Cadence 2024 aptitude
Quantitative, reasoning, and verbal drills with solutions
Cadence Placement Papers 2024
Overview
This page collects Cadence placement papers from 2024 with practice questions, worked solutions, and the exam pattern students reported that cycle. Use it when you want drive history: what the first round looked like, which topics repeated, and how to approach solutions. Work the sets below under a timer, then compare with newer material so your prep matches both established Cadence patterns and recent shifts.
Download / jump links
Cadence 2024 coding
DSA practice aligned to Cadence online assessments
Cadence interview experience
Round structure and tips from student reports
Cadence prep guide
Study plan and weekly schedule
Cadence Aptitude Mock Quiz
Timed placement-style MCQs with score and explanations after you submit. Use it to check speed and accuracy before the real test.
Questions15
Time10 min
Quantitative
The ratio of ages of A and B is 3:5. After 8 years, the ratio becomes 5:7. Find the present age of A.
Let present ages be 3x and 5x. After 8 years: - A's age: 3x + 8 - B's age: 5x + 8 Given: (3x + 8)/(5x + 8) = 5/7 7(3x + 8) = 5(5x + 8) 21x + 56 = 25x + 40 4x = 16 x = 4 Present age of A = 3x = 3 × 4 = 12 years
Quantitative
A and B finish a job in 12 and 18 days. Working together they finish in:
1/12 + 1/18 = 5/36 → 36/5 = 7.2 days.
Quantitative
Two numbers are in ratio 3:5 and their sum is 56. The larger number is:
Parts = 8. Larger = 5/8 × 56 = 35.
Quantitative
A is the father of B. B is the brother of C. How is A related to C?
Correct answer: Father
Reasoning
A walks 10m North, turns right walks 5m, turns right walks 10m. Direction from start?
Correct answer: East (5m east of starting point)
Verbal
A man sells an article at a loss of 10%. If he had sold it for ₹45 more, he would have gained 5%. Find the cost price.
Correct answer: ₹300
Reasoning
Find the next number: 2, 5, 11, 23, 47, ?
Pattern: Each number = previous × 2 + 1 2×2+1=5, 5×2+1=11, 11×2+1=23, 23×2+1=47 Next: 47×2+1 = 95
Verbal
Choose the correct form: "I _____ to the store yesterday."
"Yesterday" indicates past tense, so "went" is correct.
Verbal
Antonym of "Benevolent":
Benevolent ↔ malevolent.
Quantitative
A bank charges a processing fee of 2% on a loan amount. If the loan amount is ₹1,000,000, what is the processing fee?
Correct answer: ₹20,000
Reasoning
All pens are books. Some books are papers. Conclusion: Some pens are papers.
No definite overlap between pens and papers.
Quantitative
Find the error: "Each of the students have completed their assignment."
"Each" is singular, so "has" should be used instead of "have", and "his or her" instead of "their".
Verbal
Antonym of "Permanent":
Permanent ↔ temporary/brief.
Reasoning
Odd one out: 8, 27, 64, 100, 125
Others are perfect cubes; 100 is not.
Reasoning
Odd one out: Rose, Lily, Lotus, Leaf
Others are flowers.
Your score
0/15(0%)
Review
Cadence exam pattern 2024
| Section | What shows up | Prep focus |
|---|---|---|
| Online assessment | Coding and/or MCQ filter | Weekly timed mocks |
| Technical rounds | DSA, CS fundamentals, projects | Live problem solving |
| HR / hiring manager | Motivation and communication | Specific, evidence-based answers |
First round: Cadence Online Assessment
Skills emphasized: DSA, algorithms, C++, digital fundamentals
Languages: C++, Python
Sample Cadence questions with solutions
These are practice-style questions aligned to patterns students report for Cadence drives around 2024. They are not leaked live papers. Work them timed, then read the solutions only after you have an answer.
Quantitative aptitude (2024)
Q1: A and B together
Problem: A can finish a job in 10 days and B in 20 days. How long will they take working together?
Solution: A’s one-day work = 1/10. B’s one-day work = 1/20. Together = 1/10 + 1/20 = 3/20 per day. Time = 20/3 ≈ 6.67 days (6 days 16 hours).
Answer: 20/3 days
Q2: Sum of naturals
Problem: What is the sum of the first 50 natural numbers?
Solution: Sum of first n naturals = n(n+1)/2. For n = 50: 50 × 51 / 2 = 1275.
Answer: 1275
Q3: Average speed
Problem: A person covers a distance at 60 km/h and returns at 40 km/h. What is the average speed for the whole trip?
Solution: For equal distances, average speed = 2ab/(a+b). = 2×60×40 / (60+40) = 4800/100 = 48 km/h.
Do not take the arithmetic mean (50); that would be wrong here.
Answer: 48 km/h
Q4: Marked price discount
Problem: A shopkeeper marks goods 20% above cost and then gives a 10% discount. What is the profit percentage?
Solution: Let CP = ₹100. Marked price = ₹120. Discount = 10% of 120 = ₹12. SP = 120 − 12 = ₹108. Profit % = 8%.
Answer: 8%
Q5: Three workers
Problem: A finishes work in 12 days, B in 15 days, and C in 20 days. Working together, how many days do they need?
Solution: Take total work = LCM(12,15,20) = 60 units. A = 5/day, B = 4/day, C = 3/day. Combined = 12 units/day. Time = 60/12 = 5 days.
Answer: 5 days
Q6: Age ratio
Problem: The ratio of ages of A and B is 3:5. After 8 years the ratio becomes 5:7. Find A’s present age.
Solution: Let ages be 3x and 5x. (3x+8)/(5x+8) = 5/7 7(3x+8) = 5(5x+8) 21x + 56 = 25x + 40 4x = 16 → x = 4 A’s age = 12 years.
Answer: 12 years
Q7: Pipe fill
Problem: Pipe A fills a tank in 6 hours and pipe B in 8 hours. How long do they take together to fill it?
Solution: Combined rate = 1/6 + 1/8 = 4/24 + 3/24 = 7/24. Time = 24/7 hours ≈ 3 hours 26 minutes.
Answer: 24/7 hours
Q8: Simple interest
Problem: Find the simple interest on ₹8000 at 10% per annum for 2 years.
Solution: SI = (P × R × T) / 100 = (8000 × 10 × 2) / 100 = ₹1600.
Answer: ₹1600
Coding practice (2024)
Coding Q1: Binary search
Problem: Given a sorted array of distinct integers and a target, return the index of target or -1 if missing.
Approach: Maintain lo/hi. Compare mid with target and shrink the half that cannot contain it. Careful with overflow-free mid and empty arrays.
Complexity: O(log n) time
Cadence tip: Restate the problem, sketch a brute-force idea, then tighten it. Call out edge cases (empty input, single element, overflow) before you write code.
Coding Q2: Move zeros
Problem: Move all zeros in an array to the end while keeping the relative order of non-zero elements.
Approach: Two pointers: write non-zeros toward the front, then fill the remainder with zeros. Or swap zeros as you scan.
Complexity: O(n) time, O(1) space
Cadence tip: Restate the problem, sketch a brute-force idea, then tighten it. Call out edge cases (empty input, single element, overflow) before you write code.
Coding Q3: Rotate array
Problem: Rotate an array to the right by k steps. Example: [1,2,3,4,5,6,7], k = 3 → [5,6,7,1,2,3,4].
Approach: Normalize k %= n. Reverse the whole array, reverse the first k elements, then reverse the rest. That yields the rotation in place.
Complexity: O(n) time, O(1) space
Cadence tip: Restate the problem, sketch a brute-force idea, then tighten it. Call out edge cases (empty input, single element, overflow) before you write code.
Coding Q4: First unique character
Problem: Find the first non-repeating character in a string and return its index, or -1 if none exists.
Approach: Count frequencies in one pass (hash map or array of 26 for lowercase). Second pass returns the first index with count 1.
Complexity: O(n) time
Cadence tip: Restate the problem, sketch a brute-force idea, then tighten it. Call out edge cases (empty input, single element, overflow) before you write code.
Coding Q5: Stack with min
Problem: Design a stack that supports push, pop, top, and getMin in average O(1) time.
Approach: Keep a parallel min-stack (or store pairs). When pushing, also push the new minimum. When popping, pop both stacks.
Complexity: O(1) per operation amortized
Cadence tip: Restate the problem, sketch a brute-force idea, then tighten it. Call out edge cases (empty input, single element, overflow) before you write code.
Coding Q6: Maximum subarray sum (Kadane)
Problem: Given an integer array, find the contiguous subarray with the largest sum and return that sum. Example: [-2,1,-3,4,-1,2,1,-5,4] → 6 (from [4,-1,2,1]).
Approach: Keep a running sum. If the running sum drops below 0, reset it to 0 before taking the next element (or track the best ending-here value). Track the global maximum as you scan once from left to right.
Complexity: O(n) time, O(1) extra space
Cadence tip: Restate the problem, sketch a brute-force idea, then tighten it. Call out edge cases (empty input, single element, overflow) before you write code.
Coding Q7: Reverse a string in place
Problem: Given a mutable character array representing a string, reverse it in place without allocating another array of the same size.
Approach: Use two pointers at the start and end. Swap characters, then move inward until the pointers meet. Watch empty and single-character inputs.
Complexity: O(n) time, O(1) extra space
Cadence tip: Restate the problem, sketch a brute-force idea, then tighten it. Call out edge cases (empty input, single element, overflow) before you write code.
Coding Q8: Check prime
Problem: Write a function that returns true if n is prime and false otherwise. Handle n < 2 correctly.
Approach: Return false for n < 2. Trial-divide from 2 to floor(sqrt(n)). If any divisor divides n evenly, it is composite; otherwise prime.
Complexity: O(√n) time
Cadence tip: Restate the problem, sketch a brute-force idea, then tighten it. Call out edge cases (empty input, single element, overflow) before you write code.
Deep prep notes for Cadence
How the Cadence Online Assessment usually feels
Students usually say the first round is time-tight - easy marks vanish if you sit too long on one hard question. For Cadence, skim the paper in a couple of minutes, mark what you can finish cleanly, and protect accuracy. Languages people commonly use: C++, Python.
Topic weight hints
| Area | Why it matters at Cadence |
|---|---|
| DSA | What usually helps you clear the first round |
| Core CS (OOPs / DBMS / OS) | Technical interview depth |
| EDA, Computational Software awareness | Helps in managerial / HR conversations |
| Communication | Explain your approach clearly; keep a few real examples ready for HR |
14-Day sprint
- Days 1-3: Learn the 2024 pattern and take two sectional mocks
- Days 4-7: Closed practice on weak topics from your error log
- Days 8-10: Full mocks every other day; review the same day
- Days 11-14: Practice explaining projects out loud, light revision, sleep and IDs ready