CAT Quant Syllabus with Topic Wise Weightage; 240+ Quant Practice Questions
Common Admission Test 2026 ( CAT )
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4 Nov '26 - 29 Nov '26
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 Quant Syllabus and Practice Questions
CAT syllabus for Quants includes all important topics from Arithmetic, Algebra and Geometry. The syllabus of Quantitative Aptitude for CAT exam 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 the CAT Quants syllabus. Aspirants must study these topics in a focused manner to score high in CAT 2026.
Also Read: CAT Admit Card 2026
- CAT Quants Syllabus
- CAT QA Syllabus 2026: Topic-wise weightage
- Tips to Cover CAT Quants Syllabus
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, Factorisation, 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
Also Read:
CAT QA Syllabus 2026: Topic-wise weightage
Given below is the CAT previous year 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 |
Also Read:
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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Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered 3 days ago
No, according to the estimated data, you would need a CAT cutoff of atleast 94 percentile to be qualified for final admission offer. Note that this percentile is not official and is only an estimate, since the institute does not release the cutoff publicly.
N
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 4 days ago
Yes, you can join IIM Kashipur without CAT, depending on the desired programme. You can get admission to any of the offered courses except MBA. Check the list below to know which exam is accepted for which programme.
- Executive MBA (EMBA): GMAT, IIM Kashipur EMAT (Executive Management Aptitude Test).
N
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 4 days ago
Candidates must maintain a dedicated formula sheet for properties of polygons, circle theorems, and mensuration formulas. Instead of memorising blindly, candidates must solve 15-20 problems for each sub-topic to understand how and when to apply each formula.
N
Contributor-Level 7
Answered 4 days ago
It is technically possible to get 99 percentile in CAT Quants if a candidates obtains a perfect score in Arithmetic and Algebra. However, it can be highly risky as CAT exam often has Geometry questions aligned with Algebra or Coordinate systems. Sometimes candidates must know two different concepts
D
Contributor-Level 7
Answered 4 days ago
Triangles (properties, similarity, congruence, and theorems) is the most heavily tested sub-topic in CAT exam. Other high-yield areas include Circles (tangents, chords, and cyclic quadrilaterals), Mensuration (area and volume of 2D/3D shapes), and Coordinate Geometry.
R
Contributor-Level 7
Answered 4 days ago
Geometry is a an important topic in the Quantitative Aptitude (QA) section. Candidates can typically expect 3 to 5 questions out of the 22 total QA questions, making up roughly 15% to 20% of the section.
B
Contributor-Level 7
Answered 6 days ago
Candidates should first understand basic concepts, including divisibility rules, prime factorisation, HCF and LCM, and remainders. They should then solve topic-wise practice questions and previous years' CAT questions to improve accuracy and problem-solving speed.
S
Contributor-Level 7
Answered 6 days ago
There is no fixed number of questions from the Number System in CAT. The number of questions varies across exam slots and years. Candidates should prepare the topic along with other important areas of Quantitative Aptitude.
A
Contributor-Level 7
Answered 6 days ago
Yes, the Number System is an important topic for CAT Quantitative Aptitude. Questions may test concepts such as divisibility, remainders, factors, and properties of integers. Candidates should also practise applying these concepts to different question types.
J
Contributor-Level 7
Abhishek Dhawan is a content writer and editor with 7+ years of experience in education journalism. He holds a BA degree from the University of Delhi. At Shiksha, Abhishek primarily covers MBA and BBA entrance
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