New SAT Writing and Language : New SAT

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for New SAT Writing and Language

varsity tutors app store varsity tutors android store

Example Questions

Example Question #231 : New Sat

How many times does the equation below cross the x-axis?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

You can solve this problem two ways. 

3. You can solve for where the graph crosses the x-axis by setting the equation equal to zero, factoring, and solving. 

 

2. You can quickly sketch the graph by choosing some x values and solving for y.

Screen shot 2015 11 29 at 8.54.53 pmGraph1

 

We see that the graph passes the x-axis twice. 

 

Example Question #232 : New Sat

Simplify the expression by rationalizing the denominator, and write the result in standard form: 

Possible Answers:


Correct answer:

Explanation:

Multiply both numerator and denominator by the complex conjugate of the denominator, which is :

Example Question #233 : New Sat

Find the solutions for 

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The first step is to set it equal to zero.

Now we will use the quadratic formula.

In this case 

 

 

Example Question #234 : New Sat

 and  are similar triangles.  The perimeter of Triangle A is 45” and the length of two of its sides are 15” and 10”.  If the perimeter of Triangle B is 135” and what are lengths of two of its sides?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The perimeter is equal to the sum of the three sides.  In similar triangles, each side is in proportion to its correlating side.  The perimeters are also in equal proportion.

Perimeter A = 45” and perimeter B = 135”

The proportion of Perimeter A to Perimeter B is

This applies to the sides of the triangle.  Therefore to get the any side of Triangle B, just multiply the correlating side by 3.

15” x 3 = 45”

10” x 3 = 30“

 

 

Screen shot 2016 02 16 at 10.45.30 am

Example Question #235 : New Sat

Triangle

If  and , what is the length of ?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

AB is the leg adjacent to Angle A and BC is the leg opposite Angle A.

Since we have a  triangle, the opposites sides of those angles will be in the ratio .

Here, we know the side opposite the sixty degree angle. Thus, we can set that value equal to .

which also means

Example Question #54 : New Sat Math No Calculator

Find the solutions to 

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

First step is to set it equal to zero

Now factor out an 

Set up the equations, and solve for .

 

Example Question #236 : New Sat

2x+y-3z=-6

y+2z=5

2x+5z=19

Find the value of x.

Possible Answers:

3

1

2

-1

Correct answer:

2

Explanation:

Subtracting the second equation from the first, we acquire 2x-5z=-11.

Adding this equation to the third equation, we get 4x=8.

Therefore, x=2.

Example Question #1 : Direct And Inverse Variation

The temperature at the surface of the ocean is . At  meters below the surface, the ocean temperature is . By how much does the temperature decrease for every  meters below the ocean's surface?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

This may seem confusing, but is pretty straightforward.

 

Thus, for every 125 meters below the surface, the temperature decreases by one degree.

To find how much it decreases with every 100 meters, we need to do the following:

Thus, the temperature decreases by  every 100 meters.

Example Question #56 : New Sat Math No Calculator

Let  be a number. Increasing  by twenty percent yields that same result as decreasing the product of four and  by five. Calculate the value of .

Possible Answers:

None of these

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The problem tells us that increasing  by twenty percent gives us the same thing that we would get if we decreased the product of four and  by five. We need to find expressions for these two situations, and then we can set them equal and solve for .

Let's find an expression for increasing  by twenty percent. We could represent this as the following:

Let's find an expression for decreasing the product of four and  by five. First, we must find the product of four and , which can be written as . Then we must decrease this by five, so we must subtract five from , which could be written as the following:

Now we must set the two expressions equal to one another.

Subtract  from both sides. We can rewrite  as  so that it has a common denominator with  

Now we can add five to both sides.

Now we can multiply both sides by , which is the reciprocal of 

The answer is:

Example Question #57 : New Sat Math No Calculator

Solve the following system of equations:

What is the sum of  and ?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

This problem can be solved by using substitution.  Write the first equation  in terms of  and substitute it into the second equation.

So  and thus  and solving for  and then .

So the sum of  and  is 7.

Learning Tools by Varsity Tutors