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PSAT/NMSQT Practice Test #1 Math Test – No Calculator Answer Explanations

Question 13

In the xy-plane, if the parabola with equation y = ax2 + bx + c, where a, b,

and c are constants, passes through the point (−1, 1), which of the
following must be true?
A) a − b = 1
B) −b + c = 1
C) a + b + c = 1
D) a − b + c = 1

Item Difficulty: Hard

Content: Passport to Advanced Math
Correct Answer: D

Choice D is the correct answer. If the graph of a parabola passes through the point
(−1, 1), then the ordered pair (−1, 1) must satisfy the equation of the parabola.
2
Thus, 1 = a (- 1) + b (- 1) + c , which is equivalent to a - b + c = 1.

Choices A, B, and C are incorrect and could result from misinterpreting what it
means for the point (–1, 1) to be on the parabola or from common calculation
errors while expressing this fact algebraically.
These are the directions students will see in the test for the Student-Produced
Response questions.

Question 14

Item Difficulty: Easy

Content: Heart of Algebra
Correct Answer: 300

The correct answer is 300. To solve the given equation for h, first add 6 to both
h
sides of the equation to get 30 =
10 . Then multiply both sides of this equation by
10 to yield h = 300.

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Question 15
2

What is the value of a if (2a + 3) − (4a − 8) = 7 ?

Item Difficulty: Medium

Content: Heart of Algebra
Correct Answer: 2

The correct answer is 2. The equation given can be rewritten as 2a + 3 – 4a + 8 = 7,

which is equivalent to–2a + 11 = 7, and so a = 2.

Question 16
3

Item Difficulty: Medium

Content: Passport to Advanced Math
Correct Answer: 9
4(9 x 2 )
The correct answer is 9. Multiplying out the given expression gives . Since
4x2
2
x ≠ 0, dividing both the numerator and the denominator of the fraction by 4x
simplifies the expression to 9.

Question 17 4
If x − 2 is a factor of x2 − bx + b, where b is a constant, what is the value of
b?

Item Difficulty: Hard

Content: Passport to Advanced Math
Correct Answer: 4

The correct answer is 4. If x – 2 is a factor of x2 – bx + b, where b is a constant, then

x2 – bx + b can be written as the product (x – 2)(x – a) for some real number a.
Expanding (x – 2)(x – a) gives x2 – 2x – ax+ 2a, which can be rewritten as
x2 – (2 + a)x + 2a. Hence, x2 – (2 + a)x + 2a = x2 – bx + b is true for all values of x.
Consequently, the coefficients of like terms on each side of the equation must be
the same: 2 + a = b and 2a = b. Solving this system gives b = 4.

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Alternatively: Since x – 2 is a factor of x2 – bx + b and (x – 2)2 = x2 – 4x + 4,one can

correctly conclude that the value of b is 4.

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Question 28
5

The xy-plane above shows one of the two points of intersection of the
graphs of a linear function and a quadratic function. The shown point of
intersection has coordinates (v,w). If the vertex of the graph of the
quadratic function is at (4, 19), what is the value of v ?

Item Difficulty: Medium

Content: Passport to Advanced Math
The correct answer is 6.

Since the vertex of the graph of the quadratic function is at (4, 19), the equation of
the parabola is of the form y = a(x – 4)2 + 19. It is also given that the parabola
passes through point (0, 3). This means that
a(3 – 4)2 + 19, and so a = –1. So the graph of the parabola is y = –(x – 4)2 + 19.

Since the line passes through the points (0, –9) and (2, –1), one can calculate the

slope of the line (

- 1 - ( - 9)
2- 0 )
= 4 that passes through these points and write the

equation of the line in the slope-intercept form as y = 4x – 9.

The coordinates of the intersection points of the line and the parabola satisfy both
the equation of the parabola and the equation of the line. Therefore, these
coordinates are the solutions to the system of equations below:

y = 4x – 9
y = –(x – 4)2 + 19

2
Substituting 4x – 9 for y into the second equation gives 4x – 9 = –(x – 4) + 19, which
is equivalent to x2 – 4x – 12 = 0. After factoring, this equation can be rewritten as

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(x – 6)(x + 2) = 0, and so x = 6 or x = –2. Since point (v, w) is on the right side of the
y-axis, it follows that v cannot be –2. Therefore, v = 6.

Question 296
In a college archaeology class, 78 students are going to a dig site to find
and study artifacts. The dig site has been divided into 24 sections, and each
section will be studied by a group of either 2 or 4 students. How many of
the sections will be studied by a group of 2 students?

Item Difficulty: Hard

Content: Heart of Algebra
The correct answer is 9.

Let x be the number of sections that will be studied by 2 students and y be the
number of sections that will be studied by 4 students. Since there are 24 sections
that will be studied by 78 students, it follows that x + y = 24 and 2x + 4y = 78.
Solving this system gives x = 9 and y = 15. Therefore, 9 of the sections will be
studied by a group of 2 students.

Alternatively, if all 24 sections were studied by a group of 4 students, then the total
number of students required would be 24 × 4 = 96. Since the actual number of
students is 78, the difference 96 – 78 = 18 represents the number of “missing”
students, and each pair of these “missing” students represents one of the sections
that will be studied by 2 students. Hence, the number of sections that will be
studied by 2 students is equal to the number of pairs that 18 students can form,
18
which is = 9.
2

Questions 30
7 and 31
8 refer to the following information.

An arrow is launched upward with an initial speed of 100 meters per second (m/s). The
equations above describe the constant-acceleration motion of the arrow, where v0 is the
initial speed of the arrow, v is the speed of the arrow as it is moving up in the air, h is the
height of the arrow above the ground, t is the time elapsed since the arrow was projected
upward, and g is the acceleration due to gravity (9.8 m/s2).

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Question 30
7
What is the maximum height from the ground the arrow will rise to the
nearest meter?

Item Difficulty: Hard

Content: Passport to Advanced Math
The correct answer is 510.

As the arrow moves upward, its speed decreases continuously and it becomes 0
when the arrow reaches its maximum height. Using the position-speed equation
and the fact that v = 0 when h is maximum gives 0 = 1002 − 2gh. Solving for h
100 2
gives h =
2(9.8) meters, which to the nearest meter is 510.

Alternatively, the maximum height can be found using the position-time equation.
1
Substituting 100 for v0 and 9.8 for g into this equation gives h = 100t - (9.8)t 2 .
2
Completing the square gives the equivalent equation
100 2 100 2
(
h = - 4.9 t -
9.8) + 4.9( )
9.8
. Therefore, the maximum height from the ground

100 2
the arrow will rise is 4.9( )
9.8 meters, which to the nearest meter is 510.

Question 31
8

How long will it take for the arrow to reach its maximum height to the
nearest tenth of a second?

Item Difficulty: Hard

Content: Passport to Advanced Math
The correct answer is 10.2 seconds (or 51/5 seconds).

As the arrow moves upward, its speed decreases continuously, and it becomes 0
when the arrow reaches its maximum height. Using the speed-time equation and
the fact that v = 0 when h is maximum, we get 0 = 100 – 9.8t.
100
Solving this equation for t gives t = = 10.2041 seconds, which to the nearest
9.8
tenth of a second is 10.2.

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