Picture a 600-page math book on your kitchen table. Some of it is on the GED. A lot of it isn’t.
The catch? Without a map, you can lose weeks on trig or proofs that never show up, and run short on the algebra that’s more than half the test.
So on this page you’ll get:
- The 4 areas of the test, and how much of it each one covers
- Every skill in each area in plain words, with a sample question and a practice link
- The 9 topics you can skip
- A quick look at how the test works on the day
If the skill lists look long, don’t worry. Most of it comes back to a handful of ideas you already use, like splitting a bill or reading a phone plan.
The 4 areas of the test (and how big each one is)
Think of the test like a monthly budget with four bills. Each bill takes a different share, and the biggest one deserves the most attention.
GED Testing Service publishes those shares in its Assessment Guide for Educators. Your score report uses the same four areas, so this is also how your results will be shown.
| Area | Share | Questions (our estimate) |
|---|---|---|
| Numbers and percents | 25% | about 11 or 12 |
| Measurement and data | 20% | about 9 |
| Expressions and equations | 30% | about 14 |
| Graphs and functions | 25% | about 11 or 12 |
The percentages are official. The question counts are our own math on a 46-question test, because GED Testing Service only publishes the shares.
Here’s why that matters. Areas 3 and 4 are both algebra, and together they make up 55% of the test. That’s more than half.
If algebra is the part you dread, that’s useful news. An hour spent there touches more questions than an hour spent anywhere else.
What’s in each area, in plain words
Each area below has the skills it covers, where you’d meet that math in real life, a sample question (our own, written for this page) and a link to practice.
Don’t try to learn every line at once. Skim them, and notice which ones make you wince. Those are your starting points.
1. Numbers and percents (25%)
- Put fractions and decimals in order, and place them on a number line
- Add, subtract, multiply and divide fractions, decimals and negative numbers
- Squares, square roots, cubes, cube roots and scientific notation
- Absolute value, and the distance between two numbers
- Unit rates, such as price per item or miles per hour
- Scale drawings and maps turned into real sizes
- Percent problems: tax, tip, discount, markup, simple interest, percent change
In real life: Splitting a dinner bill, working out a tip, or checking whether a $40 shirt marked down to $30 is really a good deal.
You see two pack sizes of the same drink with their prices, and you're asked which is the better buy. That's two divisions and a comparison, and the bigger pack isn't always the answer.
Practice it: Number sense and operations · Fractions, decimals and percents · Ratios, rates and proportions · Exponents, roots and scientific notation.
2. Measurement and data (20%)
- Area and perimeter of rectangles, triangles, circles and shapes made of several pieces
- Working backwards from an area or perimeter to find a missing side
- Volume and surface area of boxes, cylinders, pyramids, cones and spheres
- The Pythagorean theorem, to find a missing side of a right triangle
- Reading bar graphs, circle graphs, dot plots, histograms, box plots and scatter plots
- Mean, median, mode and range, including finding a missing value from an average
- Counting outcomes, and the probability of one event or two events together
In real life: How much carpet covers a floor, how much water fills a fish tank, or what your average tips were over a week.
A labeled drawing gives the radius and height of a round tank and asks how much it holds. The formula is on your sheet. Points get lost when people use the diameter where the radius goes.
Practice it: Geometry and measurement · Data, statistics and probability.
3. Expressions and equations (30%)
- Combine like terms, multiply out parentheses and factor
- Add, subtract and multiply polynomials
- Plug numbers in for letters and work out the value
- Turn a word problem into an expression or equation
- Solve linear equations, including ones with fractions or parentheses
- Solve one-variable inequalities and show the answer on a number line
- Solve two equations together (a system) by substitution, elimination or graphing
- Solve quadratic equations by factoring or with the quadratic formula
In real life: A phone plan that costs $45 a month plus $6 per extra gig. If you know the bill, you can work backwards to how many extra gigs you used.
A gym charges a joining fee plus a fixed monthly rate. You're told what a member has paid after so many months and asked for the monthly rate. Write the equation, then solve it.
Practice it: Expressions and polynomials · Equations and inequalities.
4. Graphs and functions (25%)
- Find and plot points on a coordinate grid
- Find slope from a graph, an equation or a table
- Graph a straight line from its equation
- Read a graph: where it crosses the axes, where it rises or falls, its highest and lowest points
- Write the equation of a line from a slope and a point, or from two points
- Tell whether lines are parallel or perpendicular from their slopes
- Use function notation, such as finding f(3)
- Compare two relationships shown in different ways and say which grows faster
In real life: Looking at a chart of your electric bill over a year and spotting the month it jumped, or seeing which of two plans gets pricier faster.
One savings plan is drawn as a line on a grid, and the other is given as an equation. Which one adds money faster? The job is reading the slope (how steep the line is) off the grid.
Practice it: Functions and graphing.
Bottom line: your official score report uses these same four areas. If it says you were weak in “graphs and functions”, the list under area 4 is your to-do list.
9 topics you can skip
The good news? Some of the math you’re most afraid of isn’t on the test at all.
GED Testing Service names these topics as left out. Six come from a presentation by a GED Testing Service board member, and three more are in Appendix A of the Assessment Guide. If your study book has chapters on them, skip those chapters.
| Not tested | What that means for you |
|---|---|
| Trigonometry | No sine, cosine or tangent. Right triangles use the Pythagorean theorem. |
| Geometry proofs | No proving triangles are the same shape and size. |
| Exponential functions | No growth-and-decay functions. Plain exponents are still tested. |
| Two-variable inequalities | No shading regions on a graph. |
| Graphing quadratics | No drawing or reading parabolas. |
| Lines of best fit | You may read a scatter plot, but you won't draw a trend line. |
| Logarithms | Nothing on the test uses logs. |
| Moving shapes | No flips, slides, turns or resizing a figure. |
| Direct and inverse variation | Proportions show up as unit rates and slope instead. |
How the test works on the day
The 115-minute test comes in two parts. The first few questions have no calculator. After a short break, an on-screen TI-30XS appears for the rest.
- Five ways to answer: multiple choice, fill in the blank, drop-down, drag and drop, and clicking a spot on a graph. Try each one live.
- What you’re handed: the formula sheet and a calculator reference sheet, so you don’t memorize area or volume formulas. You do need to know which one fits.
- The calculator: our calculator guide shows the keys that matter and how to handle the no-calculator part.
Where to start this week
Take our practice test once before you study. A low score is fine right now. It’s a starting line, and it sorts your results into these same four areas.
Then work on your weakest area first with the topic sets. Not sure? Start with equations, since algebra is more than half the test. The study guide turns this map into a week-by-week plan.
Frequently asked questions
What kind of math is on the GED?
Middle school and early high school math: fractions, decimals, percents and ratios, area and volume, averages and simple probability, and basic algebra up to solving quadratic equations. There's no trigonometry and no calculus.
How many questions are on the GED math test?
About 46. GED Testing Service gives a rough number because test forms vary a little, so any site that promises an exact count is guessing.
How long is the GED math test?
115 minutes in total, including a couple of minutes of instructions and a three-minute break between the two parts.
Is there trigonometry on the GED math test?
No. Sine, cosine and tangent aren't tested. For right triangles you only need the Pythagorean theorem, and that formula is on the sheet you're given.
Is there geometry on the GED math test?
Yes, the measuring kind: area, perimeter, volume, surface area and the Pythagorean theorem. The formulas are supplied, and there are no proofs.
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
Two timed parts, all five formats, and results broken down by these four categories.
The GED math study guide
This map turned into an order of study and a week-by-week plan.
The formula sheet, explained
The formulas you're given, each with a worked example.
What score you need
145 of 200, what the higher score levels mean, and what isn't published about scoring.