You do not have to memorize the formulas on this page. GED Testing Service gives you all of them during the Mathematical Reasoning test, on paper at a test center or from a drop-down on screen if you test online. What the sheet will not do is tell you which formula a question needs, or what the letters stand for. That part is on you, and it is where marks are lost.
So this page is not a picture of the PDF. It is the same 27 formulas with a worked example under each one, the mistake each formula most often produces, and a link to practice it.
- Formulas provided
- 27
- Available for
- The whole test
- Current version
- 2026-02 revised
- Not on the sheet
- 7 key formulas
The full sheet, formula by formula
Search it or tap any entry. The formulas below match the official Mathematics Formula Sheet (2026-02 revised), checked against three copies hosted on ged.com on 2026-09-13. The examples, warnings and practice links are ours.
Tap any formula to see a worked example and the mistake it usually causes.
Area
Area is the space inside a flat shape, always measured in square units.
Perimeter
Perimeter is the distance all the way around a shape, measured in ordinary units.
Circumference
Surface area and volume
On the sheet, p is the perimeter of the base, B is the area of the base, and s in the pyramid and cone formulas is the slant height.
Data
Algebra
What you do not get
This is the half of the story most formula-sheet pages skip. The sheet is generous about geometry and thin about everything else, and questions are written knowing exactly what it leaves out. These come up on the test and are not provided:
| Not on the sheet | What to do instead |
|---|---|
| Compound interest | Only simple interest, I = Prt, appears. Compound-interest questions do appear, so learn A = P(1 + r/n)^(nt) separately. |
| Percent change | There is no percent-increase or percent-decrease formula. Use (new − old) ÷ old, then multiply by 100. |
| Distance between two points | The sheet has d = rt, which is for travel, and no coordinate-plane distance formula. On the grid, build a right triangle and use a² + b² = c². |
| Midpoint formula | Not provided, so average the x-values and average the y-values. |
| Unit conversions | No conversion table is given. Common ones have to be known: 12 inches in a foot, 3 feet in a yard, 16 ounces in a pound, 60 minutes in an hour. |
| Exponent rules | The sheet does not list them. Know that multiplying like bases adds exponents and dividing subtracts them. |
| Probability formulas | No counting or probability formula appears. Probability is favorable outcomes ÷ total outcomes. |
How to use it on test day
Know the layout before you need it
The sheet is organized by area, perimeter, circumference, surface area and volume, data, and algebra, in that order. Under pressure, the difference between knowing roughly where the cone formula sits and scanning the whole sheet is thirty seconds a question. Across a test with about 46 questions in 115 minutes, that is real time.
The cheapest way to build that familiarity is to open the sheet during practice even when you already know the formula. Our full-length practice test puts it one click away on every question for exactly this reason.
The letters are the hard part
Most formula mistakes are not formula mistakes. They are substitution mistakes: putting the diameter where the formula asked for a radius, using the slant height of a cone where the volume formula wanted the vertical height, or reading b as a base when in y = mx + b it is the starting value. Before you calculate anything, write down what each letter equals. It takes five seconds, and it catches the error that costs the mark.
If the question gives you a diameter, halve it before it goes anywhere near a formula with an r in it. Squaring a diameter instead of a radius gives four times the right answer — and that wrong answer is almost always one of the options.
Check the units before you commit
Area answers are in square units, volume answers in cubic units, and perimeter and circumference in plain units. When two answer choices have the same digits but different units, the question is testing whether you know which quantity you just calculated. Read the unit on the option before you select it.
Remember the sheet works when the calculator does not
The test opens with a short section of about five questions where no calculator is available. The formula sheet is still available there. Those questions are written to be done by hand, so they use friendly numbers, but you may still need a formula off the sheet to set one up. More on that on our GED calculator page.
Formulas stick when you use them
Reading a formula sheet is not studying. Using a formula fifteen times, getting three of them wrong, and finding out exactly why is studying. Each entry above links to a practice set that uses it, and the geometry set is the fastest place to build fluency with the volume and surface-area formulas, which carry the most letters and cause the most slips.
If you would rather work across the whole subject, the study guide maps every skill on the test to a practice set and gives you a week-by-week plan. To find out where you stand first, take the full practice test and read the breakdown at the end.
Frequently asked questions
Do you get a formula sheet on the GED math test?
Yes. GED Testing Service provides a Mathematics Formula Sheet for the Mathematical Reasoning test. At a test center you get it on paper; taking the test online it opens from a drop-down on screen. It is available for the whole test, including the first section where the calculator is not.
What formulas are on the GED math formula sheet?
Area for six shapes, perimeter for three, circumference, surface area and volume for six solids, the definitions of mean and median, and nine algebra entries: slope, slope-intercept form, point-slope form, the standard form of a quadratic, the quadratic formula, the Pythagorean theorem, simple interest, distance as rate times time, and total cost. Each one is listed with a worked example on this page.
Is the quadratic formula on the GED formula sheet?
Yes. The quadratic formula, x = (−b ± √(b² − 4ac)) ÷ 2a, appears in the algebra section of the official sheet, alongside the standard form y = ax² + bx + c. You do not need to memorize it, but you do need to know how to substitute into it and that the plus-or-minus gives two answers.
Is compound interest on the GED formula sheet?
No. The sheet gives simple interest only, I = Prt. Compound-interest questions can still appear, so you need to know A = P(1 + r/n)^(nt) separately. This catches people out every year.
Is the percent change formula on the GED formula sheet?
No. There is no percent-increase or percent-decrease formula on the sheet. Work it out as the change divided by the original amount, then multiply by 100. Percent questions are common on the test, so this is worth knowing cold.
Can I bring my own formula sheet to the GED test?
No. You may not bring notes of any kind into the test. The only formula sheet you can use is the official one that GED Testing Service provides, which is why it is worth knowing its layout before test day.
Do I need to memorize the GED math formulas?
Not the ones on the sheet, but you do need to know which formula to reach for and what each letter means, because the sheet will not tell you that a question about a can of soup needs the cylinder formula. The formulas that are not on the sheet, like compound interest, percent change and unit conversions, do need to be memorized.
How do I get the GED math formula sheet as a PDF?
GED Testing Service publishes it on ged.com; the current file is the February 2026 revision, linked in the sources at the bottom of this page. The version on this page has the same formulas, checked against three copies hosted on ged.com, with a worked example added to each one.
Sources
Figures on this page were checked against these sources on the dates shown.
- Mathematics Formula Sheet (2026-02 revised) · GED Testing Service · checked September 13, 2026
- Mathematics Formula Sheet (second ged.com copy) · GED Testing Service · checked September 13, 2026
- Assessment Guide for Educators: Mathematical Reasoning · GED Testing Service · checked September 13, 2026
- What to expect on test day · GED Testing Service · checked September 13, 2026
- Can You Use a Calculator on the GED Math Test? · GED Testing Service · checked September 13, 2026
Written by
Coach Crissy
Math instructor
Coach Crissy teaches the video lessons behind the BooknBoost GED math course, working through GED-style problems on camera: ratios and proportions, percent and interest, mean, median and mode, slope, and the geometry students meet on test day.
Keep going
Free full-length practice test
46 questions with the formula sheet on every screen, and every answer explained.
The TI-30XS calculator on the GED
Which keys matter, when it is locked, and whether you can bring your own.
Geometry and measurement practice
The formulas with the most letters, and the ones that cause the most slips.
The full study guide
Each skill on the test mapped to practice, with a week-by-week plan.