CAT: AlgebraMinima & Maxima. Free, no login required.

Q1:

2025 Slot 2

Minima & Maxima

Medium

If a,b,ca,b,c and dd are integers such that their sum is 46, then the minimum possible value of (a−b)2+(a−c)2+(a−d)2(a-b)^2 + (a-c)^2 + (a-d)^2 is

Q2:

2025 Slot 1

Minima & Maxima

Medium

A value of cc for which the minimum value of f(x)=x2−4cx+8cf(x) = x^2 - 4cx + 8c is greater than the maximum value of g(x)=−x2+3cx−2cg(x) = -x^2 + 3cx - 2c, is

Answer options
Option 3
Correct Answer
Explanation for 2025 Slot 1 QA question 2

Q3:

CAT 2023 Slot 2

Minima & Maxima

Medium

Let k be the largest integer such that the equation (x−1)2+2kx+11=0(x - 1)^2 + 2kx + 11 = 0 has no real roots. If y is a positive real number, then the least possible value of k/4y+9yk/4y + 9y is

Q4:

CAT 2022 Slot 3

Minima & Maxima

Medium

The minimum possible value of x2−6x+103−x\frac{x^2-6x+10}{3-x}, for x<3x < 3, is

Answer options
Option 2
Correct Answer
Explanation for CAT 2022 Slot 3 QA question 4

Q5:

CAT 2022 Slot 2

Minima & Maxima

Easy

If aa and bb are non-negative real numbers such that a+2b=6a + 2b = 6, then the average of the maximum and minimum possible values of (a+b)(a + b) is

Answer options
Option 2
Correct Answer
Explanation for CAT 2022 Slot 2 QA question 5

Q6:

CAT 2022 Slot 1

Minima & Maxima

Medium

For natural numbers xx, yy, and zz, if xy+yz=19xy + yz = 19 and yz+xz=51yz + xz = 51, then the minimum possible value of xyzxyz is

Q7:

CAT 2020 Slot 2

Minima & Maxima

Medium

If xx and yy are positive real numbers satisfying x+y=102x + y = 102, then the minimum possible value of 2601(1+1x)(1+1y)2601(1+\frac{1}{x})(1+\frac{1}{y}) is

2704
Correct Answer
Explanation for CAT 2020 Slot 2 QA question 7

Q8:

CAT 2020 Slot 2

Minima & Maxima

Medium

For real x,x, the maximum possible value of x1+x4\frac{x}{\sqrt{1+x^4}} is

Answer options
Option 1
Correct Answer
Explanation for CAT 2020 Slot 2 QA question 8

Q9:

CAT 2020 Slot 1

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 2020 Slot 1 QA question 9

Q10:

CAT 2020 Slot 1

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 2020 Slot 1 QA question 10

Q11:

CAT 2019 Slot 2

Minima & Maxima

Medium

What is the largest positive integer such that n2+7n+12n2−n−12\frac{n^2 + 7n + 12}{n^2 - n - 12} is also a positive integer?

Answer options
Option 3
Correct Answer
Explanation for CAT 2019 Slot 2 QA question 11

Q12:

CAT 2018 Slot 2

Minima & Maxima

Medium

Let f(x)=f(x)= max{5x5x, 52−2x252-2x^2}, where xx is any positive real number. Then the minimum possible value of f(x)f(x) is

Q13:

CAT 2018 Slot 2

Minima & Maxima

Hard

Let a1,a2,…,a52a_{1}, a_{2}, \ldots, a_{52} be positive integers such that a1<a2<…<a52a_{1}<a_{2}<\ldots<a_{52}. Suppose, their arithmetic mean is one less than the arithmetic mean of a2,a3a_{2}, a_{3}, …,a52\ldots, a_{52}. If a52=100a_{52}=100, then the largest possible value of a1a_{1} is

Answer options
Option 2
Correct Answer
Explanation for CAT 2018 Slot 2 QA question 13

Q14:

CAT 2018 Slot 1

Minima & Maxima

Medium

Let f(x)=f(x) = min{2x2,52−5x2x², 52-5x}, where x is any positive real number. Then the maximum possible value of f(x)f(x) is

Q15:

CAT 2018 Slot 1

Minima & Maxima

Medium

While multiplying three real numbers, Ashok took one of the numbers as 7373 instead of 3737. As a result, the product went up by 720720. Then the minimum possible value of the sum of squares of the other two numbers is

Q16:

CAT 2017 Slot 2

Minima & Maxima

Medium

The minimum possible value of the sum of the squares of the roots of the equation x2+(a+3)x−(a+5)=0x^{2}+(a+3) x-(a+5)=0 is

Answer options
Option 3
Correct Answer
Explanation for CAT 2017 Slot 2 QA question 16

Q17:

CAT 2017 Slot 1

Minima & Maxima

Medium

An elevator has a weight limit of 630630 kg. It is carrying a group of people of whom the heaviest weighs 5757 kg and the lightest weighs 5353 kg. What is the maximum possible number of people in the group?

Q18:

CAT 2017 Slot 1

Minima & Maxima

Medium

If a,b,c,a, b, c, and dd are integers such that a+b+c+d=30a + b + c + d = 30, then the minimum possible value of (a−b)2+(a−c)2+(a−d)2(a - b)^2 + (a - c)^2 + (a - d)^2 is