CAT 2011: QuantoLogic Analysis

I finished my CAT 2011 journey in the initial phases. So did some other friends who are involved with us at Quantologic. Here is our analysis.

1. CAT 2011 is a tad difficult when compared to CAT 2010/CAT 2009.
2. The data intensive complicated logical reasoning questions have disappeared and the focus is more on basic understanding of problem solving techniques.
3. The onus is on the student to solve the easy questions.
4. Every paper especially the Quant and DI section has enough sitters for an average student to crack. We must also mention that every paper has around 6-8 difficult to very difficult questions which require analytical imagination.
5. Section 1 feels short of time, you need to choose your questions well and take no more than 2-3 minutes to solve any question.
6. There are some DI questions which require lengthy calculations, but the calculations can be remarkably reduced by making smart approximations and using the options well.
7. The number of Data Sufficiency questions have gone down considerably.
8. The questions are focused on basic concepts and formulae and one needs to be able to solve questions from first principles rather than imaginative methods.
9. Read each question carefully before you start solving and try to look at the options as some of the questions will require much less work if you use the options.
10. Overall an intelligent test.

Cheers!
Rahul

Problem of the day 26.08.09

Five students Implex, Slam, Sanyo, dewan and nbangalorekar are wearing caps of Blue or Green color without knowing the color of his own cap. It is known that the students wearing the Blue cap always speaks the truth while the ones wearing Green always tell lies. If the students make the following statements

Implex: I see 3 blue caps and one Green
Slam: I see 4 Green caps
Sanyo: I see 1 Blue cap and 3 Green
dewan: I see 4 Blue caps

Then, which among the following (Student, Cap Color) combination is correct?

(1) (Implex, Blue) (2) (Slam, Green) (3) (dewan, Blue) (4) at least two of the foregoing (5) none of these

Problem of The day 06.08.09

1. Four digits of the number 29138576 are omitted so that the result is as large as possible. The largest omitted digit is (A) 9 (B) 8 (C) 7 (D) 6 (E) 5

Problem of the Day 30.07.09

Find the sum of the digits of the least natural number N, such that the sum of the cubes of the four smallest distinct divisors of N is 2N?

1)  9                                2) 8                             3) 7                    4) 6                      5) 10

Bonus QUestion 28.07.09

Suppose K be the number of integers n such that (2^n+1)/n^2 is also an integer.
Then K is
a) 0               b) 1               c) 2              d) 3              e) none of these

Problem of the day 28.07.09

if a<b and 12²+4²+5²+3²=a²+b² the find (a+b)?

Problem of the day 27.07.09

Find the number of quadratic polynomials ax² + bx + c such that:

a) a, b, c are distinct.

b) a, b, c ε {1, 2, 3, ...2008}

c) x + 1 divides ax² + bx + c
a) 2013018            b) 2013021            c) 2014024             d) 2018040       e) none of these

Bonus Question 26.07.09

The perimeter of a right triangle is 60. The height to the hypotenuse is 12 what is the area?
(A) 75 (B) 144 (C) 150 (D) 300 (E) none of these

Problem Of the Day 26.07.09

If x² + y²= 1 and x, y are real numbers. Let p, q be the largest and smallest possible
value of x + y respectively. Then compute pq
a) 0                    b) 1/2         c) −1/2                          d) 2                           e) −2

Problem of the day 25.07.09

In 1896 lord Coin has decided to play a game. From the January 1 till December 31 every day he chooses among two match boxes an arbitrary one and placed a match from it to another box (if the chosen box was not empty). If the chosen box was empty then he placed a match from
the other box to the chosen one. What is the probability that after the December 31 the both boxes will have an equal number of matches if at the beginning each box had a) n = 400 b) n = 200 c) n = 100 matches?

Bonus Question 16.07.09

Find the number of solutions in distinct positive  integers of x^4+y^4=z^4

A) 0                 B) 1                  C) 2                         D) 3                E) More than 3

Problem of the day 17.07.09

Find the area of right angle triangle whose inradius is 4 and circumradius
is 10?
a) 28                   b) 56                    c) 96                     d) 192                   e) none of these

Problem of the day 16.7.09

What is the sum of the digits of a two digit number which is 32 less than the square of the product of its digits?

A. 12                   B. 11                 C. 10 .                     D. 9                           E.      8

Problem of the day 14.7.09

Given that 1025/1024=1.0009765625, find the sum of the digits of 5¹⁰?



(a)  36       (b) 40    (c) 50   (d) 102   (e) 41

Problem of The day 13.07.09

On a circle 26 equidistant points are marked. these points are joined to form a triangles. Of the triangles formed, how many of them will have their circumcenter on one of their sides.?

A) 318 B) 312 C) 288 d) 624 e) None of these

ONLINE CAT- Effects on Quant Section

In this blog, I will discuss how the ONLINE CAT changes QUANT Preparation.

CAT Goes Online!

With the CAT going online, there has been a surge of doubts and apprehensions in the minds of students. Some of them are being directed to me,  so I think its best to post it together for the benefit of one and all.

The Aftermath

I think with the online CAT being CBT ( Computer Based Test) and not compute adaptive, the effect on Quant section is less when compared to DI or VA sections. Still, the change is considerable.

The first change is in Quant, most of us solve it just by the side of Question and save time, of going to the rough pages. But, now everyone is at the same ground, so people who did write in font 6 lose some of their advantages. Now everyone has to first check the screen and solve it on paper, so everyone takes the same amount of  time in this step.

The Geometry Puzzle

For algebra, number theory, arithmetic and modern maths, there is no other recognisable change. As earlier you solved on question paper itself, now you will do it on rough sheet.

The major change is with geometry questions, the ones with figures given. It might happen, that you need to do some additional construction to get a clear picture, this will be cumbersome and add to the time taken to solve the question.  Even if the question does not need construction, but the nomenclature of angles will become a little difficult, like you could name angles 1, 2 etc and go fast and save time. Now, one has to be really careful with the angles or take the pain of redrawing the full figure, which might not be cakewalk either.

What to Do?

The general and most obvious trick is to avoid geometry, unless there is no other choice. The other trick is to practice doing the question without the need to draw the figure in full again. This can be only done, if we try and solve geometry sets on screen, and get used to doing it quick.  The habit of doing it on paper and pencil can backfire, if the paper comes geometry heavy.

One Last Advice

The last piece of advice is there is no reason to panic. If there is something for you, it is for everyone who is taking the test. How you go ahead and work, to tackle this issue, is what matters. What are you waiting for?

Good Luck!

Implex