SAT Math Must-Know Facts & Formulas

Numbers, Sequences, and Factors

Integers: . . . , -3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3, . . .

Rational Numbers: fractions–anything expressible as a ratio of integers, including

numbers over 1 like 3/1
_ _
Real Numbers: integers, rational numbers, and special numbers such as √2,√3, and π

Order Of Operations: PEMDAS

(Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition,
Subtraction)

Arithmetic Sequences: each term is equal to the previous term plus d

Sequence: t1, t1 + d, t2 + d, . . .
also expressible as: t1, t1 + d, t1 + 2d, . . .
ex. d = 4 and t1 = 3 gives the sequence 3, 7, 11, 15, . . .

Geometric Sequences: each term is equal to the previous term times r

Sequence: t1, t1 · r, t2 · r, . . .
also expressible as: t1, t1 · r, t1 · r2, . . .
ex. r = 2 and t1 = 3 gives the sequence 3, 6, 12, 24, . . .

Factors: the factors of a number divide into that number without a remainder
ex. the factors of 52 are 1, 2, 4, 13, 26, and 52

Multiples: the multiples of a number are divisible by that number without a

remainder
ex. positive multiples of 20 are 20, 40, 60, 80, . . .

Percents: use the following formula to find part, whole, or percent

part percent
=
whole 100

www.erikthered.com/tutor pg. 1
Averages, Counting, Statistics, and Probability

sum of terms
average =
number of terms

total distance
average speed =
total time

mode = value in the list that appears most often

median = middle value in the list (sorted by value)

ex. median of {3, 10, 9, 27, 50} = 10
median of {3, 9, 10, 27} = (9 + 10)/2 = 9.5

Fundamental Counting Principle:

If an event can happen in N ways, and another, independent event can happen in M
ways, then both events together can happen in N × M ways.

number of desired outcomes

Probability:
number of possible outcomes

ex. each SAT math multiple choice question has five possible
answers, one of which is the correct answer. If you guess the
answer to a question completely at ran-dom, your
probability of getting it right is 1/5 = 20%.

The probability of two different events A and B both happening is

P (A and B) = P (A) · P (B), as long as the events are independent (not
mutually exclusive).

Powers, Exponents, Roots

a b
x · x = xa+b xa /xb = xa−b 1/xb = x−b

(xa)b = xa·b (xy)a = xa • ya √xy = √x · √y

x0 = 1

www.erikthered.com/tutor pg. 2
Factoring, Solving

(x + a)(x + b) = x2 + (b + a)x + ab “FOIL”

a2 − b2 = (a + b)(a − b) “Difference Of Squares”

a2 + 2ab + b2 = (a + b)(a + b)
a2 − 2ab + b2 = (a − b)(a − b)

To solve a quadratic such as x2 +bx+c = 0, first factor the left side to get (x+a1)(x+a2) = 0, then set
each part in parentheses equal to zero. E.g., x2 + 4x + 3 = (x + 3)(x + 1) = 0
so that x = −3 or x = −1.
To solve two linear equations in x and y: use the first equation to substitute for a variable
in the second. E.g., suppose x + y = 3 and 4x − y = 2. The first equation gives y = 3 − x, so the
second equation becomes 4x − (3 − x) = 2 ⇒ 5x − 3 = 2 ⇒ x = 1, y = 2.

Functions
A function is a rule to go from one number (x) to another number (y), usually written

y = f (x).

For any given value of x, there can only be one corresponding value y. If y = kx for some
number k (example: f (x) = 0.5 · x), then y is said to be directly proportional to x. If y =
k/x (example: f (x) = 5/x), then y is said to be inversely proportional to x.

Absolute value: +x, if x ≥ 0;
|x| =
−x, if x < 0.

Lines (Linear Functions)

Consider the line that goes through points A(x1, y1) and B(x2, y2).
p
Distance from A to B: (x2 − x1 )2 + (y2 − y1 )2
 
x1 + x2 y 1 + y 2
Mid-point of the segment AB: ,
2 2

y2 − y1 rise
Slope of the line: =
x2 − x1 run

www.erikthered.com/tutor pg. 3
Slope-intercept form: given the slope m and the y-intercept b, then the equation of the
line is y = mx + b. Parallel lines have equal slopes: m1 = m2. Perpendicular lines have
negative reciprocal slopes: m1 · m2 = −1.

a◦ b◦
l
a◦ b◦ a
◦
b◦ b◦
a◦ a ◦
b◦
m
b◦ a
◦

Intersecting Lines Parallel Lines (l k m)

Intersecting lines: opposite angles are equal. Also, each pair of angles along the same line
add to 180◦ . In the figure above, a + b = 180◦ .
Parallel lines: eight angles are formed when a line crosses two parallel lines. The four big
angles (a) are equal, and the four small angles (b) are equal.

Triangles
Right triangles:

√ 45◦
x 2
c 2x 60 ◦
x
b x
30◦ 45◦
a √ x
x 3

a2 + b2 = c2 Special Right Triangles

Note that the above special triangle figures are given in the test booklet, so you don’t have
to memorize them, but you should be familiar with what they mean, especially the first
one, which is called the Pythagorean Theorem (a2 + b2 = c2 ).

A good example of a right triangle is one with a = 3, b = 4, and c = 5, also called a 3–4–5
right triangle. Note that multiples of these numbers are also right triangles. For example,
if you multiply these numbers by 2, you get a = 6, b = 8, and c = 10 (6–8–10), which is
also a right triangle.

The “Special Right Triangles” are needed less often than the Pythagorean Theorem. Here,
“x” is used to mean any positive number, such as√1, 1/2, etc. A typical example on the
test:√you are given a triangle with sides 2, 1, and 3 and are asked for the angle opposite
the 3. The figure shows that this angle is 60◦ .

www.erikthered.com/tutor pg. 4
All triangles:

1
Area = ·b·h
2

The area formula above works for all triangles, not just right triangles.

Angles on the inside of any triangle add up to 180◦ .

The length of one side of any triangle is always less than the sum of the lengths of the
other two sides.

Other important triangles:

Equilateral: These triangles have three equal sides, and all three angles are 60◦ .

Isosceles: An isosceles triangle has two equal sides. The “base” angles
(the ones opposite the two sides) are equal. A good example of an
isosceles triangle is the one on page 4 with base angles of 45◦ .

Similar: Two or more triangles are similar if they have the same shape. The
corresponding angles are equal, and the corresponding sides
are in proportion. For example, the 3–4–5 triangle and the 6–8–10
triangle from before are similar since their sides are in a ratio of 2 to 1.

Circles

Arc
r
r n◦
(h, k)
Sector

Area = πr 2 (Optional)
Circumference = 2πr Length Of Arc = (n◦ /360◦ ) · 2πr
Full circle = 360◦ Area Of Sector = (n◦ /360◦ ) · πr 2

www.erikthered.com/tutor pg. 5
Rectangles And Friends

l
w h w
l
Rectangle Parallelogram (Optional)
(Square if l = w) (Rhombus if l = w)
Area = lw Area = lh

The formula for the area of a rectangle is given in the test booklet, but it is very important
to know, so you should memorize it anyway.

Solids

r
h
h
w
l

Rectangular Solid Right Cylinder

Volume = lwh Volume = πr 2 h

Note that the above solids figures are given in the test booklet, so you don’t have to
memorize them, but you should be familiar with what they mean.

www.erikthered.com/tutor pg. 6