With the two sections- Verbal Ability & Quantitative Aptitude, carrying equal weightage in CAT paper, you need to judiciously divide your time between the two sections depending on your strong and weak areas. The quantitative section, however, need to be looked more carefully as focused approach towards the section during all stages of your CAT preparation is the key to success.
The section carries a total of 30 questions including with 20 Quantitative Ability questions and 10 Data Interpretation questions. The overall section is to be attempted in 70 minutes. The past CAT records, however, suggest that a candidate who attempts about 20-21 question in the section stands to get more than 95 percentile in the particular section. The candidate has the choice to attempt more quant and less DI or vice versa. There will not be any sub-segmentation of scoring separately in quant and DI. The section is treated as one.
Know the Quant section:
The CAT Quant section basically tests your numerical ability and mathematical skills and your approach towards problem solving through logic. The section covers areas like Arithmetic, Algebra and Geometry and questions predominantly belong to what is taught to students up to the 10 + 12 standard.
Quantitative Aptitude Syllabus: The question in the section are based on LCM and HCF, Percentages, Profit and Loss, Interest (Simple and Compound), Speed, Time and Distance, Time and Work, Averages, Ratio and Proportion, Linear Equations, Quadratic Equations, Complex Numbers, Logarithm, Progressions, Binomial Theorem, Surds and Indices, Inequalities, Permutation and Combination, Probability, Functions, Set Theory, Mixtures and Alligations, Geometry, Co-ordinate Geometry, Trigonometry, Mensuration etc.
Data Interpretation Syllabus: The questions are based on interpretation and analysis of data based on text, tables, graphs (line, area), charts (column, bar, pie), Venn diagram, etc. Data is given in the form of tables, charts or graphs. In this section, it is tested how candidates can interpret the given data and answer questions based on it.
Begin with Basics
Experts suggest that CAT Aspirants should begin their Quant preparation with basics. Mr Rajesh Balasubramanian, CAT Expert & Author, suggests MBA Aspirants to focus more on basics and avoid short-cuts during the early stage of preparation.
“Do not agonize over short-cuts, vedic math, speed multiplication and other such distractions. Re-visit basics frequently and aggressively. Some of the best books to focus on the basics are the under-rated NCERT textbooks for standard VI, VII, VIII and IX. These are wonderful for learning the basics well,” he says.
Though Algebra remains the most important topic in Quantitative Aptitude, the experts believe that you need to have command on all topics to be successful in CAT. Mr Abhishek Gupta, National Product Head for MBA Test-Prep at Career Launcher India, says that CAT aspirants should not be selective while starting their quant preparation. “I would strongly recommend doing everything that's there. It is not advisable to leave certain topics as it may be a huge risk,” he says, adding, hard work is the only answer to cope with the challenge of covering the whole syllabus.
Focus on Application:
Once you complete your basics, you need to think over the application of those fundamentals in solving the twists of the questions in this section. Experts say that merely learning the theory and lengthy formulae will not help much in solving the question, but solving questions with application of basics in each question helps a lot. You need to be very cautious that CAT quant section does not check your memory power as most of the sums in CAT are not based on direct formulae. Read and learn concept of each topic and try to keep yourself away from big and lengthy formulae.
Practice a lot:
As you get ready with your basics and know how to apply fundamental concepts in solving the questions, you need to devote more time to regular practice. This will help you in gaining a high level of speed with better accuracy.
Your power-performance on D-day will depend on your rigorous practice that you undergo during your CAT preparation journey. It is also the time when you start taking more of mocks so that you don’t feel uncomfortable during the actual testing period during your CAT.
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