Apart from algebra and geometry, arithmetic is the area from which the maximum number of questions comes in CAT. First let us have a look at the topics under arithmetic.
Topics under arithmetic
The arithmetic area comprises averages, profit & loss, ratio and proportion, percentages, time, speed & distance, number systems, simple & compound interest, mixtures, progression, directions, etc.
Preparation strategy
Arithmetic is not only based on formulae, but can be identified with day-to-day life as well. You can relate many of the problems on profit & loss, percentage, time & distance, etc with your daily activity. If you are weak in arithmetic, dedicate a week for preparation. Take up one topic every day, revise the concepts and practise as many question as possible from that topic.
Speed is an important factor in solving questions in arithmetic. “The faster you can read all the questions and select the ones you think you should attempt; the better will be your chances of a good score. If you’ve spent a considerable time on a problem to no avail, leave it and try other questions,” says Abhishek Gupta, academic head, Career Launcher.
Sharing the strategy of speed calculation, Rahul Reddy, director, VistaMind Education, suggests, “Select questions better. We call it the ‘two-step strategy’. In step 1, solve all those questions that you are confident about. At the same time, skip the questions that you don’t know and mark for review the questions that you may be able to solve. In step 2, try to analyze the methods of solving questions. Most CAT problems can be solved through multiple methods. So, make sure that you are not using long methods. Meet a good quant faculty who can guide you on the same. Lastly, practise speed calculation for 20 minutes a day.”
Do not think about leaving out any important topic. In CAT, questions may come from any given topic. Byju Raveendran, CAT expert, and founder of Byju’s CAT Classes, says, “Please don't make the mistake of having a few favorite topics in Quant because questions are more or less uniformly distributed. A few topics may carry more questions, but we just cannot pre-empt that. There is still enough time left for you to prepare comprehensively.”
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