Algebra • Polynomials Official Answer Keys

CAT Polynomials & Roots of Equations Questions

Quadratic curves, Remainder Theorem, Vieta relations, and polynomial graph questions. Official questions curated from CAT 2017–2025 with detailed explanations.

22 Total Questions
MCQ: 13 (+3 / -1)
TITA: 9 (0 Negative Penalty)
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Official Exam Questions & Explanations (22 of 22)

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Question 1 of 22
CAT 2025 Slot 2QAAlgebraPolynomialsHard
The equations 3x25x+p=03x^2 - 5x + p = 0 and 2x22x+q=02x^2 - 2x + q = 0 have one common root. The sum of the other roots of these two equations is
Question 2 of 22
CAT 2025 Slot 1QAAlgebraPolynomialsEasy
The number of non-negative integer values of kk for which the quadratic equation x25x+k=0x^2 - 5x + k = 0 has only integer roots, is
TITA Answer:
Question 3 of 22
CAT 2024 Slot 1QAAlgebraPolynomialsModerate
If the equations x2+mx+9=0x^2 + mx + 9 = 0, x2+nx+17=0x^2 + nx + 17 = 0, and x2+(m+n)x+35=0x^2 + (m + n)x + 35 = 0 have a common negative root, then the value of 2m+3n2m + 3n is
TITA Answer:
Question 4 of 22
CAT 2024 Slot 2QAAlgebraPolynomialsModerate
The roots α,β\alpha, \beta of the equation 3x2+λx1=03 x^{2}+\lambda x-1=0, satisfy 1α2+1β2=15\frac{1}{\alpha^{2}}+\frac{1}{\beta^{2}}=15. The value of (α3+β3)2\left(\alpha^{3}+\beta^{3}\right)^{2}, is
Question 5 of 22
CAT 2024 Slot 2QAAlgebraPolynomialsModerate
If xx and yy are real numbers such that 4x2+4y24xy6y+3=04x^2 + 4y^2 - 4xy - 6y + 3 = 0, then the value of (4x+5y)(4x + 5y) is
TITA Answer:
Question 6 of 22
CAT 2023 Slot 1QAAlgebraPolynomialsModerate
Let α\alpha and β\beta be the two distinct roots of the equation 2x26x+k=02x^2 - 6x + k = 0, such that (α+β)(\alpha + \beta) and αβ\alpha\beta are the distinct roots of the equation x2+px+p=0x^2 + px + p = 0. Then, the value of 8(kp)8 (k - p) is
TITA Answer:
Question 7 of 22
CAT 2023 Slot 1QAAlgebraPolynomialsModerate
The equation x3+(2r+1)x2+(4r1)x+2=0x^3 + (2r + 1)x^2 + (4r - 1)x + 2 = 0 has 2- 2 as one of the roots. If the other two roots are real, then the minimum possible non-negative integer value of rr is
TITA Answer:
Question 8 of 22
CAT 2025 Slot 3QAAlgebraPolynomialsHard
If f(x)=(x2+3x)(x2+3x+2)f(x)=(x^2+3x)(x^2+3x+2), then the sum of all real roots of the equation f(x)+1=9701\sqrt{f(x)+1}=9701, is
Question 9 of 22
CAT 2023 Slot 3QAAlgebraPolynomialsModerate
A quadratic equation x2+bx+c=0x^{2}+b x+c=0 has two real roots. It the difference between the reciprocals of the roots is 1/31 / 3 and the sum of the reciprocals of the squares of the roots is 5/95 / 9, then the largest possible value of ( b+cb+c ) is
TITA Answer:
Question 10 of 22
CAT 2022 Slot 1QAAlgebraPolynomialsModerate
Let a,b,ca, b, c be non-zero real numbers such that b2<4acb^2 < 4ac, and f(x)=ax2+bx+cf(x) = ax^2 + bx + c. If the set S consists of all integers m such that f(m)<0f(m) < 0, then the set S must necessarily be
Question 11 of 22
CAT 2022 Slot 2QAAlgebraPolynomialsModerate
Let f(x)f(x) be quadratic polynomial in xx such that f(x)0f(x) \geq 0 for all real numbers xx. if f(2)=0f(2)=0 and f(4)=6f(4)=6, then f(2)f(-2) is equal to
Question 12 of 22
CAT 2022 Slot 2QAAlgebraPolynomialsModerate
Let rr and cc be real numbers, if rr and r-r are roots of 5x3+cx210x+9=05 x^{3}+c x^{2}-10 x+9=0, then cc equals
Question 13 of 22
CAT 2022 Slot 3QAAlgebraPolynomialsModerate
Suppose kk is any integer such that the equation 2x2+kx+5=02 x^{2}+k x+5=0 has no real roots and the equation x2+(k5)x+1=0x^{2}+(k-5) x+1=0 has two distinct real roots for xx. Then, the number of possible values of kk is
Question 14 of 22
CAT 2022 Slot 3QAAlgebraPolynomialsModerate
If (3+22)(3+2\sqrt{2}) is a root of the equation ax2+bx+c=0ax^2 + bx + c = 0, and (4+23)(4+2\sqrt{3}) is a root of the equation ay2+my+n=0ay^2 + my + n = 0, where a,b,c,ma, b, c, m and nn are integers, then the value of (bm+c2bn)(\frac{b}{m} + \frac{c-2b}{n}) is
Question 15 of 22
CAT 2021 Slot 2QAAlgebraPolynomialsModerate
Suppose one of the roots of the equation ax2bx+c=0ax^2 - bx + c = 0 is 2+32+\sqrt{3} where a, b and c are rational numbers and a0a \neq 0. If b=c3b = c^3 then a|a| equals
Question 16 of 22
CAT 2021 Slot 3QAAlgebraPolynomialsModerate
A tea shop offers tea in cups of three different sizes. The product of the prices, in INR, of three different sizes is equal to 800800. The prices of the smallest size and the medium size are in the ratio 2:52 : 5. If the shop owner decides to increase the prices of the smallest and the medium ones by INR 66 keeping the price of the largest size unchanged, the product then changes to 3200.3200. The sum of the original prices of three different sizes, in INR, is:
TITA Answer:
Question 17 of 22
CAT 2020 Slot 1QAAlgebraPolynomialsModerate
The number of distinct real roots of the equation (x+1x)23(x+1x)+2=0(x + \frac{1}{x})^2 - 3(x + \frac{1}{x}) + 2 = 0 equals
TITA Answer:
Question 18 of 22
CAT 2020 Slot 2QAAlgebraPolynomialsModerate
Let f(x)=x2+ax+bf(x)=x^{2}+a x+b and g(x)=f(x+1)f(x1)g(x)=f(x+1)-f(x-1). If f(x)0f(x) \geq 0 for all real xx, and g(20)=72g(20)=72, then the smallest possible value of bb is
Question 19 of 22
CAT 2020 Slot 3QAAlgebraPolynomialsModerate
Let mm and nn be positive integers, If x2+mx+2n=0x^2 + mx + 2n = 0 and x2+2nx+m=0x^2 + 2nx + m = 0 have real roots, then the smallest possible value of m+nm + n is
Question 20 of 22
CAT 2019 Slot 2QAAlgebraPolynomialsEasy
The quadratic equation x2+bx+c=0x² + bx + c = 0 has two roots 4a4a and 3a,3a, where a is an integer. Which of the following is a possible value of b2+cb² + c?
Question 21 of 22
CAT 2019 Slot 2QAAlgebraPolynomialsModerate
Let AA be a real number. Then the roots of the equation x24xlog2A=0x^2 - 4x - \log_2A = 0 are real and distinct if and only if
Question 22 of 22
CAT 2017 Slot 1QAAlgebraPolynomialsEasy
If f1(x)=x2+11x+nf_{1}(x)=x^{2}+11 x+n and f2(x)=xf_{2}(x)=x, then the largest positive integer nn for which the equation f1(x)=f2(x)f_{1}(x)=f_{2}(x) has two distinct real roots, is
TITA Answer:
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Frequently Asked Questions about CAT Polynomials & Roots of Equations Questions

Why are Polynomials questions crucial for scoring 99+ percentile in CAT?

CAT convenors place heavy emphasis on testing core intuition in Polynomials 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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