PSAT Math Multiple-Choice Question 585: Answer and Explanation

Question: 585

What is the value of x?

• A. 0
• B. 1
• C. 2
• D. 3

Correct Answer: B

Explanation:

(B) This is probably easiest to solve by plugging in the answers. Start with choice (B) or choice (C) as your first attempt since the answers are in order from smallest to largest. (Note that n⁰ = 1 since anything to the zero power is 1.) If you plug in 1 for x, it works:

You can also solve the problem algebraically, but doing so may take more time:

Multiply by x: