How to find the solution to an equation - PSAT Math

Card 0 of 20

Question

If 6_x_ = 42 and xk = 2, what is the value of k?

Answer

Solve the first equation for x by dividing both sides of the equation by 6; the result is 7. Solve the second equation for k by dividing both sides of the equation by x, which we now know is 7. The result is 2/7.

Compare your answer with the correct one above

Question

If 4_x_ + 5 = 13_x_ + 4 – x – 9, then x = ?

Answer

Start by combining like terms.

4_x_ + 5 = 13_x_ + 4 – x – 9

4_x_ + 5 = 12_x_ – 5

–8_x_ = –10

x = 5/4

Compare your answer with the correct one above

Question

If 3 – 3_x_ < 20, which of the following could not be a value of x?

Answer

First we solve for x.

Subtracting 3 from both sides gives us –3_x_ < 17.

Dividing by –3 gives us x > –17/3.

–6 is less than –17/3.

Compare your answer with the correct one above

Question

Let x be a number. Increasing x by twenty percent yields that same result as decreasing the product of four and x by five. What is x?

Answer

The problem tells us that increasing x by twenty percent gives us the same thing that we would get if we decreased the product of four and x by five. We need to find expressions for these two situations, and then we can set them equal and solve for x.

Let's find an expression for increasing x by twenty percent. We could represent this as x + 20%x = x + 0.2x = 1.2x = 6x/5.

Let's find an expression for decreasing the product of four and x by five. First, we must find the product of four and x, which can be written as 4x. Then we must decrease this by five, so we must subtract five from 4x, which could be written as 4x - 5.

Now we must set the two expressions equal to one another.

6x/5 = 4x - 5

Subtract 6x/5 from both sides. We can rewrite 4x as 20x/5 so that it has a common denominator with 6x/5.

0 = 20x/5 - 6x/5 - 5 = 14x/5 - 5

0 = 14x/5 - 5

Now we can add five to both sides.

5 = 14x/5

Now we can multiply both sides by 5/14, which is the reciprocal of 14/5.

5(5/14) = (14x/5)(5/14) = x

25/14 = x

The answer is 25/14.

Compare your answer with the correct one above

Question

If 4_xs = v, v = ks , and sv ≠_ 0, which of the following is equal to k ?

Answer

This question gives two equalities and one inequality. The inequality (sv ≠ 0) simply says that neither s nor v is 0. The two equalities tell us that 4_xs and ks are both equal to v, which means that 4_xs_ and ks must be equal to each other--that is, 4_xs_ = ks. Dividing both sides by s gives 4_x_ = k, which is our solution.

Compare your answer with the correct one above

Question

Luke purchased a tractor for $1200. The value of the tractor decreases by 25 percent each year. The value, , in dollars, of the tractor at years from the date of purchase is given by the function .

In how many years from the date of purchase will the value of the tractor be $675?

Answer

We are looking for the value of t that gives $675 as the result when plugged in V (t ). While there are many ways to do this, one of the fastest is to plug in the answer choices as values of t .

When we plug t = 1 into _V (_t ), we get V (1) = 1200(0.75)1 = 1000(0.75) = $900, which is incorrect.

When we plug t = 2 into V (t ), we get V (2) = 1200(0.75)2 = $675, so this is our solution.

The value of the tractor will be $675 after 2 years.

Finally, we can see that if t = 3, 4, or 5, the resulting values of the V (t ) are all incorrect.

Compare your answer with the correct one above

Question

If 2x2(5-x)(3x+2) = 0, then what is the sum of all of the possible values of x?

Answer

Since we are told that 2x2(5-x)(3x+2) = 0, in order to find x, we must let each of the factors of our equation equal zero. The equation is already factored for us, which means that our factors are 2x2, (5-x), and (3x+2). We must let each of these equal zero separately, and these will give us the possible values of x that satisfy the equation.

Let's look at the factor 2x2 and set it equal to zero.

2x2 = 0

x = 0

Then, let's look at the factor 5-x.

5-x = 0

Add x to both sides

5 = x

x = 5

Finally, we set the last factor equal to zero.

(3x+2) = 0

Subtract two from both sides

3x = -2

Divide both sides by three.

x = -2/3

This means that the possible values of x are 0, 5, or -2/3. The question asks us to find the sum of these values.

0 + 5 + -2/3

5 + -2/3

Remember to find a common denominator of 3.

15/3 + -2/3 = 13/3.

The answer is 13/3.

Compare your answer with the correct one above

Question

If bx + c = e – ax, then what is x?

Answer

To solve for x:

bx + c = e – ax

bx + ax = e – c

x(b+a) = e-c

x = (e-c) / (b+a)

Compare your answer with the correct one above

Question

Solve for :

Answer

First combine like terms. In this case, 4x and 9x can be added together:

13x + 13 = 0

Subtract 13 from both sides:

13x = -13

Divide both sides by 13 to isolate x:

x = -13/13

x = -1

Compare your answer with the correct one above

Question

√( x2 -7) = 3

What is x?

Answer

To solve, remove the radical by squaring both sides

(√( x2 -7)) 2 = 32

x2 -7 = 9

x2 = 16

x = 4

Compare your answer with the correct one above

Question

√(3x) = 9

What is x?

Answer

To solve, remove the radical by squaring both sides

(√3x) 2 = 92

3x = 81

x = 81/3 = 27

Compare your answer with the correct one above

Question

√(8y) + 18 = 4

What is y?

Answer

First, simplify the equation:

√(8y) + 18 = 4

√(8y) = -14

Then square both sides

(√8y) 2 = -142

8y = 196

y = 196/8 = 24.5

Compare your answer with the correct one above

Question

If y = 4 and 6y = 10z + y, then z = ?

Answer

  1. Substitute y in the equation for 4.
  2. You now have 6 * 4 = 10z + 4
  3. Simplify the equation: 24 = 10z + 4
  4. Subtract 4 from both sides: 24 – 4 = 10z + 4 – 4
  5. You now have 20 = 10z
  6. Divde both sides by 10 to solve for z.
  7. z = 2.

Compare your answer with the correct one above

Question

A sequence of numbers is: 2, 5, 8, 11. Assuming it follows the same pattern, what would be the value of the 20th number?

Answer

This goes up at a constant number between values, making it an arthmetic sequence. The first number is 2, with a difference of 3. Plugging this into the arithmetic equation you get An = 2 + 3 (n – 1). Plugging in 20 for n, you get a value of 59.

Compare your answer with the correct one above

Question

The first four numbers of a sequence are 5, 10, 20, 40. Assuming the pattern continues, what is the 6th term of the sequence?

Answer

Looking at the sequence you can see that it doubles each term, making it a geometric sequence. Since it doubles r = 2 and the first term is 5. Plugging this into the geometric equation you get An = 5(2)n–1. Setting n = 6, you get 160 as the 6th term.

Compare your answer with the correct one above

Question

Given f(x) = x2 – 9. What are the zeroes of the function?

Answer

The zeroes of the equation are where f(x) = 0 (aka x-intercepts). Setting the equation equal to zero you get x2 = 9. Since a square makes a negative number positive, x can be equal to 3 or –3.

Compare your answer with the correct one above

Question

Give the lines y = 0.5x+3 and y=3x-2. What is the y value of the point of intersection?

Answer

In order to solve for the x value you set both equations equal to each other (0.5x+3=3x-2). This gives you the x value for the point of intersection at x=2. Plugging x=2 into either equation gives you y=4.

Compare your answer with the correct one above

Question

Tommy's and Sara's current ages are represented by t and s, respectively. If in five years, Tommy will be twice as old as Sara, which of the following represents t in terms of s?

Answer

Tommy's current age is represented by t, and Sara's is represented by s. In five years, both Tommy's and Sara's ages will be increased by five. Thus, in five years, we can represent Tommy's age as and Sara's as .

The problem tells us that Tommy's age in five years will be twice as great as Sara's in five years. Thus, we can write an algebraic expression to represent the problem as follows:

In order to solve for t, first simplify the right side by distributing the 2.

Then subtract 5 from both sides.

The answer is .

Compare your answer with the correct one above

Question

10 gallons of paint will cover 75 ft2. How many gallons of paint will be required to paint the area of a rectangular wall that has a height of 8 ft and a length of 24 ft?

Answer

First we need the area or the rectangle. 24 * 8 = 192. So now we know that 10 gallons will cover 75 ft2 and x gallons will cover 192 ft2. We set up a simple ratio and cross multiply to find that 75_x_ = 1920.

x = 25.6

Compare your answer with the correct one above

Question

What number decreased by 7 is equal to 10 increased by 7?

Answer

The best way to solve this problem is to translate it into an equation, "decreased" meaning subtract and "increased" meaning add:

x – 7 = 10 + 7

x = 24

Compare your answer with the correct one above

Tap the card to reveal the answer