Question in-the
In the xy-plane, a line with equation for some constant intersects a parabola at exactly one point. If the parabola has equation , what is the value of ?
In the xy -plane, a line with equation 2 y = c for some constant c
Hard-difficulty · SAT Math · Systems Involving Nonlinear Equations — Line + parabola intersections. Read the question above, select your answer, and check the full explanation below to understand exactly why the correct choice works.
Answer explanation
The correct answer is . The given linear equation is . Dividing both sides of this equation by yields . Substituting for in the equation of the parabola yields . Adding and to both sides of this equation yields . Since it’s given that the line and the parabola intersect at exactly one point, the equation must have exactly one solution. An equation of the form , where , , and are constants, has exactly one solution when the discriminant, , is equal to . In the equation , where , , and , the discriminant is . Setting the discriminant equal to yields , or . Adding to both sides of this equation yields . Dividing both sides of this equation by yields . Note that 81/4 and 20.25 are examples of ways to enter a correct answer.
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