SAT Maths Syllabus & Course
Digital SAT Math — the full syllabus, format and a study roadmap.
About SAT Math
Digital SAT Math is pre-calculus. It rewards fluency with linear and quadratic relationships, data and ratios, and a focused set of geometry and trigonometry facts — solved quickly and accurately rather than with advanced techniques. Roughly a third of questions are word problems set in real-world contexts.
Good to know
On the Digital SAT the calculator is available for every Math question, and the four content domains are NOT equally weighted — Algebra and Advanced Math together make up about 70% of the section.
Exam format at a glance
| Structure | Two adaptive Math modules (the second module's difficulty adapts to your first-module performance). |
|---|---|
| Questions | 44 questions |
| Time | 70 minutes (two 35-minute modules) |
| Calculator | Allowed on the entire Math section — a Desmos graphing calculator is built into the test app. |
| Question types | Multiple choice (4 options) · Student-produced response ("grid-in") |
| Scoring | Math is scored 200–800, half of the 400–1600 total. |
Full syllabus
Linear relationships in one and two variables — the largest domain.
- Linear equations in one variable
- Linear equations in two variables
- Linear functions
- Systems of two linear equations in two variables
- Linear inequalities in one or two variables
Nonlinear equations, functions and expressions.
- Equivalent expressions
- Nonlinear equations in one variable and systems of equations in two variables
- Nonlinear functions (quadratic, exponential, polynomial, rational, radical)
- Factoring and the quadratic formula
- Function notation, transformations and interpretation
Quantitative literacy in real-world contexts (calculator-friendly).
- Ratios, rates, proportional relationships and units
- Percentages
- One- and two-variable data: distributions and measures of centre and spread
- Scatterplots, models of best fit and linear/exponential growth
- Probability and conditional probability
- Inference from sample statistics and margin of error
- Evaluating statistical claims (observational studies vs. experiments)
A compact set of geometry and right-triangle trig facts.
- Area and volume
- Lines, angles and triangles
- Right triangles, the Pythagorean theorem and special right triangles
- Right-triangle trigonometry (sine, cosine, tangent)
- Circles (arc length, sector area, radians, equations of circles)
How to prepare
- Master linear and quadratic algebra first — it is ~70% of the section and the fastest scoring gain.
- Practise on the built-in Desmos calculator so you can graph and solve, not just compute.
- Time yourself: ~95 seconds per question. Skipping and returning is a valid strategy in each module.
- Treat word problems as translation exercises — the maths underneath is usually simple.
Study material & tests
Exam-aligned practice and mocks for SAT are in development — this page is the syllabus and study roadmap.