Overview
Students taking the SAT Mathematics test are assessed on areas such as number and operations, algebra and functions, geometry and measurement, data analysis, and probability and statistics. The Geometry and Measurement strand covers topics such as geometric notation, concepts such as points, lines, and angles in the plane. Geometric figures such as triangles, quadrilaterals, and other polygons; areas and perimeters, circles, basic solid geometry, and coordinate geometry are also discussed.
Geometric Notation
Some of the multiple-choice questions on the SAT will refer to basic geometric notation, such as lines parallel to each other ∥, the definitions of point, line, and plane, and measuring the lengths of line segments according to their endpoints. Students will be required to read and interpret figures and diagrams in order to choose the correct answer. Angles are presented with both rays on the plane, so some questions will refer to supplementary and vertical angles, perpendicular lines, and complementary angles.
Triangles
Students may be required to apply the definitions of isosceles and equilateral triangles, as well as know the properties of all types of right triangles and be able to apply the Pythagorean Theorem. Some questions may refer to congruent and similar triangles. Some may refer to the triangle inequality; that the sum of the lengths of any two sides of a triangle is greater than the length of a third side.
Perimeter, Area, and Other Measurements
The area and perimeter of many figures can be calculated by knowing the relationships between their parts. For example, a square is a parallelogram with 4 equal sides and 4 right angles. The diagonals of the square form two special 45-45-90 triangles. The measurement can be calculated by the lengths of the side or by the length of the diagonal. Although formulas to calculate measurements are presented at the beginning of the test, practice before the test is necessary to save time and use them correctly.
Coordinate Geometry
Some of the questions will present diagrams that are located in the Cartesian coordinate plane, and students will be required to read and interpret those diagrams. Watch carefully for questions involving the slope of a line, finding midpoints of a line segment, and finding the distance between and two points by applying the Pythagorean Theorem. Draw pictures in the test booklet if there are not diagrams available.
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