The Official SAT Question of the Day™

Read the following SAT test question, then click on a button to select your answer.

First, 3 is subtracted from x and the square root of the difference is taken. Then, 5 is added to the result, giving a final result of 9. What is the value of x?

A. 3
B. 4
C. 5
D. 16
E. 19

Answer is E

Here's Why:

When 3 is subtracted from x, the result is x – 3. The square root of this difference is . When 5 is added to , the final result is 9. This can be written as + 5 = 9. Subtracting 5 from both sides gives the equation = 4. Squaring both sides of this equation gives x – 3 = 16, or x = 19.


Difficulty: Medium
Question Type: Standard Multiple Choice

(Mathematics)