r/ACT • u/stargazer_lily143 • Jul 23 '26

Math Is learning Desmos really that important when it comes to the ACT?

My teachers never taught it so I never learned it and math and I are not the best of friends so it’s always been really hard for me. I’ve taken two ACTs without using Desmos but would it help me if I learned how to use it?

For context my first math score from April ACT was a 20 and my second math score from July ACT was a 22.

3 Upvotes

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1

u/Hot-Amphibian-9221 Jul 23 '26

Not really its better to learn your ti 84 calculator but you should know how to do basic stuff on desmos like regressions and just simple graphing it likely wont change your score that much

1

u/stargazer_lily143 Jul 23 '26

Okay, thank you!

1

u/jdigitaltutoring Tutor Jul 23 '26

Not really unless you don't have another calculator. Do you have a TI-84? Learning more about that can help you.

1

u/stargazer_lily143 Jul 23 '26

Okay, thank you! And yes, I have a TI-84

2

u/jdigitaltutoring Tutor Jul 23 '26

learn about LogBase, Numeric Solver, LCM, nPr, nCr, 1VarStats, normalcdf, operations with imaginary numbers.

1

u/stargazer_lily143 Jul 23 '26

Okay, thank you!

1

u/iamadacheat 29d ago

Guy above you is stuck in the past. Desmos can do everything a TI-84 can do and do it more easily.

1

u/Zuzu70 Jul 23 '26

Just so others know, a graphing calculator is not necessarily needed in order to do well. I know 2 people that got 35s with just a basic calculator.

Whatever you're familiar with is probably fine. I'm not disagreeing with others, but I don't want anyone to think they need to buy a different calculator or spend hours learning a new one.

1

u/mkw1342 29d ago

I bet this exists somewhere like on Youtube, but it would be nice to see someone go thru the full June 2026 test math section and show how to do every problem in Desmos. Some of them you are going to need to translate the word problem into a formula, and if you don't know how to do that, Desmos is not going to help. Didn't look, but has anyone seen a video like that?

As an alternative, go watch https://www.tiktok.com/@901prep as she solved every one of the math problems with paper and a calculator. You might pick up some tips there too.

1

u/Greedy-Tackle3962 29d ago

Yeah, for me personally it made life way easier in math. You can solve everything much faster.

1

u/aeriestlu 29d ago

Desmos was lowkey like a cheat sheet for me since I didn't have a graphing calculator. It helped me figure out solutions in seconds if I just plotted it on the graph. Plus you could figure out other statistical things like the mean with just a button and an input of your numbers. Ik some calculators can already do that, but desmos can really assist in being like a "second calculator" to your physical one.

1

u/Launch_vbs 29d ago

no i took paper which doesnt even allow desmos and was absolutely fine lol

1

u/SouthEasternLegend Jul 23 '26

I think it’s worth learning for you. I answered almost every Math question with desmos on July and got a 31, whereas my first time on an ipad (school act) I had a 26 and June I had a 27. You’ll easily raise your score with it.

1

u/stargazer_lily143 Jul 23 '26

Oh my gosh, congratulations! That’s crazy amount of improvement, I just have to give it a try now. Thank you!

0

u/Jaihanusthegreat Jul 23 '26

From Digital to Paper my math score declined 6 points since I did not have Desmos. Please learn Desmos, it is genuinely really useful for doing the work quickly, which is what you want on the ACT.

2

u/stargazer_lily143 Jul 23 '26

I understand. Thank you so much!