SAT II Math I : Mathematical Relationships

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

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Example Questions

Example Question #11 : Exponents And Logarithms

Evaluate:  

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

An exponential base raised to the natural log will eliminate, leaving only the terms of the power.  This is a log rule that can be used to simplify the expression.

Distribute the x variable through the binomial.

The answer is:  

Example Question #21 : Mathematical Relationships

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

By the Power of a Power and Product of Power Rules, we can rewrite this equation as

Substitute  for ; the resulting equation is the quadratic equation

,

which can be written in standard form by subtracting  from both sides:

The quadratic trinomial fits the perfect square trinomial pattern:

By the square root principle,

Substituting  for :

Example Question #61 : Sat Subject Test In Math I

Solve for  (round to the nearest hundredth):

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Take the natural logarithm of both sides:

By Logarithm of a Power Rule, the above becomes

After distributing, solve for :

Factor out the left side, then divide:

Substituting the values of the logarithms:

This rounds to 0.45.

Example Question #62 : Sat Subject Test In Math I

Solve for :

Possible Answers:

No solution

Correct answer:

Explanation:

, so the equation 

can be rewritten as:

By the Power of a Power rule:

It follows that

Solving for :

Example Question #1 : Absolute Value

Define an operation  on the set of real numbers as follows:

For any two real numbers 

Evaluate the expression

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Substitute  in the expression:

Example Question #1 : Absolute Value

Simplify the following expression:

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

To simplify, we must first simplify the absolute values.

Now, combine like terms:

Example Question #3 : Absolute Value

Solve for .

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

To solve for x we need to make two separate equations. Since it has absolute value bars around it we know that the inside can equal either 7 or -7 before the asolute value is applied.

               

                       

                          

Example Question #4 : Absolute Value

The absolute value of a negative can be positive or negative. True or false?

Possible Answers:

True

False

Correct answer:

False

Explanation:

The absolute value of a number is the points away from zero on a number line.  

Since this is a countable value, you cannot count a negative number.  

This makes all absolute values positive and also make the statement above false.

Example Question #1 : Absolute Value

Consider the quadratic equation

Which of the following absolute value equations has the same solution set?

Possible Answers:

None of the other choices gives the correct response.

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Rewrite the quadratic equation in standard form by subtracting  from both sides:

Factor this as

where the squares represent two integers with sum  and product 14. Through some trial and error, we find that  and  work:

By the Zero Product Principle, one of these factors must be equal to 0. 

If  then ;

if  then .

The given equation has solution set , so we are looking for an absolute value equation with this set as well.

This equation can take the form

This can be rewritten as the compound equation

   

Adding  to both sides of each equation, the solution set is 

 and 

Setting these numbers equal in value to the desired solutions, we get the linear system

Adding and solving for :

      

Backsolving to find :

The desired absolute value equation is .

Example Question #1 : Absolute Value

What is the value of: ?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Step 1: Evaluate ...

Step 2: Apply the minus sign inside the absolute value to the answer in Step 1...

Step 3: Define absolute value...

The absolute value of any value  is always positive, unless there is an extra negation outside (sometimes)..

Step 4: Evaluate...

 

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