Qudurat quantitative: question types and strategies that save time

What the quantitative part covers, by track

Source: ETEC General Aptitude Test guide, July 2026. Percentages are shares of the whole test; the verbal part makes up the rest.

The four question shapes you will meet

Most quantitative questions are ordinary multiple choice with four options: a short calculation, a word problem, a geometry figure or a chart to read. Arithmetic dominates, so fluency with fractions, percentages, ratios and averages pays more than anything else.

Comparison questions (أسئلة المقارنة) are the shape students find strangest. You are given two quantities, the first on the right and the second on the left in the Arabic paper, and the four answers are always the same: (a) the first is greater, (b) the second is greater, (c) the two are equal, (d) the information is not enough. Because the options never change, you can learn them once and spend all your time on the reasoning.

Data questions give a chart or table and ask for a total, a difference, a percentage or a trend. Read the axis labels and units before the numbers. Geometry questions usually rest on one fact: angles in a triangle sum to 180°, Pythagoras, or the area of a standard shape.

Worked example 1 (comparison): a price rises 20% and then falls 20%

A jacket costs 250 riyals. Its price rises by 20%, then the new price falls by 20%. Compare: first value, the final price; second value, 250 riyals.

1. A 20% rise multiplies by 1.2: 250 × 1.2 = 300 riyals.
2. A 20% fall multiplies by 0.8: 300 × 0.8 = 240 riyals.
3. The final price, 240, is less than 250, so the second value is greater: answer (b).
4. Shortcut: 1.2 × 0.8 = 0.96, so any rise followed by an equal percentage fall always ends 4% lower. You can answer without touching the 250.

Worked example 2 (comparison): when the answer is 'not enough information'

Given x^2 = 16. Compare: first value, x; second value, 4.

1. x^2 = 16 has two solutions: x = 4 and x = -4.
2. If x = 4 the values are equal; if x = -4 the second is greater.
3. Because the comparison changes depending on which value x takes, the answer is (d), the information is not enough.
4. Rule of thumb: in comparison questions, try a positive, a negative, zero and a fraction whenever a letter is involved. If two tries give different comparisons, the answer is (d).

Worked example 3: test the options instead of solving

When a number is multiplied by 3 and then 7 is subtracted, the result is 32. What is the number? Options: 11, 12, 13, 14.

1. Start with a middle option. 12 × 3 - 7 = 29, too small.
2. Try 13: 13 × 3 - 7 = 39 - 7 = 32. Correct, so the answer is 13.
3. The algebra route, 3x - 7 = 32, so 3x = 39 and x = 13, is just as quick here, but on wordier problems trying options is often faster and avoids setting up the wrong equation.

Worked example 4: averages without long addition

The average of five numbers is 14. One number is removed and the average of the remaining four is 12. What number was removed?

1. Turn each average into a total: five numbers with average 14 add to 5 × 14 = 70.
2. Four numbers with average 12 add to 4 × 12 = 48.
3. The removed number is the difference: 70 - 48 = 22.
4. Check: a removed number bigger than the old average should pull the average down, and it did (14 to 12).

Worked example 5: speed and time

A car covers 150 km in an hour and a half. At the same speed, how long does it take to cover 250 km?

1. Speed = distance ÷ time = 150 ÷ 1.5 = 100 km per hour.
2. Time = 250 ÷ 100 = 2.5 hours, which is 2 hours 30 minutes.
3. Watch the trap option '2 hours 50 minutes': 0.5 of an hour is 30 minutes, not 50.

Common mistakes and the strategy that fixes each

• Calculating exactly when an estimate would do. If the options are 18, 45, 120 and 300, round first and pick the only option in range.
• Treating percentage changes as additive. A 20% rise and a 20% fall is not zero change; multiply the factors.
• Choosing (c) 'equal' in a comparison after testing one value. Test at least a negative number and a fraction before deciding.
• Mixing units: minutes and hours, centimetres and metres, riyals and halalas. Convert before calculating.
• Reading a chart's scale wrongly, for example taking each gridline as 1 when it is 5.
• Spending three minutes on one question. Mark it, move on and return if the section's time allows. In the digital test each section has its own time and you cannot go back to an earlier section once you leave it, so do the second pass before moving on.

How one-to-one lessons help with Qudurat quantitative

In lessons a tutor times your child on short sets of questions and watches the working on the shared whiteboard. That shows not just which answers are wrong but where the minutes go: long division done by hand, equations set up when the options could be tested, or charts read twice. The tutor then teaches the specific shortcut, has your child explain it back, and drills it in short timed sets until it is automatic. Arithmetic comes first because it is the largest share, then geometry facts and data reading.

Most students in Saudi schools sit Qudurat in Arabic, and ETEC also offers it in English. Our tutors can work from the Arabic practice material so your child learns the terms used on the day. Arabic-speaking tutors are available for some subjects, so ask when you book.

Self-check: can you do these in under a minute each?

• A shirt costs 80 riyals after a 20% discount. What was the original price? (Answer: 100 riyals)
• Compare: first value 0.5^2, second value 0.5. (Answer: (b), because 0.25 < 0.5)
• The angles of a triangle are in the ratio 1 : 2 : 3. What is the largest angle? (Answer: 90°)
• A worker earns 240 riyals for 8 hours. How much for 5 hours? (Answer: 150 riyals)
• Compare: first value n + 1, second value n, for any number n. (Answer: (a), the first is always 1 greater)