Quantitative Aptitude section of CAT exam can be seen as a combination of Arithmetic, Algebra and Geometry. Maximum questions are asked from these three topics. Here's expert advice on how to prepare for Quantitative Aptitude section of CAT 2024. By Deekshant Sehrawat
CAT Quant preparation requires sharp memory, deep understanding and a lot of practice. Candidates planning to appear for CAT 2024 must have already started off with the preparations. CAT 2024 will be held on November 24, 2024. So, here is some advice on how to make the best use your time till the CAT exam day. In this article, I'll share some micro-level CAT preparation tips for Quantitative Aptitude.
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There is a 90% more chance of getting best college recommendations by sharing preferences.As CAT exam 2024 will get closer, the value of every single day and every single hour being invested will go up drastically. Having a clear plan of action will certainly enable you to make better use of the time, and also increase the chances of deriving far better returns on this invested time.
Q: When should I start preparing for CAT exam?
Aspirants should start preparing for CAT exam at least nine months in before the test date. CAT preparation requires long-term planning thus one must start early. The best time to start CAT preparation is in March. Starting early will also help you assess that whether you need to join a coaching institute or not.
Divide your preparation into two phases -
- Covering the CAT syllabus
- Practicing mock tests, sample questions and revision.
The CAT syllabus includes the following topics:
- Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension: Parajumbles, Parasummary, Sentence Completion and Inferences, Questions based on passages, para meaning, order of sentences
- Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning: Tables, Graphs, Pie Charts, Venn Diagram, Blood Relation, Seating Arrangement, Caselets and Syllogism
- Quantitative Aptitude: Geometry, Algebra, Number System, Arithmetic, Mensuration.
You can read the following CAT books for exam preparation:
- CAT Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning by Gautam Puri
- Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation for the CAT by Nishit K Sinha
- Data Interpretation and Data Sufficiency by Ananta Ashisha
- How to Prepare for Data Interpretation for CAT by Arun Sharma
- How to Prepare for Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension for CAT by Arun Sharma and Meenakshi Upadhyay
- 30 Days to a More Powerful Vocabulary Mass Market Paperback by Wilfred Funk and Norman Lewis/ Simon and Schuster
- How to Prepare for Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension for the CAT by Sharma and Upadhyay
- High School English Grammar and Composition by Wren and Martin
- How to Prepare for Quantitative Aptitude for the CAT by Arun Sharma
- Quantitative Aptitude for CAT by Nishit Sinha
- Quantitative Aptitude Quantum CAT by Sarvesh Sharma
- Quantitative Aptitude for Competitive Examinations by Abhijit Guha.
Q: Is the CAT syllabus difficult?
Yes, the difficulty level of CAT syllabus is very high as compared to other MBA entrance exams. However, if you prepare well and follow the CAT exam pattern well, you will be able to score well. Besides having an understanding of the CAT syllabus 2025, candidates also need to be well aware of the CAT exam pattern before they start preparing for the exam. The CAT exam pattern was revised in 2021 and the number of questions were reduced from 76 to 66. The structure of CAT 2023 and CAT 2024 was the same. The syllabus is still tougher than other exams.
The most important things to keep in mind are:
- CAT exam mode is online
- Each question carries three marks
- There is negative marking of minus one mark for wrong attempts
The section-wise distribution of questions and difficulty levels as per the latest CAT exam pattern are listed below:
- Quantitative Ability (QA) - 24 questions, difficulty level - moderate to high
- Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR) - 20 questions, difficulty level - moderate
- Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) - 22 questions, difficulty level - moderate. to high
Q: Is CAT exam tough for an average student?
CAT is a speed based test which is designed to assess a candidate's analytical aptitude, logical reasoning skills, data interpretation and English comprehension. Now, it may sound tough, but these are the skills which we are taught in school so there is nothing new to learn. What is required is to learn these subjects at advanced level. If you are an average student but have studied Science or commerce in Class-12 and graduation, you will find a lot of familiar topics in Data Interpretation, Quantitative Aptitude and Logical Reasoning. All you will need is brush up the basics and practice the concepts on advance level problems.
However, since the competition is so high in CAT and less than 95 percentile can break your dream of joining a top college like IIM, the preparation for CAT requires a lot of focus, dedication, discipline and diligence. If you can do that, despite being an average student, you can crack the CAT exam.
Since the CAT question paper has Quantitative Aptitude as the third section, it will appear the last in the exam. Good part is that now CAT Quantitative Aptitude section has only 22 questions to be solved in 40 minutes. Ensuring a good start to CAT will help you feel more confident in solving the first two sections.
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Let’s Start With Your Strategy for CAT Quant Preparation
Let’s assume that you intend to invest around 100 hours (this number could differ for different students and the rest of the things will proportionately alter) of your CAT preparation time in the QA section between now and the CAT 2024 exam day. This excludes the hours spent in your classroom coaching, CAT mock tests and their analyses. This simply is the time you spend by yourself on improving the various topics in the specific section – Quantitative Aptitude.
Also read:
Topic-Wise Break Up of Quantitative Aptitude Section of CAT
CAT Quantitative Aptitude section can be seen as a combination of Arithmetic (excluding Number Systems, which can also be seen as a separate entity), Algebra and Geometry. An indicative breakup among the four areas could be as follows:
Q: Are six months enough to prepare for CAT?
Q: How would I know my CAT exam centre?
Candidates will know their allotted CAT exam centre only from the admit card. There is no way to know the test centre before the release of the CAT admit card. The examination authority allots a test centre to aspirants in the city of their first preference as mentioned in the city. So, candidates can atleast be assured that they will get a test centre in the city they had chosen as first preference in the CAT application form. However, the venue will be mentioned only on the candidate’s admit card. So as soon as the CAT admit card is released, candidates must check the test city and test centre details. In order to avoid any confusion, they must visit the centre at least once before the exam day.
Q: Which CAT exam slot is the toughest?
Q: What are the best ways to prepare for the DILR section?
The best way to prepare for DILR section is through practice. Before starting the preparation, aspirants should be accustomed to the question types by going through previous years’ question papers and solving those. Since there is not much conceptual understanding required in this section, practice is the key to excel in this area.
Some of the most popular books on DILR section that you can refer are How to Prepare for Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning for CAT by Arun Sharma, Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation for the CAT by Nishit Sinha, Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning for CAT by Pearson, to name a few.
Q: Is 6.5 CGPA good for CAT preparation?
| CAT Quants Topics |
Hours to Devote |
|---|---|
| Number Systems |
12 |
| Arithmetic |
28 |
| Algebra |
30 |
| Geometry |
30 |
But the above assumes an equal proficiency across all four areas, which is unlikely to be true for most of you. Hence, you can possibly take away around 10 hours from two of your strongest areas and invest them in one/two of your weakest area(s) among the four. So, if you are weak in Arithmetic, just about average in Number Systems, strong in Geometry, and very strong in Algebra, the break-up could be tweaked to look something like:
Number of Hours to Spend on CAT Quantitative Aptitude Topics
You can check the table below for estimated time taken for each topic of CAT quantitative aptitude. You can make a time table for quant preparation on the basis of this estimation. This can be a reference point and you should adjust the timing depending on your weak and strong areas.
| CAT Quatitative Aptitude Topics |
Hours |
|---|---|
| Number Systems |
15 |
| Arithmetic |
35 |
| Algebra |
24 |
| Geometry |
26 |
Also Read:
This is just an example of how best to plan your time investment in CAT preparation. It is also advisable not to use the entire quota for any specific area in one go and use the same in tranches. For example, you could break the total time into roughly three phases, using around one-third of the allotted hours in each while moving across areas in sequence and then return to the first one again and so on. This will ensure that you stay in touch with all the areas through to the end. A smart way also would be to keep the last iteration for revision. Alternatively, you could account for that in your overall time and keep 15 per cent of total hours as blocked for revision at the end. In that case, you can plan for only 85 per cent of the time in that section in the manner suggested above.
| Free DILR Questions with Answers for Practice | Free VARC Questions with Answers for Practice | Free Quantitative Aptitude Questions with Answers for Practice |
The general tendency is to do more in areas that you are already comfortable in. If you are more interested in Arithmetic, for example, chances are you will spend more time on it, despite being relatively better placed in it. On the other hand, you will keep avoiding areas/topics that you are relatively weaker in (and they are also likely to be the ones you are less interested in). Proceeding in that way, you will never improve in areas that you really need to improve in.
It is also argued by some that you should invest more in your strengths to make them stronger. But the point is that if you are already at say 90 (on a scale of 100) in a given area/topic, there is no point in investing more time. You simply need to do more questions that are in the top 10 per cent. Practicing more questions at levels lower than 90 in that area/topic will be a waste of time.
Within each of the four areas also, you should spend more time on topics you are weaker in, and less time on topics you are stronger in – doing questions only at levels higher than your current levels. This approach will enable you to derive maximum output from your time/efforts invested in the preparation. Having a clear idea of the time you need to invest in each topic in CAT Quantitative Aptitude in front of you will also ensure urgency apart from pushing you to be more consistent in your efforts.
How to identify and be able to spend that time according to your needs, is where your coaching/mentors/guidance needs to adapt to your needs! Increasingly, across all levels of education, one-size-fits-all approach is being abandoned for its inefficiency and ineffectiveness.
Rigidness is passé. Plan your CAT 2024 preparation according to your needs. For any given level of ability and preparation, how well you adapt your preparation and invest your time according to your own specific needs will decide how superior a return are you able to achieve.
About the Author
Deekshant Sehrawat is a man of many facets. An IIT Delhi, IIM Calcutta alumnus Deekshant, is the founder of a top MBA preparation online coaching. Deekshant is also a lyricist and has co-authored a number of songs with Dr. Palash Sen, lead singer of Hindi rock band Euphoria.
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