Shortcut to the ACT Math Section

We can never know what exactly is going to be on the ACT Math section, but each test draws from a similar bank of concepts and terms. This is great news, because it means if you know you tend to struggle on the ACT math section, you can look over this comprehensive list of ACT topics to boost your ACT score.

Some terms and concepts appear on every test, and others appear on every other test or every fourth test. Below is a list of the most common ACT math concepts and how often they tend to appear!

Which Topics are Most Important to Know for the ACT Math Section?

We know this giant list of ACT math concepts seems scary — but don’t worry, we’ll go over each of them in this article. If you see one on the list and you feel like you don’t understand it as well as you could, scroll down for an explanation!

Must Know ACT Math Concepts

1. Fractions
2. Average
3. Probability
4. Percents
5. Exponents
6. Linear Equations/Slope
7. Solving Equations
8. Picking Numbers
9. Ratio
10. Quadratic Skills
11. Area/Perimeter of Basic Shapes
12. Negatives
13. SOHCAHTOA

Extremely Likely Concepts

14. Function Shifts
15. Average Sum Trick
16. Mph
17. Median
18. Radicals
19. Systems of Equations
20. Angle Chasing
21. Time
22. Pythagorean Theorem
23. Apply Formula
24. Composite Function
25. Matrices
26. Midpoint

Very Likely

27. Special Right Triangles
28. Absolute Value
29. Multi-Step Conversion
30. Remainders
31. Weird Shape Area
32. Periodic Function Graph
33. Shaded Area
34. Counting Principle
35. Logarithms
36. Imaginary Numbers
37. Least Common Multiple
38. Scientific Notation
39. Ellipses
40. Vectors

Worth Knowing

41. Permutation
42. Volume of a Prism
43. C = product of roots, b = sum of roots
44. Circle Equation
45. Difference of Two Squares
46. Arithmetic Sequences
47. Law of Sines and Cosines
48. Triangle Opposite Side Rule
49. Change the Base
50. Similar Triangles
51. Probability with “not”
52. Factors
53. Trapezoid
54. Domain and Range
55. Conjugates
56. Exponential Growth/Decay
57. Weighted Average
58. Reciprocal vs Inverse Trig Functions
59. Parallelogram
60. Use the Radius
61. Value/Frequency Charts
62. Pythagorean Triples
63. Lowest Common Denominator
64. System of Equations with Three Equations
65. Compare Numbers
66. Translations, Reflections, and Rotations
67. Stem and Leaf Plots
68. Converting Angles to Radians
69. Factorials
70. Faces on a 3D Figure
71. Step Function