Quantitative Ability
can be a nightmare for many CAT aspirants. But if you are really determined
about your goal to study MBA in a top notch MBA institute, then a section
should not hamper your chance. For every
MBA aspirant, there is one or the other area of weakness. In this article, you will get the tips on how to strengthen this weak
section of yours.
As you are aware,
Quantitative Ability tests your basic knowledge about mathematics, brushing up
of the subject, which you had done in the classes VIII to X. The best way to
start preparation is by starting with the NCERT books. You will not only feel
familiar but will also get your basics brushed up. Before you know more about
the preparation strategies, it is important to know about the topics of the
Quantitative Ability that you will be facing.
Topics of
Quantitative Ability
The topics which you
will encounter in this section are Arithmetic, Geometry, Algebra, Functions,
Number System and Time, Speed and Distance. These are the most common topics
that you will face in the CAT exam. Apart from these, the topics are Mensuration,
Linear Equations, Ratio and Proportion, Percentage, Profit and Loss, Variable
and Inconsistence.
These are the
overall topics which you will focus in this section. As Anurag Goyal, who
scored 99.56 percentile in CAT 2008 says, “The relative importance keeps
changing. It is extremely important to be thoroughly prepared with the chapters
that one is comfortable with and not waste time on the others.”
Books for
Quantitative Ability
• The NCERT Maths Books of Class 8 to 10
• Any one of the following books by R.S.
Agarwal: Objective Arithmetic, Mathematics for MBA, Quantitative Techniques
• ‘How to Prepare for Quantitative Aptitude
for CAT’ by Arun Sharma
• ‘The Pearson Guide to Quantitative Aptitude
for the CAT’ by Nishit Sinha
• ‘Quantum CAT’ by Sarvesh Kumar Verma
• ‘Quantitative Aptitude for MBA Entrance
Examinations’ by Abhijit Guha
Preparation strategy
For preparing the
Quantitative Ability section, practice is the best way. In Quantitative Ability
if you are weak in all areas, you would need to solve and learn from around
5000 questions in order to match your skills with the best. Over a 150 day
period this means 30 to 35 questions per day.
The method of
learning by solving is also suggested by many experts. The more questions you
solve, more idea you will have on the questions and the topics. “For Quant,
focus on the learning you can extract out of every question. If you can do so, then for CAT or for that
matter any aptitude exam would ever hurt you in Quant over the next 10 years!
Remember, Question based learning is the key.”
One more way to
start is by starting with a particular chapter. Clearing the basic concepts,
answering the questions and when you feel comfortable about it, move on to the
next chapter. “Take one chapter at a time and solve as many questions as
possible over a week or 10 days. The objective should be to master the chapter
and develop a very high level of comfort and confidence should any question be
asked from the chapter. Thereafter, move on to the next chapter,” experts say.
While you clear the
basic concepts and solve the questions, you should also keep in mind the fact
that speed is an important constraint of the CAT exam. Hence, maintaining speed
and accuracy at the same time will be of utmost importance. CAT is about speed
and you should plan your time towards solving each and every question very
efficiently. Practice as many questions you can mainly from the previous papers
because it gives you an idea about the variety of questions that has been asked
before.
If mugging up
formulae is not your forte, then practice will come to your rescue. Just
practice a lot and you won’t need to mug any formula and any trick. Things will
turn out eventually in your favor.
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