Hi Mike, Can you explain this Q #29 from Calculator section of Oct 2022 PSAT?

Hi Mike,
Can you explain this Q #29 from Calculator section of Oct 2022 PSAT:

A quadratic function can be used to model the height, in feet, of an object above the ground in terms of time, in seconds, after the object was launched. According to the model, an object was launched into the air from a height of 0 feet and reached its maximum height of 3136 feet 14 seconds after it was launched. Based on the model, what was the height, in feet, of the object 1 second after it was launched?

Hi! For page 120 question 8 in the pwn book, is there any other way to find the answer without using a Calculator?

Hi! For page 120 question 8 in the pwn book, is there any other way to find the answer without using a Calculator? I tried using a calculator but it took me a long time to find the answer. In addition, is there any other way to find that there is only one solution other than graphing or plugging the x values back into the equation?

In this equation, k is a constant…

Some help please, Mike?

x^2 – 12x +k = 0 In this equation, k is a constant. For which values of k does the equation have only one solution? I know I can set the discriminant to zero and solve for k. But is there another way to solve? Thanks!

sqrt(3m^2 + 24) = 2m + 2. What is the sum of all the solutions to the equation? I know how to find the sum algebraically, but why can’t I use the -b/a formula here? Is it because there’s a radical? Thank you!

Whenever you have to square both sides to solve, you have to check for extraneous solutions. That tells you m could be 2 or –10, but because part of the solution was squaring both sides, you need to run both possible solutions through the original equation.Try 2 first: That works, now how about –10? Nope. Remember (more…)

Test 7 Section 4 Question 6

Hi Mike…SAT 7, Section 4, Q6: I now see the shortcut here (that both sides of the equation are perfect squares,) but if I did expand and FOIL the left side, wouldn’t I still get the correct “a” values even though it takes longer? I can’t get it to work !! Can you please show the alternate path math steps? Or is recognizing the perfect squares the ONLY way to solve this one ? Thanks!

PWN the SAT Math Guide p. 120 #9

PWN the SAT Math Guide p. 122 (p. 120 in newer printing) #9

h = -4.9^2 + t + 1.5
The equation … After how many seconds will the coin land on the ground?

When the coin lands, y=0, so we just need to solve the quadratic. Using the quadratic formula, however, I get a messy repeating decimal, not .664, .665. Could you solve this for me using the quadratic formula?

Also, I tried to search the Q&A here to see if you had already answered this question. Could you make an index for PWN the SAT Math Gu