SAT II Math I : SAT Subject Test in Math I

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

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Example Questions

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 #862 : Algebra Ii

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

Possible Answers:

Question_8_incorrect_1

Question_8_incorrect_2

None of the graphs.

Question_8_correct

Question_8_incorrect_3

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 #1 : 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 .

Example Question #3 : Graphing Quadratic Functions

All of the following are equations of down-facing parabolas EXCEPT:

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

A parabola that opens downward has the general formula

,

as the negative sign in front of the  term makes flips the parabola about the horizontal axis.  

By contrast, a parabola of the form rotates about the vertical axis, not the horizontal axis. 

Therefore, is not the equation for a parabola that opens downward.

Example Question #4 : Graphing Quadratic Functions

Consider the equation:

The vertex of this parabolic function would be located at:

 

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

For any parabola, the general equation is

, and the x-coordinate of its vertex is given by

.

For the given problem, the x-coordinate is

.

To find the y-coordinate, plug  into the original equation:

Therefore the vertex is at .

Example Question #1 : Graphing Parabolas

In which direction does graph of the parabola described by the above equation open?

Possible Answers:

down

left

up

right

Correct answer:

right

Explanation:

Parabolas can either be in the form

for vertical parabolas or in the form

for horizontal parabolas. Since the equation that the problem gives us has a y-squared term, but not an x-squared term, we know this is a horizontal parabola. The rules for a horizontal parabola are as follows:

  • If , then the horizontal parabola opens to the right.
  • If , then the horizontal parabola opens to the left.

In this case, the coefficient in front of the y-squared term is going to be positive, once we isolate x. That makes this a horizontal parabola that opens to the right.

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