STAAR (State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness) Algebra I, May 2018, cont.

The State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) exam, administered MAY 2018.

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Administered May 2018

Read each question carefully. For a multiple-choice question, determine the best answer to the question from the four answer choices provided. For a griddable question, determine the best answer to the question.





51. What is the slope of the line that passes through the points (5, −11) and (−9, 17)?

A -2
B -1/2
C 7
D 2

Answer: A -2
Change in y divided by change in x

(17 - -11) / (-9 - 5) = 28 / -14 = -2



52. What is the x-value of the solution to this system of equations?

x = 2y − 4
7x + 5y = −66

F -2
G -19/7
H -8
J -62/19

Answer: F -2
Substitute (2y - 4) for x in the second equation

7(2y - 4) + 5y = -66
14y - 28 + 5y = -66
19y = -38
y = -2

An odd coincidence that two answers in a row were the first choice, which was -2.

53. Which expression is equivalent to SQRT(96)?

A 24
B 8 SRT(6)
C 48
D 4 SQRT(6)

Answer: D 4 SQRT(6)
96 is not a perfect square, so it will not have an integer square root. Choices A and C are eliminated.
The factors of 96 are 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 3. (I got that by dividing 96 by 2 repeatedly until I only had 3 remaining.
Group the factors into pairs: SQRT( (2x2) x (2x2) x 2 x 3 )
That equals 2 x 2 x SQRT( 2 x 3 ), which is 4 SQRT(6).



54. Which line appears to have an x-intercept of -5 and a y-intercept of 3?

Answer: G
An x-intercept of -5 means the point (-5, 0) is on the line. A y-intercept of 3 means the point (0, 3) is on the line.

The graph that shows this is Choice G.

Choice J flips those numbers.

Choice F flips and negates those numbers.

Choice H negates those numbers.



END OF EXAM.

More to come. Comments and questions welcome.

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