Key Takeaways
- What the SAT gives you
- What you must memorise (it is not on the sheet)
- Learn the Desmos calculator too
- A smart approach
One of the most common questions about the digital SAT Math section is which formulas you actually need to memorise. The test gives you a reference sheet — but it does not include everything, and leaning on it for the wrong things will cost you time you do not have. Here is exactly what is provided in 2026 and what you need to know by heart.
What the SAT gives you
A reference sheet is available in both Math modules, opened with the X² icon in the corner of the Bluebook app. It covers geometry essentials: the areas of a circle, rectangle and triangle; the Pythagorean theorem; the special right triangles (30-60-90 and 45-45-90); the volumes of a cylinder, cone, sphere and pyramid; and the number of degrees (360) and radians (2π) in a circle.
Useful — but notice what that list is: almost entirely geometry. Everything else, you bring yourself.
What you must memorise (it is not on the sheet)
These come up constantly and are not provided:
- Slope: (y₂ − y₁) / (x₂ − x₁), and slope-intercept form y = mx + b.
- The quadratic formula: x = (−b ± √(b² − 4ac)) / 2a.
- Percent change: (new − old) / old × 100.
- Mean: sum ÷ count — and how to work backwards from an average.
- Exponent rules and basic probability (favourable outcomes ÷ total outcomes).
- How a parabola’s equation relates to its vertex, and how systems of equations behave.
Roughly half of SAT Math is algebra and data analysis, none of which appears on the reference sheet — so these, not the geometry formulas, are where memorisation pays off.
Learn the Desmos calculator too
A built-in Desmos graphing calculator is available for the entire Math section. It can solve equations, find intersection points and graph functions far faster than working by hand. Students who practise with Desmos before test day gain real time; students who meet it for the first time on the day lose it. Use it in every practice session.
A smart approach
Memorise the algebra, statistics and exponent formulas above until they are automatic, and still learn the provided geometry ones — stopping to hunt for a formula on the reference sheet costs time even though it is “there.” The goal is to never stop to look anything up.
Choosing between the SAT and the ACT first? See SAT vs ACT, or read how the digital SAT’s adaptive format works. For a full plan, our SAT preparation guide walks through it, or contact us for a free discovery call.
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Author
With a Bachelor's (LLB) from UCL and Assas, and the Grande Ecole program at HEC Paris, Adam has over 10 years of experience in education and student mentoring. Passionate about helping students achieve their academic dreams, he co-founded Your Dream School to guide students through university admissions and interview preparation for top global institutions.
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