CAT 2015 exam was held on November 29,2015 at more than 650 test

centers across India. The test was conducted in two slots(morning

slot,evening slot) in which, more than 1.6 lakhs students appeared for the
same. This time duration for each slot was increased by 10 minutes,
making it a 180 minute test.
Following were the sections for the CAT 2015
Sections

Questions

Quantitative Aptitude

34

Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning

32

Verbal and Reading Comprehension

34

The CAT exam this time allowed the usage of a basic on-screen calculator
for the purpose of computation which was an added advantage for 2015
CAT applicants. But on the other hand, allotment of exactly 60 minutes to
answer the questions for each section without the option of swapping
between two sections made this CAT 2015 a bit tough compared to
previous CATs.
This post will provide you with the detailed analysis of the question paper
along with important insights from the CAT 2015 paper.
Common admission test (CAT) 2015 paper analysis (slot 1)

The common admission test slot 1 exam was held on 29th November
between 9:30 AM and 12:30 PM across 650+centers across India.
Here is a detailed analysis of the CAT 2015 question paper pattern
SECTION

QUESTIONS

NON -MCQ
QUESTIONS

LEVEL OF
HARDNESS

Verbal Ability and

Reading
comprehension

34

10

Data
Interpretation and
Logical Reasoning

32

Difficult

16

Quantitative
Ability

34

15

Moderate

26-27

Net total

100

Easy

GOOD
ATTEMPTS
27-28

65+

CAT 2015 (section 1) Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension Analysis

This time the questions which appeared in the Verbal Ability and Reading
Comprehension sections were easy to moderate level as compared to CAT
14 question paper. It was lengthy and candidates with practice would have
an edge over other candidates. The Verbal Ability section was dominated
by RC questions where 24 out of 34 questions appeared from the same
category. Of the 5 RCs, 4 were straight forward and 1 was complex. The
topics that were part of the passages were mostly based on the social
issues, such as:

Economic inequality arising due to capitalism

Ways of providing electricity to the worlds poor
Ways in which young people can use internet optimally

Section

Topic

Questions

Reading Comprehension
(24 Questions)

Reading Comprehension( All

MCQ)

24

Verbal Ability
(10 Questions)

Para jumble( all fill in the

blanks)

Summary (All MCQs)

Odd sentence out(All fill in the

blanks)

In short, in the Verbal Ability Section, an attempt of 27-28 would be

considered great and a correct attempt of 19-20 questions would ensure a
97 + percentile in this section.

CAT 2015 (Section 2) Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning Analysis

In Data interpretation Section, one which was based on set theory was
hard, two were moderate and one was easy. Majority of the DI questions
were lengthy and demanded extensive attention in the allotted time.
Logical reasoning was moderate and could be solved with some practice.
Section

Topic

No. of Questions

Data Interpretation

Line Chart (Quarters) Easy

Logical Reasoning

Table chart ( Plants industry )

Moderate

Table chart ( Time and work )

Moderate NON MCQ

Set theory Difficult

Arrangement- Sudoku set Easy

Cube based set Moderate

Arrangement -9 children
Difficult-NON MCQ

Arrangement 5 ChildrenModerate

CAT 2015 (Section 3) Quantitative Ability Analysis

The Quantitative Ability Section consisted of a total of 34 questions out of
which 15 were of Non MCQ type and the rest were MCQs. Based on the
observation, the questions were basically framed to test the basics and
the fundamental knowledge of the basics. One noticeable change was the
absence of questions based on numbers in the paper.
Along with the basic questions, there were some direct questions from the
BYJUs Study Material, giving an extra edge to the students who had
studied from our material and taken our All India and Mock Test Series.
Section

Topic

Questions

Quantitative Ability

Number System

Algebra

14

Arithmetic

10

Modern Math

Trigonometry (Height &

Distance)

Geometry and Mensuration

In short, in the Quantitative Ability Section, an attempt of 24-27 questions

would be considered great and would ensure a high percentile in the this
Section. The quantitative aptitude section was fairly easy.

Here are the list of questions from Quantitative aptitude section

A circle having diameter 12 cm is cut by a chord of 6 cm, Find the

area of smaller arc?

A rhombus has diagonals in the ratio of 4:3, Find the ratio of the side

to the shorter diagonal?

The number of ways of reaching the point (3,2) from (0,0) such that

one can move only one step at a time either along x axis or along yaxis are
The angles of depression subtended by a tower 10 m tall at the top

and at the bottom of a tree are 45 degrees and 70 degrees

respectively. Find the height of the tree.
In a Class, 34 students failed in economics, 42 failed in physics, 28

failed in chemistry and 18 failed in exactly 3 topics. 88 students failed

in exactly one topic. What is the number of students that failed in all
three subjects?
The area enclosed by the curve

|x| + |z| = 3
A pipe A can fill a cistern in 4 hours while pipe B can fill it in 3 hours.

The pipe A is opened at 2 noon. At 3 pm, a drain pipe that can empty
the tank is also opened. At 3pm, the pipe B is also opened. Find the
time at which the cistern will be completely filled.
A flight starts from Bangalore at 7 am local time and reaches Dubai

at 12:30 am local time. Another flight starts from Dubai at 3 pm local

time and reaches Bangalore at 8:40 pm local time. Both flights travel
at a constant speed of 800 km/hr. Find the distance between Bangalore
and Dubai.
There are 8 pieces of different values to be given to 4 people who

secured 1st, 3rd and 4th ranks respectively. What is the number of ways in
which these prizes could be distributed to the three people such that
the 3rd prize winner gets a prize of higher value than the 3d prize
winner and the 2nd prize winner gets higher prize than the third?
Common admission test (CAT) 2015 paper analysis (slot 2)
The CAT slot 2 exam was held on 29th November between 2:30 PM and
5:30 PM 650+centers across India.
Here is a detailed analysis of the CAT 2015 question paper pattern.
SECTION

QUESTIONS

NON -MCQ
QUESTIONS

LEVEL OF
HARDNESS

GOOD
ATTEMPTS

98 percenti
Verbal Ability and
Reading
comprehension

34

10

Very Easy

27-28

Data
Interpretation and
Logical Reasoning

32

Hard

16

Quantitative
Ability

34

15

Easy

26-27

Net total

100

*Assuming a 70% accuracy

CAT 2015 (section 1) Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension
Analysis
This time the questions which appeared in the Verbal Ability and Reading
Comprehension sections were easy compared to the CAT 14 question
paper. The Verbal Ability section was dominated by RC questions where 24
out of 34 questions were RCs. 4 passages were straight forward and 1 was
difficult. The topics of the passages were mostly based on social issues,
such as:

The
The
The
The
The

upbringing of Congo writers and their history.

water problems in Uttar Pradesh.
Information and Communication Technology revolution.
attire of women in the office.
rising house prices resulting in the shifting from major cities to

counties.
In the Verbal Ability section, sub-sections like Parajumbles, Odd one out
and Summary had Non MCQ type questions, with no negative marking,
making them easier to score in.
In short, in the Verbal Ability Section, an attempt of 27-28 would be
considered great and a correct attempt of 19-20 questions would ensure a
98 + percentile in this section.

CAT 2015 (Section 2) Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning Analysis

In Data interpretation Section, two sets out of four were easy. The other
two sets which involved a lot of calculation made them extremely difficult.
Majority of the DI questions were lengthy and demanded extensive

65+

attention in the allotted time. Of the 4 sets in LR, 2 were moderately

difficult and 2 were extremely difficult. At large, more than 16 and 20
attempts in this particular section can be considered as good and
excellent, respectively.
Section

Topic

No. of Questions

Data Interpretation

Line Chart (Names of People)

Easy

Table ( Cartridges ) Moderate

Table ( Assets ) Difficult NON

MCQ

Drugs ( Table ) Difficult

Exam Scores 5 student Scores

Easy

Project Management teams

Moderate

Auction Difficult- Non MCQ

Scheduling Professors,
Courses Difficult

Logical Reasoning

CAT 2015 (Section 3) Quantitative Ability Analysis

The Quantitative Ability Section consisted of a total of 34 questions out of
which 15 were of Non MCQ type. Based on observation, the questions
were basically framed to test the basics and foundation of the candidate.
Along with the basic questions, there were some direct questions from
Byjus Study Material, giving an extra edge to the students who had
studied from our material and taken our All India and Mock Test Series
SECTION

TOPIC

QUESTIONS

Quantitative Ability

Number System

Algebra

10

Arithmetic

10

Modern Math

Trigonometry (Height &

Distance)

Geometry and Mensuration

In short, in the Quantitative Ability Section, an attempt of 26-28 would be

considered great and a correct attempt of 19-20 questions would ensure a
high percentile in the this Section.
Some of the questions from Quantitative Ability Section :

Find the number of integral positive solutions for m in m = where n

can be any integer.

In how many ways can you give 3 rupee coins and 7 rupee coins to

make a sum of Rs 100?

= = . What would be the value of + =?
PQ and RS are 2 parallel chords of a circle such that PQ = 8 cm & RS

= 6 cm. If the chords are on the opposite sides of the centre and
distance between them is 4 cm. find the radius of the circle.
In the figure, MNOP is a square of area 2. Q and R are the mid points of
MN and NO. What is the ratio of area of the square to that of the triangle
PQR?

Area of rectangle = Area of square and the perimeter of rectangle =

3(Perimeter of the square). Find the ratio of the longest side of the
rectangle to the side of the square.
Ram cut a cake in the ratio 1:3:5 and gave the biggest of the pieces

to Shyam and Shyam redistributed his share in the ratio 1:1:3 and
Shyam gave the smallest piece to Jadu. Jadu weighed his share and it
turned out to be 10 gms. What was the weight of the initial cake?
In a class of 100 students, 50 failed in Mathematics, 43 failed in
Physics, 20 failed in Biology, 22 failed in exactly 3 subjects and only 1

student passed in all the subjects, the number of students who failed in
all subjects are?
In a circle with centre (0,0) and the point (P,Q) lying on the circle

1.
2.
3.
4.

which of the following would hold true

P+Q>1
P3 + Q3 > 1
P4 + Q4 > 1
P6 + Q6 > 1