Algebraic word problems — SSAT Upper practice questions

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Practice 305 Algebraic word problems questions in the app

What this topic is

Despite the name, algebraic word problems on the SSAT Upper range from translating a short story into an equation to solving a bare linear equation with the variable on both sides.

The essential steps are distributing carefully, collecting the variable terms on one side, and then answering the question actually asked. That last step matters: when a question asks for the value of an expression such as four x minus three, the value of x alone is usually among the choices.

Distribution errors are another source of wrong answers, for instance rewriting five times the quantity a minus four as five a minus four instead of five a minus twenty.

Sample questions

Pick an answer to see whether it is right — nothing is saved, and nothing needs an account.

Question 1Easier

If $2 (x + 3) = 14$ , what is the value of $x$ ?

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Answer: C — 4

Divide by 2 to get $x + 3 = 7$ . Then subtract 3, so $x = 4$ .

Question 2Easier

If $3 (n - 2) = 2 n + 5$ , what is the value of $n$ ?

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Answer: D — 11

$3 (n - 2) = 2 n + 5$ becomes $3 n - 6 = 2 n + 5$ . Subtracting $2 n$ and adding 6 gives $n = 11$ .

Question 3Mid

If $5 x - 7 = 3 x + 15$ , what is the value of $2 x + 1$ ?

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Answer: D — 23

Subtracting $3 x$ from both sides and adding 7 gives $2 x = 22$ , so $x = 11$ . Then $2 x + 1 = 23$ .

Every question is picked for where you are right now, wrong answers come back until they stick, and it all works offline.

Practice 305 Algebraic word problems questions in the app

Algebraic word problems — SSAT Upper practice questions

What this topic is

Sample questions

More SSAT Upper topics

Quantitative (Math)