Math · Content domain
Advanced Math on the Digital SAT
Advanced Math is where the SAT moves past straight lines. You handle quadratics and other nonlinear equations, work with polynomial, rational, radical, and exponential expressions, and rewrite expressions into equivalent forms.
Tied with Algebra as the biggest Math domain, it is often the difference between a good Math score and a great one. The skills reward recognizing structure, spotting when a messy-looking expression is really a familiar form in disguise.
New to the Digital SAT? Start with how the test is structured and scored.
≈35% · 13–15 questions
Share of the Math section (College Board figures, approximate).
Where it appears
Math is not grouped by domain. All four domains are mixed through each module and ordered easiest to hardest, so these questions can appear anywhere. Your total is spread across both modules.
How one Math module is ordered
Based on our analysis of official Bluebook practice tests, Math modules are not grouped by domain: all four domains are mixed across the 22 questions and ordered easiest to hardest, so Advanced Math questions can appear anywhere in the module.
The 3 skills in Advanced Math
Each has its own guide: what the SAT tests, the strategies that work, and practice questions with worked solutions.
Equivalent Expressions
Master equivalent expressions on the Digital SAT: factoring, exponent rules, and rational expressions, with practice questions and worked solutions.
Nonlinear Equations in One Variable and Systems of Equations
Solve quadratics, use the discriminant, and crack linear-quadratic systems on the Digital SAT with strategies and worked practice questions.
Nonlinear Functions
Understand quadratic and exponential functions on the Digital SAT: vertex form, intercepts, growth and decay, plus practice with worked solutions.
Desmos for Advanced Math
Solve these with the built-in calculator
Several Advanced Math questions are faster on the Digital SAT's Desmos graphing calculator than by hand. Here are the 6 moves that apply to this domain, each with a worked walkthrough.
- 1Solve Any Equation by Graphing
- 4Read a Parabola's Vertex, Roots, and Intercepts
- 6Check if Two Expressions Are Equivalent
- 8Build a Table to Test Several x-values at Once
- 12Use a Slider to Test an Unknown Constant
- 13Find a Constant for the Number of Solutions
Find out where you stand on Advanced Math
SAT Prep Quest tracks your level on every skill in this domain, then builds 5-minute drills around the ones costing you the most points.
Get your free skill profileCommon questions
How many Advanced Math questions are on the SAT?
College Board does not publish a fixed count, but Advanced Math makes up ≈35% · 13–15 questions of the Digital SAT Math section. The exact number shifts slightly from one test form to the next.
Where do Advanced Math questions appear on the Digital SAT?
Math is not grouped by domain. All four domains are mixed through each module and ordered easiest to hardest, so these questions can appear anywhere. Your total is spread across both modules. The Math section is split into two adaptive modules, and this domain shows up in both.
Other Math domains
SAT is a registered trademark of the College Board, which was not involved in producing, and does not endorse, this product. Score estimates are Learner Labs projections, not official College Board scores.