E & C Counselling..Printing Technology, Ceramic Engineering, HOW TO HANDLE DEPRESSION AFTER FAILURE IN EXAM, Study CA while studying Economics

Career Counseling

PRINTING TECHNOLOGY

I want to pursue a career in printing technology. What are the future prospects, scope and market in this area? Will I be able to travel abroad if I pursue printing technology? Will it be a good choice even though there is a traditional bias for core engineering streams?

   Salil Chauhan

Printing technology has undergone a sea change in recent years with the introduction of computerised high-precision machinery and digital printing. The wonderful thing is that much of the latest global technology is now easily available in India thanks to the welcome reduction in import duty. Modern printing presses now offer state-of-the-art high-speed delivery and international quality material. They are now recruiting bright students who have knowledge of technology, software and design concepts to man their operations. Combining art and technology, courses in printing technology combine many branches of engineering covering electrical, electronics, mechanical, computers and management into one. Printing is a growing industry thanks to the expanding education, library and advertising sectors.    India is perhaps the only country with over 50,000 registered publications (and counting). All this translates into job opportunities for fresh and seasoned printing technologists. Since the volume of printed information doubles every five years, one doesn’t need a crystal ball to see that printing does indeed have a good future. Engineers having a degree start their career as graduate engineer trainees and move to assistant manager, deputy manager, manager and finally general manager. Like all industries, growth opportunities are based on, one’s skills and performance. The more skillful you are as a technician or manager, the more responsibility will you assume through practice and further training. 

CERAMIC DELIGHT

Does a career in ceramic engineering have a good future? I cleared the ISC exams this year and also the WBJEE. I have an interest in IT although some of my teachers are advising against it.

   Nirudh Roy

With new developments in technology, ceramics engineers and scientists have acquired a better understanding of the uses of clay and other earthen substances. A whole lot of industries now depend on ceramics materials — bricks, cement, tile, sanitary ware, pipe and glass industries in the construction sector, the glassware, pottery, spark plugs industries in the consumer goods sector; refractory materials, electrical insulators, cutting tools, and bearings manufactured in industries dealing with industrial products such as diodes, capacitors, magnetic materials and computer memory packages in the electronics sector and high temperature tile insulation and composite materials in space technology, ceramics spark plugs used in aerospace industry and nuclear fuel rods for the nuclear industry.
   Ceramic engineers work with highly advanced materials which are produced by complex chemical processes while ceramics artists and craftsmen use clay and sand for basic ceramics materials. Ceramic engineering deals with the study of the properties, manufacture, design and applications of ceramics elements in a wide range of consumer and industrial products ranging from table and sanitary ware to diodes and semi-conductors, irrigation pipes and construction material to components for nuclear and computer hardware, besides dentistry and a host of other applications. Ceramic engineers are involved in any of the following areas of work — research: to anticipate new applications for replacing existing products; design: the key challenge lies in reducing costs while making the product safe, attractive and convenient to use. Ceramic designers work in industries manufacturing tableware, light fittings, pottery, sanitary ware, decorative porcelain and industrial material; production: Since ceramics have such diverse uses, ceramics technologists generally specialise in the technological developments of specific production processes e.g. glass in manufacturing tableware, fibre optics, bulbs, windowpanes and electronics ancillaries. Specialists in structural clay are involved in manufacting enamelled articles and pipes, engine parts, tools, artificial limbs or cement used in construction or ceramic ware such as tiles, pottery and bathroom and kitchen fixtures.    Manufacturing integrated circuits, sensors for the electronics sector is another highly demanding specialisation; sales: ceramics engineers also work in sales to understand customer needs to guide further research. Since ceramics technology caters to industrial customers, you will interact with engineers from other industries. As for IT jobs, these are open to engineers across disciplines regardless of their area of specialisation. IT companies pick up graduate engineers and train them on software development etc as per their requirement. 

HOW TO HANDLE DEPRESSION AFTER FAILURE IN EXAM

I have not been able to clear the CBSE class XII exams because I did not prepare well enough. I am feeling depressed and embarrassed at letting my parents down. How do I face the world?

   Pulak De

A single exam doesn’t (and can’t) determine your academic destiny. Exam phobia and the overarching emphasis on rote learning takes its toll year after year. I’m convinced that Board results are not always a true reflection of a student’s abilities. At times, marks can be very unpredictable. While good marks are important and do give you an edge when it comes to college admission, they’re no guarantee for success in life. Even a difference of .1% affects the fate of 50-60 students.
   The slide affects 500 students. Hence, subject riders are at times reduced by 2-3% if the overall results in the subject are poor. Then, sometimes our academic expectations exceed our capability. This leads to a sense of dejection and failure when we don’t fare well. The thought that we’ve let our parents and teachers down further dents our self-esteem. But don’t let that trouble you unduly. Assure them you’ll make a concerted effort to improve your scores and performance. Similarly, a bad result is not the end of the road. Instead of letting it discourage you, it should make you all the more determined to succeed. Accept it gracefully, learn from the mistakes and move on. Above all, believe in yourself. History is replete with instances of those who refused to get cowed down by temporary failure including Einstein (who failed several hundred times) before they finally succeeded. Remember what Edmund Hillary said after climbing Mt Everest: “It’s not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves.” And, I’m sure you are aware that anyone who has failed in the CBSE All India Senior School Certificate Exam can reappear for a subsequent exam as a private
candidate. The syllabus and textbooks are those prescribed for the year in which you reappear.    Ignou offers a six-month Bachelor’s Preparatory Programme for those who have not completed their +2 but are 18 and above so that they can pursue a Bachelor’s degree. Better still, you won’t even waste a year if you enrol with the National Open School, in which case you can transfer your credits for up to two subjects which you have cleared and appear for the rest in November this year. So learn from the situation and move ahead. 

Study CA  while studying Economics


Could you tell me if while studying economics, I can study CA as well?

   Payal

As far as eligibility for CA goes, the ICAI only stipulates class XII subjects and your ability to clear the Common Proficiency Test (CPT) after which, whether you pursue economics or BCom in college makes little difference. While a degree in commerce such as BCom is considered more compatible because of the commonality of several subjects in both fields, economics is not exactly ‘incompatible.’ In fact, the CA programme also incorporates an understanding of this social science. After all, in an increasingly globalised world order with newer business risks stemming from inflation, currency fluctuations, inflation, interest rates, regulatory risks, foreign markets and the WTO, an understanding of the current economic situation is necessary for planning strategy and operations based on forecasts arrived at by researching market factors such as price, demand and sales, labour and productivity, raw materials, equipment, etc. Your choice between economics and commerce would then be made taking into account other factors — comfort with the subject and topics covered in the three-year course, future prospects, choice of college, etc. Do also keep in mind the study and articleship requirements of the CA programme alongside those of your regular undergraduate course.

Sunil Sharma

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Effective study skills

Effective study skills

 

WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO STUDY? WHAT WILL WORK FOR YOU? SHOULD YOU ADOPT THE TECHNIQUES THAT WORK FOR OTHERS? WHAT IF YOU ARE DISTRACTED BY THE TV OR FEEL LIKE CHATTING WITH FRIENDS?  TIPS ON HOW TO STUDY FOR THE BEST RESULTS

 

NO two people study the same way, and there is no doubt that what works for one person may not work for another. However, there are some general techniques that seem to produce good results. 

   Your success in high school and college is dependent on your ability to study effectively and efficiently. For best results, effective study skills must be practised. The results of poor study skills are wasted time, frustration, and low or failing grades. It's your life, your time, and your future, plan appropriately. 

STUDY TECHNIQUES 

Active involvement in reading the text is important for comprehending the material. One frequently suggested method for reading textbooks is the SQ3RT method. Mastering this technique will help you increase your grasping power dramatically. SQ3RT consists of the following steps: 

S=SURVEY 

Briefly survey the chapter, noting the divisions, headings, sub headings, captions, graphs or maps, tables and figures. Read the chapter summary. This provides an overview of the chapter content and a framework for organising the material. 

Q = QUESTION 

Turn each section heading into a question that you want answered. Also, try to guess questions that might appear on the exam. 

R = READ: 

Read the chapter, section by section, trying to answer your questions. Read with full understanding, answer the questions at the end of chapters and note all the underlined, italicised, bold printed words. Reduce your speed for difficult passages. 

R = RECITE 

After you have read a section, orally ask yourself questions about what you have just read. Answer the questions and state the main points verbally. You may also write down the answers and key points for later reference. 

R = REVIEW 

Briefly look back over the material to make sure you have included all the main points. Reflect on the meaning and application of the major points. Refine your mental organisation and begin building memory. The review can be done in small chunks of time as you wait between classes or have some time to spare while waiting for friends or between classes. Engaging in short periods of intensive concentration is a very efficient study method. 

T = TEST 

After a few days, test yourself on whatever you have learnt. Testing is one of the most important points because if you are not able to recollect something, you have a chance to learn it again. If you do not test, you may remain under the false impression that you know it very well. 

THE VALUE OF A SCHEDULE 

Before you even begin to think about the process of studying, you must develop a schedule. If you don't have a schedule or plan for studying, then you will not have any way of allocating your valuable time when the unexpected comes up. It’s up to you to learn how to develop a schedule that meets your needs, revise it if necessary and most important, follow it. All schedules should be made with the idea that they can be revised. A good schedule, if properly managed, assigns time where time is needed, but you've got to want to do it. 

VARY YOUR STUDY ACTIVITIES 

Varying activity would reduce boredom. Read and take notes for a while, formulate questions and answers for a time, recite and review to break the monotony. Another example is to do math problems for awhile, then read another subject, review that subject, and then go back to math. 

READING TO UNDERSTAND 

You can “read” something at many different levels. For example, you might be holding a book in front of your face while you’re actually watching other people. Or you might “read” because your teacher asked you to, so you just sort of look at the words and sentences and then close the book. You may also be reading because you are forced by your parents to study. You might read by rushing through because you have to finish the portion. One of the most common mistakes students do is to read without understanding. To really read something, you should set out with the goal of understanding what the words and sentences mean. You must learn to read with a purpose. One way is to test yourself on the material you’ve read. Imagine what questions a teacher might ask you from that lesson. If you can come up with the questions (and the answers too), you’ve been paying attention to what you’ve read. If not, it’s time to read again. 

GUIDELINES FOR EFFECTIVE STUDY 

• Be specific about what you want to accomplish (For example, complete exercise of chapter 8, not study biology, it's too broad). 

• Manage daydreaming or distracting thoughts. This occurs when your mind has to choose between something pleasurable and something demanding. Use your will power to stop distracting thoughts and refocus on your studies. 

• If you frequently think of things that distract you from your work, write down these thoughts on a piece of paper and once you are done with your studies, think only about them for the next ten minutes. Once you give the thought the attention it requires, it would bother you less. 

• Resist the desire to snack, get up, watch TV or phone friends. Reward yourself when you succeed in resisting. 

• Follow a schedule: eight hours of sleep per night, sufficient activity, etc. Lack of sleep, lack of food, excessive fatigue, high stress and personal problems can cause a lack of concentration. 

• Address personal problems before studying or note it on paper and talk to someone trustworthy to unburden yourself. Any kind of emotional disturbance is one of the major causes of lack of concentration. 

• You can prepare yourself to succeed in your studies. One of the most important things is to take responsibility for yourself, to recognize that in order to succeed you need to make decisions about your priorities, your time, and your resources. Follow up on the priorities you have set for yourself, and don't let others or other interests, distract you from your goals.

 

 

 

Sunil Sharma

   Moderator

Dil Se Desi Group

            &

www.dilsedesi.org

Setting of Question Paper

 

Questions that probe better

 

Though there is a lot of talk about making learning interesting for children, and consequently a lot of effort directed towards this end, not many of us realise the importance of good questions in making learning interesting. While most stakeholders blame the assessment system that encourages rote memorisation and a marks-oriented system, no one really emphasises on the ‘questions’ asked in examinations. 

 

 

  Traditionally, question making has been considered a mechanical activity undertaken by the teacher with the sole purpose of testing what the child has absorbed from the textbooks, and after a while, the exercise becomes monotonous for teachers. On the other hand, there is a strong perception that the teaching profession does not provide much scope for creative work and is not very challenging in itself. So the obvious question that emerges is, can teachers not be involved in a creative activity like making innovative questions or curriculum? 

IN PRACTICE 

Shobha Singh, head, English Department, Greenfield Public School, says that while preparing a question paper for her students, she gives 20% weightage to relatively difficult questions or, in other words, questions based on High Order thinking Skills (HOTS). The remaining 80%, she says, is framed considering the levels of all children. 

 

   On what makes a good question, she opines: “It is the question that is mind boggling for a student and taxes his/her brain. It shouldn’t be a direct question and should make one think. So, the focus is on comprehension and hence, concentrates on overall knowledge gathered by a student.” 

 

   According to Hema Batra, co-ordinator, CRPF School-Rohini, simplicity of language of a question is very important. She says: “Most of the times students know the answer to a question but fail to answer correctly as they are unable to understand the question. Therefore, questions should be framed carefully considering the intelligence level of the entire class.” She adds: “A good question is one that tests knowledge, application as well as skill.” 

QUESTION COMPETITION 

Educational Initiatives (EI) recently introduced a ‘Question Making Competition (QMC)’ for teachers across India to recognise and reward the best in the teaching profession. Teachers will need to send at least three questions in one or more subjects - English, Hindi, maths, science and social studies. A panel of experienced teachers and experts will, then, assess these questions and prizes will be awarded to the best questions. 

 

   “The objective of this competition is to improve the question-making skills of teachers and in the process hone their skills in terms of testing. It will also result in deepening their subject knowledge. The competition, in turn, will generate a pool of good quality questions, many of which will be placed in the public domain and shared with schools all over the country,” explains Sandeep Saha, vicepresident (marketing), EI. 

 

   On what makes a good question, he elaborates: “A good question challenges and stimulates the child to think deeper and to apply the concepts learnt. Besides, a good question can test whether a child has really understood the subject at hand, rather than merely memorised something.” 

 

   The competition is open to teachers across 15,000 schools of the country. Questions can be made for classes III to IX and have ‘multiple-choice’ answers. “Such competitions enrich teachers and schools automatically benefit in the long run. To develop a question, a teacher has to study and do their own research, so it will enrich them and give them an opportunity to be innovative,” says Aishwarya Taneja, a teacher from Amity School, Delhi, a participating school.

 

 

 

Sunil Sharma

   Moderator

Dil Se Desi Group

&      www.dilsedesi.org

CAT - How to Perform Under Pressure

TAMING THE CAT

 

MANAGING PRESSURE IS THE CRUCIAL DIFFERENTIATOR THAT SETS CHAMPIONS APART WHEN IT COMES TO ACING THE CAT.  HANDY TIPS THAT ENABLE YOU TO PERFORM WELL EVEN UNDER PRESSURE

 

   Competitive exams like the CAT can often prove tougher than they actually are owing to the pressure that inevitably builds up. There is a major difference between being able to solve a question in practice and being able to execute the same solving process under intense pressure. This is the only reason why many underperform in the exam. The dominant emotion in the hour after coming out of the CAT examination for almost all candidates is –“How did I miss this logic?” or “Why was I not able to think this way inside the examination hall?” Students who have started taking mock exams have probably already experienced this. 

   Look at it in the context of how just five to seven more questions solved correctly could make the difference between a 70 percentile and a 99 percentile result and how most 70 percentilers never believe that they have it in them to make it. Perhaps if you could learn to be able to perform despite the pressure, you too would be able to make this jump. 

   Using sport as an analogy of a pressure situation, you would realise that there is a difference in the level of pressure when the big points are on. For instance, give 100 club level tennis players a tennis ball and ask them to serve and you would see that perhaps a lot of them would be able to hit aces, but ask them to do it at a 15-40 point in a Wimbledon final- and you would need a Federer or a Rafael Nadal to do it. Or for that matter throw a cricket ball to your average batsman and you would be hit for a six by many, but you would require a champion batsman when the whole world is watching and six runs are needed off the last ball to win a world T-20 final. 

   The point here is that you should recognise the difference between performing under pressure and performing when the stakes are low. The transition from being good at something and being a champion, is the rare ability to perform under pressure. 

   The obvious question that arises then is: 

“What does one do?” From your past behaviour patterns check how you have performed under pressure in the past. Principally there are only two types of reactions to pressurea) Pressure improves performance:

 

If you have this rare ability consider yourself blessed- all champions that have ever lived in this world had this ability. 

b) Performance dips when you are under pressure- This is the normal bad habit that most of us pick up during our formative years. If you belong to this category, you really need to undergo a transmutation otherwise you will only be able to solve 50-70% of what you know when you take the CAT.

 

Second: Elevate the level of your performance, elevate the 

level of your work quality, and create an obsession for excellence in your life 

   The secret to making this transition is to think in terms of time frames. When do you need to become great? When do you need to create an obsession for excellence? When do you need to elevate the level of your work, your life? 

   The answer: You only need to do it for the next five minutes. And then the next five, and then the next five… 

   You have 288 five minute time frames in a day to live. Dhirubhai Ambani said once that if someone says that he works 15 hours a day he is lying. Great champions are able to use about 120-140 five minute time frames in a day. 

   Who can stop you from being the greatest individual you can be for the next five minutes? Only yourself! Stop being serious about your results, start being sincere about your work. This simple shift will take you a long way. 

 

Third: Ensure that you take your learnings to the point where they become your reaction — your reflex, ie the unconscious competence level. 

   Remember, pressure does not affect your reflexes. Pressure can only play tricks with your mind when you ask your mind to 

think. If you are responding to questions in CAT through reflex-based thought processes rather than thought out thought processes, pressure will not affect you. 

Thus, while you can trust yourself to do 12+17 even under pressure, your trust on your ability to calculate something like 27×44 under pressure would obviously be much lower. 

The tragedy for most aspirants is that they prepare only to the point of knowing something. If you want to bell the CAT you need to reach a point in your preparations where you not only know, but you also know that you know. 

 

Sunil Sharma

   Moderator

Dil Se Desi Group

&    www.dilsedesi.org

CAT Exams - Recognise Your Errors

CAT CONTROL

 

THE FIRST STEP TO CRACKING THE CAT IS TO LEARN TO RECOGNISE AND OVERTURN YOUR ERRORS

    CAT preparation is at its peak for most 2008 aspirants. 

In the last two articles, we focused on questions that appeared in the CAT 2007 quants section and the ways in which we could solve them. It was apparent that simple logical processes would have overcome seemingly very tough processes. 

 

   In this article, we focus on a very crucial matter, which if adequately dealt with, can help you improve your test scores. 

 

   It is understood that it is extremely important to be dedicatedly taking practice tests at this time. In fact, it is imperative that you realise that the CAT prep is actually divided into two parts. Remember: Each part is as important as the other - 

 

(a) Conceptual development- Through conceptual development, a student can focus on developing a strong theoretical background in each of the three sections of the exam. 

 

(b) Test taking: Any preparation for CAT cannot be complete without a significant number of tests taken by the student. The minimum recommended number would be around 30 to 40 tests. The more, the better. 

 

   In fact, while there are a lot of aspirants who are able to crack the CAT and acquire admission to the IIMs or other good management institutes without doing (a), it is extremely rare to come across someone who has cracked the CAT and made it to the IIMs without doing (b). Thus, look at it this way. Ideally, a student’s CAT preparation should be about (a) and (b) mixed in a proper fashion, but if you are only doing one, (b) is compulsory, especially if you are good with the basics. 

 

   Obviously, a lot of students out there have already started to take tests. It is also very obvious that many of these students will be very concerned about the range in which they might be scoring in these practice tests. The key question students will be facing at this point of time, would be: 

“What do I do in order to develop my test scores?” 

 

   Also, if you are scoring, say, 50 percentile in your tests now, does it mean that you are on your way to a third-level B-School? Does it mean that the cherished dream that you have always had of getting into the IIMs is going to remain exactly that - a pipe dream? 

 

   Absolutely not. Contrary to popular perception, taking a jump from 50 percentile to 99 percentile need not be related to how much you study. You could easily do it with some smart working on your part. 

So what must you focus on? 

 

A critical issue in CAT preparations is the ability to overturn errors. In the current context of the CAT (last two years), where individual questions have carried four marks for a correct answer, and -1 for an incorrect answer, the net result of an error was five marks. As we have already mentioned in our previous articles in this series, just five errors overturned would give you an additional 25 marks, taking you from 60 percentile to 90 percentile levels. 

 

Refer to the article a few weeks ago, where we had defined your score improvement potential - viz by defining three types of questions: 

 

a) How many silly errors did you make in the exam? Let the number of such silly errors be A. 

 

b) How many questions did you read in the exam for which you remembered the answers only after you left the hall? Let the number of such questions be B.

 c) How many questions did you not read in the exam, but knew the answer when you saw them after the paper? Let the number of such questions be C. 

 

 

  An individual’s total score improvement potential would be given by A×5+ B×4+C×4. 

    So the obvious question would be: How do I achieve this score improvement? 

Let us focus on the first of these categories - taking care of silly errors. The first thing you should realise is that silly errors can further be defined into three broad types: 

i)   Errors of calculation: One of my students (an IIT alumnus) committed the error of calculating 3x3 = 6 in his CAT. The result? A drop of five marks in net scores, leading to a crucial percentile drop. Obviously, these errors would be committed in the QA and DI sections only. 

ii) Process-based silly errors: A single-step error in solving a question. Again, obviously an error that would be committed in the QA and DI sections only. 

iii) Over reading errors: Questions you get incorrect due to the fact that you did not read it properly. This error might occur in any of the three sections, including English. Your preparation plan should include processes to overturn each of these three categories. 

 

 

  Issue 1: Tackling calculation errors - How do you explain an IITian making an error like 3×3 = 6? Does he not know this? Obviously, there are explanations outside the ordinary, which induce such errors. This is what makes the CAT tough (If you recollect, in the last few articles, we have been concentrating on demonstrating why the CAT paper is actually easy). 

 

   When an IIT topper can be induced to make such errors, what would happen to a normal student? 

 

 

  The first and foremost thing you should realise while preparing is that when you are taking the CAT, the entire potential of your brain will not be available to you. Your mind will be in such a state that you might be forced to even check 2+2. 

 

 

  So remember, the basic principle is that if in your normal day to day preparation, you can do something by using an excess of 80 to 90% of your mind’s capacity, you would not be able to execute that thinking in the CAT paper. 

 

 

  What you need to realise is that unless you train yourself to be able to execute your thought processes under intense unrelenting pressure, any preparation for the CAT, by and large, makes no sense. 

   In our next article in this series, we will throw more light on this issue. 

   

 

Sunil Sharma

   Moderator

Dil Se Desi Group

&    www.dilsedesi.org

 

Right Preparation for CAT Exams

 

BELLING THE CAT

 

APPROPRIATE PREPARATION AND APPLICATION OF THE RIGHT THOUGHT PROCESS CAN HELP YOU CLEAR THE CAT EXAM WITHOUT MUCH DIFFICULTY.  THE QA SECTION OF THE CAT 2007 EXAM WITH TIPS ON HOW TO APPROACH EACH QUESTION

 

   One of the things that has amazed experts and academicians about the CAT for a long time now, is that the exam continues to retain it’s aura of invincibility. This, in spite of the fact that most questions, which appear in the exam, are elementary class ten questions. Presented below is the quantitative aptitude (QA) section of the CAT 2007 paper along with the methodical approach that should be adopted to get the right answers. 

1) How many pairs of positive integers m, n satisfy 1/m + 4/n = 1/12 where n is an odd integer less than 60? 

(a) 7 (b) 5 (c) 3 

(d) 6 (e) 4 

Thought process: 

Deduction 1: Since two positive fractions on the LHS equals 1/12 on the right hand side, the value of both these fractions must be less than 1/12. Hence, n can only take the values 49,51,53,55,57 and 59. 

 

Deduction 2: After this, students need to check which of the possible values of n would give an integral value of m. 

The equation can be transformed to 1/12 - 4/n = 1/m à (n - 48)/12n = 1/m. On reading this equation one should realise that for m to be an integer, the LHS must be able to yield a ratio in the form of 1/x. It can be easily seen that this occurs for n = 49, n = 51 and n = 57. Hence, there are only three pairs. 

 

Maximum solution time: 90 seconds 

2) Suppose you have a currency, named Miso, in three denominations: 1 Miso, 10 Misos and 50 Misos. In how many ways can you pay a bill of 107 Misos? (a) 18 (b) 15 (c) 19 (d) 17 (e) 16 

Thought process: 

Deduction 1: If you were to use two 50 miso notes, you would only pay the remaining 7 misos through one miso notes.

 

Deduction 2: If you were to use only one 50 miso note, you could use 10 miso notes in 6 different ways (from zero to five).

 

Deduction 3: If you were not to use any 50 miso notes, you could use 10 miso notes in 11 different ways (from zero to 10). Hence, the required answer is 1+ 6+ 11=18. 

 

Maximum solution time: 45 seconds 

3) In a tournament, there are n teams T1, T2, …, Tn, with n > 5. Each team consists of k players, k > 3. The following pairs of teams have one player in common: T1 and T2, T2 and T3, …, Tn -1 and Tn, and Tn and T1. No other pair of teams has any player in common. How many players are participating in the tournament, considering all the h teams are together? (a) n (k - 2) (b) k (n - 2) (c) (n - 1) (k - 1) (d) n (k - 1) (e) k (n -1) 

Thought process: 

If one considers six teams and four players per team, one would get four players in T 1 (each one of them unique), three more players in T 2 (since one player of T 2 would be shared with T 1 ), three more players in T 3 (since one player of T 3 would be shared with T 2 ), three more players in T 4 (since one player of T 4 would be shared with T 3 ), three more players in T 5 (since one player of T 5 would be shared with T 4 ) and two more players in T 6 (since one player of T 6 would be shared with T 5 and one with T 1 ). Hence, there would be a total of 18 (4+ 3+ 3+ 3+ 3+ 2) players with n = 6 and k = 4. Only option four would provide 18 as the solution. 

Maximum solution time: 60 seconds. 

 

4) Consider four digit numbers for which the first two digits are equal and the last two digits are also equal. How many such numbers are perfect squares? 

(a) 4 (b) 0 (c) 1 

(d) 3 (e) 2 

Thought process: 

A number of students got stuck on this question for over five to seven minutes in the exam, since they tried to find out the squares of all two-digit numbers starting from 32. However, if one is well of the logic of finding squares of two digit numbers, one would realise that only three two-digit numbers after 32 have the last two digits in their squares equal (38, 62 and 88). Hence, there is no need to check any other numbers apart from these three. After checking these one would get the square of 88 as 7744. And hence, there is only one such number. 

Maximum solution time: 60 seconds 

About the QA section of CAT 2007 

a) 

Test takers who were able to attempt seven to eight questions out of the 25 questions in the paper received an excess of 95 percentile (for this section). Students were given 50 minutes to complete each section in the exam 

b) 

At zero marks in this paper, students reported a 20 percentile score. This in effect means that one in five test takers scored negative marks 

 

 

Sunil Sharma

   Moderator

Dil Se Desi Group

&

www.dilsedesi.org