Advice to Aspirants - CAT: Quantitative Aptitude | Quantitative Aptitude (Quant) PDF Download

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• Over the past seven years, our team has mentored lakhs of students, including 1,000+ aspirants who made it to IIM Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calcutta, Lucknow, and other top B-schools. 
  What was the one common factor among all these toppers?- A well-planned strategy and consistent practice.
• With insights from IIM graduates and years of experience, we at EduRev have compiled this document to provide you with the most relevant exam strategies. Our goal is simple—to help you achieve the elite 99+ percentile in CAT and secure your dream B-school admission.

Importance of Quantitative Aptitude for CAT

• The Quantitative Aptitude (QA) section is one of the three core sections of the CAT exam, carrying equal weightage as VARC and LRDI. 
• Moreover, many QA concepts lay the foundation for Data Interpretation (DI) questions in LRDI, making a strong grasp of Quant fundamentals essential for a high score.
• This document is designed to help you approach QA strategically, not just for CAT, but also for other top B-school entrance exams like XAT, SNAP, IIFT, NMAT, and more. At EduRev, we recommend the LPA strategy—Learn, Practice, and Analyse—to master QA and maximise your score in this section.

CAT 2025 Quantitative Aptitude Details

As the CAT exam does not have a predefined syllabus, numerous candidates face difficulties and get confused during preparation. But it should be noted that the questions are generally asked from a few repeating concepts every year, so our experts have compiled a complete list of these topics and created the CAT Syllabus (based on the last 10 years' question papers). To access the syllabus document, click on the link:
CAT Syllabus

EduRev Tip: Attempt Past Year Questions of the CAT exam to understand & adapt to the pattern of the exam. 

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Topic-Wise Distribution of CAT Quant Section: Last 3 Years

Topics in CAT Quant

Considering the pattern of past CAT exams, our experts have created the Quantitative Aptitude course, which offers video lectures, detailed notes, practice questions & level-wise MCQ tests for each topic. You can access all the materials for each chapter by clicking on the links below:
1. Number System
1.1 Number System
1.2 Surds and Indices
2. Algebra
2.1 Progressions (Sequences & Series)
2.2 Functions
2.3 Quadratic Equations
2.4 Linear Equations
2.5 Logarithm

3. Arithmetic
3.1 Time and Work
3.2 Ratio and Proportion
3.3 Averages
3.4 Percentages
3.5 Vedic Mathematics - Tricks for Fast Calculations
3.6 Speed, Time and Distance
3.7 Profit, Loss and Discount
3.8 Mixtures and Alligations
3.9 Inequalities
3.10 Interest (Simple and Compound)

4. Geometry and Mensuration
4.1 Geometry
4.2 Mensuration
4.3 Coordinate Geometry

5. Modern Maths
5.1 Permutation and Combination
5.2 Set Theory
5.3 Probability

It should be noted that the topics mentioned here are not the only topics required for CAT exams. Candidates are suggested to have a strong foundation of broader topics related to the quantitative section. This section is very crucial for the CAT exam since almost 22 questions (the number of questions according to CAT 2025) were asked from this section which involves a wide range of numerical topics.

Topic-wise weightage CAT 2025

Tips to Ace Questions in Quant For CAT Section

Download the notes Advice to Aspirants - CAT: Quantitative Aptitude

Download as PDF

Download as PDF

1. Strengthen the Basics

Since CAT tests fundamental mathematical concepts, mastering the basics is crucial. Regular practice will help you develop a solid grasp of key topics and avoid losing marks on straightforward questions.

To strengthen your basics:

• Watch detailed lectures and solve 5-10 practice tests for each topic in the Quantitative Aptitude course.
• Start practising questions early—active problem-solving is the best way to reinforce concepts.

By following this approach, you’ll build the speed, accuracy, and confidence needed to excel in the Quant section.

2. Practice Consistently

“Quant has always been my strength out of 3 sections. After working for 2 years, I felt I needed a quick refresher for the concepts of quants. I gave regular topic-wise tests for 30-40 minutes on EduRev'' - Kusumitha, MBA IIM Bangalore 23

Once you've built your foundation, the next step is structured practice. Attempting level-wise tests helps reinforce concepts and improve problem-solving speed.

Our IIM experts have designed these tests based on top reference books like Arun Sharma and Pearson to provide you with a comprehensive learning experience.

• Medium-level tests replicate the actual CAT difficulty.
• Hard-level tests help you prepare for tougher CAT questions, keeping you ahead of the competition.

Consistent practice with well-structured tests is the key to mastering the Quant section and maximizing your score.

Take a Practice Test Test yourself on topics from CAT exam

Practice Now

Practice Now

3. Revision

No CAT topper has ever succeeded without rigorous revision. The more you revise, the better your accuracy and confidence. Our Quantitative Aptitude course offers 200+ tests, including 5-10 topic-wise tests, designed to help you revise and master each concept. To get a real exam feel, attempt:

• Cumulative subject-wise mock tests to simulate the actual CAT Quant section.
• Archive for Quant: CAT, SNAP & XAT to familiarize yourself with past exam patterns.

Additionally, mastering key formulas is crucial for quick problem-solving. To help with this, we have:

• Topic-wise formula sheets for quick reference.
• Conceptual videos for a deeper understanding.

EduRev Tip: Time management is key. Stick to minimal, high-quality resources and focus on practising a variety of questions instead of constantly switching materials.

4. Practice Mock Tests and Past Year Papers

CAT Mock Tests are the closest experience to the actual exam. They not only familiarise you with the exam pattern but also help assess your preparation level. Analysing past year papers further gives insights into the difficulty level and question trends.

Imagine sitting for CAT, and the first question appears—if you've seen a similar pattern before or cracked the logic instantly, your preparation pays off. That’s the goal of structured mock practice. Any preparation without pattern recognition is incomplete.

Your battle for CAT is half-won if you confidently recognize the logic or pattern in 50–60% of the questions during the exam. The only way to achieve this confidence is by attempting ample mock tests.
So, we've created a different mock test series for all these exams. Check out the links below to access the mock test series for the respective exams:

SNAP Mock Test Series

XAT Mock Test Series

NMAT Mock Test Series

IIFT Mock Test Series
You can check out the syllabus of SNAP, NMAT, XAT through these links. To know more about the CAT Quant section, go through the frequently asked questions in the Quantitative Aptitude section Document.