PSAT Math Multiple-Choice Practice Test 22

1. One function of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is to reduce air pollution. After implementing several pollution reduction programs in a certain city, EPA calculated that the air pollution should decrease by approximately 8 percent each year. What kind of function could be used to model the amount of air pollution in this city over the next several years, assuming no other significant changes?

2. Escape velocity is the speed that a traveling object needs to break free of a planet or moon's gravitational field without additional propulsion (for example, without using fuel). The formula used to calculate escape velocity is , where G represents the universal gravitational constant, m is the mass of the body from which the object is escaping, and r is the distance between the object and the body's center of gravity. Which equation represents the value of r in terms of v, G, and m ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

3. A movie rental kiosk dispenses DVDs and Blu-rays. DVDs cost $2.00 per night and Blu-rays cost $3.50 per night. Between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Saturday, the kiosk dispensed 209 movies and collected $562.00. Solving which system of equations would yield the number of DVDs, d, and the number of Blu-rays, b, that the kiosk dispensed during the 4-hour period?

A.

B.

C.

D.

4. The United States Senate has two voting members for each of the 50 states. The 113th Congress had a 4:1 male-to-female ratio in the Senate. Forty-five of the male senators were Republican. Only 20 percent of the female senators were Republican. How many senators in the 113th Congress were Republican?

5. According to the Project on Student Debt prepared by The Institute for College Access and Success, 7 out of 10 students graduating in 2012 from a four-year college in the United States had student loan debt. The average amount borrowed per student was $29,400, which is up from $18,750 in 2004. If student debt experiences the same total percent increase over the next eight years, approximately how much will a college student graduating in 2020 owe, assuming he takes out student loans to pay for his education?

6. Annalisa has 10 beanbags to throw in a game. She gets 7 points if a beanbag lands in the smaller basket and 3 points if it lands in the larger basket. If she gets b beanbags into the larger basket and the rest into the smaller basket, which expression represents her total score?

Questions 7-8 refer to the following information.
In a 2010 poll, surveyors asked registered voters in four different New York voting districts whether they would consider voting to ban fracking in the state. Hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” is a mining process that involves splitting rocks underground to remove natural gas. According to ecologists, environmental damage can occur as a result of fracking, including contamination of water. The results of the 2010 survey are shown in the following table.
In Favor of Ban
Against Ban
No Opinion
Total
District A
23,247
17,106
3,509
43,862
District B
13,024
12,760
2,117
27,901
District C
43,228
49,125
5,891
98,244
District D
30,563
29,771
3,205
63,539
Total
110,062
108,762
14,722
233,546

7. According to the data, which district had the smallest percentage of voters with no opinion on fracking?

8. A random follow-up survey was administered to 500 of the respondents in District C. They were asked if they planned to vote in the next election. The follow-up survey results were 218 said they planned to vote, 174 said they did not plan to vote, and 108 said they were unsure. Based on the data from both the initial survey and the follow-up survey, which of the following is most likely an accurate statement?

9.

Based on the system of equations above, what is the value of the sum of x and y ?

A.

C.

10.

Ian, Mae, and Jin bowled five games during a bowling tournament. The table above shows their scores. According to the data, which of the following conclusions is correct?

11. Which of the following are solutions to the quadratic equation (x + 3)² = 16?