Complete JAMB Mathematics Syllabus 2026: All Topics & What to Focus On
Preparing for JAMB Mathematics? This is the complete official JAMB syllabus with all 23 topics you need to cover for the 2026 UTME.
Schowl has 1,777+ real JAMB past questions for Mathematics — practice them under timed CBT conditions with AI-powered explanations for every question you get wrong.
Start Practicing JAMB Mathematics on Schowl
How to Use This Syllabus
- Go through each topic below and honestly rate yourself: strong, okay, or weak
- Focus your study time on weak topics first — that's where the marks are
- Practice past questions topic by topic on Schowl to test your understanding
- Review AI explanations for questions you get wrong — don't just memorize answers
JAMB Mathematics Syllabus — All 23 Topics
1. Number bases/Modular Arithmetic
What JAMB expects you to know:
- Perform four basic operations (x,+,-,÷)
- Convert one base to another
- Perform operations in modulo arithmetic
Key areas: operations in different number bases, conversion from one base to another, modular arithmetic
Recommended reading:
- Adelodun A. A. (2000) Distinction in Mathematics: Comprehensive Revision Text, (3rd Edition) Ado-Ekiti: FNPL
- Anyebe, J. A. B. (1998) Basic Mathematics for Senior Secondary Schools and Remedial Students in Higher Institutions, Lagos: Kenny Moore
- Channon, J. B. Smith, A. M. (2001) New General Mathematics for West Africa SSS 1 to 3, Lagos: Longman
2. Fractions, Decimals, Approximations and Percentages
What JAMB expects you to know:
- Perform basic operations (x,+,-,÷) on fractions and decimals
- Express to specified number of significant figures and decimal places
- Calculate simple interest, profit and loss per cent
- Ratio proportion, rate and percentage error
- Solve problems involving share and VAT
Key areas: fractions and decimals, significant figures, decimal places, percentage errors, simple interest, profit and loss percent, ratio, proportion and rate, shares and valued added tax (VAT)
Recommended reading:
- Adelodun A. A. (2000) Distinction in Mathematics: Comprehensive Revision Text, (3rd Edition) Ado-Ekiti: FNPL
- Anyebe, J. A. B. (1998) Basic Mathematics for Senior Secondary Schools and Remedial Students in Higher Institutions, Lagos: Kenny Moore
- Channon, J. B. Smith, A. M. (2001) New General Mathematics for West Africa SSS 1 to 3, Lagos: Longman
3. Indices, Logarithms and Surds
What JAMB expects you to know:
- Apply the laws of indices in calculation
- Establish the relationship between indices and logarithms in solving problems
- Solve equations involving indices
- Solve problems in different bases in logarithms
- Simplify and rationalize surds
- Perform basic operations on surds
Key areas: laws of indices, equations involving indices, standard form, laws of logarithm, logarithm of any positive number to a given base, change of bases in logarithm and application, relationship between indices and logarithm, surds
Recommended reading:
- Adelodun A. A. (2000) Distinction in Mathematics: Comprehensive Revision Text, (3rd Edition) Ado-Ekiti: FNPL
- Anyebe, J. A. B. (1998) Basic Mathematics for Senior Secondary Schools and Remedial Students in Higher Institutions, Lagos: Kenny Moore
- Channon, J. B. Smith, A. M. (2001) New General Mathematics for West Africa SSS 1 to 3, Lagos: Longman
4. Sets
What JAMB expects you to know:
- Identify types of sets, i.e. empty, universal, complements, subsets, finite, infinite and disjoint sets
- Solve problems involving cardinality of sets
- Solve set problems using symbols
- Use Venn diagrams to solve problems involving not more than 3 sets
Key areas: types of sets, algebra of sets, Venn diagrams and their applications
Recommended reading:
- Adelodun A. A. (2000) Distinction in Mathematics: Comprehensive Revision Text, (3rd Edition) Ado-Ekiti: FNPL
- Anyebe, J. A. B. (1998) Basic Mathematics for Senior Secondary Schools and Remedial Students in Higher Institutions, Lagos: Kenny Moore
- Channon, J. B. Smith, A. M. (2001) New General Mathematics for West Africa SSS 1 to 3, Lagos: Longman
5. Polynomials
What JAMB expects you to know:
- Find the subject of the formula of a given equation
- Apply factor and remainder theorem to factorize a given expression
- Multiply, divide polynomials of degree not more than 3 and determine values of defined and undefined expression
- Factorize by regrouping difference of two squares, perfect squares and cubic expressions
- Solve simultaneous equations – one linear, one quadratic
- Interpret graphs of polynomials including applications to maximum and minimum values
Key areas: change of subject of formula, addition, subtraction, multiplication and division of polynomials, factorization of polynomials of degree not exceeding 3, roots of polynomials not exceeding degree 3, factor and remainder theorems
Recommended reading:
- Adelodun A. A. (2000) Distinction in Mathematics: Comprehensive Revision Text, (3rd Edition) Ado-Ekiti: FNPL
- Anyebe, J. A. B. (1998) Basic Mathematics for Senior Secondary Schools and Remedial Students in Higher Institutions, Lagos: Kenny Moore
- Channon, J. B. Smith, A. M. (2001) New General Mathematics for West Africa SSS 1 to 3, Lagos: Longman
6. Variation
What JAMB expects you to know:
- Solve problems involving direct, inverse, joint and partial variations
- Solve problems on percentage increase and decrease in variation
Key areas: direct, inverse, joint, partial, percentage increase and decrease
Recommended reading:
- Adelodun A. A. (2000) Distinction in Mathematics: Comprehensive Revision Text, (3rd Edition) Ado-Ekiti: FNPL
- Anyebe, J. A. B. (1998) Basic Mathematics for Senior Secondary Schools and Remedial Students in Higher Institutions, Lagos: Kenny Moore
- Channon, J. B. Smith, A. M. (2001) New General Mathematics for West Africa SSS 1 to 3, Lagos: Longman
7. Inequalities
What JAMB expects you to know:
- Solve problems on linear and quadratic inequalities
- Interpret graphs of inequalities
Key areas: analytical and graphical solutions of linear inequalities, quadratic inequalities with integral roots only
Recommended reading:
- Adelodun A. A. (2000) Distinction in Mathematics: Comprehensive Revision Text, (3rd Edition) Ado-Ekiti: FNPL
- Anyebe, J. A. B. (1998) Basic Mathematics for Senior Secondary Schools and Remedial Students in Higher Institutions, Lagos: Kenny Moore
- Channon, J. B. Smith, A. M. (2001) New General Mathematics for West Africa SSS 1 to 3, Lagos: Longman
8. Progression
What JAMB expects you to know:
- Determine the nth term of a progression
- Compute the sum of A.P. and G.P
- Sum to infinity of a given G.P
Key areas: nth term of a progression, sum of A.P. and G.P.
Recommended reading:
- Adelodun A. A. (2000) Distinction in Mathematics: Comprehensive Revision Text, (3rd Edition) Ado-Ekiti: FNPL
- Anyebe, J. A. B. (1998) Basic Mathematics for Senior Secondary Schools and Remedial Students in Higher Institutions, Lagos: Kenny Moore
- Channon, J. B. Smith, A. M. (2001) New General Mathematics for West Africa SSS 1 to 3, Lagos: Longman
9. Binary Operations
What JAMB expects you to know:
- Solve problems involving closure, commutativity, associativity and distributivity
- Solve problems involving identity and inverse elements
Key areas: properties of closure, commutativity, associativity and distributivity, identity and inverse elements
Recommended reading:
- Adelodun A. A. (2000) Distinction in Mathematics: Comprehensive Revision Text, (3rd Edition) Ado-Ekiti: FNPL
- Anyebe, J. A. B. (1998) Basic Mathematics for Senior Secondary Schools and Remedial Students in Higher Institutions, Lagos: Kenny Moore
- Channon, J. B. Smith, A. M. (2001) New General Mathematics for West Africa SSS 1 to 3, Lagos: Longman
10. Matrices and Determinants
What JAMB expects you to know:
- Perform basic operations (x,+,-,÷) on matrices
- Calculate determinants
- Compute inverses of 2 x 2 matrices
Key areas: algebra of matrices not exceeding 3 x 3, determinants of matrices not exceeding 3 x 3, inverses of 2 x 2 matrices
Recommended reading:
- Adelodun A. A. (2000) Distinction in Mathematics: Comprehensive Revision Text, (3rd Edition) Ado-Ekiti: FNPL
- Anyebe, J. A. B. (1998) Basic Mathematics for Senior Secondary Schools and Remedial Students in Higher Institutions, Lagos: Kenny Moore
- Channon, J. B. Smith, A. M. (2001) New General Mathematics for West Africa SSS 1 to 3, Lagos: Longman
11. Euclidean Geometry
What JAMB expects you to know:
- Identify various types of lines and angles
- Solve problems involving polygons
- Calculate angles using circle theorems
- Identify construction procedures of special angles
Key areas: properties of angles and lines, polygons, circles, construction
Recommended reading:
- Adelodun A. A. (2000) Distinction in Mathematics: Comprehensive Revision Text, (3rd Edition) Ado-Ekiti: FNPL
- Anyebe, J. A. B. (1998) Basic Mathematics for Senior Secondary Schools and Remedial Students in Higher Institutions, Lagos: Kenny Moore
- Channon, J. B. Smith, A. M. (2001) New General Mathematics for West Africa SSS 1 to 3, Lagos: Longman
12. Mensuration
What JAMB expects you to know:
- Calculate the perimeters and areas of triangles, quadrilaterals, circles and composite figures
- Find the length of an arc, a chord, perimeters and areas of sectors and segments of circles
- Calculate total surface areas and volumes of cuboids, cylinders, cones, pyramids, prisms, spheres and composite figures
- Determine the distance between two points on the earth’s surface
Key areas: lengths and areas of plane geometrical figures, lengths of arcs and chords of a circle, perimeters and areas of sectors and segments of circles, surface areas and volumes of simple solids and composite figures
Recommended reading:
- Adelodun A. A. (2000) Distinction in Mathematics: Comprehensive Revision Text, (3rd Edition) Ado-Ekiti: FNPL
- Anyebe, J. A. B. (1998) Basic Mathematics for Senior Secondary Schools and Remedial Students in Higher Institutions, Lagos: Kenny Moore
- Channon, J. B. Smith, A. M. (2001) New General Mathematics for West Africa SSS 1 to 3, Lagos: Longman
13. Loci
What JAMB expects you to know:
- Identify and interpret loci relating to parallel lines, perpendicular bisectors, angle bisectors and circles
Key areas: locus in 2 dimensions based on geometric principles relating to lines and curves
Recommended reading:
- Adelodun A. A. (2000) Distinction in Mathematics: Comprehensive Revision Text, (3rd Edition) Ado-Ekiti: FNPL
- Anyebe, J. A. B. (1998) Basic Mathematics for Senior Secondary Schools and Remedial Students in Higher Institutions, Lagos: Kenny Moore
- Channon, J. B. Smith, A. M. (2001) New General Mathematics for West Africa SSS 1 to 3, Lagos: Longman
14. Coordinate Geometry
What JAMB expects you to know:
- Determine the midpoint and gradient of a line segment
- Find the distance between two points
- Identify conditions for parallelism and perpendicularity
- Find the equation of a line in the two-point form, point-slope form, slope intercept form and the general form
Key areas: midpoint and gradient of a line segment, distance between two points, parallel and perpendicular lines, equations of straight lines
Recommended reading:
- Adelodun A. A. (2000) Distinction in Mathematics: Comprehensive Revision Text, (3rd Edition) Ado-Ekiti: FNPL
- Anyebe, J. A. B. (1998) Basic Mathematics for Senior Secondary Schools and Remedial Students in Higher Institutions, Lagos: Kenny Moore
- Channon, J. B. Smith, A. M. (2001) New General Mathematics for West Africa SSS 1 to 3, Lagos: Longman
15. Trigonometry
What JAMB expects you to know:
- Calculate the sine, cosine and tangent of angles between - 360º ≤ Ɵ ≤ 360º
- Apply these special angles, e.g. 30º, 45º, 60º, 75º, 90º, 1050, 135º to solve simple problems in trigonometry
- Solve problems involving angles of elevation and depression
- Solve problems involving bearings
- Apply trigonometric formulae to find areas of triangles
- Solve problems involving sine and cosine graphs
Key areas: trigonometrical ratios of angles, angles of elevation and depression, bearings, areas and solutions of triangle, graphs of sine and cosine, sine and cosine formulae
Recommended reading:
- Adelodun A. A. (2000) Distinction in Mathematics: Comprehensive Revision Text, (3rd Edition) Ado-Ekiti: FNPL
- Anyebe, J. A. B. (1998) Basic Mathematics for Senior Secondary Schools and Remedial Students in Higher Institutions, Lagos: Kenny Moore
- Channon, J. B. Smith, A. M. (2001) New General Mathematics for West Africa SSS 1 to 3, Lagos: Longman
16. Differentiation
What JAMB expects you to know:
- Find the limit of a function
- Differentiate explicit algebraic and simple trigonometrical functions
Key areas: limit of a function, differentiation of explicit algebraic and simple trigonometrical functions
Recommended reading:
- Adelodun A. A. (2000) Distinction in Mathematics: Comprehensive Revision Text, (3rd Edition) Ado-Ekiti: FNPL
- Anyebe, J. A. B. (1998) Basic Mathematics for Senior Secondary Schools and Remedial Students in Higher Institutions, Lagos: Kenny Moore
- Channon, J. B. Smith, A. M. (2001) New General Mathematics for West Africa SSS 1 to 3, Lagos: Longman
17. Application of differentiation
What JAMB expects you to know:
- Solve problems involving applications of rate of change, maxima and minima
Key areas: rate of change, maxima and minima
Recommended reading:
- Adelodun A. A. (2000) Distinction in Mathematics: Comprehensive Revision Text, (3rd Edition) Ado-Ekiti: FNPL
- Anyebe, J. A. B. (1998) Basic Mathematics for Senior Secondary Schools and Remedial Students in Higher Institutions, Lagos: Kenny Moore
- Channon, J. B. Smith, A. M. (2001) New General Mathematics for West Africa SSS 1 to 3, Lagos: Longman
18. Integration
What JAMB expects you to know:
- Solve problems of integration involving algebraic and simple trigonometric functions
- Calculate area under the curve
Key areas: integration of explicit algebraic and simple trigonometrical functions, area under the curve
Recommended reading:
- Adelodun A. A. (2000) Distinction in Mathematics: Comprehensive Revision Text, (3rd Edition) Ado-Ekiti: FNPL
- Anyebe, J. A. B. (1998) Basic Mathematics for Senior Secondary Schools and Remedial Students in Higher Institutions, Lagos: Kenny Moore
- Channon, J. B. Smith, A. M. (2001) New General Mathematics for West Africa SSS 1 to 3, Lagos: Longman
19. Representation of data
What JAMB expects you to know:
- Identify and interpret frequency distribution tables
- Interpret information on histogram, bar chart and pie chart
Key areas: frequency distribution, histogram, bar chart and pie chart
Recommended reading:
- Adelodun A. A. (2000) Distinction in Mathematics: Comprehensive Revision Text, (3rd Edition) Ado-Ekiti: FNPL
- Anyebe, J. A. B. (1998) Basic Mathematics for Senior Secondary Schools and Remedial Students in Higher Institutions, Lagos: Kenny Moore
- Channon, J. B. Smith, A. M. (2001) New General Mathematics for West Africa SSS 1 to 3, Lagos: Longman
20. Measures of Location
What JAMB expects you to know:
- Calculate the mean, mode and median of ungrouped and grouped data
- Use Ogive to find the median, quartiles and percentiles
Key areas: mean, mode and median of ungrouped and grouped data, cumulative frequency
Recommended reading:
- Adelodun A. A. (2000) Distinction in Mathematics: Comprehensive Revision Text, (3rd Edition) Ado-Ekiti: FNPL
- Anyebe, J. A. B. (1998) Basic Mathematics for Senior Secondary Schools and Remedial Students in Higher Institutions, Lagos: Kenny Moore
- Channon, J. B. Smith, A. M. (2001) New General Mathematics for West Africa SSS 1 to 3, Lagos: Longman
21. Measures of Dispersion
What JAMB expects you to know:
- Calculate the range, mean deviation, variance and standard deviation of ungrouped and grouped data
Key areas: range, mean deviation, variance and standard deviation
Recommended reading:
- Adelodun A. A. (2000) Distinction in Mathematics: Comprehensive Revision Text, (3rd Edition) Ado-Ekiti: FNPL
- Anyebe, J. A. B. (1998) Basic Mathematics for Senior Secondary Schools and Remedial Students in Higher Institutions, Lagos: Kenny Moore
- Channon, J. B. Smith, A. M. (2001) New General Mathematics for West Africa SSS 1 to 3, Lagos: Longman
22. Permutation and Combination
What JAMB expects you to know:
- Solve simple problems involving permutation and combination
Key areas: linear and circular arrangements, arrangements involving repeated objects
Recommended reading:
- Adelodun A. A. (2000) Distinction in Mathematics: Comprehensive Revision Text, (3rd Edition) Ado-Ekiti: FNPL
- Anyebe, J. A. B. (1998) Basic Mathematics for Senior Secondary Schools and Remedial Students in Higher Institutions, Lagos: Kenny Moore
- Channon, J. B. Smith, A. M. (2001) New General Mathematics for West Africa SSS 1 to 3, Lagos: Longman
23. Probability
What JAMB expects you to know:
- Solve simple problems in probability
Key areas: experimental probability, addition and multiplication of probabilities
Recommended reading:
- Adelodun A. A. (2000) Distinction in Mathematics: Comprehensive Revision Text, (3rd Edition) Ado-Ekiti: FNPL
- Anyebe, J. A. B. (1998) Basic Mathematics for Senior Secondary Schools and Remedial Students in Higher Institutions, Lagos: Kenny Moore
- Channon, J. B. Smith, A. M. (2001) New General Mathematics for West Africa SSS 1 to 3, Lagos: Longman
Ready to Practice?
Reading the syllabus is step one. Step two is testing yourself with real JAMB past questions.
Schowl has 1,777+ verified Mathematics past questions from previous JAMB exams. Practice under timed CBT conditions, get AI-powered explanations for every wrong answer, and track which topics you're weakest in.
Your first practice session is free.
Last updated: March 15, 2026. This syllabus is based on the official JAMB/IBASS syllabus for Mathematics.