High Weightage CAT Chapters 2026: Based on Past-Year Questions
Published 29 August 2026 · 6 min read · Common Admission Test
Arithmetic is the highest weightage area in CAT, with 125 of 324 Quant questions across CAT 2021 to 2025. Algebra follows with 109. At chapter level, Equations and Polynomials leads on 34 questions, then Progressions and Series on 28 and Ratio and Proportion on 22.
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Arithmetic is the highest weightage area in CAT, with 125 of 324 Quant questions across CAT 2021 to 2025. Algebra follows with 109. At chapter level, Equations and Polynomials leads on 34 questions, then Progressions and Series on 28 and Ratio and Proportion on 22.
Every number below comes from counting all 15 slots of CAT 2021 to CAT 2025, chapter by chapter. Nothing here is an estimate.
Quant: where the 324 questions went
Area | Questions in 5 years | Share of Quant |
|---|---|---|
125 | 39% | |
109 | 34% | |
47 | 15% | |
27 | 8% | |
16 | 5% |
Arithmetic and Algebra are 234 of 324 questions between them. A candidate who owns both and skips Modern Mathematics entirely is trading 5 percent of the section to protect 73 percent of it.
Source: Percentyl CAT 2026 syllabus analysis, compiled from CAT 2021 to CAT 2025 papers, all three slots each year.
Arithmetic chapter by chapter
Chapter | Questions in 5 years |
|---|---|
Ratio and Proportion | 22 |
Average | 19 |
Time, Speed and Distance | 18 |
Profit and Loss | 17 |
Time and Work | 15 |
Percentage | 13 |
Simple and Compound Interest | 12 |
Mixture and Alligation | 7 |
Pipes and Cisterns, Clocks | 2 |
Algebra chapter by chapter
Chapter | Questions in 5 years |
|---|---|
Equations and Polynomials | 34 |
Progressions and Series | 28 |
Logarithms and Exponents | 20 |
Functions and Graphs | 15 |
Inequalities and Absolute Value | 12 |
Geometry, Number Systems and Modern Mathematics
Chapter | Questions in 5 years |
|---|---|
Lines and Angles | 19 |
Quadrilaterals | 12 |
Factors and Factorials | 7 |
Miscellaneous Number System | 7 |
Miscellaneous Modern Maths | 7 |
Circles | 6 |
Properties and Simplification | 6 |
Permutation, Combination and Probability | 6 |
Coordinate Geometry | 5 |
Polygons | 4 |
Divisibility Rules | 4 |
Remainders | 3 |
Set Theory | 3 |
Mensuration | 1 |
Two chapters produced nothing at all in five years. HCF and LCM, plus number system conversion. They still get taught. They are worth a single evening for the concepts sitting underneath other chapters, but not a week.
The twelve chapters worth drilling first
Ranked by five year question count, these twelve carried 213 of 324 Quant questions.
Rank | Chapter | Questions |
|---|---|---|
1 | Equations and Polynomials | 34 |
2 | Progressions and Series | 28 |
3 | Ratio and Proportion | 22 |
4 | Logarithms and Exponents | 20 |
5 | Average | 19 |
6 | Lines and Angles | 19 |
7 | Time, Speed and Distance | 18 |
8 | Profit and Loss | 17 |
9 | Time and Work | 15 |
10 | Functions and Graphs | 15 |
11 | Percentage | 13 |
12 | Simple and Compound Interest | 12 |
Chapter wise timed tests on these sit at percentyl.in/mock-tests/topic-tests.
What is trending up and what is fading
- Logarithms and Exponents is rising sharply. One question a slot through 2021 to 2023, then 3, 2 and 3 in CAT 2024 and 2, 2, 2 in CAT 2025.
- Mixture and Alligation arrived late. Zero questions across CAT 2021 and 2022, then steady appearances in every year since 2023.
- Coordinate Geometry has almost vanished. Five questions in five years, two of them in a single 2021 slot.
- Remainders is thin but not dead. Three questions in five years, all in CAT 2024.
- Arithmetic has stabilised at 8 questions a slot. It was volatile in 2021 and 2022, ranging 8 to 11, then settled at exactly 8 in every slot of 2023, 2024 and 2025.
DILR: which set types repeat
DILR is counted in sets rather than questions. Across 15 slots there were 66 sets, roughly four a slot.
Set type | Sets in 5 years |
|---|---|
Analytical Reasoning | 16 |
Logic Based Data Interpretation | 14 |
Line and Bar Charts | 9 |
Puzzles | 6 |
Data Tabulation | 6 |
Mathematical Reasoning | 4 |
Games and Tournaments | 4 |
Sitting and Standing Arrangement | 3 |
Order and Ranking | 2 |
Logic based DI is the story here. One set in CAT 2021, then 2 in 2022 and 2023, then 4 in 2024 and 6 in 2025. Pure chart reading is being replaced by charts wrapped in a logical condition.
VARC: passages by theme, verbal ability by type
Reading comprehension is fixed at 4 passages a slot, 60 passages across five years. Themes cluster tightly.
RC theme | Passages in 5 years |
|---|---|
Science and Technology | 14 |
Environment and Life Science | 10 |
Social Science and History | 8 |
Art and Abstract | 7 |
Economics and Management | 6 |
Literature | 5 |
Philosophy | 4 |
Contemporary | 3 |
Psychology | 2 |
Politics | 1 |
Verbal ability is fixed at 8 questions a slot, 120 in five years.
Question type | Questions in 5 years |
|---|---|
Para Summary | 39 |
Para Jumbles | 30 |
Para Completion | 27 |
Odd One Out | 24 |
Watch the volatility. Para jumbles disappeared completely from CAT 2024, all three slots, then returned at 2 a slot in 2025. Odd one out did the same in CAT 2022. Nothing in verbal ability is safe to drop.
How to turn this into a study order
- Weeks 1 to 4. The top six Quant chapters, one at a time, past questions before timed tests.
- Weeks 5 to 7. The next six, plus Analytical Reasoning and Logic Based DI sets in DILR.
- Weeks 8 onward. Everything below 12 questions in five years, at a lighter pass. Know the method, skip the depth.
- Throughout. Four RC passages a day weighted towards science, environment and social science, plus all four verbal ability types every week.
Past questions for every chapter above sit inside the free papers at percentyl.in/pyq. The full chapter list by section is at percentyl.in/schedule/syllabus.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which chapters have the highest weightage in CAT?
Arithmetic is the highest weightage area with 125 of 324 Quant questions across CAT 2021 to 2025, followed by Algebra with 109. At chapter level Equations and Polynomials leads with 34 questions, then Progressions and Series with 28.
Can I skip chapters in CAT preparation?
Some, carefully. HCF and LCM and number system conversion produced no questions across five years. Mensuration produced one and coordinate geometry five. Those are worth a light pass rather than a week each.
How many Quant questions come from Arithmetic in CAT?
About 8 of 22 in a typical slot. Arithmetic delivered exactly 8 questions in every slot of CAT 2023, 2024 and 2025, having ranged between 8 and 11 in 2021 and 2022.
Which DILR set types repeat most in CAT?
Analytical reasoning with 16 sets across five years and logic based data interpretation with 14. Logic based DI is growing fast, from 1 set in CAT 2021 to 6 in CAT 2025.
What topics come in CAT reading comprehension?
Science and technology led with 14 passages across five years, then environment and life science with 10 and social science and history with 8. Reading in those three areas covers more than half of what CAT sets.
Is the CAT syllabus the same every year?
The syllabus is not published by the IIMs at all. What exists is a pattern inferred from past papers. That pattern shifts. Logarithms rose sharply in 2024, para jumbles vanished in 2024 and returned in 2025.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which chapters have the highest weightage in CAT?
Arithmetic is the highest weightage area with 125 of 324 Quant questions across CAT 2021 to 2025, followed by Algebra with 109. At chapter level Equations and Polynomials leads with 34 questions, then Progressions and Series with 28.
Can I skip chapters in CAT preparation?
Some, carefully. HCF and LCM and number system conversion produced no questions across five years. Mensuration produced one and coordinate geometry five. Those are worth a light pass rather than a week each.
How many Quant questions come from Arithmetic in CAT?
About 8 of 22 in a typical slot. Arithmetic delivered exactly 8 questions in every slot of CAT 2023, 2024 and 2025, having ranged between 8 and 11 in 2021 and 2022.
Which DILR set types repeat most in CAT?
Analytical reasoning with 16 sets across five years and logic based data interpretation with 14. Logic based DI is growing fast, from 1 set in CAT 2021 to 6 in CAT 2025.
What topics come in CAT reading comprehension?
Science and technology led with 14 passages across five years, then environment and life science with 10 and social science and history with 8. Reading in those three areas covers more than half of what CAT sets.
Is the CAT syllabus the same every year?
The syllabus is not published by the IIMs at all. What exists is a pattern inferred from past papers. That pattern shifts. Logarithms rose sharply in 2024, para jumbles vanished in 2024 and returned in 2025.