What are the SAT Math Test Questions Like?

➕ An Overview of the Math Section 

So, you're here because you want to know what to expect in the math section of the ominous SAT? Fear no more! We're going to break it down for you so you feel ready to rock on your upcoming exam. 🥁

SAT Math Test Sections 

Let's start by looking at the two different parts of the math section:

• • ✍🏽 Non-Calculator: 20 questions in 25 minutes
• • 🧮 Calculator: 38 questions in 55 minutes Now if you do the math (haha), that leaves you with 1 minute and 15 seconds per question for the non-calc and about 1 minute and 30 seconds for the calculator questions. This sounds pretty quick, but if you study and are prepared (which you will be cause you're reading this right now!) then it's totally manageable. 😉

SAT Math: Question Types

Multiple-Choice Questions (MCQs)

Most of the math section is just like the rest of the SAT with your well-known bubbled-in letters:

Image Courtesy of Stellarscores

You know the drill! These are multiple-choice questions where you just fill in the choice you think is correct.

Grid-Ins (GIs)

What tends to scare students is the grid-in student-produced answers, where instead of choosing from a selection of four answer choices, you have to enter your answers in the grids provided. You're essentially coming up with the answer yourself by solving the problem! 🪄

Image Courtesy of Prepscholar

Just a few words of advice for this section: 

• • ✅ Graders DO NOT grade the written numbers above the bubbles, they only grade what you have bubbled in, so make sure it's accurate. It's most definitely worthwhile to double-check that you've gridded your answers correctly, even if you feel like you're short on time. It only takes a couple minutes, I promise!
• • 🥇 Make sure you only mark one bubble per column.
• • 🫵🏽 You can start your answer on any space, as long as you have enough boxes to fit the number.
• • ➕ The grid is designed for positive numbers and zero.
• • 🔝 Don't forget your decimals or fractions.- - The grid has a capacity limited to four decimal places. If you get a repeating decimal, you have to grid the most accurate number using what you have.- - Fractions do not need to be reduced to their lowest terms, but mixed numbers need to be converted to improper fractions. Don't worry if you forget some of this! College Board provides instructions on the exam, such as:

Image Courtesy of College Board

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➗ SAT Math Practice Problems

We have curated 11 practice problems for you to try from each of the SAT Domain Categories so that you can find your Strengths 💪 + Weaknesses 🐶 before test day. Try to time yourself for about 12-14 minutes because that correlates to the amount of time you will have on test day.

We've provided both the questions and answers to these 11 questions. In the explanations, you may see some strategies listed! Check out what these strategies are and how to use them in our SAT Math: Tips and Tricks piece before you move on.

GOOD LUCK 🤞 but you won't need it 🙃

💙Heart of Algebra: 4 Questions

Courtesy of SAT Practice Test 3 - Section 3 - NO CALCULATOR 

Courtesy of SAT Practice Test 3 - Section 3 - NO CALCULATOR 

Courtesy of SAT Practice Test 3 - Section 3 - NO CALCULATOR 

Courtesy of SAT Practice Test 3 - Section 3 - NO CALCULATOR 

📉 Problem Solving and Data Analysis: 3 Questions

Courtesy of SAT Practice Test 5 - Section 4 - CALCULATOR 

Courtesy of SAT Practice Test 5 - Section 4 - CALCULATOR 

Courtesy of SAT Practice Test 5 - Section 4 - CALCULATOR 

🔑 Passport to Advanced Math: 3 Questions

Courtesy of SAT Practice Test 6 - Section 3 - NO CALCULATOR 

Courtesy of SAT Practice Test 6 - Section 3 - NO CALCULATOR 

Courtesy of SAT Practice Test 6 - Section 3 - NO CALCULATOR 

📐 Additional Topics in Math: 1 Question

Courtesy of SAT Practice Test 6 - Section 3 - NO CALCULATOR 

✅ Solutions & Strategy Applications

Make sure to check your work and see where you struggled so you can improve next time! There are solutions for every questions and the possible strategies that could be used. 🔥The explanations for all of the questions are on the College Board website so check those out if you don't understand where the answer came from!

There were more medium and hard questions than easy questions on the practice problems, so don't feel bad about missing a few 🙌

💙 Heart of Algebra: 4 Questions

1. • C; The best strategy to use here would be to pick small numbers to use for 🔌 The OG Plug for X + Y and see which expression matches your original solution.
2. • D; For this question, make sure to 🎨 Sketch it Out on a graph and see how the slope goes through points besides the origin a.k.a (0, 0).
3. • D; For this question, using ⬇️ Break it Down is good to rewrite/check the equation to see which of each I, II, and III are true.
4. • 370; For this question, you should try to ✍️ Rephrase the question from English —> Math and solve your system.

📉 Problem Solving and Data Analysis: 3 Questions

1. • A; This problem doesn't have a major strategy since it is just plugging in numbers and dividing from the data table 😭
2. • C; This problem, again, doesn't have a major strategy since it is just multiplying numbers from the problem 😭
3. • C; This problem involves using ✍️ Rephrase to translate the question from English —> Math and solve for your mean.

🔑 Passport to Advanced Math: 3 Questions

1. • C; This problem doesn't have a major strategy since it is just solving the radicals & subtracting 😭
2. • D; The best strategy to use here would be to pick small numbers to use for 🔌 The OG Plug for X and see which expression matches your original solution.
3. • D; There are 2 main ways to solve this problem:1. - Using an algebraic formula and recognizing that (a+b)^2=(a^2+2ab+b^2), or1. - Using 🔌 The OG Plug for A + B and see which expression matches your original solution.

📐Additional Topics in Math: 1 Question

1. • 30; This problem can use 🎨 Sketch it Out and drawing 2 triangles to try to see which sides are parallel and equal to find the ratio since these triangles are similar.

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📖 How to Study for the SAT Math Section

One of the biggest keys to success is being prepared, and that means studying! Luckily, Fiveable has many resources that can help you prepare for the test. 

I'm going to start by giving you some different strategies for how to study, because without a plan, it's very overwhelming. 

One way to study, and my personal favorite, is to start with a practice test (or just the math section) to see where your starting at. This is a good way to test what you know and see what topics you need to focus on the most. Once you have finished your first practice test, you're going to grade it and write down every single topic that you struggled with. Then, you have a focused list of topics to study from. 💯

You can also use Fiveable's library to go through all of the possible topics on the test. I'm going to link the main math portion here, where there are study guides that overview each of the four domains on the SAT math section. You can watch the videos and read the study guides that help you get a deeper understanding of each of the topics.

Of course, there are many other websites that are good options for studying: 

• • Khan academy has a really great SAT study portion. It customizes the study topics to you and give you up to eight free full-length tests! It's a really great resource to check out
• • The Princeton Review has some good videos on youtube and they have live events occasionally
• • There are some playlists on the College Board Youtube channel that have Khan academy videos within the four different math sections that we've previously mentioned. You have to scroll down a bit and then you can see them. ----- 

And there you have it! Now, you have a better idea of what the SAT math questions look like and you're ready. If you are looking for any specific resources, feel free to reach out to any of us at Fiveable and we'll help you find those. Cheers! 👋🏻