SSAT Middle Level Math : How to add variables

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for SSAT Middle Level Math

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Example Questions

Example Question #47 : Operations

Rewrite the base-ten number 387 in base five.

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

In base five, each place value is a power of five, starting with 1 at the right, then, going to the left, 

To convert a base ten number to base five, divide the number by the next lowest power of five, then divide each remainder by progressively lower powers.

Since , we start by dividing 387 by 125, and continue accordingly:

The base five equivalent of 387 is 

Example Question #48 : Operations

Maria teaches an art class. She makes $35 for each class she teaches, and art supplies are her only expense. How much must the supplies cost if each class is priced at $15 per student, and she always has 3 students in each class?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

If there are 3 students in each of Marie's art classes, and each student pays $15, this means that students are paying Marie $45 in total per class.

We can find the expense of the supplies by subtracting the amount Maria makes from the amount that the students pay her. The students pay her $45, but she only makes $35 per class.

The supplies must cost her $10.

Example Question #31 : How To Add Variables

Joey's teacher takes off 5 points from student essays each day the essay is late. The essays are scored out of 100 points. If Joey's essay got a score of 68, but he turned it in 3 days late, what would his score have been if he had turned the essay in on time?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Given that Joey's essay was 3 days late, he lost 15 points. This is because he loses 5 points for each day that it is late, and having turned it in 3 days late, lost 15 points. 

Joey's final score (68) will be equal to his original grade, minus the penalty.

If we add 15 to the score that ultimately received, the sum is 83.

If Joey had turned his essay in on time, he would have earned a score of 83. 

Example Question #115 : Ssat Middle Level Quantitative (Math)

Write in base ten:

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

In base five, each place value is a power of five, starting with 1 at the right, then, going to the left, 

 can be calculated in base ten as

.

 

 

Example Question #172 : Algebraic Concepts

Annie ran  miles on Wednesday. She ran  more miles on Thursday than she did on Wednesday. On Friday, she ran a distance in miles that was  longer than the distance she ran on Wednesday. On Saturday, she ran a distance in miles that was  longer than the distance she ran on Thursday. What is the total number of miles that Annie ran, Wednesday through Saturday?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

On Wednesday, Annie ran  miles.

She ran  more miles on Thursday than she did on Wednesday. Therefore, she ran  miles on Thursday.

On Friday, she ran a distance in miles that was  longer than the distance she ran on Wednesday.  of  miles is  mile. (You can figure this out by realizing that since  of  is  and  is half of  of  must be half of , which is .) , so Annie ran  miles on Friday.

On Saturday, she ran a distance in miles that was  longer than the distance she ran on Thursday. of  is . , so Annie ran  miles on Saturday. 

The sum of these distances is equal to

Annie ran  miles in total Wednesday through Saturday.

Example Question #32 : How To Add Variables

Bob and Anita drove cross country together. If Bob drove  miles on the trip, and Anita drove twice as many miles as Bob, how many miles total did they drive together?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

If Bob drove  miles, and Anita drove twice as many miles as Bob, then Anita drove  miles; therefore, the sum of the miles that they drove together would be 3J. 

Thus, the correct answer is

Example Question #1 : Apply Properties Of Operations To Expand Linear Expressions With Rational Coefficients: Ccss.Math.Content.7.Ee.A.1

If  is added to  of another number, the result is . What is the other number?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The first step is to translate the words, "if  is added to  of another number, the result is ," into an equation. This gives us:

Subtract  from each side. 

Multiply each side by

Therefore,  is the correct answer. 

Example Question #33 : How To Add Variables

Jack has a collection of coins. He gives Brett most of his collection, such that Brett now has twice as many coins as Jack. If there are 36 coins in the collection, how many coins does Jack now have?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

If Jack has a collection of 36 coins and gives Brett most of his collection, such that Brett now has twice as many coins as Jack, this problem can be solved by dividing the total into 3 equal parts, giving 2 of the parts to Brett and one of the parts to Jack

: this is Jack's part

: this is Brett's part

Example Question #34 : How To Add Variables

If , what is the value of ?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

In solving for  the first step is to substitute  for , given that .

Next, the parentheses are solved for. 

This simplifies to , the correct answer. 

Example Question #33 : How To Add Variables

Simplify the expression below,

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

In order to simplify the expression we have to look at the like terms. We must group the variables that are alike. 

For example,

This is the simplest form of the problem it can no longer be simplified because variables a and b have different values or unknown values. 

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