Quantitative Aptitude (QA) section for any competitive exams may sound very simple (most of the student take it as Class 10 mathematics), but in real sense, it is most tricky part of any paper, and since its cut-off is low, it plays decisive role in overall marks. This is cases for all types of competition exams (like CAT, Bank PO, RBI grade B, Assistant, CSAT etc). In this article, we aims to highlight most important chapters/topics from Quantitative Aptitude(QA) section. There is generally an overlap between syllabus of Banking exams (Bank PO, RBI Grade B, SSC, Nabard etc) or MBA entrance exams (CAT, XAT, IIFT etc) or General Aptitude (CSAT, NDA, CDS etc). So, we have divided exams classifications in 4 groups (according to difficulty level):
- Easy: General Aptitude exams (Exams like UPSC CSAT, NDA, CDS, SSC Recruitments)
- Moderately easy: Banking exams (Exams like IBPS, SBI PO, SSC-CGL, RBI Assistant, Nabard Grade A/B)
- Moderately difficult: RBI Grade B
- Difficult: CAT, XAT, FMS etc
We have done topic wise comparison, and shared in which exam you can expect what kind of questions.
Quantitative Aptitude important topics by exams
Questions to expect from Number System
Number System chapter contains mathematical operations on numbers, HCF and LCM, Square roots and Cube roots, Surds, divisibility tests, Remainder theorem.
Comparison of Number System topics with various competition exams
| EXAM | Importance of this chapter | Most important topics in this chapter |
| MBA exams | Very High | Divisibility test, Remainder Theorem |
| RBI Grade B | Low | HCF/LCM , Divisibility test, Remainder Theorem |
| Banking exams | Medium | HCF/LCM, Mathematical operations on numbers |
| General Aptitude exams | Medium to High | Mathematical operations on numbers, Square and Cube roots, Surds |
Questions to expect from Number Series
Number Series chapter contains Missing numbers, Finding ODD one out (Pattern Finding), Arithmetic Progressions, Geometric Progressions, and Harmonic Progressions , Pattern (Cube)
Comparison of Number Series topics with various competition exams
| EXAM | Importance of this chapter | Most important topics in this chapter |
| MBA exams | Low to Medium | Arithmetic Progressions, Geometric Progressions, and Harmonic Progressions |
| RBI Grade B | Medium to High | Finding ODD one out (Pattern Finding), Arithmetic Progressions, Geometric Progressions |
| Banking exams | High | Missing numbers, Finding ODD one out (Pattern Finding), Pattern (Cube) |
| General Aptitude exams | High | Missing numbers, Finding ODD one out (Pattern Finding), Pattern (Cube) |
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Questions to expect from Averages in QUANTITATIVE APTITUDE
Averages chapter contains Mean(Average), Weighted Mean.
Comparison of Averages topics with various competition exams
| EXAM | Importance of this chapter | Most important topics in this chapter |
| MBA exams | Low in Quantitative aptitutde paper, very high in DI paper | Weighted Mean, Application in DI |
| RBI Grade B | Very High | Application in Data Interpretation |
| Banking exams | Very High | Mean(Average), Application in Data Interpretation |
| General Aptitude exams | High | Mean(Average) |
Questions to expect from Mixture and Alligations
Mixture and Alligations chapter contains rules of alligations, alligation equation and mean quantity.
Comparison of Mixture and Alligations topics with various competition exams
| EXAM | Importance of this chapter | Most important topics in this chapter |
| MBA exams | Medium to High | Rules of Alligation, Mean Quantity |
| RBI Grade B | High | Rules of Alligation, Mean Quantity |
| Banking exams | Medium | Rules of Alligation, Mean Quantity |
| General Aptitude exams | Low | Mean Quantity |
Questions to expect from Percentage in QUANTITATIVE APTITUDE
Percentage chapter contains Percentage concepts, Percent increase/decrease and concepts on Population. Just like Averages, it has more application in Data Interpretation(DI) part of the paper.
Comparison of Percentage topics with various competition exams
| EXAM | Importance of this chapter | Most important topics in this chapter |
| MBA exams | Very Low in Quantitative aptitude, Very high in DI section | DI Section |
| RBI Grade B | Very High | Application in DI questions, percent Increase/decrease |
| Banking exams | Very High | Application in DI questions, percent Increase/decrease, Population |
| General Aptitude exams | High | Percentage concepts, Percent increase/decrease and concepts on Population |
Questions to expect from Profit and Loss
Profit and Loss chapter contains concepts of Cost Price, Selling Price, Marked Price, Discount, Gain/Loss, Gain Loss Percentage, Discount Percentage, and Error due to cheating/false weights
Comparison of Profit and Loss topics with various competition exams
| EXAM | Importance of this chapter | Most important topics in this chapter |
| MBA exams | Medium to High | Gain/Loss percentage, Marked Price, Discount, Error due to cheating |
| RBI Grade B | Medium | Gain/Loss percentage, Marked Price, Discount, Error due to cheating |
| Banking exams | High | Gain/Loss percentage, Marked Price, Discount, Error due to cheating |
| General Aptitude exams | Medium to High | Gain/loss |
Questions to expect from Simple and Compound Interest
Simple and Compound Interest chapter contains concepts of Principal, Amount, Simple and Compound Interest, Half yearly, Quarterly compounded
Comparison of Simple and Compound Interest topics with various competition exams
| EXAM | Importance of this chapter | Most important topics in this chapter |
| MBA exams | Low | Compound Interest , Half yearly, Quarterly compounded |
| RBI Grade B | Low | Simple and Compound Interest, Half yearly, Quarterly compounded |
| Banking exams | Medium | Amount, Simple and Compound Interest, Half yearly, Quarterly compounded |
| General Aptitude exams | Medium | Principal, Amount, Simple and Compound Interest |
Questions to expect from Ratio and Proportion
Ratio and Proportion chapter contains concepts of Ratio, Proportion, and Comparison of ratios. It has applications in DI and Data sufficiency section of the paper
Comparison of Ratio and Proportion topics with various competition exams
| EXAM | Importance of this chapter | Most important topics in this chapter |
| MBA exams | Very Low in Quantitative Aptitude, High in DI and Data sufficiency | Ratio, Proportion |
| RBI Grade B | High | Application in DI and Data sufficiency section |
| Banking exams | High | Application in DI and Data sufficiency section |
| General Aptitude exams | Medium to High | Comparison of ratio |
Questions to expect from Time and Work in Quantitative APTITUDE
Time and Work chapter contains concepts in finding work rate, variable work rate, estimated and actual completion of work, Pipes and Cistern
Comparison of Time and Work topics with various competition exams
| EXAM | Importance of this chapter | Most important topics in this chapter |
| MBA exams | High | Finding work rate, Variable work rate, estimated and actual completion of work, Pipes and Cistern |
| RBI Grade B | Medium | Finding work rate, Pipes and Cistern |
| Banking exams | Medium to High | Finding work rate, Pipes and Cistern |
| General Aptitude exams | Medium | Finding work rate |
Questions to expect from Time, Speed and Distance
Time, Speed and Distance chapter contains concepts of Time, Speed, Distance, Problems on Trains, Relative Speed, Boats and Streams, Up and Down Stream problem. This chapter has application in DI based questions.
Comparison of Time, Speed and Distance topics with various competition exams
| EXAM | Importance of this chapter | Most important topics in this chapter |
| MBA exams | Low | Application in DI section, Relative Speed |
| RBI Grade B | Low | Relative speed, Boats and Streams |
| Banking exams | Medium | Trains, Boats and Streams, Relative Speed |
| General Aptitude exams | Medium to High | Time, Speed and Distance, Up and Down stream |
Questions to expect from Geometry
Geometry chapter contains concepts of straight lines, triangles, circles, ellipse, other geometrical shapes , and problems on coordinate geometry
Comparison of Geometry topics with various competition exams
| EXAM | Importance of this chapter | Most important topics in this chapter |
| MBA exams | High | Coordinate geometry, circle, triangle, lines and other spatial figures |
| RBI Grade B | Low | Triangle, circle, line |
| Banking exams | Low | Triangle, circle, line |
| General Aptitude exams | Low | Triangle, circle, line |
Questions to expect from Mensuration(Area and Volume)
Mensuration (Area and Volume) chapter contains finding area and volume of the circle, square, rectangle, cube, cube, cuboid, cylinder, cone, sphere and hemisphere
Comparison of Mensuration (Area and Volume) topics with various competition exams
| EXAM | Importance of this chapter | Most important topics in this chapter |
| MBA exams | Low | 3-D shapes like cylinder, sphere, hemisphere, cone |
| RBI Grade B | Low | circle, square, rectangle, cube, cube, cuboid, cylinder, cone, sphere and hemisphere |
| Banking exams | Medium | circle, square, rectangle, cube, cube, cuboid, cylinder, cone, sphere and hemisphere |
| General Aptitude exams | Medium | circle, square, rectangle, cube, cube, cuboid, cylinder, cone, sphere and hemisphere |
Questions to expect from Algebra
Number System chapter contains concepts of functions, inequalities, logarithm, quadratic equation
Comparison of Number System topics with various competition exams
| EXAM | Importance of this chapter | Most important topics in this chapter |
| MBA exams | Very High | Function, Inequalities, Quadratic equation |
| RBI Grade B | Medium to High | Inequalities in Data sufficiency section |
| Banking exams | Medium | Inequalities in Data sufficiency section |
| General Aptitude exams | Very Low | NA |
Questions to expect from Permutation and Combination
Number System chapter contains concepts of events, permutation, and combination, circular permutation, with or without repetition.
Comparison of Number System topics with various competition exams
| EXAM | Importance of this chapter | Most important topics in this chapter |
| MBA exams | High | Permutation, combination, circular permutation, with or without repetition. |
| RBI Grade B | Low | permutation, and combination, circular permutation |
| Banking exams | Low | permutation, and combination, circular permutation |
| General Aptitude exams | Very Low | permutation, and combination |
Questions to expect from Probability
Number System chapter contains mathematical operations on probability (likelihood of events) and conditional probability.
Comparison of Number System topics with various competition exams
| EXAM | Importance of this chapter | Most important topics in this chapter |
| MBA exams | High | Conditional Probability |
| RBI Grade B | Low | Probability |
| Banking exams | Low | Probability |
| General Aptitude exams | Very Low | Probability |
Questions to expect from Data Interpretation
Number System chapter uses data sources in form of Tabular data, Pie Chart, Line Graph, Bar Graph and other form of data visualisation. Questions are asked where concepts of averages, ratio and proportion, percentage, profit/lost are used.
Comparison of Number System topics with various competition exams
| EXAM | Importance of this chapter | Most important topics in this chapter |
| MBA exams | Low in Quantitative Aptitude, Very high in DI | MBA tests has separate papers on DI |
| RBI Grade B | Very High | Complete Section. Questions uses concepts form averages, percentage etc |
| Banking exams | Very High | Complete Section. Questions are straight forward though. |
| General Aptitude exams | Medium to High | Complete Section. Questions are straight forward though |
Summary of important topics in different competition exams
In general, we can summarize MBA entrance exams like CAT, XAT, FMS etc to be very difficult with more syllabus from Class 11-12 mathematics and more logical deduction problems. Sections to focus for these exams are Number System, Algebra, Coordinate Geometry
RBI Grade B and Nabard exams are moderately difficult with syllabus mostly upto Class 10 mathematics. They are more focussed on checked real time scenarios, hence more focused on Data Interpretation, Number Series questions.
Banking exams like IBPS PO, Clerk, SSC CGL etc are easier paper and syllabus is focussed only upto Class 10 mathematics. They are more concepts oriented problems, and understanding different chapters and formulas will help you score better for these exams.
General Aptitude exams like CSAT etc are very easier paper with syllabus focussed only upto Class 8-10. More emphasis is on finding logical deduction like odd number of out, cube problem and questions are straight forward with straight application of the formula.
f you are preparing smartly and selectively, you can definitely score high in quantitative aptitude section.