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 as
C. 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

Question ID 20722644
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 20722644

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

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 20722644 Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale
Choice C is correct. It's given that . Substituting for in this equation yields . This is
equivalent to , or .

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

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

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

Question Difficulty: Easy

Question ID 7fe7cf26
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 7fe7cf26

During the first part of an experiment, a ball was launched from a -foot-tall platform. The graph shows the height , in
feet, of the ball seconds after it was launched during the first part of the experiment.

During the second part of the experiment, the ball was launched the same way, but from a platform that is feet shorter
than the first platform. Which of the following graphs could represent the height , in feet, of the ball seconds after it
was launched during the second part of the experiment?

A.
B.

C.
D.

ID: 7fe7cf26 Answer

Correct Answer: B
Rationale
Choice B is correct. It's given that represents the height, in feet, of the ball seconds after it was launched. It's also
given that during the first part of an experiment, a ball was launched from a -foot-tall platform. Therefore, the y-
coordinate of the y-intercept of the given graph, , represents the platform height, in feet. During the second part of the
experiment, the platform the ball was launched from was feet shorter than the platform in the first part of the
experiment. It follows that the height of the platform in the second part of the experiment was feet, or feet.
Therefore, the y-coordinate of the y-intercept of the graph representing the second part of the experiment must be . Only
choice B satisfies this condition.

Choice A is incorrect. This could represent the graph if the ball were launched from a platform that was about feet
shorter rather than feet shorter.

Choice C is incorrect. This could represent the graph if the ball were launched from a platform that was feet taller
rather than feet shorter.

Choice D is incorrect. This could represent the graph if the ball were launched from a platform that was twice as tall
rather than feet shorter.

Question Difficulty: Easy

Question ID bba18ecb
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: bba18ecb

When the quadratic function is graphed in the xy-plane, where , its vertex is . One of the x-intercepts
of this graph is . What is the other x-intercept of the graph?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: bba18ecb Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale
Choice B is correct. Since the line of symmetry for the graph of a quadratic function contains the vertex of the graph, the
x-coordinate of the vertex of the graph of is the x-coordinate of the midpoint of its two x-intercepts. The
midpoint of two points with x-coordinates and has x-coordinate , where . It′s given that the vertex
is and one of the x-intercepts is . Substituting for and for in the equation
yields . Multiplying each side of this equation by yields . Adding to
each side of this equation yields . Therefore, the other x-intercept is .

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 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

Question ID 55c5d3c2
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 55c5d3c2

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

ID: 55c5d3c2 Answer

Correct Answer: -19

Rationale
The correct answer is . It's given that function is defined by , where and are constants and
. It's also given that the graph of in the xy-plane has a y-intercept at and passes through the
point . Since the graph has a y-intercept at , . Substituting for in the given equation
yields , or , and substituting for in this equation yields .
Subtracting from each side of this equation yields . Substituting for in the equation
yields . Since the graph also passes through the point , . Substituting for in the
equation yields , and substituting for yields . Adding to
each side of this equation yields . Taking the square root of both sides of this equation yields . Since it's
given that , the value of is . It follows that the value of is , or .

Question Difficulty: Hard

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

Question ID 90bcaa61
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 90bcaa61

The function gives the number of bacteria in a population minutes after an initial observation.
How much time, in minutes, does it take for the number of bacteria in the population to double?

ID: 90bcaa61 Answer

Correct Answer: 410

Rationale
The correct answer is . It's given that minutes after an initial observation, the number of bacteria in a population is
. This expression consists of the initial number of bacteria, , multiplied by the expression . The
time it takes for the number of bacteria to double is the increase in the value of that causes the expression to
double. Since the base of the expression is , the expression will double when the exponent increases by .
Since the exponent of the expression is , the exponent will increase by when increases by . Therefore the
time, in minutes, it takes for the number of bacteria in the population to double is .

Question Difficulty: Medium

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

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

Question ID 2d1614a1
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 2d1614a1

The function models the population, in thousands, of a certain city years after . According to the model, the
population is predicted to increase by every months. What is the value of ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 2d1614a1 Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale
Choice C is correct. It's given that the function models the population of the city years after . Since there are
months in a year, months is equivalent to years. Therefore, the expression can represent the number of years
in -month periods. Substituting for in the given equation yields , which is
equivalent to . Therefore, for each -month period, the predicted population of the city is
times, or of, the previous population. This means that the population is predicted to increase by every
months.

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

Choice B is incorrect. Each year, the predicted population of the city is times the previous year's predicted
population, which is not the same as an increase of .

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID dbe9b217
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: dbe9b217

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

ID: dbe9b217 Answer

Correct Answer: 68

Rationale
The correct answer is . It's given that the function is defined by . Substituting for in this
equation yields , or , which is equivalent to . Therefore, the value of
is .

Question Difficulty: Medium

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

Question ID 9ff88bb5
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 9ff88bb5

A competitive diver dives from a platform into the water. The graph shown gives the height above the water , in meters,
of the diver seconds after diving from the platform. What is the best interpretation of the x-intercept of the graph?

A. The diver reaches a maximum height above the water at seconds.

B. The diver hits the water at seconds.

C. The diver reaches a maximum height above the water at seconds.

D. The diver hits the water at seconds.

ID: 9ff88bb5 Answer

Correct Answer: B
Rationale
Choice B is correct. It’s given that the graph shows the height above the water , in meters, of a diver seconds after
diving from a platform. The x-intercept of a graph is the point at which the graph intersects the x-axis, or when the value
of is . The graph shown intersects the x-axis between and . In other words, the diver is meters above
the water, or hits the water, between and seconds after diving from the platform. Of the given choices, only choice B
includes an interpretation where the diver hits the water between and seconds. Therefore, the best interpretation of
the x-intercept of the graph is the diver hits the water at seconds.

Choice A is incorrect and may result from conceptual errors.

Choice C is incorrect. This is the best interpretation of the maximum value, not the x-intercept, of the graph.

Choice D is incorrect and may result from conceptual errors.

Question Difficulty: Medium

Question ID 94ff3e2d
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 94ff3e2d

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

ID: 94ff3e2d Answer

Correct Answer: .5, 1/2

Rationale
The correct answer is . The value of is the value of when . Substituting for in the given equation
yields , which is equivalent to , or . Therefore, the value of is . Note that 1/2
and .5 are examples of ways to enter a correct answer.

Question Difficulty: Easy

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

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

Question ID 72ae8a87
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 72ae8a87

The function gives a company’s predicted annual revenue, in dollars, years after the
company started selling light bulbs online, where . What is the best interpretation of the statement “ is
approximately equal to ” in this context?

years after the company started selling light bulbs online, its predicted annual revenue is approximately
A. dollars.

years after the company started selling light bulbs online, its predicted annual revenue will have increased by a total
B. of approximately dollars.

When the company’s predicted annual revenue is approximately dollars, it is times the predicted annual
C. revenue for the previous year.

When the company’s predicted annual revenue is approximately dollars, it is greater than the predicted
D. annual revenue for the previous year.

ID: 72ae8a87 Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale
Choice A is correct. It's given that the function gives a company's predicted annual revenue, in
dollars, years after the company started selling light bulbs online. It follows that represents the company's
predicted annual revenue, in dollars, years after the company started selling light bulbs online. Since the value of
is the value of when , it follows that " is approximately equal to " means that is
approximately equal to when . Therefore, the best interpretation of the statement " is approximately
equal to " in this context is years after the company started selling light bulbs online, its predicted annual
revenue is approximately dollars.

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

Choice D is incorrect and may result from conceptual errors.

Question Difficulty: Easy

Question ID 01668cd6
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 01668cd6

The functions and are defined by the given equations, where . Which of the following equations displays, as a
constant or coefficient, the maximum value of the function it defines, where ?

A. I only

B. II only

C. I and II

D. Neither I nor II

ID: 01668cd6 Answer

Correct Answer: B

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

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

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 95eeeb5b
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 95eeeb5b

The function is defined by , where , , and are constants. The graph of in the xy-
plane passes through the points and . If is an integer greater than , which of the following could be the
value of ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 95eeeb5b Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale
Choice A is correct. It's given that the graph of in the xy-plane passes through the points and . It
follows that when the value of is either or , the value of is . It's also given that the function is defined by
, where , , and are constants. It follows that the function is a quadratic function and,
therefore, may be written in factored form as , where the value of is when is either
or . Since the value of is when the value of is either or , and the value of is when the value of is
either or , it follows that and are equal to and . Substituting for and for in the equation
yields , or . Distributing the right-
hand side of this equation yields , or . Since it's given that
, it follows that . Adding to each side of this equation yields . Since
, if is an integer, the value of must be a multiple of . If is an integer greater than , it follows that
. Therefore, . It follows that the value of is less than or equal to , or . Of the given
choices, only is a multiple of that's less than or equal to .

Choice B is incorrect. This is the value of if is equal to, not greater than, .

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 99c5e794
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 99c5e794

A model predicts that the population of Bergen was in . The model also predicts that each year for the next
years, the population increased by of the previous year's population. Which equation best represents this model,
where is the number of years after , for ?

A. msup

B. msup

C. msup

D. msup

ID: 99c5e794 Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale
Choice D is correct. It's given that a model predicts the population of Bergen in was . The model also
predicts that each year for the next years, the population increased by of the previous year's population. The
predicted population in one of these years can be found by multiplying the predicted population from the previous year by
. Since the predicted population in was , the predicted population year later is . The
predicted population years later is this value times , which is , or . The
predicted population years later is this value times , or . More generally, the predicted population, ,
years after is represented by the equation .

Choice A is incorrect. Substituting for in this equation indicates the predicted population in was rather
than .

Choice B is incorrect. Substituting for in this equation indicates the predicted population in was rather
than .

Choice C is incorrect. This equation indicates the predicted population is decreasing, rather than increasing, by each
year.

Question Difficulty: Medium

Question ID 99c5e794
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 99c5e794

A model predicts that the population of Bergen was in . The model also predicts that each year for the next
years, the population increased by of the previous year's population. Which equation best represents this model,
where is the number of years after , for ?

A. msup

B. msup

C. msup

D. msup

ID: 99c5e794 Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale
Choice D is correct. It's given that a model predicts the population of Bergen in was . The model also
predicts that each year for the next years, the population increased by of the previous year's population. The
predicted population in one of these years can be found by multiplying the predicted population from the previous year by
. Since the predicted population in was , the predicted population year later is . The
predicted population years later is this value times , which is , or . The
predicted population years later is this value times , or . More generally, the predicted population, ,
years after is represented by the equation .

Choice A is incorrect. Substituting for in this equation indicates the predicted population in was rather
than .

Choice B is incorrect. Substituting for in this equation indicates the predicted population in was rather
than .

Choice C is incorrect. This equation indicates the predicted population is decreasing, rather than increasing, by each
year.

Question Difficulty: Medium

Question ID 09f58996
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 09f58996

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

ID: 09f58996 Answer

Correct Answer: 12

Rationale
The correct answer is . The value of is the value of when . Substituting for in the given
equation yields , which is equivalent to , or . Thus, the value of is
.

Question Difficulty: Easy

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

Question ID 7ba694f3
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 7ba694f3

The number of bacteria in a liquid medium doubles every day. There are bacteria in the liquid medium at the start
of an observation. Which represents the number of bacteria, , in the liquid medium days after the start of the
observation?

A. msup

B. msup

C. msup

D. msup

ID: 7ba694f3 Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale
Choice D is correct. Since the number of bacteria doubles every day, the relationship between and can be represented
by an exponential equation of the form , where is the number of bacteria at the start of the observation and
the number of bacteria increases by a factor of every day. It’s given that there are bacteria at the start of the
observation. Therefore, . It’s also given that the number of bacteria doubles, or increases by a factor of ,
every day. Therefore, . Substituting for and for in the equation yields .

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

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

Choice C is incorrect. This equation represents a situation where the number of bacteria is decreasing by half, not
doubling, every day.

Question Difficulty: Medium

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

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
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

Question ID ef926848
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: ef926848

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

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: ef926848 Answer

Correct Answer: A

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

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

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 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

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

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

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

length of one edge, the perimeter is .

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

, which is not . Choice C is incorrect because if the perimeter of one face of the cube is 4a,

then the total surface area of the cube is , which is not . Choice D is incorrect because if the

perimeter of one face of the cube is 6a, then the total surface area of the cube is , which is not

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID c99d154a
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: c99d154a

What is the y-coordinate of the y-intercept of the graph shown?

ID: c99d154a Answer

Correct Answer: 3

Rationale
The correct answer is . A y-intercept of a graph in the xy-plane is a point on the graph where . For the graph
shown, at , the corresponding value of is . Therefore, the y-coordinate of the y-intercept of the graph shown is .

Question Difficulty: Easy

Question ID a26c29f7
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: a26c29f7

The function is defined by . In the xy-plane, the graph of is the result of shifting the graph of
down units. Which equation defines function ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: a26c29f7 Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale
Choice D is correct. If the graph of is the result of shifting the graph of down units in the xy-plane,
the function can be defined by an equation of the form . It’s given that and the graph of
is the result of shifting the graph of down units. Substituting for and for in the
equation yields .

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

Choice C is incorrect. This equation defines a function for which the graph of is the result of shifting the
graph of up, not down, units.

Question Difficulty: Medium

Question ID 99269e03
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 99269e03

The table shows three values of and their corresponding values of for the equation . In the table, is
a constant. What is the value of ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 99269e03 Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale
Choice B is correct. It's given that the table shows three values of and their corresponding values of for the equation
. It's also given that when the corresponding value of is , and is a constant. Substituting for
and for in the given equation yields , or . Therefore, the value of is .

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

Question ID 893c7519
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 893c7519

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

ID: 893c7519 Answer

Correct Answer: 3

Rationale
The correct answer is . For the graph of the exponential function shown, where , it's given that the y-
intercept of the graph is . The graph intersects the y-axis at the point . Therefore, the value of is .

Question Difficulty: Easy

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

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

Question ID 3c600337
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 3c600337

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

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 3c600337 Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale
Choice D is correct. The value of is the value of when . Substituting for in the given function yields
, or , which is equivalent to . Therefore, the value of is .

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

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

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

Question Difficulty: Medium

Question ID 3ea87153
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 3ea87153

The function is defined by . For which value of is ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 3ea87153 Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale
Choice A is correct. It's given that . Substituting for in this equation yields .
Subtracting from both sides of this equation yields . Taking the square root of each side of this equation yields
. It follows that when the value of is or . Only is listed among the choices.

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: Easy

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

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
Question ID 4209aefe
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 4209aefe

The function models the value, in dollars, of a certain bank account by the end of each year from
through , where is the number of years after . Which of the following is the best interpretation of “
is approximately equal to ” in this context?

A. The value of the bank account is estimated to be approximately dollars greater in than in .

B. The value of the bank account is estimated to be approximately dollars in .

C. The value, in dollars, of the bank account is estimated to be approximately times greater in than in .

The value of the bank account is estimated to increase by approximately dollars every years between and
D. .

ID: 4209aefe Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale
Choice B is correct. It’s given that the function models the value, in dollars, of a certain bank
account by the end of each year from through , where is the number of years after . It follows that
represents the estimated value, in dollars, of the bank account years after . Since the value of is the
value of when , it follows that “ is approximately equal to ” means that is approximately equal
to when . In the given context, this means that the value of the bank account is estimated to be approximately
dollars years after . Therefore, the best interpretation of the statement “ is approximately equal to ”
in this context is the value of the bank account is estimated to be approximately dollars in .

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

Choice D is incorrect and may result from conceptual errors.

Question Difficulty: Medium

Question ID f1fa0821
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: f1fa0821

The graph gives the estimated population , in thousands, of a town years since , where . Which of the
following best describes the increase in the estimated population from to ?

A. The estimated population at is times the estimated population at .

B. The estimated population at is times the estimated population at .

C. The estimated population at is times the estimated population at .

D. The estimated population at is times the estimated population at .

ID: f1fa0821 Answer

Correct Answer: B
Rationale
Choice B is correct. On the graph shown, the y-axis represents estimated population, in thousands. The graph shows that
when , the y-coordinate is . Therefore, the estimated population at is thousand. The graph also shows
that when , the y-coordinate is . Therefore, the estimated population at is thousand. Dividing thousand
by thousand yields ; therefore, thousand is times thousand. It follows that the estimated population at
is times the estimated population at .

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

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

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

Question ID 70fb357b
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 70fb357b

The graph of the given equation in the xy-plane has a y-intercept of . Which of the following equivalent equations
displays the value of as a constant, a coefficient, or the base?

A. msup

B. msup

C. msup

D. msup

ID: 70fb357b Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale
Choice A is correct. The y-intercept of a graph in the xy-plane is the point where . Substituting for in the given
equation, , yields , which is equivalent to , or . Therefore, the graph
of the given equation in the xy-plane has a y-intercept of . It follows that and . Thus, the
equivalent equation displays the value of as the base.

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

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 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

Question ID d41cf4d3
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: d41cf4d3

The function is defined by , where and are constants. In the xy-plane, the graph of
passes through the point , and . Which of the following must be true?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: d41cf4d3 Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale
Choice D is correct. It's given that . Substituting for in the equation yields
. Therefore, . Since can't be negative, it follows that . It's also given
that the graph of passes through the point . It follows that when , . Substituting
for and for in the equation yields . By the zero product property, either
or . Since , it follows that . Squaring both sides of this equation yields
. Adding to both sides of this equation yields . Since and is , it follows that
must be true.

Choice A is incorrect. The value of is , which must be negative.

Choice B is incorrect. The value of is , which could be , but doesn't have to be.

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

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

Question ID 45df91ee
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 45df91ee

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

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 45df91ee Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale
Choice A is correct. The x-coordinate of any y-intercept of a graph is . Substituting for in the given equation yields
. Since any nonzero number raised to the power is , this gives , or . The
y-intercept of the graph is, therefore, the point .

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

Question ID 7f87deff
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 7f87deff

What is an x-coordinate of an x-intercept of the graph of in the xy-plane?

ID: 7f87deff Answer

Correct Answer: 14, -5, -4

Rationale
The correct answer is either , , or . The x-intercepts of a graph in the xy-plane are the points at which the graph
intersects the x-axis, or when the value of is . Substituting for in the given equation yields
. Dividing both sides of this equation by yields .
Applying the zero product property to this equation yields three equations: , , and .
Adding to both sides of the equation yields , subtracting from both sides of the equation
yields , and subtracting from both sides of the equation yields . Therefore, the
x-coordinates of the x-intercepts of the graph of the given equation are , , and . Note that 14, -5, and -4 are
examples of ways to enter a correct answer.

Question Difficulty: Medium

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

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

Question ID d8ace155
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: d8ace155

A company opens an account with an initial balance of . The account earns interest, and no additional
deposits or withdrawals are made. The account balance is given by an exponential function , where is the account
balance, in dollars, years after the account is opened. The account balance after years is . Which
equation could define ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: d8ace155 Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale
Choice A is correct. Since it's given that the account balance, , in dollars, after years can be modeled by an
exponential function, it follows that function can be written in the form , where is the initial value of the
function and is a constant related to the growth of the function. It's given that the initial balance of the account is
, so it follows that the initial value of the function, or , must be . Substituting for in
the equation yields . It's given that the account balance after years, or when
, is . It follows that , or . Dividing each side of the
equation by yields . Taking the th root of both sides of this

equation yields , or is approximately equal to . Substituting for in the equation

yields , so the equation could define .

Choice B is incorrect. Substituting for in this function indicates an initial balance of , rather than
.

Choice C is incorrect. Substituting for in this function indicates an initial balance of , rather than
. Additionally, this function indicates the account balance is decreasing, rather than increasing, over time.

Choice D is incorrect. This function indicates the account balance is decreasing, rather than increasing, over time.

Question Difficulty: Medium

Question ID 5a74f696
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 5a74f696

An investment account was opened with an initial value of . The value of the account doubled every years. Which
equation represents the value of the account , in dollars, years after the account was opened?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 5a74f696 Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale
Choice C is correct. It's given that represents the number of years since the account was opened. Therefore,
represents the number of -year periods since the account was opened. Since the value of the account doubles during
each of these -year periods, the value of the account can be found by multiplying the initial value by factors of .
This is equivalent to . It's given that the initial value of the account is . Therefore, the value of the account ,
in dollars, years after the account was opened can be represented by .

Choice A is incorrect. This equation represents the value of an account if the value of the account halves, not doubles,
every years.

Choice B is incorrect. This equation represents the value of an account if the value of the account decreases by , not
doubles, every , not , years.

Choice D is incorrect. This equation represents the value of an account if the value of the account increases by a factor
of , not doubles, every , not , years.

Question Difficulty: Easy

Question ID 1863e3be
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 1863e3be

The -intercept of the graph of in the xy-plane is . What is the value of ?

ID: 1863e3be Answer

Correct Answer: 31

Rationale
The correct answer is . It's given that the y-intercept of the graph of in the xy-plane is . Substituting
for in the given equation yields , or . Thus, the value of is .

Question Difficulty: Easy

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.

Question Difficulty: Medium

Question ID cbc4c163
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: cbc4c163

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

ID: cbc4c163 Answer

Correct Answer: 11/4, 2.75

Rationale

The correct answer is . It’s given that the function is defined by . Substituting for in
this equation yields , which is equivalent , or . Therefore,
the value of is . Note that 11/4 or 2.75 are examples of ways to enter a correct answer.

Question Difficulty: Medium

Question ID ca4ee54e
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: ca4ee54e

The graph shows the predicted value , in dollars, of a certain sport utility vehicle years after it is first purchased.

Which of the following is closest to the predicted value of the sport utility vehicle years after it is first purchased?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: ca4ee54e Answer

Correct Answer: B
Rationale
Choice B is correct. For the graph shown, the horizontal axis represents the number of years after a certain sport utility
vehicle is first purchased, and the vertical axis represents the predicted value, in dollars, of the sport utility vehicle.
According to the graph, years after the sport utility vehicle is purchased, the predicted value of the sport utility vehicle is
between and . Of the given choices, only is between and . Therefore,
is closest to the predicted value of the sport utility vehicle years after it is first purchased.

Choice A is incorrect. This is closest to the predicted value of the sport utility vehicle years after it is first purchased.

Choice C is incorrect. This is closest to the predicted value of the sport utility vehicle year after it is first purchased.

Choice D is incorrect. This is closest to the predicted value of the sport utility vehicle when it is first purchased.

Question Difficulty: Easy

Question ID cd358b89
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: cd358b89

Function is defined by . Function is defined by . The graph of

in the xy-plane has x-intercepts at , , and , where , , and are distinct constants. What is the
value of ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: cd358b89 Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale
Choice B is correct. It's given that . Since , it follows that
. Combining like terms yields .
Therefore, . The x-intercepts of a graph in the xy-plane are the points where . The x-
coordinates of the x-intercepts of the graph of in the xy-plane can be found by solving the equation
. Applying the zero product property to this equation yields three equations: , ,
and . Solving each of these equations for yields , , and , respectively. Therefore, the
x-intercepts of the graph of are , , and . It follows that the values of , , and are , ,
and . Thus, the value of is , which is equal to .

Choice A is incorrect. This is the value of if .

Choice C is incorrect. This is the value of if .

Choice D is incorrect. This is the value of if .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID c1eead73
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: c1eead73

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

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: c1eead73 Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale
Choice D is correct. The value of is the value of when . Substituting for in the given equation yields
, which is equivalent to , or . Therefore, the value of is .

Choice A is incorrect. This would be the value of if function was defined by , not .

Choice B is incorrect. This would be the value of if function was defined by , not .

Choice C is incorrect. This would be the value of if function was defined by , not
.

Question Difficulty: Easy

Question ID f1c81b3b
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: f1c81b3b

The exponential function is defined by , where is a positive constant. If , what is the

value of ?

ID: f1c81b3b Answer

Correct Answer: 11875

Rationale
The correct answer is . It's given that the exponential function is defined by , where is a
positive constant, and . It follows that when , . Substituting for and for
in the given equation yields . Dividing each side of this equation by yields . Taking the
cube root of both sides of this equation gives . Substituting for and for in the equation
yields , or . Therefore, the value of is .

Question Difficulty: Medium

Question ID c19d1fb0
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: c19d1fb0

An egg is thrown from a rooftop. The equation represents this situation, where is the height of
the egg above the ground, in meters, seconds after it is thrown. According to the equation, what is the height, in meters,
from which the egg was thrown?

ID: c19d1fb0 Answer

Correct Answer: 18

Rationale
The correct answer is . It's given that an egg is thrown from a rooftop and that the equation
represents this situation, where is the height of the egg above the ground, in meters, seconds after it is thrown. If
follows that the height, in meters, from which the egg was thrown is the value of when . Substituting for in the
equation yields , or . Therefore, according to the
equation, the height, in meters, from which the egg was thrown is .

Question Difficulty: Medium

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

Question ID f678483b
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: f678483b

A submersible device is used for ocean research. The function gives the depth below
the surface of the ocean, in meters, of the submersible device minutes after collecting a sample, where . How
many minutes after collecting the sample did it take for the submersible device to reach the surface of the ocean?

ID: f678483b Answer

Correct Answer: 35

Rationale
The correct answer is . It's given that the function gives the depth below the surface
of the ocean, in meters, of the submersible device minutes after collecting a sample, where . It follows that when
the submersible device is at the surface of the ocean, the value of is . Substituting for in the equation
yields . Multiplying 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 . Since , minutes after collecting the sample the
submersible device reached the surface of the ocean.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 0aaef7aa
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 0aaef7aa

The function is defined by . What is the value of when is equal to ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 0aaef7aa Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale
Choice A is correct. It's given that . Substituting for in this equation yields . Dividing each
side of this equation by yields . Taking the cube root of each side of this equation yields . Therefore,
when is equal to , the value of 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: Medium

Question ID b7cd6ca6
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: b7cd6ca6

The equation gives the estimated number of employees at a restaurant, where is the number of years
since the restaurant opened. Which of the following is the best interpretation of the number in this context?

A. The estimated number of employees when the restaurant opened

B. The increase in the estimated number of employees each year

C. The number of years the restaurant has been open

D. The percent increase in the estimated number of employees each year

ID: b7cd6ca6 Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale
Choice A is correct. For an exponential function of the form , where and are constants, the initial value
of the function—that is, the value of the function when —is and the value of the function increases by a factor of
each time increases by . Since the function gives the estimated number of employees at a restaurant
and is the number of years since the restaurant opened, the best interpretation of the number in this context is the
estimated number of employees when , or when the restaurant opened.

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

Choice D is incorrect and may result from conceptual errors.

Question Difficulty: Medium

Question ID 04b985e6
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 04b985e6

The kinetic energy, in joules, of an object with mass kilograms traveling at a speed of meters per second is given by
the function , where . Which of the following is the best interpretation of in this
context?

A. The object traveling at meters per second has a kinetic energy of joules.

B. The object traveling at meters per second has a kinetic energy of joules.

C. The object traveling at meters per second has a kinetic energy of joules.

D. The object traveling at meters per second has a kinetic energy of joules.

ID: 04b985e6 Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale
Choice A is correct. It's given that the kinetic energy, in joules, of an object with a mass of kilograms traveling at a
speed of meters per second is given by the function , where . It follows that in the equation
, is the value of , or the speed of the object, in meters per second, and is the kinetic energy, in
joules, of the object at that speed. Therefore, the best interpretation of in this context is the object
traveling at meters per second has a kinetic energy of joules.

Choice B is incorrect. The object traveling at meters per second has a kinetic energy of joules.

Choice C is incorrect. The object traveling at meters per second has a kinetic energy of joules.

Choice D is incorrect. The object traveling at meters per second has a kinetic energy of joules.

Question Difficulty: Easy

Question ID 6d9e01a2
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 6d9e01a2

The given equation defines the function . For what value of does reach its minimum?

ID: 6d9e01a2 Answer

Correct Answer: 25/4, 6.25

Rationale
The correct answer is . The given equation can be rewritten in the form , where , , and are
constants. When , is the value of for which reaches its minimum. The given equation can be rewritten as
, which is equivalent to . This equation

can be rewritten as , or , which is

equivalent to . Therefore, , so the value of for which reaches its minimum is

. Note that 25/4 and 6.25 are examples of ways to enter a correct answer.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 0af701e7
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 0af701e7

The function is defined by . What value of satisfies ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 0af701e7 Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale
Choice C is correct. It's given that the function is defined by . It's also given that
. Substituting for in the function yields and substituting for in the function
yields . Therefore, and . Substituting for and
for in the equation yields . Subtracting from both sides of this
equation yields . Dividing both sides of this equation by yields . By the definition of
absolute value, if , then or . Dividing both sides of each of these equations by
yields or , respectively. Thus, of the given choices, a value of that satisfies 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: Medium

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

Question ID 2cf7f039
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 2cf7f039

The function is defined by . For what value of does ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 2cf7f039 Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale
Choice C is correct. It's given that . Substituting for in this equation yields . Dividing
both sides of this equation by yields . This can be rewritten as . Squaring both sides of this equation
yields . Therefore, the value of for which is .

Choice A is incorrect. If , , not . Choice B is incorrect. If , , not .

Choice D is incorrect. If , , which is equivalent to , not .

Question Difficulty: Easy

Question ID 083ef63a
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 083ef63a

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

ID: 083ef63a Answer

Correct Answer: -13/2, -6.5

Rationale
The correct answer is . The value of for which reaches its minimum can be found by rewriting the given
equation in the form , where reaches its minimum, , when the value of is . The given
equation, , can be rewritten as . By completing the square, this
equation can be rewritten as , which is equivalent to

, or . Therefore, reaches its minimum when the value of

is . Note that -13/2 and -6.5 are examples of ways to enter a correct answer.

Alternate approach: The graph of in the xy-plane is a parabola. The value of for the vertex of a parabola is
the x-value of the midpoint between the two x-intercepts of the parabola. Since it's given that ,
it follows that the two x-intercepts of the graph of in the xy-plane occur when and , or at the
points and . The midpoint between two points, and , is . Therefore, the
midpoint between and is , or . It follows that reaches its minimum when
the value of is . Note that -13/2 and -6.5 are examples of ways to enter a correct answer.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 0e61101e
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 0e61101e

The function is defined by the given equation. If , which of the following equations defines the
function ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 0e61101e Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale
Choice B is correct. It’s given that and . Substituting for in gives
. Rewriting this equation using properties of exponents gives , which is
equivalent to . Multiplying and in this equation gives . Since
, .

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 f44b4125
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: f44b4125

The functions and are defined by the given equations, where . Which of the following equations displays, as a
constant or coefficient, the maximum value of the function it defines, where ?

A. I only

B. II only

C. I and II

D. Neither I nor II

ID: f44b4125 Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale
Choice B is correct. For the function , since the base of the exponent, , is greater than , the value of
increases as increases. Therefore, the value of and the value of also increase as
increases. Since is therefore an increasing function where , the function has no maximum value. For the
function , since the base of the exponent, , is less than , the value of decreases as increases. Therefore,
the value of also decreases as increases. It follows that the maximum value of for occurs when
. Substituting for in the function yields , which is equivalent to , or .
Therefore, the maximum value of for is , which appears as a coefficient in equation II. So, of the two
equations given, only II displays, as a constant or coefficient, the maximum value of the function it defines, where .

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 7a6d06bf
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 7a6d06bf

A rectangle has an area of square inches. The length of the rectangle is inches less than times the width of the
rectangle. What is the width of the rectangle, in inches?

ID: 7a6d06bf Answer

Correct Answer: 5

Rationale
The correct answer is . Let represent the width, in inches, of the rectangle. It's given that the length of the rectangle is
inches less than times its width, or inches. The area of a rectangle is equal to its width multiplied by its
length. Multiplying the width, inches, by the length, inches, yields square inches. It’s given that the
rectangle has an area of square inches, so it follows that , or . Subtracting
from both sides of this equation yields . Factoring the left-hand side of this equation yields
. Applying the zero product property to this equation yields two solutions: and .
Since is the rectangle’s width, in inches, which must be positive, the value of is . Therefore, the width of the
rectangle, in inches, is .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 04bbce67
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 04bbce67

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

ID: 04bbce67 Answer

Correct Answer: -7

Rationale
The correct answer is . For a quadratic function defined by an equation of the form , where ,
, and are constants and , the function reaches its minimum when . In the given function, , ,
and . Therefore, the value of for which reaches its minimum is .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 4880eecb
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 4880eecb

The product of a positive number and the number that is more than is . What is the value of ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 4880eecb Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale
Choice B is correct. The number that's more than can be represented by the expression . It's given that the
product of and is , so it follows that , or . Subtracting from each
side of this equation yields . Factoring the left-hand side of this equation yields
. Applying the zero product property to this equation yields two solutions: and .
Since is a positive number, the value of is .

Choice A is incorrect. If , the product of and the number that's more than would be , or , not .

Choice C is incorrect. This is the value of the number that's more than , not the value of .

Choice D is incorrect. If , the product of and the number that's more than would be , or , not
.

Question Difficulty: Medium

Question ID 79ba511a
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 79ba511a

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

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 79ba511a Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale
Choice C is correct. The value of is the value of when . Substituting for in the given function yields
, or , which is equivalent to . Therefore, the value of is .

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

Choice B is incorrect. This is the value of when , rather than .

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

Question Difficulty: Easy

Question ID dcf63c94
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: dcf63c94

The function is defined by the given equation. If , which of the following equations defines function
?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: dcf63c94 Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale
Choice A is correct. It's given that and . Substituting for in
yields . Substituting for in this equation yields . Using the
properties of exponents, the function can be rewritten as , which is equivalent to
, or . Therefore, of the given choices, an equation that defines function is
.

Choice B is incorrect. This equation defines function if , not .

Choice C is incorrect. This equation defines function if , not .

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 26f5269a
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 26f5269a

The y-intercept of the graph shown is . What is the value of ?

ID: 26f5269a Answer

Correct Answer: 40

Rationale
The correct answer is . The y-intercept of a graph in the xy-plane is the point on the graph where . The y-
intercept of the graph shown is . Therefore, the value of is .

Question Difficulty: Easy

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.
Since the base of the exponent in this function, 0.75, is less than 1, decreases as time increases. Using the

function, the temperature, in °F, at 6:00 p.m. can be estimated as and is equal to . The

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

156°F. Finally, the temperature, in °F, at 6:10 p.m. can be estimated as and is equal to , which is
approximately 135°F. Since these three given values of m and their corresponding values for can be verified using

the function , this is the best function out of the given choices to model the temperature of
Kao’s hot chocolate after m minutes.

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 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

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
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

Question ID 02c67921
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 02c67921

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

ID: 02c67921 Answer

Correct Answer: 3

Rationale
The correct answer is . It's given that the y-intercept of the graph shown is . The graph passes through the point
. Therefore, the value of is .

Question Difficulty: Easy

Question ID 2b1a27cd
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 2b1a27cd

The quadratic function models the depth, in meters, below the surface of the water of a seal minutes after the seal
entered the water during a dive. The function estimates that the seal reached its maximum depth of meters
minutes after it entered the water and then reached the surface of the water minutes after it entered the water. Based
on the function, what was the estimated depth, to the nearest meter, of the seal minutes after it entered the water?

ID: 2b1a27cd Answer

Correct Answer: 168

Rationale
The correct answer is . The quadratic function gives the estimated depth of the seal, , in meters, minutes after
the seal enters the water. It's given that function estimates that the seal reached its maximum depth of meters
minutes after it entered the water. Therefore, function can be expressed in vertex form as ,
where is a constant. Since it's also given that the seal reached the surface of the water after minutes, .
Substituting for and for in yields , or .
Dividing both sides of this equation by gives . Substituting for in gives
. Substituting for in gives , which is
equivalent to , or . Therefore, the estimated depth, to the nearest meter, of the
seal minutes after it entered the water was meters.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 1073d70c
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 1073d70c

At the time that an article was first featured on the home page of a news website, there were comments on the article.
An exponential model estimates that at the end of each hour after the article was first featured on the home page, the
number of comments on the article had increased by of the number of comments on the article at the end of the
previous hour. Which of the following equations best represents this model, where is the estimated number of
comments on the article hours after the article was first featured on the home page and ?

A. msup

B. msup

C. msup

D. msup

ID: 1073d70c Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale
Choice D is correct. It's given that an exponential model estimates that the number of comments on an article increased
by a fixed percentage at the end of each hour. Therefore, the model can be represented by an exponential equation of the
form , where is the estimated number of comments on the article hours after the article was first featured
on the home page and and are constants. It's also given that when the article was first featured on the home page of
the news website, there were comments on the article. This means that when , . Substituting for and
for in the equation yields , or . It's also given that the number of comments on the
article at the end of an hour had increased by of the number of comments on the article at the end of the previous
hour. Multiplying the percent increase by the number of comments on the article at the end of the previous hour yields
the number of estimated additional comments the article has on its home page: , or comments. Thus, the
estimated number of comments for the following hour is the sum of the comments from the end of the previous hour
and the number of additional comments, which is , or . This means that when , . Substituting
for , for , and for in the equation yields , or . Dividing both sides of this
equation by yields . Substituting for and for in the equation yields .
Thus, the equation that best represents this model is .

Choice A is incorrect. This model represents a situation where the number of comments at the end of each hour
increased by of the number of comments at the end of the previous hour, rather than .

Choice B is incorrect. This model represents a situation where the number of comments at the end of each hour
increased by of the number of comments at the end of the previous hour, rather than .

Choice C is incorrect. This model represents a situation where the number of comments at the end of each hour was
times the number of comments at the end of the previous hour, rather than increasing by of the number of
comments at the end of the previous hour.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID aa95fb33
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: aa95fb33

The graph of the rational function is shown, where and . Which of the following is the graph of
, where ?

A.
B.

C.

D.
 ID: aa95fb33 Answer
Correct Answer: D

Rationale
Choice D is correct. It's given that the graph of the rational function is shown, where and . The graph
shown passes through the point . It follows that when the value of is , the value of is . When the value of
is , the value of is , or . Therefore, the graph of passes through the point . Of
the given choices, choice D is the only graph that passes through the point and is therefore the graph of
.

Choice A is incorrect. This is the graph of , rather than .

Choice B is incorrect. This is the graph of , rather than .

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

Question Difficulty: Medium

Question ID 1fe10d97
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 1fe10d97

The given function models the population of Lowell years after a census. Which of the following functions best
models the population of Lowell months after the census?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 1fe10d97 Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale
Choice D is correct. It’s given that the function models the population of Lowell years after a census. Since there are
months in a year, months after the census is equivalent to years after the census. Substituting for in the
equation yields . Therefore, the function that best models the
population of Lowell months after the census 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 C is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID b73ee6cf
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: b73ee6cf

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

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

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: b73ee6cf Answer

Correct Answer: D

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 08d03fe4
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 08d03fe4

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

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 08d03fe4 Answer

Correct Answer: C

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

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

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 3918e8bc
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 3918e8bc

An object is kicked from a platform. The equation represents this situation, where is the height
of the object above the ground, in meters, seconds after it is kicked. Which number represents the height, in meters,
from which the object was kicked?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 3918e8bc Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale
Choice D is correct. It’s given that the equation represents this situation, where is the height, in
meters, of the object seconds after it is kicked. It follows that the height, in meters, from which the object was kicked is
the value of when . Substituting for in the equation yields ,
or . Therefore, the object was kicked from a height of meters.

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

Question ID 7eed640d
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 7eed640d

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

A. The initial height of the projectile

B. The maximum height of the projectile

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

D. The time at which the projectile hits the ground

ID: 7eed640d Answer

Correct Answer: D

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID de362c2f
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: de362c2f

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

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: de362c2f Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale
Choice D is correct. It's given that the function is defined by . Substituting for in yields
, which is equivalent to , or . Therefore, the value of is .

Choice A is incorrect. This is the value of if .

Choice B is incorrect. This is the value of if .

Choice C is incorrect. This is the value of if .

Question Difficulty: Easy

Question ID 43926bd9
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 43926bd9

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

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

ID: 43926bd9 Answer

Rationale

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

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

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

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 044c1cb7
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 044c1cb7

Which table gives three values of and their corresponding values of for the given function ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 044c1cb7 Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale
Choice B is correct. It′s given that . Each table gives , , and as the three given values of .
Substituting for in the equation yields , or . Substituting for in the
equation yields , or . Finally, substituting for in the equation
yields , or . Therefore, is when is , is when is , and
is when is . Choice B is a table with these values of and their corresponding values of .

Choice A is incorrect. This is a table of values for the function , not .

Choice C is incorrect. This is a table of values for the function , not .

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

Question Difficulty: Easy

Question ID 7e5a3640
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 7e5a3640

Bacteria are growing in a liquid growth medium. There were cells per milliliter during an initial observation. The
number of cells per milliliter doubles every hours. How many cells per milliliter will there be hours after the initial
observation?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 7e5a3640 Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale
Choice D is correct. Let represent the number of cells per milliliter hours after the initial observation. Since the
number of cells per milliliter doubles every hours, the relationship between and can be represented by an
exponential equation of the form , where is the number of cells per milliliter during the initial observation
and the number of cells per milliliter increases by a factor of every hours. It’s given that there were cells per
milliliter during the initial observation. Therefore, . It’s also given that the number of cells per milliliter
doubles, or increases by a factor of , every hours. Therefore, and . Substituting for , for , and
for in the equation yields . The number of cells per milliliter there will be hours after
the initial observation is the value of in this equation when . Substituting for in the equation
yields , or . This is equivalent to , or
. Therefore, hours after the initial observation, there will be cells per milliliter.

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

Question ID 4d037075
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 4d037075

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

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 4d037075 Answer

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

Choice A is incorrect. This could define function if .

Choice B is incorrect. This could define function if .

Choice D is incorrect. This could define function if .

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 39652e93
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 39652e93

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

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 39652e93 Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale
Choice A is correct. It's given that . Substituting for in this function yields . Therefore, when
, the value of is .

Choice B is incorrect. This is the value of the reciprocal of when .

Choice C is incorrect. This is the value of when . Choice D is incorrect. This is the value of when .

Question Difficulty: Easy

Question ID 4d7064a6
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 4d7064a6

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

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 4d7064a6 Answer

Correct Answer: D

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

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

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

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 52e589f9
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 52e589f9

The function gives the predicted body mass , in , of a certain animal days after it was born in a
wildlife reserve, where . Which of the following is the best interpretation of the statement “ is
approximately equal to ” in this context?

A. The predicted body mass of the animal was approximately days after it was born.

B. The predicted body mass of the animal was approximately days after it was born.

C. The predicted body mass of the animal was approximately days after it was born.

D. The predicted body mass of the animal was approximately days after it was born.

ID: 52e589f9 Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale
Choice B is correct. In the statement " is approximately equal to ," the input of the function, , is the value
of , the elapsed time, in days, since the animal was born. The approximate value of the function, , is the predicted
body mass, in kilograms, of the animal after that time has elapsed. Therefore, the predicted body mass of the animal was
approximately days after it was born.

Choice A is incorrect. This would be the best interpretation of the statement " is approximately equal to ."

Choice C is incorrect. The number is the number of weeks, not the number of days, after the animal was born.

Choice D is incorrect. This would be the best interpretation of the statement " is approximately equal to ."

Question Difficulty: Medium

Question ID 7e6ea718
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 7e6ea718

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

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 7e6ea718 Answer

Correct Answer: B

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

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

Choice D is incorrect and may result from conceptual errors.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 1853bb35
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 1853bb35

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

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 1853bb35 Answer

Correct Answer: C

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

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

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 4993b828
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 4993b828

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

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 4993b828 Answer

Correct Answer: D

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

Choice A is incorrect. This expression represents the area, in square centimeters, of the cutting board, not its length, in
centimeters.

Choice B is incorrect. This expression represents the width, in centimeters, of the cutting board, not its length.

Choice C is incorrect. This is the difference between the length, in centimeters, and the width, in centimeters, of the
cutting board, not its length, in centimeters.

Question Difficulty: Medium

Question ID a8ae0d22
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: a8ae0d22

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

A. msup

B. msup

C. msup

D. msup

ID: a8ae0d22 Answer

Correct Answer: D

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

Choice A is incorrect and may result from conceptual errors.

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

Choice C is incorrect and may result from conceptual errors.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 782a8a53
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 782a8a53

The graph of the quadratic function is shown. What is the vertex of the graph?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 782a8a53 Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale
Choice C is correct. The vertex of the graph of a quadratic function in the xy-plane is the point at which the graph is either
at its minimum or maximum y-value. In the graph shown, the minimum y-value occurs at the point .

Choice A is incorrect. The graph shown doesn't pass through the point .

Choice B is incorrect. The graph shown doesn't pass through the point .

Choice D is incorrect. The graph shown doesn't pass through the point .

Question Difficulty: Easy

Question ID 981aca65
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 981aca65

In the given function , is a constant. The graph of function in the xy-plane, where , is translated units
down and units to the right to produce the graph of . Which equation defines function ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 981aca65 Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale
Choice B is correct. It's given that the graph of is produced by translating the graph of units down
and units to the right in the xy-plane. Therefore, function can be defined by an equation in the form
. Function is defined by the equation , where is a constant. Substituting
for in the equation yields . Substituting for in
the equation yields , or . Therefore, the equation that
defines function is .

Choice A is incorrect. This equation defines a function whose graph is produced by translating the graph of
units down and units to the left, not units down and units to the right.

Choice C is incorrect. This equation defines a function whose graph is produced by translating the graph of
units to the left, not units down and units to the right.

Choice D is incorrect. This equation defines a function whose graph is produced by translating the graph of
units to the right, not units down and units to the right.

Question Difficulty: Medium

Question ID 161126cf
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 161126cf

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

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 161126cf Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

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

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

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

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID a7711fe8
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: a7711fe8

What is the minimum value of the function f

defined by ?

A.

B.

C. 2

D. 4

ID: a7711fe8 Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

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

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 7a4475df
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 7a4475df

A function estimates that there were animals in a population in . Each year from to , the function
estimates that the number of animals in this population increased by of the number of animals in the population the
previous year. Which equation defines this function, where is the estimated number of animals in the population
years after ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 7a4475df Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale
Choice C is correct. It's given that a function estimates that there were animals in a population in and that
each year from to , the number of animals in this population increased by of the number of animals in the
population the previous year. It follows that this situation can be represented by the function ,
where is the estimated number of animals in the population years after , is the estimated number of
animals in the population in , and each year the estimated number of animals increased by . Substituting
for and for in this function yields , or .

Choice A is incorrect. This function represents a population in which each year the number of animals increased by
, not , of the number of animals in the population the previous year.

Choice B is incorrect. This function represents a population in which each year the number of animals increased by ,
not , of the number of animals in the population the previous year.

Choice D is incorrect. This function represents a population in which each year the number of animals decreased, rather
than increased, by of the number of animals in the population the previous year.

Question Difficulty: Medium

Question ID 1a722d7d
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 1a722d7d

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

If , what is the value of ?

A. 10.00

B. 10.25

C. 10.75

D. 11.00

ID: 1a722d7d Answer

Correct Answer: D

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

This means that for all values of x. Therefore:

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 6e7ae9fc
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 6e7ae9fc

The function is defined by . The value of is , where is a constant. What is the

sum of all possible values of ?

ID: 6e7ae9fc Answer

Correct Answer: 25

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 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

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

Question ID 48f83c34
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Advanced Math Nonlinear functions

ID: 48f83c34

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

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 48f83c34 Answer

Correct Answer: D

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

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

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard