Questions on Arithmetic form a major chunk of the Quant section in all Banking Entrance exams. It is very important to get the basics right in this topic.

BODMAS

When an expression contains all the mathematical operations, there is an order in which those operations have to be performed. BODMAS is an acronym for Brackets, Order, Division, Multiplication, Addition, Subtraction. The operations have to be performed in this order: 1. Brackets 2. Order (Power or Index) 3. Division 4. Multiplication 5. Addition 6. Subtraction

Percentages

Many questions in Arithmetic are on Percentages. It is important to keep the following percentage – fraction conversions in mind.
½ = 50%
1/3 = 33.33%
¼ = 25%
1/5 = 20%
1/6 = 16.67%
1/7 = 14.28%
1/8 = 12.5%
1/9 = 11.11%

A few questions are asked on inequalities. It is important to know the following inequalities:

1. For any positive real number x, x+1/x >= 2

2. For any three real numbers x, y and z, if x > y, then x + z > y + z

If x > y and

1. If z is positive, then xz > yz
2. If z is negative, then xz < yz
3. If x and y are of the same sign, then $$\frac{1}{x}$$ < $$\frac{1}{y}$$
4. If x and y are of different signs, then $$\frac{1}{x}$$ > $$\frac{1}{y}$$

1. The modulus of x, |x| = maximum of (x, -x)

2. For any two real numbers ‘a’ and ‘b’, |a| + |b| >= |a+b|

3. For any real number ‘a’, $$a^2 = |a|^2$$