CAT 2023 Question Paper: Download CAT Question Paper PDF for Slot 1, 2 and 3 with Answers Keys

With the release of CAT 2023 answer key, IIMs have made available the CAT 2023 Question Paper with solutions Pdf download for the CAT exam which was held on November 26, 2023 in three slots -Slot-1, Slot-2 and Slot-3. You can attempt the complete CAT 2023 Question paper here and can download it. Go through the Table of Contents below to check Slot wise CAT 2023 Question paper: 

Table of Contents  

1. CAT 2023 Paper Pattern Overview
2. CAT 2023 Slot 1 Question Paper with Answer Keys – Section 1 – Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension
3. CAT 2023 Slot 1 Question Paper with Answer Keys – Section 2 – Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning
4. CAT 2023 Slot 1 Question Paper with Answer Keys – Section 3 – Quantitative Ability
5. CAT 2023 Slot 2 Question Paper – Section 1 - Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension
6. CAT 2023 Slot 2 Question Paper – Section 2 – Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning
7. CAT 2023 Slot 2 Question Paper – Section 3 – Quantitative Ability
8. CAT 2023 Slot 3 Question Paper – Section 1 - Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension
9. CAT 2023 Slot 3 Question Paper – Section 2 – Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning
10. CAT 2023 Slot 3 Question Paper – Section 3 – Quantitative Ability
11. CAT 2023 Question Paper with Answer Keys – How to utilize

1. CAT 2023 Paper Pattern Overview

CAT 2023 Exam Components	Slot 1 - Total Questions	Slot 2 - Total Questions	Slot 3 - Total Questions
Section-1: Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC)	24	24	24
Section-2: Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR)	20	20	20
Section-3: Quantitative Ability (QA)	22	22	22
Total	66	66	66

CAT 2023 Slot 1 Question Paper with Answer Keys: Section 1 – Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC)

Total Number of Questions & Time Available	24 Questions; 40 Mins
Key Topics on Reading Comprehension	4 RC passages on Return of Wolves’ predation; Current Economies; Indian Ocean Literature; Modern Materialism. Each passage was followed by 4 Questions
Key Topics on Verbal Ability	Jumbled Paragraphs, Para Summary, Odd Sentence Out, Para completion – 8 Questions
CAT 2023 Slot 1 Question Paper – Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension Section	View all Questions, Options, Correct Answers | Check Now

CAT 2023 Question Paper Slot 1 - Actual Questions, Options & Correct Answer | Section 1 – Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension

Q 1 The passage below is accompanied by four questions. Based on the passage, choose the best answer for each question.

RESIDENTS of Lozère, a hilly department in southern France, recite complaints familiar to many rural corners of Europe. In remote hamlets and villages, with names such as Le Bacon and Le Bacon Vieux, mayors grumble about a lack of local schools, jobs, or phone and internet connections. Farmers of grazing animals add another concern: the return of wolves. Eradicated from France last century, the predators are gradually creeping back to more forests and hillsides. “The wolf must be taken in hand,” said an aspiring parliamentarian, Francis Palombi, when pressed by voters in an election campaign early this summer. Tourists enjoy visiting a wolf park in Lozère, but farmers fret over their livestock and their livelihoods. .. .

As early as the ninth century, the royal office of the Luparii—wolf-catchers—was created in France to tackle the predators. Those official hunters (and others) completed their job in the1930s, when the last wolf disappeared from the mainland. Active hunting and improved technology such as rifles in the 19th century, plus the use of poison such as strychnine later on, caused the population collapse. But in the early 1990s the animals reappeared. They crossed the Alps from Italy, upsetting sheep farmers on the French side of the border. Wolves have since spread to areas such as Lozère, delighting environmentalists, who see the predators’ presence as a sign of wider ecological health. Farmers, who say the wolves cause the deaths of thousands of sheep and other grazing animals, are less cheerful. They grumble that green activists and politically correct urban types have allowed the return of an old enemy.

Various factors explain the changes of the past few decades. Rural depopulation is part of the story. In Lozère, for example, farming and a once-flourishing mining industry supported a population of over 140,000 residents in the mid-19th century. Today the department has fewer than 80,000 people, many in its towns. As humans withdraw, forests are expanding. In France, between 1990 and 2015, forest cover increased by an average of 102,000 hectares each year, as more fields were given over to trees. Now, nearly one-third of mainland Franceis covered by woodland of some sort. The decline of hunting as a sport also means more forests fall quiet. In the mid-to-late 20th century over 2m hunters regularly spent winter weekends tramping in woodland, seeking boars, birds and other prey. Today the Fédération Nationale des Chasseurs, the national body, claims 1.1m people hold hunting licences, though the number of active hunters is probably lower. The mostly protected status of the wolfin Europe—hunting them is now forbidden, other than when occasional culls are sanctioned by the state—plus the efforts of NGOs to track and count the animals, also contribute to the recovery of wolf populations.

As the lupine population of Europe spreads westwards, with occasional reports of wolves seen closer to urban areas, expect to hear of more clashes between farmers and those who celebrate the predators’ return. Farmers’ losses are real, but are not the only economic story. Tourist venues, such as parks where wolves are kept and the animals’ spread is discussed, also generate income and jobs in rural areas. 

Q.1: Which one of the following has NOT contributed to the growing wolf population inLozère?

Answer Options

1. The shutting down of the royal office of the Luparii.
2. An increase in woodlands and forest cover in Lozère.
3. The granting of a protected status to wolves in Europe.
4. A decline in the rural population of Lozère.

Correct Answer: 1. The shutting down of the royal office of the Luparii.

Q.2: Which one of the following statements, if true, would weaken the author’s claims?

Answer Options

1. Wolf attacks on tourists in Lozère are on the rise.
2. Having migrated out in the last century, wolves are now returning to Lozère.
3. Unemployment concerns the residents of Lozère.
4. The old mining sites of Lozère are now being used as grazing pastures for sheep.

Correct Answer: 1. Wolf attacks on tourists in Lozère are on the rise.

Q 3. The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.

Manipulating information was a feature of history long before modern journalism established rules of integrity. A record dates back to ancient Rome, when Antony met Cleopatra and his political enemy Octavian launched a smear campaign against him with “short, sharp slogans written upon coins.” The perpetrator became the first Roman Emperor and “fake news had allowed Octavian to hack the republican system once and for all”. But the 21st century has seen the weaponization of information on an unprecedented scale. Powerful new technology makes the fabrication of content simple, and social networks amplify falsehoods peddled by States, populist politicians, and dishonest corporate entities. The platforms have become fertile ground for computational propaganda, ‘trolling’ and ‘troll armies’.

Answer Options

1. People need to become critical of what they read, since historically, weaponization of information has led to corruption.
2. Octavian used fake news to manipulate people and attain power and influence, Justas people do today.
3. Disinformation, which is mediated by technology today, is not new and has existed sinceancient times.
4. Use of misinformation for attaining power, a practice that is as old as the Octavian era, is currently fueled by technology.

Correct Answer: 4. Use of misinformation for attaining power, a practice that is as old as the Octavian era, is currently fueled by technology.

CAT 2023 Slot 1 Question Paper – Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension Section
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CAT 2023 Slot 1 Question Paper with Answer Keys: Section-2 Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR)

Total Number of Questions & Time Available	20 Questions; 40 Mins
Key Topics – Data Interpretation	Total 10 Questions; 2 Sets followed by 5 questions each on Gig workers and Restaurants based on Mathematics & Statistics; Visa Office Special Equation handling
Key Topics – Logical Reasoning	Total 10 Questions; 2 Sets followed by 5 questions each on Arrangements Professors in departments; Houses on Sale
CAT 2023 Slot 1 Question Paper – Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning	View all Questions, Options, Correct Answers | Check Now

CAT 2023 Question Paper Slot 1 - Actual Questions, Options & Correct Answer | Section 2 - Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR)

Problem Set-1: Five restaurants, coded R1, R2, R3, R4 and R5 gave integer ratings to five gig workers –Ullas, Vasu, Waman, Xavier and Yusuf, on a scale of 1 to 5. The means of the ratings given by R1, R2, R3, R4 and R5 were 3.4, 2.2, 3.8, 2.8 and 3.4respectively. The summary statistics of these ratings for the five workers is given below:

-	Ullas	Vasu	Waman	Xavier	Yusuf
Mean rating	2.2	3.8	3.4	3.6	2.6
Median rating	2	4	4	4	3
Modal rating	2	4	5	5	1 and 4
Range of rating*	3	3	4	4	3

* Range of ratings is defined as the difference between the maximum and minimum ratingsawarded to a worker.

The following is partial information about ratings of 1 and 5 awarded by the restaurants tothe workers.

(a) R1 awarded a rating of 5 to Waman, as did R2 to Xavier, R3 to Waman and Xavier, andR5 to Vasu.

(b) R1 awarded a rating of 1 to Ullas, as did R2 to Waman and Yusuf, and R3 to Yusuf. 

Q.1: How many individual ratings cannot be determined from the above information?

• Case Sensitivity: No
• Answer Type: Equal

Correct Answer: 0 

Q.2: To how many workers did R2 give a rating of 4?

• Case Sensitivity: No
• Answer Type: Equal

Correct Answer:  0

Q.3: What rating did R1 give to Xavier?

• Case Sensitivity: No
• Answer Type: Equal

Correct Answer: 3

Q.4: What is the median of the ratings given by R3 to the five workers?

• Case Sensitivity: No
• Answer Type: Equal

Correct Answer: 4

Q.5: Which among the following restaurants gave its median rating to exactly one of the workers?

Answer Options

1. R3
2. R5
3. R2
4. R4

Correct Answer: 4. R4

Problem Set-2:
Faculty members in a management school can belong to one of four departments – Finance and Accounting (F&A), Marketing and Strategy (M&S), Operations and Quants (O&Q) and Behaviour and Human Resources (B&H). The numbers of faculty members in F&A, M&S,O&Q and B&H departments are 9, 7, 5 and 3 respectively.

Prof. Pakrasi, Prof. Qureshi, Prof. Ramaswamy and Prof. Samuel are four members of theschool's faculty who were candidates for the post of the Dean of the school. Only one of thecandidates was from O&Q.

Every faculty member, including the four candidates, voted for the post. In each department,all the faculty members who were not candidates voted for the same candidate. The rules forthe election are listed below.

1. There cannot be more than two candidates from a single department.
2. A candidate cannot vote for himself/herself.
3. Faculty members cannot vote for a candidate from their own department.

After the election, it was observed that Prof. Pakrasi received 3 votes, Prof. Qureshi received14 votes, Prof. Ramaswamy received 6 votes and Prof. Samuel received 1 vote. Prof. Pakrasivoted for Prof. Ramaswamy, Prof. Qureshi for Prof. Samuel, Prof. Ramaswamy for Prof.Qureshi and Prof. Samuel for Prof. Pakrasi.

Q.1: Which two candidates can belong to the same department?

Answer Options

1. Prof. Ramaswamy and Prof. Samuel
2. Prof. Pakrasi and Prof. Samuel
3. Prof. Qureshi and Prof. Ramaswamy
4. Prof. Pakrasi and Prof. Qureshi

Correct Answer: 4. Prof. Pakrasi and Prof. Qureshi

Q.2: Which of the following can be the number of votes that Prof. Qureshi received from a single department?

Answer Options

1. 6
2. 7
3. 9
4. 8

Correct Answer: 3. 9

CAT 2023 Slot 1 Question Paper – Section 2 - Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR) Section
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CAT 2023 Slot 1 Question Paper with Answer Keys: Section-3 Quantitative Ability (QA)  

Total Number of Questions & Time Available	22 Questions; 40 Mins
Key Topics	Arithmetic (7 Qs); Algebra (8 Qs); Geometry (4 Qs); Modern Math (2 Qs); Numbers (1 Qs)
Difficulty Level	Higher than Last Year
CAT 2023 Slot 1 Question Paper – Quantitative Ability	View all Questions, Options, Correct Answers | Check Now

CAT 2023 Question Paper Slot 1 - Actual Questions, Options & Correct Answer | Section -III- Quantitative Ability (QA)

Q 1: Are positive real numbers such that log_x (x² + 12) = 4 and 3 log_y x = 1, then x + y equals

Answer Options:

1. 10
2. 10
3. 11
4. 68

Correct Answer: 1. 10 

Q 2: If x and y are real numbers such that x² + (x - 2y - 1)² = -4y(x + y), then the value x - 2y is

Answer Options

1. -1
2. 1
3. 0
4. 2

Correct Answer: 2. 1

Q.3: Gita sells two objects A and B at the same price such that she makes a profit of 20%on object A and a loss of 10% on object B. If she increases the selling price such that objects A and B are still sold at an equal price and a profit of 10% is made on object B, then the profit made on object A will be nearest to

Answer Options

1. 47%
2. 49%
3. 42%
4. 45%

Correct Answer: 1. 47%

CAT 2023 Question Paper Slot 1 - Actual Questions, Options & Correct Answer | Section -III- Quantitative Ability (QA)

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CAT 2023 Question Paper Slot 1 – Check all 66 Questions, Options & Correct Answers Now

5. CAT 2023 Slot 2 Question Paper – Section 1 - Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension
(Coming Soon)

6. CAT 2023 Slot 2 Question Paper – Section 2 – Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning
(Coming Soon)

7. CAT 2023 Slot 2 Question Paper – Section 3 – Quantitative Ability
(Coming Soon)

8. CAT 2023 Slot 3 Question Paper with Answer Keys: Section 1 – Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC)

Total Number of Questions & Time Available	24 Questions; 40 Mins
Key Topics on Reading Comprehension	4 RC passages on Colonialism and Global Warming (The Nutmeg’s Curse); Understanding Romantic Aesthetics;  Cultural Patrimony Laws; Rationality by Steven Pinker. Each passage was followed by 4 Questions – Total 16 Questions
Key Topics on Verbal Ability	Jumbled Paragraphs, Para Summary, Odd Sentence Out, Para completion – 8 Questions
CAT 2023 Slot 3 Question Paper – Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension Section	View all Questions, Options, Correct Answers | Check Now

CAT 2023 Question Paper Slot 3 - Actual Questions, Options & Correct Answer | Section 1 – Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension

Q.1: The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
Gradually, life for the island’s birds is improving. Antarctic prions and white-headed petrels, which also nest in burrows, had managed to cling on in some sites while pestswere on the island. Their numbers are now increasing. “It’s fantastic and so exciting, “Shaw says. As birds return to breed, they also poo. This adds nutrients to the soil, which in turn helps the plants to grow back stronger. Tall plants then help burrowing birds hide from predatory skuas. “It’s this wonderful feedback loop,” Shaw says. Today, the “pretty paddock” that Houghton first experienced has been transformed. “The tussock is over your head, and you’re dodging all these penguin tunnels,” she says. The orchids and tiny herb that had been protected by fencing have started turning up all over the place.

Answer Options

1. In the absence of pests, life on the island is now protected, and there has been a revival of a variety of birds and plants.
2. There is a huge positive transformation of the ecosystem of the island when brought under environmental protection.
3. There is an increasing number of predatory birds and plants on the island despite the presence of pests which is a positive development.
4. Flowering plants, herbs and birds are now being protected on this wonderful Antarctic island.

Correct Answer: 1. In the absence of pests, life on the island is now protected, and there has been a revival of a variety of birds and plants.

Q.2: The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
The weight of society’s expectations is hardly a new phenomenon but it has become particularly draining over recent decades, perhaps because expectations themselves are so multifarious and contradictory. The perfectionism of the 1950s was rooted in the norms of mass culture and captured in famous advertising images of the ideal white American family that now seem self-satirising. In that era, perfectionism meant seamlessly conforming to values, behaviour and appearance: chiselled confidence for men, demure graciousness for women. The perfectionist was under pressure to look like everyone else, only more so. The perfectionists of today, by contrast, feel an obligation to stand out through their idiosyncratic style and wit if they are to gain a foothold in the attention economy.

Answer Options

1. Though long-standing, the pressure to appear perfect and thereby attract attention, has evolved over time from one of conformism to one of non-conformism.
2. The image of perfectionism is reflected in and perpetuated by the media; and people do their best to adhere to these ideals.
3. The pressure to appear perfect has been the cause of tension and conflict because the idea itself has been in a state of flux and hard to define.
4. The desire to attract attention is so deep-rooted in individual consciousness that people are willing to go to any lengths to achieve it.

Correct Answer: 1. Though long-standing, the pressure to appear perfect and thereby attract attention, has evolved over time from one of conformism to one of non-conformism.

CAT 2023 Slot 3 Question Paper – Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension Section
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9. CAT 2023 Slot 3 Question Paper with Answer Keys: Section-2 Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR)

Total Number of Questions & Time Available	20 Questions; 40 Mins
Key Topics – Data Interpretation	Total 15 Questions; 2 Sets followed by 5 questions each on Number of enrollments in offline and online courses; 3 friends in a park taking Many rides;  AC company - 4 dealers
Key Topics – Logical Reasoning	Total 5 Questions; 2 Sets followed by 5 questions each on Route Based Set on Six police stations with maps;
CAT 2023 Slot 3 Question Paper – Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning	View all Questions, Options, Correct Answers | Check Now

CAT 2023 Question Paper Slot 3 - Actual Questions, Options & Correct Answer | Section 2 - Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR)

Problem Set-1: In a coaching class, some students register online, and some others register offline. Nonstudent registers both online and offline; hence the total registration number is the sum of online and offline registrations. The following facts and table pertain to these registration numbers for the five months – January to May of 2023. The table shows the minimum, maximum, median registration numbers of these five months, separately for online, offline and total number of registrations. The following additional facts are known.

1. In every month, both online and offline registration numbers were multiples of 10.
2. In January, the number of offline registrations was twice that of online registrations.
3. In April, the number of online registrations was twice that of offline registrations.
4. The number of online registrations in March was the same as the number of offline registrations in February.
5. The number of online registrations was the largest in May.

	Minimum	Maximum	Median
Online	40	100	80
Offline	30	80	50
Total	110	130	120

Q.1: Which of the following statements can be true?

I. The number of offline registrations was the smallest in May.

II. The total number of registrations was the smallest in February.

Answer Options

1. Only I
2. Only II
3. Neither I nor II
4. Both I and II

Correct Answer: 1 - Only I 

Q.2: What best can be concluded about the number of offline registrations in February?

Answer Options

1. 50 or 80
2. 50
3. 30 or 50 or 80
4. 80

Correct Answer: 2 - 50

CAT 2023 Slot 3 Question Paper – Section 2 - Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR) Section
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10. CAT 2023 Slot 3 Question Paper with Answer Keys: Section-3 Quantitative Ability (QA) 

Total Number of Questions & Time Available	22 Questions; 40 Mins
Key Topics	Arithmetic (8 Qs); Algebra (4 Qs); Geometry (3 Qs); Modern Math (4 Qs); Numbers (3 Qs)
Difficulty Level	Higher than Last Year
CAT 2023 Slot 3 Question Paper – Quantitative Ability	View all Questions, Options, Correct Answers | Check Now

CAT 2023 Question Paper Slot 3 - Actual Questions, Options & Correct Answer | Section -III- Quantitative Ability (QA)

Q.1: If x is a positive real number such that x⁸ + (1/x)⁸ = 47, then the value of x⁹ + (1/x)⁹ is

Answer Options

1. 30√5
2. 40√5
3. 36√5
4. 34√5

Correct Answer: 4. 34√5

Q.2: For some real numbers a and b, the system of equations x + y = 4 and (a + 5)x + (b² - 15)y = 8b has infinitely many solutions for x and y. Then, the maximum possible value of ab is

Answer Options

1. 15
2. 55
3. 33
4. 25

Correct Answer: 3. 33

CAT 2023 Question Paper Slot 3 - Actual Questions, Options & Correct Answer | Section -III- Quantitative Ability (QA)
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CAT 2023 Question Paper with Answer Keys – How to Utilize
As you now know your Correct and wrong answers and can also calculate your score based on CAT 2023 marking scheme, You can check your CAT percentile with MBAUniverse.com CAT 2023 Score Vs Percentile (Link CAT score Vs Percentile page) Predictions and your admission chances in IIMs and other top B-schools with IIM Call Predictor.