Leuphana admission exam – Solving Quantitative Problems

The „Solving Quantitative Problems“ section appears in the online version of the Leuphana admissions test, the ITB-ASET. For many applicants, this is the most challenging part of the test, because it demands not only mathematical thinking but also reading comprehension and focus under time pressure. However, those who familiarise themselves with the typical question formats and train consistently can gain a significant advantage here.

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What exactly is Solving Quantitative Problems?

You will encounter mathematical tasks, but not the kind of straightforward exercises you might remember from school. Most questions are embedded in text form: a short story, an everyday scenario, or a brief situation describes a problem that you need to solve numerically. That means you first need to understand what is being asked, filter out the relevant numbers, and then calculate efficiently.

Example: „A train travels at 120 km/h. After 45 minutes it stops for 10 minutes. How far has it travelled in total after 1.5 hours?“  Sounds simple, but under time pressure and with multiple calculation steps, it becomes genuinely demanding.

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Typical question types in Solving Quantitative Problems

The most common topics that appear in the test include percentages and ratios, speed, time and distance, area and volume calculations, basic algebra and equations, and reading and interpreting charts and tables.

Important: The tasks test logical thinking and efficiency — not complex formulas.

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How to approach mathematical word problems tactically

Step 1: Read the question first — before reading the full text. That way you know exactly what to look for.

Step 2: Identify and note all relevant numbers and units.

Step 3: Watch out for unit conversions — minutes to hours, metres to kilometres. This is where lots of mistakes happen.

Step 4: Estimate first — you can often eliminate wrong answers through logical approximation before doing the precise calculation.

Step 5: Briefly check whether your answer is plausible. Is a travel speed of 4,000 km/h realistic? No — so recalculate.

Study tip: Practising word problems for just 15 minutes a day quickly builds familiarity with the format and naturally improves your speed. Start with straightforward percentage calculations and gradually increase the complexity.

Our preparation book: The Ability to Concentrate and Work Carefully + Quantitative Problem Solving on Amazon