THE BUILDING BLOCKS
As you go through this book, you might discover that you’re having trouble with stuff you thought you
already knew—like fractions or square roots. If this happens, it’s probably a good idea to review the
fundamentals. That’s where this chapter comes in. Our drills and examples will refresh your memory if
you’ve gotten rusty. Always keep in mind that the math tested on the SAT is different from the math taught
in school. If you want to raise your score, don’t waste time studying math that the SAT never tests.
Let’s talk first about what you should expect to see on the test.
THE MATH BREAKDOWN
The SAT includes two scored Math sections: Section 3 and Section 4. Section 3, which does not allow
the use of a calculator, is 25 minutes long and includes 20 questions. Section 4, which allows the use of a
calculator, is 55 minutes long and includes 38 questions.
No Need to Know
Here are a few things you
won’t need to
know to answer SAT math ques-
tions: calculus, logarithms,
matrices, and geometric
proofs. Essentially, the
SAT tests a whole lot
of algebra and some
arithmetic, statistics, and
geometry.According to ETS and the College Board, the Math questions on the SAT fall into the following cleverly
named categories:
- Heart of Algebra
- Passport to Advanced Math
- Problem Solving and Data Analysis
- Additional Topics
The first three will give you some of your test subscores, but the names of all four categories don’t really
mean anything. This is what will really be tested:
- Algebra I and II
- Arithmetic/Probability/Data Analysis
- Plane Geometry/Coordinate Geometry/Trigonometry
That’s it! Of these categories, Algebra makes up the largest part of the test, accounting for more than half
of the questions. Plane Geometry and Trigonometry make up the smallest part—there will only be a
maximum of 6 questions from that category on the SAT.