A-Level Maths formula booklet: what you get and what to learn

Key takeaways

• →AQA and Pearson Edexcel give students a formula booklet in the exam. OCR does not: its A-Level Maths papers print a short Formulae page near the front instead.
• →Students must still learn some formulae by heart. AQA and Pearson Edexcel list them, such as the quadratic formula and the sine and cosine rules, and say they are not given in the exam.
• →The exam copy of the booklet is clean and cannot be marked, so practise with an unmarked copy from your first past paper.
• →Statistical tables depend on the board. Pearson Edexcel’s booklet has them, OCR no longer publishes them, and AQA’s A-Level Maths booklet is named as formulae only.

1. What the formula booklet is

A formula booklet is a printed set of formulae that students may use in the A-Level Maths exam. It saves them memorising the longer ones, such as series and trigonometric identities.^[9]

Not every board gives one. OCR has dropped its booklet for A-Level Maths, so what your child gets depends on their exam board.^[11]

Students work from a clean copy. Pearson Edexcel’s exam copy belongs to the board, has to stay in the exam room and must not be written on.^[8]

AQA says exam copies must be official ones ordered from AQA. It adds that used exam copies can be reused if they have stayed clean.^[6]

AQA says its booklet is needed for all its AS and A-Level Maths exams.^[1]

Pearson Edexcel’s A-Level Maths has three two-hour papers, and its specification says the booklet is provided for all three.^[9]

2. Which booklet your board uses

This table shows what each board uses. The official PDFs and papers are linked in the sources at the end. Always use the board’s own version, not a copy from a revision site.

3. AQA A-Level Maths (7357)

The front cover of an AQA A-Level Maths paper tells students they must have the booklet called Formulae for A-level Mathematics.^[3]

It covers pure maths (series, small-angle approximations, trigonometric identities, tables for differentiation and integration, and numerical methods such as the trapezium rule for estimating area under a curve). It also covers mechanics (constant acceleration) and probability and statistics (probability laws, standard deviation, binomial and sampling distributions).^[1]

For Further Maths, AQA publishes a longer booklet called Formulae and statistical tables for A-level Mathematics and A-level Further Mathematics. It names both subjects and adds topics such as complex numbers and matrix transformations.^[2]

AQA tells schools to make sure students have the latest version, so check the version number on the PDF you print.^[6]

4. Pearson Edexcel A-Level Maths (9MA0)

Pearson Edexcel uses one booklet, Mathematical Formulae and Statistical Tables, for AS and A-Level Maths and for AS and A-Level Further Maths. It is split by qualification, so students look in the A-Level Maths part.^[8]

The A-Level Maths part covers pure maths (series, logarithms, trigonometric identities, differentiation, integration and numerical methods), statistics (probability, standard deviation, discrete and sampling distributions) and mechanics (kinematics, which means describing motion).^[8]

The introduction notes that mechanics and statistics candidates may need the pure maths formulae too, so students should check more than one section.^[8]

5. OCR A (H240) and OCR B MEI (H640)

OCR has dropped the formula booklet for A-Level Maths. Any formulae it can provide are printed at the front of the question paper instead.^[11]

A recent H240 paper has a page headed Formulae on page 2. Its front cover asks students to bring a calculator and the printed answer booklet, not a formulae booklet. The page lists series, differentiation and integration, small-angle approximations, trigonometric identities, probability, the binomial distribution and motion in a straight line and in two dimensions.^[12]

The H640 (MEI) papers work the same way, with a Formulae page on page 2.^[13]

For Further Maths, OCR B (MEI) has a single booklet for both AS (H635) and A-Level (H645).^[11]

OCR A Further Maths has separate booklets for AS (H235) and A-Level (H245). The A-Level one includes all the A-Level Maths formulae plus the extra Further Maths ones.^[10]

OCR students: Do not wait for a booklet to arrive. Open a recent past paper, find the Formulae page and treat that page as your booklet.

6. Formulae that are not in the booklet

AQA’s specification lists formulae that students must know and be able to use without being given them. AQA says they are not given in the paper, except where a question starts a proof from them.^[5]

Pearson Edexcel has a similar list in Appendix 1 of its specification, and says these formulae will not appear in the booklet.^[9]

OCR says students must recall a number of formulae and identities. For OCR A (H240) they are listed in section 5d of the specification. Ask your teacher for the list for your course.^[14]

7. Use your board’s own list

The table is a guide, not a full list. Your board’s own list may differ slightly, so check it. AQA also offers a downloadable formulae poster to help students learn the formulae they need to know.^[7]

Make two lists: Write one list headed In the booklet and one headed Must learn, using your board’s own documents. Tick off each formula only when you can write it from memory.

8. Statistical tables and calculators

Pearson Edexcel’s booklet includes statistical tables. These are lookup tables for statistics questions. They include the cumulative binomial and Poisson distributions, percentage points of the normal distribution and critical values for correlation coefficients, plus random numbers. The booklet is shared with Further Maths, so ask your teacher which tables your course uses.^[8]

AQA’s A-Level Maths booklet is titled Formulae, without statistical tables in its name.^[1]

AQA’s longer Maths and Further Maths booklet does include tables, for the t-distribution, the chi-squared distribution and correlation coefficients.^[2]

AQA’s specification requires a calculator that can work out summary statistics, find probabilities from standard distributions and has an inverse normal function (it finds the value that matches a given probability).^[4]

Pearson Edexcel sets similar calculator requirements.^[9]

OCR no longer publishes statistical tables for A-Level Maths. Students need a calculator that can produce those values.^[11]

OCR’s Formulae page does include percentage points of the normal distribution.^[13]

9. How to use the booklet in revision

Treat the booklet as a tool you practise with from day one, not something you meet for the first time in the exam hall.

Download your board’s official booklet and print it. Keep it open for every past paper so that finding a formula becomes quick. AQA’s front cover says students must have the booklet, so practising with it is practising to the real rules.^[3]

If you are on OCR, use real past papers with the Formulae page left in, rather than a separate formula sheet.

Learn the layout. Spend ten minutes going through the booklet topic by topic and note where each formula lives, including the pure maths section.

Recall first, check second. Write the formula from memory, then check it against the booklet. This shows you which ones you really know. The booklet gives you the formula, but it will not tell you which one a question needs.

Know the short list by heart and know where the long list lives.

Practise with a clean copy: In the exam the booklet cannot be written in. Keep one unmarked copy for past papers and put your notes on a separate sheet.

10. How Brainhub can help

A tutor can check which formulae a student knows and which are not secure yet. Our one-to-one lessons are live online across the UK, and online A-Level lessons start from £40 an hour. Every family starts with a free 45-minute assessment.

Our own student records for 2021–2026 show that students who join us by Year 12 most often finish with A*/A. That is Brainhub data, not independent research.

1. 1. Does OCR give students a formula booklet for A-Level Maths?

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2. 2. Name two formulae that AQA and Pearson Edexcel expect students to learn rather than read from the booklet.

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3. 3. Why should students practise with an unmarked copy of the booklet?

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Your next steps

• Check your exam board and paper codes: 7357 (AQA), 9MA0 (Pearson Edexcel), H240 or H640 (OCR).
• Print the official booklet, or for OCR a recent past paper with its Formulae page, and use it for every practice paper.
• Book a free 45-minute assessment to find out which formulae are not secure yet.

Subject guides to go with this

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