Q1:

Minima & Maxima

Easy

Among 100100 students, x1x_{1} have birthdays in January, x2x_{2} have birthday in February, and so on.

If x0=max⁡(x1,x2,…,x12)x_{0}=\max \left(x_{1}, x_{2}, \ldots , x_{12}\right), then the smallest possible value of x0x_{0} is

Answer options
Option 2
Correct Answer
Explanation for CAT QA question 1

Q2:

Linear Equation

Medium

A gentleman decided to treat a few children in the following manner. He gives half of his total stock of toffees and one extra to the first child, and then the half of the remaining stock along with one extra to the second and continues giving away in this fashion. His total stock exhausts after he takes care of 55 children. How many toffees were there in his stock initially?

62
Correct Answer
Explanation for CAT QA question 2

Q3:

Simple & Compound Interest

Medium

Veeru invested Rs 10000 at 5% simple annual interest, and exactly after two years, Joy invested Rs 8000 at 10% simple annual interest. How many years after Veeru's investment, will their balances, i.e., principal plus accumulated interest, be equal?

12
Correct Answer
Explanation for CAT QA question 3

Q4:

Logarithms

Medium

If y is a negative number such that 2y2log35=5log⁡232^{y^2log_3 5} = 5^{\log_2 3}, then y equals

Answer options
Option 4
Correct Answer
Explanation for CAT QA question 4

Q5:

Time, Speed & Distance

Medium

Leaving home at the same time, Amal reaches the office at 10:15am10:15 am if he travels at 8km/hr8 km/hr, and at 9:40am9:40 am if he travels at 15km/hr15 km/hr. Leaving home at 9:10, at what speed, in km/hr,km/hr, must be travel so as to reach office exactly at 10am?10 am?

Answer options
Option 4
Correct Answer
Explanation for CAT QA question 5

Q6:

Time, Speed & Distance

Medium

A train travelled at one-thirds of its usual speed, and hence reached the destination 3030 minutes after the scheduled time. On its return journey, the train initially travelled at its usual speed for 55 minutes but then stopped for 44 minutes for an emergency. The percentage by which the train must now increase its usual speed so as to reach the destination at the scheduled time, is nearest to

Answer options
Option 4
Correct Answer
Explanation for CAT QA question 6

Q7:

Minima & Maxima

Hard

The number of real-valued solutions of the equation 2x+2−x=2−(x−2)22^x + 2^{-x} = 2 - (x - 2)^2 is

Answer options
Option 2
Correct Answer
Explanation for CAT QA question 7

Q8:

Mixture & Alligation

Medium

A solution, of volume 4040 litres, has dye and water in the proportion 2:32: 3. Water is added to the solution to change this proportion to 2:52: 5. If one-fourths of this diluted solution is taken out, how many litres of dye must be added to the remaining solution to bring the proportion back to 2:32: 3?

8
Correct Answer
Explanation for CAT QA question 8

Q9:

Linear Equation

Medium

Let A,BA, B and CC be three positive integers such that the sum of AA and the mean of BB and CC is 5.5. In addition, the sum of BB and the mean of AA and CC is 7.7. Then the sum of AA and BB is

Answer options
Option 4
Correct Answer
Explanation for CAT QA question 9

Q10:

Miscellaneous

Medium

How many 3−3-digit numbers are there, for which the product of their digits is more than 22 but less than 7?7?

21
Correct Answer
Explanation for CAT QA question 10

Q11:

Time, Speed & Distance

Medium

A straight road connects points AA and B.B. Car 11 travels from AA to BB and Car 22 travels from BB to AA, both leaving at the same time. After meeting each other, they take 4545 minutes and 2020 minutes, respectively, to complete their journeys. If Car 11 travels at the speed of 60km/hr60 km/hr, then the speed of Car 2,2, in km/hr, is

Answer options
Option 3
Correct Answer
Explanation for CAT QA question 11

Q12:

Logarithms

Medium

If log⁡45=(log⁡4y)(log⁡65)\log _{4} 5=\left(\log _{4} y\right)\left(\log _{6} \sqrt{ } 5\right), then yy equals

36
Correct Answer
Explanation for CAT QA question 12

Q13:

Solids

Medium

A solid right circular cone of height 2727 cm is cut into pieces along a plane parallel to its base at a height of 1818 cm from the base. If the difference in volume of the two pieces is 225225 cc, the volume, in cc, of the original cone is

Answer options
Option 1
Correct Answer
Explanation for CAT QA question 13

Q14:

Time, Speed & Distance

Medium

Two persons are walking beside a railway track at respective speeds of 22 and 4 km4 \mathrm{~km} per hour in the same direction. A train came from behind them and crossed them in 9090 and 100100 seconds, respectively. The time, in seconds, taken by the train to cross a stationary object?

Answer options
Option 4
Correct Answer
Explanation for CAT QA question 14

Q15:

Quadrilaterals

Medium

A circle is inscribed in a rhombus with diagonals 1212 cm and 1616 cm. The ratio of the area of circle to the area of rhombus is

Answer options
Option 3
Correct Answer
Explanation for CAT QA question 15

Q16:

Circles

Medium

A circle is inscribed in a rhombus with diagonals 12 cm12 \mathrm{~cm} and 16 cm16 \mathrm{~cm}. The ratio of the area of circle to the area of rhombus is

Answer options
Option 3
Correct Answer
Explanation for CAT QA question 16

Q17:

Indices

Hard

If x=(4096)7+43x=(4096)^{7+4 \sqrt{3}}, then which of the following equals 6464 ?

Answer options
Option 3
Correct Answer
Explanation for CAT QA question 17

Q18:

Circles

Hard

On a rectangular metal sheet of area 135sq135 \mathrm{sq} in, a circle is painted such that the circle touches two opposite sides. If the are the sheet left unpainted is two-thirds of the painted area then the perimeter of the rectangle in inches is

Answer options
Option 1
Correct Answer
Explanation for CAT QA question 18

Q19:

Polynomials

Medium

The number of distinct real roots of the equation (x+1x)2−3(x+1x)+2=0(x + \frac{1}{x})^2 - 3(x + \frac{1}{x}) + 2 = 0 equals

1
Correct Answer
Explanation for CAT QA question 19

Q20:

Integral Solutions

Medium

If a,ba, b and cc are positive integers such that ab=432,bc=96ab = 432, bc = 96 and c<9,c < 9, then the smallest possible value of a+b+ca + b + c is

Answer options
Option 4
Correct Answer
Explanation for CAT QA question 20

Q21:

Straight Lines

Medium

The area of the region satisfying the inequalities ∣x∣−y≤1,y≥0|\mathrm{x}|-\mathrm{y} \leq 1, \mathrm{y} \geq 0 and y≤1\mathrm{y} \leq 1 is

3
Correct Answer
Explanation for CAT QA question 21

Q22:

Percentages

Medium

In a group of people, 28%28\% of the members are young while the rest are old. If 65%65\% of the members are literates, and 25%25\% of the literates are young, then the percentage of old people among the illiterates is nearest to

Answer options
Option 3
Correct Answer
Explanation for CAT QA question 22

Q23:

Mean, Median & Mode

Medium

The mean of all 4−4-digit even natural numbers of the form ′aabb′,'aabb', where a>0,a > 0, is

Answer options
Option 3
Correct Answer
Explanation for CAT QA question 23

Q24:

Ratio, Proportion & Variation

Medium

An alloy is prepared by mixing three metals A,BA, B and CC in the proportion 3:4:73 : 4 :7 by volume. Weights of the same volume of the metals A,BA, B and CC are in the ratio 5:2:6.5:2: 6. In 130130 kg of the alloy, the weight, in kg, of the metal CC is

Answer options
Option 3
Correct Answer
Explanation for CAT QA question 24

Q25:

Profit & Loss

Easy

A person spent Rs 5000050000 to purchase a desktop computer and a laptop computer. He sold the desktop at 20%20\% profit and the laptop at 10%10\% loss. If overall he made a 2%2\% profit then the purchase price, in rupees, of the desktop is

20000
Correct Answer
Explanation for CAT QA question 25

Q26:

Indices

Medium

How many distinct positive integer-valued solutions exist to the equation (x2−7x+11)(x2−13x+42)=1?\left(x^{2}-7 x+11\right)^{\left(x^{2}-13 x+42\right)}=1 ?

Answer options
Option 2
Correct Answer
Explanation for CAT QA question 26

CAT 2020 Quantitative Ability Past Year Question Paper

Every question from the CAT 2020 Quantitative Ability paper is here in full, with the correct answer and a step by step solution for each one. It is completely free, there is no login and no paywall, and you can read the whole paper online or download it to revise offline.

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CAT past year questions (PYQs) are the closest thing to the real exam, so working through them is the quickest way to learn the paper pattern, the marking scheme and the level of difficulty to expect on the day.