Test Prep · ACT · Mathematics test
ACT Math
The ACT's math test: a brisk set of multiple-choice questions on the math of high school, from percents to logarithms and trigonometry.
- 45 questions
- 50 minutes
- about 67 s a question
- Calculator allowed
- 4 choices
Changed in 2025 How the ACT changed in 2025: what's different, and whether it got easier.
Which version?
This is the ACT given now, online or on paper, nationally and on school days. Practice this one first.
Timed mixed set Enhanced ACT
Questions from every area, at the real pace of about 67 seconds a question. Answer in any order, flag questions to come back to, and see everything at the end.
You can hide the timer at any time during the set. Your time on each question is kept for your results either way. A calculator is allowed on the real ACT, so keep one nearby for the few questions that ask you to round.
Practice by area Enhanced ACT
Ten questions from one area, untimed, with the steps after each answer.
The legacy ACT is no longer given: national testing switched in 2025 and school-day testing in spring 2026. Practice it if you're working from an older prep book. It's faster and has five answer choices. What changed.
- 60 questions
- 60 minutes
- about 60 s a question
- Calculator allowed
- 5 choices
Timed mixed set Legacy ACT
Questions from every area, at the real pace of about 60 seconds a question. Answer in any order, flag questions to come back to, and see everything at the end.
You can hide the timer at any time during the set. Your time on each question is kept for your results either way. A calculator is allowed on the real ACT, so keep one nearby for the few questions that ask you to round.
Practice by area Legacy ACT
Ten questions from one area, untimed, with the steps after each answer, with 5 choices each.
About the ACT math today
- 45 questions in 50 minutes, about 67 seconds a question. 41 of the 45 count toward your score. The Enhanced ACT · Preparing for the ACT, 2025–2026
- Every question is multiple choice with 4 answer choices (the enhanced ACT dropped the fifth choice). The Enhanced ACT · Preparing for the ACT, 2025–2026
- A permitted calculator may be used, and every problem can be solved without one. Preparing for the ACT, 2025–2026
- Basic formulas are assumed known; you aren't asked to recall complex ones. Preparing for the ACT, 2025–2026
- Compared with the legacy ACT, fewer questions are set in a long real-world story, and a smaller share are “Integrating Essential Skills.” Design Framework for the ACT Enhancements
- The enhanced ACT began with online national testing in April 2025, then paper and international testing in September 2025 and school-day testing in spring 2026. Science is now optional; math is part of the core test. The Enhanced ACT
- About 80% of the questions are “Preparing for Higher Math” (five subject areas) and about 20% are “Integrating Essential Skills.” Modeling questions are counted inside the others. Preparing for the ACT, 2025–2026
As of October 17, 2026, from ACT, Inc.'s public pages. Tests change, so check the official page before test day.
The Legacy ACT (before 2025)
- 60 questions in 60 minutes: one minute a question, all of them scored. Design Framework for the ACT Enhancements · ACT Test Content
- Five answer choices on every question. Design Framework for the ACT Enhancements · The Enhanced ACT Explained
- About 40–43% of questions were “Integrating Essential Skills,” often longer problems set in real situations; the rest were “Preparing for Higher Math.” Design Framework for the ACT Enhancements
- A permitted calculator was allowed, as now. Preparing for the ACT, 2025–2026
What's on it, and where to learn it
The content areas of today's test in our own words, from the official descriptions, with the Math Ladder topics that teach each one.
Number and Quantity
10–12%How numbers work: real and complex numbers, integer and fractional exponents, radicals, and simple vectors and matrices.
- Real and complex numbers
- Integer and rational exponents, radicals
- Vectors and matrices
13 Math Ladder topics
- Fractional Exponents
- Zero and Negative Exponents
- Simplifying Square Roots
- Adding and Multiplying Radicals
- nth Roots
- The Imaginary Unit i
- Adding and Multiplying Complex Numbers
- Dividing Complex Numbers
- The Real Number System
- Vector Components and Magnitude
- Adding and Scaling Vectors
- Multiplying Matrices
- Determinants of 2 × 2 and 3 × 3 Matrices
Algebra
17–20%Solving and modeling: linear, polynomial, radical and exponential equations, inequalities and systems, often from a word problem.
- Linear equations and inequalities
- Polynomial, radical and exponential equations
- Systems of equations
- Rewriting expressions; equations from words
17 Math Ladder topics
- Variables on Both Sides
- Clearing Fractions and Decimals
- Solving for a Variable
- Writing Equations from Words
- Multi-Step Inequalities
- Absolute Value Equations
- Elimination
- Elimination with Multiplying First
- Multiplying Binomials
- Factoring x² + bx + c
- Factoring ax² + bx + c
- Solving by Factoring
- The Quadratic Formula
- Radical Equations
- Exponential Equations with a Common Base
- Rational Equations
- Adding and Subtracting Rational Expressions
Functions
17–20%What functions are and how they behave: notation, domain and range, piecewise, polynomial, exponential and logarithmic functions, and how graphs shift and stretch.
- Function notation, composition and inverses
- Linear, piecewise, polynomial, exponential and logarithmic functions
- Transformations and features of graphs
- Sequences
16 Math Ladder topics
- Function Notation
- Composition of Functions
- Inverse Functions
- Piecewise Functions
- Domain and Range
- Average Rate of Change
- Shifting and Stretching Graphs
- Zeros and Multiplicity
- End Behavior of Polynomials
- Exponential Functions
- What a Logarithm Is
- Switching Between Log and Exponential Form
- Properties of Logarithms
- Arithmetic Sequences
- Geometric Sequences
- Asymptotes and Holes
Geometry
17–20%Shapes and solids: congruence and similarity, triangles and circles, surface area and volume, trig ratios, and the equations of circles and other conics.
- Congruence and similarity
- Triangles, circles and polygons
- Surface area and volume of solids
- Right-triangle trigonometry and the unit circle
- Coordinate geometry and conic sections
15 Math Ladder topics
- Proving AA Similarity
- The Triangle Proportionality Theorem
- Polygon Angle Sums
- Inscribed Angles
- Arc Length
- Sector Area
- 45-45-90 and 30-60-90 Triangles
- Sine, Cosine and Tangent
- Exact Values at Special Angles
- Sine and Cosine on the Unit Circle
- Surface Area of Solids
- Volume of Pyramids, Cones and Spheres
- Distance and Midpoint Formulas
- Equation of a Circle
- Ellipses
Statistics and Probability
12–15%Center and spread of data, how data are collected, relationships in two-variable data, and probabilities from counting outcomes.
- Center and spread
- Data collection and sampling
- Scatterplots and lines of fit
- Probability, counting and expected value
Integrating Essential Skills
about 20%Earlier math put to work in longer problems: rates and percents, proportions, area and volume, averages, and writing numbers in different forms.
- Rates and percents
- Proportional relationships and scale
- Area, surface area and volume
- Average and median
- Numbers in different forms (fractions, decimals, scientific notation)
14 Math Ladder topics
- Percent Increase and Decrease
- Markups, Discounts and Tax
- Simple Interest
- Unit Price and Constant Speed
- Distance, Rate and Time Problems
- Solving Proportions
- Scale Drawings
- Area of Composite Polygons
- Area of a Circle
- Volume of Prisms
- Volume of Cylinders
- The Mean as a Fair Share
- Terminating and Repeating Decimals
- Comparing Very Large and Small Numbers
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