Equations of lines — SSAT Upper practice questions

Equations of lines on the SSAT Upper Quantitative (Math) section means writing and reading linear equations in slope-intercept or standard form. A student has to produce the equation of a line through a given point that is parallel to another line, find intercepts and the midpoint of the segment they form, and plug a point into an equation to find a missing coefficient. Items typically ask which equation fits a description or ask for a single value such as a coefficient or a sum of coordinates. Choices look like similar linear equations or close integers, with traps that use the wrong slope, swap intercepts, or mishandle a negative intercept.

Section: Quantitative (Math) 50 questions on the paper
90 practice questions in the app

Sample questions

Question 1

Which of the following equations represents the line through $(0, -2)$ that is parallel to $y = 4x + 1$ ?

A $y = \dfrac{1}{4}x - 2$
B $y = 4x + 2$
C $y = 4x - 2$
D $y = -4x - 2$
E $y = -\dfrac{1}{4}x - 2$

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Answer: C — $y = 4x - 2$

Parallel lines have the same slope, so the new line has slope 4. Since it passes through $(0,-2)$ , its $y$ -intercept is -2, giving $y=4x-2$ .

Question 2

The line $4x+3y=24$ meets the coordinate axes at points $A$ and $B$ . What is the sum of the coordinates of the midpoint of $\overline{AB}$ ?

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Answer: B — 7

The intercepts are $A=(6,0)$ and $B=(0,8)$ . Their midpoint is $(3,4)$ , and the sum of its coordinates is $3+4=7$ .

Question 3

The graph of $ax + 3y = 18$ contains the point $(6, -2)$ . What is the value of $a$ ?

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Answer: C — 4

Substituting $(6,-2)$ gives $6a+3(-2)=18$ . Thus $6a=24$ , so $a=4$ .

Practice 90 Equations of lines questions in the app

Equations of lines — SSAT Upper practice questions

Sample questions

More SSAT Upper topics

Quantitative (Math)