ADDITIONAL TOPICS
Congratulations! You’ve reached the last content area for the Math Test. And
we’ve saved the best for last! You’ve finally reached the (drumrolllllllllll)
Additional Topics! Did you know that famed physicist Albert Einstein cut his
teeth studying Additional Topics? Or that the ancient Greek philosopher
Anaxagoras was the first to discover Additional Topics?
Okay, so maybe this section doesn’t have the most exciting name. As you
might have guessed, this is a catchall category for “other math stuff the SAT
wants to test.” Primarily, this means Geometry, and we’ll start there. Then we’ll
talk about Coordinate Geometry, and finally go into the truly random leftovers
like complex numbers and trigonometry. Let’s dig in!
GEOMETRY VOCABULARY
First off, familiarize yourself with the following symbols, definitions, laws, and
formulas.
Symbols: || means “is parallel to.” l 1 l 2 means line 1 is parallel to line 2.
⊥ means “is perpendicular to.” l 1 ⊥ l 2Congruent angles have equal numbers of degrees. (They fit perfectly over
each other.)
Complementary angles add up to 90 degrees. (If they look complementary,
and it doesn’t say “not drawn to scale,” they probably are complementary. Don’t
bother proving it to yourself if you’re pressed for time.)
Supplementary angles add up to 180 degrees. (Again, if they look
supplementary, they probably are.)