Question 41·Medium·Systems of Two Linear Equations in Two Variables
The system of equations is
The solution to the system is . What is the value of ?
For systems of linear equations on the SAT, always check what the question actually wants—often it’s a specific expression like , not both and . Use elimination to directly create that expression: choose multipliers that both eliminate one variable and give you the desired coefficient (here, creating when the equations are added). This avoids extra work solving the full system and reduces opportunities for arithmetic errors.
Hints
Pick a method
You need the value of . Would it be faster to solve the entire system for both and , or to use elimination to get an equation that involves only ?
Align the -terms
Look at the coefficients of in the two equations: and . What can you multiply each equation by so that the -terms become opposites (like and )?
Add the equations
After you multiply to make the -coefficients opposites, add the resulting equations together. What expression involving appears on the left side? What numerical expression appears on the right?
Finish with arithmetic
Once you have an equation whose left side is , simplify the right side with basic subtraction. That final simplified number is the value of .
Desmos Guide
Graph both lines
Rewrite each equation in the form and enter them:
- From , solve for to get , then type
y = (7x - 11)/2. - From , solve for to get , then type
y = (-13 - 4x)/5.
You will see two lines on the graph.
Find the intersection point
Click on the point where the two lines intersect. Desmos will display the coordinates of this point as . Note the -value from this intersection.
Compute the value of
In a new expression line, type 43 * followed by the -value you read from the intersection point (for example, 43 * (0.67) or using the exact fraction if shown). The resulting output is the value of , which matches one of the answer choices.
Step-by-step Explanation
Choose elimination and focus on
The system is
Since the question asks for , try to eliminate so you get an equation involving only . This is efficient because once you have a single equation in , you can quickly find without solving for at all.
Make the -coefficients opposites
To eliminate , make the coefficients of in the two equations opposites.
- The first equation has .
- The second equation has .
A common multiple of and is . Multiply:
- The first equation by :
- The second equation by :
Now the -terms are and , which will cancel when added.
Add the new equations to eliminate
Add the two new equations term by term:
- Left side: becomes , and becomes .
- Right side: becomes .
So after adding, you get a single equation in :
Simplify to find and match the answer choice
Compute the right-hand side:
So the equation becomes
The question asks for the value of , which is . That corresponds to answer choice D.