CAT Prep 2014: Decoding ratios & percentages

The annual sale of “upto 50%” at our favorite outlet excites us all. Scoring the highest percentage in exams is always a moment of pride. But did you ever pause to think about how the percentage is calculated?

CAT syllabus has an entire section on percentages and ratios.

Ratio seems to be an easy concept. Comparing things becomes easier through ratios. For example— the number of girls and boys in class are in ratio of 2:3. It clearly states that the number of girls is less than that of boys.

But what if you are asked to find the actual number of boys and girls? Which book or material should you refer to clear ratio concepts for CAT preparation?

We use these terms in our daily lives. But what actually does these terms mean in a laymen’s language?

Let’s decode percentages and ratios for CAT 2014.

Meaning

“A ratio is a relationship between two numbers of the same kind (e.g., objects, persons, students, spoonfuls, units of whatever identical dimension), expressed as "a to b" or a:b, sometimes expressed arithmetically as a dimensionless quotient of the two that explicitly indicates how many times the first number contains the second (not necessarily an integer)” states Wikipedia.

Simply put, ratio is a relationship between two numbers or elements. It is a quantitative relationship. Ratios connect two things.

In simple terms percentage means a rate, number, or amount in each hundred or any proportion or share in relation to a whole. According to Wikipedia, “a percentage is a number or ratio expressed as a fraction of 100.”

Ratio is a base for various other concepts in Quant section of CAT or other MBA exams. Percentages, averages, weighted averages and time, speed and distance are various concepts which are based on ratios.

It is fun to solve questions based on ratios and percentages if you are aware of the tricks and shortcuts. Not only this, it helps us solving questions faster and reduces chances of making mistakes.

In continuation of our CAT prep stories, Shiksha.com brings you another list of videos which will teach you the concepts in details, solve questions and teach you shortcuts of ratios and percentages.

RATIO

The given video explains the concepts of ratio and proportion. Questions based on ratios are asked in various ways in CAT and other MBA exams.

In continuation with the above videos is the below video. The video shows you more variety of questions. Not just it solves problems but also explains the shortcuts and tricks to be applied in similar questions. Try to solve questions first by yourself and then check the answers and the trick.

PERCENTAGE

This video teaches you the basics of percentages. Percentage is the integral part of quant section in CAT and other MBA based entrance tests. Thus, it becomes important to practice percentage based questions. The video given below takes you from the basics of percentage to advanced questions.

Shortcuts are must for any type of question we solve in exam. What shortcuts could be applied to percentage questions? The video explains the shortcuts in percentage and applications of the concepts of percentages and the tricks to solve such questions.

Co-written by Barkha Sethi

(Video source: Endeavour Careers)