Digital SAT · Math
Nonlinear Graphs on the Digital SAT: All Question Types
Nonlinear Graphs is about reading and matching curves rather than solving equations. Questions ask for a graph's key features, its zeros, vertex, intercepts, or end behavior, or they ask which equation matches a given table or graph. The built-in Desmos calculator is a strong ally: plot an equation and its features appear, or plot a table's points and test which candidate passes through them all. This is an Advanced Math skill, and the recurring trap in matching questions is confirming a rule against a single point when a wrong equation can hit one point by luck, so a match must hold across several. Reading what feature the question wants, then locating it on the curve, is the throughline.
College Board skill: Advanced Math: Nonlinear functions and graphs
How Nonlinear Graphs is tested
- how often it appears
- ~8 per test how often it appears
- typical difficulty
- Medium typical difficulty
- practice questions in our bank
- 462 practice questions in our bank
Connect equation to picture
Match key features - zeros, vertex, intercepts, max/min - between the equation and the graph.
Frequency and difficulty come from this skill's questions across our assembled full-length Digital SAT forms; the practice count is how many drills of these types are in our bank.
5 question types in Nonlinear Graphs
An exponential model looks like y equals a times b to the power x, where a is where you start and b is the factor you multiply by each period.
Function notation puts a number in and reads a number out.
A transformation slides or reshapes a graph.
Every feature has an address.
A function models a situation, and the question asks what a value like f(2) means.
Common questions
How does Desmos help with graph questions?
Plot the equation and its zeros, vertex, and intercepts appear directly, or plot a table's points and graph each candidate to see which curve passes through them all. It turns many algebra steps into a read.
How do I match a table to an equation?
Test each candidate against a row, then confirm the survivor on a second row, since a wrong equation can match one point by coincidence. Graphing the points and the candidate in Desmos confirms the fit.
What are key features of a graph?
The zeros where it crosses the x-axis, the y-intercept, the vertex or turning point, and the end behavior. Questions name one of these, and you locate it on the curve or read it from the equation.
Practice Nonlinear Graphs the way it is tested
Start with the free 16-question diagnostic, then drill any of these types with step-by-step reasoning.