Question ID 571174f3

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Algebra Systems of two

linear equations in
two variables

ID: 571174f3

In the given system of equations, and are constants. The system has infinitely many solutions. What is the value of ?

ID: 571174f3 Answer

Correct Answer: .2857, 2/7

Rationale

The correct answer is . It’s given that the system has infinitely many solutions. A system of two linear equations has infinitely many solutions if and only if the two linear
equations are equivalent. Multiplying each side of the first equation in the system by yields , or . Since this equation is
equivalent to the second equation and has the same right side as the second equation, the coefficients of and , respectively, should also be the same. It follows that
and . Therefore, the value of is , or . Note that 2/7, .2857, 0.285, and 0.286 are examples of ways to enter a correct answer.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 979c6ebc
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Algebra Systems of two

linear equations in
two variables

ID: 979c6ebc

For each real number , which of the following points lies on the graph of each equation in the xy-plane for the given system?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 979c6ebc Answer

Correct Answer: D
Rationale

Choice D is correct. Dividing each side of the second equation in the given system by yields . It follows that the two equations in the given system are
equivalent and any point that lies on the graph of one equation will also lie on the graph of the other equation. Substituting for in the equation yields
. Subtracting from each side of this equation yields . Dividing each side of this equation by yields . Therefore, the point
lies on the graph of each equation in the xy-plane for each real number .

Choice A is incorrect. Substituting for in the equation yields . Subtracting from each side of this equation yields . Dividing
each side of this equation by yields . Therefore, the point , not the point , lies on the graph of each equation.

Choice B is incorrect. Substituting for in the equation yields . Subtracting from each side of this equation yields . Dividing
each side of this equation by yields . Therefore, the point , not the point , lies on the graph of each equation.

Choice C is incorrect. Substituting for in the equation yields , or . Subtracting from each side of
this equation yields , or . Dividing each side of this equation by yields . Therefore, the point , not
the point , lies on the graph of each equation.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 70feb725
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Algebra Systems of two

linear equations in
two variables

ID: 70feb725

During a month, Morgan ran r miles at 5 miles per hour and biked b miles at 10 miles per hour. She ran and biked a
total of 200 miles that month, and she biked for twice as many hours as she ran. What is the total number of miles
that Morgan biked during the month?

A. 80

B. 100

C. 120

D. 160

ID: 70feb725 Answer

Correct Answer: D
Rationale

Choice D is correct. The number of hours Morgan spent running or biking can be calculated by dividing the distance she traveled during that activity by her speed, in miles per

hour, for that activity. So the number of hours she ran can be represented by the expression , and the number of hours she biked can be represented by the expression .

It’s given that she biked for twice as many hours as she ran, so this can be represented by the equation , which can be rewritten as . It’s also given that
she ran r miles and biked b miles, and that she ran and biked a total of 200 miles. This can be represented by the equation . Substituting for b in this equation
yields , or . Solving for r yields . Determining the number of miles she biked, b, can be found by substituting 40 for r in , which yields
. Solving for b yields .

Choices A, B, and C are incorrect because they don’t satisfy that Morgan biked for twice as many hours as she ran. In choice A, if she biked 80 miles, then she ran 120 miles,
which means she biked for 8 hours and ran for 24 hours. In choice B, if she biked 100 miles, then she ran 100 miles, which means she biked for 10 hours and ran for 20 hours.
In choice C, if she biked 120 miles, then she ran for 80 miles, which means she biked for 12 hours and ran for 16 hours.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID f03465dc
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Algebra Systems of two

linear equations in
two variables

ID: f03465dc

For each real number , which of the following points lies on the graph of each equation in the xy-plane for the given system?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: f03465dc Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is correct. Dividing both sides of the second equation in the given system by yields , which is the first equation in the given system. Therefore, the
first and second equations represent the same line in the xy-plane. If the x- and y-coordinates of a point satisfy an equation, the point lies on the graph of the equation in the
xy-plane. Choice A is a point with x-coordinate and y-coordinate . Substituting for and for in the equation yields
. Applying the distributive property to the left-hand side of this equation yields . Combining like terms on the left-hand side of this
equation yields , so the coordinates of the point satisfy both equations in the given system. Therefore, for each real number , the point
lies on the graph of each equation in the xy-plane for the given system.

Choice B is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors. Choice C is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Choice D is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 75012ee7
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Math Algebra Systems of two

linear equations in
two variables

ID: 75012ee7

For each real number , which of the following points lies on the graph of each equation in the xy-plane for the given system?

A.

B.

C.

D.

ID: 75012ee7 Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is correct. The two given equations are equivalent because the second equation can be obtained from the first equation by multiplying each side of the equation by
. Thus, the graphs of the equations are coincident, so if a point lies on the graph of one of the equations, it also lies on the graph of the other equation. A point lies on
the graph of an equation in the xy-plane if and only if this point represents a solution to the equation. It is sufficient, therefore, to find the point that represents a solution to the
first given equation. Substituting the x- and y-coordinates of choice B, and , for and , respectively, in the first equation yields , which is
equivalent to , or . Therefore, the point represents a solution to the first equation and thus lies on the graph of each equation in the
xy-plane for the given system.

Choice A is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors. Choice C is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Choice D is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Question Difficulty: Hard