If you're sitting OCR A A-Level Maths (specification H240) in 2027, the formula booklet is printed on pages 2 and 3 of every exam paper you sit. You don't carry it in, you don't ask for it, it's already there. The spec itself spells it out: 'Learners will be given formulae in each assessment on pages 2 and 3 of the question paper. See Section 5d for a list of these formulae.'
One thing to get straight before we go any further, because students confuse the two all the time. The A-Level Maths formula booklet is permanent and baked into the spec. That's different from the GCSE Maths formulae sheet, which was only brought in during the pandemic and which Ofqual confirmed on 5 May 2026 will stick around for the life of the current specifications. Our guide to the A-Level Maths formula booklet across all boards covers the broader picture.
OCR runs two separate A-Level Maths specifications, OCR A (H230/H240) and OCR B MEI (H630/H640), and the two aren't interchangeable. Each one decides what goes in its own booklet, so the contents aren't the same. This guide is about OCR A. If you're on MEI, head over to our OCR MEI A-Level Maths formula booklet guide instead.
This article was last checked against official sources on 14 October 2026. Specifications and admissions wording change often, so cross-check each named source before relying on specific detail.
Unlike the GCSE equation sheets Ofqual brought in in 2022, A-Level Maths formula booklets are properly built into the spec. Section 5d of the OCR spec is the list of things you still have to recall from memory. The booklet gives you everything else.
How the booklet works in the exam
The booklet lives on pages 2 and 3 of every H240 question paper. You don't need to bring one in, you don't need to request one, and every candidate gets a fresh clean copy. It turns up in all three papers: Paper 1 (Pure Mathematics), Paper 2 (Pure Mathematics and Statistics) and Paper 3 (Pure Mathematics and Mechanics).
What's on it is grouped by topic rather than scattered. Arithmetic and geometric series, binomial series, the longer differentiation and integration standard results, small-angle approximations, compound-angle trig identities, numerical methods, probability, standard deviation, the binomial distribution, the normal-distribution hypothesis test, a percentage-points table for the normal distribution, and kinematics equations in one and two dimensions.
The idea is that it carries the longer, less-memorable standard results so you don't have to. You aren't expected to recall the compound-angle identities, the trapezium rule or Newton-Raphson from memory. What you ARE expected to recall sits in Section 5d of the specification, which we come back to further down.
Before your exam, it's always worth checking the current year's version on OCR's A-Level Mathematics A qualification page just to be sure nothing's moved.
What's in the booklet, Pure Mathematics
The Pure block is the biggest section and covers series, binomial expansions, differentiation beyond the Section 5d basics, integration standard forms, small-angle approximations, compound-angle trig identities and numerical methods. Essentially the longer and more awkward results that nobody wants to have to pull out of their head at 10am on exam day.
| Result | Statement | When you use it |
|---|---|---|
| Arithmetic series | S<sub>n</sub> = ½n(a + l) = ½n{2a + (n-1)d} | Sum of the first n terms of an arithmetic progression |
| Geometric series (finite) | S<sub>n</sub> = a(1 − r<sup>n</sup>) / (1 − r) | Sum of the first n terms of a geometric progression |
| Geometric series (infinite) | S<sub>∞</sub> = a / (1 − r) for |r| < 1 | Sum to infinity of a convergent GP |
| Binomial expansion (n ∈ ℕ) | (a + b)<sup>n</sup> = a<sup>n</sup> + <sup>n</sup>C<sub>1</sub> a<sup>n−1</sup>b + ... + b<sup>n</sup>, with <sup>n</sup>C<sub>r</sub> = n! / (r!(n−r)!) | Expanding (a + b)<sup>n</sup> for positive-integer n |
| Binomial expansion (n ∈ ℝ) | (1 + x)<sup>n</sup> = 1 + nx + n(n−1)/2! × x<sup>2</sup> + ... for |x| < 1 | Series expansions with non-integer or negative n |
| Trig derivatives | d/dx(tan kx) = k sec<sup>2</sup> kx; d/dx(sec x) = sec x tan x; d/dx(cot x) = −cosec<sup>2</sup> x; d/dx(cosec x) = −cosec x cot x | Differentiating reciprocal and compound trig functions |
| Quotient rule | y = u/v, dy/dx = (v du/dx − u dv/dx) / v<sup>2</sup> | Differentiating ratios |
| First-principles derivative | f'(x) = lim<sub>h→0</sub> [f(x+h) − f(x)] / h | Formal differentiation from the definition |
| Integration by ln | ∫ f'(x)/f(x) dx = ln|f(x)| + c | Integrating any ratio where numerator is derivative of denominator |
| Integration (reverse chain) | ∫ f'(x)(f(x))<sup>n</sup> dx = (f(x))<sup>n+1</sup> / (n+1) + c | Reverse chain rule for polynomials in f(x) |
| Integration by parts | ∫ u (dv/dx) dx = uv − ∫ v (du/dx) dx | Products like x·e<sup>x</sup>, x·sin x, x·ln x |
| Small-angle approximations | sin θ ≈ θ; cos θ ≈ 1 − ½θ<sup>2</sup>; tan θ ≈ θ (θ in radians) | Approximations in series and limit arguments |
| Compound-angle identities | sin(A ± B), cos(A ± B), tan(A ± B) | Transforming trig expressions in proof and solving equations |
| Trapezium rule | ∫<sub>a</sub><sup>b</sup> y dx ≈ ½h{(y<sub>0</sub> + y<sub>n</sub>) + 2(y<sub>1</sub> + ... + y<sub>n−1</sub>)}, h = (b−a)/n | Numerical integration |
| Newton-Raphson | x<sub>n+1</sub> = x<sub>n</sub> − f(x<sub>n</sub>)/f'(x<sub>n</sub>) | Numerical root-finding |
What's in the booklet, Mechanics (kinematics)
The mechanics section is deliberately short. OCR A gives you the constant-acceleration kinematic equations in both one-dimensional and vector (two-dimensional) form, and that's it. Everything else in mechanics (Newton's laws, equilibrium, friction, variable acceleration via calculus) comes from first principles and from how you set the problem up. The booklet is light here because most of mechanics is about modelling the situation, not pulling a formula off a shelf.
| Form | Equations | Where it applies |
|---|---|---|
| 1D (straight line) | v = u + at; s = ut + ½at<sup>2</sup>; s = ½(u + v)t; v<sup>2</sup> = u<sup>2</sup> + 2as; s = vt − ½at<sup>2</sup> | Constant-acceleration straight-line motion |
| 2D (vectors) | v = u + at; s = ut + ½at<sup>2</sup>; s = ½(u + v)t; s = vt − ½at<sup>2</sup> | Projectile motion and vector-form kinematics |
What's in the booklet, Statistics
The statistics section covers probability, standard deviation, the binomial distribution, hypothesis testing for the mean of a normal distribution, and a table of critical values from the standard normal distribution.
| Result | Statement | When you use it |
|---|---|---|
| Probability (union) | P(A ∪ B) = P(A) + P(B) − P(A ∩ B) | Combining two events |
| Probability (conditional) | P(A ∩ B) = P(A)P(B | A) = P(B)P(A | B); P(A | B) = P(A ∩ B)/P(B) | Conditional and dependent events |
| Standard deviation (frequency) | √(Σ(x − x̄)<sup>2</sup> / n) = √(Σx<sup>2</sup>/n − x̄<sup>2</sup>); frequency-weighted equivalents | Computing SD from data or frequency tables |
| Binomial distribution | X ~ B(n, p): P(X = x) = <sup>n</sup>C<sub>x</sub> p<sup>x</sup>(1−p)<sup>n−x</sup>; Mean = np; Variance = np(1−p) | Discrete probability with fixed n and p |
| Normal distribution (sample mean) | X ~ N(μ, σ<sup>2</sup>) implies X̄ ~ N(μ, σ<sup>2</sup>/n); (X̄ − μ) / (σ/√n) ~ N(0, 1) | Hypothesis testing on the mean |
| Normal critical values | Table at p = 0.75, 0.90, 0.95, 0.975, 0.99, 0.995, 0.9975, 0.999, 0.9995 | Looking up z-values for one- and two-tailed tests |
The compound-angle identities for sin, cos and tan are printed on the booklet. The double-angle versions (sin 2A, cos 2A, tan 2A) are not, they sit in Section 5d as things you have to recall. Every year a few students lose time scanning the booklet for sin 2A and getting confused when it isn't there.
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What you still need to recall, Section 5d
Section 5d of the OCR specification lists the formulae and identities students have to use, as the spec puts it, 'without these formulae and identities being provided'. It's the memorise list. It isn't short either, so treat it as a parallel document to the booklet rather than a footnote to it.
Pure Mathematics recall items
The quadratic formula x = (−b ± √(b2 − 4ac)) / 2a. Laws of indices (the three identities around aman, (am)n and a−n). Laws of logarithms (the definition x = an ⇔ n = logax, plus loga(xy), loga(x/y) and loga(xn). Change of base isn't on the spec). Coordinate geometry: y − y1 = m(x − x1) for a straight line, and the perpendicular condition m1m2 = −1.
Sequences: nth-term formulae un = a + (n−1)d for arithmetic and un = arn−1 for geometric.
Trigonometry: sine rule, cosine rule, area ½ab sin C, the Pythagorean identities cos2A + sin2A = 1 along with the sec/cosec versions, and the double-angle identities sin 2A, cos 2A (Section 5d prints cos 2A ≡ cos2A − sin2A; the 2cos2A − 1 and 1 − 2sin2A equivalents follow from cos2A + sin2A = 1) and tan 2A.
Mensuration: C = 2πr, A = πr2, Pythagoras, the area of a trapezium, the volume of a prism, arc length s = rθ and sector area A = ½r2θ.
Calculus and vectors recall items
Standard derivatives: xn, sin kx, cos kx, ekx, ln x. The sum rule, product rule and chain rule.
Standard integrals: xn, sin kx, cos kx, ekx, 1/x. The sum rule and reverse chain rule for linear substitutions.
Vectors: |xi + yj| = √(x2 + y2) for 2D, |xi + yj + zk| = √(x2 + y2 + z2) for 3D.
Mechanics and Statistics recall items
Mechanics: weight W = mg, the friction inequality F ≤ μR, and Newton's second law F = ma. Variable-acceleration kinematics via calculus (v = dr/dt, a = dv/dt = d2r/dt2). The booklet gives you constant-acceleration suvat; the calculus version of variable acceleration is on you.
Statistics: the mean x̄ = Σx/n (also Σfx/Σf for frequency data), and the standard normal transformation Z = (X − μ)/σ.
OCR A vs OCR B MEI: Which is which
OCR runs two A-Level Maths specifications and they aren't interchangeable. OCR A (which this guide is about) is H230 at AS and H240 at full A-Level. OCR B is MEI (Mathematics in Education and Industry), H630 at AS and H640 at full A-Level. If you're on MEI you sit different papers and your booklet looks different too.
Each board decides what goes in its own booklet, so formatting, section numbering, ordering and little presentational choices all differ between OCR A and MEI.
One visible difference is the percentage-points table in the Statistics section. OCR A's booklet lists normal-distribution critical values at p = 0.75, 0.90, 0.95, 0.975, 0.99, 0.995, 0.9975, 0.999 and 0.9995. If you're on OCR A, practise with OCR A's table rather than a cross-board version you've found online. On exam day, under time pressure, layout familiarity really does help.
Our OCR MEI formula booklet guide covers MEI specifically.
Study tips for using the booklet well
The booklet is thorough, but under time pressure it won't save you if you don't know your way around it. Students who treat it as a thing to glance at only when they're stuck end up hunting through the pages for something they should know is on the right-hand side.
The best thing to do is to print the current OCR A booklet off and keep it next to every past paper you sit at home. The physical layout matters more than people realise. Knowing that Newton-Raphson is on the right-hand page under 'numerical methods', or that the binomial PMF is on the lower half under 'statistics', saves you seconds on every look-up, and seconds add up across a two-hour paper.
Mark the places that trip you up most often. The compound-angle identities get used in integration, trig equations and proof, so if you're reaching for them a lot, highlight them. The small-angle approximations are also easy to miss because they're tucked under a heading some students skim past.
Treat Section 5d as a parallel document, not a bonus. Whenever you work on a topic, know which formulae are on the booklet and which you're expected to recall. The double-angle identities trip students up for exactly this reason: compound-angle is on the booklet, double-angle isn't, and the exam often asks for both in the same question.
Memorise the short Section 5d items anyway. The quadratic formula, the laws of indices and logs, the standard derivatives (sin x, cos x, ex, ln x) and the Pythagorean identities. Looking these up in the booklet costs seconds each time, and fluency on the short results is where the extra marks come from near the top of the paper.
Our hardest A-Level Maths topics guide covers the areas where booklet fluency makes the biggest practical difference.
How Cognito helps
If you'd rather revise through structured lessons than read the spec cover to cover, Cognito's OCR A A-Level Maths course walks through every formula on your booklet with worked examples. Pure Mathematics, Mechanics and Statistics each get a dedicated topic area, and the booklet-versus-recall split is called out inside each lesson rather than hidden in an appendix.
The specific booklet items that students actually struggle with (compound-angle identities, small-angle approximations, Newton-Raphson, integration by parts) each have a worked-example video showing when and how to apply them. The Section 5d recall list sits inside the fundamentals block, with quiz questions that test fluency on the short results so you can't just reach for the sheet.
If you're starting booklet revision from scratch six weeks before your exam, the topic-by-topic structure is the fastest way to get knowledgeable and quick at the same time, and you can slot your actual booklet alongside it as you go.
Six practical steps for using the booklet well across all three papers.
- Download the current year's booklet from OCR's A-Level Mathematics A assessment-resources page
- Print it and keep it next to every past paper you sit at home
- Highlight the compound-angle identities, Newton-Raphson, the trapezium rule and integration by parts for quick access
- Memorise the Section 5d recall list, especially the quadratic formula, laws of indices and logs, Pythagorean identities and double-angle identities
- Learn the OCR A normal critical-value table layout rather than any cross-board version
- Write each formula out explicitly before substituting numbers in every practice question
