SAT · Math
SAT math formula sheet
36 formulas across 6 topics: the ones the SAT Math section expects you to know rather than the ones it prints at the front of every module. Each line is written the way you would use it mid-problem, with the variables named.
This is the same sheet Premium members see on their dashboard, filtered to the SAT: the trigonometry identities and logarithms the ACT tests are left off because the digital SAT does not ask for them. Practise each formula in the SAT Math course or the math drills.
SAT Math Formula Sheet — Ascend Prep
Math formulas by topic
Formulas you know and formulas you can use under a clock are different things. The free full-length SAT practice test tells you which is which, by topic.
SAT formula questions, answered
Does the SAT give you a formula sheet?
Yes, a short one. Every Math module opens with a reference sheet of geometry facts: the area and circumference of a circle, the area of a rectangle and a triangle, the Pythagorean theorem, the two special right triangles, and the volumes of a box, cylinder, sphere, cone and pyramid. Everything else on this page — slope, the quadratic formula, exponent rules, the vertex of a parabola — is not given, and you are expected to know it.
Which formulas matter most on the SAT Math section?
Linear equations are the largest single domain (roughly a third of the questions), so slope, slope-intercept form and the meaning of a line's intercepts pay off more than anything else. After that, the quadratic formula and vertex form, exponent rules, and the mean-versus-median distinction cover most of what remains.
Are trigonometry identities or logarithms on the SAT?
Not the way they appear on the ACT. The SAT tests right-triangle trigonometry (sine, cosine and tangent as ratios) and the relationship between a right triangle's angles, but not the Pythagorean identity, the laws of sines and cosines, or logarithms. Those groups are left off this sheet on purpose; the ACT formula sheet includes them.
Can I use a calculator on the SAT?
On the whole Math section. The digital SAT has a built-in graphing calculator available in every module, and you can bring your own approved one as well. That makes memorising formulas about speed and setup, not arithmetic.
How should I use this formula sheet?
Print it, then take a timed practice test without it. Every formula you had to look up afterwards is one to drill: the SAT Math course has a lesson for each domain, and the question bank has easy, medium and hard drills on each topic so you can practise the formula in the shape the test asks for it.