SAT II Math I : Functions and Graphs

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for SAT II Math I

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Example Questions

Example Question #13 : Equations / Solution Sets

Determine where the graphs of the following equations will intersect.

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

We can solve the system of equations using the substitution method.

Solve for  in the second equation.

Substitute this value of  into the first equation.

Now we can solve for .

Solve for  using the first equation with this new value of .

The solution is the ordered pair .

 

Example Question #1 : Graphing Linear Functions

Axes_1

Refer to the line in the above diagram. It we were to continue to draw it so that it intersects the -axis, where would its -intercept be?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

First, we need to find the slope of the line.

In order to move from the lower left point to the upper right point, it is necessary to move up five units and right three units. This is a rise of 5 and a run of 3. makes the slope of the line shown .

We can use this to find the -intercept  using the slope formula as follows:

The lower left point has coordinates . Therefore, we can set up and solve for  in this slope formula, setting :

 

Example Question #3 : Graphing Linear Functions

Line  includes the points  and . Line  includes the points  and . Which of the following statements is true of these lines?

Possible Answers:

The lines are identical.

The lines are perpendicular.

The lines are parallel.

The lines are distinct but neither parallel nor perpendicular.

Insufficient information is given to answer this question.

Correct answer:

The lines are parallel.

Explanation:

We calculate the slopes of the lines using the slope formula.

The slope of line  is 

The slope of line  is 

The lines have the same slope, making them either parallel or identical.

Since the slope of each line is 0, both lines are horizontal, and the equation of each takes the form , where  is the -coordinate of each point on the line. Therefore, line  and line  have equations  and .This makes them parallel lines.

Example Question #2 : Graphing Inequalities

Inequalities

 

Refer to the above diagram. which of the following compound inequality statements has this set of points as its graph?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

A horizontal line has equation  for some value of ; since the line goes through a point with -coordinate 3, the line is . Also, since the line is solid and the region above this line is shaded in, the corresponding inequality is .

A vertical line has equation  for some value of ; since the line goes through a point with -coordinate 4, the line is . Also, since the line is solid and the region right of this line is shaded in, the corresponding inequality is .

Since only the region belonging to both sets is shaded - that is, their intersection is shaded - the statements are connected with "and". The correct choice is .

Example Question #1 : Graphing Inequalities

Inequality

Which of the following inequalities is graphed above?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

First, we determine the equation of the boundary line. This line includes points  and  , so the slope can be calculated as follows:

Since we also know the -intercept is , we can substitute  in the slope-intercept form to obtain the equation of the boundary line:

The boundary is included, as is indicated by the line being solid, so the equality symbol is replaced by either  or . To find out which one, we can test a point in the solution set - for ease, we will choose :

 _____ 

  _____ 

  _____ 

0 is less than 3 so the correct symbol is 

The inequality is .

Example Question #11 : Graphing Linear Functions

Select the equation of the line perpendicular to the graph of .

Possible Answers:

None of these.

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Lines are perpendicular when their slopes are the negative recicprocals of each other such as . To find the slope of our equation we must change it to slope y-intercept form.

Subtract the x variable from both sides:

Divide by 4 to isolate y:

The negative reciprocal of the above slope:  . The only equation with this slope is 

Example Question #2 : Graphing Linear Functions

An individual's maximum heart rate can be found by subtracting his or her age from . Which graph correctly expresses this relationship between years of age and maximum heart rate?

Possible Answers:

Screen_shot_2015-02-14_at_6.31.44_pm

Screen_shot_2015-02-14_at_6.24.06_pm

Screen_shot_2015-02-14_at_6.24.18_pm

Screen_shot_2015-02-14_at_6.24.40_pm

Screen_shot_2015-02-14_at_6.31.38_pm

Correct answer:

Screen_shot_2015-02-14_at_6.24.06_pm

Explanation:

In  form, where y = maximum heart rate and x = age, we can express the relationship as: 

We are looking for a graph with a slope of -1 and a y-intercept of 220.

The slope is -1 because as you grow one year older, your maximum heart rate decreases by 1.

Example Question #411 : Sat Subject Test In Math I

Which of the following graphs correctly depicts the graph of the inequality  

Possible Answers:

Question_8_correct

Question_8_incorrect_3

None of the graphs.

Question_8_incorrect_2

Question_8_incorrect_1

Correct answer:

Question_8_correct

Explanation:

Let's start by looking at the given equation:

The inequality is written in slope-intercept form; therefore, the slope is equal to  and the y-intercept is equal to .

All of the graphs depict a line with slope of  and y-intercept . Next, we need to decide if we should shade above or below the line. To do this, we can determine if the statement is true using the origin . If the origin satisfies the inequality, we will know to shade below the line. Substitute the values into the given equation and solve.

Because this statement is true, the origin must be included in the shaded region, so we shade below the line.

Finally, a statement that is "less than" or "greater than" requires a dashed line in the graph. On the other hand, those that are "greater than or equal to" or "less than or equal to" require a solid line. We will select the graph with shading below a dashed line.

Question_8_correct

Example Question #1 : Graphing Quadratic Functions

Give the -coordinate of the vertex of the parabola of the function

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The -coordinate of the vertex of a parabola of the form 

is

.

Set :

The -coordinate is therefore :

, which is the correct choice.

 

Example Question #2 : Graphing Quadratic Functions

Give the -intercept(s) of the parabola of the equation

 

Possible Answers:

The parabola has no -intercept.

 and 

 and 

 and 

Correct answer:

 and 

Explanation:

Set  and solve for :

The terms have a GCF of 2, so

The trinomial in parentheses can be FOILed out by noting that  and :

Set each of the linear binomials to 0 and solve for :

or

The parabola has as its two intercepts the points  and .

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