Area and Volume on the Digital SAT: the Desmos Method

Every one of these questions is a formula with the numbers already handed to you. The math is not the hard part. Getting the whole formula onto one Desmos line without losing a half, an exponent or a step is the hard part, and once it is on there you just read the number Desmos prints.

Geometry & Trigonometry·65 practice problems in DesPrep

The Area and Volume lesson is part of DesPrep

It is one of the 17 full lessons inside the subscription — 7 sections that take area and volume from first principles to the fastest Desmos route, with a worked example on every one:

  • One line, one number, nothing written down in between
  • The half on a triangle is the most-dropped thing on the test
  • The right-arrow key is most of this skill
  • When they give you the area and want a side back
  • A perimeter is not a length, and the slash will bite you here
  • Scale a side and the area moves twice
  • Leftover space is one solid minus another

Then 65 practice problems on this skill alone, solved inside a live Desmos calculator with step feedback and an expert replay on every one.

More Geometry & Trigonometry guides

All 19 SAT math skills →