There are six major MBA entrance exams -- CAT, XAT, NMAT, CMAT, IIFT and SNAP. If you are taking any or all of the tests, you must know the pattern of the quantitative ability section followed in each of them. This article will share with you the trend and analysis of the QA sections across the exams.
The basic preparation of the quantitative ability section will remain the same as the topics are identical. But there are slight intricacies in each of the exams for which it is necessary to know the patterns.
CAT
CAT generally asks questions of Class VIII to XII level. If you are well prepared in basic mathematics, it should not be much of a hurdle. The topics which dominate the QA section are arithmetic, algebra, geometry, mensuration, trigonometry, number system, percentage, SI-CI, PLD, ratio proportion, speed-time-distance, etc. The areas from which the maximum questions are asked are algebra, arithmetic and geometry. The number of questions is 20.
XAT
XAT is known for being a tough test and Quant is the toughest section in the exam. The topics which predominantly appear are numbers, statistics, bar charts, geometry & mensuration, simple & compound interests, averages, mixtures & alligations, special equations, ratio, proportion, variation, time & distance, Venn Diagram, pie chart, percentage, profit & loss, geometry and trigonometry. The majority of the questions are asked from arithmetic, geometry and modern mathematics. XAT questions are more conceptual in nature than based on application. In XAT 2012, the number of questions in the QA section was 28 including the ones on data interpretation.
CMAT
Like CAT and XAT, CMAT too had a combined section on quantitative qbility and data interpretation. The difficulty level was easy to moderate. The majority of the questions in the QA section was asked from arithmetic. The topics ranged from ratios, mixtures, work, averages, profit & loss, statistics, etc. The other topics were number properties, probability and counting principles. There was one question in geometry and derivatives (maxima –minima). The section had 25 questions.
IIFT
The IIFT entrance test for IIFT Delhi and Kolkata is known for its high difficulty level. The topics from which the questions generally come in the QA section include arithmetic, algebra, number systems, progression, percentage, averages, profit & loss, time-speed & distance, geometry, permutation & combination and probability. Last year, there was no question on higher mathematics. There were 24 questions in IIFT 2011 exam.
SNAP
The difficulty level of SNAP varies from easy to moderate. The dominant area in the QA section is arithmetic. The common topics included time-speed & distance; directions; work & time, profit & loss; permutation & combination, probability, miscellaneous; percentages, etc. The other areas are algebra, geometry, mensuration and coordinate geometry. The number of questions in SNAP 2011 exam was 40.
To know more on the comparative analysis of the major MBA entrance exams, read the previous article at MBAUniverse.com:
Comparative analysis of top 6 MBA entrance exams
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