CAT 2024 will be held in November 2024.
Since 2011, Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation is the first section of the CAT exam. The QA & DI section will have 30 questions, where students will get 20 questions on Quant.
Past Trends
The topics of the Quantitative Ability questions in CAT have been more or less the same over the years. The broad areas are Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry, Mensuration, Number Systems, Modern Math, etc.
The following table will throw some light over the past trends of quant section:
|
Year |
No. of Questions |
No. of Questions in Quantitative Ability |
Difficulty Level |
Topics |
|
2007 |
75 |
25 |
Very Difficult |
Arithmetic , Algebra , Modern Math , Data Sufficiency |
|
2008 |
90 |
25 |
Difficult |
Arithmetic , Algebra , Geometry |
|
2009 |
60 |
20 |
Moderate |
Arithmetic , Number System , Algebra , Mensuration , Commercial Math |
|
2010 |
60 |
20 |
Difficult |
Number System , Arithmetic, Algebra , Geometry , Modern Math |
|
2011 |
60 |
20 |
Difficult |
Arithmetic , Algebra , Geometry , Mensuration , Number Systems , Modern Math |
If we analyze the past trend of quant section, we observe that maximum numbers of question are asked from the Arithmetic, Algebra and Number System. The other areas such as Geometry, Mensuration and Higher Math are also common but the number of questions is lower than the rest of the topics.
Hence, students should focus their revision around these topics. This will help them in scoring high percentile.
Getting Started
The preparation approach to each and every section varies from student to student. Few important intricacies of each area are mentioned below:
•Arithmetic: how to 'apply' formulae
•Algebra: reading and understanding the question
•Geometry: ability to visualize
•Modern Math: your logical reasoning ability
Other important facts to focus on are speed and accuracy. They play vital role in your quant preparation and will help you score high in the Quantitative Ability part of the CAT 2012. You can also refer to the basic preparation material available on our website for the Quantitative Ability section and then progress towards the books meant for CAT preparation. NCERT arithmetic text books from classes VIII to X are the best to strengthen your basics for Quant Problems.
Apart from the NCERT books, the other books you should refer are:
•How To Prepare For Quantitative Aptitude For The CAT by Arun Sharma (TATA-McGraw Hill publications),
•Quantitative Aptitude for CAT by NishitSinha (Pearson publications),
•Quantum CAT by Sarvesh Kumar Verma (Arihant publication) and
•Quantitative Aptitude for MBA Entrance Examinations by AbhijitGuha (TATA-McGraw Hill publications)
Preparing your own topic wise time table is also very useful. You should prepare it in such a way that you get to alternate days for preparing or revising each area. For instance, Monday - Arithmetic, Tuesday - Algebra, Wednesday - Geometry, Thursday - Modern Math, Friday - take test, Saturday - analyze, Sunday - revise weak areas. This way, you could cover all the areas in the Quant equally
You must also take a couple of speed math tests every week. You will not only remain up to date with your preparation level of the Quantitative Ability section for CAT 2012 but will also be able to excel your speed and accuracy.
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