CAT QA Topics and Preparation Order

Build percentage, ratio and equation skills before combining them in longer word problems. Keep geometry and number properties in the rotation; being comfortable with arithmetic does not make an entire QA section an arithmetic exercise.

The 2025 QA papers contained 22 questions each, covering several of these families. CAT has not published fixed chapter-wise question quotas for 2026. The QA syllabus gives the topic map; the QA paper analysis separates the 2025 slots.

A workable sequence is foundation, topic practice, mixed questions and then timed sections. Move ahead when you can explain why a method applies, rather than when a fixed number of days has passed.

Arithmetic: Track the Base and the Rate

Successive changes: a price rises by 20% and then falls by 20%. Starting from 100, it becomes 120 and then 96. The net change is a 4% decrease. The second percentage applies to 120, not to the original 100.

Work rates: A finishes a task in 10 days and B in 15 days. Together they complete 1/10 + 1/15 = 1/6 of the task per day, so the full task takes 6 days. Adding 10 and 15 or averaging them does not combine their work rates.

For mixtures and averages, convert each group into its contribution before adding. For speed, express distance and time in compatible units. For profit and discount, write down whether the percentage is based on cost, marked price or selling price.

The Quant practice papers include a short original set that tests these distinctions with different numbers.

Algebra, Geometry and Valid Solutions

Write restrictions before solving: denominators cannot be zero, logarithm arguments must be positive, and a stated count of people must be an integer. Squaring an equation or combining inequalities can introduce candidates that need checking in the original condition.

Original example: log to base 2 of (x - 1) = 2 gives x - 1 = 4 and x = 5. The domain x > 1 is satisfied. A logarithm with a base between 0 and 1 reverses the usual direction when converted into an inequality.

In geometry, distinguish a figure that illustrates the question from a condition stated in it. Two lines that look parallel are not necessarily parallel. Draw the known lengths, angles and equalities before applying a theorem.

Original example: a right triangle has legs 6 and 8. Its hypotenuse is 10, its area is 24 and its semiperimeter is 12. Its inradius is area / semiperimeter = 2. Each result comes from a stated right-angle condition, not a measurement of the sketch.

Attempt QA Within the Section Timer

QA is the third CAT section, with 40 minutes of standard time. You cannot transfer spare time from DILR. PwBD candidates receive their extra time equally across the three sections.

A familiar chapter does not automatically make a question short. Look for the actual number of steps and cases. If your method stalls, leave enough rough-work detail to resume it without repeating the whole setup.

CAT provides an on-screen calculator; a personal calculator is not permitted. Correct answers earn 3 marks. Wrong MCQs lose 1 mark, while wrong typed answers and blanks score zero. The CAT exam pattern explains the full test rules.

Review QA Beyond the Score

Separate wrong answers, slow correct answers and skipped questions. They require different corrections. Looking only at accuracy can hide easy questions that were never attempted.

Rework an error without the solution, then change a condition: a percentage base, an integer restriction or a geometric length. If you can solve only the remembered version, the method is still fragile.

Keep short notes of the failed step, not a copied full solution. Useful notes include "used marked price as profit base", "forgot x > 1", or "counted the no-dressing option twice". Each note points to a check you can repeat in the next attempt.

1. QA Topics and Methods
2. Successive Percentage Changes
3. Check a Mathematical Solution

1. QA Question Selection
2. QA Review Actions