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Arithmetic Aptitude

Speed maths and word problems — the backbone of every placement and competitive paper.

Arithmetic aptitude is the scored section of almost every placement paper, bank exam and government recruitment test. The questions are not hard mathematics — they are school-level arithmetic dressed in word problems, and the marks go to whoever reads carefully and works quickly. This section breaks the syllabus into single-idea topics so you can fix one weakness at a time instead of practising everything at once.

How to prepare Arithmetic Aptitude

Learn one topic at a time. Each topic here uses only two or three ideas, and most mistakes come from mixing them up.
Write the formula down before you start calculating. It takes four seconds and prevents most errors.
Check the units. Speeds in km/hr with distances in metres, or percentages of the wrong base, cause more lost marks than bad arithmetic.
Attempt a timed set only after you can solve the topic set untimed without errors. Speed without accuracy scores nothing.
Keep a page of the mistakes you actually make. Nearly everyone repeats the same three or four.

Topics in Arithmetic Aptitude (35 topics · 5,800 questions)

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Arithmetic Aptitude — frequently asked questions

Which topics in Arithmetic Aptitude carry the most marks?

Percentage, Ratio and Proportion, Profit and Loss, Time and Work, Time and Distance and Simple and Compound Interest appear in nearly every paper, and most other topics are built on them. Master those six first.

How much time should I give to one arithmetic question?

About 45 to 60 seconds in a timed paper. If a question needs longer, mark it and return to it after finishing the ones you can solve quickly.

Do I need to memorise formulas?

The core formulas, yes. Anything past that you should be able to derive in a few seconds — for example a train crossing a platform simply means the train covers its own length plus the platform.

Is Arithmetic Aptitude the same for campus placements and government exams?

The syllabus overlaps almost completely. Bank and SSC papers add Data Interpretation and a few calculation-heavy topics, while campus tests lean towards percentages, ratios, averages and time-speed-work.

Arithmetic Aptitude

How to prepare Arithmetic Aptitude

Topics in Arithmetic Aptitude (35 topics · 5,800 questions)

Problems on Trains

Time and Distance

Height and Distance

Time and Work

Simple Interest

Compound Interest

Profit and Loss

Partnership

Percentage

Problems on Ages

Calendar

Clock

Average

Area

Volume and Surface Area

Permutation and Combination

Numbers

Problems on Numbers

Problems on H.C.F and L.C.M

Decimal Fraction

Simplification

Square Root and Cube Root

Surds and Indices

Ratio and Proportion

Chain Rule

Pipes and Cistern

Boats and Streams

Alligation or Mixture

Logarithm

Races and Games

Stocks and Shares

Probability

True Discount

Banker's Discount

Odd Man Out and Series

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Arithmetic Aptitude — frequently asked questions