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[Studyplan] CSAT Aptitude Paper 2: Maths & Data

Interpretation-High priority topics, Sample Questions, free
studymaterial (part 2 of 3)
Posted By On 08/06/2014 @ 11:51 am In Aptitude | 84 Comments
1. Math haters are grave diggers
1. #1: 2012 unlikely to repeat
2. #2: GS Strength doesnt compensate math weakness
3. #3: One lakh Delhi aspirants
4. #4: Maths = competitive edge + peace of mind
2. Mathematics: What to ignore?
1. Doubtful syllabus topics in Mathematics
2. Highest priority (finish them first)
3. Medium priority
4. Low Priority
3. CSAT Math doesnt not fall from sky but NCERTs
1. Gather the weapons
2. Which Quant book?
3. Dont waste time learning Speed maths / Vedic maths
4. High priority topics
5. H1: Linear Equations
1. NCERT: Linear Equations

2. Quant book: Linear Equations

6. H2: Number system
1. NCERT: Number system
2. NCERT Powers & Exponents
7. H3: Percentages, Profit Loss, SI- CI
8. H4: Ratio Proportion Variation Partnership (RPVP)
9. H5: Speed Time Distance Work (STDW)
10.

H6: Averages, Allegations

11.

H7: Data Interpretation (DI)

1. DI-1: odd- graphs

2. DI-2: bar graphs, pie charts
3. DI-3: Venn Diagrams
4. Dont assume A+B=total
5. DI-4 Tabulation questions
12.

H8: Geometry: Area volume perimeter (AVP)

13.

Appendix: Download links

1. A1: Last three years official CSAT papers

2. A2: NCERT Mathematics Topicwise Sorted free download
3. A3: Quant books: What to prepare, what to skip?
So far in the CSAT paper-2 study plan
1. Comprehension and Reasoning
2. Mathematics & Data Interpretation: high priority topics Youre here

3. Decision Making + Mathematics: Medium & low priority topics

Math haters are grave diggers

Many of you have this mindset / strategy:
1. I hate maths / Im weak in maths. Therefore, Ill pump extra hours in
General studies to compensate for my poor command over
mathematics.
2. Prelim marks not counted in final merit list, and maths is not going
to be asked in mains. so why bother. Besides, in 2012 only 3
questions were asked!
3. xyz person on xyz forum said he managed to crack CSAT without
preparing maths. Same Cinderella story will repeat in my case.
4. In last three years, average cutoff was ___. So, so if I tick __ Questions
in GS paper I and __ questions in comprehension /reasoning, I can
easily reach cutoffs, without bothering about maths.
To all such aspirants, Ive four things to say:

#1: 2012 unlikely to repeat

% of questions
CSAT-2012 Paper II
comprehension 40 MCQs. (=50% of the paper)
only 3 MCQs = dream come true for math
maths
haters.

CSAT 2013
reduced to 32 MCQs.
17 MCQs = = ~1/5th of
paper.

only THREE questions from Maths in 2012! Will those Acche din come
again?
Ok so why did the Achhe din end? Why didnt UPSC ask just three Maths
MCQs in 2013, like they did in 2012? You can unravel this mystery by
looking at Behind the curtains timeline and joining the dots
20 May 2012
30 August 2012

CSAT-2013 exam held. Only 3 maths and 40 comprehension.

Prof. Nigvekar submits report & recommends following

In CSAT Paper II: too many questions were asked from

comprehension section, it needs to be reduced slightly in favor of
other type of aptitude questions.(e.g. reasoning, maths)
It will be better to reduce the English part in CSAT, and instead set bit
tougher questions in the compulsory English paper at mains level.
26th May 2013: CSAT 2013 exam. Comprehension reduced from 50% to
40%, consequently, maths questions increased from 3 to 17, to fillup the
total 80 questions quota. Even in mains-2013, compulsory English paper
was lengthier than previous exams, and hence tougher.

In other words, Maths is here to stay. 2012 scene unlikely to repeat. UPSC
unlikely to ask only 3 maths MCQs in 2014.

#2: GS Strength doesnt compensate math weakness

Prof.Nigvekar Committee observed:
CSAT Paper-I (General studies) is difficult compared to paper-II (Aptitude test).
The candidates who are good in general studies, are at disadvantage, because
they cant get any edge with general studies. On the other side, candidates
good in paper-II(Aptitude) gets advantage, & they can make though the exam
even without much study of general studies. (Therefore) Aspirants with
engineering background formed the major chunk of aspirants who qualified
the prelims in the first attempt.
In other words,
It takes far more effort to get 60 correct in GS, than it takes to get 60
correct in aptitude. Given the large influx of Engineer-UPSC aspirants post
sub-prime crisis and mushrooming self-financed colleges, IF you (nonEngineers) think you can compensate your weakness in maths/aptitude by
pumping more hours in General studies => then youre making a grave
mistake. You have to tame the bull (maths) by the horns (continuous
practice).

#3: One lakh Delhi aspirants

In April 2014, UPSC wrote a letter to DoPT, requesting more officers to be
deployed for exam duty because:
1. more than 10 lakh people expected to apply for CSAT-2014
2. Out of them more than 1 lakh people from Delhi alone. (This is UPSCs
estimation!).
10 lakh is not worrisome, because most of them are non-serious people
applying just because papa said (JBPS). But 1 lakh from Delhi alone= that is
a disturbing number.
Because majority of them would be full-time dedicated
aspirants migrated to Delhi for the sole purpose of UPSC

preparation. Therefore, competition will be cutthroat than ever

before.
In recent years, even Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Indore,
Lucknow and Abad are also fast turning into Delhi like centres i.e.
where many aspirants rent a room and full time dedicate to UPSC
preparation with or without coaching.
In this environment, youve to extract every mark you can, from
every section you can. Hating maths is not a good idea. Remember:
Sincere candidates dont fail prelims by 100 marks, they fail by a
margin of just few marks below the cutoff. And in most cases, they
could have avoided failure by keeping alert on negative marking,
and extracting a few easy questions from the subjects they disliked.

#4: Maths = competitive edge + peace of mind

Today every sincere player knows he has to prepare
NCERT, Laxmikanth, and Economic Survey. So command over those
books = just minimum height n chest requirement in military
recruitment. Not a competitive edge, doesnt automatically ensure
selection.
Last year pretty much every regular reader of Mrunal.org ticked 1215 correct in Economy. Again, no longer a competitive edge, its just
a minimum system requirement (MSR).
People have been trying to get competitive edge over others by
doing PH.D on Culture, science, environment. But given the tough
nature of GS-MCQs, all that labour barely translates to additional 1015 marks, that too after spending months in mugging up fifty dozen
festivals, tribes, caves, algae/biofertilizers and critically endangered
species.
On the other side, maths can easily help raise your score by atleast
30** marks than the crowd, and ensure peace of mind until prelim
result comes. Then, you can completely focus on mains preparation,
rather than worrying about cutoffs in online forums.

**based on 2011 and 2013 trend, if UPSC asks 15-17 maths questions,
then at least 12 of them will be solvable even with moderate preparation.
12 x 2.5 = 30 marks.

Mathematics / Basic Numeracy: How much upto ClassX?

Maths Topic
Basic
STDW
Stat

Data Interpretation
(DI)

oddballs

Maths Total
% out of 80 MCQs

Maths internal breakup in last 3 CSAT

Subtopic
HCF,LCM
Ratio Proportion
Linear EQ
Subtotal: Basic
Speed Time Distance Work
averages
Pie chart
Tabulation
Speedgraphs Interpretation
Bacterial growth
Age pyramid
Subtotal: DI
Permutation combination (how many figures
possible etc.)
geometry
AP, GP
Subtotal: Odd balls
Basic+Stat+STD+DI

2011
1
1
1
3
2
1
2
3
3
3
1
12

2012
0
1
0
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0

2013
1
4
1
6
4
0
5
0
1
0
0
6

1
1
5
23
28.75

0
0
0
3
3.75

0
1
1
17
21.25

UPSCs official syllabus doesnt specifically say well not ask this, this and
this. It only says:
Basic numeracy (numbers and their relations, orders of
magnitude, etc.) (Class X level)
Data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency etc.
Class X level)
This etc. word is dangerous. Because upto class X level NCERT textbooks
include statistics, probability, trigonometry, parallelograms and even
coordinate geometry. Should we prepare such topics or not?
CSAT system is just three years old. So far ~43 total maths questions
asked in 2011, 12 and 13. This sample size too small to make projections
that x topic will always be asked and y topic will never be asked.

2011: UPSC introduces CSAT system, public believed that UPSC will
completely revamp its Aptitude Question bank in its secret computer
database. But UPSC is still asking stuff they used to ask way back in the
90s. Observe:
CSAT paper II q. (maths / DI upto class X level)
similar asked in pre-CSAT era
2011 they gave a graph of A,B,C running and
1996- with four athletes A,B,C,D
asked who won the race, who was very slow etc.
2011: water contamination, various phases
1999: fertilizer input vs yield
1995: comparing temperature of two
2011: comparing speed of two trains
liquids
Regularly asked between 1995-2012,
time speed distance Questions
with almost identical difficultly level.
linear equations, HCF-LCM questions
same as above

This is just tip of an iceberg- even reasoning, syllogism, assumptioninference, Venn diagram, sitting arrangement- if you look at all the
aptitude questions from 1995 to 2013- history is repeating itself
from pre-CSAT era to CSAT era.
Many questions are mirroring themselves only names, numbers and
wording changed. if previously they gave time-distance & asked you
to find speed; this time they give speed and time and ask you to find
distance and so on
..meaning
1. UPSC hasnt completely revamped its question bank.
2. Just because xyz topic is not asked in last three CSAT = it doesnt
mean UPSC will never ask it in future exams. If something is taught
upto class10, AND it has been asked in previous prelims (Even
before Pre-CSAT era), then we should prepare.

Doubtful syllabus topics in Mathematics

Topic

Taught up Prepare
to NCERT
for
std.10?
CSAT?

Statistics (Cumulative
frequency, median, mode
etc.)

YES

YES

Arithmetic progression

YES

YES

why?
Yes, because in 1999 they asked Data
interpretation (DI) about cumulative
frequency and average for grouped data
with class interval.
asked in CSAT 2011 itself.

Geometric progression

NO

NO

Irrational numbers
Coordinate Geometry

YES
YES

No
YES

Non-AVP Geometry
Theory

YES

GP starts from Class11. They did ask

water doubles every five minute
question in 2001, but it could be solved
without formulas. At max, mugup the
ball rebounding formula.
its not asked from 1995 till 2013.
Asked in 1995 and 1999 prelims.

Non-AVP Geometry theory=

interior angle, parallelogram
sides, cyclic quadrilaterals etc.
topics beyond simple areavolume-perimeter (AVP).

YES should be prepared,

because asked in 1995, 96, 97,
98, 99, 2000, 2001.

height-n-distance problem has

been asked in past.

Ignore radian, maximum

minimum values of sin/cos/tanbecause that starts from class1112 and never asked in pre-CSAT
or CSAT era.

YES

Trigonometry

YES

YES

Clock Angles
Divisibility

indirectly
YES

YES
YES

Probability

YES

Yes

Permutation
&Combination (Pnc)

NO

YES

Asked in 98, 2002, 2000 etc.

Asked in 2010.
Routinely asked this topic up to mid2000s.

Yes. they routinely asked this

topic upto mid-2000s, (may be
Examiner considers this a
reasoning topic and not maths)

Even in CSAT 2011, they asked

a question on fundamental
counting- that topic is the
mother of PnC, and starts only
from class11 NCERT.

in same CSAT 2011, they even

asked image based PnC e.g. how
many routes possible in 22
square diagram to reach from

point A to B.

Polynomials,Quadratic
Equations

YES

YES

Logarithms

NO

NO

Venn Diagram

NO

YES

Polynomial factorization related

problems asked in 1995,96, 99,
2001

Pure mathematical questions

related to Quadratic equation
(e.g. nature of roots, find k
etc. not asked so far)

Never asked between 1995-2013.

Venn Diagram starts from NCERT
Class11. But they were regularly asked
both in pre-CSAT and CSAT era.
Perhaps examiner considers them part
of reasoning and not mathematics or
DI.

dangthese are way too many odd topics, cant we just focus on time
speed distance, linear equation, HCF-LCM? Hardly two months left before
exam!!
Ans. No. Youve to be prepared for all possible topics. UPSC examiner has
no moral obligations to follow last years topic trend. 2011 he asks
arithmetic progression, then ignores this topic for 2012 and 2013. If you
aim to tick 10+ MCQs for a given subject, youve to be thoroughly
prepared- whether its polity, geography, economy or aptitude.
Nonetheless, it may not be feasible to give justice to all the maths topic
within ~2 months, so study-priority order should be following:

Highest priority (finish them first)

1. Linear Equation
2. Number System
3. %, profit loss, SI-CI
4. Ratio Proportion Variation
5. Speed Time Distance Work
6. Averages, Alligiations
7. Data Interpretation
8. Geometry: Area Volume Perimeter

Medium priority
Following topics not frequently asked, but takes barely 2 hours to master.
because You just have to mugup 3-5 formulas and variety of questions is
very less. Therefore cost: benefit good, You should make room in your
schedule to prepare them.
1 Arithmetic Progression => only have to do one chapter in NCERT.
1 Coordinate Geometry => only have to do one chapter in NCERT.
1 Polynomials factorization => only have to do two chapters in NCERT.

Low Priority
Low priority doesnt mean UPSC will *NOT* ask them. Low priority means,
within your study time table, do them at last depending on how much free
time left after allotting time for other high priority topics such as history,
polity, science, economy, environment (for Paper I) and those reasoningcomprehension & other high priority topics under Maths (for Paper II).
Reason: following topics not frequently asked. Theyre not difficult but
have many variety of questions and formulas=> each of them take more
than 4 hours to master. Therefore, put under low priority in terms of study
time allotment.
1 Geometry theory: Triangles, Quadrilaterals, Circles (TQC)
1 Trigonometry: only height n distance
1 Permutation Combination Probability
1 Statistics
Anyways, lets begin preparation:

CSAT Math doesnt not fall from sky but NCERTs

Some questions directly came from NCERT, just numbers changed.
Observe
CSAT paper II question
2011: contractor penalty
2011: students who play neither cricket nor
football.
2013: food in garrison, how many days will it
last?

similar question in NCERT

Class 10, Ch 5, page 113, Q.15
Class11, ch1, page 23, example 26
Class8, Ch13, page 212 example 7, 8 and
9.

Even the remaining questions, most of them are just slightly difficult than
the concepts taught at NCERT level. Meaning, you dont have to be an
IIT/CAT rankerIf you can understand even upto NCERT level
mathematics, you can tick good number of MCQs.

Gather the weapons

1. One book on quantitative aptitude (hence forth referred as Quant

Book)
2. (For those really poor in maths)- NCERT Mathematics. Topicwise
zip file given at bottom.
ESSENTIAL
3. one separate notebook / file, to maintain diary of mistakeswhenever you find any new formula, shortcut, weird MCQ or make
mistake, note it down in this diary. Night before the exam, just read
this diary. No need to revise aptitude books or practice sums on
that night. I did the same for CAT, got 96%ile.
1. A folder and loose A4 sized papers-To maintain a diary of mistakes
and shortcuts. This is better than a notebook because you can add
new pages anywhere as per your requirement.
OPTIONAL

2. A black slate, like those poor kids use in government primary

schools-It saves lot of paper wasted in practicing math & reasoning
sums.
3. CSAT Topicwise solve papers (1995-2013) by Disha
Publication. Contains all papers of GS and aptitude- topicwise
separated for both pre-CSAT and CSAT era.

Which Quant book?

As such, CSAT maths is just slightly more difficult than NCERT exercises.
BUT, since NCERTs alone dont give all variety of questions and streetsmart techniques to save time during exam. Therefore, you need a quant
book. For example, consider this
(2007) A person has to fill three liquids 403 lit. Petrol, 465 lt. diesel
and 496 lt. motor oil in bottles of equal size without mixing any of
above liquids. What is the least possible number of bottles required?
While NCERT teaches HCF in class10, but doesnt dwell into this concept.
Concept is: youve to find HCF (31), then divide each number with HCF,
then youll get total number of bottles required = 44.
To learn all such variety of questions and concepts, you need a book on
quantitative aptitude. NCERT are good to learn basic concepts, but NCERT
alone are insufficient for CSAT.

Choice of Quantitative Aptitude book, depends on your career backup

apart from Civil Service Exam.
IBPS, Bank, Staff Selection
(SSC), AFCAT, LIC, NICLAAO, ACIO, FCI & other
PSU jobs.

Fast-track to Objective Arithmetic by Rajesh Verma

going back to private sector /

business

CSAT Aptitude Manual by Tata Macgraw Hill

(TMH), Arihant or Pearson or xyz publication- whichever
you can find cheapest or second hand

CDS, SCRA, CAT, XAT &

other higher level exams.

Quantum CAT Sarvesh Kumar (OR Arun Sharma)

Avoid following books

RS Aggarwals book on Quantitative Aptitude, M.Tyras book on quicker
Maths, and any other 90s era book that bookstorewalla recommends you,
because:
1. Theyre Useless for SSC, CDS and SCRA because they dont give
detailed coverage of Trigonometry, geometry theory
(parallelograms, circle-tangent etc.) OR quadratic equations.
2. Theyre Useless for CSAT and higher level exams. Because they dont
cover all variety of tricky MCQs asked in such exams.
3. Even banking & insurance exams Rajesh Vermas techniques are
faster & easy to understand.

Dont waste time learning Speed maths / Vedic maths

For CSAT-Just memorize multiplication tables from 2 to 9. At max,
mugup squares upto 19. It is sufficient.
unlike Bank and CAT exam, the UPSC data interpretation questions
dont test your speed mathematics or long division skill,
unlike CDS and SSC, UPSC questions on divisibility, number theory
or HCF-LCM, dont test your skill over prime number tables (13, 17,
19, 23, 29).
Therefore, dont waste time in Vedic maths tricks for speed maths,
addition, multiplication, subtraction, division, cube roots, square roots etc.

If you already know such tricks then good, but now is not the right time to
learn them fresh.

High priority topics

High priority topics doesnt mean UPSC will definitely ask majority of the
questions from here. It only means while you plan your study schedule,
you should finish them first:

H1: Linear Equations

Sample questions from previous prelims
(1998) in a family, age of father is three times that of his daughter,
and age of son is half of his mother. If wife is nine years younger
than husband, and brother is 7 years older than sister, what is the
age of mother? (Ans.60)
(2009) A gave half of his coins to B and 4 more besides. B gave half
of his coins to C and 4 more besides. C gave half of his coins to D
and 4 more besides. Both B and D end up with same number of
coins. How many coins did A have originally? (Ans.72 coins)
(2011) a person has only Rs. 1 and Rs. 2 coins with her. If the total
number of coins that she has is 50 and the amount of money with
her is Rs. 75, then find the number of Rs. 1 and Rs. 2 coins with him?
(Ans. 25 and 25)
What is Linear Equation?
Linear equation means unknown variable (x or y) doesnt have anything
above their head.
This is not linear equation because x has 2 above its head. Infact this is a
x +2x+1 quadratic equation. It is also part of upto classs10 syllabus. But comes under
low priority for CSAT.
This is linear equation because x doesnt have anything above its head. (Actually
2x+1
its x1 but for our understanding purpose, take it as just x). This ishigh
priority topic for CSAT.
2

Linear equations are very important for aptitude exams, from two angles

1. direct MCQs about age, coins, salary, expenditure related problems

2. Indirect applications in time-speed-distance-work; profit-loss-SI-CI;
Geometry problems etc.

L1: Age problems: silly mistakes

Q. 20 years ago, Bhootnath was 12 times the age of Abdul. At present,
Bhootnath is twice as old as Abdul blah blah blah
were presented with two conditions
Condition

I.

Wrong

20 years ago, Bhootnath was 12 times

the age of Abdul

B-20=12A or

B=12(A-20)

Right

B-20=12(A20)

(this is the most common

mistake)
I

Bhootnath is twice as old as Abdul

2B=A

B=2A

Many candidates make wrong equations as shown above, then get wrong
answer. Examiner would have even listed wrong answer in option. So
junta happily ticks such option, my paper went so good, then they fail &
blame nepotism, corruption and DP Agrawal for everything.
How to avoid silly mistake?
In age problems, always prepare a table beginning with present age.
Observe
At present, Bhootnath is twice as old as Abdul
present age
A and B
Eq1. B=2A

20 years ago, so make a column on left side:

Age 20 years ago:

A-20

B-20

present age

A and B

Eq1. B=2A

Then make second equation: 20 years ago, Bhootnath was 12 times the age
of Abdul
age 20 years ago (-20)

A-20

B-20

present age

A and B

Eq2. B-20=12(A-20)

Eq1. B=2A

Now plug the value of B from Eq1. into Eq2 and youll solve this
effortlessly.

L2: keep minimum variables

Suppose the question is like this The sum of present ages of Abdul and
Bhootnath is 56. 5 years ago Abduls age was.blah blah blah.find the
present age of Bhootnath.
avoid this approach

assume Abdul present age A

Bhootnath present age B

Here you assumed two variables A

and B= lengthier calculations and
increased chances of silly mistakes.

L3: Cannot be determined

use this approach

assume Bhootnaths present Age

B

assume Abduls present age

=(56-B)

Here youve to worry about only

one variable B. The moment you
solve B, you get answer.

Suppose you end up with two equations like this:

I.

x+y=5

II.

y+z=6

Here youve two equations but three variables (x, y and z). You can never
find out the unique value of x, y, z in such situation. Hence answer =
Cannot be determined. But sometimes, even two variable-two equation
set can be impossible to solve. For example
No solution
I.

infinite solution

x+ 2y=4
2x+ 3y=94x+ 6y=18

II.

2x+ 4y= 12

To learn more about ^this, refer to NCERT Maths Class 10, Chapter3,
table given on the page #9.
Examiner will test this by offering you both choice Cannot be
determined; sometimes even data sufficiency (DS) question. Make
sure you pick the right answer in right situation.
Anyways, lets proceed with preparations:
@Those weak in maths

Following NCERT 7, 8 and 10, then

refer your Quant book.

@Those good at maths

NCERT Class10. (Because it has some good

CSAT level sums)

Then refer your Quant book: Rajesh Verma

or Sarvesh Kumar (not both).

NCERT: Linear Equations

Class Ch.
7
4

What to focus for CSAT?

How to convert statements into simple equation.

example 10 age problem on page 90

10

12

Exercise 4.4 question no. 2 and 3

12.5 Monomials, Binomials, Trinomials & Polynomials (page 233)

12.6 adding-subtracting simple equations. Solve the four questions given

immediately. (page 235)

12.8 formula and rules. page 243

Formula for no. of diagonals in a figure. Page 246

Page 247 summary.

Point 2.3 the example given in it page 24

Page 25 Example 7 age problem

page 26 Example 8 coin problem

Page 26-27 examples 9 to 11

Exercise 2.2 do all the sums

Page 30: Example 14 digit reversal

Page 31: Example 15 about age problem

Exercise 2.4 do all sums

Page 35: example 19 age problem

Page 35: Exercise 2.6 only do Problem 6 and 7.

Everyone should do this, irrespective of how strong / weak in maths.

Page 46: In what situation, infinite solution / no solutions? Table 3.4 most
important for MCQs.

Algebraic method to solve equations

Page 50 understand the substitution method given in point 3.4.1

Page 52 Example 9: understand why the answer is cannot be

determined.

Page 53 Exercise 3.3 only solve Question No.3

Page 54 understand elimination method from example 11

Page 56 example 13: digit reversal problem

Page 57 Do all the sums under Q.2 of exercise 3.4

Page 57: solve the apple sum under topic 3.4.5 but avoid the headache of
that cross multiplication method. Stick to substitution & elimination
methods.

Page 60 ticket problem example 14

Page 63: do Q.(i) to (v) most important for CSAT.

Page 65: example 19 avoid that stupid algebra method. Learn Boats and
streams topic from my [Aptitude] article click me.

Page 67

Quant book: Linear Equations

Rajesh Verma
First solve chapter 27 then
chapter 7.Chapter 27 linear
equation

Understand the
consistency system given
on first page of this
chapter.
then solve all the
questions in illustration
and exercises
you may avoid following
type of questions because
no asked in UPSC
o Q.14 in Exercise1

Sarvesh Kumar
Ch13. Elements of Algebra

in the initial part of this chapter he talks about

polynomials, ignore it for the moment and
directly move to page 525, Linear Equation

He has explained all four methods to solve

Linear equations. But stick to substitution and
elimination method. Combined these two, you
can handle pretty much every question.

Ex.13: Do Question 10 to 18

Level 1: Do Question 23 to 31.

Important: in Level1 exercises question No. 23

to 31: observe his explanations- how he solved
them without assuming X or Y, or even framing
equations. IF you master this technique, itll save

o Q1 on Exercise2
Chapter 7: Word problems
based on numbers

a lot of precious minutes in the exam.

Focus on digit reversal

problems and age related
problems.

H2: Number system

Sample Questions from previous prelims
1. (2007) A person has to fill three liquids 403 lit. Petrol, 465 lt. diesel
and 496 lt. motor oil in bottles of equal size without mixing any of
above liquids. What is the least possible number of bottles
required? Ans. HCF will be 31. Then divide it with each number, youll
get total number of bottles: 44.
2. (2009) while adding the first few continuous natural numbers, a
candidate missed one of the number and wrote a wrong answer
177. Which number did he miss? Ans. Sum of the first n natural
numbers is n(n+1)/2, but he missed x, so [n(n+1)/2] minus x = 177.
Once you plug in the options, only x=13 will satisfy this equation.
3. (2011) three persons start walking together and their steps measure
40 cm, 42 cm and 45 cm respectively. What is the minimum distance
each should walk so that each can cover the same distance in
complete steps? Ans. whether its bells ringing together or bulbs lighting
together or people walking together-youve Find LCM of those numbers.
25 m 20 cm
4. (2013) A gardener has 1000 plants. He wants to plant them in such a
way that the number of rows and the number of columns remains
the same. What is the minimum number of plants that he needs
more for this purpose? Ans. Whenever you have to arrange soldiers or
flowers or trees in Equal Row n equal column, then you have to make it
square. Add 24 more trees so it becomes 1024=3232.

These are not really difficult questions, most of them can be solved
without mugging up any formulas. You just need a good grip over basic
concepts.
POOR IN MATHS

GOOD IN MATHS

begin with NCERT

(chapter wise list given
below)
Then use Quant books.

No need for NCERT.

Directly use your Quant book. Refer to appendix

of this article, for what to prepare and what to skip
in the quant books.

NCERT: Number system

NCERT

Chapter

Topic to focus for CSAT

1. proper, improper, mixed fraction

2.Fractions and
Decimals

2. Ex.2.1s example 6
3. Example 5 on page35
4. Example 6 on page39

1. topic 9.7 comparison of numbers- page 179

9. rational
numbers

2. example 6: direction sense test page 186

3. summary from page 191-92

1.Rational
numbers
16. Playing with
numbers.

1.Number system

10

1.Real numbers

Table 1.2 the properties of rational numbers.Topic 1.4 how to

find rational number between two rational numbers.
Divisibility rules for 2,3,5,9
basic concept of recurring decimals: example 8topic 1.6 laws of
exponents for real numbers page 241.7 summary page 27

HCF, LCM how to find

Page 10 Example 6, 8 and the remark given at bottom of

it.

Page 11: Question 7 important concept for circular race

tracks.

Page 19 note to reader.

Ignore Euler and irrational numbers.

NCERT Powers & Exponents

NCERT

Chapter

13.Exponents & powers

Topic to focus for CSAT

comparing numbers with powers

how even-odd powers change the sign of negative

numbers

13.6 expressing large numbers in std.form

table in 6.2

Numbers between square numbers- the lines

given in italics.

6.4.2 Pythagorean triplets

6.7 estimating square root.

geometry angle- example 7.2.2

12.3 Laws of exponents,

12.4.1 Comparing very large and very small

numbers.

6. squares and square

roots

8
7. Cube and Cube roots

12.Powers

Related articles under my [Aptitude] series:

1. LCM-HCF Simplified
2. Remainders: one number and two divisors
After this is done, you have to solve all questions from your quant book.
Even solve the already solved sums given in the illustrations. Refer to

bottom of this article Appendix A3, for what to prepare what to skip from
Rajesh / Sarvesh.

H3: Percentages, Profit Loss, SI- CI

Sample Qs. from previous prelims
1. (1998) A man bought two clocks A and B for total Rs.650. He sold A
at 20% profit and B at 25% loss. If he had kept selling price of both
clocks the same, then what were the cost prices of each
clock? Ans. It requires your understanding of linear equation,
percentages and profit loss. As cost price 250, and Bs 400.
2. (2002) Trader fixed the price of an article in such way that by giving a
rebate of 10%, he made profit of 15%. If the cost of the article is
Rs.72, what is the selling price? Ans. 92 rupees.
3. (2005) Left pan of a faulty weigh weighs 100 gms more than the right
pan. Shopkeeper keeps the weight measure in left pan while buying
goods but keeps it in the right pan while selling goods. He only uses
1 kg weight. If he sells goods at the listed cost price, what is his
profit? Ans. gist of the question is: he frauds 10% in buying and 10%
in selling. So, on each trading sequence.
Hint: Assume 1 gm costs 1 rupee. Find per unit price while buying and
selling.
buying fraud of 100 gm per 1000 gm = 1100 gm
Unit cost price per gram= Rs.1000 paid/ per 1100
gm bought
Effective cost price = 10/11

selling fraud 100 gm per 1000gm =

900 gm
unit SP =Rs. 1000 got/ per 900 gm
sold
Effective selling price = 10/9

Profit % = (SP-CP/CP) x 100= 200/9%

This is one of those weird/unique question, so note it in your diary of
mistake,
1

(2010) two numbers X and Y are respectively 20% and 28% less than
third number Z. By what % is the number Y less than number X. Ans
10%

1 (2010) Difference between simple interest from two banks on Rs.500

for two years is Rs.2.5, what is the difference between their rates?
Ans. 0.25%

Percentages-NCERT
As such UPSCs percentage related questions are complicated than the
exercises given in NCERT, but still solve NCERT as warm-up exercise for
multiplication and division.
Class 7 Ch8
Class 8 Ch8
To learn how to solve such MCQs, without mugging up formulas, refer to
following articles:
1. Concepts of Marked Price and Successive Discounts (Profit-Loss)
without (stupid) formulas

2. Compound Interest Rate, Population Growth without Formulas

3. Alligation: Advanced applications in Interest rates, Profit-loss, Average
Wages (Wine-Water Concept)

4. Product Consistency: If Sugar price increases then consumption should

be Decreased by What %, Time-Speed-Distance problems,

After this is done, you have to solve all questions from your quant book.
Even solve the already solved sums given in the illustrations. Refer to
bottom of this article, for what to prepare what to skip from Rajesh /
Sarvesh.

H4: Ratio Proportion Variation Partnership (RPVP)

Sample Qs. from previous prelims
1. (1998) If 15 pumps of equal capacity can fill a tank in 7 days, then
how many extra pumps will be required to fill the tank in 5
days? Ans.6 (you can solve this as pipes n cisterns / speed-timedistance problem also. ultimately its a problem of inverse relation
between speed vs time)

2. (2002) Amit Shah started a business with investment of Rs.30,000.

Rahul Gandhi joined after some time and invested Rs.20,000. At the
end of year, profit was divided in the ratio of 2:1. After how many
months did Rahul join the business? Ans. 3 months
3. (2013) in a rare coin collection, there is one gold coin for every three
non-gold coins. 10 more gold coins are added to the collection and
the ratio of gold coins to non-gold coins would be 1: 2. Based on the
information; the total number of corns in the collection now
becomes what? Ans. 90
4. (2013) Out of 120 applications for a post, 70 are male and 80 have a
drivers license. What is the ratio between the minimum to
maximum number of males having drivers license? Ans. 3:7
5. (2013) the tank-full petrol in Aruns motor-cycle lasts for 10 days. If
he starts using 25% more every day, how many days will the tankfull petrol last? Ans. 8 days.
6. (2013) In a garrison, there was food for 1000 soldiers for one month.
After 10 days, 1000 more soldiers joined the garrison. How long
would the soldiers be able to carry on with the remaining food? Ans.
Inverse variation topic. Ans. 10 days.
7. (NCERT Class8) There are 100 students in a hostel. Food provision
for them is for 20 days. How long will these provisions last, if 25
more students join the group? Ans. 16 days.
8. (NCERT Class8) The scale of a map is given as 1:30000000. Two
cities are 4 cm apart on the map. Find the actual distance between
them. Ans.1200
Understand the partnership concept from this article: (Aptitude)
Partnership and profit-sharing made Easy.
PS: Even those good at Maths MUST do the sums from Class8 Chapter 13.
Class Ch.
7

What To Focus
Basics of Ratios. Although most of the chapter is focused on percentages. too
rudimentary stuff, use it just for warm up exercise for multiplication and division.

13

Basics of variation.

page 207 example5 interesting

Page 208 exercise 13.1 Question 5 to 10

Page 212 example 7, 8 and 9. Question 8. MOST IMPORTANT- how

long the food will last. This type of questions asked in CSAT. Understand
the concept well.

Exercise 13.2 Q4 to 11. Notice Q5, its identical to the food lasting
problem.

Then solve your Quant book. Refer appendix for what to prepare, what to
skip.

H5: Speed Time Distance Work (STDW)

This is fourth block, because these sums also test your understanding of
Linear Equation (H1), LCM (H2), Percentages (H3) and ratios (H4). But
Juntaa directly starts preparing STDW without learning first four blocks
because last time UPSC asked many MCQs from STDW. Such quickfixshortcut-moodswing based preparation usually lead to #EPICFAIL. You
need good command over all those basic concepts from H1 to H4.
Proceed in a systematic manner.
Sample questions from previous prelims
1. (2001) A worker reaches his factory 3 minutes late if his speed from
his house to the factory is 5 km/hr. If he walks at a speed of 6km/hr,
then he reaches the factory 7 minutes early. The distance of the
factory from his house is ___? Ans 5 km
2. (2004) Two cars X and Y starts from two places A and B respectively
which are 700km apart at 9 a.m. Both the cars run at an average
speed of 60 km/hr. Car X stops at 10 a.m. and again starts at 11 a.m.,
while the other car Y continues to run without stopping. When do
the cars cross each other? Ans 3:20PM
3. (2005) Aryan runs at a speed of 40meters/minute. Rahul follows him
after an interval of 5 minutes and runs at a speed of 50

meters/minute. Rahuls dog runs at a speed of 60 meters/minute

and starts along with Rahul. The dog reaches Aryan and then comes
back to Rahul, and continues to do so till Rahul reaches Aryan. What
is the total distance covered by the dog? Ans 1200m
4. (2007) A and B can complete work together in 5 days. If A works at
twice his speed and B at half of his speed, this work can be finished
in 4 days. How many days would it take for A alone to complete his
job? Ans 10 days
5. (2010) Three men start together to travel the same way around a
circular track of 11km. Their speeds are 4, 5.5 and 8 kmph
respectively. When will they meet at the starting point for the first
time? Ans 22 hours
6. (2012) Mr. Kumar drives to work at an average speed of 48km/hr.
The time taken to cover the first 60% of the distance is 10 minutes
more than the time taken to cover the remaining distance. How far
is his office? Ans. 40 km
7. (2013) A person can walk a certain distance and drive back in six
hours. He can also walk both ways in 10 hours. How much time will
he take to drive both ways? Ans. 2 hrs
8. (2013) A thief running at 8 km/hr is chased by a policeman whose
speed is 10 km/hr. If the thief is 100 m ahead of the policeman, then
the time required for the policeman to catch the thief will be what?
Ans. 3 min
9. (2013) A train travels at a certain average speed for a distance of 63
km and then travels a distance of 72 km at an average speed of 6
km/hr more than its original speed. If it takes 3 hours to complete
the total journey, what is the original speed of the train in km/hr?
Ans.42 kmph
NCERT not much useful here, because it runs on the LCM method and
doesnt dwell on all varieties of questions.
STDW is made up of two topics

1. Speed time
distance

cars, trains, platforms, boats etc.

A can complete a work in., pipe A can fill the tank in

etc.

Speed time work

All of these can be solved through just one formula: STD (speed x time
=distance). Go through following articles:
Time-speed-Distance

Time-speed-work

1. Trains, Platforms TSD

(Time, Speed, Distance)
made easy
2. Boats and Streams madeeasy using our STD-Table
Method
3. Average Speed made easy
without Formulas
4. STD table : Application in
train man bridge, time
and work problems
5. Time n Distance: Early
and late to office (shortcut
using product consistency
method)

1. [Speed Time Work] Two Men can

finish a work, A is 3x more efficient
than B, B leaves before completion
& variety of cases
2. [Speed Time Work] Three men can
finish a work in x days, A & B start
work, C joins after x day, share in
wages & other special cases
3. Time n Work: 4 men and 6 women
can complete a work in 8 Days then

6. Product Consistency:
Time-Speed-Distance
problems

Once youve understood this STD table concept, then apply it while solving
the illustrations and exercises given in your quant book.

H6: Averages, Allegations

1. (1996) If the average of A, B and C is 14. Twice the sum of B and C is
30. What is the value of A? Ans. 27

2. (1997) the average monthly income of a person in a certain family of

5 is Rs.1000. What will be monthly average income of person in the
same family if the income of one person increased by Rs. 12,000 per
year? Ans. 1200
3. (2011) A student on her first 3 tests received an average score of N
points. If she exceeds her previous average score by 20 points on
her fourth test, then what is the average score for the first 4 tests?
(Ans. N+5)
NCERTs dont provide the street-smart techniques OR the requisite variety
of questions asked in aptitude exams. They mainly deal from Statistics
angle. (Statistics is asked but low-priority for CSAT).
So, instead of NCERTS, first go through following articles:
[Aptitude] Averages: Entry / Removal of 1 element => Increase /
Decrease in Average Shortcut method explained

[Aptitude] Averages: More than two elements added / removed :

shortcut technique explained

[Aptitude] Alligations,Mixtures,Alloys: Water,Milk,Wine mixing:

Weighted Average Made Easy for CSAT,CAT,CMAT,IBPS Aptitude

[Aptitude Q] Mixture and Alligiation: Change Alcohol concentration

from 15% to 32%
[Aptitude] Alligation: Advanced applications in Interest rates, Profitloss, Average Wages (Wine-Water Concept)

Then solve all the illustrations and examples from your Quant book.
if you really want to learn the basics, consult following NCERT chapter
(although quite unnecessary because everyone knows this much basic.)
class
7
8
9
10

ch
3
5, 15 (These are useful for data interpretation though)
14
14

H7: Data Interpretation (DI)

GRAPHICAL

TEXTUAL

1. Odd speed graphs, bacterial growth graphs etc.

1. Venn diagrams

2. bar graphs, pie charts, line graphs

2. Tabulation

DI-1: odd- graphs

[Prelim 1995] The variations in temperatures form 0 degree C to 100
degree C with respect to time of two liquids P,Q are shown in the
graph given below:

Which one of the following statements is correct?

a. During heating, liquid P remained hotter than liquid Q throughout
b. At no point of time during heating did the two liquids have the same
temperature
c. P attained the temperature of 100 degree C faster than Q
d. Q attained the temperature of 100 degree C faster than P
ANSWER. (d)
[Prelim 1996] Following graph represents a race among four persons.

Consider following statements

1. A stood first in the race
2. C led all the way
3. D ran faster than others in the later part of the race.
Answer choices
1. 1 and 3 false, while 2 correct
2. 1 and 2 false, while 3 correct
3. 1 and 3 correct while 2 false
4. 1 is correct; 2 and 3 false.
Correct answer: (B)
hint: you should add numbers on both axis, then find what time each took
to finish the race. youll see D won the race.

[Prelim 1999]The yield versus fertilizer input is shown in the graph.

Consider the following statements based on this graph:

1.Yield rate is zero at B and C
2.There is no yield with no fertilizer input
3.The yield is minimum at D
4.The yield is neither minimum nor maximum at C
Which of the above statements are correct?
a. 1,2 and 4
b. 3 and 4
c. 2 and 3
d. 1,3 and 4
ANSWER.(b)

[Prelim 2000]The following figure represents time vs learning curves

of two students,Q and R for learning a Mathematics lesson:

Which one of the following can be drawn from the graph?

a. R started slowly in the beginning but got ahead of Q to complete
learning the lesson
b. Q started slowly and finished learning the lesson earlier than R
c. R was always faster than Q in learning Mathematics
d. Q was always faster than R in learning Mathematics
ANSWER.(a)
Hint: add numbers on both axis, then youll see who is learning to what
pace.
Youll also find odd graphs in last three CSAT papers (attached at bottom
of this article). Im not copying them here because more images=slower
loading webpage.
I call them odd graphs because usually unseen in other aptitude exams,
even CAT. But these graphs are not falling from sky, topic is given in
NCERT. First understand following concepts from NCERT Class8, Chapter
15 Graphs
Page 234-35: Example1 two cricketers performance graph

 Page 235-36: Example2 car average speed graph

Exercise 15.1: Q1 Patients temperature
Page 237-38 Q3. growth of two plants A and B
Page 238: Weather forecast vs actual temperature graph
Page 239: understand the concept in Q7
In the real CSAT, usually they dont give numbers on the axis. But if you
want to solve them with NCERT technique, then youve to write numbers
on your own understanding. Observe following image

Once you add numbers like this, it becomes very easy to compare P vs Q
and eliminate options accordingly.
Where to get additional practice?
Youre unlikely to find such odd graphs practice questions easily. Theyre
usually not asked in Bank and CAT. Although theyre sporadically asked in
CDS, CAPF and SCRA exams (For all four major exams of UPSC, the
Examiner seems to be utilizing the same DI Question bank from the secret
server in the basement of UPSC Headquarter). But again cost:benefit not
that great IF you start digging through all previous papers of CDS, CAPF

and SCRA = too time consuming exercise. Anyways, you will find a few
such question under
1. aptitude manuals
2. CST magazines mock tests.
You dont have to specifically buy them only for the ODD graphs. Borrow
whatever you can from library / friend circle.

DI-2: bar graphs, pie charts

Im not adding their samples questions here, because dozens of
images =slow loading webpage, especially on mobile browser.
But youll find the samples in the last 3 CSAT papers attached below
the article.
Difficulty wise- above SSC and little below BankPO
Data Interpretation in BankPO/ CAT
Often require lengthy calculation and long divisions,
even prime numbers (17,19, 23,37 etc.).

UPSC CSAT
Usually calculations are easy
youve to do 10%, 20%, 25% of
something and youll get the
answer.

Usually give you 3-4 text

statements and ask which
one of them are correct as
per the given chart.

Meaning they dont

usually require you to find
exact mathematical
answer.

Although youve to do
maths /apply logic to
eliminate the wrong
statements.

requires you to find exact mathematical answer.

often the four options are very close
(16.5,16.7,16.55,16.67) so you cant eliminate
wrong choices by logic or guestimation, youve
to do exact calculation without any mistakes.

Same

To make difficult questions from pie chart, they

usually make a combo of

o two pie charts OR

o 1 pie chart + 1 bar graph or
o 1 pie chart + 1 table.

To get a basic overview of Pie charts, bar graphs etc you can consult
NCERT class8 chapter 5. But as such it doesnt contain any street smart
tricks OR sums relevant to CSAT. Therefore, to gain command youve to
get practice. Where to get practice DI sets?
1. SSC sets far easier than CSAT. so avoid
2. CAT sets will be an overkill. so avoid
3. Hence your best bet is bank PO exam papers. But even in them,
avoid sets that require lengthy calculations and long divisions. Yes
but where to get BankPO papers? Ans. hit the library and
o go through monthly issues of Pratiyogita Darpan or banking
service chronicle
o CST (Civil service times) magazine gives demo CSAT papers
with DI
o Arihant/Kiran publication books papersets
Quant books usually dont give many DI sets whether its Rajesh, Sarvesh
or Arun Sharma. Its a clever marketing trick to sell another separate book
for DI. But for CSAT DI, you dont need any separate book. Also dont waste
time on internet gathering bank papers theyre usually too scattered and
bad PDF quality. Just hit the library and go through those magazines.

DI-3: Venn Diagrams

Sample questions from previous prelims:
1. [1998] There are 50 students admitted to a nursery class. Some
students can speak only English and some can speak only Hindi. 10
students can speak both English and Hindi. If the number of

students who can speak English is 21, then how many can speak
Hindi, how many can speak only Hindi and how many can speak
only English ? Ans. 39,29 and 11 respectively
2. [2000] In an examination, every candidate took Physics or
Mathematics or both. 65.8% took Physics and 59.2% took
Mathematics. The total number of candidates was 2000.How many
candidates took both Physics and Mathematics? Ans. 500
3. [2001] In a survey,it was found that 80% of those surveyed owned a
car while 60% of those surveyed owned a mobile phone. If 55%
owned both a car and a mobile phone, what percent of those
surveyed owned a car and a mobile phone or both? Ans. 85%
4. [2011-II] There are 100 students in a particular class. 60% students
play cricket, 30% student play football and 10% students play both
the games. What is the number of students who play neither cricket
nor football? Ans.20
There are two sub types:
1. logical Venn diagrams (we saw in previous article)
2. mathematical Venn diagrams (that well see here)

Dont assume A+B=total

Q. In a society 10 people drink tea, 4 people drink both coffee and
tea..blah blah blah..find total people in the society.
Wrong Approach

Total people in society =+ only tea

drinkers+ only coffee drinkers+ (those who
drink both tea & coffee)
This is juntaas most common mistake in
Venn diagram. they forget about n

Right Approach
Total people in society =+ only tea drinkers+
Only coffee drinkers+ (Those who drink both
tea & coffee)
+ Those who drink neither tea nor coffee
(n)
Read the question description carefully. If and
when required take n=0.

As such Venn diagram is class11 topic but UPSC has repeatedly asked it
both in pre-CSAT and CSAT era. Perhaps, examiner considers it

Reasoning and not maths. Nonetheless, Venn diagram is a very easy

NO EXCUSE topic. At max it should take ~3 hours to finish this topic at
home.
Start preparation with Class11 NCERT Mathematics chapter1.
page
16
17
21
2226
27

What to focus for CSAT?

Properties of intersections. you dont have to mugup formulas, but understand the
concept from those colored regions in those five image boxes.
Example 18. this is the basic of all 2 circle Venn diagrams.
Formula of n(AUBUC). As such you can solve 3 circle Venn diagrams with just logic
of this portion minus that portion. but sometimes problems are trickier and you
need this formula.
All the illustrations and all the exercises.
Q.13 to 16

After this, solve all the sums in your Quant book (+ whatever sums you get
in Pratiyogita, CST etc.)

DI-4 Tabulation questions

Sample questions from previous prelims
[1996] The following table shows the percentage distribution of revenue
expenditure of Government of India in 1989-90 and 1994-95 : Expenditure
Head (percent to total)
Years
1989-90
1994-95

Defence
15.1
13.6

Interest payments
27.7
38.7

Subsidies
16.3
8.0

Grants to State/UT
13.6
16.7

other
27.4
23

Based on this table, it can be said that the Indian economy is in poor
shape because the Central government continues to be under pressure
to :
a. Reduce expenditure on defence
b. Spend more and more on interest payments
c. Reduce expenditure on subsidies
d. Spend more and more as grants-in-aid to State government/Union
Territories

ANSWER.(b)
1 (2000) A club has 108 members. Two-thirds of them are men and
the rest are women. All members are married except for 9 women
members. How many married women are there in there in the club?
Ans.27
1 (2001) A city has a population of 3,00,000 out of which 1,80,000 are
males. 50% of the population is literate. If 70% of the males are
literate, the number of literate females is __.? Ans 24,000
You can solve Q3 and Q4 by directly framing linear equations. but table =
less changes of error.
Sometimes, question descriptions of tabular vs Venn diagram sound very
similar, but the main difference: the players in a tabular questions will not
have overlapping. Observe
Tabular question
1. In a company ** male, out of them **
union members. Total female are **, blah
blah blah..then find __.
2. in a company ** people work in HR, **
people work in R&D, ** people work in
marketing blah blah blah.then find
___.

Overlapping not possible. Man is man,

woman is woman. You can make two
columns: union vs non-union and further
two sub columns man vs woman.
same way, Person who works in HR
cannot work in R&D at the same time.
These are all separate columns. no
overlapping circles.

Venn diagram question

1. In a society 10 people drink tea, 4
people drink both coffee and
tea..blah blah blah..find total
people in the society.
2. in a society ** people own car, **
own bike.blah blah blah

Overlapping circles are possible,

people who like tea, may also like
coffee. Those who own car, may
also own bike.

This is not difficult, but juntaa doesnt practice at home so in the

exam they cannot decide which way to proceed- Should I make table
OR Venn diagram? So, they simply start scribbling data either in

table or in Venn diagram, until they get nowhere after 10-15 minutes
of calculation.
Then they try second approach, but make silly mistakes in addition /
multiplication so finally after wasting 20 minutes they leave the sum.
This is one of the main reasons why people cannot finish paper on
time and fail in the CSAT.
DONOT start scribbling numbers, UNLESS you know exactly how
youre going to reach the answer.
Keep an eye on the wrist watch. DONOT spend so much time on a
single question, even if its Data interpretation.
Anyways where to get practice?
NCERTs not much useful here. Youll find some questions within Venn
diagram chapter of your quant book. Beyond that
1. Previous papers of General Studies (Mains) paper II upto 2012.
Because in those years, UPSC had statistics and DI section under
Mains syllabus and they used to ask such tabulation questions.
2. Bank papers given in competitive magazines Pratiyogita, Banking
chronicle etc. but keep in mind, UPSCs tabulation MCQs dont
involve that lengthy calculations unlike IBPS/SBI.

H8: Geometry: Area volume perimeter (AVP)

Sample questions from previous prelims
1. [2005]A big rectangular plot of area 4320 meter square is divided
into 3 square shaped smaller plots by fencing parallel to the smaller
side of the plot. However some area of land was still left as a square
could not be formed. So, 3 more square shaped plots were formed
by fencing parallel to the longer side of the original plot such that no
area of the plot was left surplus. What are the dimensions of the
original plot? Ans. 120m x 36m

2. [2010]The diameters of two circular coins are in the ratio of 1:3. The
smaller coin is, made to roll around the bigger coin till it returns to
the position from where the, process of rolling started. How many
times the smaller coin rolled around the bigger coin? Ans.3 times
3. [1998]A square pond has 2m sides and is 1m deep. If it is to be
enlarged, the depth remaining the same, into a circular pond with
the diagonal of the square as diameter as shown in the figure, then
what would be the volume of the earth to be removed? Ans. (2pi4)m3
How to proceed?
if you dont
if youve Sarvesh Kumar
have Sarvesh Kumar
First NCERTs then your No need to consult NCERT. Because he has neatly summarized all
quant book.
theorms, formula and special questions given in NCERTs.

NCERT Class7 Chapter 11

206-208
220
221
223
225-26
226-28

all examples for area-perimeter related questions

example 15
example 16
do all exercises in 11.3
Example 20, 21, 22. Similar park-road question asked in 1997
all the sums and summary

Class9 Chapter 12: Areas related to triangles: HERONs formula

199
201
202
203
205
207

Herons formula
example 2
all questions
Q.3 to 6; Example 4
ex.6
all questions and summary

Class9 Chapter 13: surface area volume. Proceed in following

sequence:
237
211-213
227-28
216-17
229-231

first mug up all the formulas given in this summary

Cuboids area related sums
Cuboid volume related sums. 1995: UPSC asked question similar to example 11.
Cylinder area related sums
Cylinder volume related sums

220-21
232-33
224-25
235-37

Cone area related sums

Cone volume related sums
Sphere area related sums
Sphere volume related sums

Class10 Chapter 12
225
226
227
230
231
231238

example cost of ploughing the field

entire exercise 12.1
formula for area of a sector
Q3, 8, 9
Q10 to 14
all illustration and sums important for CSAT. They keep asking such combo
images and shaded areas.

Class10 Chapter 13
This chapter deals with volume of combo figures. Semi-sphere above a
cube & so on. Solve all the illustration and exercises given here.
next article, we see how to approach the medium and low priority
topics under mathematics for CSAT.

Appendix: Download links

A1: Last three years official CSAT papers
https://files.secureserver.net/0s4I32bAjTl3bm
except CSAT-2013, all contain official answerkey from UPSC

A2: NCERT Mathematics Topicwise Sorted free download

https://files.secureserver.net/0fmaNqqBDslHlc

A3: Quant books: What to prepare, what to skip?

Beyond NCERT, youll need to practice maximum sums from your
quantitative aptitude book. However, not all chapters / topics given in
such books, are important for CSAT. So, consult following PDF files on
what topics to focus and which topics to ignore:
1. Fast track to Arithmetic Rajesh Verma What to prepare what to skip for
CSAT

2. Quantam CAT Sarvesh Kumar What to prepare what to skip for CSAT
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