SAT Mathematics : Solving Linear Equations

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for SAT Mathematics

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Example Questions

Example Question #1 : Solving Linear Equations

If \(\displaystyle 3x=27\), what is the value of \(\displaystyle 2x+1\)?

Possible Answers:

9

23

13

19

Correct answer:

19

Explanation:

The first step on this problem is to take the equation you're given, \(\displaystyle 3x=27\), and solve for \(\displaystyle x\). To do that, divide both sides by \(\displaystyle 3\) to arrive at \(\displaystyle x=9\). Importantly, recognize that the question is not asking for the value of \(\displaystyle x\), but rather for the value of the expression \(\displaystyle 2x+1\). To find that answer, plug in \(\displaystyle x=9\) and the expression will look like \(\displaystyle 2(9)+1\). This then equals \(\displaystyle 18+1=19\), making the correct answer \(\displaystyle 19\).

Example Question #1 : Solving Linear Equations

If \(\displaystyle \frac{3}{x}=12\), then what is the value of \(\displaystyle x\)?

Possible Answers:

0.25

12

36

4

Correct answer:

0.25

Explanation:

Whenever you're solving for a variable in an equation that has fractions, it's a good first step to multiply both sides by the denominator to get all the variables and values outside of the fractions. Here that means. multiplying both sides by \(\displaystyle x\) to get \(\displaystyle 3=12x\).

Next, you have a linear equation in which the variable has a coefficient, so divide by the coefficient to isolate the variable. If you divide both sides by \(\displaystyle 12\), you then have: \(\displaystyle \frac{3}{12}=x\). You can then reduce the fraction \(\displaystyle \frac{3}{12}\) to \(\displaystyle \frac{1}{4}\), and since the answer choices only use integers and decimals, you can convert the fraction to the proper decimal, \(\displaystyle 0.25\)

Example Question #2 : Solving Linear Equations

If \(\displaystyle 4x=28\), what is the value of \(\displaystyle 2x-3\)?

Possible Answers:

11

3

7

14

Correct answer:

11

Explanation:

The first step on this problem is to use the equation that you're provided so that you can solve for \(\displaystyle x\). To do so, take \(\displaystyle 4x=28\) and divide both sides by \(\displaystyle 4\). That leaves you with \(\displaystyle x=7\). Of course, the question doesn't ask you for the value of \(\displaystyle x\), but rather the value of \(\displaystyle 2x-3\). So plug in \(\displaystyle x=7\) and the expression looks like: \(\displaystyle 2(7)-3\) which is \(\displaystyle 14-3\). That simplifies to \(\displaystyle 11\), giving you your final answer.

Example Question #1 : Solving Linear Equations

If \(\displaystyle \frac{y}{3x}=\frac{1}{9}\), what is the value of \(\displaystyle \frac{x}{y}\) ?

Possible Answers:

\(\displaystyle 3\)

\(\displaystyle 9\)

\(\displaystyle \frac{1}{3}\)

\(\displaystyle \frac{1}{9}\)

Correct answer:

\(\displaystyle 3\)

Explanation:

Note that this problem does not ask you to solve for a particular variable, but instead a particular fraction or ratio, \(\displaystyle \frac{x}{y}\). For that reason, your goal as you perform algebra should be to isolate the ratio of \(\displaystyle x\) and \(\displaystyle y\). You can do that by multiplying both sides by \(\displaystyle 3\). That gives you:

\(\displaystyle \frac{y}{x}=\frac{3}{9}\), which simplifies to \(\displaystyle \frac{y}{x}=\frac{1}{3}\).  

You can then just flip each fraction (in doing so, you're doing the same thing to both sides, namely taking the reciprocal), to get:

\(\displaystyle \frac{x}{y}=\frac{3}{1}\), which simplifies to \(\displaystyle \frac{x}{y}=3\).

Example Question #4 : Solving Linear Equations

If \(\displaystyle \frac{2x}{r}=8\) and \(\displaystyle r=3\), what is the value of \(\displaystyle x\)?

Possible Answers:

-6

6

0

12

Correct answer:

12

Explanation:

Whenever the SAT asks you to solve for the value of a variable, you have two options: you can either use your answers as assets and backsolve, or you can solve for the variable directly. In this case, both are equally good options, and you should use whichever method is most comfortable. Generally, however, solving directly is usually the best option on the SAT non-calculator section.

If you substitute the value \(\displaystyle r=3\) into the equation given, it becomes:

\(\displaystyle \frac{2x}{3}=8\)

Then you can decide whether to solve directly or plug in the answer choices. If you solve directly, then multiply both sides by \(\displaystyle 3\) to eliminate the denominator, yielding:

\(\displaystyle 2x=24\)

Your final step is then to divide both sides by \(\displaystyle 2\) and you have \(\displaystyle x=12\).

If you were to plug in the answer choices, you would find that only \(\displaystyle x=12\) would work, as \(\displaystyle \frac{2(12)}{3}=\frac{24}{3}=8\).

Example Question #2 : Solving Linear Equations

If \(\displaystyle x+2x+3x+4=x+x-8\), what is the value of \(\displaystyle x\)?

Possible Answers:

2

-1

-3

4

Correct answer:

-3

Explanation:

The first key to this problem is to combine like terms; each side of the equation has multiple \(\displaystyle x\) terms for you to sum to simplify the equation.  Your streamlined equation should look like:

\(\displaystyle 6x+4=2x-8\)

Now you can get all the \(\displaystyle x\) terms on one side and all the numeric terms on the other so that you're ready to solve. That means subtracting \(\displaystyle 2x\) and \(\displaystyle 4\) from each side, yielding:

\(\displaystyle 4x=-12\)

Then you can divide both sides by \(\displaystyle 4\) to arrive at your final answer:

\(\displaystyle x=-3\)

Example Question #3 : Solving Linear Equations

If \(\displaystyle 6x+3=6\), then what is the value of \(\displaystyle 4x+2\)?

Possible Answers:

2

3

4

5

Correct answer:

4

Explanation:

To solve this problem algebraically, take the given equation and subtract \(\displaystyle 3\) from both sides to isolate the \(\displaystyle x\) term. That gives you:

\(\displaystyle 6x=3\)

Then you can divide both sides by \(\displaystyle 6\) to yield:

\(\displaystyle x=\frac{3}{6}=\frac{1}{2}\)

When you plug in \(\displaystyle x=\frac{1}{2}\) to \(\displaystyle 4x+2\), that gives you \(\displaystyle 4(\frac{1}{2})+2\), which is \(\displaystyle 2+2=4\).

Example Question #21 : Linear Algebra

\(\displaystyle 3(m-1)+8(m+1)=12m\)

What is the value of \(\displaystyle m\) in the equation above?

Possible Answers:

8

5

3

0

Correct answer:

5

Explanation:

To solve this problem algebraically, distribute the multiplication across each set of parentheses, remembering to multiply each term within the parentheses by its coefficient. That gives you:

\(\displaystyle 3m -3+8m+8=12m\)

Then you can combine like terms on the left side, since you have two \(\displaystyle m\) terms and two numeric terms. That simplifies to:

\(\displaystyle 11m+5=12m\)

From there, subtract \(\displaystyle 11m\) from both sides and you have your answer, \(\displaystyle m=5\).

 

Example Question #4 : Solving Linear Equations

If \(\displaystyle 7p+2=9p-14\), what is the value of \(\displaystyle 3p+5\)?

Possible Answers:

17

21

33

29

Correct answer:

29

Explanation:

To solve this problem, first perform algebra on the given equation to isolate the \(\displaystyle p\) terms on one side of the equation and the numeric terms on the other. That means subtracting \(\displaystyle 7p\) from both sides and adding \(\displaystyle 14\) to both sides to get:

\(\displaystyle 16=2p\)

You can then divide both sides by \(\displaystyle 2\) to realize that \(\displaystyle p=8\).

Now, notice that the question did not ask you for the value of \(\displaystyle p\), but rather for the value of \(\displaystyle 3p+5\). So you now need to plug in \(\displaystyle 8\) for \(\displaystyle p\) to finish the job: \(\displaystyle 3(8)+5=24+5=29\)

Example Question #2 : Solving Linear Equations

If \(\displaystyle \frac{3x}{8}=30\), then what is the value of \(\displaystyle 2x-1\)?

Possible Answers:

171

141

129

159

Correct answer:

159

Explanation:

To answer this problem, you need to first solve for \(\displaystyle x\) in the given equation. You can first multiply each side by \(\displaystyle 8\) to eliminate the denominator, yielding:

\(\displaystyle 3x=240\)

Then divide each side by \(\displaystyle 3\) to isolate \(\displaystyle x\):

\(\displaystyle x=80\)

Now you can plug in \(\displaystyle 80\) for \(\displaystyle x\) in the given expression. That yields: 

\(\displaystyle 2(80)-1=160-1=159\)

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