MAT Mathematical Skills Syllabus

AIMA places the knowledge level for Mathematical Skills at CBSE Class 10 standard. Preparation centres on applying familiar methods to word problems: identifying the base of a percentage, translating a rate into work done, or forming an equation from a condition.

This is a topic-wise study outline. The official sample demonstrates work rates, simple interest, digit equations and percentage error in area; it does not fix the number of questions from each chapter. Cover the school-level foundations before moving to harder mixed aptitude sets.

MAT Maths Questions and Weightage

Mathematical Skills has 30 questions out of 150, giving it 20% of the question count. The complete MAT paper lasts 120 minutes. A wrong answer attracts a 0.25-mark penalty.

All five sections contribute equally to the composite score. The 30-question section is not converted into the reported 200-800 composite scale by a simple multiplier. Use section practice to track correct answers and errors, while comparing official performance through the scorecard.

A chapter plan should be based on the methods you need to learn, not a promised question quota. Arithmetic also supports MAT Data Analysis and Sufficiency, especially ratios, averages and percentage comparisons. That overlap makes it a useful starting point.

Arithmetic: Work, Interest and Percentage Changes

Time and work

Suppose A finishes a job in 10 days and B in 15 days. Their daily work rates are 1/10 and 1/15. Together they complete 1/6 of the job per day, so the full job takes 6 days. Adding 10 and 15 would add completion times, not the work they perform together.

For a pipe-and-tank version, an inlet adds work and a leak removes it. If a question says two pipes operate alternately, calculate the work completed in one full repeating cycle before handling the final partial cycle.

Simple interest

At 6% simple interest for three years, interest equals 18% of the principal. If the interest is INR 2,700, the principal is 2,700 / 0.18 = INR 15,000. Keep principal, interest and final amount separate when reading the question.

Successive changes

A price of INR 200 rises by 10% to INR 220 and then falls by 10% to INR 198. The result is a 1% decrease, because the second change uses a different base. The same multiplication method works when the length and breadth of a rectangle change by different percentages.

Algebra, Numbers and Geometry

Form the equation before calculating

A two-digit number with tens digit a and units digit b is 10a + b; the reversed number is 10b + a. If the digits sum to 9 and the original number is 27 greater than the reverse, a + b = 9 and 9(a - b) = 27. Solving gives a = 6, b = 3, so the number is 63.

Choose HCF or LCM from the task

For 18 and 24, the HCF is 6 and the LCM is 72. Equal largest-sized groups point towards a common factor; repeating events meeting again point towards a common multiple. The wording decides the operation.

Keep area and length changes separate

If every side of a square doubles, its perimeter doubles but its area becomes four times as large. For a cube, doubling each edge makes its volume eight times as large. Write the required unit beside the answer: length, square units or cubic units.

For probability, list the sample space before using favourable outcomes divided by total outcomes. That ratio assumes equally likely outcomes; a list with repeated or unequally likely cases needs more care.

Maths Preparation and Data Analysis

Separate a wrong method from slow arithmetic. If you selected the wrong percentage base, more multiplication drills will not fix the error. If the equation was right but you divided incorrectly, revise that calculation and then solve a new question using the same setup.

Use the MAT book recommendations to choose one source with clear worked solutions. After a chapter, solve fresh questions with the solution closed, then include the method in a mixed set. Data-sufficiency practice adds a different task: deciding whether an answer is uniquely determined, even when you do not need to calculate it.