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Number System PYQs (previous year questions) for XAT: Number System (Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation) had 29 questions across the 9 official XAT papers we tagged (2016–2024), and appeared in 9 of them. Asked in 9 of 9 years. The concepts asked in the most papers: Divisibility, Digits, HCF.
Year-wise question count
Asked in 9 of 9 years.
Most-asked concepts
Sorted by the number of papers a concept appeared in.
| Concept | Questions | Papers | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Divisibility | 4 | 3 | 2024, 2021, 2016 |
| Data Sufficiency | 2 | 2 | 2022, 2019 |
| Digits | 2 | 2 | 2023, 2022 |
| HCF | 2 | 2 | 2023, 2022 |
| Base Systems | 1 | 1 | 2016 |
| Clocks | 1 | 1 | 2016 |
| Coding Puzzle | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Fractions | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Geometric Progression | 1 | 1 | 2016 |
| Indices and Roots | 1 | 1 | 2019 |
| Integer Combinations | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| LCM | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| LCM and HCF | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Number Patterns | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Number Properties | 1 | 1 | 2018 |
| Perfect Cubes | 1 | 1 | 2017 |
| Powers of Ten | 1 | 1 | 2018 |
| Primes | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Rational and Irrational Numbers | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Recurring Decimals | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Remainders | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Series Patterns | 1 | 1 | 2018 |
| Unit Digits | 1 | 1 | 2018 |
How to practise Number System PYQs
- Start with the concepts at the top of the table. They have come back the most.
- Solve one year’s Number System questions from the official PDF against the clock, then check the answer listed below.
- Log every miss as a concept gap, a calculation slip or a misread. Each needs a different fix.
- Once a concept is clean in two papers, move to the next. Then sit a full paper from the year pages.
Questions by year
Each line gives the question number, type, concept, our one-line summary, with a link to the official PDF.
XAT2024
XAT2023
- Q.49 · MCQ · Number Patterns: Display after pressing a doubling or digit-sum key 68 times PDF
- Q.51 · MCQ · Digits: Number of possible codes for a four-digit locker PDF
- Q.54 · MCQ · Primes: Minimum x - y from an equation with a prime PDF
- Q.57 · MCQ · Integer Combinations: Sixth highest possible score in a three-section test PDF
- Q.65 · MCQ · HCF: Largest possible HCF of seven integers with a given sum PDF
XAT2022
- Q.48 · MCQ · LCM: Times in a year five buyers order on the same Monday PDF
- Q.55 · MCQ · HCF: Minimum boxes to pack four fruits in equal lots PDF
- Q.56 · MCQ · Data Sufficiency: Statements needed to find a two-digit age from its square PDF
- Q.59 · MCQ · Digits: Middle digit of a three-digit profit figure PDF
- Q.60 · MCQ · Recurring Decimals: Difference of coprime circumference and diameter values PDF
XAT2021
XAT2020
XAT2019
XAT2018
- Q.48 · MCQ · Powers of Ten: Value of a sum of powers of 10 PDF
- Q.58 · MCQ · Series Patterns: Missing clock time in a series of displayed times PDF
- Q.62 · MCQ · Unit Digits: Possible sum of digits from matching unit digits of powers PDF
- Q.64 · MCQ · Number Properties: Possible values when four consecutive day sums equal 2N PDF
XAT2017
- Q.60 · MCQ · Perfect Cubes: Smallest exponent sum making a product a perfect cube PDF
XAT2016
- Q.56 · MCQ · Geometric Progression: Ratio of the last power of 3 to the sum of the rest PDF
- Q.58 · MCQ · Base Systems: Decimal value of a number in an unknown base PDF
- Q.62 · MCQ · Clocks: Actual time on a planet's clock from its mirror image PDF
- Q.67 · MCQ · Divisibility: Least product of two integers making a power divisible by 500 PDF
Other Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation topics
- Arithmetic PYQs
- Algebra PYQs
- Geometry and Mensuration PYQs
- Permutations, Probability and Sets PYQs
- Data Interpretation PYQs
FAQ
How many Number System questions come in XAT?
In the official papers we tagged: 3 in 2024, 5 in 2023, 5 in 2022, 3 in 2021, 2 in 2020, 2 in 2019, 4 in 2018, 1 in 2017 and 4 in 2016. That is 29 questions in all, about 12% of Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation.
Which Number System topics repeat in XAT?
Asked in the most papers: Divisibility, Digits, HCF. The concept table lists every one with its count.
Are these official XAT questions?
Yes. Every question is from an official XAT paper hosted on our year pages. The one-line summaries are ours; open the PDF linked beside each question for the full text.