Reference

Properties
Properties of Exponents
Let a and b be real numbers and let m and n be rational numbers.

Zero Exponent Negative Exponent Product of Powers Property

a0 = 1, where a ≠ 0 1
a−n = —n , where a ≠ 0
a
⋅
am an = am + n

Quotient of Powers Property Power of a Power Property Power of a Product Property

am ( am )n = amn (ab)m = ambm
— = am − n, where a ≠ 0
an

Power of a Quotient Property Rational Exponents Rational Exponents

n— m
a m am, where b ≠ 0 am/n = ( a1/n )m = ( √ a) a−m/n = —
1
=—=—
1 1
()
— =—
b bm
where a ≠ 0
n — m,
am/n ( a1/n )m ( √ a)

Properties of Radicals
Let a and b be real numbers and let n be an integer greater than 1.

Product Property of Radicals Quotient Property of Radicals

⋅
n— n— n— — n—

Reference
√ab = √ a √b √a
√
n a
—=— n—
, where b ≠ 0
b √ b
Square Root of a Negative Number
— —
1. If r is a positive real number, then √ −r = i√r .
—
2. By the first property, it follows that ( i√ r )2 = −r.

Properties of Logarithms
Let b, m, and n be positive real numbers with b ≠ 1.
Product Property Quotient Property Power Property
logb mn = logb m + logb n m logb mn = n logb m
logb — = logb m − logb n
n

Other Properties
Zero-Product Property
If A and B are expressions and AB = 0, then A = 0 or B = 0.

Property of Equality for Exponential Equations

If b > 0 and b ≠ 1, then bx = b y if and only if x = y.

Property of Equality for Logarithmic Equations

If b, x, and y are positive real numbers with b ≠ 1, then logb x = logb y if and only if x = y.

Reference A97

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 Patterns
Square of a Binomial Pattern Sum and Difference Pattern
(a + b)2 = a2 + 2ab + b2 (a + b)(a − b) = a2 − b2
(a − b)2 = a2 − 2ab + b2
Completing the Square
Cube of a Binomial
(a + b)3 = a3 + 3a2b + 3ab2 + b3
(a − b)3 = a3 − 3a2b + 3ab2 − b3
() (
b 2
x2 + bx + — = x + —
2
b
2 ) 2

Difference of Two Squares Pattern Perfect Square Trinomial Pattern

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

Sum of Two Cubes Difference of Two Cubes

a3 + b3 = (a + b)( a2 − ab + b2 ) a3 − b3 = (a − b)( a2 + ab + b2 )

Theorems
The Remainder Theorem
If a polynomial f (x) is divided by x − k, then the remainder is r = f (k).

The Factor Theorem

A polynomial f (x) has a factor x − k if and only if f (k) = 0.

The Rational Root Theorem

If f (x) = anxn + . . . + a1x + a0 has integer coefficients, then every rational solution of f (x) = 0 has the form
p factor of constant term a0
— = ——— .
q factor of leading coefficient an

The Irrational Conjugates Theorem —

Let f be a polynomial function with rational coefficients, and let a and b be rational numbers such that √b
is irrational.
— —
If a + √ b is a zero of f, then a − √ b is also a zero of f.

The Fundamental Theorem of Algebra

Theorem If f (x) is a polynomial of degree n where n > 0, then the equation f (x) = 0 has at least one solution
in the set of complex numbers.
Corollary If f (x) is a polynomial of degree n where n > 0, then the equation f (x) = 0 has exactly n solutions
provided each solution repeated twice is counted as 2 solutions, each solution repeated three times
is counted as 3 solutions, and so on.

The Complex Conjugates Theorem

If f is a polynomial function with real coefficients, and a + bi is an imaginary zero of f, then a − bi is also a
zero of f.

Descartes’s Rule of Signs

Let f (x) = anx n + an − 1x n − 1 + . . . + a2x2 + a1x + a0 be a polynomial function with real coefficients.
• The number of positive real zeros of f is equal to the number of changes in sign of the coefficients of f (x) or
is less than this by an even number.
• The number of negative real zeros of f is equal to the number of changes in the sign of the coefficients of
f (−x) or is less than this by an even number.

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 Formulas
Algebra
Slope Slope-intercept form Point-slope form
y2 − y1 y = mx + b y − y1 = m(x − x1)
m=—
x2 − x1

Standard form of a quadratic function Vertex form of a quadratic function

f (x) = ax2 + bx + c, where a ≠ 0 f (x) = a(x − h)2 + k, where a ≠ 0

Intercept form of a quadratic function Quadratic Formula

—
f (x) = a(x − p)(x − q), where a ≠ 0 −b ± √ b2 − 4ac
x = ——, where a ≠ 0
2a

Standard equation of a circle Standard form of a polynomial function

x2 + y2 = r2 f (x) = anxn + an − 1xn − 1 + . . . + a1x + a0

Exponential growth function Exponential decay function

y = abx, where a > 0 and b > 1 y = abx, where a > 0 and 0 < b < 1

Logarithm of y with base b Change-of-base formula

logb y = x if and only if bx = y logb a
logc a = — , where a, b, and c are positive real numbers
logb c
with b ≠ 1 and c ≠ 1.

Sum of n terms of 1 Sum of first n positive integers

Reference
n n
n(n + 1)
∑1=n
i=1
∑ i=—
2
i=1

Sum of squares of first n positive integers Explicit rule for an arithmetic sequence
n
n(n + 1)(2n + 1) an = a1 + (n − 1)d
∑
i=1
i2 = ——
6

Sum of first n terms of an arithmetic series Explicit rule for a geometric sequence
( a1 + an ) an = a1rn − 1
Sn = n—
2

Sum of first n terms of a geometric series Sum of an infinite geometric series

1−
(
Sn = a1 —
1−r
rn
)
, where r ≠ 1 S=—
a1
1−r
provided ∣ r ∣ < 1

Recursive equation for an arithmetic sequence Recursive equation for a geometric sequence
an = an − 1 + d ⋅
an = r an − 1

Statistics
Sample mean Standard deviation

√
————
∑x
—x = — (x1 − μ)2 + (x2 − μ)2 + . . . + (xn − μ)2
n σ = ————
n

z-Score Margin of error for sample proportions

x−μ 1
z=— ±—
σ √n
—

Reference A99

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 Trigonometry y

General definitions of trigonometric functions

Let θ be an angle in standard position, and let (x, y) be the point where the (x, y)
r θ
terminal side of θ intersects the circle x2 + y2 = r2. The six trigonometric functions
of θ are defined as shown. x
y x y
sin θ = — cos θ = — tan θ = —, x ≠ 0
r r x
r r x
csc θ = —, y ≠ 0 sec θ = —, x ≠ 0 cot θ = —, y ≠ 0
y x y

Conversion between degrees and radians sector y radian

180° = π radians 2π
π
π measure
2
3π 3 3 π
Arc length of a sector Area of a sector r 4 90° 4
arc 5π 120° 60° π
s = rθ A = —12 r2θ θ length 6 135° 45° 6
150° degree 30°
s
π measure 0° 0 x
180°
360° 2π
Reciprocal Identities
210° 330°
1 1 1 7π 11π
csc θ = — sec θ = — cot θ = — 225° 315°
sin θ cos θ tan θ 6
5π
240° 300° 6
270° 7π
4 4π 5π 4
Tangent and Cotangent Identities 3 3π
3
2
sin θ cos θ
tan θ = — cot θ = —
cos θ sin θ

Pythagorean Identities Negative Angle Identities Cofunction Identites

sin2 θ + cos2 θ = 1 sin(−θ) = −sin θ
π
1 + tan2 θ = sec2 θ
1 + cot2 θ = csc2 θ
cos(−θ) = cos θ
tan(−θ) = −tan θ
(
sin — − θ = cos θ
2 )
π
(
cos — − θ = sin θ
2 )
π
(
tan — − θ = cot θ
2 )
Sum Formulas Difference Formulas
sin(a + b) = sin a cos b + cos a sin b sin(a − b) = sin a cos b − cos a sin b
cos(a + b) = cos a cos b − sin a sin b cos (a − b) = cos a cos b + sin a sin b
tan a + tan b tan a − tan b
tan(a + b) =—— tan(a − b) = ——
1 − tan a tan b 1 + tan a tan b

Probability and Combinatorics

Number of favorable outcomes Number of successes
Theoretical Probability = ——— Experimental Probability = ——
Total number of outcomes Number of trials
Probability of the complement of an event Probability of independent events
—
P(A) = 1 − P(A) P(A and B) = P(A) P(B) ⋅
Probability of dependent events Probability of compound events
P(A and B) = P(A) P(B | A) ⋅ P(A or B) = P(A) + P(B) − P(A and B)

Permutations Combinations Binomial experiments

n! n!
nPr = — nCr = — P(k successes) = nCk pk(1 − p)n − k
(n − r)! ⋅
(n − r)! r!
The Binomial Theorem
(a + b)n = nC0anb0 + nC1an − 1b1 + nC2an − 2b2 + . . . + nCna0bn, where n is a positive integer.

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 Perimeter, Area, and Volume Formulas
Square Rectangle Triangle

a h c
s w

b
s

P = 4s P = 2 + 2w P=a+b+c
A = s2 A= w A = —12 bh

Circle Parallelogram Trapezoid

b2
r h
h
d b

b1

C = πd or C = 2πr A = bh A = —12 h( b1 + b2 )
A = π r2

Rhombus/Kite Regular n-gon

Reference
d1 d1
a

s
d2 d2

A = —12d1d2 ⋅
A = —12 aP or A = —12a ns

Prism Cylinder Pyramid

r

h h
h

B B P
P

L = Ph L = 2π rh L = —12 P
S = 2B + Ph S = 2πr2 + 2πrh S = B + —12 P
V = Bh V = πr2h
V = —13Bh

Cone Sphere
L = πr S = 4πr2
S = πr2 + πr V = —43πr3
r
h V = —13πr2h

Reference A101

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 Other Formulas
Pythagorean Theorem Simple Interest Distance
a2 + b2 = c2 I = Prt d = rt

Compound Interest
c r nt
a
(
A=P 1+—
n )
b
Continuously Compounded Interest
A = Pert

Conversions
U.S. Customary U.S. Customary to Metric Time
1 foot = 12 inches 1 inch = 2.54 centimeters 1 minute = 60 seconds
1 yard = 3 feet 1 foot ≈ 0.3 meter 1 hour = 60 minutes
1 mile = 5280 feet 1 mile ≈ 1.61 kilometers 1 hour = 3600 seconds
1 mile = 1760 yards 1 quart ≈ 0.95 liter 1 year = 52 weeks
1 acre = 43,560 square feet 1 gallon ≈ 3.79 liters
1 cup = 8 fluid ounces 1 cup ≈ 237 milliliters Temperature
1 pint = 2 cups 1 pound ≈ 0.45 kilogram C = —59 (F − 32)
1 quart = 2 pints 1 ounce ≈ 28.3 grams
F = —95C + 32
1 gallon = 4 quarts 1 gallon ≈ 3785 cubic centimeters
1 gallon = 231 cubic inches
1 pound = 16 ounces
1 ton = 2000 pounds

Metric Metric to U.S. Customary

1 centimeter = 10 millimeters 1 centimeter ≈ 0.39 inch
1 meter = 100 centimeters 1 meter ≈ 3.28 feet
1 kilometer = 1000 meters 1 meter ≈ 39.37 inches
1 liter = 1000 milliliters 1 kilometer ≈ 0.62 mile
1 kiloliter = 1000 liters 1 liter ≈ 1.06 quarts
1 milliliter = 1 cubic centimeter 1 liter ≈ 0.26 gallon
1 liter = 1000 cubic centimeters 1 kilogram ≈ 2.2 pounds
1 cubic millimeter = 0.001 milliliter 1 gram ≈ 0.035 ounce
1 gram = 1000 milligrams 1 cubic meter ≈ 264 gallons
1 kilogram = 1000 grams

A102 Reference

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