CAT QA Arithmetic Topics

Arithmetic problems turn familiar quantities into linked relationships. The calculation is often short once the correct base, rate or quantity has been identified. Prepare these areas together rather than treating each formula as an isolated chapter.

In percentages, ask what the percentage is taken of. A discount applies to marked price, while profit percentage usually uses cost price. In mixtures, track the amount of the ingredient as well as the total volume. Replacing liquid changes both unless the total is restored to the same level.

Work and speed problems also need a consistent unit. A daily work rate and an hourly rate cannot be added directly. Average speed over unequal times is not generally the simple average of the two stated speeds. These foundations also support calculations in CAT Data Interpretation.

CAT QA Algebra Topics

Algebra appears in direct equations and inside word problems. A financial or age-based question may become a pair of linear equations; an integer condition can change which roots are acceptable.

A logarithm problem is not finished until its domain has been checked. The argument must be positive, and the base must be positive and different from one. When an inequality involves a logarithm with a base between zero and one, its decreasing behaviour matters.

For quadratics, distinguish real roots from integer roots. For functions, check the interval over which a minimum or maximum is requested. The 2025 Slot 1 paper included greatest-integer conditions, integer quadratic roots, logarithmic inequalities and function extrema, illustrating why the restrictions in the question matter.

Geometry, Mensuration and Number Properties

Geometry questions may give only some lengths or coordinates and ask for a relationship that can be derived. Add a label to the diagram for each stated condition; do not assume a line is a diameter or an angle is a right angle because of how a sketch looks.

The 2025 Slot 1 QA paper included a parallelogram in the coordinate plane, chords in a circle, a rhombus and a restricted-digit number. These tested different representations: coordinates, geometric relationships, area/diagonals and number factors.

For number questions, record whether zero is allowed and whether digits must be distinct. For integer pairs, an inequality may describe infinitely many real pairs but only a finite number of integer pairs. Listing the permitted boundary values can prevent an off-by-one count.

Counting and Mixed-Topic Questions

Counting questions often combine a compulsory choice with an optional choice. Decide whether order matters and whether selecting nothing is permitted before multiplying the counts.

Original example: a meal has one of 3 mains, one of 2 breads and up to 2 of 4 sauces. Sauce choices are 1 way to choose none, 4 ways to choose one and 6 ways to choose two. The total is 3 x 2 x (1 + 4 + 6) = 66. Omitting the no-sauce option would incorrectly give 60.

The 2025 Slot 1 paper used a food-order choice problem with optional sauces. The example above uses different numbers to explain the counting idea; it is not a reproduced CAT question.

A syllabus label does not always uniquely classify a question. An investment-return question can use percentage arithmetic and simultaneous equations. Counting such a question twice in a weightage table would inflate the total. Historical CAT topic-wise weightage needs a stated year, slot and classification method.

QA Questions, Time and Marking

QA is the third CAT section and has a standard time limit of 40 minutes. You cannot begin with QA or borrow unused time from VARC or DILR. PwBD candidates receive their share of the additional test time, making each section 53 minutes 20 seconds.

The three 2025 QA papers contained 22 questions each, for 66 raw marks. The current 2026 instructions do not specify a final QA question count or an eight-TITA quota. Those figures should not be presented as a confirmed 2026 split.

An on-screen calculator is available; personal calculators are not permitted. The CAT exam pattern explains the full section sequence and scoring rules. A correct-answer percentage is not a percentile, and finishing selected chapters does not guarantee a percentile.

How to Check Whether a QA Topic Is Ready

Check whether you can explain the method, not only repeat a solved example. Start with a short untimed question, change one condition, then attempt a mixed question where the chapter is not named.

The first check exposes a changed percentage base. The second exposes confusion between an arithmetic mean and average speed. The third tests whether work rates, rather than completion times, are being added.

When reviewing a timed QA section, separate a missing concept from a calculation slip, a missed restriction and a poor question choice. Repeating the entire chapter is not the same remedy for all four. Use CAT Quant practice papers for mixed questions and the QA preparation guide for a section-level approach.

1. Arithmetic Checklist
2. Algebra Checklist
3. Geometry and Numbers

1. Optional-Choice Example
2. QA Timing and Marks
3. Diagnose a QA Error