What Makes CAT Unique Than Other Management Tests

Mathematics Section of CAT- What Makes it Unique than Other Management Tests CAT, conducted for admission in the Indian Institutes of Management is also accepted by other, top B-Schools across the country for admissions to MBA, PGDM and other management courses. The registrations for the examination begin in the first week of August and the official notification is released along with the application forms. CAT hall ticket is then released for the candidates who successfully apply for the exam. The exam is divided in three sections: Quantitative Ability, Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension and Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning. Among the three sections, the Quantitative Ability section carries a weightage of 34% and the allotted time for the section is 60 minutes. Also, this is considered the trickiest of the three sections. Why is the Quantitative Aptitude Section of CAT unique? The quantitative section of Common Admission Test is different than other management exams, mainly because of the difficulty level. The questions asked in this exam are much more difficult and lengthy. The difficulty level has also increased over the years, making it the most feared section by students. The syllabus for the mathematics section is also quite vast. Judging by the last few years’ trends, algebra and geometry are two of the most important parts of this section. CAT, sometimes does not follow previous year’s pattern, particularly for this section, making it very unpredictable. Some years had questions on arithmetic and number system dominating major part of this section while some years had maximum questions on algebra, geometry and higher mathematics. So students preparing for selective topics may be taken by surprise. The mathematics section of CAT is important because if the score of this particular section is less, the student will not be considered for IIMs despite scoring well in the other two sections. Considering last year’s admission trends, IIMs demand 85 to 90 percentile in mathematics section to shortlist candidates for GD PI rounds. So you need to prepare for the quantitative aptitude section with utmost seriousness. How to Prepare for Quantitative Aptitude for the CAT In the following paragraphs, we will discuss some of the topics students should focus on to obtain a good score in mathematics. Number System Number system can be called a low priority area for CAT mathematics preparation because the questions on this topic have decreased in the last few years. Nevertheless, the concepts should be learned to solve the questions that are asked. Some of the most important topics to cover include– Basics and properties of numbers Base System – conversion of bases, addition, subtraction and multiplication in different bases HCF & LCM Finding out last digit, last two digits, number of zeroes Divisibility Rules Long division and finding out remainders – on this topic the questions are mainly based on divisibility rules, binomial theorem, simplifying the dividend, Wilson’s Theorem, Fermat’s Theorem, Euler’s Theorem, pattern recognition, cyclicity of remainder. Arithmetic The main trick to master arithmetic part is to learn the concepts properly and apply short methods for calculation. The basic concepts that you will need to follow for solving most of the problems are- Averages Mean, median, mode Percentages Ratio and Proportion Simple and Compound Interest. Observing previous years’ patterns most of the arithmetic questions are asked on the below mentioned topics – Profit & Loss Mixture & Alligation Time & Work – pipes & cisterns Time & Distance – basic concepts, relative speed, linear and circular races, boats & streams, relative speed, escalator based questions Few other topics from the syllabus that the students can learn for concepts are– Stocks & shares Calendars Clocks The concepts should be learned...