CAT Quantitative Aptitude Syllabus 2025: Check IIM CAT QA Important Topics, Download PDF

CAT Quantitative Aptitude Syllabus 2025: The candidates aspiring to appear for the CAT 2025 exam are recommended to go through the CAT QA syllabus carefully. The CAT syllabus 2025 contains three subjects: Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR), Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC), and Quantitative Aptitude (QA). The CAT QA section is a very important part of the CAT exam. Get the complete information about the CAT Syllabus for Quantitative Aptitude here.

CAT QA Syllabus 2025

The CAT 2025 exam has three sections, and Quantitative Aptitude (QA) is one of them. This section contains 22 multiple-choice questions(MCQ) and Type in the Answer (TITA) questions based on Quantitative Aptitude. The candidates of the CAT 2025 exam must go through the Quantitative Aptitude syllabus to excel in this section. All the topics in the CAT Quantitative Aptitude syllabus are provided below:

Arithmetic

• Profit and Loss

• Time and Work

• Time, Speed, and Distance

• Mixtures 

• Ratio and Proportion

• Mixtures and Allegation

• Percentage 

• Averages

• Simple and Compound Interest

• Real Numbers

• Irrational Numbers

• Complex Numbers 

• HCF and LCM 

• Unit’s Digit

• Remainders 

Algebra

• Quadratic Equations 

• Inequalities

• Series

• Functions

• Surds and Indices

• Logarithm

• Polynomials

Geometry and Mensuration

• Lines and Angles

• Circles

• Triangles

• Quadrilaterals

• Polygons

• Coordinate Geometry

• Area & Volume of 2D and 3D figures

Modern Math

• Set Theory

• Permutation and Combination

• Probability

CAT Quantitative Aptitude Syllabus 2025: Key Points

CAT QA has 22 questions, and the candidates get 40 minutes to solve them. Like the other two sections QA section also consists of multiple-choice questions (MCQ) and Type in the Answer (TITA) type of questions. Check the following table to know about the CAT Quantitative Aptitude section exam pattern. 

Important Topics for CAT Quantitative Aptitude 

The Quantitative Aptitude section is very important in the CAT exam as it holds the second-highest weightage. So, the candidates need to prepare this section smartly. They must analyse the past year's papers to get an idea about the frequently asked topics in the exam. The Quantitative Aptitude section mainly contains questions from topics like Arithmetic, Algebra, and Geometry. In the following table, the important topics of CAT Quantitative Aptitude are given:

CAT Quantitative Aptitude Syllabus 2025: Weightage

The Quantitative Aptitude section contains 22 questions out of a total of 66 questions. The questions in the QA section are normally based on topics like Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry and Mensuration, and Modern Math. From which Arithmetic holds the maximum weightage. Here, we provide the topic-wise weightage for 2022 and 2021. This will help you understand the importance of each topic separately.

How to Prepare the CAT Quantitative Aptitude Syllabus 2025?

The CAT Exam demands a dedicated and disciplined approach along with an effective preparation strategy. The QA section is extremely important in the CAT exam, and the candidates have to score well in this section to crack the CAT exam. Here, you can find some tips that should be kept in mind while preparing for the CAT Quantitative Aptitude syllabus.

• Brush up on your basic concepts of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and number systems.

• Focus on topics like percentages, ratios, averages, profit and loss, and time, speed, and distance.

• This section requires a lot of lengthy calculations, so you need to improve your calculation speed with accuracy.

• Learn tricks like Vedic mathematics to simplify calculations.

• Learn the shortcut methods to do the arithmetic questions quickly.

• Practice a lot of questions within time constraints to improve your speed and accuracy.

• Allocate sufficient time to each topic of the QA syllabus as per your strengths and weaknesses.

• Solve previous year’s CAT question papers to understand the exam pattern and get familiar with the types of questions asked. This will also improve your time management skills.

How to approach the Quantitative Aptitude questions of CAT?

In the CAT exam, the purpose QA section is to check the conceptual understanding of the mathematical concepts of the candidates. So the candidates need to follow a strategic approach to solve the QA questions.

• Read and understand the question carefully to find your answers quickly and accurately.

• In the QA section, you have to do lengthy calculations in a short time. So maintain the calculation speed with accuracy.

• Wherever possible, use shortcut methods to do the QA questions.

• If you stack on any question, do not spend too much time on it.

• Spend a specific amount of time on each question.

Best Books to Prepare for CAT Quantitative Aptitude Syllabus 

Choosing the right study material is very important in preparing for the CAT exam. Here we are providing a list of some best books for the CAT Quantitative Aptitude section.