Every year the Staff Selection Commission (SSC) conducts a combined higher secondary level exam commonly known as SSC CHSL. The exam is conducted to recruit eligible candidates for the posts of lower divisional clerk, data entry operator, postal assistant, junior secretariat assistant and more.
The quantitative aptitude section in SSC CHSL exam can be fruitful for some but is frightful for many. However, this is the most scoring section of all if prepared properly.
On that note, let’s talk about some important tips to ace the quantitative aptitude section in the SSC CHSL exam.
Table of Contents
Clear Understanding of Fundamentals in Each Topic
Most of the quantitative aptitude questions asked in major competitive exams like SSC CHSL are concept based and can range from moderate to advanced difficulty level.Therefore, candidates must have a clear understanding of the fundamentals behind concepts in each topic. Any doubt in them can impede your ability to solve questions properly and you will get stuck in the questions.
Furthermore, it is often seen that fundamentals of one topic form the concepts of other topics in quantitative aptitude. For instance, It is natural that the candidate’s fundamentals of ‘Ratio and Proportion’ should be clear before he/she starts with the ‘Partnership’ chapter.
Learn Tables, Cubes and Squares
It is always advised that candidates preparing for SSC CHSL must memorize tables upto 20, squares till 30 and cubes upto 20 at least. This will help them to speed up their calculations which will save them a considerable time during the exam.
Learn and Use Quicker Formulas and Short Tricks
This is another way candidates can speed up their calculations and save time during exams. Candidates must learn all useful formulas and short tricks in each topic as the use of the basic method to solve a question can eat up a considerable amount of your time in the exam.
However, Going through the proofs of the formulas properly and getting familiar with the basic detailed method will help you understand the quicker method using direct formulas and tricks.
By applying useful formulas and short tricks will cut down unnecessary steps while solving a question and will save time that can be used later to attempt other questions and will help you score better.
Practice More and More questions of Different Types
Candidates are advised to practice as many examples and questions as possible of different types in each topic. This will help them to get a good grip on the topics and at the same time will improve their ability to attempt questions with speed and accuracy.
Each question in the examples section has some uniqueness. To get more questions of different types you can refer to different books available in the market such as RS Agrawal, SSC Mathematics by Rakesh Yadav and others.
Candidates can also attempt practice sets, quizzes and test series on various exam preparation platforms online.
Solve Previous Years Papers
Candidates must solve the quantitative aptitude section of as many previous years SSC CHSL papers he/she can get his/her hands on. This will give them an idea of the pattern and type of questions to expect and the weightage of different topics.
Topic-Wise Preparation Tips
Number System
This is a foundational topic in quantitative aptitude, so to get a proper command over quantitative aptitude one must go through this properly. Easy to moderate level questions on divisibility rule, LCM & HCF can be asked in the examination.
Algebra
Questions under this topic are asked on Algebraic Identities, Simplification of Fractions and Factorization & Simplification of Polynomials.
Ratio and Proportion
Questions asked are totally concept-based. Proper grip of the detailed methods used in calculation of Ratio and Proportions along with formulas and short tricks will help the candidate to solve questions quickly in exam.
Percentage
This topic plays a vital role in the quantitative aptitude section of SSC CHSL as questions from other topics such as profit, loss and discount, data interpretation, etc use concepts of percentage. Hence, one should be well versed with various concepts, calculations and formulas in this topic.
Profit, Loss & Discount
One can easily solve most of the questions if he/she has clarity of concepts and remembers the formulas correctly. You must also have fundamental knowledge of dealing with percentages.
Simple Interest & Compound Interest
Though the questions and formulas are of simple nature, the questions under this topic involve heavy calculations. Therefore, one must be able to calculate fast and accurately to score better under this topic.
Mensuration
Under this topic, candidates must focus on elementary level questions pertaining to area/surface area and volume of basic 2D and 3D shapes as they frequently asked in the exam. Some of these shapes include Triangles, Quadrilateral, Circles, Cube, Cuboid, Sphere, Hemisphere, Right Circular Cylinder, Cone and more.
Geometry
In this topic, it is very important for you to have knowledge of basic geometrical shapes and related facts ranging from congruence criteria and similarity of triangles along with centroid, mid-point, medium, etc to Circles and its chords, angles subtended by chords, tangents and more. Most of the questions asked are based on basic properties.
Data Interpretation
Most of the Data Interpretation questions are based on topics such as percentage, ratio and proportion, averages, etc. So, you should be proficient in these topics to ace through data interpretation questions.
