Last few weeks I have been travelling and hence have not been able to contribute to the video analysis of the new CAT’14 Pattern Mock CATs. However while travelling I was able to create time to solve the papers and to write down how I attempted Mock CAT 3. With positive feedback on my previous effort (on the new pattern Mock CAT 1), let me share with you my take on the new Pattern Mock CAT 3 despite the delay in completing this article. My apologies for this delay and will ensure that the subsequent articles are not delayed.
As usual I started the paper by attempting VALR section in 80 minutes and the balance 90 minutes were used for QADI.
VALR: Summary
- Round1: I went from Q51-100 sequentially and attempted the questions of Verbal Logic and English Usage. While going through these questions I also took a note of the RC passages and LR sets and tried to identify which of these should be attempted. This took me about 30 minutes in which I attempted 16 out of 20 questions.
- Round 2: Now I moved to RC, in R1 I had identified that I was not comfortable with the first passage and hence would not attempt it. I also identified that I am comfortable with the subject of the last three passages and would like to attempt them in the sequence given below:
- Q78-81 Passage on Business
- Q67-70 Presidents of USA
- Q82-85 Passage on happiness
I attempted 10 out of 12 questions from the three passages in a little less than 25 minutes.
- Round 3: As in the case of RC, in R1 I evaluated the LR sets also. I felt that the LR set on room allocation (Q 74-77) and LR set on circular arrangement (Q 86-88) are likely to be time consuming due to the number of people and also the amount of data, however between the two I was more inclined towards room allocation as it is a bit mathematical. I am comfortable the selection and mathematical LR sets and hence was sure that I would be attempting the remaining two LR sets (Q63-66 and 94-96). I first attempted the sets on selection (63-66), in this I did not mark the answer to Q66 as I got confused and left it after wasting a couple of minutes. The mathematical set (Q94-96) was extremely easy and I was able to attempt the three questions comfortably. These two sets took me less than 15 minutes and then I moved on to the set on room allocation. I however made mistakes in reading the data and was unable solve it in the first go, I solved it in the second attempt but spent around 10 minutes for this data set. In LR hence my attempt of 10 out of 11 questions in approximately 25 minutes..
- Total attempt in VALR was 36 questions.
QADI Summary
- Round 1: I went sequentially from Q1-50 and attempted 11 questions that I was sure of solving in about a minute and half. I also identified the questions which could be considered for R2 and identified that all DI sets are attemptable but the first DI set is could be a bit complicated. Decided that I also identified that I may not be able solve questions 16 & 20. The total time spent in Round I was around 30 minutes.
- Round 2: I started this Round with the 5 DS questions in which I attempted all but Q42 which I left after spending some time and then attempted three DI sets (Share price, Institute forms and University professors) leading to 15 attempts in around 30 minutes.
- In remaining 30 minutes I went back to the QA questions that had been marked for R2 and attempted 11 questions but did not mark an answer to one question which I left after solving it partly.
- Total attempt in QADI was 36.
VALR Round 1: 30 minutes 16 attempts
Q51. Para Completion to be attempted by elimination of choices:
Choice (a): incorrect as it is out of scope. Religion and science are not mentioned in the passage.
Choice (b): could be correct on account of continuity and it provides a closure to the passage.
Choice (c): out of scope of the passage, this choice is introducing a new idea or thought.
Choice (d): out of scope on account of Darwinian evolution.
Correct answer: Choice (b)
Q52. Sentence correction, to be attempted but since this is my weak area I will not mark the answer if not sure.
Answer has to be choice (b) or (c) as it should be “testimony to” and not “testimony of” but I could not eliminate between these two choices and hence I did not mark an answer.
Correct answer: Not marked
Q53. Para Completion to be attempted by elimination of choices:
The passage contrasts the current and the ancient point of view on erotic life. The last line gives the point of view of the ancients and the correct answer choice should give our point of view.
Choice (a): incorrect on account t of continuity as it is not giving a contrast.
Choice (b): incorrect on account of scope (morality and lack of instinct)
Choice (c): could be correct on account of continuity as it is giving a contrasting view from the one attributed to the ancients.
Choice (d): incorrect on account of scope, Freud’s opinion on instinct is not the issue.
Correct answer: Choice (c)
Q54. Para Completion to be attempted by elimination of choices:
The passage describes what happens when a person is possessed by a spirit and the correct answer choice should take this forward.
Choice (a): incorrect as it is out of scope. Military tactics of Polynesians is irrelevant.
Choice (b): incorrect on account of scale and scope has also been reduced to a specific case.
Choice (c): can be correct on account of continuity.
Choice (d): incorrect on account of continuity.
Correct answer: Choice (c)
Q55. Para Jumble, to be attempted.
Statement D has to come before both A and E hence choice (a) and (d) can be eliminated.
Between the remaining choices went for choice (b) since statement C is a better opening statement as it introduces the idea and D takes off from there. Statement C gives the conventional definition of labour and statement D mentions that its scope has been reduced.
Correct answer: Choice (b)
Q56. Para Jumble, to be attempted.
DC has to be a mandatory pair. While statement D talks about the artist statement C talks about the critic and then we have further explanation of criticism.
Correct answer: Choice (b)
Q57. Data Sufficiency, to be attempted
Statement I implies that today is Wednesday or Sunday or Monday and hence is not sufficient to give the answer.
Statement II implies that today is Friday or Tuesday or Wednesday and hence is not sufficient to give the answer.
Taking both statements together we can say that today is Wednesday,
Correct answer: Choice (c)
Q58-61. RC passage, to be attempted in Round 2 but noted the following on the rough sheet:
Q58-61, Long passage on “Freedom”, readable and can be considered.
Q62. Sentence correction, to be attempted
Statement D is incorrect it should be “A solution to this problem….”
Hence Choice (b) is incorrect since
Went through the other statements but not able to identify any error in Statements A, B and C hence left the questions without marking an answer.
Correct answer: Not marked
Q63-66. LR set, to be attempted in Round 3 but noted the following in the rough sheet:
Q63-66 Set on Selection process, appears do-able.
Q67-70. RC passage, to be attempted in Round 2 but noted the following on the rough sheet:
Q67-70, Okay length, passage on American Presidents, preferable to the first RC passage.
Q71-73. Fill in the blanks, to be attempted
Q71. Second blank has to be “mediocre”
Correct Answer: Choice (a)
Q72. Second blank has to be “quotidian”
Correct Answer: Choice (c)
Q73. First blank has to be “disapproval” and second “suspected”
Correct Answer: Choice (b)
Q74-77. LR set, to be attempted in Round 3 but noted the following in the rough sheet:
Q74-77 Arrangement Set, 12 people in 6 x 2 rooms and 6 statements, do-able but the first set is preferable.
Q78-81. RC passage, to be attempted in R2. In the rough sheet wrote down:
Q78-81, Okay length, passage on business, to be attempted
Q82-85. RC passage, to be attempted in R2. In the rough sheet wrote down:
Q82-85, Okay length, passage on happiness, can be attempted.
Q86-88. LR set, to be attempted in R3. In the rough sheet wrote down:
Q86-88 Circular arrangement, 8 people 2 colours each, 7 statements, could be difficult.
Q89. Critical reasoning, attempted by elimination of choices.
Choice (a): could be correct. Drop in sales even after the company has been cleared of all charges indicates that the buyer is not fully convinced.
Choice (b): incorrect as “manufacturing” is out of scope.
Choice (c): incorrect, if the cheese of company X was always more expensive than its competitors then it should not have impacted the sales now.
Choice (d): incorrect as “bribes” is out of scope
Correct Answer: Choice (a)
Q90. Critical reasoning, attempted by elimination of choices.
To put one’s foot in the mouth is to say something that is illogical or insensitive or imprudent.
Choice (a): incorrect as the statement is not incoherent (disjointed or rambling).
Choice (b): incorrect, as the focus should be on the logic of the remark and not on the actress. Choice (c): correct because if people believe that depth and lightness are opposites and cannot be associated then the actress’ statement is illogical.
Correct Answer: Choice (c)
Q91. Vocabulary, attempted by elimination of choices.
Statement 1: Slaver (tray or a plate) is the correct word hence choice (a) and (d) are incorrect.
Statement II: not sure of the answer hence moved on to the next statement.
Statement III: Acclimation is the right word hence choice (c) is also incorrect and hence the answer should be choice (a) but still checked the remaining statements.
Statement IV: Timber refers to wood while timbre pertains to the quality of sound.
Statement V: Canopy of trees.
Correct Answer: Choice (c)
Q92. Vocabulary, attempted by elimination of choices.
Statement 1: not sure of the answer hence moved on to the next statement.
Statement II: Impassable is the correct word hence choice (d) is incorrect.
Statement III: Levy is a tax and hence cannot be the right word hence choice (b) is incorrect.
Statement IV: Millinery which refers to hats is the right word hence choice (a) is incorrect and Choice (c) should be the answer.
Statement V: Not sure of this one but it does not matter as we have already eliminated 3 options.
Correct Answer: Choice (c)
Q93. Para jumble – odd statement, to be attempted.
“He” in statement (a) and (c) is mentioned in statement (b) – Mark Blumberg and what is mentioned in statement (b) is explained and taken forward in statements (c) and (c), thus statement (d) thus not fit in.
Correct Answer: Choice (d)
Q94-96. LR set, to be attempted in R3. In the rough sheet wrote down:
Q94-96 Mathematical set, to be attempted
Q97. Summary of a passage, to be attempted by elimination of choices.
Choice (a): could be correct as the passage is on water pollution in Kanpur but has increased the scale of the problem by addition of the word “severe”.
Choice (b): Correct as it is within the scope and scale of the passage.
Choice (c): incorrect as “state government of Uttar Pradesh” is out of scope of the passage.
Choice (d): incorrect as the purity of the recycled water is out of scope.
Correct Answer: Choice (b)
Q98. Para jumble – odd statement, to be attempted.
Statement (a) gives a concept and statement (b) tells us that this is called “moksha”. Statement (d) is also connected as it takes the same idea forward.
Correct Answer: Choice (c)
Q99. Word Usage, to be attempted
I was able to identify that Choice (a) and (d) are correct in terms of usage of the word “fish” but could not eliminate any of the other two choices hence did not mark an answer.
Correct answer: Not marked
Q100. Word Usage, to be attempted
I was able to identify that Choice (a) and (d) are correct in terms of usage of the word “close” but was not sure about the other two choices hence did not mark an answer.
Correct answer: Not marked
Summary of VALR Round 1: In a little less than 30 minutes of R1, out of the 20 questions, I
- Attempted 16 questions – Q51, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 71, 72, 73, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 97 & 98.
- Did not mark an answer to 4 questions – Q52, 62, 99 & 100.
- Identified that in R2 I would attempt the following RC passages::
- Q78-81 Passage on Business
- Q67-70 Presidents of USA
- Q82-85 Passage on happiness
- Identified that in R3 I would attempt the following LR sets::
- Q63-66 Set on selection
- Q94-96 Mathematical set
- Q74-77 Room allocation set
- In case time is available then go for the remaining RC passage followed by the LR set. The RC passage is preferred over the LR set since a LR set usually needs to be solved completely before any question can be answered but in RC you can answer questions even without reading the complete passage.
VALR Round 2: 25 minutes 10 attempts
Q78-81. Passage on business
Q78. Went for elimination of choices
Choice (a): Correct as it can be inferred from the first couple of paragraphs of the passage.
Choice (b): Incorrect on account of the increased scale, thus choice (d) is also incorrect.
Choice (c): Incorrect on account of scope, “regulations” have not been discussed in the passage.
Correct Answer: Choice (a)
Q79. Choice (c) can be inferred directly from the sixth paragraph of the passage.
Q80. Choice (a) the word creative is used to explain and unethical practice hence the answer should be sarcastically.
Correct Answer: Choice (a)
Q81. Choices (a) and (d) were easy to eliminate but got stuck between the remaining two choices and left the question without marking the answer.
I should have eliminated choice (c) on account of it being very narrow and specific.
Correct answer: Not marked
Q67-70. Passage on Presidents of USA
Q67. Refer to the first paragraph, verbal abuse is not mentioned.
Correct Answer: Choice (d)
Q68. Direct from the passage, all three statements are correct.
Correct Answer: Choice (c)
Q69. Went for elimination of choices
Choice (a) is mentioned in the fourth paragraph.
Choice (b) is mentioned in the fifth paragraph.
Choice (c) is mentioned in the fourth paragraph.
Choice (d) not mentioned in the passage and also cannot be inferred from the passage.
Correct Answer: Choice (d)
Q70. Choice (b) can be inferred from the last paragraph.
Correct Answer: Choice (b)
Q82-85. Found the passage easy to read and did not have any problem understanding it.
Q82. Choice (c) can be inferred from the first paragraph of the passage.
Correct Answer: Choice (c)
Q83. Choice (a), (b) and (c) are mentioned in the passage but not choice (d). Intentional activity and not “unintentional activity” is mentioned.
Correct Answer: Choice (d)
Q84. None of the choices can support the theory.
Correct Answer: Choice (d)
Q85. Eliminated choice (a) and (d) but was confused between the remaining two choices and hence did not mark an answer to this question.
Correct Answer: Not marked
Summary of VALR Round 2: In the approximately 25 minutes I attempted three RC passages marking the answers to 10 out of the 12 questions and left 2 unmarked.
VALR Round 3: 25 minutes 11 attempts
Q63-66. Made a table separating the men and women as per their profession and then eliminated choices in the first three questions (Q 63, 64 & 65) and marked the correct answers. However in Q66 I got confused, tried it twice (time wasted) and then left it unanswered. I spent about 8-9 minutes in this set.
Q63, 64 & 65: Marked the correct answer
Q66: Not answered.
Q94-66. Simple set, Q94 sold me that multiple cases are possible. Made cases for possible values of A, B, C & D and solved the three questions correctly. The time spent in this set was approximately 5 minutes.
Q94, 95 & 96: Marked the correct answer
Q74-77. This set took time was time consuming took about 6-7 minutes to make the table itself and along with the questions the total time was almost 12 minutes. I was however was able to get the answers to the four questions comfortably.
Q74,75, 76 & 77: Marked the correct answer
Summary of VALR Round 3: In the approximately 25 minutes I attempted three LR sets and marked the answers to 10 out of the 11 questions and left 1 unmarked.
QADI Round 1: 11 attempts 30 minutes
Q1. R2 – Functions, it is lengthy to read and can be time consuming.
Q2. R1 – Numbers, have done similar questions earlier.
Second rightmost non-zero digit of 207047 will be the ten digit of 20747 and this can be obtained by checking out the cyclicity of 7. The powers of number with the unit digit 7 will have the last two digits as given below:
2071 will have the last two digits as 07
2072 will have the last two digits as 07 x 07 = 49
2073 will have the last two digits as 07 x 49 = 63
2074 will have the last two digits as 07 x 63 = 01
2075 will have the last two digits as 07 x 01 = 07 = last two digits of 2071
The tens digit of these numbers can be 0 or 4 and since 0 is not available in the choices, the correct answer has to be 4.
Correct Answer: Choice (c) 4
Q3. R2 – Numbers, likely to be time consuming
Q4. R2 – Numbers and P&C, could be time consuming.
Q5. R1 – Numbers
Choice (a) is 1.414
Choice (b) is 1.442
41/4 = 21/2 = 1.414
Comparing 41/4 and 51/5 by raising both to the 20th power we get 45 and 54 which are 1024 and 625 respectively. Thus 31/3 values will keep on decreasing.
Correct Answer: Choice (b) 31/3
Q6. R1 – Mixtures. Lengthy to read but am usually able to solve these in short time.
Since Sanjay is selling milk at 10% over his cost price and has a overall profit of 43% thus he has a profit of 30% on account of addition of “x” liters water to pure milk because two successive increments of 30% and 10% are equal to a single increment of 43%.
Since the profit on account of addition of water to pure milk is 30% hence water should be 30% of pure milk.
Since pure milk and “x” liters water add up to 52 liters thus 130% of milk = 52 liters
Or pure milk should be 52/1.3 = 40 liters and water should be 52 – 40 = 12 liters
If Sanjay was selling the mixture at cost price after adding 12 liters of water to 60 liters of pure milk then his profit will be the same ass percentage of water added to milk = 12/60 = 20%
Correct Answer: Choice (b) 20%
Q7. R1 – Time and Work, used SQC technique of assuming the number of men and women.
Assume:
Initially 2 men and 2 women can complete the piece of work in 120 days and also that a man does “m” units of work per day while a woman does “w” units of work per day.
The amount of work is 120 units
Thus in 1 day the amount of work completed will be (2m + 2w) units
- 120 x (2m + 2w) = 120
- m + w = 0.5
If one woman in the group is replaced by a man then there will be 3 men + 1 woman and as per the question they will finish the work in 96 days
- 96 x (3m + w) = 120
- 3m + w = 120/96 = 5/4 = 1.25
Solving the above two equations we get m = 3/8 units per day and w = 1/8 units per day
As per the question the two women in the group are replaced by men
- the amount of work done per day by 4 men = 4 x (3/8) = 1.5 units
Amount of work is 120 units hence the number of days required by 4 men to complete the work will be 120/1.5 = 80 days
Correct Answer: Choice (b) 80 days
Q8. R1 – Ratios
Ratio of number of coins with A to C = 1 : 3
Ratio of number of coins with C to B = 2 : 7
- Ratio of number of coins with A to B to C = 2 : 21 : 6
- Number of coins with A, B and C are 2x, 21x and 6x respectively
- Total number of coins should be a multiple of 2 + 21 + 6 = 29
- Choice (b) 54 is incorrect but the other three are multiples of 29 and hence cannot be eliminated.
- As per the question, 21x = 18 + 6 (2x) or x =2
- Total number of coins between A, B and C = 29x = 58
Correct Answer: Choice (d) 58 days
Q9. R1 – Mixtures
Vodka in the original mixture = 32 liters in a total of 50 liters = 64%
Step 1: Replace 10 liters of 50 liters of cocktail or replace 20% of mixture
- percentage of vodka in the mixture now = 80% of 64%
Step 2: Replace 20 liters of 50 liters of cocktail or replace 40% of mixture
- percentage of vodka in the mixture now = 80% of 64% of 60% 51.2% 0f 60% > 30%
Correct Answer: Choice (d) 30.72%
Q10. R2 – TSD, these questions can usually be solved by rations but I take time in understanding the question hence a R2 question.
Q11-13. R2 DI set.
Noted on the rough sheet under DI:
Q 11–13 Two tables, Movies Easy numbers but likely to be high on calculations Attemptable
Q14. R2 – Geometry
Q15. R1 – Inequalities, used SQC technique to get the answer.
As per the equation the sum of roots is 9 and the product of roots is p
As per the question the difference between the roots is less than 7
- thus the roots ≥ 1 and roots ≤ 8
- the product of roots = p > 8, thus choice (a) and (d) are incorrect
the minimum difference between the roots will be when each root = 9/2
- the product of roots = p ≤ (9/2)2 = 81/4 , thus choice (b) is incorrect
Correct Answer: Choice (c)
Q16. R3 – Time and Work
Read the question but could not understand hence decided not to attempt.
Q17. R1 –Algebra, used SQC technique of substitution on numbers.
Checked the choices for various values of P and Q, since P + Q ≤ 6 took P and Q to be 5 and 1 respectively, choice (c) does not hold and hence is the correct answer.
Correct Answer: Choice (c)
Q18. R1 –Functions
g(6) = g(8-2) = -16/3
2f(x+3) = 3x/5, replacing x with x-3 we get,
2f(x) = 3(x-3)/5
f(x) = 3(x-3)/10
f(g(6)) = f(-16/3) = -25/10 = -5/2
Correct Answer: Choice (a) -5/2
Q19. R2 – Averages, could require calculation.
Q20. R3 – Algebra, likely to be calculation intensive and time consuming.
Q21. R2 – Algebra, may need to make cases.
Q22. R2 – Coordinate geometry, could be calculation intensive.
Q23. R1 – Cyclicity, have done similar questions earlier
Highest power of 2 that will completely divide 54! = 27 + 13 + 6 + 3 + 1 = 50
- highest power of 2 that will completely divide 54!20 = 50 x 20 = 1000
- a3 = 1000 thus a = 10
Correct Answer: Choice (a) 10
Q24. R2 – Set theory, long question
Q25-27. R2 – DI set
Noted on the rough sheet under DI:
Q25–27 Share price table Calculations likely but easy numbers To be attempted
Q28. R2 – Geometry
Q29. R1 – Mensuration, used SQC technique of making cases.
Sum of three sides of the rectangle =100
If the sides are 25, 50 and 25 then area = 25 x 50 = 1250
- Choice (a), (c) and (d) are incorrect.
Correct answer: Choice (b) 1250
Q30. R2 – will need to make cases.
Q31-32. R2 – Algebra, new questions type may take time to understand.
Q33. R2 – Mensuration, will need to make cases
Q34-37. R2 DI set.
Noted on the rough sheet under DI:
Q 34-37 Pie Chart & Table Simple data & easy numbers To be attempted
Q38. R2 – Mensuration
Q39. R2 – Permutations & Combinations
Q40. R2 – Probability
Q41-45. R2 – Data Sufficiency
Q46. R2 – Permutations & Combinations
Q47-50. R2 DI set.
Noted on the rough sheet under DI:
Q 47-50 Bar chart with simple numbers Calculations likely To be attempted
Summary of Round 1:
- Time taken: about 30 minutes.
- Attempted 11 questions – Q 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 15, 17, 18, 23 & 29. These were, for me, the easiest QA questions in the paper.
- Identified that I will try attempting all four DI sets and my order of preference will be:
- Q25-27 Share price table
- Q 47-50 Bar chart on forms of institutes
- Q 34-37 Pie & bar Chart
- Q 11-13Tables on movies
- Identified that Q 16 and 20 should not be attempted.
QADI Round 2A: 30 minutes 15 attempts
Started R2 with the 5 DS questions
Q41-45. DS, Solved four DS questions correctly.
Did not mark an answer to Q42, while I was sure that the two statements independently could not answer the questions I was not sure if the two statements could together answer the question and hence did not mark an answer.
Q25-27. DI Set on Share price
Solved all three questions without any problems, since the choices were not close in any question hence approximation was helpful in saving time.
Q47-50. DI Set on sale of forms
Solved all four questions without any problems, calculations however were higher in this set as compared to the previous one but the questions were not difficult.
Q34-37. DI Set on professors in universities.
I was able to solve this set also but it took some time for me to determine the values of P, Q, R and S as I initially made a calculation mistake and hence had to redo the set.
The five DS questions and the three DI sets (10 questions) took me about 30 minutes. With 25 attempts in approximately 60 minutes I now moved to the QA questions marked for Round 2.
QADI Round 2B: 30 minutes 10 attempts
Q1. If f(x) is divided by x then the reminder is a4
- f(0) = t = a4
Now p, q, r and t are in GP and t = a4
- p = a, q = a2 , r = a3
- f(x) = ax3 + a2x2 + a3x + a4
If f(x) divided by (x-a) then the remainder will be f(a)
- f(a) = 4a4, as per the question this has to be a perfect cube
- a = 2
Correct answer: Choice (a) 2
Q3. 120 = 23 x 3 x 5
LCM (X, 120) = 1320 = 120 x 11
- X should be a multiple of 11 but not of 112 or higher powers so it is not a perfect square
- Choice (a) is incorrect
LCM (Y, 120) = 1680 = 120 x 14 = 120 x 2 x 7
- Y should be a multiple of 7 but not of 72 or higher powers so it is not be a perfect square
Choice (b) is incorrect
LCM (Z, 120) = 1800 = 120 x 15 = 23 x 32 x 52 or
- Z can be 32 x 52 or 2 x 32 x 52 or Z may be a perfect square
- Choice (c) is incorrect
Correct answer: Choice (d)
Q4. Thus the number of 5 digit numbers that are multiples of 3 or 4 but not both
= multiples of 3 + multiples of 4 – multiples of 12
For the 5 digit number to be a multiple of 3, its sum of digits should be a multiple of 3
The digit sum of first 6 natural numbers = 21
For the 5 digit number to be a multiple of 3 the only digits that can be removed are either 3 or 6, thus one digit of the number will be either 3 or 6 and the remaining 4 digits will be 1, 2, 4 and 5.
- The number of 5 digit numbers that will be multiple of 3 = 2 x 5! = 240
Thus the answer will be more than 240
- Choice (d) 240 is incorrect
Last 2 digits of 5 digit numbers that are multiples of 4 will be: 12, 16, 24, 32, 36, 52, 56 & 64
The remaining 3 places can be filled in 4 x 3 x 2 = 24 ways
- Total number of numbers that are divisible by 4 = 24 x 8 = 192
- the answer will be less than 240 + 192 = 432
- Choice (a) 432 will be incorrect
Got confused while determining the number of 5 digit numbers that are multiple of 12 and hence left the question without marking the answer.
Correct answer: Not marked
Q14. Solved by using the SQC technique of verifying the figure and approximating the answer.
In the question ADC is 90o and in the figure also it is 90o
As per the question
AO = 56, OD = 4, AC = 61 and AB = 5
In the figure OB : OD does not appear to be greater than 5 : 4 hence BC should be pushed deeper in the circle.
Visual inspection of the figure tells us ABC is more than double of ABD, check the choices:
Choice (a) 11 : 14 < 1, hence incorrect
Choice (b) 14 : 3 > 2, could be correct
Choice (c) 3 : 11 < 1, hence incorrect
Choice (d) 11 : 9 < 2, hence incorrect
Correct answer: Choice (c)
Q19. Assume: Average score before the second last test = x
Total number of tests = n + 2
On scoring 98 marks in the second last test the average increases by 1 (deviation of 1)
- 98 = Original average + Deviation from the average x total number of tests
- 98 = x + (1) (n + 1)
- x + n = 97
On scoring 70 marks in the last test the average dropped by 2 (deviation of -2)
- 70 = (x + 1) + (-2) (n + 2)
- x – 2n = 73
Solving the two equations we get n = 8
- total number of tests = n + 2 = 10
Correct Answer: Choice (c) 10
Q21. Solved by musing the SQC technique of making cases:
As per the question: a + 15b + 25c = 77, where a, b & c are natural numbers
- a + 5(3b + 5c) = 77
- 5(3b + 5c) = 77 – a
- there are 8 possible values of “a” which are = 2, 7, 12, 17, 22, 27, 32 & 37
Minimum value of b and c is 1, thus maximum value of a is 37
If a = 2 then 3b + 5c = 15, no values of b and c are possible
If a = 7 then 3b + 5c = 14, then b = 3 and c = 1
If a = 12 then 3b + 5c = 13, then b = 1 and c = 2
If a = 17 then 3b + 5c = 12, no values of b and c are possible
If a = 22 then 3b + 5c = 11, then b = 2 and c = 1
If a = 27 then 3b + 5c = 10, no values of b and c are possible
If a = 32 then 3b + 5c = 9, no values of b and c are possible
If a = 37 then 3b + 5c = 8, then b = 2 and c = 1
Thus four ordered triplets (a, b, c) are possible.
Correct Answer: Choice (d) 4
Q24. Solved this question by making a venn diagram.
Correct Answer: Choice (a) 24
Q28. Solved this question by using the SQC technique of drawing the figure and assuming the value of the side of square.
Let the side of the square = 2
Thus Area of the square = 4
- Area of OFCG = 1
- Area of OFG = ½
- Area of OMN = (1/4) (OFG) = 1/8
- Area of MNGCF = 1 – 1/8 = 7/8
Assume the area of EHMN = x
Ratio of area of MNGCF to area EHNM = 7/8 : x = 7 : 8x
- In the choices the first number should be a multiple of 7
- Choice (b), (c) and (d) are incorrect
Correct Answer: Choice (a) 7 : 9
Q39. Could not understand how the question should be solved hence made a figure to understand.
If there are 4 children standing around a circle then we get a square and the number of distinct pairs in which children are:
- standing next to each other = 4 = n or the number of sides
- not standing side by side = 2 (along the two diagonals) = nC2 – n
- nC2 – n = 5n
- n = 13
Correct Answer: Choice (b) 13
Q40. Probability of not getting a blue ball in two trials = 81/100 = (9/10)2
- Number of blue balls = 1 out of 10
Probability of getting a green ball in two consecutive trials = 49/100 = (7/10)2
- Number of green balls = 7 out of 10
- Number of red balls = 2 out of 10
Number of ways in which we can draw balls of three different colours = 3 x 2 x 1 = 6
Thus probability of getting a ball of three different colours in three consecutive trials
= 6 x (1/10) x (7/10) x (2/10) = 21/250
Correct Answer: Choice (b) 21/250
Q10. Let the speed of Ayesha be x km/hr and that of Bhumika = y km/hr
Ayesha started running at 5am and Bhumika at 6am
- At 6 am Ayesha has run x km
At 7 am the two meet and after 6 am in 1 hour Ayesha has run x km and Bhumika y km
- Ratio of speed of Ayesha to Bhumika = x : y
At the time of the second meeting, in the time after the first meeting at 7am:
Ayesha has run 2y km and Bhumika has run 4x km
- Ratio of speed of Ayesha to Bhumika = (x/y) = (2y/4x)
- (x/y)2 = ½
- x/y = 1/√2
Correct Answer: Choice (b) 1 : √2
GP
Sir,
I wanted to pursue executive mba from iim indore/sp jain, what %ile should I target in CAT14,
My total work experience is 6 years and 5 months in infrastructure comp(reliance)., B-tech(nit)- 75.5 %, 10th-76 and +2-67%.
pl. suggest.
You should get an overall percentile of about 97+ with 95+ in eac section.
regards
Sir,
i attempted the new pattern Mock 3.i got a score of 142. QA/DI 31 C W. VA/LR 23 C 16 W. I did a lot of mistakes in the second section.Please help me to increase my scores.
3W in QA/DI
Ankur, you are doing well in QADI and should continue with you your existing approach. It is VALR that you need to work on and that too essentially on accuracy. 39 attempts with 16 incorrect answers is effectively only 17-18 net correct answer. Please identify which of the VALR question types (Verabl Logic, English Usage, RC and LR) is the issue and work on improving your accuracy in that area. Also it might be useful to reduce (or stop) your attempts in the question type in which you have the highest error rate. Please call me at 9811155160 in the evening in case you want to discuss the issue.
Hello Sir,
I have 2 questions-
1. My academics is average Xth-7.0 cgpa ,XIIth-70%, Graduation.-64%, category-general, no work ex. with these acads. will I get calls from IIMs and other B-schools if I am able to score 95+%tile in CAT.
2. How much ques. should I attempt with what % of accuracy to get around 95%tile in CAT I am targeting IMT ghaziabad,MDI gurgaon and other B schools in Delhi-ncr.
Chirag, except for IIMB all other IIMs are possible for you but a call from top IIMs will need over 99.5%ile, other old IIMs & FMS you will need over 99%ile and over 97%ile for the new IIMs, MDI etc. At a score of 95%ile you will be able to get an interview call from most of the other good MBA institutes.
sir i am a 2014 passout …currently working and scoring well in mocks
my graduation percentage is 59.98 and i am thinking of giving improvement papers in december this year …..i wanted to know even after this ….one the cat result comes out and my result goes up to 61-63% will they allow me to apply for colleges for which the general category cutoff are pegged at 60….provided that as of now i donot have 60 …but i will by the time result comes out???
Deepak, you score at the time of application decides upon your eligibility, if the results come out before the last date of application then you will be able to apply. Do take the improvement tests as over 60% will be useful in other areas as well.
Dear Sir,
I ‘ve enrolled for both CL CAT test series and Test Gym adaptive as well. I have been taking 2-3 full length mocks along with sectionals from Test Gym followed by through analysis every week. As of now i am able to clear the sectionals but my overall percentile is meager which keeps on varying from 84 -87 %ile. Every time i analyse the paper post exam, i do realize that another 20-22 marks,my job would have been done easily. This has made my morale down and a sense of panic is building up with each passing day to D Day.
At this point of time sir Kindly guide me, so that i can fight back by putting up my best efforts that will help me to sail through easily.
Bibhu, 3 FLTs/Mock CATs in a week is excessive as it does not give you an opportunity to revise or work on you weak areas. Suggest that you restrict yourself to 2 Mocks a week and also ensure one day every week for revising all important questions. You could follow the weekly schedule given below or modify it to suit your specific requirements.
Day 1: Topic wise tests from the Test Gym eg, 2 tests each of RC, DI, LR and VL (14 questions each), 1 test of Usage (Sentence Correction and Vocabulary) and 3-4 of QADI
Day 2: Repeat Day 1 schedule
Day 3: Take a section test of QADI and VALR, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.
Day 4: Repeat Day 1 schedule
Day 5: Repeat Day 1 schedule
Day 6: Revise all important questions from all the test that you have taken so far.
Day 7: Take a Mock CAT
You should analyse each test (topic, section and Mock) in detail, identify important questions and revise them regularly.
GP sir i am an scc student in b tech 7th sem. I have 94.4% in 10th, 89.4 in 12th and 89.6 in b tech till 6th semester. Which programmes should i apply for in the CAT 2014 form. I’m terribly confused. Please help.
Glen, apply for PGP of all IIMs, in case of IIM C it is PGDM. If you are interested in HR then the HR program of IIM Ranchi should also be on your list. Similarly if you are interested in Agri Business then do apply for ABM of IIM A and L.
Thank you sir. I have been attempting mocks quite regularly, but my scores are stagnating around 110. I usually end up with lesser time for quant than i should, after my section 2. Any way of getting the number of attempts up?
Glen, 110 is a good score at the current stage of preparation, please call me at 9811155160 to discuss.
sure sir…
Hi sir,
I appeared in CAT 13 and scored 98.11.I just started about a month back for this CAT.I have given 4-5 mocks and actually I am really worried about the erratic pattern of my mock scores. My scores have varied so much that i have scored 84,104,112,131 and 167 in the 5 mocks I have given.MY rank varied greatly from 4 in CLproc mock 3 to 1200 in an AIMCAT. Since I have started working now,I am greatly worried that whether 2 months of persistent effort along with the job will land me a percentile in excess of 99.7 which i aspire for.I have not devoted much time to the preparation this year.Rather ,I have spent time in revising the 4-5 mocks I have given.Please Help.
Dear Mukesh,
You have great potential. If you give your best, you should get good results this year itself. Two months of focused effort should be good enough to ensure consistent performance in your remaining mocks and a good score in your actual tests. Use the Practise-Analyse-Revise-Test model. Analyse your mocks thoroughly and identify areas where you are regularly making mistakes. Work on the basics of those areas and then practise as many problems from those areas as possible. Use Test Gym Adaptive thoroughly. This will help you build up your speed as well as accuracy.
Sir,
Thanks a lot for taking up our queries and solving our problems.
I’ve been regularly solving Mocks, usually completing 2 Mock tests in a week, but the variance in percentiles I receive is tremendous, I’ve had percentiles ranging from as low as as 60 to 99 in the Mocks, same with the scores, from a paltry 70 to a high of 170. With all the mocks being solved in the same manner and following the same strategy.
-How do I bring about consistency in my results? It is the accuracy that is really bringing the result down. How do I improve that?
Dear Aman,
Use the Practise-Analyse-Revise-Test model. Analyse your mocks thoroughly and identify areas where you are regularly making mistakes. Work on the basics of those areas and then practise as many problems from those areas as possible. Use Test Gym Adaptive thoroughly. This will help you build up your speed as well as accuracy.
Hi Sir,
These are my mock scores in order i attempted them.
Proc 1- 97 (qa- 50, va- 47)
proc 3- 91 (qa- 45, va- 46)
proc 2- 123 (qa- 60, va- 63)
proc 5- 136 (qa- 60, va- 76)
proc 4- 128 (qa- 54, va- 74)
In all exams my attempts are between 65-75.
Sir, u can see that i am totally stagnated in QA.. cant seem to cross the 60 marks and last 3 tests..no improvement in overall also..
i have decent acads(85+ throughout)..
sir, please give me a reality check about the targets which i can set about colleges as well as how to improve quants..
Thanks Sir..
Dear Ankit,
Your overall scores are good. If your scores in QA are not improving, revise the basics in this area and practise more problems. Use Test Gym Adaptive thoroughly and also take some sectional tests. This should help improve your accuracy and problem solving speed in QA.
Sir I had posted my comment this morning but it is removed now, So here I am posting it again. Sir, everything with my acads is third class, Xth-76.5, XII-69.4, (1 Year gap) , B.tech- 61 (to top it off now having an year lag because of 8th sem results) , and mocks are not coming at all. As of now I can at the max go for 40-44 attempts with 70-80 percent accuracy and pcntl hovers around 70-80. But all I want to know is if I can improve in this 2 months and pull something like 85-90 will it be fruitful with my disastrous acads. I belong to SC but have seen a SC guy, with >80,80,70 acads, great 3 years central govt. work experience constantly pulling 95s with good sectionals for 2 years now and then not getting old IIM calls. I am really worried now sir, these present continuous sins are heavy to carry. I just want to know about some colleges that you want to recommend to me, and one of those with sure-shot placement, because, now I already have a B.Tech loan to pay, which will be added to the MBA fees. Sorry for the very long post, but sir I am worried sick.
Thank you
Abir, the earlier query has been answered and is reproduced below for your reference.
Abir, the 4 year gap will be an issue but it can be explained and a good CAT score will be required to ensure admission to a good MBA institute.
Given your category a score of 85%ile will get you a call from most of the top IIMs and other top b schools that have reservations. You should not be considering NIBMs of the world but apply only to those institutes that have reservations for SC candidates. Focus on your preparation and ensure a 85%ile plus and you will find yourself in a IIM or IIT or FMS or one of the top Symbiosis (SIBM Pune or SCMHRD) institutes. Also IITs and FMS (DU) have a very low fee so you will not be burdened financially.
You should take CAT, IIFT and SNAP. Institutes affiliated to NMAT and XAT do not have reservation so ignore them. Hope you have enrolled for the Test Series, we came out with a Rs 499/- offer of 10 Mock CATs, if not then let me know and as a special case will have it made available to you.
Thank you very much sir, even though I didn’t understand what do you mean by 4 year gap (as I currently am in final year, cause of final year lag), I understood what you wanted to say. Thank you again. And definitely willing to buy the 10 mock cats. 🙂
Abir, my mistake, I misread your query.
“….with my profile is third class, X-76.5, XII-69.4 -YEAR GAP- B.Tech- 61 (to top it off now having an year lag……”
Oh that’s fine sir, anyway, I was unable to find the aforementioned 10 mock cat series on cl site sir, sorry for disturbing.
hi Sir,
One off-the-topic question, i’m not pretty comfortable in solving Games and tournaments questions, can i ignore that part altogether ? or do i need to practice rigorously now. ? please answer
Sivaji, with about 2 months to you should do both – practice/revise regularly but in the paper attempt only if you are sure of solving it but if you are absolutely uncomfortable then drop it completely.
minimum percentile required to for IIM L,I,K AND NEW ONES with how many attempt .
In actual one if i attempt 30-35 with 85-90% accuracy is it sufficent to cleat QA&DI cutoffs of all the colleges.
does jbims take cat?
Shashank, JBIMS takes CAT score but to have a good chance of making it the institute you should take Feb’15 MAT or CET Maharashtra or ATMA.
For IIM I, K, L etc you should target a 99%ile in CAT and the new IIMs are possible at over 97.5%ile.
A net score of over 55 marks (net 18 correct attempts) will be sufficient to clear the sectional cutoff of all IIMs. With 33 attempts and 6 incorrect answers (net score of 75) you would be over 99%ile in QADI.
how much i target in both section than if attempting 30-35 in QA&DI?
Shashank, A total of 65 attempts is likely to be very good in CAT and hence you could consider about 30 in VALR.
sir it will be sufficent for iim-l and fms to clear cut off as i am planning my career in sales and marketing and they both are the top most
Shashank, it will be sufficient but if you want to be very safe then target a total attempt of 70 questions.
First of all very warm regards, Sir. You’re doing a great job here and it’s a thing of immense appreciation that you’ve helped a lot of students with their queries.
My question to you sir is what follows-
I’ve a record of 79.6%, 84.2% and 6.4(CGPA) in my 10th, 12th and graduation courses. I had backlogs in the 3rd, 5th and 8th semester of my graduation year, which I cleared in the August 2014(My graduation was to get completed in June, but as a result of my final semester backlog, it finished in August. Although my official marksheet and provisional degree certificate have yet not been released by my university- it’ll be given to me probably by the third week of October). I’ve joined a crash course for CAT-14 just a week ago, and I’ve also started studying and giving mocks seriously. I’ve a fairly good aptitude and I’m also OK in English. Coming to the point- my query is what would be the ideal percentile for me to get in CAT-14 to get a good college, keeping my category, poor academic record, baclogs, etc. in mind. Also, how and in which ways my poor academic record is going to hamper my chances. Please also suggest the exams which I should give apart from CAT, XAT, IIFT, SNAP and CMAT.
Looking forward to your answer, Sir. I know your reply is going to clear all my doubts and help me.
Thank you!
Dear Rahul.
What is your category?
I’m from the General category, Sir.
Rahul, as a general category candidate with decent academic record (despite 6.4 CGPA) you should target:
1. 99.6%ile for top IIMs
2. 99%ile for other old IIMs, FMS and IIT Mumbai
3. 97.5%ile for new IIMs, other IITs, MDI, NITIE. XAT and IIFT will need an equivalent score in their entrance tests.
4. 95%ile for other top B schools
Thank you very much, Sir. I was feeling quite disheartened assuming that my poor academics may impede my chances of getting a good college even if I get a good CAT score. Your reply provided me with some confidence again.
Thanks again for starting this blog, this has been of immense help.
Another query of mine is that I’m consistently scoring 90-95%iles in VA in various mocks, but my quant score is stuck at 70-75%ile. It has been 20 days since I’ve started preparing for CAT, and I know I’ve been very late in starting my preparation. Could you please guide me about some specific important areas to target in QA initially, so that I can at least start improving my score slowly and slowly.
Thank you!
Rahul, while you are late you can still get the required CAT score. Focus on practice, testing, analysis and revision. You should practice only MCQs from your study material and test gym, for testing you have the 20 Mock CATs (proc and unproc) and do analyse all test (practice and mocks) to identify the important questions and these should be revised at least once a week. You would have already taken a few mock CATs and practice test (from the material or the Test Gym) and you should first analyse them as suggested in the following two posts:
1. Are you choosing the right questions in your Mock CATs?
2. Things you must-do after every mock you take
Continuous revision of important questions should not be neglected, a question goes out of the revision list only after you have revised it 5-6 times and you remember the question.
sir, I am a kashmiri migrant candidate and have done my B.E. in 2012 from MIT alandi college pune university and am preparing to give mba exams for 2015-17 mba batch. please help me regarding which colleges to apply and which exams to give to get into a good b school.Moreover, i also wanted to know how to go about MH-cet .i mean should i appear for MAT exam also as one of my friend from maharshtra told me its better to appear in MAT as its easy to score and get the required cutoff for good b schools in maharashtra rather than applying through CAT or CMAT. . Last thing sir being a kashmiri migrant is it wise to apply through kashmiri migrant quota or in open category ?? to get into a good college ……please reply sir i want to do mba in this year only in any case so please enlist options accordingly…thanks & regards…:)
Dear Umang,
If you are interested in b-schools in Maharashtra, then MHCET will be a better option than MAT. You will need to score very high marks in MAT (around 750+ out of 800) in order to get into good colleges in Maharashtra. MHCET will definitely be a better option. You should definitely apply under Kashmiri Migrant category and not in Open category since the cutoffs for Kashmiri migrants will definitely be lower than cutoffs for open category candidates. Do share some details of your scores in mocks so that we can advise you on which institutes you should apply to.
Hello GP Sir and Team CL,
I have 49% in graduation. How tough are my chances of getting into IIFT Delhi? What %ile do I need to score then?
Siddhartha, the interview calls in IIFT are based on your performance in the entrance test only but for final selection your marks in graduation will play a role. Suggest that you target a score of over 55 marks (60+ is preferable) in the written test to ensure that your graduation marks are not a problem.
sir,with 107 in mock cat 3,110 actually q17 was not recorded due to an internet failure,where do i go now on in my preparation,average scores in cl mocks are in the range of 100 to 105 with 82-83% accuracy,what score should i target and how many more questions should i attempt,attempts are in the range of 45 to 50.
I am targeting the very best and need maximum percentile,.pp shows around 97.
thank you
Dhruv, 100-105 is decent at this stage and with decent accuracy you should now look at increasing your attempts to around 55 by attempting 2-3 extra questions in each section. Hope you are revising regularly as it will help in increasing your speed as well as accuracy. Target a score of 120-125 by the end of this month.
Thank you sir,yes i have been increasing my attempts but sitters such as the last lr set in mock cat 3 are going amiss sometimes which is worrisome to me,also the other day in my institute mock cat,i attempted 20 qadi questions in just 45 minutes but still could not reach 30 attempts,how to overcome these shortcomings?
Also sir,just roughly,how much percentile would a final score of around 150 fetch in cat,going by 60 to 63 attempts.
Dhruv, continue with the practice + testing + analysis + revision process and the attempts will go up. Keep a modes target of 2 extra attempts in each section. Do not worry too much about missing a couple of easy questions, it is very difficult to ensure that you attempt all easy questions, most of us will miss out on a couple of them.
A score of 150+ is likely to be over 99%ile in CAT.
thank you so much sir
gp ka funda is a great initiative really,cheers
Sir ,
When is starting with online Mocks for other exams like NMAT,IIFT. NMAT is less than a month from now & still no mocks from CL
Dear Virat,
The first NMAT Mock test has already gone live today. The schedule of the other Non-CAT Mocks is available in the Notifications section of your SIS.
IS GP’s take for mock cat 04 (unproctored) available yet???
Dear Arpit,
GP’s take is available only for the Proctored Mocks, not for the unproctored mocks. Hence, this would not be available for Mock CAT 4.
sir,
I have 2 questions :
1. Like after the mock analysis, of one mock I have seen which questions I have missed which cud have been done etc. Now in the next mock in order to get a higher hit %age, what change can i bring in the prep in 10-11 odd days till the next mock.
2. Practicing test gym , then in every mock some new things add up to my cognizance , then old class room concepts which I have to revise(Although i don’t have much issues with the basics), but still I tend to forget somethings, then vocab, and LR question types .
SIR I AM NOT ABLE TO MANAGE WHAT HOW WHEN TO DO ALL THESE STUFFS? Its like going onto somethings feels like I am missing on old things.
IF I AM MAKING ANY MISTAKES Kindly fill in sir.
Kindly suggest What should be done.
Koustav, it is essentially practice and revision between the two mocks and working on the weak areas that will help you improve your scores. Do not expect your score to jump from one paper to next and a consistent score over 3-4 papers with adequate practice and revision in between the papers will lead to improvement in your scores.
Every Mock will give you a couple of new things that will get added to your pile of revision, similarly test gym questions too will give you a few new things.
You are doing all the things that are required for preparation but it will be useful to draw out a schedule (or time table) to ensure that you do not miss out on anything.
thanku sir,
will work on that 🙂
Sir,
My question is that in the video analysis of cat14 strategy by Gejo sir, he mentioned that in qa(30-qa,5-ds) out of 30 questions 10 question will be from level1,10 question from level 2 and 10 question from level 3.
Sir how would define these level 1/2/3 with respect to level in test gym adaptive(beginner/intermediate/advanced/expert)
And guide the same for other section(va,lr,di),so as to practice thoroughly in that level.
Please reply as soon as possible, waiting for your reply.
Hi Sahil,
Roughly, you can go with this benchmark.
Level 1 – Beginner/Intermediate
Level 2 – Intermediate/Advanced
Level 3 – Advanced/Expert
You must also understand that each one of us has our favourite area. For instance, someone is very good at numbers but not so good at geometry. For him/her A difficult question on Numbers would be still a Level – 1. A moderately difficult question in geometry would be Level 3.
Let me define Level 1 as –
questions that you can solve within 1.5 minutes. In 35 questions, you must have around 8 – 10 such questions.
Regards
Gejo
Sir
kindly help me out with my score. Despite of opting different techniques, and time management, I’m not able to go through entire paper.
Also in order to manage score in VA section, I’m losing considerable score in QADI section, in which I feel I’m more comfortable.
In QA section, about half of my time is wasted in the first 15-20 ques with very few attempts. All these ques look tempting, but I end up losing a lot of time with minimal attempts.
And coming to VA Sec, In RC question, is it advisable to mark all questions of a particular RC with same option, as with each RC consisting 4 ques, even if I get one right choice I’m at no loss, and getting more then 1 will only fetch me some positive score.
Rishabh, Hope you have gone through the following posts:
1. The single-most unpardonable, gravest sin you can commit in CAT
2. Are you choosing the right questions in your Mock CATs?
If you are unable to go through the entire paper then most probably you are not leaving difficult questions, this is confirmed that in QADI you are wasting almost half your time. Please go through the above two posts and the old Mocks to identify the questions types that you should be attempting.
Sir while filling registeration form of CAT, I selected all programmes considering that they themselves will reject those for which I am not eligible. But now someone told me if you get a call from a specific IIM and you dont go for interview, they ultimately reject you for all other programmes too. Please help.
Nishant, this is incorrect, the person who has told you this is ill-informed.
Gp sir,
I had posted my query regarding IIFT, but its not here anymore.
Dear Ayush,
Please post your query again.
sir my question is regarding the word usage -(1 word and 4 different options) based questions. What should be my approach for these questions from the preparation point of view as well as from the attempt point of view.
Dear Sarat,
Such questions test your knowledge of idioms and phrasal verbs. To prepare for such questions, the best method is to read as much as possible. This will give you exposure to most of the common idioms and phrasal verbs. In the short term, you should go through lists of idioms and of phrasal verbs. You will find many such lists online. Go through some such lists and try to learn the exact structure and the meaning of idioms and phrasal verbs.
Gp sir,
i have a query related to iift in context of di.. I have been attempting previous year iift papers. I found that DI is calculation intensive and hence it takes me around 4 mins to solve each question even after applying approximations. How to reduce my speed?
Dear Ayush,
Revise the SQC concepts and practise them as much as possible. These techniques will be a great help to you in the IIFT exam.
Hi Sir,
I apologize since this question might be out of context here, but I was not sure where to post this question. I have a couple of questions about the OMET exams.
1. Since CMAT is conducted twice a year in September and February, what is the catch here for September test takers, are they disallowed to attempt February CMAT Exam ? Any such restriction ?
2. Second question of mine was regarding CMAT, SNAP, XAT, and other exams that have GK questions that are frequent. Can you advise on some useful resources from which I can prepare for these among online websites ? For both static and current GK ?
Thank you in advance,
Dilip
Also, could you please suggest a book on decision making for XAT?
Ayush, can you please not hijack others’ questions again ?
Dear Ayush,
The best source for this would be the XAT supplement that we give. Go through this supplement thoroughly.
Dear Dilip,
1. There is no such restriction. Even if you have taken CMAT in September, you are free to attempt the February CMAT and vice versa.
2. To prepare for static GK, you should first go through previous years’ papers so that you get an overview of the kind of questions asked. Further, you should solve some model question papers/CL’s mock tests. Static GK questions come from diverse topics. Hence, in order to prepare for this, you should be well-versed in all the basic sections/areas of GK, viz. history, polity, geography, sci, economy, etc. Some suggested readings are as follows:
1) Lucent’s GK
2) Manorama Year Book 2014
3) Any national daily news paper
4) A monthly magazine like Pratiyogita Darpan/Civil Services Chronicle
Sir, do these exams- CMAT, NMAT, IIFT, CMAT require a different kind of approach or preparation from CAT? As the exam dates are coming close do we need to focus on some specific areas for these? My CMAT is in this month and NMAT comes in the next.
Thanks and regards. Your posts have been of immense help and motivation.
Sorry, I meant CMAT, NMAT, IIFT, SNAP and XAT. ^^^
Rohon, the preparation and approach for all these tests is similar to that of CAT but closer to each of these papers we will orient you towards these exams as well.
GK is one of the biggest difference in all these papers but in the other areas the question types are similar (lower difficulty level except in XAT) to that of CAT.
sir,
you said that one can attempt RC without complete reading please explain it.how does it work?
Dear Baijnath,
Some RC questions may simply test you on specific details mentioned in the passage; such questions may not require any understanding of the passage. For example, questions such as “Which of the following is true as per the passage?”. For answering such questions, you may choose to simply skim through the passage and search for the answer instead of reading the entire passage. Do note that even tough passages may have one or two simple questions of this type. Such sitters may be answered accurately and efficiently using this approach.
Sir, do you always have an accuracy of 100% in mocks/CAT? What all can one do to get close to 100% accuracy and still attempt a decent number of questions?
Dear Dexter,
Accuracy of close to 100% in QA-DI can be easily achieved through practise. In VA-LR, some questions may be very tricky. Despite this, accuracy of around 95% is realistically possible in this section as well. Do ensure that you have a firm grasp of the basic concepts. After this, practise as many problems as possible. Analyse your attempts to ensure that you learn from each and every mistake that you make. These steps will ensure that you have good problem solving speed and high accuracy.
Dexter, no I do not have a 100% accuracy. I have hit a purple patch and both my attempts an accuracy are higher than normal. My normal attempts would around 65 questions with around 5-6 incorrect answers. My suggestion is to target a accuracy of 90%.
Sir, is every SQC session different or the same, the reason I ask you this is that I attended your SQC session in Delhi and I learnt a lot from it and seeing as how you are conducting another one, do you think I should attend it again on the 19th or do you think it will be redundant?
Hello GP sir, I read your post and found some really cool and convincing strategies which I’ll definitely try and execute in the next Mock. Sir do you write somewhere regarding which questions need to be attempted in Round 2 and 3? Can SQCs be applied in the first attempt?
Dear Siddhartha,
The same post contains details of questions attempted in each of the three rounds. Yes, SQC concepts can certainly be used in the first attempt itself.
Thank you sir!
Had been waiting for this post for long. I had also posted a comment (in an older article of yours) requesting you to write this article soon.
Thanks a lot again!
Now coming to my problem – I have been attempting mocks with a focus on accuracy.. Yes! I have done that and in the last 3 Proc-mocks, I attempted 44 Qns (18-22 attempts in QADI and 22-26 attempts in VALR). In the Proc mock 5 I got a 100 Overall score with 36 in QADI and 64 in VALR. The percentiles clearly reveal that the others have done exceedingly well, with puys notching upto 180 odd score.
My case here is that you and the other mock-maulers are very thorough about getting 12-15 sitters in the QA paper, which would fetch them a 36 to 45, plus a 10 plus in DI gets them another 30. And they easily notch 65 plus in QADI.
Due to the current time constraint/backlogues, I am facing this challenge of not being able to attempt many questions in QADI. I am sure of the fundamentals to be used during exam, but cant implement them in that given time. I know practice would be the only solution to this. But I request you to guide me towards how I should practice now. There are so many topics to be done and not much time left. Even in my comfortable topics, I face a lot of challenge during exam. It is getting panicky for me now.
With a 60 plus in VALR, I am sure to improve it.. Thanks to you, Gejo and Madhu maam at CL Kolkata for showing the path. But I am panicking a lot for my present condition in QADI.
Dear Sachin,
You should analyse your mocks thoroughly and identify those areas/topics where you are regularly making mistakes. Revise the basics in these areas and then, practise as many problems from these areas as possible. Use Test Gym Adaptive thoroughly. This will help you build up speed as well as accuracy.