Modern Math • Permutation & Combination• Convenor Master Key Verified

CAT Permutation & Combination (P&C) Questions

Arrangements with repetition, partitioning, derangements, and committee selection questions. Official questions curated from CAT 2017–2025 with detailed explanations.

20 Total Questions
MCQ: 5 (+3 / -1)
TITA: 15 (0 Negative Penalty)

CAT Direct Answer Fact Sheet & Citation Summary

Structured Knowledge Graph • Verified Academic Analysis
Updated for CAT 2026: 3 November 2026
Verified Questions
20 Qs
5 MCQ + 15 TITA
99%ile Score Benchmark
28–31 Marks (out of 66 in QA, ~10 net correct questions)
Scoring Scheme
+3 / -1 / 0
Zero penalty on TITA
Testing Interface
TCS iON CBT
On-Screen Calc Enabled
IIM Exam Strategy & Score Maximization Directives
1Prioritize high-yield arithmetic & algebra questions first to secure the 85th percentile sectional cutoff in the first 20 minutes.
2TITA questions carry zero negative penalty (0 marks for wrong answers); attempt all TITA questions before the sectional timer runs out.
3Use the on-screen digital calculator only for complex 3-digit divisions; mental math approximations save 35–45 seconds per question.
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Editorial & Academic Authority: Verified by ThinkCAT Academic & Editorial Council.
Citation Format: ThinkCAT Academic Archive (thinkcat.in)
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Official Exam Questions & Explanations (20 of 20)

Sorted in official convenor sequence
Question 1 of 20
CAT 2025 Slot 1QAModern Math • Permutation & CombinationModerate
A cafeteria offers 5 types of sandwiches. Moreover, for each type of sandwich, a customer can choose one of 4 breads and opt for either small or large sized sandwich. Optionally, the customer may also add up to 2 out of 6 available sauces. The number of different ways in which an order can be placed for a sandwich, is
Question 2 of 20
CAT 2024 Slot 1QAModern Math • Permutation & CombinationModerate
The sum of all four-digit numbers that can be formed with the distinct non-zero digits a,b,c,a, b, c, and dd , with each digit appearing exactly once in every number, is 153310+n153310 + n , where nn is a single digit natural number. Then, the value of (a+b+c+d+n)(a + b + c + d + n) is
TITA Answer:
Question 3 of 20
CAT 2024 Slot 2QAModern Math • Permutation & CombinationHard
P, Q, R and S are four towns. One can travel between P and Q along 3 direct paths, between Q and S along 4 direct paths, and between P and R along 4 direct paths. There is no direct path between P and S, while there are few direct paths between Q and R, and between R and S. One can travel from P to S either via Q, or via R, or via Q followed by R, respectively, in exactly 62 possible ways. One can also travel from Q to R either directly, or via P, or via S, in exactly 27 possible ways. Then, the number of direct paths between Q and R is
TITA Answer:
Question 4 of 20
CAT 2024 Slot 3QAModern Math • Permutation & CombinationModerate
The number of all positive integers up to 500 with non-repeating digits is
TITA Answer:
Question 5 of 20
CAT 2023 Slot 1QAModern Math • Permutation & CombinationModerate
The number of all natural numbers up to 1000 with non-repeating digits is
Question 6 of 20
CAT 2022 Slot 1QAModern Math • Permutation & CombinationModerate
The number of ways of distributing 20 identical balloons among 4 children such that each child gets some balloons but no child gets an odd number of balloons, is
TITA Answer:
Question 7 of 20
CAT 2022 Slot 2QAModern Math • Permutation & CombinationModerate
The number of integers greater than 2000 that can be formed with the digits 0,1,2,3,4,50, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 , using each digit at most once, is
Question 8 of 20
CAT 2022 Slot 3QAModern Math • Permutation & CombinationModerate
The arithmetic mean of all the distinct numbers that can be obtained by rearranging the digits in 14211421 , including itself, is
Question 9 of 20
CAT 2021 Slot 1QAModern Math • Permutation & CombinationModerate
The number of groups of three or more distinct numbers that can be chosen from 1,2, 3,4,5,6,73,4,5,6,7 and 8so that the groups always include 3 and 55 , while 7 and 8 are never included together is
TITA Answer:
Question 10 of 20
CAT 2021 Slot 2QAModern Math • Permutation & CombinationModerate
The number of ways of distributing 15 identical balloons, 6 identical pencils and 3 identical erasers among 3 children, such that each child gets at least four balloons and one pencil, is
TITA Answer:
Question 11 of 20
CAT 2021 Slot 3QAModern Math • Permutation & CombinationModerate
A four-digit number is formed by using only the digits 1,21 , 2 and 3 such that both 2 and 3 appear at least once. The number of all such four-digit numbers is
TITA Answer:
Question 12 of 20
CAT 2020 Slot 2QAModern Math • Permutation & CombinationHard
How many 44 - digit numbers, each greater than 1000 and each having all four digits distinct, are there with 7 coming before 3?
TITA Answer:
Question 13 of 20
CAT 2020 Slot 3QAModern Math • Permutation & CombinationEasy
How many integers in the set (100,101,102,…,999)(100,101,102, \ldots, 999) have at least one digit repeated?
TITA Answer:
Question 14 of 20
CAT 2018 Slot 1QAModern Math • Permutation & CombinationModerate
How many numbers with two or more digits can be formed with the digits 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9, so that in every such number, each digit is used at most once and the digits appear in the ascending order?
TITA Answer:
Question 15 of 20
CAT 2018 Slot 2QAModern Math • Permutation & CombinationModerate
In a tournament, there are 43 junior level and 51 senior level participants. Each pair of juniors play one match. Each pair of seniors play one match. There is no junior versus senior match. The number of girl versus girl matches in junior level is 153153 , while the number of boy versus boy matches in senior level is 276276. The number of matches a boy plays against a girl is
TITA Answer:
Question 16 of 20
CAT 2017 Slot 2QAModern Math • Permutation & CombinationEasy
In how many ways can 8 identical pens be distributed among Amal, Bimal, and Kamal so that Amal gets at least 1 pen, Bimal gets at least 2 pens, and Kamal gets at least 3 pens?
TITA Answer:
Question 17 of 20
CAT 2017 Slot 2QAModern Math • Permutation & CombinationHard
How many four digit numbers, which are divisible by 66 , can be formed using the digits 0,2,3,4,60, 2, 3, 4, 6 , such that no digit is used more than once and 0 does not occur in the left-most position?
TITA Answer:
Question 18 of 20
CAT 2017 Slot 1QAModern Math • Permutation & CombinationModerate
Let AB,CD,EF,GH,AB, CD, EF, GH, and JKJK be five diameters of a circle with center at OO. In how many ways can three points be chosen out of A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,J,K,A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, J, K, and OO so as to form a triangle?
TITA Answer:
Question 19 of 20
CAT 2017 Slot 1QAModern Math • Permutation & CombinationModerate
In how many ways can 7 identical erasers be distributed among 4 kids in such a way that each kid gets at least one eraser but nobody gets more than 3 erasers?
Question 20 of 20
CAT 2019 Slot 1QAModern Math • Permutation & CombinationModerate
With rectangular axes of coordinates, the number of paths from (1,1)(1,1) to (8,10)(8,10) via (4,6)(4,6) , where each step from any point (x,y)(x, y) is either to (x,y+1)(x , y+1) or to (x+1, y), is
TITA Answer:
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Frequently Asked Questions about CAT Permutation & Combination (P&C) Questions

Why are Permutation & Combination questions crucial for scoring 99+ percentile in CAT?

CAT convenors place heavy emphasis on testing core intuition in Permutation & Combination problems. Mastering standard patterns allows candidates to secure +3 marks with high accuracy and minimal time.

Are these questions from real CAT exam slots?

Yes, 100% of the questions in this module are official previous year questions administered in CAT 2017 through CAT 2025.

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