24 Surds and Indices PYQ (Solutions)
Master Surds and Indices for CAT 2026 with practice questions and detailed explanations
Surds & Indices (irrational roots, exponent rules) are another minor algebra topic. CAT questions on surds/indices are infrequent and usually simple if they appear. They often come intertwined with other problems (like simplifying an expression within a larger algebra question).
- The combined category of “Logarithms, Surds and Indices” contributed about 1–2 questions in many years.
- For instance, CAT 2019 had maybe one question using indices (since “Modern Math” was only 1 question total that year).
- CAT 2020 saw up to 4 questions involving logs/surds in one slot (slot 1) but only 1 in another, indicating volatility.
- Many papers had 0 direct surd questions.
Summary: Surds/indices are not a guaranteed yearly feature – they appeared sporadically (often bundled with logs). When they do appear, usually 1 question at most in a given slot.
Weightage Over Past Years
| Year | Q.NONumber of questions | Difficulty Level |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 5 | Hard |
| 2024 | 5 | Medium |
| 2023 | 4 | Hard |
| 2022 | 1 | Hard |
| 2021 | 1 | Medium |
| 2020 | 2 | Medium |
| 2019 | 3 | Hard |
| 2018 | 1 | Hard |
| 2017 | 2 | Medium |
CAT 2025 Surds and Indices questions
Question 1
Slot-1
For any natural number , let . The smallest natural number for which
is
For any natural number , let . The smallest natural number for which
is
Question 2
Slot-2
The sum of digits of the number ( ( 625 ) ^ { 65 } \times ( 128 ) ^ { 36 } ), is
The sum of digits of the number ( ( 625 ) ^ { 65 } \times ( 128 ) ^ { 36 } ), is
Question 3
Slot-2
If ( 9 ^ { x ^ { 2 } + 2 x - 3 } - 4 \left( 3 ^ { x ^ { 2 } + 2 x - 2 } \right) + 27 = 0 ), then the product of all possible
values of ( x ) is
If ( 9 ^ { x ^ { 2 } + 2 x - 3 } - 4 \left( 3 ^ { x ^ { 2 } + 2 x - 2 } \right) + 27 = 0 ), then the product of all possible values of ( x ) is
Question 4
Slot-3
If and , then the value of is
If and , then the value of is
Question 5
Slot-3
If , where and are natural numbers, then equals
If , where and are natural numbers, then equals
CAT 2024 Surds and Indices questions
Question 1
Slot-1
The sum of all real values of for which , is
The sum of all real values of for which , is
Question 2
Slot-1
If is the positive square root of , where and are integers, and is a natural number, then the maximum possible value of is.
If is the positive square root of , where and are integers, and is a natural number, then the maximum possible value of is.
Question 3
Slot-2
If , then equals
If , then equals
Question 4
Slot-3
The sum of all distinct real values of that satisfy the equation , is
The sum of all distinct real values of that satisfy the equation , is
Question 5
Slot-3
If , where and are natural numbers, then equals
If , where and are natural numbers, then equals
CAT 2023 Surds and Indices questions
Question 1
Slot-1
If , then is equal to
If , then is equal to
Question 2
Slot-2
The sum of all possible values of satisfying the equation is
The sum of all possible values of satisfying the equation is
Question 3
Slot-3
Let and be two positive integers such that there are exactly 41 integers greater than and less than , which can be expressed as powers of 2 . Then, the smallest possible value of is
Let and be two positive integers such that there are exactly 41 integers greater than and less than , which can be expressed as powers of 2 . Then, the smallest possible value of is
Question 4
Slot-3
If is a positive real number such that , then the value of is
If is a positive real number such that , then the value of is
CAT 2022 Surds and Indices questions
Question 1
Slot-3
If and , for all non-zero real values of and , then the value of is
If and , for all non-zero real values of and , then the value of is
CAT 2021 Surds and Indices questions
Question 1
Slot-3
If is a positive integer such that , then the smallest value of is
If is a positive integer such that , then the smallest value of is
CAT 2020 Surds and Indices questions
Question 1
Slot-1
If , then which of the following equals 64?
If , then which of the following equals 64?
Question 2
Slot-3
If a, b, c are non-zero and , then is equal to
If a, b, c are non-zero and , then is equal to
CAT 2019 Surds and Indices questions
Question 1
Slot-1
If and are integers such that:
Then what is the value of ?
If and are integers such that:
Then what is the value of ?
Question 2
Slot-2
Question:
If and , then equals [TITA]
Question:
If and , then equals [TITA]
Question 3
Slot-2
The real root of the equation is
The real root of the equation is
CAT 2018 Surds and Indices questions
Question 1
Slot-1
Given that and , the value of ?
Given that and , the value of ?
CAT 2017 Surds and Indices questions
Question 1
Slot-1
If , then is
If , then is
Question 2
Slot-2
If , then is
If , then is
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