Important CAT Formulas

Competitive exams in India for MBA courses like CAT test a candidates
skill on Quantitative Aptitude. The questions in the Quantitative Aptitude
section are from various topics like Number Systems, Profit, Loss and
Discount, LCM and HCF, Time and Work, Averages, Logarithm, Surds and
Indices, Probability, Set Theory & Function, Trigonometry, Permutation &
Combination, Co-ordinate Geometry, Mensuration, etc. Please refer
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Thus, it becomes important that candidates are well versed with the basic
formulas required for solving questions with higher accuracy and in the
least time possible. Here is a list of important formulae that candidates
need to master to crack the Common Admission Test (CAT) successfully.

Number Systems
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + … + n = n(n + 1)/2
(1² + 2² + 3² + ….. + n²) = n ( n + 1 ) (2n + 1) / 6
(1³ + 2³ + 3³ + ….. + n³) = (n(n + 1)/ 2)²
Sum of first n odd numbers = n²
Sum of first n even numbers = n (n + 1)

Mathematical Formulas:

(a – b)² = (a² + b² – 2ab)

(a + b)² = (a² + b² + 2ab)
(a + b)(a – b) = (a² – b²)
(a + b + c)² = a² + b² + c² + 2(ab + bc + ca)
(a³ – b³) = (a – b)(a² + ab + b²)
(a³ + b³) = (a + b)(a² – ab + b²)
(a³ + b³ + c³ – 3abc) = (a + b + c)(a² + b² + c² – ab – bc – ac)
 When a + b + c = 0, then a³ + b³ + c³ = 3abc
(a + b)n = an + (nC1)an-1 b + (nC2)an-2 b² + … + (nCn-1)abn-1 + bn

Profit, Loss and Discount

Profit (or) Gain = SP – CP
Profit % = (Profit/CP) × 100
SP = (100 + gain % )/100 × CP
CP = 100/(100 + gain %) × SP
Loss = CP – SP
Loss % = Loss/(CP) × 100
SP = (100 – loss %)/100 × CP
CP = 100/(100 – loss %) × SP

LCM and HCF

LCM × HCF = Product of the numbers

LCM of co-prime numbers = Product of the numbers

Speed, Time and Distance

Distance = Speed × Time

Time = Distance/Speed

Speed= Distance/Time

Percentages
To find what percentage of x is y: (y/x) × 100

Increase N by S % = N( 1+ S/100 )

Decrease N by S % = N (1 – S/100)

Time and Work

If A can do a piece of work in n days, then A’s 1 day’s work = 1/n

If A’s 1 day’s work =1/n, then A can finish the work in n days.

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Averages
Average = (Sum of observations/Number of observations)

Simple and Compound Interest

When interest is compounded Annually:

\(\begin{array}{l}\text{Amount}=P\left ( 1+\frac{R}{100} \right

)^n\end{array} \)

When interest is compounded, Half-yearly:

\(\begin{array}{l}\text{Amount}=P\left ( 1+\frac{R/2}{100} \right

)^{2n}\end{array} \)

When interest is compounded Quarterly:

\(\begin{array}{l}\text{Amount}=P\left ( 1+\frac{R/4}{100} \right

)^{4n}\end{array} \)

When interest is compounded annually but time is in fraction, say 3

2/5 years:

\(\begin{array}{l}\text{Amount}=P\left ( 1+\frac{R}{100} \right )^3\times

\left ( 1+\frac{\frac{2}{5}R}{100} \right )\end{array} \)

When rates are different for different years, say R1%, R2%, R3% for
1st, 2nd and 3rd year, respectively.

\(\begin{array}{l}\text{Amount}=P\left ( 1+\frac{R_1}{100} \right )+P\left (

1+\frac{R_2}{100} \right )+P\left ( 1+\frac{R_3}{100} \right )\end{array} \)
Present worth of Rs. x due n years hence is given by:

\(\begin{array}{l}\text{Present worth}=\frac{x}{\left(1 + \frac{R}

{100}\right)}\end{array} \)

Logarithm
loga (xy) = loga x + loga y
loga (x/y) = loga x – loga y
logx x = 1
loga 1 = 0
loga (xn) = n(loga x)
loga x = 1/(logx a)
loga x = (logb x)/(logb a) = (log x)/(log a)

Probability
Sample Space: When we perform an experiment, then the set S of all
possible outcomes is called the sample space.

Event: Any subset of a sample space is called an event.

The probability of Occurrence of an Event:

Let S be the sample and E be an event.

Therefore, P(E) =n(E) / n(S)

Surds and Indices

Laws of indices:

am × an = am+n
am/an = am-n
(am)n = amn
(ab)n = anbn
an/bn = (a/b)n
 a0 = 1
a-m = 1/am

Surds:

Let a be the rational number and n be a positive integer such that;

\(\begin{array}{l}a^{\frac{1}{n}}=\sqrt[n]{a}\end{array} \)

\(\begin{array}{l}\text{Here},\ \sqrt[n]{a}\ \text{is called a surd of order

n}.\end{array} \)

\(\begin{array}{l}\sqrt[n]{a}=a^{\frac{1}{n}}\end{array} \)

\(\begin{array}{l}\sqrt[n]{ab}=\sqrt[n]{a}\times \sqrt[n]{b}\end{array}
\)

\(\begin{array}{l}\sqrt[n]{\frac{a}{b}}=\frac{\sqrt[n]{a}}{\sqrt[n]
{b}}\end{array} \)

\(\begin{array}{l}(\sqrt[n]{a})^n = a\end{array} \)

\(\begin{array}{l}\sqrt[m]{\sqrt[n]{a}}=\sqrt[mn]{a}\end{array} \)

\(\begin{array}{l}(\sqrt[n]{a})^m = \sqrt[n]{a^m}\end{array} \)

Set Theory & Function

De morgan’s Law is the basic and most important formula for sets, which
is defined as

(A ∩ B) ‘ = A’ U B’ and (A U B)’ = A’ ∩ B’

The relation R ⊂ A × A is said to be called as:

Reflexive Relation: If aRa ∀ a ∈ A.

Symmetric Relation: If aRb, then bRa ∀ a, b ∈ A.
Transitive Relation: If aRb, bRc, then aRc ∀ a, b, c ∈ A.
If any relation R is reflexive, symmetric and transitive in a given set A, then
that relation is known as an equivalence relation.

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Permutation and Combination

Permutation Formula: A permutation is the choice of r things from a set
of n things without replacement. Order matters in permutation.

Combination Formula: A combination is the choice of r things from a set

of n things without replacement. The order does not matter in
combination.

Mixtures and Alligations

Alligation: It is the rule that enables us to find the ratio in which two or
more ingredients at the given price must be mixed to produce a mixture of
the desired price.

Mean Price: The cost of a unit quantity of the mixture is called the mean
price.

Rule of Alligation:

If two ingredients are mixed, then

(Quantity of cheaper / Quantity of dearer) = (C.P. of dearer – Mean

Price / Mean price – C.P. of cheaper)

Trigonometry
Trigonometric Identities:

Sine = Opposite/Hypotenuse
 Secant = Hypotenuse/Adjacent
Cosine = Adjacent/Hypotenuse
Tangent = Opposite/Adjacent
Co−Secant = Hypotenuse/Opposite
Co−Tangent = Adjacent/Opposite

The reciprocal identities are given as:

cosec θ = 1/sin θ
sec θ = 1/ cos θ
cot θ = 1/tan θ
sin θ = 1/cosec θ
cos θ = 1/sec θ
tan θ = 1/cot θ

Coordinate Geometry
The Distance Between two Points A(x1, y1) and B(x2, y2):

AB² = (x2 – x1)² + (y2 – y1)²

The Midpoint of a Line Joining Two Points

The midpoint of the line joining the points (x1, y1) and (x2, y2) is:

[(x1 + x2)/1, (y1 + y2)/2]

The Equation of a Line Using One Point and the Gradient

The equation of a line which has gradient m and which passes through the
point (x1, y1) is:

y – y1 = m(x – x1)

Mensuration
Rectangle
Area = lb

Perimeter = 2(l+b)

Square

Area = a × a

Perimeter = 4a

Triangle

Area = (1/2) × b × h

or

√[s(s – a)(s – b)(s – c)], where s = (a + b + c)/2

Circle

Area = πr² or πd²/4

Circumference = 2πr or πd

Area of sector of a circle = (θπr² )/360

Cube

Volume: V = a3

Lateral surface area = 4a²

Surface Area: S = 6a2

Diagonal (d) = √3 a

Cuboid

Volume of cuboid: lbh

Total surface area = 2 (lb + bh + hl) or 6l2

Length of diagonal =√(l² + b² + h²)

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