The Digital SAT hands you a reference sheet inside the testing app, and it contains exactly 15 items: 12 geometry formulas and 3 angle facts. It opens in one tap during both math modules and stays available the whole time. That is the good news. The bad news is what it leaves out.
Roughly half your total SAT score comes from the math section. The reference sheet covers a thin slice of it. Knowing precisely what it gives you, and what it does not, is the difference between a fast lookup and a wasted minute under time pressure.
What Is the SAT Reference Sheet?
The SAT reference sheet is a built-in panel of geometry formulas that College Board provides inside the Bluebook testing app. You reach it with a button at the top of each math module, and it overlays your screen so you can still see the question you are solving.
It is the same sheet for everyone. You cannot edit it or add to it.
The formulas are identical to the old paper SAT reference sheet that printed at the front of the math booklet before the test went fully digital in 2024. So if you studied from an older guide, the geometry content still applies. The PSAT/NMSQT uses the same reference sheet too, which means practice on one carries straight over to the other.
What's Actually On the Sheet?
Every formula is geometry: areas, circumference, five volumes, the Pythagorean theorem, two special right triangles, and three angle facts. Here is the complete sheet, redrawn in full.
Want to drill these instead of just reading them? Tap each card below to test your recall before the formula reveals.
↓ Tap any card to reveal the formula
That is the entire sheet. If a question is not about area, volume, a right-triangle relationship, or an angle sum, the formula you need is not on it. The volume formulas are the ones worth opening the panel for, since the 1/3 factor on cones and pyramids is easy to drop.
Reference, Formula, or Cheat Sheet?
Students search for all three terms as if they mean the same thing. They do not, and the gap matters on test day.
Here is the misconception that costs students. A "cheat sheet" is a prep aid, not a test aid. The Digital SAT runs locked inside Bluebook on a managed device, so you cannot bring printed notes, an index card, or any external reference into the room.
The only on-screen help you get is the official reference sheet plus scratch paper. Build your own cheat sheet for studying, then leave it at home.
What Must You Memorize?
Everything outside geometry. The sheet skips algebra entirely, and algebra plus Advanced Math make up roughly 70% of the 44 math questions. These are the formulas worth committing to memory before test day.
For the conceptual links the list flattens, run the topics through the Concept Map to see how a special-triangle ratio feeds a composite-area problem. That structure is what most cramming misses. Our guide on what's worth memorizing the day before an exam covers the triage when time is short.
How Much Does the Sheet Cover?
Less than students expect. Geometry and Trigonometry is the smallest of the four math domains, at roughly 5 to 7 of the 44 questions. Only a portion of those are pure plug-in problems the sheet solves on its own.
The takeaway is a strategy, not a stat. Open the sheet once at the start of each module to confirm what is there, then rely on it only for the volume formulas and special triangles. Opening it for circle area, which you should know cold, burns 5 to 10 seconds you will want back at the end.
Practicing that judgment matters as much as the formulas. AskSia's Mock Exam mode runs adaptive practice in the real two-module format, so you learn when reaching for the panel saves time and when it just breaks your focus. Pair that with a structured plan from our breakdown of how to study for the SAT, and review the full Digital SAT prep hub for section-by-section weighting.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the SAT give you a formula sheet?
Yes. The Digital SAT includes a geometry reference sheet available throughout both math modules, reachable by a button at the top of the Bluebook screen. It holds 15 items in total: 12 formulas plus 3 angle facts. The sheet is identical for every test-taker and identical to the old paper SAT sheet used before the 2024 digital switch, so older study material still applies to the geometry portion. It does not cover algebra, functions, statistics, or trigonometry, which together drive most of the 44 questions. Treat the panel as a confirmation tool rather than a substitute for studying. Open it once at the start of each module so you know what is there, then keep working from memory wherever you can. For a section-by-section view of where the sheet fits, see AskSia's Digital SAT prep hub.
What is on the SAT reference sheet?
Geometry only. The sheet lists the area of a circle, rectangle, and triangle; the circumference of a circle; the volume of a rectangular prism, cylinder, sphere, cone, and pyramid; the Pythagorean theorem; the side ratios for 45-45-90 and 30-60-90 triangles; and three angle facts: 360° in a circle, 2π radians in a circle, and 180° in a triangle. That is all 15 items. Nothing from algebra, advanced math, or data analysis appears. The volume formulas are the highest-value entries, since the 1/3 factor on cones and pyramids is the detail students most often misremember. Use the tap-to-reveal flashcard deck above to drill each one until the prompt alone triggers the formula, then you will rarely need to open the panel mid-test.
What formulas do you have to memorize for the SAT?
Roughly 35 formulas the sheet leaves out. The core list spans slope and point-slope forms, the distance and midpoint formulas, the quadratic formula, vertex form, exponent rules, exponential growth and decay, compound interest, percent change, probability, the circle equation, arc length, sector area, polygon angle sums, and the trig ratios. Advanced Math alone is about 35% of the section, and none of its formulas are provided. The most efficient way to lock these in is spaced repetition rather than one-time cramming. AskSia's Flashcards feature with its FSRS engine schedules each formula against your test date so reviews land just before you forget. Build the deck four to six weeks out and drill 15 minutes a day.
Is the quadratic formula on the SAT reference sheet?
No. The quadratic formula, x = (−b ± √(b² − 4ac)) / 2a, is the single most common formula students expect to find on the sheet and do not. You have to memorize it. It appears across multiple questions per test, since Advanced Math makes up roughly 35% of the 44 math questions and quadratics sit at the center of that domain. The related vertex form, y = a(x − h)² + k, and the discriminant, b² − 4ac, are also off-sheet and worth knowing. Desmos, the built-in graphing calculator, can solve many quadratics faster than the formula by graphing roots directly, so practice both routes. Drill the formula and the Desmos shortcut together in AskSia's Mock Exam mode so you can pick the faster path under time.
Is there a trig reference sheet on the SAT?
No. The Digital SAT provides no trigonometry on its reference sheet at all. You must memorize SOH-CAH-TOA, meaning sin = opposite/hypotenuse, cos = adjacent/hypotenuse, and tan = opposite/adjacent, plus the Pythagorean identity, sin²θ + cos²θ = 1. The good news is the SAT tests a narrow slice of trig: no unit circle, no law of sines or cosines, and no identities beyond those two. Geometry and Trigonometry together account for only about 5 to 7 of the 44 questions, so the memorization load here is light. Focus your trig prep on recognizing right-triangle setups quickly rather than memorizing a long identity list. A few targeted practice sets will cover nearly everything the section asks.
Can you bring your own cheat sheet to the SAT?
No. The Digital SAT runs entirely inside the Bluebook app on a managed or approved device, and the testing environment is locked. You cannot bring printed notes, an index card, a physical formula sheet, or any external reference into the test room. The only resources available are the official in-app reference sheet and the scratch paper the proctor provides. This is why the distinction between a cheat sheet and the reference sheet matters: a self-made cheat sheet is a study tool for the weeks before the test, never something you carry in. Build one to organize the ~35 off-sheet formulas while you prep, then rely on memory and the official panel on test day. AskSia's cheat sheet library is a good place to start that build.
The reference sheet is a floor, not a foundation. It guarantees you will never blank on a volume formula, and it guarantees nothing else. The students who score well treat it as a 10-second safety net and put their real effort into the 35 formulas it quietly omits.
