IS CAT QUANTITATIVE ABILITY TOUGH TO CRACK? THE COMPLETE GUIDE AS TO HOW TO CRACK THE SECTION OF CAT WHICH MOST CANDIDATES FEAR!
CAT: Quantitative Ability can definitely be entitled as that one section from which most candidates fear or run away. The other half students feel it’s a cakewalk. However both of which should not be accepted.
What are Quants in CAT?
The Quants section in CAT stands for Quantitative Reasoning. While most MBA Aspirants get afraid of this section assuming it to be very tough as it has concepts of mathematics, but that is not exactly what it is. With a little tip here and there and hard work, you can definitely get this one. This section of CAT would, in fact, going to judge you on the basis of your quantitative problem-solving skills.
Quants are basically the third section of the CAT. It is that section which majorly deals with your mathematical approach towards CAT. Before getting into details, it is important to know what is usually covered in the syllabus with respect to CAT. CAT majorly asks questions involving topics such as Profit and Loss, Binomial Theorem, Complex Numbers, Trigonometry, Percentages, Set Theory, Quadratic Equations, Linear Equations, Venn Diagrams, Geometry based mainly involving mensuration or co-ordinate geometry, Permutation and Combination, Logarithm: Progressions, Simple Interest, Compound Interest, Speed, distance and time based questions, Algebra-based questions, LCM and HCF. Though the syllabus is not purely based on these topics however it is important to be extremely thorough with these topics.
Structure:
Quantitative Reasoning has a weightage of about 34% out of all the three sections of CAT. Now you will be given a set of 34 questions which would be based on these questions. Also if you observe the previous years papers, you will observe more of Arithmetic based questions. Hence, it is important to put more emphasis on Arithmetic Based Questions. According to the previous years’ question papers, there were about 25 to 27 MCQ’s and about 7 to 10 Non-MCQ’s.
It is important to note that you won’t be provided with an online calculator for the quantitative section. However, a virtual calculator which had been introduced turned out too big a big thumbs up and was of a huge advantage to a large number of candidates who write the CAT Examination. It is essential for you to know the basics of geometry, algebra (precisely elementary algebra) and arithmetic mathematics for this section. Also, this section doesn’t really depend upon basic mathematical skills. It purely depends upon your analytical thinking skills.
TIPS TO CRACK CAT: QUANTITATIVE ABILITY
- Whilst solving the paper, do not get stuck to one question if you find it tough. You are supposed to go through the questions as quick as you can and try solving them in the least time possible. Usually, the students who appear for CAT find this section extremely lengthy and most of them are not able to complete the section losing out on so many marks which they could have easily gained. Hence, make it a habit to solve and practice so much that this section does not take a lot of your time.
- Go on instinct only in extreme cases. Else it is advisable to not go on instincts as you will end up losing your scores.
- The more you practice, the more will you find it easier. It is genuinely not that difficult if you practice more.
- Many of you would not know this but the answers are the same as every question. Even though it is not advisable to mug up and learn the answers by heart; but if you feel you are running short of time or any such issue, then you can learn it up and during the exam, you would not really have to solve every question.
- Find your strengths and weakness. It is never too late to actually start analysing where you would need more practice and where you would not need as much of practice comparatively. It is all dependent upon how much you solve. The more you solve the more you know where do you need to focus on.
- However, only solving won’t be enough. It is important to check the answers and prepare a separate sheet or a book wherein you include all tough questions or questions where you made errors. Review these as many times as possible. This is also a hack to save time during the final crucial days of revision.
- Brush through your basic maths concepts as this section would definitely require your practice in that section.
- Focus more on your basics than study many tough and advanced quantitative mathematical questions. It is better to first solve the basics ones than jumping on to the tougher questions. If you don’t know your basics, you’ll honestly not land up with a good score.
- Solve as many mock tests as you can. Don’t just rely on any guide or any notes. Make sure you analyse each of your mistakes and revise them so you do not repeat them again. Just solving papers and not checking and correcting your mistakes will not be beneficial at all.
- Find hacks and methods or substitute methods to solve a particular type of problem as this would help you with time management as well as would help you with securing higher grades. Try finding methods to solve faster even if your answer is correct.
