This article is written by Anmol Singla of RGNUL.

CLAT is an exam which tests students analytical ability, mathematical skill, reasoning ability, language skills, general awareness and application of legal phenomena. Mathematics is one of the major differentials in one’s score as a lot of students fail to do well in this section. It is for some reason the most hated subject of most of the aspirants. This article will focus on how to target that eternal enemy and conquer it to score well in the exam.

Students who have a strong grasp of fundamentals of mathematics will find this section quite scoring. As long as you avoid silly calculation mistakes, concepts related to CLAT math section are easy. Make sure you cover these topics in mathematics:

• Number system

• Roots

• Decimals and fractions

• Surds and indices

• Average

• HCF and LCM

• Approximation

• Ration and proportion

• Logarithm

• Profit and loss

• Discounts

• Interest calculation

• Areas and volumes

So coming to it, 20 questions out of 200, exactly 10 percent of the total marks. It seems so little. Why do I need to do it? Well, it is a subject purely based upon your skill and practice. If you practice it with due diligence it will never betray you.

The questions asked in the examination are usually based upon the following topics:

• Number system
• Example – The number obtained by interchanging a two-digit number is 27 more than the original number. If the sum of the two digits is 13, what is the original number?

1) 63         2)74     3)85           4)58

Anita had to multiply two positive integers. Instead of taking 35 as one of the multipliers, she incorrectly took 53. As a result, the product went up by 540. What is the price of the new product?  

1) 1050

2) 540

3) 1440

4) 1520

5) 1590

• RootsIn a class, each of the students contributed as many paise as there are number of students. If the total collection was Rs. 64, what is the number of students in the class?                        

1) 90

2) 82

3) 80

4) 40

• Decimals and Fractions
• (⅖  of 0.5 + ⅜ of 4.8) x ( ⅞ of 2.4 + 6/11 of 5.5 ) =

1. 13.28
2. 14.28
3. 14.18
4. 14.26

Average

• The average weight of three men ‘X’, ‘Y’ and ‘Z’ is 75 kgs. Another man ‘A’ joins the group and the average weight now becomes 80 kgs. If another person ‘B’ whose weight is 5 kgs more than ‘A’ replaces ‘X’, then the average weight of ‘Y’, ‘Z’, ‘A’ and ‘B’ will be 85 kgs. What is the weight of ‘X’?

1. 80 kgs.
2. 84 kgs.
3. 82 kgs.
4. 78 kgs.

Areas and Volumes

• A circular park, 42 m in diameter, has a path 3.5 m wide running around it on the outside.

Find the cost of gravelling the path at Rs. 4 per m2

Ans.

1. Rs. 1672
2. Rs. 1652
3. Rs. 2002
4. Rs. 2048

Ratio and proportion

• Gold and copper are as heavy as water by 19 and 9 times respectively. The ratio in which these two metals be mixed so that the mixture is 17 times as heavy as water is:

1. 2:3
2. 3:2
3. 4:1
4. 3:4  

Profit and Loss

• A trader sells rice at a profit of 20% and uses weights which are 10% less than the correct weight. The total gain earned by him is:

1. 33 1/3%
2. 22 2/9%
3. 30%
4. 35%

Interest Calculation

• A man buys Rs. 20 shares paying 9% dividend. The man expects to have an interest of 12% on his money. The market value of each share is?

1. Rs. 18
2. Rs. 15
3. Rs. 12
4. Rs. 21

As we can see that all of the topics are taught in elementary school and are not difficult by any means. All it needs is the dedication to practice on a regular basis. How to do that?

Play with numbers in your daily life

If you are going outside, check out the number plate of the vehicles. Play with the numbers by finding out the sum and product of each number plate. Add variations like finding the difference of the squares, dividing the product of three numbers by third and more.

In case you are visiting shops, especially during sales, try to calculate the prices of all the products by adding up the discounts. Similarly apply your numerical knowledge in other real-life scenarios like a cricket game or a football game, dealing with debts and much more. This way you will be familiar with the core mathematical operations and will find your calculation speed increasing gradually.

This link will lead to you to another fun game to improve maths while you are outside.

Practice daily for at least three months before the exam

Make it a goal to solve at least 20 relevant questions daily. Go with practising specific topics for the first two months and mixed topics for the whole of the last month. Time yourself regularly. If you are diligent enough and grasp the concepts you should be able to solve most of the questions within a minute as you approach the end of your preparation.

Memorize all the formulas and relevant tricks by applying them thoroughly

Every topic has its own formulas and certain tricks that can help you to save time. Prepare a formula sheet and stick it at some place you can look at daily. Keep the tricks in mind while solving the questions. A few tricks for average, ratio and proportion have been given in this article.

Analyze your mistakes and work on them

Don’t just practice, EVALUATE YOURSELF! As you proceed with the topics you will start to identify your strong and weak areas. A common mistake made by candidates is that they tend to overdo their weaknesses and ignore their strengths. You have to make consistent efforts to work on both and not lose your grasp.

A few useful tips:

• Memorize tables upto 20, squares upto 30 and cubes upto 20. This will be useful in both maths as well as the logical reasoning section.
• Work upon the variations in the practical usage of formulas. For example, in mensuration, the formulas need to be applied judiciously to arrive at the right result.
• Out of the 20 questions, at least 10 can be solved in under 1 minute. Identify them first, to maximize your score.
• Don’t spend more than 15 minutes on this section unless you have completed the rest of the exams already.

Some of the recommended books are

• Quantitative Aptitude by RS Aggarwal
• NCERT textbooks for classes 8,9 and 10.

At the end of the day, maths is all about making efforts but making them smartly. One doesn’t need to be scared or feel like one has to move mountains. It is just another section of the exam which is feared way too much. If you are able to incorporate the given methodology into your preparation, you will surely do well in this section. As most of the students have relatively low scores in this section, a score of above ten can really increase your chances of securing a good rank and getting into your dream Law University.

To conclude there’s a quote, not from any old philosopher but from the idol of millions of youth in our nation, Virat Kohli:

“Self-belief and hard work will always earn you success.”