CAT 2021 Slot 1 question paper with answers and solutions

CAT 2021 Slot 1 had 66 questions: 24 in VARC (40 minutes), 20 in DILR (40 minutes), 22 in QA (40 minutes). 18 of them were TITA (type in the answer, no options). Every question is tagged by topic, and answers are CAT's official key.

Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC) 24 questions · 40 min

QuestionTopic
Passage 1Q1–Q4 · The sleights of hand that conflate consumption with virtue are a…RC · Society, History & Politics4 questions
Passage 2Q5–Q8 · For the Maya of the Classic period, who lived in Southern Mexico and…RC · Society, History & Politics4 questions
Passage 3Q9–Q12 · We cannot travel outside our neighbourhood without passports. We must…RC · Society, History & Politics4 questions
Passage 4Q13–Q16 · Cuttlefish are full of personality, as behavioral ecologist Alexandra…RC · Science & Technology4 questions
Q17Para Summary: When the auditory speech signal does not match…Para SummaryMCQ
Q18Five jumbled up sentences, related to a topic, are given…Odd Sentence OutTITA
Q19The four sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3, 4) below, when…Para JumblesTITA
Q20The four sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3, 4) below, when…Para JumblesTITA
Q21The four sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3, 4) below, when…Para JumblesTITA
Q22Five jumbled up sentences, related to a topic, are given…Odd Sentence OutTITA
Q23Para Summary: Developing countries are being forced to invent…Para SummaryMCQ
Q24Para Summary: The environment in poor countries has tended to…Para SummaryMCQ

Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR) 20 questions · 40 min

QuestionTopic
Set 1Q1–Q4 · The horizontal bars in the above diagram represent 2020 aggregate…Charts & Tables4 questions
Set 2Q5–Q10 · Amudha, Bharatan, Chandran, Dhinesh, Ezhil, Fani and Gowtham are seven…Grids & Matrices6 questions
Set 3Q11–Q14 · Ganga, Kaveri, and Narmada are three women who buy four raw materials…Charts & Tables4 questions
Set 4Q15–Q20 · A journal plans to publish 18 research papers, written by eight…Scheduling6 questions

Quantitative Ability (QA) 22 questions · 40 min

QuestionTopic
Q1f(x) = x^2+2 x-15x^2-7 x-18 is negative if and only ifInequalities & ModulusMCQ
Q2The number of integers n that satisfy the inequalities |n…Inequalities & ModulusMCQ
Q3Identical chocolate pieces are sold in boxes of two sizes…Percentages & Profit-LossMCQ
Q4If 5 - log _10 √(1+x)) + 4 log _10 √(1-x)) = log _10 11-x^2)…Logarithms & ExponentsTITA
Q5A basket of 2 apples, 4 oranges and 6 mangoes costs the same…EquationsMCQ
Q6If the area of a regular hexagon is equal to the area of an…GeometryMCQ
Q7Onion is sold for 5 consecutive months at the rate of Rs 10…Ratio, Mixtures & AveragesMCQ
Q8If r is a constant such that |x^2 - 4 x - 13| = r has…Inequalities & ModulusMCQ
Q9Amal purchases some pens at ₹ 8 each. To sell these, he…Percentages & Profit-LossTITA
Q10Anil invests some money at a fixed rate of interest…InterestMCQ
Q11The strength of an indigo solution in percentage is equal to…Ratio, Mixtures & AveragesTITA
Q12Amar, Akbar and Anthony are working on a project. Working…Time & WorkTITA
Q13The number of groups of three or more distinct numbers that…Permutations & ProbabilityTITA
Q14A circle of diameter 8 inches is inscribed in a triangle ABC…GeometryTITA
Q15Suppose the length of each side of a regular hexagon ABCDEF…GeometryMCQ
Q16Suppose hospital A admitted 21 less Covid infected patients…EquationsTITA
Q17The amount Neeta and Geeta together earn in a day equals…Ratio, Mixtures & AveragesMCQ
Q18The natural numbers are divided into groups as (1), (2, 3…Progressions & SeriesMCQ
Q19Anu, Vinu and Manu can complete a work alone in 15 days, 12…Time & WorkMCQ
Q20How many three-digit numbers are greater than 100 and…Number SystemsTITA
Q21Two trains cross each other in 14 seconds when running in…Time, Speed & DistanceMCQ
Q22If x_0 = 1, x_1 = 2, and x_n + 2 = 1+x_n+1x_n , n = 0, 1, 2…Progressions & SeriesMCQ

Topic mix of CAT 2021 Slot 1

TopicSectionQuestions
RC · Society, History & PoliticsVARC12
Charts & TablesDILR8
Grids & MatricesDILR6
SchedulingDILR6
RC · Science & TechnologyVARC4
GeometryQA3
Inequalities & ModulusQA3
Para JumblesVARC3
Para SummaryVARC3
Ratio, Mixtures & AveragesQA3
EquationsQA2
Odd Sentence OutVARC2
Percentages & Profit-LossQA2
Progressions & SeriesQA2
Time & WorkQA2
InterestQA1
Logarithms & ExponentsQA1
Number SystemsQA1
Permutations & ProbabilityQA1
Time, Speed & DistanceQA1