Strategy #14: Know What's on the Reference Sheet — and What Isn't

Written By David Porter

Category: Geometry

The SAT provides a reference sheet with formulas for area, circumference, and volume of basic shapes, plus special right triangle ratios. Here it is:

SAT math reference sheet with area, volume, Pythagorean theorem, and special right triangle formulas

It’s best to memorize all the formulas, but know exactly what you can look up so you never waste time re-deriving a formula that's already there.

Practice tip: At the start of every practice session, flip to the reference page and read it.

 What's on the sheet:

• Area and circumference of a circle

• Area of a rectangle and triangle

• Volume of a box, cylinder, cone, pyramid and sphere

• 30-60-90 and 45-45-90 triangle ratios

• Pythagorean Theorem

• Triangle Sum Theorem: sum of angles = 180°

• Number of degrees and radians in a circle

 

What's NOT on the sheet (memorize these):

• Slope formula:

Slope formula: m equals y2 minus y1, over x2 minus x1

• Equation of a line:

Equation of a line: y equals m x plus b

• Quadratic formula:

Quadratic formula: x equals negative b plus or minus the square root of b squared minus 4ac, all over 2a

in which a, b and c come from the quadratic equation written in standard form set equal to zero:

Standard form: a x squared plus b x plus c equals 0

• Equation of a circle in which (h,k) is the vertex and r is the radius:

Equation of a circle: x minus h squared plus y minus k squared equals r squared
David Porter
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Strategy #13: Connect Polynomial Roots to Factors