All ACT Math Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #253 : Coordinate Plane
What is the amplitude of the function if the marks on the y-axis are 1 and -1, respectively?
π
1
2π
0.5
3π
1
The amplitude is half the measure from a trough to a peak.
Example Question #254 : Coordinate Plane
What is the midpoint between and ?
None of the answers are correct
The x-coordinate for the midpoint is given by taking the arithmetic average (mean) of the x-coordinates of the two end points. So the x-coordinate of the midpoint is given by
The same procedure is used for the y-coordinates. So the y-coordinate of the midpoint is given by
Thus the midpoint is given by the ordered pair
Example Question #255 : Coordinate Plane
If the graph has an equation of , what is the value of ?
is the -intercept and equals . can be solved for by substituting in the equation for , which yields
Example Question #294 : New Sat
The equation represents a line. This line does NOT pass through which of the four quadrants?
II
IV
I
Cannot be determined
III
III
Plug in for to find a point on the line:
Thus, is a point on the line.
Plug in for to find a second point on the line:
is another point on the line.
Now we know that the line passes through the points and .
A quick sketch of the two points reveals that the line passes through all but the third quadrant.
Example Question #1 : Graphing Functions
Refer to the above red line. A line is drawn perpendicular to that line, and with the same -intercept. Give the equation of that line in slope-intercept form.
First, we need to find the slope of the above line.
The slope of a line. given two points can be calculated using the slope formula
Set :
The slope of a line perpendicular to it has as its slope the opposite of the reciprocal of 2, which would be . Since we want this line to have the same -intercept as the first line, which is the point , we can substitute and in the slope-intercept form:
Example Question #2 : Graphing Functions
Refer to the above diagram. If the red line passes through the point , what is the value of ?
One way to answer this is to first find the equation of the line.
The slope of a line. given two points can be calculated using the slope formula
Set :
The line has slope 3 and -intercept , so we can substitute in the slope-intercept form:
Now substitute 4 for and for and solve for :
Example Question #1 : How To Graph A Quadratic Function
Best friends John and Elliot are throwing javelins. The height of John’s javelin is described as f(x) = -x2 +4x, and the height of Elliot’s javelin is described as f(x) = -2x2 +6x, where x is the horizontal distance from the origin of the thrown javelin. Whose javelin goes higher?
The javelins reach the same height
John’s
Elliot’s
Insufficient information provided
Elliot’s
When graphed, each equation is a parabola in the form of a quadratic. Quadratics have the form y = ax2 + bx + c, where –b/2a = axis of symmetry. The maximum height is the vertex of each quadratic. Find the axis of symmetry, and plug that x-value into the equation to obtain the vertex.
Example Question #256 : Coordinate Plane
Where does the following equation intercept the x-axis?
and
and
only
and
and
and
To determine where an equation intercepts a given axis, input 0 for either (where it intercepts the -axis) or (where it intercepts the -axis), then solve. In this case, we want to know where the equation intercepts the -axis; so we will plug in 0 for , giving:
Now solve for .
Note that in its present form, this is a quadratic equation. In this scenario, we must find two factors of 12, that when added together, equal 7. Quickly, we see that 4 and 3 fit these conditions, giving:
Solving for , we see that there are two solutions,
or
Example Question #3 : How To Graph A Quadratic Function
Where does the following equation intercept the -axis?
and
and
and
and
and
and
The x intercept of an equation is the point at which it crosses the x-axis. To find the x intercept, plug in for and solve for .
To solve for , we can factor the equation. We must find two numbers that add to equal and multiply to equal . and fit these conditions, giving:
We can set each of these equal to to find two solutions for .
and
The x intercepts occur at these values, giving the coordinates:
and
Example Question #261 : Algebra
Where does the following equation intercept the -axis?
and
and
and
and
and
and
The x intercept of an equation is the point at which it crosses the x-axis. To find the x intercept, plug in for and solve for .
This equation is not easily factored, so to solve for , we can use the quadratic formula:
With the equation in the form
,
, , and .
Plugging these values into the quadratic formula, we get:
Find the two solutions for :
The x intercepts occur at these values, giving the coordinates:
and