FOREWORD

(A must read before you start with this book)

Quantitative Ability is not rocket science. Or, let us say, clearing the cutoffs in the QA sections of MBA entrance
exams in India is not as difficult as it is often made out to be. Those with engineering background too often feel
that QA is a tough nut to crack. Even if you have not studied Math since your 10th standard or the very reason
why you chose a non-math stream after your 10th standard was your Quant phobia, you can be friends with
QA now.

If the above paragraph even remotely mirrors your thoughts about the QA section of CAT, then this is the perfect
book for you. Let's face it - there are enough QA study material books already and you would already have more
material than you can solve in the limited time you have before CAT. Then why another SM booklet? The present
book is a collection of low-difficulty problems from topics that are typically seen in various MBA entrance tests.
This book is ideally suited for you if:

• You have just begun your CAT prep and would like to brush up your QA concepts quickly, or

• You have difficulty clearing the cutoffs in the QA sections of the mock tests you have been writing, or

• You have difficulty following the concepts in the QA classes or are not able to follow what is being discussed
beyond a point, or

• You are short on time before the entrance exams begin and are looking for a crash-course in the QA area, or

• You are targeting not only MBA entrance tests, but also campus placements or any other exam that involves
a test of quantitative aptitude (usually at a lower level of difficulty than CAT).

It might come as a surprise to you that the level of QA in most of the national level MBA entrance tests you would
want to write would be at par with the kind of questions you find in this SM booklet. The list would include TISS
NET, MICAT, CMAT, MHCET, SNAP, NMAT etc. The differentiator here would be your speed. And speed comes
with practice. And that brings us to our next crucial question - how to make the most of the book?

The book can be approached in various ways, but we have some suggestions for best results:

• The book should ideally be solved in a brief period, preferably 10-15 days. This will help you grasp the
concepts better. Also, given the low difficulty level of the problems, it should not take a lot of time to solve.

• Solve each exercise as a test – allocate 45 min to answer as many questions as you can. You could then
solve the remaining questions taking more time. This will give you an idea about your speed. After you are
through with the exercise, analyse it to understand where and why you lost time and devise ways to prevent
repetition of such cases in future.

• Please do not leave the questions you are not able to answer unattended. You should make it a point to
discuss those questions with your faculty members and have your queries clarified.

• In case you would like to go through the basic concepts related to a topic before you take up the exercise,
you could go through the theory that is available in the basic QA SMs.