The students are always trying to prepare for some of the other entrance exams. These days, the entrance exams are the only gateway for students to enter some of their desired institutions. For this purpose, students are always trying to aim at the entrance exams that they want to appear for, and they start their preparations months in advance. This is true even for the Common Admission Test. It is one of the most popularly known entrance exams in our country. This exam is known to provide opportunities to many students who are aspiring to pursue their management degrees. It gives entry to the students in various IIMs and other business schools of the country. Students are always trying to prepare for each section of the exam for the CAT entrance test. The CAT Quantitative Aptitude is one such section that students put a lot of their effort into. It is considered to be a slightly easier section as compared to the other sections, but students still have to make sure that they are really preparing in a better manner so that they get their fewest marks deducted in the section. Students need to have strong CAT Quantitative Ability preparation so that they’re able to save a lot of their marks.
CAT Exam Pattern
There are a total of 3 sections in the CAT exam, which are Verbal Ability and Reading comprehension, Data Interpretation and Logical reasoning and Quantitative Aptitude. Each of these sections has a different number of questions, but the sectional time limit is 40 minutes each. The overall time duration for the CAT exam is 120 minutes, and there are a total of 68 questions. CAT is a computer-based online exam that is conducted at the various allocated examination centers.
Syllabus for CAT Quantitative Aptitude
The quantitative aptitude for CAT section involves mostly questions based on mathematical topics. This can often make the students nervous because there is only a certain time limit in which students have to solve these questions. It requires the students to be quick in their assessment of the question and their calculations. Students should also make sure that they are aware of all their mathematical topics up to Class 10. Students need to practice in the most comprehensive manner because there are going to be questions from many various topics. Let us discuss some of the topics of the CAT quantitative aptitude that will be coming in the exam.
There are certain larger categories of topics under which the subtopics are included. For the CAT exam quantitative aptitude section, there are going to be topics from arithmetic. Topics like percentages, profit and loss, simple and compound interest, ratio and proportion, time and work, time, speed and distance; average; mixtures and allegations. Then when it comes to algebra, there are going to be questions based on linear and quadratic equations, progressions, logarithms, polynomials, inequalities, functions, etc. For questions based on geometry, there are going to be questions from coordinate geometry, area, volume, 3D geometry, lines, angles, polygons, etc. From the number system there are going to be questions on divisibility, factors, multiples, remainders, base systems, etcetera and a few questions on probability, permutation and combination sequences in series, etc.
How To Prepare Better For CAT Quantitative Ability?
When the students properly try to understand the CAT quantitative aptitude syllabus, they will see that most of the topics are related to mathematics itself, which means that the task of the students is easier and that they have to focus on mathematics only, but the students have to realize that there is a lot of syllabus in this itself. Students have to make sure that when they are intentional about preparing for the quantitative aptitude for CAT, they need to go through the books that will ensure that they are practicing a lot of questions, and this is the only way they will know that their formulas are strong and their grip on concept clarity is there. It is extremely essential for the students to realize that the more previous-year question papers and mock test papers the students solve, the better prepared they will be. Apart from this, the students should also look into the previous year question trends because this will give the students an idea of which mathematical topics have reoccurred over the years and which questions have been asked more often than not. Students can give more emphasis to those topics when they’re trying to prepare for the CAT quantitative aptitude.
Conclusion
It is important for the students to focus on their CAT exam quantitative aptitude section, but at the same time, students have to give importance to other sections as well. When the students holistically prepare for every section, they will realize that it will improve their performance in the exam. If the students feel that they require coaching for their preparation, then they can always go to good institutions like Hitbullseye that will completely transform the whole preparation journey for the students and make sure that they are given the right tools at the right time to have a solid preparation.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Where are CAT sample papers available?
CAT sample papers are available in both online and offline modes. Students can easily search on the different websites that are available in the online platforms and avail themselves of the sample papers. Apart from this, if students feel that they need to go to the online bookstores to get the material, then there are many offline places that will give the students the right material for the study of the exam. In this way, the students can take the help of many resources and prepare in a holistic way.
2. How many mock test papers should students solve?
Students should try and solve 10 to 15 mock test papers. It is good if the students try to solve many mock test papers because the more questions they solve, the better their preparation will become. When the students go through different mock test papers, they also help the students to find out topics that they find difficult and that they need to work upon. A good student will be able to understand many weak points that they need to work upon while solving these mock test papers.
3. Why is the CAT exam considered hard?
Students will often realize that the CAT exam is considered very difficult because there is a certain standard for the exam. The different sections in the exam are also tough, and there is so much competition out there that eventually makes the cutoff go so high that students need to prepare for the exam in a manner where they can truly score well.