Today’s official SAT question of the day is a math question that involves two expressions that have been set equal to each other. This medium-difficulty question looks tougher than it is, as long as we are careful with our signs and do not jump to conclusions. Let’s jump in.
√(x – a) = √(x + b)
First thing: square both sides to get rid of the silly radicals. Now we are left with:
x – a = x + b
Today’s SAT question of the day begins with two numbers, a, and b. The difference between |a| and |b| is 5. The answer choices provide four false statements and one potentially true statement.
To look at things a different way, a – b is 5 and neither a nor b can be negative. This means that a has to be bigger than b, and that a has to be at least 5. (Test it out: for example, if a was 2, could we subtract any positive number and get 5? Nope.) Continue reading