Question the-eq
The equation , where a and b are constants, has no solutions. Which of the following must be true?
I.
II.
III.
we only
we and Iwe only
we and IIwe only
None
The equation , where a and b are constants, has no solutions. Which of the following
Hard-difficulty · SAT Math · Linear Equations in One Variable — Variables on both sides. Read the question above, select your answer, and check the full explanation below to understand exactly why the correct choice works.
Answer explanation
Choice D is correct. For a linear equation in a form to have no solutions, the x-terms must have equal coefficients and the remaining terms must not be equal. Expanding the right-hand side of the given equation yields
. Inspecting the x-terms, 9 must equal a, so statement we must be true. Inspecting the remaining terms, 5 can’t equal
. Dividing both of these quantities by 9 yields that b can’t equal
. Therefore, statement IIwe must be true. Since b can have any value other than
, statement Iwe may or may not be true.
Choice A is incorrect. For the given equation to have no solution, both and
must be true. Choice B is incorrect because it must also be true that
. Choice C is incorrect because when
, there are many values of b that lead to an equation having no solution. That is, b might be 5, but b isn’t required to be 5.
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