CAT Quantitative Aptitude syllabus is essentially Class 9 and 10 Maths topics of advanced level. CAT 2026 aspirants can check here full list of Maths topics included in CAT Quants syllabus.
CAT quantitative aptitude syllabus
CAT syllabus for Quants includes all important topics from Arithmetic, Algebra and Geometry. The syllabus of Quantitative Aptitude for CAT is vast and requires dedicated preparation. Some of the key areas of CAT Maths syllabus are percentages, profit & loss, interest, ratio-proportion, equations, inequalities, series, triangles, circles, mensuration permutations, combinations, probability, number systems, including divisibility rules, remainders, and LCM/HCF. If you are preparing for the CAT 2026, you must ensure your give special attention to Arithmetic, as most of the questions will be asked from it.
Check the table below for the key topics of CAT Quants syllabus. Aspirants must study these topics in a focused manner to score high in CAT 2026.
CAT Quants Syllabus
The syllabus of quantitative aptitude for CAT is broadly divided into four sections. Check here CAT Quants syllabus, section wise:
- Arithmetic: Percentages, Profit and Loss, Time and Work, Time Speed and Distance, Ratios and Proportions, Simple and Compound Interest, Averages.
- Geometry and Mensuration: Shapes, Circles, Triangles, Quadrilaterals, Solids, Coordinate Geometry, Mensuration of 2D and 3D figures.
- Number System: LCM and HCF, Factorization, Remainders, Divisibility, Base Systems.
- Algebra: Logarithms, Progressions, Polynomials, Inequalities, Linear and Quadratic Equations.
- Modern Maths: Permutations and Combinations, Set Theory, Venn Diagram, Probability.
- Miscellaneous: Trigonometry, Inequalities, Mean, Mode, Median, Logarithms, Linear Surds and Indices, Partnership, Binomial Theorem
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CAT QA Syllabus 2026: Topic wise weightage
Given below is the CAT 2025 question paper break up for Quantitative Aptitude. This will give you an idea of how many questions to expect from which topic in CAT 2026. Focus on the CAT Maths syllabus according to the weightage given below for during exam preparation.
| Topics |
Description |
No. of Questions |
Difficulty Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number System |
Factors-1 Digits Based-1 Set Based -1 |
3 |
Easy to Moderate |
| Algebra |
Log-1 Linear Equations-2 Functions-2 Inequality-1 |
6 |
Moderate |
| Arithmetic |
TSD-1 T&W-1 SI CI-1 Percentage-1 Ratio-1 PLD-1 Mixture-1 Maxima/Minima -1 |
8 |
Moderate |
| Modern Math |
P&C -1 |
1 |
Easy |
| Geometry & Mensuration |
Circle- 1 Polygon-1 Coordinate Geometry - 2 |
4 |
Moderate |
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Tips to Cover CAT Quants Syllabus
To master this section of CAT, one not only needs to know the basics but also need to know various aspects related to a particular topic, such as which formula is to apply to which questions, what mathematical calculation to be used for quick solution. How many possible answers can be there for a particular question and which one is the correct answer. Another aspect to coverage of CAT quantitative aptitude syllabus is speed. One need to know which type of question can be solved in how much time as, CAT is a speed based test and has sectional time limit of 40 minutes. Here are some tips you might find helpful in covering CAT syllabus for Quant.
- Start CAT 2026 preparation for Quantitative Aptitude with listing down tough topics according to easy, moderate and tough
- Now start with easy topics and plan daily routine for address CAT quant syllabus. All 2-4 hours for it daily.
- Understand the concepts of topics of first and practice a few sample questions to learn application. It is extremely important to learn application of the concepts in Quantitative Aptitude as there can be slight variation in questions from the same topic.
- Learn Mathematical calculation tricks for quickly solving the questions
- Learn Mental Math as it comes in handy while solving Arithmetic and Mensuration questions.
- Learn table up to 20, square, square roots, cube, cube roots, Pi, etc. These are critical for practice.
- CAT will have 22 questions on Quantitative Aptitude to be solved in 40 minutes. Most of the questions will be calculation intensive, so while preparing for it, learn to us onscreen calculator. This is important as part of CAT exam day preparation.
- Join online study groups and doubt clearing forums to be able to get the right guidance at the right time.
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Commonly asked questions
CAT lays a lot of emphasis on analytical skills so the questions are asked mostly from those topics which require deep learning and practice. The three sections of CAT question paper are designed in such a way that candidates have to use their ability of minute observation and fast calculation. Shared below are the section wise main topics from which questions are asked in CAT. Verbal Ability: Parajumbles, Parasummary, Sentence Completion and Inferences
- Reading Comprehension: Questions based on passages, Para meaning, Order of sentences
- Data Interpretation: Tables, Graphs, Pie Charts, Venn Diagram, Data Sufficiency
- Logical Reasoning: Blood Relation, Seating Arrangement, Syllogism, Coding-Decoding, Sets and Caselets, Family Tree, Assumptions
- Quantitative Aptitude: Geometry, Algebra Number System Modern Math, Arithmetic, Mensuration
The difficulty level of CAT questions is usually moderate to high. Only a few questions are easy and quick to solve. To crack the CAT exam, one needs to pay attention to the abovementioned topics.
CAT syllabus includes all the important topics of subjects that are relevant for business aptitude. For CAT exam, candidates have to study, Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension VARC Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning DILR and Quantitative Aptitude. Given below are the key topics included in the CAT syllabus.
- VARC topics: Parajumbles, Paracompletion, Parasummary, Verbal Reasoning and Reading Comprehension.
- Quantitative Aptitude topics: Arithmetic, Geometry, Algebra Trigonometry Modern Math, Number System and Mensuration.
- DILR topics: Puzzles, Pie Charts, Venn Diagram, Tables and Bar Graphs, etc.
There are a range of books available for preparation of Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension section of CAT. However, the most recommended books are mentioned below:
- How to Prepare for Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension for the CAT by Arun Sharma and Meenakshi Upadhyay
- Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension for the CAT by Nishit Sinha
- Word Power Made Easy by Norman Lewis
- High School Grammar and Composition by Wren and Martin
- 30 Days to a More Powerful Vocabulary by Wilfred Funk and Norman Lewis/Simon and Schuster
- For English Grammar and Vocabulary, High School Grammar and Composition by Wren and Martin is the best book.
For Verbal Ability preparation, practice questions of different difficulty levels are a major part of preparation. The abovementioned books are the best resources of Verbal Ability and practice questions. To prepare for Reading Comprehension, candidates should read books, novels, magazines, research papers, newspaper editorials, etc. Along with these books.
The best books for Quantitative Aptitude preparation of CAT exam are listed below. These books are recommended by experts and mentors not only for CAT but also for other MBA entrance exams.
- NCERT Mathematics books (Class 9-10)
- How to Prepare for Quantitative Aptitude for the CAT by Arun Sharma
- Quantitative Aptitude for Competitive Examinations by Abhijit Guha
- Quantitative Aptitude Quantum CAT by Sarvesh Verm
- Quantitative Aptitude for CAT by Nishit Sinha
- Quantitative Aptitude by RS Aggarwal
The NCERT Mathematics book is recommended for CAT preparation because it is the best source of building or revisiting the fundamentals of Algebra Geometry, Trigonometry Mensuration and Arithmetic. The NCERT books are extremely helpful to students from non-Engineering background. Quantitative Aptitude books by Arun Sharma, Abhijit Guha, Sarvesh Verma, Nishit Sinha and RS Aggarwal are the main books for CAT preparation as they cover all the topics at advanced level. They also have 1000s of sample questions of easy, moderate and high difficulty levels for practice.
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Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered 15 hours ago
No the Sai University CAT exam is not compulsory for admission to BA courses. Students who have valid marks in other national level exams can also apply. The university considers exams such as CUET/ SAT India/ ACT, etc. Moreover, students can take admission based on merit also.
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No the Sai University CAT exam is not compulsory for admission to BSc courses. Students who have valid marks in other national level exams can also apply. The university considers exams such as CUET/ SAT India/ ACT, etc.
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Yes, students can take admissions to BITS Law School without appearing from CLAT exam. BITS Law School admissions also conducts its own entrance exam called BITS Law Admission Test. Shortlisted candidates need to appear for Personal Interview rounds for admissions.
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VGIM Cutoff 2025 is not available yet. However, according to the VGIM MBA/PGDM cutoff 2024, the overall MAT percentile required for admission to PGDM course is 70 for the students belonging to the General AI category
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No, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar has not mentioned that it accepts CAT score for MBA admissions on their portals. Candidates are instead required to appear for an in-house entrance exam that is conducted by GNDU itself.
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Yes, IBSAT exam is comparatively easier than CAT in terms of syllabus difficulty level and competition. CAT question paper requires high anlaytical solving skills to score well in exam, whereas IBSAT exam assesses candidate's speed and accuracy. The difficulty level of IBSAT exam is moderate.
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No, to gain admission to the MBA course at this institute, candidates have to appear for the CAT exam and then for the Group Discussion (GD) and/or Personal Interview (PI) rounds.
Students are only shortlisted for the GD and PI rounds based on their performance in the CAT exam. Students who clear bo
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Answered a week ago
Srinivas University - Bangalore Campus accepts national or state-level Management entrance exam scores for admission in MBA. Hence, aspirants can apply via CAT scores. They can also appear for SUAT conducted by the university for admission.
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The registrations for the exam generally start from the month of August and continue till September. The admit cards are released by November. Exam is conducted usually by last week of November. Students can download their results by December.
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Yes, COEP, Pune does accept CAT score to admit candidates for MBA admissions. During CAP rounds, if candidates have a valid score in CAT, they will be chosen based on those scores only. Thus, such candidates are not required to reappear for MAH-CET.
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Vipra Shrivastava is MA in English Literature from Delhi University with extensive experience in content writing of over 14 years. She has been handling content for Management, Accounting and Commerce streams for 8
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