Use the Desmos calculator

Every Math question on Aniko has the Desmos graphing calculator built in, the same kind of calculator the digital SAT gives you for the whole Math section. Click the calculator icon at the top of the question to open it, and click it again or ✕ to close it.

Where it opens

The calculator is on every Math question in:

• study sessions and Review Labs;
• the Math section of a practice test;
• the review of a finished session or test;
• the free question bank.

Reading and Writing questions don't have it, as on the SAT.

On a phone, tap More options (the 3 dots) at the top of the question, then Calculator. It fills the screen until you tap ✕.

Move and resize it

On a computer, the calculator opens as a window over the page:

• Move it: drag its title bar, Desmos Calculator.
• Resize it: drag any edge or corner. It keeps the size and position you choose the next time you open it.

Your work stays with each question. If you go back to a question in the same session or test, the expressions you typed for it are still there.

Switch to degrees

The calculator opens in radians on every new question, even if you switched to degrees on the last one. Many SAT geometry and trigonometry questions give angles in degrees, and the wrong mode gives a wrong answer with no warning.

1. Click the wrench icon at the top right of the graph.
2. Choose Degrees.

The question keeps degrees if you go back to it in the same session or test. Check the mode before every trig question. A quick test: type sin(30). If you see 0.5, you're in degrees.

Copy and paste in practice tests

During a practice test, copy, cut and paste are turned off inside the calculator, including keyboard shortcuts and pasting a table. A practice test is a rehearsal of test conditions, so you enter everything yourself. In study sessions, Review Labs and the question bank, copy and paste work as usual.

Fix common problems

"Table entries must be simple expressions"

Desmos shows this when a table cell holds something other than a single value, such as an equation or a list. Put one number, or a calculation like 3/4, in each cell. To work with a whole column, write the formula on a new line below the table, like mean(y_1).

Typing goes to the wrong place

• Click inside a line in the expression list on the left before you type.
• Exponents and fractions: typing ^ starts an exponent and / starts a fraction. Press the right arrow key to leave them before you type the next term.
• Use the keypad at the bottom of the calculator if a symbol is hard to type, and on a phone.

Mean and median

Type the function with your numbers in square brackets: mean([3, 7, 8, 10]) or median([3, 7, 8, 10]). For numbers in a table, use the column's name: mean(x_1). The lesson Mean, median, and frequency tables in Desmos covers frequency tables too.

Desmos won't expand or simplify

Desmos doesn't do algebra on expressions, so there's no expand or simplify. To check whether two expressions are equivalent, graph both: if the graphs overlap everywhere, they're equivalent. See the lesson Equivalent expressions by graph overlap.

Learn Desmos for free

Desmos for the Digital SAT is a free course of more than 30 lessons, from typing your first equation to advanced techniques, each with SAT-style practice. It's in Free Resources, with no account needed. For a study order, from the basics to advanced techniques, read How to master Desmos for the SAT.

In study sessions, some Math questions also have a Desmos tip button in the chat that shows how to solve that question with the calculator. See Get help when you're stuck on a question.

Frequently asked questions