AFCAT numerical ability syllabus
The article separates the official syllabus from topics reconstructed from past papers. EKT is not part of the current AFCAT paper.
Numerical Ability is the only AFCAT section with a stated difficulty. The notification says the standard is matriculation level, and it says nothing of the kind about the other three. Engineering graduates routinely over prepare this section as a result. The AFCAT syllabus hub page covers the rest of the paper.
Pattern
| Element | Detail |
|---|---|
| Questions in the paper | 100 |
| Total marks | 300 |
| Duration | Two hours |
| Correct answer | Plus 3 |
| Incorrect answer | Minus 1 |
| Unattempted | Zero |
| Sectional timing | None |
| Medium | English only |
The notification publishes no question or mark split between the four subject areas, so there is no official figure for how many of the 100 questions this section carries. Splits quoted elsewhere are reconstructions from past papers and they contradict one another.
The notification states that the standard of Numerical Ability questions is matriculation level. No standard is stated for General Awareness, English or Reasoning.
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Topics
- Decimal Fraction
- Time and Work
- Average and Percentage
- Profit and Loss
- Ratio and Proportion
- Simple and Compound Interest
- Time and Distance, and Races covering Trains, Boats and Streams
- Area and Perimeter
- Probability
- Number System and Number Series
- Mixture and Allegation Rules
- Square and Square Root, Cube and Cube Root
- HCF and LCM
- Elementary Mensuration
- Heights and Distance
- Statistics, covering Mean, Median and Mode
- Exponents and Powers
Heights and Distance is the one topic here that needs trigonometric ratios, and it is the only place basic trigonometry enters the paper. Statistics stops at mean, median and mode.
What is not in the syllabus
- No calculus, differentiation or integration
- No matrices, determinants or vectors
- No coordinate geometry
- No complex numbers or logarithms
- No statistics beyond mean, median and mode
- No engineering mathematics. That left with the EKT
- No calculator
How to spend the time
Prepare to the stated level and no further. Matriculation level means the arithmetic is school arithmetic, and time spent on graduate mathematics here is time taken from General Awareness, which carries no such ceiling.
Speed is the constraint. Tables, squares, cubes and the common fraction to percentage conversions remove most of the working from percentage, profit and loss and ratio questions.
Leave this section until the recall sections are done. There is no sectional timing, and a numerical question takes minutes where a General Awareness question takes seconds.
Heights and Distance is worth a separate afternoon because it is the only topic needing trigonometry and candidates who have not touched it since school lose the marks by default. Browse the available AFCAT practice papers.
Common mistakes
- Preparing graduate level mathematics for a matriculation level section
- Answering numerical questions before clearing the recall sections
- Skipping Heights and Distance, the one topic needing trigonometry
- Solving in full when the options allow elimination
- Guessing blind at minus 1 a question on a section where working usually gives a definite answer
- Neglecting Mixture and Allegation, which is named in the notification and skipped in most preparation
Mathematics across AFCAT, CDS and NDA
| Feature | AFCAT | CDS | NDA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Section name | Numerical Ability | Elementary Mathematics | Mathematics |
| Separate paper | No, one combined paper | Yes, 100 marks | Yes, 300 marks |
| Stated level | Matriculation | Elementary | Higher, 10+2 level |
| Calculus | No | No | Yes |
| Coordinate geometry | No | No | Yes |
| Trigonometry | Heights and Distance only | Yes | Yes |
| Negative marking | Minus 1 of a 3 mark question | One third of the question value | One third of the question value |
A candidate preparing NDA mathematics is over prepared for AFCAT. A candidate preparing AFCAT is under prepared for NDA, which matters for anyone sitting both.
Frequently asked questions
What level is AFCAT Numerical Ability?
Matriculation level. The notification states this for Numerical Ability and for no other section.
How many numerical questions are asked?
The notification publishes no section-wise split, so there is no official figure.
Is calculus in the AFCAT syllabus?
No. The topic list stops at school arithmetic, elementary mensuration and basic statistics.
Is trigonometry asked?
Only through Heights and Distance, which is the single topic on the list that needs trigonometric ratios.
Are calculators allowed?
No. The paper is worked on rough sheets provided at the centre.
How far does statistics go?
Mean, median and mode. Nothing beyond those three is listed.
Should I do this section first or last?
Usually last, since there is no sectional timing and numerical questions take the most minutes per mark.
Is probability asked?
Yes. It is named in the notification, at the level the rest of the list sits at.
Did engineering mathematics leave with the EKT?
Yes. The Engineering Knowledge Test was discontinued from AFCAT 01/2026, and nothing replaced it inside the written paper.
Is there negative marking here?
Yes, minus 1 against plus 3, the same as the rest of the paper.