CAT 2021 Question Papers: Download Slot Wise CAT Question Paper & Answer Key PDFs for VARC, DILR, QA

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Chanpreet Kaur

Content Writer | MBA Professional | Updated on - Nov 28, 2025

CAT 2021 Question Paper with Answer Key PDFs along with solutions are available for all 3 slots. The total number of questions were reduced to 66 from 76. Hence, VARC had 24 questions, DILR had 20 questions, and QA had 22 questions. 50% of the questions were from Arithmetic. In CAT VARC, 16 questions were based on RCs. 

CAT Question Paper
 

CAT 2021 Question Paper with Solutions PDF (Available)

CAT 2021 exam was conducted on 27 October 2021 and the CAT question paper is available here in PDF format with Solutions PDF. The exam was conducted in three sessions across around 155 test cities.

CAT 2021 Question Paper PDF (Quantitative Aptitude)

CAT Exam Slot Question Paper PDF Solution PDF
CAT Question Paper 2021 (QA Slot 1) Download PDF Check Solutions
CAT Question Paper 2021 (QA Slot 2) Download PDF Check Solutions
CAT Question Paper 2021 (QA Slot 3) Download PDF Check Solutions

CAT 2021 Question Paper PDF (VARC)

CAT Exam Slot Question Paper PDF Solution PDF
CAT Question Paper 2021 (VARC Slot 1) Download PDF Check Solutions
CAT Question Paper 2021 (VARC Slot 2) Download PDF Check Solutions
CAT Question Paper 2021 (VARC Slot 3) Download PDF Check Solutions

CAT 2021 Question Paper PDF (DILR)

CAT Exam Slot Question Paper PDF     Solution PDF
CAT Question Paper 2021 (DILR Slot 1) Download PDF Check Solutions
CAT Question Paper 2021 (DILR Slot 2) Download PDF Check Solutions
CAT Question Paper 2021 (DILR Slot 3) Download PDF Check Solutions

CAT Exam Pattern

CAT is a 2-hour computer-based exam with a total of 204 marks from 68 questions distributed among three sections: VARC, DILR, and QA, each section with a time limit of 40 minutes. The CAT exam has both MCQs and TITA questions, with a marking system of +3 for correct responses, −1 for incorrect MCQs, and no negative marking for TITA.

Feature Details
Exam Name Common Admission Test (CAT)
Mode Computer-Based Test (CBT)
Total Duration 120 minutes (2 hours)
Number of Sections 3
Sectional Time Limit 40 minutes per section (auto switch)
Total Questions 68
Question Types MCQs & TITA (Type In The Answer)
Marking Scheme +3 for correct, -1 for incorrect MCQ, 0 for TITA
Language of Exam English
Total Marks 204

CAT 2021 Paper Analysis

VARC: The VARC pattern changed to four RC passages with four questions each, instead of the earlier 5-5-4-4 format. Difficulty was moderate to tough, with Slot 1 the hardest. VA included para jumbles, summaries, and odd-one-out, similar to previous years. RCs on dystopia and ancient Maya were challenging, while topics like tea history and self-control were easier.

DILR: The number of sets reduced from five to four. Each slot had a mix of DI and LR, and some sets were very time-consuming. The overall structure was similar across slots, but difficulty was different. Avoiding tricky sets was important for a good attempt.

QA: This section was dominated by arithmetic (10–11 questions per slot), followed by algebra, geometry, and number systems. The questions were conceptually easy but many of them required lengthy calculations. Slot 3 was the toughest, and speed with accuracy were required to score well.

*The article might have information for the previous academic years, which will be updated soon subject to the notification issued by the University/College.

CAT 2021 Questions

  • 1.
    Find the number of integer pairs (x, y) that satisfy the following system of inequalities:
    \[ \begin{cases} x \geq y \geq 3 \\ x + y \leq 14 \end{cases} \]


      • 2.
        An item with a cost price of Rs.1650 is sold at a certain discount on a fixed marked price to earn a profit of 20% on the cost price. If the discount was doubled, the profit would have been Rs.110. The rate of discount, in percentage, at which the profit percentage would be equal to the rate of discount, is nearest to:

          • \(12\)
          • \(13\)
          • \(14\)
          • \(15\)

        • 3.
          The monthly sales of a product from January to April were 120, 135, 150 and 165 units, respectively. The cost price of the product was Rs. 240 per unit, and a fixed marked price was used for the product in all the four months. Discounts of 20%, 10% and 5% were given on the marked price per unit in January, February and March, respectively, while no discounts were given in April. If the total profit from January to April was Rs. 138825, then the marked price per unit, in rupees, was

            • \(525\)
            • \(510\)
            • \(520\)
            • \(515\)

          • 4.
            The ratio of the number of students in the morning shift and afternoon shift of a school was $13 : 9$. After 21 students moved from the morning shift to the afternoon shift, this ratio became $19 : 14$. Next, some new students joined the morning and afternoon shifts in the ratio $3 : 8$ and then the ratio of the number of students in the morning shift and the afternoon shift became $5 : 4$. The number of new students who joined is:

              • \(88\)
              • \(12\)
              • \(11\)
              • \(99\)

            • 5.
              Let $3 \leq x \leq 6$ and $[x^2] = [x]^2$, where $[x]$ is the greatest integer not exceeding $x$. If set $S$ represents all feasible values of $x$, then which of the following is a possible subset of $S$?

                • \((3, \sqrt{10}) \cup [5, \sqrt{26}) \cup \{6\}\)
                • \((4, \sqrt{10}) \cup [5, \sqrt{27}) \cup \{6\}\)
                • \([3, \sqrt{10}] \cup [5, \sqrt{26}]\)
                • \([3, \sqrt{10}] \cup [4, \sqrt{17}] \cup \{6\}\)

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