Quantitative Ability (QA) in the CAT test is the last yet most significant segment which can improve or diminish your CAT score considerably as it contributes 34% score in CAT test.
QA section of Cat 2019 will tentatively have 26 questions with negative marking and 7 without negative marking. The toughness in the QA section of the CAT exams has been distributed across the sections to ensure that the toughness does not get centered on specific topics, year after year.
Irrespective of being a Math student or not, toppers of CAT throughout the years have mentioned that only proper planning and rigorous practice could help them sail through QA section of CAT. There is no alternative to hard work, but smart work of planning is equally essential.
Why QA section is so important: As an MBA graduate, you will definitely deal with numbers and therefore many tier – 1 B – schools consider the scores of QA with more precision and ensure that students with good hold on numbers are admitted.
So with this basic knowledge about the QA section of the exam, let us now deep dive to understand the nuances and how can we strategize for desired percentiles in QA section of CAT 2019.
We now focus on understanding the QA section of the CAT examination.
- The exam will be having 34 questions, with 26 questions of MCQ type and will have negative marking for every wrong answers, the other 7 are of NON MCQ type without negative marking
- In general, every right answer can fetch you 3 marks and every wrong answer to attract negative score of -1
- The duration of the exam will be 60 mins
- The QA section will be usually the last part pf CAT 2019 exam
- The toughness level is expected to be moderate to tough, application of concepts learnt in high school mathematics
Topics and weightage: Let us examine the topic wise weightage for the sub topics of the Quantitative aptitude section and post which we can strategize for the preparation:
| Subtopic | No. of MCQ type of questions (tentative) | No. of Non MCQ type of questions
(tentative) |
| Arithmetic : Speed and distance, ratios, percentage, interest, Profit loss etc. | 7 | 2 |
| Number systems | 2 – 4 | 0 |
| Algebra | 3 – 4 | 1 |
| Geometry | 3 – 4 | 1 |
| Modern Math – Logical deductions etc. | 3 – 4 | 1 |
| Probability, series and sequences, Integers, Mensuration etc. | 5 – 6 | 3-4 |
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Tips to strategize your preparations for QA in CAT 2019:
The following are the tips that can help a CAT aspirant to channelize their preparations, which is executable:
Strong basics are a must:
Getting your ideas clear is the key for Quant. It is significant for the contender to begin by learning the ideas which are utilized to fathom inquiries in this area. When you know the fundamental concepts, you should rehearse by means of quality questions. It is imperative to pursue the concepts learnt and practice every idea by comprehending basic models first, and step by step moving towards the tougher ones.
Preparation planning is the key:
Other than learning the ideas for Quant, it is similarly significant that you don’t leave any topic left out. One of the significant procedures to cover every topic is to make a Day-wise plan and allot some number of days to prepare for that subject.
Ace through sectional Mock Exams on QA
A mock test is a training test or a correction test to influence the aspirant to analyze them. In the process, an aspirant can assess his execution and check in which zones he/she requires diligent work. The same applies for CAT 2019, where Mock test assumes a fundamental job to decide the dimension of readiness for the genuine test.
It is significant for an aspirant to put all his focus on his weaker subjects in QA and step through mock exams to plan for the improvement. Regardless of whether, you take training or not, rehearsing from Sectional Mocks will definitely boost the confidence and final percentile.
Practice with sectional time
With the sectional time cut off of an hour for QA in CAT 2019, the procedure is to tackle the whole segment within time. Keeping a cradle time of least 10 minutes to finish one segment while stepping through false examinations will give you a chance to finish the test in advance, in this way sparing the time. Be that as it may, competitors may almost certainly spare time in an area, just on the off chance that they pursue a similar procedure on the D-Day.
Concentrate on Weak topics:
The thumb standard of an incredible planning is to concentrate and amplify your endeavors on your feeble regions. Amid preparation, one must concentrate on getting the hang of, rehearsing and overhauling the QA subjects they are weak in.
For more CAT 2019 Articles please check below:
Best Books for CAT Preparation 2019 | Section Wise CAT Books
How to Score 100 Percentile in CAT 2019