Hi, Mike. How would you say the two math sections of the SAT are different (besides the obvious calculator use and the timing/number of questions)? I’m thinking in terms of content covered, types of questions, etc. Thanks!

Great question! The main difference is that Problem Solving and Data Analysis (PSDA) questions only appear in the calculator section (even though you don’t need a calculator for many of them). There are 38 questions in the calculator section and PSDA make up 17 of them, so just a little under half the section. That’s what makes the sections feel so different, content-wise.

PSDA covers a wide range of topics: percents, ratios, basic statistics, interpreting graphs and tables, etc.