This is the MATHEMATICAL FORMULAE page printed at the front of every
national Mathematics paper — the G3 and G2 papers print the same page. Everything on it is given
to you, so no marks go for recalling it; the marks go for knowing what each letter means and when
the formula applies. Only five of these are used in Sec 1–2, all in Sec 2 (the ones with a chapter
link). The rest are Sec 3–4 topics. Whether your Sec 1–2 school
papers give you this page is up to your school.
Compound interest
| Total amount Sec 3–4 | |
Mensuration
| Curved surface area of a cone S2 · 11 | |
| Surface area of a sphere S2 · 11 | |
| Volume of a cone S2 · 11 | |
| Volume of a sphere S2 · 11 | |
| Area of triangle ABC Sec 3–4 | |
| Arc length Sec 3–4 | θ in radians |
| Sector area Sec 3–4 | θ in radians |
Trigonometry
| Sine Rule Sec 3–4 | |
| Cosine Rule Sec 3–4 | |
Statistics
| Mean S2 · 14 | |
| Standard deviation Sec 3–4 | |
Even for the five you will use in Sec 2, the sheet stops short: it gives the cone's
curved surface only (add the base yourself), says nothing about a pyramid or a hemisphere,
and gives no formula for the median or mode. Those are on the You must remember tab.
None of this is printed on the formula sheet. These are the formulae
and rules the Sec 1 and Sec 2 chapters of these notes teach that the sheet does not give you —
gathered in one place. Each link opens the chapter that teaches it.
You have chosen G2 Maths, so formulae from G3-only content are hidden.
Secondary 1
Primes, HCF and LCM S1 · 1
| Two numbers, their HCF and LCM | two numbers only — it fails for three |
Integers, rational and real numbers S1 · 2
| Signs when multiplying or dividing | same signs → positive · different signs → negative |
| Order of operations | brackets → powers and roots → × and ÷ (left to right) → + and − (left to right)−4² = −16, but (−4)² = 16 |
Basic algebra S1 · 4
| The Distributive Law | |
| A minus sign in front of a bracket | every sign inside flips |
Linear equations S1 · 5
| Cross-multiplying | → |
Linear functions and graphs S1 · 6
| Equation of a straight line | m is the gradient, c the y-intercept (the syllabus writes y = ax + b) |
| Gradient | go from the left-hand point to the right-hand one |
| Horizontal and vertical lines | y = k has gradient 0 · x = k has an undefined gradient |
Number patterns S1 · 7
| General term of a linear sequence | d is the common difference and c = T1 − d |
| The nth triangular number | |
| A percentage | and 100% = 1 |
| Percentage change | always divide by the original value |
| New value after a change | new value = final percentage × original valuee.g. a 15% rise: 115% × original |
| Profit or loss as a percentage | unless the question names the selling price |
| Percentage discount | |
Ratio and rate S1 · 9
| Simple interest | P principal, R% rate per year, T years |
| Speed | so distance = speed × time and time = distance ÷ speed |
| Average speed | not the average of the speeds |
| Changing units of speed | km/h ÷ 3.6 = m/s · m/s × 3.6 = km/h |
Basic geometry S1 · 10
| Angles on a straight line · at a point | add up to 180° (adj. ∠s on a str. line) · add up to 360° (∠s at a point) |
| Vertically opposite angles | are equal (vert. opp. ∠s) |
| Parallel lines cut by a transversal | corresponding angles are equal · alternate angles are equal · interior angles add up to 180°write the reason in brackets on every line |
Polygons and geometrical constructions S1 · 11
| Angles of a triangle | add up to 180° · an exterior angle = the sum of the two interior opposite angles |
| Sum of the interior angles of an n-sided polygon | |
| Sum of the exterior angles of any polygon | 360°and at each vertex, interior angle + exterior angle = 180° |
| Regular polygon: each angle | |
Perimeter and area of plane figures S1 · 12
| Circle | halve a diameter before it goes into either formula |
| Parallelogram | h is perpendicular to the base b, not the slanting side |
| Trapezium | a and b are the parallel sides |
| Triangle | with the perpendicular height |
Volume and surface area of prisms and cylinders S1 · 13
| Prism (cuboid, cube, any cross-section) | volume = base area × height · total surface area = perimeter of base × height + 2 × base areacuboid: V = lbh, surface 2(lb + lh + bh); cube: l³ and 6l² |
| Cylinder | closed cylinder total: 2πr² + 2πrh |
| Units | 1 m² = 10 000 cm² · 1 m³ = 1 000 000 cm³ · 1 ml = 1 cm³ · 1 litre = 1000 cm³ |
Statistical data handling S1 · 14
| Pie chart sector angle | |
Secondary 2
Linear graphs and simultaneous equations S2 · 1
| A linear equation in two variables | ax + by = k is a straight linemake y the subject to read off its gradient |
| How many solutions? | different gradients → one · same gradient, different intercept → none · the same line → infinitely many |
Linear inequalities S2 · 2
| Multiplying or dividing by a negative number | reverses the inequality signevery other move is the same as for an equation |
Expansion and factorisation S2 · 3
| Two brackets | |
| Factorising x² + bx + c | where m × n = c and m + n = b |
Special algebraic identities S2 · 4
| Perfect squares | (a + b)² is not a² + b² |
| Difference of two squares | |
Quadratic equations and graphs S2 · 5 G3
| Zero Product Principle | only against a zero: rearrange to … = 0 first |
| Graph of y = ax² + bx + c | a > 0: opens upwards, minimum point · a < 0: opens downwards, maximum pointthe line of symmetry is halfway between the two x-intercepts |
Algebraic fractions and formulae S2 · 6
| Multiplying and dividing | only the second fraction turns over |
| Turning a bracket round | |
Direct and inverse proportion S2 · 7
| Direct proportion | quotients equal |
| Inverse proportion | products equal |
| Map scales | a length scale of 1 : n gives an area scale of 1 : n²1 km = 100 000 cm · 1 km² = 1 000 000 m² · 1 ha = 10 000 m² |
Congruence and similarity S2 · 8
| Similar figures | corresponding sides are in the same ratio — the scale factore.g. k = PQ ÷ AB for every pair of corresponding sides |
| Enlargement G3 | |
Pythagoras' Theorem S2 · 9
| Right-angled triangle, hypotenuse c | for a shorter side: a² = c² − b² |
| The converse | if c² = a² + b², the triangle is right-angled, with the right angle opposite c |
Trigonometric ratios S2 · 10 G3
| SOH · CAH · TOA | for an acute angle A in a right-angled triangle |
Volume and surface area of pyramids, cones and spheres S2 · 11
| Volume of a pyramid | not on the sheet, although the cone is |
| Total surface area of a cone | the sheet gives only the curved part, πrl |
| Slant height | (cone) (square pyramid) |
| Hemisphere | volume · curved surface · solid total half of the sphere’s formulae, plus the flat circle for a solid one |
Probability of single events S2 · 12
| Equally likely outcomes | |
| The two ends, and “not” | 0 ≤ P(E) ≤ 1 · P(not E) = 1 − P(E) |
| Relative frequency | |
| Whole numbers from a to b inclusive | |
Averages of statistical data S2 · 14
| Mean of raw data | so sum = mean × number of values |
| Position of the median | a position in the ordered list, not the median itself |
| Mode | the value (or values) with the highest frequency |
| Mid-value of a class | the x in Σfx ÷ Σf for grouped data — that formula is on the sheet |