All GMAT Math Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #8 : Graphing An Exponential Function
Define functions and
as follows:
Give the -coordinate of the point of intersection of their graphs.
First, we rewrite both functions with a common base:
is left as it is.
can be rewritten as
To find the point of intersection of the graphs of the functions, set
Since the powers of the same base are equal, we can set the exponents equal:
Now substitute in either function:
, the correct answer.
Example Question #9 : Graphing An Exponential Function
Define a function as follows:
Give the -intercept of the graph of
.
Since the -intercept is the point at which the graph of
intersects the
-axis, the
-coordinate is 0, and the
-coordinate is
:
,
The -intercept is the point
.
Example Question #10 : Graphing An Exponential Function
Evaluate .
The system has no solution.
Rewrite the system as
and substitute and
for
and
, respectively, to form the system
Add both sides:
.
Now backsolve:
Now substitute back:
and
Example Question #1 : Graphing A Quadratic Function
What are the possible values of if the parabola of the quadratic function
is concave upward and does not intersect the
-axis?
The parabola cannot exist for any value of .
The parabola cannot exist for any value of .
If the graph of is concave upward, then
.
If the graph does not intersect the -axis, then
has no real solution, and the discriminant
is negative:
For the parabola to have both characteristics, it must be true that and
, but these two events are mutually exclusive. Therefore, the parabola cannot exist.
Example Question #751 : Geometry
Which of the following equations has as its graph a vertical parabola with line of symmetry ?
The graph of has as its line of symmetry the vertical line of the equation
Since in each choice, we want to find
such that
so the correct choice is .
Example Question #1 : Graphing A Quadratic Function
Which of the following equations has as its graph a concave-right horizontal parabola?
None of the other responses gives a correct answer.
A horizontal parabola has as its equation, in standard form,
,
with real,
nonzero.
Its orientation depends on the sign of . In the equation of a concave-right parabola,
is positive, so the correct choice is
.
Example Question #1 : Graphing A Quadratic Function
The graphs of the functions and
have the same line of symmetry.
If we define , which of the following is a possible definition of
?
None of the other responses gives a correct answer.
The graph of a function of the form - a quadratic function - is a vertical parabola with line of symmetry
.
The graph of the function therefore has line of symmetry
, or
We examine all four definitions of to find one with this line of symmetry.
:
, or
:
, or
, or
, or
Since the graph of the function has the same line of symmetry as that of the function
, that is the correct choice.
Example Question #1 : How To Graph A Quadratic Function
Give the -coordinate of a point at which the graphs of the equations
and
intersect.
We can set the two quadratic expressions equal to each other and solve for .
and
, so
The -coordinates of the points of intersection are 2 and 6. To find the
-coordinates, substitute in either equation:
One point of intersection is .
The other point of intersection is .
1 is not among the choices, but 41 is, so this is the correct response.
Example Question #51 : Coordinate Geometry
Give the set of intercepts of the graph of the function .
The -intercepts, if any exist, can be found by setting
:
The only -intercept is
.
The -intercept can be found by substituting 0 for
:
The -intercept is
.
The correct set of intercepts is .
Example Question #7 : Graphing A Quadratic Function
Give the -coordinate of a point of intersection of the graphs of the functions
and
.
The system of equations can be rewritten as
.
We can set the two expressions in equal to each other and solve:
We can substitute back into the equation , and see that either
or
. The latter value is the correct choice.
All GMAT Math Resources
