Speed Time Distance : TANCET Math

Speed, Time and Distance is an interesting topic from which you could expect to get one question in the math section and probably a question in the data sufficiency section of the TANCET MBA test.

The concept is extremely simple : Distance = Speed * Time
The place where you need to be careful is to make sure that the units that you use for the different quantities have integrity i.e., if the unit for speed used is km/hr, then you should use hour as the unit for time.

Here is a simple question in speed time distance.
Question
Traveling at 4/5ths of her usual speed, Sonal reached office 20 minutes late. How long did she take today?
1. 60 minutes
2. 80 minutes
3. 100 minutes
4. 64 minutes
5. 96 minutes

Explanatory Answer
She travels at 4/5th of her usual speed.
Let her usual speed be 's' km/min. So, today she travels at 4/5s.
Let the usual time she takes be 't' minutes. So, today she will take (t + 20) minutes.
As the distance traveled in both the cases is the same, we can equate them
i.e., st = 4/5s (t + 20)
dividing both sides by 's' we get t = 4/5(t + 20)
or 5t = 4t + 80
or t = 80 minutes.
t is the usual time take.
The time taken today is t + 20 = 100 minutes.

Note: 1. We used km/min as the unit for speed as the unit of time given in the question is in minutes.
2. we did not stop at finding the value of 't'. The question was about finding the time taken today = t + 20.

You can get additional questions on speed time and distance at this link.

TANCET Math : Work Time

Hi

Here is a work time question. You could expect a question on this topic. A topic that gets usually tested in the test.
Question
A works twice as fast as B does and together they complete a task in 8 days, how long will A lone take to complete the task?
1. 16 days
2. 4 days
3. 32 days
4. 12 days
5. 24 days

Correct Answer
Choice (4). 12 days.

Explanatory Answer
A works twice as fast as B does.
So, if B does 'x' units of work in a day, then A does 2x units of work in a day or in a day they do 3x units of work.
Together, they complete the task in 8 days.
i.e., in a day together they complete 1/8th of the total task.
3x = 1/8th of the task.
So, x = 1/24th of the task.
We know A does 2x units of work a day = 2 * (1/24) = 1/12th of the work in a day.
So, A will take 12 days to complete the task.

You could access additional questions on Work Time and Pipes Cisterns here

TANCET Quant Practice Questions

I am providing links to webpages where you can get free practice questions for TANCET Math section.

These links are organized on a chronological order.

August 2003 : You will find a lot of Number Theory, Number Properties and Averages questions in this collection.

Ratio Proportion on Ages

A favorite question that appears more often than not from the Ratio Proportion topic is that of comparing the ages of two people.

Here is an example of such a question.

Question

The ratio of the present ages of Shreyas and Swetha is 3 : 5. Six years back Swetha was twice as old as Shreyas was. How old is Shreyas now?

1. 24
2. 12
3. 30
4. 18
5. 36

Correct Answer is choice (4). 18 years

Explanatory Answer

Let the present age of Shreyas be x years and that of Swetha be y years.
Therefore, x : y :: 3 : 5

Or x/y = 3/5
or x = (3/5)y. --- eqn (1)

6 years back Shreyas was (x - 6) years old.
6 years back Swetha was (y - 6) years old.

We know that Swetha was twice as old as Shreyas was 6 years back.
So, (y - 6) = 2(x - 6) --- eqn (2).

Substituting x = (3/5)y from eqn (1) in eqn (2) we get
(y - 6) = 2((3/5)y - 6)
or 5(y - 6) = 2(3y - 30)
or 5y - 30 = 6y - 60
or y = 30.

x = (3/5)y = (3/5)*30 = 18 years.

You can access more question on TANCET Math Ratio Proportion by clicking here

Quadratic Equation : Roots of equation

You could expect to get a question from quadratic equation in the TANCET test.

A quadratic equation is an equation of the form ax² + bx + c = 0.

Each quadratic equation has 2 roots. The roots of the quadratic equation can be found out either by factorizing the equation or by using a formula.

If r₁ and r₂ are the roots of the quadratic equation, then
r₁ = (-b + root(b² - 4ac))/2a
r₂ = (-b - root(b² - 4ac))/2a

Here is a typical question in quadratic equation
Question
If 8 and 6 are the roots of a quadratic equation, then the equation is
(1) x² + 14x + 48 = 0
(2) x² - 14x + 48 = 0
(3) x² + 14x - 48 = 0
(4) x² - 14x - 48 = 0
(5) x² + 48x + 14 = 0

If we are given the roots of a quadratic equation, i.e., r₁ and r₂, then the quadratic equation is (x - r₁)(x - r₂) = 0.
We know that the roots of equation are 8 and 6.
Hence, the equation is (x - 8)(x - 6) = 0
or x² - 14x + 48 = 0

Mensuration question

Question
What is the total surface area of a right circular cylinder in sqcm if its base diameter is 14cm and height is 12cms?
1. 528
2. 308
3. 836
4. 1144
5. 4576

Correct choice (3). Correct answer is 836 sqcm

Explanatory Answer
Total surface area of a right circular cylinder is 2*pi*r*h + 2pi * r^2
Base diameter of the cylinder is 14cm.
Hence, its base radius is 7cm.
Therefore, total surface area is 2*(22/7) * 7 * 12 + 2*(22/7)*7^2
= 528 + 308 = 836

Mensuration is a relatively easy topic to master. Learn all the common formulae for volume, surface area, total surface area of solids such as right circular cylinder, right circular cone, sphere, hemisphere. Solve 10 to 12 questions, at least, for each of the formulae and you should be able to ace questions from this topic.

TANCET 2009 Announcements

TANCET 2009 will be conducted on May 30th for TANCET MBA and TANCET MCA and on May 31st for TANCET ME/M.Tech

You have just over 2 months from today (March 11, 2009) for the TANCET examination. Actually, if you focus on your preparation earnestly from this moment, you have enough and more time to ace the exam.

An open category student with over 50 marks in the TANCET test in 2008 would have got admission into leading MBA programs that come under Anna University such as Guindy Engineering College, PSG Tech, SSN, TSM Madurai and so on.

Scoring 50 in TANCET is both easy and tough. It is easy if you solve over 1000 math questions, 200 plus Reading comprehension passages, 400 odd sentence correction questions and practice with 4 or 5 mock TANCET tests. It is tough because not more than 25 students have scored that kind of marks in the year 2008.

TANCET, thankfully, has been a predictable exam with clearly set 5 sections, with 20 questions to each section. Break down what you have to learn for each section and spend time wisely - about 3 to 4 hours a day from now to get into the college of your choice.

Lastly, all of us know that the whole world, including India, has been facing a lot of economic challenges. Campus placements are not great this year. Even if you manage to get placed - one is not sure if you will actually convert your offer letter into actually joining the company. So, at least temporarily, the good times (easy placements) are gone. In such trying times, the wise thing to do is to join a PG program and weather the economic downturn in a college / university. When you graduate in 2011, the economy is bound to bounce back and you will most likely be flooded with offers. So, get started with your TANCET Preparation.