that defines can be written in the form
, where represents the slope and represents the y-coordinate of the y-intercept of the graph of
in the xy-plane. The slope of the graph of can be found using two points, and , that are
on the graph of , and the formula . Since the table shows values of and their corresponding values
of , substituting values of and in the equation can be used to define function . Using the first pair
of values from the table, and , yields , or . Multiplying each side of this equation
by yields , so the point is on the graph of . Using the second pair of values from
the table, and , yields , or . Multiplying each side of this equation by yields
, so the point is on the graph of . Substituting and for and
, respectively, in the formula yields , or . Substituting for in the equation
yields . Since , substituting for and for in the equation
yields , or . Adding to both sides of this equation yields . It follows
that is the y-coordinate of the y-intercept of the graph of . Therefore, the y-intercept of the graph of
is .

Choice B is incorrect. is the y-coordinate of the y-intercept of the graph of .

Choice C is incorrect. is the slope of the graph of .

Choice D is incorrect. is the x-coordinate of the x-intercept of the graph of .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 91e7ea5e
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 91e7ea5e

The quadratic function h is defined as shown. In the xy-plane, the graph of

intersects the x-axis at the points and , where t is a constant.
What is the value of t ?

A. 1

B. 2

C. 4

D. 8

ID: 91e7ea5e Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale
Choice D is correct. It’s given that the graph of intersects the x-axis at and , where t is a constant. Since
this graph intersects the x-axis when or when , it follows that and . If , then

. Adding 32 to both sides of this equation yields . Dividing both sides of this equation by 2

yields . Taking the square root of both sides of this equation yields . Adding 4 to both sides of this
equation yields . Therefore, the value of t is 8.

Choices A, B, and C are incorrect and may result from calculation errors.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 358f18bc
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 358f18bc

What is the minimum value of the given function?

ID: 358f18bc Answer

Correct Answer: 1728

Rationale
The correct answer is . The given function can be rewritten in the form , where is a positive
constant and the minimum value, , of the function occurs when the value of is . By completing the square,
can be written as , or
. This equation is in the form , where , , and .
Therefore, the minimum value of the given function is .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 8490cc45
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 8490cc45

The function is defined by . What is the y-intercept of the graph of in the xy-plane?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 8490cc45 Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale
Choice A is correct. The y-intercept of the graph of in the xy-plane occurs at the point on the graph where .
In other words, when , the corresponding value of is the y-coordinate of the y-intercept. Substituting for in the
given equation yields , which is equivalent to , or . Thus, when
, the corresponding value of is . Therefore, the y-intercept of the graph of in the xy-plane is .

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

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

Choice D is incorrect. This could be the y-intercept for , not .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 3a9d60b2
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of
equations in two
variables

ID: 3a9d60b2

What is the positive solution to the given equation?

ID: 3a9d60b2 Answer

Correct Answer: 9

Rationale
The correct answer is . The given equation can be rewritten as . Dividing each side of this equation by
yields . By the definition of absolute value, if , then or . Subtracting from
each side of the equation yields . Dividing each side of this equation by yields . Similarly,
subtracting from each side of the equation yields . Dividing each side of this equation by
yields . Therefore, since the two solutions to the given equation are and , the positive solution to the given
equation is .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID ba0edc30
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of
equations in two
variables

ID: ba0edc30

One solution to the given equation can be written as , where is a constant. What is the value of ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: ba0edc30 Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale
Choice B is correct. Adding to each side of the given equation yields . To complete the square, adding to
each side of this equation yields , or . Taking the square root of each side of this
equation yields . Adding to each side of this equation yields . Since it's given that one of the
solutions to the equation can be written as , the value of must be .

Alternate approach: It's given that is a solution to the given equation. It follows that . Substituting

for in the given equation yields , or

. Expanding the products on the left-hand side of this equation yields

, or . Adding to each side of this equation yields .

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

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID fc3d783a
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of
equations in two
variables

ID: fc3d783a

In the -plane, a line with equation intersects a parabola at exactly one point. If the parabola has equation
, where is a positive constant, what is the value of ?

ID: fc3d783a Answer

Correct Answer: 6

Rationale
The correct answer is . It’s given that a line with equation intersects a parabola with equation ,
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

Question ID 2c288148
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of
equations in two
variables

ID: 2c288148

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

ID: 2c288148 Answer

Correct Answer: 231

Rationale
The correct answer is . It's given that . Squaring both sides of this equation yields
, which is equivalent to the given equation if . It follows that if a solution to the equation
satisfies , then it's also a solution to the given equation; if not, it's extraneous. The equation
can be rewritten as . Adding to both sides of this equation yields
. Subtracting from both sides of this equation yields . The
number of solutions to a quadratic equation in the form , where , , and are constants, can be
determined by the value of the discriminant, . Substituting for , for , and for in
yields , or . The equation has exactly one real
solution if the discriminant is equal to zero, or . Subtracting from both sides of this equation yields
. Dividing both sides of this equation by yields . Therefore, if , then the equation
has exactly one real solution. Substituting for in this equation yields
, or , which is equivalent to . Taking the
square root of both sides of this equation yields . Adding to both sides of this equation yields .
To check whether this solution satisfies , the solution, , can be substituted for in , which
yields , or . Since is greater than , it follows that if , or , then the given
equation has exactly one real solution. If , then the discriminant, , is negative and the given equation has
no solutions. Therefore, the minimum possible value of is .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID f65288e8
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of
equations in two
variables

ID: f65288e8

If x is a solution to the given equation, which of the

following is a possible value of ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: f65288e8 Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. The given equation can be rewritten as . Multiplying both sides of this equation by

yields . Dividing both sides of this equation by 4 yields . Taking the square root of both sides of

this equation yields or . Therefore, a possible value of is .

Choices B, C, and D are incorrect and may result from computational or conceptual errors.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 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

Question ID c3b116d7
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: c3b116d7

Which of the following expressions is(are) a factor of ?

A. I only

B. II only

C. I and II

D. Neither I nor II

ID: c3b116d7 Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale
Choice B is correct. The given expression can be factored by first finding two values whose sum is and whose product is
, or . Those two values are and . It follows that the given expression can be rewritten as
. Since the first two terms of this expression have a common factor of and the last two terms of
this expression have a common factor of , this expression can be rewritten as . Since the two
terms of this expression have a common factor of , it can be rewritten as . Therefore, expression
II, , is a factor of , but expression I, , is not a factor of .

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

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 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

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.
Question Difficulty: Hard
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

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

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

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

Question ID 6ce95fc8
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of
equations in two
variables

ID: 6ce95fc8

Which of the following is a solution to

the equation above?

A. 2

B.

C.

D.

ID: 6ce95fc8 Answer

Correct Answer: D
Rationale

Choice D is correct. A quadratic equation in the form , where a, b, and c are constants, can be solved

using the quadratic formula: . Subtracting from both sides of the given equation yields

. Applying the quadratic formula, where , , and , yields

. This can be rewritten as . Since , or , the

equation can be rewritten as . Dividing 2 from both the numerator and denominator yields or

. Of these two solutions, only is present among the choices. Thus, the correct choice is D.

Choice A is incorrect and may result from a computational or conceptual error. Choice B is incorrect and may result from

using instead of as the quadratic formula. Choice C is incorrect and may

result from rewriting as instead of .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 433184f1
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: 433184f1

Which expression is equivalent to ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 433184f1 Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is correct. The expression can be rewritten as . To add the two terms of this
expression, the terms can be rewritten with a common denominator. Since , the expression can be rewritten
as . Since , the expression can be rewritten as . Therefore, the expression
can be rewritten as , which is equivalent to . Applying the
distributive property to each term of the numerator yields , or . Adding like terms in the
numerator yields .

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

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

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

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

Question ID 09d21d79
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 09d21d79

The graph of is shown, where and are constants. What is the value of ?

ID: 09d21d79 Answer

Correct Answer: -24
Rationale
The correct answer is . Since the graph passes through the point , it follows that when the value of is , the
value of is . Substituting for and for in the given equation yields , or .
Therefore, the value of is . Substituting for in the given equation yields . Since the graph
passes through the point , it follows that when the value of is , the value of is . Substituting for
and for in the equation yields , or , which is
equivalent to . Adding to each side of this equation yields . Dividing each side of this equation by
yields . Since the value of is and the value of is , it follows that the value of is , or .

Alternate approach: The given equation represents a parabola in the xy-plane with a vertex at . Therefore, the given
equation, , which is written in standard form, can be written in vertex form, , where
is the vertex of the parabola and is the value of the coefficient on the term when the equation is written in
standard form. It follows that . Substituting for , for , and for in this equation yields
, or . Squaring the binomial on the right-hand side of this equation yields
. Multiplying each term inside the parentheses on the right-hand side of this equation by yields
, which is equivalent to . From the given equation , it follows
that the value of is and the value of is . Therefore, the value of is , or .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID d0a53ef5
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of
equations in two
variables

ID: d0a53ef5

What is the smallest solution to the given equation?

ID: d0a53ef5 Answer

Correct Answer: -3

Rationale
The correct answer is . Squaring both sides of the given equation yields , which can be rewritten as
. Subtracting and from both sides of this equation yields . This quadratic
equation can be rewritten as . According to the zero product property, equals zero
when either or . Solving each of these equations for yields or . Therefore, the
given equation has two solutions, and . Of these two solutions, is the smallest solution to the given equation.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID a45ffacb
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: a45ffacb

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

ID: a45ffacb Answer

Correct Answer: 5

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 821e724e
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 821e724e

The function is defined by , where is a constant. In the xy-plane, the graph of passes
through the point . What is the value of ?

ID: 821e724e Answer

Correct Answer: 336

Rationale
The correct answer is . By the zero product property, if , then , which gives ,
or , which gives . Therefore, when and when . Since the graph of
passes through the point , it follows that , so . Substituting for in the equation
yields . The value of can be calculated by substituting for in
this equation, which yields , or .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID c303ad23
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of
equations in two
variables

ID: c303ad23

If , what is the value of ?

ID: c303ad23 Answer

Correct Answer: 5

Rationale
The correct answer is . Dividing each side of the given equation by yields . Adding to each side of this
equation yields . Therefore, if , the value of is .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 74473be4
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of
equations in two
variables

ID: 74473be4

Which quadratic equation has no real solutions?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 74473be4 Answer

Correct Answer: D

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

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

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 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

Choice A is correct. The number of solutions to any quadratic equation in the form , where a, b, and c are

constants, can be found by evaluating the expression , which is called the discriminant. If the value of is a

positive number, then there will be exactly two real solutions to the equation. If the value of is zero, then there will

be exactly one real solution to the equation. Finally, if the value of is negative, then there will be no real solutions to
the equation.

The given equation is a quadratic equation in one variable, where t is a constant. Subtracting t from both sides

of the equation gives . In this form, , , and . The values of t for which the equation has
no real solutions are the same values of t for which the discriminant of this equation is a negative value. The discriminant is
equal to ; therefore, . Simplifying the left side of the inequality gives .
Subtracting 16 from both sides of the inequality and then dividing both sides by 8 gives . Of the values given in the
options, is the only value that is less than . Therefore, choice A must be the correct answer.

Choices B, C, and D are incorrect and may result from a misconception about how to use the discriminant to determine the
number of solutions of a quadratic equation in one variable.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID e11294f9
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of
equations in two
variables

ID: e11294f9

The solutions to are and , where . The solutions to are and , where .
The solutions to , where is a constant, are and . What is the value of ?

ID: e11294f9 Answer

Correct Answer: 31

Rationale
The correct answer is . Subtracting from both sides of the equation yields . To
complete the square, adding , or , to both sides 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 solutions and to the equation are and .
Since , it follows that and . Subtracting from both sides of the equation
yields . To complete the square, adding , or , to both sides of this equation yields
, or . Taking the square root of both sides of this equation yields ,
or . Subtracting from both sides of this equation yields . Therefore, the solutions and
to the equation are and . Since , it follows that and
. It's given that the solutions to , where is a constant, are and . It follows
that this equation can be written as , which is equivalent to
. Therefore, the value of is . Substituting for ,
for , for , and for in this equation yields
, which is equivalent to ,

or , which is equivalent to , or . Therefore, the value of is .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 03ff48d2
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of
equations in two
variables

ID: 03ff48d2

In the given equation, is an integer constant. If the equation has no real solution, what is the least possible value of ?

ID: 03ff48d2 Answer

Correct Answer: 50

Rationale
The correct answer is . An equation of the form , where , , and are constants, has no real solutions
if and only if its discriminant, , is negative. Applying the distributive property to the left-hand side of the equation
yields . Adding to each side of this equation yields .
Substituting for , for , and for in yields a discriminant of , or . If
the given equation has no real solution, it follows that the value of must be negative. Therefore,
. Adding to both sides of this inequality yields . Dividing both sides of this inequality by
yields , or . Since it's given that is an integer, the least possible value of is .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 7028c74f
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear equations

in one variable and
systems of
equations in two
variables

ID: 7028c74f

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

ID: 7028c74f Answer

Correct Answer: 10.33, 31/3

Rationale
The correct answer is . Subtracting from each side of the given equation yields
. Since is a common factor of each of the terms on the right-hand side of
this equation, it can be rewritten as . This is equivalent to , or
. Dividing both sides of this equation by yields . Since a product of two
factors is equal to if and only if at least one of the factors is , either or . Subtracting from both
sides of the equation yields . Adding to both sides of the equation yields .
Dividing both sides of this equation by yields . Therefore, the solutions to the given equation are and . It
follows that the sum of the solutions to the given equation is , which is equivalent to , or . Note that
31/3 and 10.33 are examples of ways to enter a correct answer.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 967ef685
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Equivalent

expressions

ID: 967ef685

Which expression is equivalent to , where ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 967ef685 Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale
Choice D is correct. Two fractions can be added together when they have a common denominator. Since , multiplying
the second term in the given expression by yields , which is equivalent to . Therefore, the expression
can be written as which is equivalent to . Since each term in the numerator of this
expression has a factor of , the expression can be rewritten as , or , which is
equivalent to .

Choice A is incorrect. This expression is equivalent to .

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

Choice C is incorrect. This expression is equivalent to .

Question Difficulty: Hard

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

Question ID 2f51abc2
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 2f51abc2

The function is defined by the given equation. For which of the following values of does ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 2f51abc2 Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale
Choice A is correct. The value of for which can be found by substituting for and for in the given
equation, , which yields . For this equation to be true, either or
. Adding to both sides of the equation yields . Dividing both sides of this
equation by yields . To check whether is the value of , substituting for in the equation
yields , which is equivalent to , or , which isn't a
true statement. Therefore, isn't the value of . Adding to both sides of the equation yields .
Dividing both sides of this equation by yields . To check whether is the value of , substituting for in the
equation yields , which is equivalent to , or , which is a
true statement. Therefore, the value of for which is .

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

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard