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TU CMAT Masters study materials
TU CMAT Masters study resources

TU CMAT Masters: Quantitative Ability: Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry, and Data Interpretation

TU CMAT Masters · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.

All guide sections

Quantitative Ability: Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry, and Data Interpretation

Quantitative Ability tests numerical fluency and the discipline of translating a short problem into an equation or a table. The CMAT Masters syllabus leans on arithmetic (percentages, ratio, averages, interest, time–speed–distance, work), elementary algebra, geometry, and data interpretation from tables, bar charts, and pie charts.

Core rules

  • Define the base. A percentage change is always relative to the original value. Successive changes multiply: +20% then −10% gives 1.20 × 0.90 = 1.08, an 8% net increase, not 10%.
  • Use ratios with a common unit. If A:B = 3:4 and B:C = 6:5, make B common (12): A:B:C = 9:12:10.
  • Profit and loss on cost price. Profit% = (SP − CP)/CP × 100. Marked price and discount are separate from profit; discount is on marked price.
  • Interest. Simple interest is P × R × T/100. Compound interest compounds each period: A = P(1 + R/100)^T.
  • Geometry formulae. Area of a circle = πr²; circumference = 2πr; triangle = ½ × base × height; Pythagoras for right triangles.
  • Data interpretation. Read titles, units, and footnotes before calculating; estimate only when options are far apart.

Worked example

A shopkeeper marks an item at Rs 1,000 and offers two successive discounts of 20% and 10%. What is the selling price? After 20%: 1,000 × 0.80 = 800. After 10% on 800: 800 × 0.90 = 720. The equivalent single discount is (1,000 − 720)/1,000 = 28%, not 30%. Adding discounts is the classic error.

Traps

  • Applying a percentage to the wrong base, especially after a change.
  • Mixing percentage points with percent change.
  • Forgetting unit conversions (km/h to m/s: multiply by 5/18).
  • Treating average speed as the arithmetic mean of two speeds over equal distances; use total distance ÷ total time.
  • Over-calculating in DI when the question asks approximately.

Exam focus

Keep one page of formulae and practise 10-item sets under a timer. Write the equation before computing; most lost marks come from misreading, not from arithmetic.