CAT Percentages Questions

Percentages compare a quantity with a base of one hundred. Successive changes, reverse percentages and percentage-point differences all depend on identifying the correct base.

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Key concepts

• Base value and percentage change
• Successive multiplying factors
• Percentage points versus percentage change

CAT percentages practice questions

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Common mistakes

• Adding successive percentage changes directly.
• Calculating a change relative to the final value instead of the original value.

Practical solving approaches

• Turn increases and decreases into multiplying factors.
• Write the reference quantity beside each percentage and use a convenient base when only relative values are given.

Percentages FAQs

Do equal percentage increases and decreases cancel?

No. They act on different bases. Multiply the two change factors to find the final value relative to the starting value.

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CAT Percentages Questions

Percentages compare a quantity with a base of one hundred. Successive changes, reverse percentages and percentage-point differences all depend on identifying the correct base.

17 free practice questions

Key concepts

• Base value and percentage change
• Successive multiplying factors
• Percentage points versus percentage change

CAT percentages practice questions

Question 1Multiple choiceMEDIUM

Question 1

The maximum guaranteed return to Shabnam is :

Refer to the data given below and answer the questions that follow.

Shabnam is considering three alternatives to invest her surplus cash for a week. She wishes to guarantee maximum returns on her investment. She has three options, each of which can be utilized fully or partially in conjunction with others. Option A: Invest in a public sector bank. It promises a return of +0.10%. Option B: Invest in mutual funds of ABC Ltd. A rise in the stock market will result in a return of +5%, while a fall will entail a return of –3%. Option C: Invest in mutual funds of CBA Ltd. A rise in the stock market will result in a return of –2.5%, while a fall will entail a return of +2%.

Choose an answer

A.0.20%B.0.15%C.0.30%D.0.25%E.0.10%

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Question 2Type in the answerMEDIUM

Question 2

Type in your answer in the input box provided below the question.

Answer the questions independently of each other.

In a school, 35% of the total number of students are in fifth std. and below. Out of them, 60% are boys and there are 280 girls. What is the total number of students in the school?

Your answer

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Question 3Multiple choiceEASY

Question 3

Select the correct alternative from the given choices.

Vinod carries some money with him to the market. He gives 25% of the money to his friend Suresh. 1/3rd of the remaining, he spends on a movie ticket. With 40% of the remaining, he does shopping. In the market, he meets his friend Gita who gives him 2/3rd of the money in his hand. He gives 4/5th of the total money in his hand to his mother. What is left with him is the square root of the initial amount he was carrying. How much money does Gita give him ?

Choose an answer

A.40 B.25 C.10 D.20

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Question 4Multiple choiceHARD

Question 4

Select the correct alternative from the given choices.

Answer the questions independently of each other.

In a specific market, only three competitors, X, Y and Z, operate. Last year, the market share of the firm Y was 10% more than that of X. In a year's time, both the firms X and Y increased their respective market share by 20%. This year, the market share of the firm Y is five times that of Z. How much was the market share of the firm Z last year, if the total sales remained constant over these two years?

Choose an answer

A.25%B.30%C.20%D.15%

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Question 5Multiple choiceMEDIUM

Question 5

Select the correct alternative from the given choices.

Answer the questions independently of each other.

In class X, the number of girls is 40% more than that boys. In a test, 75% of the total students passed the examination. Had 4 more boys failed in the test, the percentage of boys who cleared the test would have been 85%. Had 8 more girls failed in the test, the percentage of students who cleared the test would drop to 66.66%. Find the percentage of girl students who cleared the test.

Choose an answer

A.45%B.61%C.56%D.Cannot be determined

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Question 6Multiple choiceMEDIUM

Question 6

Select the correct alternative from the given choices.

Answer the questions independently of each other.

60% of a class are boys and 25% of the boys are at least 5 feet tall. If 25% of the girls are less than 5 feet tall, what is the fraction of the students in the class who are at least 5 feet tall?

Choose an answer

A.

B.

C.

D.

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Question 7Multiple choiceMEDIUM

Question 7

Select the correct alternative from the given choices.

Answer the questions independently of each other.

At the end of year 1998, Shepard bought nine dozen goats. Henceforth, every year he added p% of the goats at the beginning of the year and sold q% of the goats at the end of the year where p > 0 and q > 0. If Shepard had nine dozen goats at the end of year 2002, after making the sales for that year, which of the following is true?

Choose an answer

A.p = qB.p < qC.p > qD.p = q/2

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Question 8Multiple choiceMEDIUM

Question 8

Select the correct alternative from the given choices.

Answer the questions independently of each other.

A business house has three companies A, B and C and one trust D. Each company contributes 5% of its own revenue, calculated after excluding loans taken from group companies, to the trust. A lent B 10% of B\'s revenue. Considering the loan from A and B\'s revenue, B has twice as much money as C\'s revenue. C had taken no loan from A or B, and gave the trust Rs.10000. How much approximately did B contribute to the trust?

Choose an answer

A.Rs.17000B.Rs.18000C.Rs.20000D.Cannot be determined

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Question 9Multiple choiceMEDIUM

Question 9

What strategy will maximize the guaranteed return to Shabnam?

Refer to the data given below and answer the questions that follow.

Shabnam is considering three alternatives to invest her surplus cash for a week. She wishes to guarantee maximum returns on her investment. She has three options, each of which can be utilized fully or partially in conjunction with others. Option A: Invest in a public sector bank. It promises a return of +0.10%. Option B: Invest in mutual funds of ABC Ltd. A rise in the stock market will result in a return of +5%, while a fall will entail a return of –3%. Option C: Invest in mutual funds of CBA Ltd. A rise in the stock market will result in a return of –2.5%, while a fall will entail a return of +2%.

Choose an answer

A.64% in option B and 36% in option CB.1/3 in each of the three options C.30% in option A, 32% in option B and 38% in option CD.100% in option AE.36% in option B and 64% in option C

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Question 10Multiple choiceMEDIUM

Question 10

Select the correct alternative from the given choices.

A earns 25% more than B. C earns 25% more than A. A earns 20% more than D. E earns 20% more than A. A, B, C, D, and E earn integer amounts less than Rs. 100. What is the total amount earned by all five of them put together?

&nbsp;

Choose an answer

A.Rs. 300B.Rs. 245C.Rs. 400D.Rs. 305

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Question 11Multiple choiceMEDIUM

Question 11

Select the correct alternative from the given choices.

In a class, if 50% of the boys were girls, then there would be 50% more girls than boys. What percentage of the overall class is girls?

Choose an answer

A.25%B.33.33%C.40%D.20%

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Question 12Multiple choiceMEDIUM

Question 12

Select the correct alternative from the given choices.

Class B has 50% more students than class A. Number of girls in class A is equal to number of boys in class B. The percentage of girls is the same in both classes. What percentage of the student group are boys?

Choose an answer

A.33.33%B.40%C.25%D.60%

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Question 13Multiple choiceEASY

Question 13

Select the correct alternative from the given choices.

A is x % more than B. B is y % less than C. If A, B and C are positive and A is greater than C, find the relation between x and y.

&nbsp;

Choose an answer

A.y (100 - x) < 100xB.y (100 - x) > 100xC.y (100 + x) < 100xD.y (100 + x) > 100x

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Question 14Multiple choiceMEDIUM

Question 14

Select the correct alternative from the given choices.

In a local election, 2400 people were to vote for Party A or Party B. Party A was bound to win the election. However, on Election Day, one-third of the voters of Party A were kidnapped. Party B was also able to influence the remaining Party A voters and thus double the strength of its voters. In this way, Party A lost by a majority which was half of that by which it would have won had the elections been fair. How many people finally voted for Party A and Party B?

&nbsp;

Choose an answer

A.600(A), 1200(B)B.300(A), 600(B)C.450(A), 900(B)D.600(A), 900(B)

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Question 15Multiple choiceMEDIUM

Question 15

Select the correct alternative from the given choices.

A, B and C participated in a burger eating competition. A beat C by 18 burgers. A also beat B by eating 50% more burger than B. Also B had eaten 5 percentage points more burger than C. Find the overall number of burgers that were eaten.

&nbsp;

Choose an answer

A.90 burgersB.81 burgersC.72 burgersD.100 burgers

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Question 16Multiple choiceMEDIUM

Question 16

Select the correct alternative from the given choices.

In May, John bought the same amount of rice and the same amount of wheat as he had bought in April, but spent 150 more due to price increase of rice and wheat by 20% and 12%, respectively. If John had spent 450 on rice in April, then how much did he spend on wheat in May?

Choose an answer

A.590B.580C.570D.560

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Question 17Multiple choiceMEDIUM

Question 17

Select the correct alternative from the given choices

Of the 'x' students who appeared for an examination, 48% of the boys and 74% of the girls passed in all the three subjects. If the
total percentage of students who passed in all the three subjects is 61%, then the ratio of the number of boys to the number of
girls who appeared for the examination is:

Choose an answer

A.2 : 1B.1 : 1C.1 : 2D.48 : 74

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Common mistakes

• Adding successive percentage changes directly.
• Calculating a change relative to the final value instead of the original value.

Practical solving approaches

• Turn increases and decreases into multiplying factors.
• Write the reference quantity beside each percentage and use a convenient base when only relative values are given.

Percentages FAQs

Do equal percentage increases and decreases cancel?

No. They act on different bases. Multiply the two change factors to find the final value relative to the starting value.

More Arithmetic practice

• Averages →
• Mixtures & Alligation →
• Profit, Loss & Discount →
• Ratio, Proportion, Variation & Partnership →
• Simple & Compound Interest →
• Time & Work →
• Time, Speed & Distance →