QA Structure in CAT 2025

All three 2025 QA papers contained 22 questions for 66 raw marks in a 40-minute section. QA remained the final section after VARC and DILR. The current CAT 2026 instructions confirm the timer and marking rules but do not prescribe the final question count.

A topic count is a classification of those questions, not a separate marks rule. All correct answers carry the same positive marks whether the problem involves arithmetic, algebra or geometry. The QA syllabus guide sets out the broader preparation scope.

CAT 2025 QA Slot 1 Topic Map

The QA grouping uses one preparation area per question. Progressions, functions, logarithms and equation/inequality constraints are grouped under Algebra; digit and factor questions are Number Properties. Contextual rate, mixture, return and fee problems are Arithmetic. Other analyses may place some of these under Modern Mathematics.

Slot 1 combined financial and ratio problems with equations, function conditions and geometric relationships. Its geometry questions involved a coordinate-plane parallelogram, chords in a circle and a rhombus. The counting question used optional food-order choices.

The algebra grouping includes progression and integer-inequality questions. This explains why its count can be higher than in a table that moves those topics to Modern Mathematics or Numbers. The question numbers make the grouping reproducible.

CAT 2025 QA Slots 2 and 3

Slot 2 included geometric progressions, quadratic relationships, logarithms, function domains and integer constraints. Arithmetic contexts included averages, loan instalments, discounts, work and boats.

Slot 3 included mixtures, work rates, travel, discounts and salary averages, alongside logarithms, functions and progressions. Geometry used a trapezium with an inscribed circle and triangle relationships; a subject-selection problem used sets.

Under the same grouping, the arithmetic counts were 8, 8 and 9 across Slots 1-3. Geometry had three questions in every slot. Equal counts do not establish equal difficulty: the given conditions and calculations can differ substantially.

Reported QA Difficulty and What the Questions Required

IMS's 2025 reviews rated QA moderate in Slots 1 and 3, and difficult in Slot 2. These are coaching assessments, not IIM difficulty ratings or a formula for score normalization.

The papers show why a familiar topic can still take time. Slot 2's function-composition question required domain exclusions; its integer questions imposed discrete bounds. Slot 3 combined ratios and changing quantities in several arithmetic contexts. Recognising a chapter name did not remove those conditions.

Use a reported difficulty label to understand historical reactions, then inspect the actual 2025 QA papers for the tasks you need to practise. It cannot establish which slot you personally would have found easiest.

QA Attempts, Accuracy and Raw Marks

Attempt count alone does not establish a percentile. Correctness and response type affect raw marks, while the official result involves score processing and relative performance.

For an original illustration, 10 correct answers of either type and 3 wrong MCQs give 30 - 3 = 27 raw marks. Ten correct answers and 3 wrong TITA answers give 30 raw marks. Both attempts contain 13 responses, but the scores differ.

A reported difficult paper does not tell you a fixed number of marks that will be added during normalization. Nor does a past-year good-attempt estimate establish a current admission threshold. The CAT score calculation and score-versus-percentile guide explain the separate measures.

For a useful QA practice review, record the time used, correct answers, wrong MCQs, wrong typed responses and blanks. Then identify the reason for each error rather than treating every lost mark as a need to attempt more.

For focused practice, the Quant practice papers and QA preparation guide separate topic work from timed section attempts.

1. 2025 QA Structure
2. Slot 1 Topic Counts
3. Slots 2 and 3 Compared

1. Reported QA Difficulty
2. Same Attempts, Different Marks