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SAT math reference sheet

The formulas the digital SAT gives you in the Math section, drawn so they read on any screen. Below them, the ones it does not give you but expects you to know.

On the reference sheet

$A = π r^{2}$

$C = 2 π r$

$A = ℓ w$

$A = \frac{1}{2} bh$

$c^{2} = a^{2} + b^{2}$

Special right triangles

$4 5^{\circ}$ - $4 5^{\circ}$ - $9 0^{\circ}$

$V = ℓ w h$

$V = π r^{2} h$

$V = \frac{4}{3} π r^{3}$

$V = \frac{1}{3} π r^{2} h$

$V = \frac{1}{3} ℓ w h$

The number of degrees of arc in a circle is 360.
The number of radians of arc in a circle is $2 π$ .
The sum of the measures in degrees of the angles of a triangle is 180.

Not on the reference sheet: formulas to know

The reference sheet has no algebra, no coordinate geometry and no statistics. These come up again and again, and the test assumes you know them.

Formula	What it says	Where it is tested
Slope	$m = \frac{y _{2} - y _{1}}{x _{2} - x _{1}}$	Question type →
Slope-intercept form	$y = m x + b$	Question type →
Perpendicular slopes	$m_{1} \cdot m_{2} = - 1$	Question type →
Quadratic formula	$x = \frac{- b \pm b ^{2} - 4 a c}{2 a}$	Question type →
Discriminant	$b^{2} - 4 a c$ : positive, two roots; zero, one; negative, none	Across Algebra and Geometry
Vertex form	$y = a (x - h)^{2} + k$ , vertex $(h, k)$	Question type →
Vertex of $a x^{2} + b x + c$	$x = - \frac{b}{2 a}$	Question type →
Sum and product of roots	$- \frac{b}{a}$ and $\frac{c}{a}$	Across Algebra and Geometry
Circle equation	$(x - h)^{2} + (y - k)^{2} = r^{2}$	Question type →
Distance between two points	$d = (x_{2} - x_{1})^{2} + (y_{2} - y_{1})^{2}$	Across Algebra and Geometry
Midpoint	$(\frac{x _{1} + x _{2}}{2}, \frac{y _{1} + y _{2}}{2})$	Across Algebra and Geometry
Exponential growth and decay	$y = a (1 \pm r)^{t}$	Question type →
Percent change	$\frac{new - old}{old} \times 100%$	Question type →
Arc length	$\frac{θ}{360} \cdot 2 π r$	Question type →
Sector area	$\frac{θ}{360} \cdot π r^{2}$	Question type →
Degrees and radians	$π radians = 18 0^{\circ}$	Question type →
Sine, cosine, tangent	$sin = \frac{opp}{hyp}$ , $cos = \frac{adj}{hyp}$ , $tan = \frac{opp}{adj}$	Across Algebra and Geometry
Complementary angles	$sin x^{\circ} = cos (90 - x)^{\circ}$	Across Algebra and Geometry
Similar figures	lengths $\times k$ , areas $\times k^{2}$ , volumes $\times k^{3}$	Question type →
Mean	$\frac{sum of values}{number of values}$	Question type →

Questions students ask

Is there a formula sheet on the digital SAT?

Yes. In the Math section, Bluebook has a reference sheet you can open at any time. It holds the area and volume formulas, the Pythagorean theorem, the two special right triangles and three facts about circles and triangles, as shown above.

Do you need to memorize formulas for the SAT?

Some. Everything on the reference sheet is given, but the formulas in the second list on this page are not, and SAT questions use them often: slope, the quadratic formula, the circle equation, exponential growth and percent change among them.

Is the quadratic formula on the SAT reference sheet?

No. The reference sheet has no algebra formulas at all. You need to know the quadratic formula, or use Desmos to find the roots.

Use them on real questions

Every question type on the SAT, with the reference sheet and Desmos one click away, checked instantly.

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