Numerical Ability: What Is Tested and How to Practise
Numerical (Quantitative) Ability measures your comfort with numbers in practical problems: percentages, ratios, sequences and reading data from tables and charts. In scales A2-A5-A7 it is a standalone part; in A8 and A9–A11 it joins the combined part with abstract/deductive reasoning.
No advanced mathematics is required — what is required is speed and confidence with basic operations under time pressure, with no room for elegant-but-slow solutions.
What the section measures
- Practical arithmetic: operations, fractions, decimals, rounding.
- Percentages and ratios: increases/decreases, shares, distributions.
- Number sequences: recognising the rule and finding the next term.
- Data interpretation: tables, bar charts, pie charts — what they say and what they don't.
Exam-day strategy
- Automate the frequent patterns: +10%, −20%, ×1.5 — they should come without thinking.
- In sequences, test in order: constant difference, constant ratio, combination (×2+1), alternating rules.
- In charts, read the title, axes and units first — half the errors are reading errors, not calculation errors.
- Estimate before you calculate: a rough order of magnitude immediately eliminates 2–3 options.
Sample questions with solutions
1. A department processed 240 applications in May and 300 in June. What is the percentage increase?
- A.20%
- B.25%
- C.30%
- D.60%
Show solution
Correct answer: B. 25% — The increase is 300 − 240 = 60 applications. As a percentage of the original value: 60 ÷ 240 = 0.25, i.e. 25%. Note: the percentage is always calculated on the original value (240), not the new one.
2. Which number continues the sequence: 3, 7, 15, 31, ___?
- A.47
- B.57
- C.62
- D.63
Show solution
Correct answer: D. 63 — Each term follows from the previous one by the rule ×2 + 1: 3→7, 7→15, 15→31, so 31×2+1 = 63. Alternatively, the differences (4, 8, 16) double — the next is 32.
Frequently asked questions
Is a calculator allowed in the exam?
What is allowed is defined in each cycle's official announcement and candidate instructions. Prepare to calculate quickly without aids — the arithmetic is designed to be done by hand.
How hard is the mathematics?
The content is school-level practical arithmetic — percentages, ratios, reading charts. The difficulty is time: just over a minute per question.
Is “Quantitative” Ability different from Numerical?
It's the term the official syllabus uses for the same subject, especially in the A8 combined part. In practice they cover the same question types.
Practise Numerical Ability
Percentages, sequences, tables and charts — timed tests with a worked solution for every question, free.
Start free