JUNE 2013 SAT Math problem-Please verify that Question!!!

<p>Okay, so on the math section, there was this one question-</p>

<p>2x-5<3, Find the LARGEST possible value of x. so I put 3 as the answer
However, from reading forums, a couple of people said that the question was actually 2x-5>3, find the SMALLEST possible value of x. Which would make 5 as the correct answer.</p>

<p>Could someone PLEASE verify the question. Was it a greater than or less than, and did it ask for the smallest or largest possible value of x??? Since this is a really easy question, I am praying that I did not read it wrong!!!</p>

<p>HELP!!!! and thanks!</p>

<p>Answer is 3</p>

<p>Oh my god, thank you sooo much!!! I have literally been freaking out about that because Math has such a steep curve! -1 is usually 770 and I was terrified I misread such an easy question!</p>

<p>Also, could anyone else also verify that the answer is 3? I just want to make sure!</p>

<p>And also, for the (a+b)/2 = square root of ab
I. a>0
II. a=0
III. a<0</p>

<p>was it just I and II or I, II, and III? I said just I and II because I think college board only looks at the positive number from a square root.</p>

<p>Because for a<0, it is only true if you accept the square root as + and -. So does -college board view the square root as + and - or do they just look at the + answer?
For example, if a=-2 and b=-2, then (-2±2)2=-2
and the square root of (-2 times -2) =square root of 4. This is only true if college board accepts the square root of 4 as -2.
I am freaking out about this question and if I get it wrong because college board also looks at the negative number from a square root, I am going to write to college board and complain. Because there are other problems when they have just the positive number as answer choices!</p>

<p>Does anyone remember the answer choices for the question with the pails?</p>

<p>the answer was 48</p>

<p>Typically, square root just refers to the positive root. One thing: choice I was actually a<0 and III was a>0. So the correct answer was II and III only…it looks like you had the right reasoning but probably remembered the problem incorrectly, so you probably got the right answer on the test.</p>

<p>The answer was I, II and III</p>

<p>Because if a and b are -2</p>

<p>then (-2)+(-2)/2 is -2</p>

<p>-2 squared is four, and four has squares of 2 and -2</p>

<p>@dadbull
Your reasoning is incorrect because the sqrt(x) means only principal root. Therefore the square root is just 2 and not -2. I have found an example in the blue book where the SAT only considers the principal root. Plus, if it did consider -2, then sqrt(x) wouldnt be a function, so i have great confidence it is just II,III only.</p>