ACT Math Facts & Formulas

Numbers, Sequences, Factors

Integers: . . . , -3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3, . . .
Rationals: fractions, that is, anything expressable as a ratio of √
integers
√
Reals: integers plus rationals plus special numbers such as 2, 3 and π

Order Of Operations: PEMDAS

(Parentheses / Exponents / Multiply / Divide / Add / Subtract)

Arithmetic Sequences: each term is equal to the previous term plus d

Sequence: t1 , t1 + d, t1 + 2d, . . .

Example: d = 4 and t1 = 3 gives the sequence 3, 7, 11, 15, . . .

Geometric Sequences: each term is equal to the previous term times r

Sequence: t1 , t1 · r, t1 · r 2 , . . .

Example: r = 2 and t1 = 3 gives the sequence 3, 6, 12, 24, . . .

Factors: the factors of a number divide into that number

without a remainder

Example: the factors of 52 are 1, 2, 4, 13, 26, and 52

Multiples: the multiples of a number are divisible by that number

without a remainder

Example: the positive multiples of 20 are 20, 40, 60, 80, . . .

Percents: use the following formula to find part, whole, or percent

percent
part = × whole
100

Example: 75% of 300 is what?

Solve x = (75/100) × 300 to get 225

Example: 45 is what percent of 60?

Solve 45 = (x/100) × 60 to get 75%

Example: 30 is 20% of what?

Solve 30 = (20/100) × x to get 150

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 ACT Math Facts & Formulas
Averages, Counting, Statistics, Probability

sum of terms
average =
number of terms

total distance
average speed =
total time

sum = average · (number of terms)

mode = value in the list that appears most often

median = middle value in the list

median of {3, 9, 10, 27, 50} = 10
median of {3, 9, 10, 27} = (9 + 10)/2 = 9.5

Fundamental Counting Principle:

If an event can happen in N ways, and another, independent event

can happen in M ways, then both events together can happen in
N × M ways. (Extend this for three or more: N1 × N2 × N3 . . . )

Probability (Optional):

number of desired outcomes

probability =
number of total outcomes

Example: each ACT math multiple choice question has

five possible answers, one of which is the correct answer.
If you guess the answer to a question completely at ran-
dom, your probability of getting it right is 1/5 = 20%.

The probability of two different events A and B both happening is

P (A and B) = P (A) · P (B), as long as the events are independent
(not mutually exclusive).

Powers, Exponents, Roots

xa · xb = xa+b xa /xb = xa−b 1/xb = x−b

(xa )b = xa·b (xy)a = xa · y a

n +1, if n is even;
√ √ √ (−1) =
0
x =1 xy = x · y −1, if n is odd.

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 ACT Math Facts & Formulas
Factoring, Solving

(x + a)(x + b) = x2 + (b + a)x + ab “FOIL”

a2 − b2 = (a + b)(a − b) “Difference Of Squares”

a2 + 2ab + b2 = (a + b)(a + b)
a2 − 2ab + b2 = (a − b)(a − b)

x2 + (b + a)x + ab = (x + a)(x + b) “Reverse FOIL”

You can use Reverse FOIL to factor a polynomial by thinking about two numbers a and b
which add to the number in front of the x, and which multiply to give the constant. For
example, to factor x2 + 5x + 6, the numbers add to 5 and multiply to 6, i.e., a = 2 and
b = 3, so that x2 + 5x + 6 = (x + 2)(x + 3).

To solve a quadratic such as x2 +bx+c = 0, first factor the left side to get (x+a)(x+b) = 0,
then set each part in parentheses equal to zero. E.g., x2 + 4x + 3 = (x + 3)(x + 1) = 0 so
that x = −3 or x = −1.

To solve two linear equations in x and y: use the first equation to substitute for a variable
in the second. E.g., suppose x + y = 3 and 4x − y = 2. The first equation gives y = 3 − x,
so the second equation becomes 4x − (3 − x) = 2 ⇒ 5x − 3 = 2 ⇒ x = 1, y = 2.

Solving two linear equations in x and y is geometrically the same as finding where two lines
intersect. In the example above, the lines intersect at the point (1, 2). Two parallel lines
will have no solution, and two overlapping lines will have an infinite number of solutions.

Functions
A function is a rule to go from one number (x) to another number (y), usually written

y = f (x).

The set of possible values of x is called the domain of f (), and the corresponding set of
possible values of y is called the range of f (). For any given value of x, there can only be
one corresponding value y.

Absolute value: 
+x, if x ≥ 0;
|x| =
−x, if x < 0.

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 ACT Math Facts & Formulas
Logarithms (Optional):

Logarithms are basically the inverse functions of exponentials. The function logb x answers
the question: b to what power gives x? Here, b is called the logarithmic “base”. So, if
y = log the logarithm function gives the number y such that by = x. For example,
√ b x, then √
log3 27 = log3 33 = log3 33/2 = 3/2 = 1.5. Similarly, logb bn = n.

A useful rule to know is: logb xy = logb x + logb y.

Complex Numbers
A complex number is of the form a + bi where i2 = −1. When multiplying complex
numbers, treat i just like any other variable (letter), except remember to replace powers
of i with −1 or 1 as follows (the pattern repeats after the first four):

i0 = 1 i1 = i i2 = −1 i3 = −i
i4 = 1 i5 = i i6 = −1 i7 = −i

For example, using “FOIL” and i2 = −1: (1 + 3i)(5 − 2i) = 5 − 2i + 15i − 6i2 = 11 + 13i.

Lines (Linear Functions)

Consider the line that goes through points A(x1 , y1 ) and B(x2 , y2 ).
p
Distance from A to B: (x2 − x1 )2 + (y2 − y1 )2
 
x1 + x2 y 1 + y 2
Mid-point of the segment AB: ,
2 2

y2 − y1 rise
Slope of the line: =
x2 − x1 run

Point-slope form: given the slope m and a point (x1 , y1 ) on the line, the equation of the
line is (y − y1 ) = m(x − x1 ).

Slope-intercept form: given the slope m and the y-intercept b, then the equation of the
line is y = mx + b.

To find the equation of the line given two points A(x1 , y1 ) and B(x2 , y2 ), calculate the
slope m = (y2 − y1 )/(x2 − x1 ) and use the point-slope form.

Parallel lines have equal slopes. Perpendicular lines (i.e., those that make a 90◦ angle
where they intersect) have negative reciprocal slopes: m1 · m2 = −1.

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 ACT Math Facts & Formulas

a◦ b◦
l
a◦ b◦ a
◦
b◦ b◦
a◦ a ◦
b◦
m
b◦ a
◦

Intersecting Lines Parallel Lines (l k m)

Intersecting lines: opposite angles are equal. Also, each pair of angles along the same line
add to 180◦ . In the figure above, a + b = 180◦ .

Parallel lines: eight angles are formed when a line crosses two parallel lines. The four big
angles (a) are equal, and the four small angles (b) are equal.

Triangles
Right triangles:

√ 45◦
x 2
c 2x 60 ◦
x
b x
30◦ 45◦
a √ x
x 3

a2 + b2 = c2 Special Right Triangles

A good example of a right triangle is one with a = 3, b = 4, and c = 5, also called a 3–4–5
right triangle. Note that multiples of these numbers are also right triangles. For example,
if you multiply these numbers by 2, you get a = 6, b = 8, and c = 10 (6–8–10), which is
also a right triangle.

All triangles:

1
Area = ·b·h
2
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 ACT Math Facts & Formulas
Angles on the inside of any triangle add up to 180◦ .

The length of one side of any triangle is always less than the sum and more than the
difference of the lengths of the other two sides.

An exterior angle of any triangle is equal to the sum of the two remote interior angles.

Other important triangles:

Equilateral: These triangles have three equal sides, and all three angles are 60◦ .

Isosceles: An isosceles triangle has two equal sides. The “base” angles
(the ones opposite the two sides) are equal (see the 45◦ triangle above).

Similar: Two or more triangles are similar if they have the same shape. The
corresponding angles are equal, and the corresponding sides
are in proportion. For example, the 3–4–5 triangle and the 6–8–10
triangle from before are similar since their sides are in a ratio of 2 to 1.

Trigonometry
Referring to the figure below, there are three important functions which are defined for
angles in a right triangle:

se
opposite

t enu
p o
hy
θ
adjacent

opposite adjacent opposite

sin θ = cos θ = tan θ =
hypotenuse hypotenuse adjacent

“SOH” “CAH” “TOA”

(the last line above shows a mnemonic to remember these functions: “SOH-CAH-TOA”)

Optional: A useful relationship to remember which works for any angle θ is:

sin2 θ + cos2 θ = 1.

For example, if√

θ = 30◦ , then (refer to the Special Right Triangles figure) we have sin 30◦ =
1/2, cos 30◦ = 3/2, so that sin2 30◦ + cos2 30◦ = 1/4 + 3/4 = 1.

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 ACT Math Facts & Formulas
Circles
Arc
r
r n◦
(h, k)
Sector

Area = πr 2
Length Of Arc = (n◦ /360◦ ) · 2πr
Circumference = 2πr
Area Of Sector = (n◦ /360◦ ) · πr 2
Full circle = 360 ◦

Equation of the circle (above left figure): (x − h)2 + (y − k)2 = r 2 .

Another way to measure angles is with radians. These are defined such that π radians is
equal to 180◦ , so that the number of radians in a circle is 2π (or 360◦ ).

To convert from degrees to radians, just multiply by π/180◦ . For example, the number of
radians in 45◦ is 0.785, since 45◦ · π/180◦ = π/4 rad ≈ 0.785 rad.

Rectangles And Friends

Rectangles and Parallelograms:

l
w h w
l
Rectangle Parallelogram
(Square if l = w) (Rhombus if l = w)
Area = lw Area = lh

Trapezoids (Optional):

base2

base1
 
base1 + base2
Area of trapezoid = ·h
2

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 ACT Math Facts & Formulas
Solids (Optional)

r
h
h
w
l

Rectangular Solid Right Cylinder

Volume = lwh Volume = πr 2 h

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