Formulae & Tips for CAT

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The Competition Master

FORMULAE AND TIPS FOR CAT

There are several things that you have to keep in mind: a) Differentiate between speed and hurry: Many students think that speed means making guesses and blundering on. This is wrong. Do the q u e s t i o n s w i t h concentration. Dont worry about questions you could not attempt, because you possibly cannot do 180 questions in two hours. Speed means avoiding u n n e c e s s a r y calculations. Hot tip: Allow yourself 30 seconds to glance over the section before starting. This will help you locate the easy questions. b) Keep your cool. There will be some difficult questions and some easy ones. When you hit the difficult ones, you must stay calm. Skip a few questions. Dont panic, because if you do, you have almost certainly lost the battle. Hot tip: If you become tense, just close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. Return to the paper once you are composed again. c) Manage your time: Keep a watch before you. Write down the time when you should move over to the new section. Dont be tempted to stick to the previous section when the time is over. Just keep moving on. Hot tip: Each section should be

attempted in 28 minutes. Allow yourself 2 minutes to go back on questions you could not solve, or for making some intelligent guesses.

Tips for speed reading Next time you are reading a paper, try this. First stage: Sweep your hand from left to right across the page so your finger underlines each line. Follow your finger with your eyes. The difficulty of the material determines the speed, but move your hand a little faster than your eye can follow comfortably. Make your eyes work to keep up. Soon you will find yourself reading whole phrases and ideas. As it gets easier, keep increasing the speed. As you improve, instead of sweeping whole lines with your finger, just sweep the middle part. Your eyes

COMPREHENSION

will scan the beginning and the end of the line automatically. When youve mastered this, your reading speed will be between 500 and 1,000 words per minute. This is the practical limit. Second Stage: The next speed increase comes from area reading. Instead of sweeping lines, use broader hand motions to make a series of zigzags of Ss down the page and read several lines at once. You can even read backward as your hand moves to the left. Youll comprehend very little at first, but if you keep your eyes following your finger, youll find yourself absorbing whole chunks of the page at once. Six hot tips for comprehension: 1. Read the questions before you read the passage. This will help you locate the ideas faster.

2. Force your eyes to sweep entire phrases and ideas. Dont read word for word. Avoid pronouncing words as you read. 3. Dont reread sentences. Dont skip lines. 4. Let the context define unfamiliar words. Dont stop to look for them. 5. Adjust reading speed to the type of material. 6. Look for key ideas and phrases in each paragraph. What you should read: Read the editorial page of one good English newspaper everyday by the above method. This should not take more than 15 minutes everyday. Make it a point to read the economic articles and business news. Look up difficult words that you encounter in a dictionary. Also read a magazine on current affairs. Your best bet is THE COMPETITION MASTER, which has a regular management section. Read the debates

regularly as well as the editorials, features and current affairs and Business GK. This will help you form your opinions and increase your awareness. A number of people who have cleared CAT have told us that the magazine was priceless for their preparation. Additional reading and exercises: Norman Lewis: How to Read Better and Faster.

VERBAL ABILITY
It is important to have a good vocabulary, know good grammar and again, have the reading habit. Vocabulary: A good vocabulary is built up over time. Reading helps. Check up important words in a dictionary. Or take a good word-list, such as the one published in Master Guide for MBA Entrance, and learn the usage of the words. Knowing about

roots of words helps. Hot tip: The best way to learn a word list is through vocabulary cards. Making them is an investment, because they will be helpful over a period of time. Analogies, Odd man out: This means finding relations among words. What is the relation between SALT : SALTY? We can say that salty things contain salt. The best choice would be COW : BOVINE, because that best suits the relationship. A good vocabulary helps in such questions. Hot tip: Do as many analogies as you can, to know the kind of relations that can be asked. The Test of Reasoning in THE COMPETITION MASTER contains analogies regularly. If you do it every month, you will have a good understanding of

analogies. Arranging sentences, blanks: These are tricky, especially if they contain large sentences. The selections are usually from current newspapers, so extra reading increases speed in such questions. Hot tip: Usually, the answer can be obtained by getting at the central idea and thinking what it should start or end with, or by working from the choices. Do not waste time arranging the entire paragraph.

The importance of knowing your tables, decimals, fractions and formulae cannot be overemphasised. Many questions can be solved by looking at the choices. Develop this ability and your speed will surely increase. We give below

QUANTITATIVE ABILITY

some things which can be remembered easily. 1. Numbers: Remember the power of 10 in the following: millions (6), lakhs (5), billions (9) and crores (7). Some questions may confuse on the units. 2. Rational irrational and numbers:

Numbers which can be expressed in the form

p , where p and q are q integers and q 0 .

Examples of numbers are

rational

1 3 8 , , , 0, 3, 150 etc, 2 5 5

Irrational numbers are those which when expressed in decimal would be in nonterminating and nonrepeating form. Examples of irrational numbers are: 2, 3, 5, 7, and so on. 3. Division: Dividend = (Divisor

Quotient) + Remainder. 4. Tests of divisibility: A number can be checked for divisibility by the following methods: By 2: If the last digit of the given number is even or zero. By 3: If the sum of the digits of the number are divisible by 3. By 4: If the sum of the last two digits of the number is divisible by 4. By 5: If the last digit of the number is either zero or 5. By 6: If the number is divisible by 2 as well as 3. By 8: If the sum of the last three digits of the number is divisible by 8. By 9: If the sum of the digits is divisible by 9. By 10: If the last digit is zero. By 11: If the difference between the sum of the odd digits and the even digits in a number is either zero or divisible by 11.

5. Short cuts for multiplying: Large multiplication should be avoided. Instead, look for shortcuts to do the sums: (a) To multiply by 99, 999, 9999 ... : Place as many zeroes after the number and subtract the number. (b) To multiply by 5n: Put n zeroes to the right of the number and divide it by 2n. 6. HCF and LCM: The HCF of two or more numbers is the greatest number that divides each one of them exactly. The LCM of two or more numbers is the product of the highest powers of all the prime factors that occur in the numbers. Product of two numbers = HCF LCM. HCF of Fractions
= LCM of numerators . HCF of denominators

LCM of Fractions
= HCF of numerators LCM of denominators

7. Simplification: To simplify an expression, always use the order specified in BODMAS: Brackets, Of, Division, Multiplication, Addition and Subtraction. 8. Square roots: Learn the square roots upto 16 and squares upto 32. Make memory cards to help remember these figures. Hot tips: 1. Square roots can be approximated by using r a2 + , where a is the 2a nearest root of the number and r is the remainder. 4 Hence 85 = 92 + 18 , which gives the square root of 85 as 9.22 approximately. One can approximate square roots easily by this method. 2. To square a number, try putting it in the form (a + b)2.

Thus 115 = (100 + 15) = 1002 + 152 + 2(100 x 15), which can be easily computed.
2 2

8. Percentages: Learn the fraction equivalents.

1 = 25%, 1 = 33%, 1 4 3 5 1 = 20%, = 16% etc. 6

Many questions can be solved faster if we know these figures. To find growth percentage or percentage change, always use:
New Quantity Old quantity 100 Old Quantity

9. Averages: Averages are found by adding up the values and dividing by the number of values. 10. Ratio and proportion: Can be written as a : b or b . If a : b = c : d, then bc = ad. 11. Partnership: The share of profits divided between two partners is:
a

(Amount of money invested by A No. of months invested by A) : (Amount of money invested by B No. of months invested by B). 12. Shares: It is important to know the following terms: Face value: The price at which shares are issued. Always a round figure. Market value: The price at which shares are traded. Will fluctuate and will seldom be a round figure. If market value = face value, the shares are traded at par. If market value > face value, the share commands a premium. If market value < face value, the share is at a discount. Return: The interest earned by the shares after one year. Always calculated on face value. Yield: Return calculated on what is actually invested. Calculated by dividing return by market

value. Brokerage: When you buy a share, the buyer has to pay the brokerage, which is added to the market price. When shares are sold, the seller gets the price after the broker deducts his brokerage from the market price obtained. 13. Profit and Loss: Profit = SP - CP . Loss = CP - SP . Gain or loss per cent
= Gain or Loss 100 CP

15. Time and distance: Remember the formula, Distance = Speed Time To convert km/hr into m/s, multiply by 5 .
18

To convert m/s to km/hr, multiply by 5 To calculate average speed, use the formula: Average speed
=

18

2 xy (x + y)

Marked price is what is marked in the shop. It is neither CP nor SP . 14. Interest:
P R T 100 In compound interest, R n A = P(1+ ) . 100 SI =

where x and y are the speeds. To calculate when two bodies will cross each other, use the formula:
Time = Distance . Relative Speed

It is advisable never to use this formula but work from simple interest, by calculating interest on interest.

Speed is added when bodies are going in opposite directions and subtracted when bodies are going in the same direction, to find the relative speed. 16. Boats and streams: A boat rowing in still water

at the rate of x km/hr will be affected if it goes into a stream which is flowing. If the rate of the stream is y km/hr, the rate of the boat when it goes downstream will increase and will be (x + y) km/hr. However, if the boat goes against the current, its speed will decrease and will be given by (x - y) km/hr. Rate in still water is given by: +
1 {(rate with the current) 2

he can finish the work in x days. If A is faster than B and is twice as good in his work, the ratio of the work done by A and B will be 2:1. However, the ratio of time taken by A and B will be in the ratio of 1:2. 18. Areas and volumes: Rectangle A = L B a) Area = Length x Breadth b) Diagonal2 = Length2 + Breadth2 Square Area = Side2 1 = Diagonal2 2 Four walls of a room Area = 2(Length+Breadth) Height Triangle with sides a, b, c Area
= s(s - a)(s - b)(s - c) where s = 1 (a + b + c ) 2

(rate

against

the

current)} Rate of current is given by:

1 {(rate with the current) 2

(rate against the current)}. 17. Time and work: a person can do a piece of work in x days, the work done by him in 1 day will be
1 . x

Conversely, if 1 days work of a person is x , then

1

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where s = 1 (a+b+c)
2

Triangle with base b and height h Area =

1 bh 2

Equilateral

triangle

with side x 3 Area = (x2) Parallelogram Area = Base Height Rhombus with diagonals d1 and d2 1 Area = (d1 d2) Trapezium Area = parallel sides) height Quadrilateral with diagonal d culars on d from opposite
1 (d)(sum of perpendi2 1 2 2 4

Solids Cube with side x Volume = x3 Surface area = 6x2 Longest diagonal = 3x Cuboid with length l, breadth b and height h units Volume = l x b x h Surface area = 2(lb + bh + lh) Longest diagonal = l2 + b2 + h2 Cylinder with radius r and height h
Volume = r 2h Curved surface area = 2 rh Total surface area = 2rh + 2 r 2 Sphere with radius r 4 Volume = r 3 3 Surface area = 4 r 2 Cone with radius r and height h Volume = 1 r 2h 3 2 + h2 Slant height l = r

(sum

of

vertices) Circle with radius r Circumference = 2r Area = r2 Area of sector = r2/360 Volumes are given by the following table:

Curved surface area = rl 19. AP, GP : In AP, to find the nth term and sum of the series, use the following:

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nth term = a + (n -1)d, where a is the first term and d is the common difference. n Sum = {2a + (n -1)d}, or 2 n (a + l) Sum = 2 where l is the last term. In GP, nth term = a.r n-1 , where r is the common ratio. Sum of n terms (rn .1) =a if r >1, r-1 2(1-rn) and if r <1. 1-r Sum to infinity, if r <1 , of a GP is given by : a S= . 1-r Geometric mean : If two numbers a and b are given, their geometric mean is given by ab . Harmonic Progression : The reciprocals of an AP form a harmonic progression. 1 1 1 1 Thus, , , , , ... 3 6 9 12

is an example of HP, try to get the series into AP, do the calculations and then change into fractions again. 20. Probability : If an event can happen in y ways and the number of ways that a particular event can occur is x, then the probability of t he event x . y If x is the probability of an happening is event happening, the probability that it will not happen is (1 x).

21. Permutations and combinations:

n

Pr =

n! (n-r)!

Circular permutations: The number of circular permutations of n different objects is (n1)! For example, if 20 people are invited to a party, to find out how many ways can they and the host be seated at a circular

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table, since there are 21 people to be seated around a circular table. So the number of ways that they can be seated around it is 20!. Combinations: The number of combinations of n distinct objects taken r at a time, is given by:
n

Cr =

n! r! (n-r)!

22. Calendar: Every year which is divisible by 4 is a leap year. Every fourth century is a leap year but no other century is a leap year. Thus 400, 800, 1200 and so on are leap years but 700, 900, 1100 are not leap years, even though they are divisible by 4. To solve calendar sums, the number of odd days will give the answer as to the day of the week that a particular day should be. The week starts with Sunday (0 odd day) and goes till Saturday (6 odd days).

23. Clocks: A clock has a dial divided into 60 minutes. Each minute will thus subtend an angle of 6 at the centre, since total circle is 360. Each fiveminute interval subtends a 30 angle. A minute hand moves 6 every minute. The hour hand moves a distance of 5 minutes or 30 in one hour. In one minute, he 30 1 moves 60 degrees, or 2 . In one hour, the minute hand moves 60 minutes, while the hour hand moves 5 minutes. The minute hand thus gains 55 minutes over the hour hand. 24. Logs: The following rules are important: 1. Log of 1 to any base is 0. 0 (x = 1 for any x). 2. Log of any number to the same base is 1. 1 (Loga a = 1, since a = a). 3. Log of any number is

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the sum of the logs of its factors. (log mn = log m + log n). 4. Log of a fraction is the log of numerator minus log of denominator. (log m = n log m - log n). x 5. Log a = x log a. 6. Loga b x logb a = 1 25. Calculus: Rules for derivatives: 1. The derivative of a constant is zero. If y = 10, = 0, since it does not change with respect to x.
dy 2. If y = xn, then dx = n.xn-1.

then
dy = v.du + u.dv. dx u 5. If y = where u and v v are functions of x, then dy d.du-u.dv = . dx v2 dy 6. (a) If y = e x, then = e x. dx dy (b) If y = a x, then dx = a x log a. (c) If y = logex, then (d) If y = loga x, then dy 1 = = log a. dx x dy 1 = . dx x

3. The derivative of a term equals the derivative of each term added together.
y = x 2 +2x -1, dy d 2 then = (x ) dx dx + d (2x) - d (1) dx dx = 2 x + 2.
If

4. When y = u.v where u and v are functions of x,

1. Parallel Lines: The following rules are useful: (i) Corresponding angles are equal. (ii) Alternate angles are equal. (iii) Interior angles on the same side are supplementary. 2. Triangle: A triangle is a three sided figure. It has

GEOMETRY

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the following properties: (i) The sum of all the angles is 180. (ii) The exterior angle is equal to the sum of the interior opposite angles. There are 6 exterior angles of the triangle. (iii) An interior and exterior angle is supplementary. (iv) The sum of any two sides is always greater than the third side. (v) The difference of any two sides is always less than the third side. (vi) The side opposite the greater angle will be the greatest side. (vii) A triangle has at least 2 acute angles. A median of a triangle is the line from a vertex to the midpoint of the opposite side. The centroid is the point at which the medians of the triangle meet. The centroid divides the medians in the ratio 2:1. The median bisects the area of the triangle.

Theorem of Appolonius: Sum of the squares of two sides of 2 a triangle = 2(median) + 2(half the 2 third side) . The orthocentre is the point where the three altitudes of the triangle meet. The circumcentre is the point where the perpendicular bisectors of all the sides meet. A circle drawn with the circumcentre as the centre, can circumscribe the triangle. The incentre is the point where the three bisectors of a triangle meet. The inradius of the circle is the perpendicular distance from the incentre to any of the sides of the triangle. The incentre divides the bisector of any angle in the ratio of (b+c) : a. Angle bisector theorem: The bisector of any angle of a triangle divides the opposite side in the ratio of the two adjacent

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sides. Area of a triangle: There are 2 ways to find the area of a triangle:
1 (a) Area = (base)(height) 2 (b) s(s-a)(s-b)(s-c)

where a,b,c are the sides of the triangle and

s = a+b+c . 2

The isosceles triangle: Is a triangle in which two sides are equal and two angles are also equal. Equilateral triangle: Is a triangle in which all sides are equal and all angles are also equal (60).
Height = 3 side. 2 3 side 2. 4 1 Inradius = (height) 3 Circumradius = 2 (height). 3 Area =

Right angled triangle: The Theorem of

Pythagoras is repeatedly used, which states that the square of the hypotenuse equals the sum of the squares of the other two sides. The median to the hypotenuse bisects the hypotenuse, which is also the circumradius of the triangle. Pythagorean triplets: The following are some examples of Pythagorean triplets: 3, 4, 5 5, 12, 13 7, 24, 25 8, 15, 17 9, 40, 41 11, 60, 61 12, 35, 37 16, 63, 65 20, 21, 29. Congruency: Two triangles are congruent if: 1. Two sides and the included angle of one triangle are respectively equal to the two sides and the included angle of the second triangle (SAS).

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2. Three sides of the first are respectively equal to the three sides of the second triangle (SSS). 3. Two angles and a side of the first are respectively equal to the two angles and one side of the other triangle (AAS). 4. The hypotenuse and one side of a right angled triangle are respectively equal to the hypotenuse and one side of another right angled triangle (RHS). Similarity: Two triangles are similar if: 1. Three angles of one triangle are respectively equal to three angles of the second (AAA). 2. Two angles of one triangle are respectively equal to two angles of the second (AA). 3. Two sides of one triangle are proportional to two sides of the other and the included angles are equal (SAS). In a right angled triangle, the altitude to the

hypotenuse separates the triangle into two triangles which are similar to each other and to the original triangle. Midpoint theorem: The line joining the midpoints of any two sides of a triangle is parallel to the third side and equal to half of it. Basic proportionality theorem: A line parallel to one side of a triangle divides the other two sides proportionally. In the figure, DE is parallel to BC. Then, AD/BD = AE/EC. 3. Polygons: A polygon is any closed plane figure. A triangle is a polygon with 3 sides, a quadrilateral with 4 sides, a pentagon with 5 sides and a hexagon with 6 sides. A polygon with infinite sides is a circle. A regular polygon is one which has all sides and angles equal. In a polygon, the sum of all the interior angles is (2n 4) right angles.

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Area = 1 (perimeter) 2 (perpendicular from centre to any side). Quadrilaterals : In a quarilateral, the sum of all four angles is 360. Area = 1(diagonal) 2 (sum of perpendiculars on it from opposite vertices)

Straight lines joining the midpoints of the adjacent sides of any quadrilateral forms a parallelogram. 4. Circles: Some qualities of circles are given below. 1. A tangent touches a circle at only one point. A chord is any line joining any two points on the circle. When the chord passes through the centre, it becomes the diameter. 2. A tangent is perpendicular to the radius. 3. A perpendicular from

the centre of the circle to the mid-point of a chord is perpendicular to the chord. Equal chords are equidistant from the centre. The reverse is also true. 4. There is only one circle that can pass through three non-collinear points. 5. Tangents drawn from an external point are equal. 6. The angle subtended by an arc of a circle at the centre is double the angle subtended by it at any point on the remaining part of the circle. 7. Angles in the same segment are equal. 8. The angle in a semi circle is a right angle. 9. In a cyclic quadrilateral, the sum of the opposite angles is 1800. If one side of cyclic quadrilateral is produced, then the exterior angle is equal to the interior opposite angle. The quadrilateral formed by angle bisectors of a cyclical

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quadrilateral is also cyclic. 10. Equal arcs make equal chords. 11. When two circles touch, their centres and the point of contact are collinear. If they touch externally, the distance between their centres is equal to the sum of radii and if the cicles touch internally, the distance between the centres equals the difference of the radii. 12. If from the point of contact of a tangent, a chord is drawn then the angle which the chord makes with the tangent is equal to the angle formed by the chord in the alternate segment.
13. Area of the circle is r 2. Area of sector with angle = r2 . 360

TRIGONOMETRY
In a right angled triangle, three ratios must be learnt: 1. Sin A = Opposite/ Hypotenuse 2. Cos A = Adjacent/Hypotenuse 3. Tan A = Opposite/Adjacent Some important ratios are given in the following table:
Angle Sin 0 30 45 60 90 0 1 2 1 2 3 2 1 Ratio Cos 1 3 2 1 2 1 2 0 Tan 0 1 3 1 3 unde fined

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Quadratic equations: 2 The equation ax + bx + c = 0 where a, b, c are real numbers and a 0 , is a quadratic equation. Quadratic equations can be solved by factorising. Two solutions are obtained, which are also called roots of the equation. 2 If the equation ax + bx + c = 0 cannot be factorised, the roots are obtained by the formula
2a If and are the roots so obtained, then x= b + b 2 4ac 2a b b 2 4ac 2a
2

ALGEBRA

c) If b 4ac is zero, then the roots are real and equal. 2 d) If b 4ac is negative, the roots are complex and unequal. 2 The value of b 4ac is called the discriminant.
If and are the roots of a quadratic equation ax 2 + bx + c = 0, then += -b c and = a a

x=

b b 2 4ac

= x=

a) If b 4ac is positive, the roots and are both real and unequal. 2 b) If b 4ac is a perfect square, then the roots are rational and unequal.

Formulae: It is useful to remember the following formulae: 2 2 1. (x+y) = x + 2xy + 2 y. 2 2 2 2. (x-y) = x 2xy + y . 2 2 3. (x+y) (xy) = 4xy. 2 2 2 4. (x+y) +(xy) = 2(x 2 + y ). 3 3 3 5. (x+y) = x + y +3xy(x+y). 3 = 6. (xy) 3 x y33xy(xy). 2 2 7. x y = (x+y)(xy). 3 3 + y = 8. x 2 2 (x+y)(x +y xy).

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9. x y = (xy)(x + y + xy). 2 2 10. (x + y + z) = [x + 2 2 y + z +2(xy +yz + xz)]. 3 3 3 11. x +y + z 3xyz = 2 2 2 (x + y + z)(x +y + z xy yz zx). 12. If x + y + z = 0, 3 3 3 then x + y + z = 3xyz. The converse is also true. Surds and indices: The following formulae are useful: m n m+n 1. a a = a .
2. am = a mn. an 3. (a m )n = a mn. a 4. (ab)n = a nb n and ( )n b an = n. b 5. a 0 = 1. 6. n a = a1/n.

n(AB). For three sets, n(AUBUC) = n(A) + n(B) + n(C) n(AB) n(BC) n(CA) + n(ABC).

DATA
Steps to do DI questions: 1. Spend half a minute to look at the table or graph. Note the years to which the data refers to and the units. Sometimes the figures may be given in thousands while the answer may be in millions, resulting in mistakes. 2. Make sure you understand what the table says and what it does not. 3. The level of approximation that can be done is assessed from the choices. If the answers are wide, time should not be wasted in working out exact figures. If the choice none of the above exists, a close approximation may be

INTERPRETATION

7. na.b = na. nb.

Sets: n(AUB) = n(A) + n(B). If the sets intersect, then n(AUB) = n(A) + n(B)

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required. 4. Read the question carefully. It will give an indication as to which row and column should be seen. 5. There may be one or two very large questions requiring calculations. Attempt these at the last. 6. Revise bar charts, pie charts, statistics and graphs before attempting DI questions.

Steps to solve DS questions: 1. Read the statement carefully and understand the question that must be answered. 2. Read the first piece of data provided, while completely ignoring the second. If you read everything at once, it will be difficult to arrive at an answer. 3. Can the question be answered on reading the first statement only? If so, it

DATA SUFFICIENCY

is sufficient to answer the question. The second statement must be similarly checked. If it is not sufficient, it must be checked whether the answer can be provided by combining it with the second. 4. Read the second statement while completely ignoring the first. This is important, otherwise the data in the first will influence your answer. 5. After both statements have been considered individually, combine them to see whether the answer is obtained by combining them. This step is not necessary if each statement is sufficient independently to answer the question. 6. Do not waste time trying to solve a problem; you are only to determine whether the information is sufficient to solve the problem. The exact answer is not required.

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7. Sometimes choices help. If you are sure about the first statement, the answer can be A or D. If you are sure about the second one, the answer can be B or D. Looking at the choices at this stage will help you tick the right choice. 8. When geometric figures are given, do not assume things going by the look of the figures. An angle may look like 90 degrees, but the data provided may make it just a little more or a little less than a right angle. Similarly, a triangle may look isosceles, but the data provided may be otherwise. Remember, the figures may not be drawn to scale. 9. Note that data sufficiency problems are time savers since they do not require long calculations. So they should be attempted first.