Figuring out the last digit is the same as figuring out the remainder of a number when divided by 10, but I guess you already know that. Figuring out the last two digits is the same as figuring out the remainder of a number when divided by 100. However, if you wish to figure the remainder when the divisor is not 10 or 100, I suggest you read on. Funda 1 of Remainders:  Basic idea of remainders can be used to solve complicated problems.     There is nothing special or unique about this idea. At first glance it seems like something really obvious. But it is it

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A pipe is connected to a tank or cistern. It is used to fill or empty the tank; accordingly, it is called an inlet or an outlet. Inlet: A pipe which is connected to fill a tank is known as an inlet. Outlet: A pipe which is connected to empty a tank is known as an outlet. Problems on pipes and cisterns are similar to problems on time and work. In pipes and cistern problems, the amount of work done is the part of the tank of filled or emptied. And, the time taken to do a piece of work is the time take to fill or empty a tank completely or to a desired level. Pipes and Cisterns Po

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Quadratic Equations are first taught to us in 6th or 7th class and most of us are able to score good marks in it because we are able to solve 90% of the questions by just using that formula. And that formula is: The above formula gives us the roots of the quadratic equation ax2 + bx + c = 0 For this post, I am assuming that you are aware of the basics of quadratic equations and know how to use the above mentioned formula. In case you are not, spending five minutes on the wiki page of Quadratic Equations won’t hurt. Wikipedia can be daunting at times, so come back here as soon a

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Questions on clocks (or even calendars) are not really frequent in CAT these days. They used to be really popular few years ago. Having said that, it is always better to understand some of the basic principles and the types of problems that get asked. They might come in handy in case of other exams like CMAT, MAT, SNAP, etc. Clock problems can be broadly classified in two categories: a)      Problems on angles b)      Problems on incorrect clocks Problems on angles Before we actually start solving problems on angles, we need to get couple of basic facts clear: Sp

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Ratio and Proportions is one of the easiest concepts in CAT. It is just an extension of high school mathematics. Questions from this concept are mostly asked in conjunction with other concepts like similar triangles, mixtures and allegations. Hence fundamentals of this concept are important not just from a stand-alone perspective, but also to answer questions from other concepts 1.  Ratio (Concepts and Properties) Many a times we compare two data values of the same type. One way to do this is to find out the difference (a-b). Other method of comparison could be by division or finding ou

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We all know what factorials (n!) are. They look friendly and helpful but looks can be deceiving, as many quant problems have taught us. Probably it is because that Factorials are simple looking creatures, most students prefer attempting questions based on them rather than on Permutation & Combination or Probability. I will cover P&C and Probability at a later date but in today’s post I would like to discuss some fundas related to factorials, which as a matter of fact form the basis of a large number of P&C and Probability problems.   Some of the factorials that mig

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Average is mainly defined as the sum of observations divided by the number of observations. Keeping in view the Quantitative Aptitude section of any competitive exam and especially CAT, 1-2 questions are asked from this chapter. It is not a difficulty chapter if you know the tricks to solve the question in very less time. Averages Concepts and Properties: Average= (Sum of observations)/(Number of observations) Important Points: In past year Cat questions, a number of times concepts of age/height/weight and average has been mixed together. Here are some important points to remember

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Nike caused controversy with its advertising campaign during the 1996 Olympics by using the slogan, "You Don't Win Silver — You Lose Gold." Nike's use of this slogan drew harsh criticism from many former Olympic Silver medallists. In a way, it did undermine the importance of the second position but in Math things are often very different. Figuring out the second last digit is often tougher than figuring out the last digit. It is unlikely but definitely not impossible that in CAT you get a straightforward question that asks you to find out the second last digit of a number (abcpqr). In fe

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let me first list down the topics that I am going to cover in this particular blogpost: Number of factors of a given number Number of even factors or odd factors of a given number Sum of all factors of a given number Sum of all even factors or odd factors of a given number   We know that a number N can be written as a product of its factors as given below   N = ap x bq x cr … Here a,b,c… are prime factors of N & p,q,r … are the powers of the prime factors of N.   In such a case the number of factors of N are given by the formula &

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Escalators has now become a topic from which questions are asked quite frequently in CAT. Today, we are going to see the theory behind escalator questions and solve them through both equations and ratios. Once you are through with the concept and are able to solve the questions in this article, you can solve any question from this topic Escalator questions are very similar to the upstream and downstream questions. In a stream, the direction of flow of water is constant whereas, the escalators move in both directions. Escalator questions can be confusing as sometimes, questions might not

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