Quick Quant tips

CAT Exam
Have you ever heard the saying “measure twice, cut once”? It’s an admonition to anyone who loves doing home-improvement projects: you can change your measurements as many times as you’d like, but once a piece of wood has been cut, you can’t un-cut it. No matter how eager you are to get started, if you don’t take the time to plan things out correctly first, you’ll end up making mistakes once you start working. Sound familiar? Things work the same way on CAT Quant. We’d all like to think that if our first approach to a Quant problem doesn’t work out, we can just go back and try something different. But in reality, there’s almost never time for that. If your first attempt at a problem gives you an answer that doesn’t make sense — or if it doesn’t give you an answer at all — all you can really do is guess and move on to the next problem. I often see this happen when a student tries an algebraic solution to a Quant problem on a practice test, only to find that the algebra is difficult, time-consuming, or even impossible. When reviewing the problem, it suddenly becomes obvious that the right approach was something totally different: backsolving, choosing smart numbers, estimation, or any other back-of-the-napkin strategy. In short, if you want to succeed at CAT Quant, you need to adopt a “measure twice, cut once” mindset. Think of “doing the math” as the “cutting” part of the process. Before you do any math, take plenty of time to make sure you’ve “measured” the problem correctly. Because once you begin doing math, there’s no turning back. So, what are you looking for when you “measure” a Quant problem? How can you “measure” more effectively? Here’s my best advice. Put your pen down before each problem. Trying to write and read at the same time is a recipe for disaster for many test-takers. It divides your attention, leading to less careful reading and more error-prone math. Write down all of the facts and variables from the question before you begin building any new equations. This doesn’t come naturally to a lot of CAT test-takers; you’ll need to practice it. Read the answer choices before you begin doing math. You might get away with doing the math, then looking at the answer choices to try to spot your answer. But there are two good reasons not to do this: one, the answer choices often give you the best hints for what strategy to use. Two, you’ll already know what your answer should look like when you begin working, and if you go off the rails, you’ll notice more quickly. Never begin a Problem Solving problem until you’ve asked yourself the following questions: Exactly what does the problem ask you to solve for? Are there variables in the answer choices? If so, consider plugging in numbers. Do the answers represent values, or relationships? For instance, does the problem ask “What is Company X’s profit”, or does it ask “How many times greater than Company Y’s profit is Company X’s profit?” If the latter, consider plugging in numbers. Does the logic of the problem look much more complicated than the answer choices themselves? If so, consider backsolving or writing out cases. Never begin a Data Sufficiency problem until you’ve asked yourself the following questions: Are there any constraints (such as “x is an integer” or “y is even”) in the question? Are you looking for “yes” or “no” as an answer to the question, or are you looking for a numerical answer? This affects how you prove that a statement is sufficient or insufficient. Is it possible to simplify the question (or the statements) using algebra? This may seem like a lot of work to do before you get to the mathematical part of a CAT Quant problem. You might be wondering if it’ll take too much time — and at first, it probably will. But you’ll find, as you practice “measuring twice and cutting once”, that even though you’ll spend longer reading and thinking about the problem, you’ll spend much less time doing math. You’ll also avoid wasting your time with solutions that won’t work, and you’ll learn more from every problem you do.

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