Sure-shot tips to crack quantitative reasoning section

Hyderabad: A major part of TSPSC exams tests a candidate’s aptitude in basic mathematics. Quantitative reasoning comprises arithmetic, algebra, geometry, probability, time and distance, percentage, etc. It’s not necessary that you need to be a pro at maths, but you should know the basics. Maths is a scoring subject, and once you get the fundamentals […]

Hyderabad: A major part of TSPSC exams tests a candidate’s aptitude in basic mathematics. Quantitative reasoning comprises arithmetic, algebra, geometry, probability, time and distance, percentage, etc. It’s not necessary that you need to be a pro at maths, but you should know the basics. Maths is a scoring subject, and once you get the fundamentals and formulas right, solving equations becomes a piece of cake.

Start at the ground level

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It’s imperative that your elementary maths is perfect. A lot of times examiners ask candidates questions that require them to apply the math concepts to test the confidence of the person taking the test. While many candidates tend to go back to NCERT textbooks, it’s time consuming. “It’s better to pick up an aptitude textbook like RS Agarwal Quantitative Aptitude which covers all the topics,” says Srinivas Rao, director, IBT Institute, Habsiguda, which provides coaching for TSPSC.

Simple formulas

People who are returning to studies after a long time or not adept at Maths should brush up on multiplication tables, BODMAS, simplification and percentage. “A lot of questions are based on simplification and percentage. If you don’t know tables beyond 12 or 15, you are going to be spending more time on the exam. So, go back and read them again,” adds Srinivas Rao.

Quant section is tricky

A common mistake aspirants make while studying for the mathematical part of the exam is sticking to long methods shown in school textbooks. When solving equations in the exam, time management is crucial. “You should be able to solve a problem in two or three steps. Textbooks tend to have longer methods for solving an equation. They take a lot of time even though they are simpler to understand. Coaching academies teach students shortcut methods. Students who aren’t taking coaching should look up websites and YouTube tutorials for this,” suggests Srinivas Rao. But he cautions that when looking up methods online, it’s easy to get confused with many methods, especially with subjects like percentage. So, stick to one website only.

No fear

Even if you are not good at maths, don’t be scared. “Spend at least 2 hours every day on question papers. You should be solving 200 problems of different models every day. Any doubts that arise can be clarified later. Just knowing theories isn’t enough, practice as much as you can. These days, there are many online websites that have set papers with solutions using different methods. Utilise them,” suggests Rao.

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