Quick answer: The Pearson Edexcel A Level Mathematics (9MA0) exam comes with a booklet called Mathematical Formulae and Statistical Tables. You get a clean copy in every paper. It gives the harder formulae, such as the binomial series, compound angle identities, integration by parts, the trapezium rule, Newton-Raphson and the constant acceleration equations, but many core results must still be memorised. Lift College teaches A Level Mathematics (AQA 7357) online; the AQA formulae booklet covers the same areas.
What is the Edexcel formula booklet?
Pearson publishes one booklet, Mathematical Formulae and Statistical Tables, for AS and A Level Mathematics and Further Mathematics. The A Level Mathematics section covers pure mathematics, statistics and mechanics, and the statistical tables at the back include the binomial cumulative distribution function and percentage points of the normal distribution.
It is a reference, not a revision guide. It lists formulae the specification does not expect you to memorise, and finding and applying them quickly is part of the skill being tested. You cannot take your own copy into the exam.
What is in the booklet for A Level Mathematics?
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| Area | Examples given |
|---|---|
| Mensuration | Surface area of a sphere; curved surface area of a cone |
| Series | Arithmetic series; geometric series; binomial series for any rational n |
| Logarithms | Change of base |
| Trigonometry | Addition formulae; small angle approximations |
| Differentiation | Derivatives of tan kx, sec x, cot x and cosec x; the quotient rule; differentiation from first principles |
| Integration | Integration by parts; integrals of tan kx, cot kx, sec kx and cosec kx |
| Numerical methods | Trapezium rule; Newton-Raphson |
| Statistics | Probability rules; binomial distribution; standardising a sample mean; statistical tables |
| Mechanics | Constant acceleration equations, in scalar and vector form |
What must you memorise?
These are needed in the exam and are not in the booklet:
- The quadratic formula and completing the square
- Equations of straight lines and circles
- The sine rule, cosine rule and area of a triangle
- sin²θ + cos²θ = 1 and tan θ = sin θ / cos θ
- Derivatives and integrals of xⁿ, eᵏˣ, ln x, sin kx and cos kx
- The product rule and the chain rule
- Standardising a single value of a normal variable, Z = (X - μ) / σ
- Newton's laws and the link between displacement, velocity and acceleration by calculus
A good habit is to keep two lists, "given" and "learn", and test yourself on the second list every week.
Where to download it
The booklet is free on the Pearson Edexcel A Level Mathematics page, under course materials. Print it and use it whenever you do past papers, so the layout is familiar before the real exam. Check you have the version for 9MA0, first examined in 2018.
How Edexcel A Level Maths is assessed
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| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Papers | Paper 1 Pure Mathematics 1; Paper 2 Pure Mathematics 2; Paper 3 Statistics and Mechanics |
| Length | 2 hours each |
| Marks | 100 per paper, 300 in total |
| Formula booklet | Provided in all three papers |
| Calculator | Allowed in all three papers |
| Grading | A* to E |
| UCAS points at A* | 56 |
How to use the booklet in the exam
Know the layout before you start
The booklet is short, but time spent hunting through it is time lost. Know which page holds which section.
Do not use it instead of understanding
It gives you Newton-Raphson, but not when to use it or why an iteration fails to converge. That has to come from your study.
Practise with it open
Do every past paper with the booklet beside you, exactly as in the real exam.
Check what you remember
If a formula you have learned is also printed, use the printed version to check it before you rely on it.
How other boards compare
All A Level Mathematics boards provide a formula booklet. AQA's formulae and statistical tables booklet for 7357 covers the same areas as Pearson's (pure mathematics, statistics and mechanics) with its own layout, and OCR has booklets for its A and MEI specifications. Lift College teaches the AQA 7357 specification online; the qualification counts the same at university.
What does A Level Maths cover?
About two thirds of the course is pure mathematics: proof, algebra and functions, coordinate geometry, sequences and series, trigonometry, exponentials and logarithms, differentiation, integration, numerical methods and vectors. The rest is statistics (sampling, data presentation, probability, the binomial and normal distributions, hypothesis testing) and mechanics (units, kinematics, forces and Newton's laws, moments).
A Levels are examined once a year in the May and June series; there are no January or November A Level exams.
Study A Level Maths online with Lift College
Lift College's A Level Mathematics online course teaches AQA 7357 with a named UK tutor and past paper practice, using the AQA formulae booklet, which covers the same areas as the Edexcel one. It costs from £42.49 a month on Study when you start now, 15% off for life, or £49.99 a month after a 7-day free trial. On +Exams it is £76.49 a month when you start now, or £89.99 a month after the trial, with your exam entry and centre fee included.
Most learners take 12 to 18 months, or faster if you study more each week. There are no formal entry requirements: the course is open to anyone aged 14 or over, and under 18s enrol with a parent or guardian's permission and support. On +Exams Lift College enters you and books your seat at one of ten Tutors & Exams centres across England; on Study you arrange your own entry as a private candidate.
Questions before you enrol? Contact us or call 020 4652 5904.
For more on the Pearson booklet, see our Edexcel A Level Maths formula booklet guide.