Are airspace and sectional charts on the FAA Private Pilot knowledge test?

Yes.

Airspace classes and chart symbols are ACS Task PA.I.E, National Airspace System, and route planning through airspace is in Task PA.I.D, Cross-Country Flight Planning.

The ACS states that "Knowledge and risk management elements are primarily evaluated during the knowledge testing phase of the airman certification process." It does not publish how many questions each topic gets, so this page lists the tasks and elements that cover the topic instead.

In plain words

Airspace is the set of classes and special areas a VFR pilot must recognize and follow the rules for. Task PA.I.E covers the airspace classes and their requirements and limitations (PA.I.E.K1), chart symbols (PA.I.E.K2), special use airspace, special flight rules areas and temporary flight restrictions (PA.I.E.K3), and special VFR (PA.I.E.K4).

Sectional charts are where you read all of this. Task PA.I.D lists VFR Navigation Charts among its references, and its first knowledge element, PA.I.D.K1, is route planning that considers the different classes of airspace and special use airspace.

What the FAA says you must know

Area of Operation I, Task E. National Airspace System (PA.I.E)

Objective: To determine the applicant exhibits satisfactory knowledge, risk management, and skills associated with National Airspace System (NAS) operations under VFR as a private pilot.

Knowledge: the applicant demonstrates understanding of:

PA.I.E.K1 Airspace classes and associated requirements and limitations.
PA.I.E.K2 Chart symbols.
PA.I.E.K3 Special use airspace (SUA), special flight rules areas (SFRA), temporary flight restrictions (TFR), and other airspace areas.
PA.I.E.K4 Special visual flight rules (VFR) requirements.

Risk management: the applicant is able to identify, assess, and mitigate risk associated with:

PA.I.E.R1 Various classes and types of airspace.

Area of Operation I, Task D. Cross-Country Flight Planning (PA.I.D)

Objective: To determine the applicant exhibits satisfactory knowledge, risk management, and skills associated with cross-country flights and VFR flight planning.

Knowledge: the applicant demonstrates understanding of:

PA.I.D.K1 Route planning, including consideration of different classes and special use airspace (SUA) and selection of appropriate and available navigation/communication systems and facilities.

Source: FAA, Private Pilot for Airplane Category Airman Certification Standards (FAA-S-ACS-6C, November 2023), quoted as published; the page lists the elements that cover this topic, not every element of each task. Skill elements are tested on the practical test, where the ACS says the evaluator must test each one by observing the applicant perform it.

Original practice questions

Written by Capxule from the ACS text quoted above. These are not FAA questions.

1. In the ACS airspace task, what does TFR stand for?
- A. Terminal flight route
- B. Temporary flight restriction
- C. Traffic flow region
Show the answer
B. Temporary flight restriction
PA.I.E.K3 lists temporary flight restrictions (TFR) with special use airspace (SUA) and special flight rules areas (SFRA).
2. Which knowledge element of Task PA.I.E covers chart symbols?
- A. PA.I.E.K1
- B. PA.I.E.K2
- C. PA.I.E.K4
Show the answer
B. PA.I.E.K2
PA.I.E.K2 is "Chart symbols." K1 is airspace classes and K4 is special VFR requirements.

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