dMAT General Academic Module: APS India Part 2 Guide

If you are preparing for the APS India dMAT, the most confusing part is Part 2. Many students hear "subject module" and assume they will receive a separate Engineering, Business, Finance, or Computer Science paper based on their bachelor's branch.

For the APS India procedure, that is not how the official dMAT India page describes it. Affected applicants take the Core Module plus the subject module called the General Academic Module. It is a cross-disciplinary academic reasoning module, not a degree-specific branch test.

Use this article after reading our dMAT eligibility guide and dMAT structure guide, and alongside the dMAT preparation guide. This page focuses only on Part 2: what the official sample shows, what it does not prove, and how to prepare without wasting weeks on the wrong syllabus. For the actual passage-reading method, use How to Read dMAT Academic Passages.

Last reviewed: 9 October 2026. This guide is based on the official APS India dMAT page, the official dMAT India page from g.a.s.t., and the official General Academic Module preparatory material (edition as at 2 September 2026). Always verify final rules on aps-india.de/dmat and d-mat.de/en.

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Quick Answer

APS candidates do take a subject module, but for the APS India process it is the General Academic Module. It is not a Computer Science, Engineering, Business, Finance, or Management module selected according to your bachelor's branch.

The official sample shows four broad academic exercises:

That gives 27 official Part 2 sample questions. The sample is useful because it reveals the question style, but it does not confirm the full real-exam topic list or difficulty distribution.

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What Is Officially Confirmed

The official dMAT India page says the dMAT has two modules:

The official preparation material shows that General Academic Module tasks can include:

• a short academic text;
• one or more formulas;
• tables, figures, diagrams, or graphs;
• four answer options;
• one correct answer;
• questions that require applying information from the passage rather than memorising a fact.

The test is digital, single-choice, and in English. The overall appointment is approximately 3.5 hours, including both modules, the break, instructions, transitions, and administration. The official dMAT material also states that no notes may be taken during the exam.

The most important preparation principle is therefore simple: train academic transfer. You need to read new information quickly, hold the relevant rule in memory, and apply it to a question.

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Official Sample Breakdown

1. Vector Calculations

The first official General Academic Module exercise is mathematical. It introduces vector concepts and then asks eight sample questions.

Topics shown in the sample include:

• vector addition and subtraction;
• multiplication by a scalar;
• magnitude;
• scalar or dot product;
• angle between vectors;
• vector or cross product;
• area interpretation;
• triple product;
• coplanarity.

What this tells us:

The test is not just checking whether you remember a vector formula. The passage gives definitions and formulas, then expects you to apply them. Students must move between text, notation, diagrams, and calculations.

How to prepare:

Learn vector basics, but do not spend weeks on an entire linear algebra course. Focus on interpreting definitions, using supplied formulas, and spotting what a formula represents.

Dedicated guide: Vectors for dMAT.

Free resources:

• Khan Academy: Vectors and spaces
• Khan Academy: Dot products

2. Hydrostatics

The second official exercise is based on fluid pressure and buoyancy. It contains six questions.

Topics shown in the sample include:

• pressure increasing with depth;
• atmospheric pressure;
• pressure in incompressible liquids;
• water-pressure estimation;
• buoyancy;
• displaced water;
• trapped-air compression;
• pump suction;
• ship stability and tilting.

What this tells us:

Part 2 can test physical intuition. A student may need to reason through a submarine, a ship compartment, a trapped-air case, a suction pump, or a stability problem. The questions are not limited to direct formula substitution.

How to prepare:

Study the core idea first: pressure changes with depth, and buoyancy depends on displaced fluid. Then practise explaining what changes when depth, volume, density, or trapped air changes.

Dedicated guide: Hydrostatics for dMAT.

Free resources:

• OpenStax: Fluid Statics
• OpenStax: Archimedes' Principle and Buoyancy

3. Optimal Order Quantity

The third official exercise is business and operations focused. It introduces an inventory model and contains seven questions.

Topics shown in the sample include:

• constant demand;
• no quantity discounts;
• order cost;
• holding cost;
• average inventory;
• total-cost trade-offs;
• a supplied formula;
• square-root effects;
• graph interpretation;
• how changing a variable changes the result.

What this tells us:

The General Academic Module is not only mathematics or engineering. It can use a business model and ask whether students understand assumptions, variable relationships, and graph behaviour.

How to prepare:

Do not memorise every operations-management model. Learn how model assumptions work, how variables relate, and how to interpret a cost curve.

Dedicated guide: EOQ for dMAT.

Free resources:

• Business LibreTexts: Inventory Control and EOQ
• Business LibreTexts: Inventory Models for Certain Demand

4. Research Strategies in Social Sciences

The fourth official exercise is research-methodology focused. It contains six questions.

Topics shown in the sample include:

• qualitative versus quantitative research;
• inductive versus deductive approaches;
• causal relationships;
• causal mechanisms;
• research questions;
• research design;
• sampling;
• mixed methods;
• choosing a suitable strategy for a research problem.

What this tells us:

Part 2 is not simply a mathematics paper. The sample includes social-science reasoning and methodological judgement. Students may need to decide which research approach fits a question, not just calculate a number.

How to prepare:

Learn the difference between data types, research designs, and reasoning styles. Practise matching a research question to a method.

Dedicated guide: Research Methods for dMAT.

Free resources:

• OpenStax: Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis
• OpenStax: Why Is Research Important?
• NCRM free research methods tutorials

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Question Types in the Official Sample

The 27 sample questions can be classified by the skill they require:

This is why narrow branch-based preparation is risky. The same student may need to handle a vector operation, a buoyancy scenario, a business cost model, and a research-design question in one module.

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What Students Should Study

Study these:

• broad foundational reasoning;
• academic reading in English;
• formulas and variable relationships;
• graphs, tables, units, and diagrams;
• basic scientific models;
• basic business and operations models;
• qualitative and quantitative research concepts;
• inductive and deductive reasoning;
• mental calculations under time pressure.

Do not attempt these as your main strategy:

• entire engineering textbooks;
• complete calculus courses;
• specialised bachelor syllabi;
• large formula collections;
• preparing only according to your bachelor's branch.

The official sample does not say "vectors will definitely appear" or "EOQ will definitely appear." It says the exam can present an unfamiliar academic problem and expect transfer. Prepare for the pattern, not only the topic.

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Official Facts vs Think Mile Recommendations

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Free Learning Resources by Skill

Where to Get More Free Practice Questions

Use the official sample first, then add practice volume carefully.

Avoid any resource that claims to have leaked, remembered, or real exam-day dMAT questions. The official terms prohibit recording, discussing, publishing, or sharing live examination content.

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Original Mini-Practice Set

The following practice set is Think Mile original practice, not official dMAT material. It is designed to mirror the style of a short academic passage followed by applied questions.

Think Mile is not affiliated with APS India or g.a.s.t. Do not copy, redraw, recolour, or lightly rewrite official dMAT questions, diagrams, graphics, or logos. Do not ask students to submit remembered questions after the real exam. The official terms prohibit recording, discussing, publishing, or sharing live examination content. Use official material through links, and create new scenarios, numbers, diagrams, and explanations for practice.

Passage: Solar-Panel Efficiency and Temperature

A solar panel converts sunlight into electrical energy. Its efficiency is the percentage of incoming solar energy that becomes electricity.

For one type of panel, the efficiency at 25 degrees Celsius is 20%. Above 25 degrees Celsius, efficiency decreases by 0.4 percentage points for every 1 degree Celsius increase in panel temperature. This is called the temperature coefficient.

The panel receives 1,000 watts of solar power under standard sunlight conditions. Electrical output can be estimated as:

output = incoming solar power × efficiency

Efficiency should be written as a decimal in the formula. For example, 20% is written as 0.20.

Researchers test two panels. Panel A is kept cooler with ventilation. Panel B is installed close to a dark roof surface and becomes hotter. They observe that Panel A produces more electricity during hot afternoons.

Questions

1. What is the estimated electrical output at 25 degrees Celsius?

A. 20 W
B. 100 W
C. 200 W
D. 500 W

2. What is the estimated electrical output at 35 degrees Celsius?

A. 140 W
B. 160 W
C. 180 W
D. 200 W

3. If panel temperature rises from 25 degrees Celsius to 40 degrees Celsius, by how many percentage points does efficiency decrease?

A. 4 percentage points
B. 5 percentage points
C. 6 percentage points
D. 15 percentage points

4. Which statement best follows from the passage?

A. Higher sunlight always causes lower electrical output.
B. Temperature can reduce efficiency even when incoming solar power stays the same.
C. A panel at 40 degrees Celsius receives less sunlight than a panel at 25 degrees Celsius.
D. Efficiency is measured in watts.

5. A student says: "Panel A produces more electricity because ventilation directly increases sunlight." What is the best evaluation?

A. Correct, because the passage says ventilation increases sunlight.
B. Correct, because output depends only on airflow.
C. Not supported; the passage suggests ventilation keeps temperature lower, which can preserve efficiency.
D. Not supported; temperature has no effect on efficiency.

6. If a new material loses only 0.2 percentage points per degree Celsius above 25 degrees Celsius, what is its efficiency at 35 degrees Celsius, starting from 20% at 25 degrees Celsius?

A. 16%
B. 18%
C. 19.8%
D. 22%

Solutions

1. C. 200 W. At 25 degrees Celsius, efficiency is 20%, or 0.20. Output = 1,000 × 0.20 = 200 W.

2. B. 160 W. At 35 degrees Celsius, efficiency is 16%, or 0.16. Output = 1,000 × 0.16 = 160 W.

3. C. 6 percentage points. Efficiency falls from 20% to 14%, a decrease of 6 percentage points.

4. B. The passage keeps incoming solar power fixed at 1,000 W and shows efficiency falling as temperature rises.

5. C. The passage does not say ventilation increases sunlight. It suggests ventilation keeps Panel A cooler, and cooler panels keep higher efficiency.

6. B. 18%. The temperature increase is 10 degrees. At 0.2 percentage points per degree, the loss is 2 percentage points. Starting from 20%, the efficiency becomes 18%.

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How to Use This Page in Your Study Plan

1. First, finish the official General Academic Module sample slowly.
2. Then classify every question by type: formula, graph, diagram, concept, scenario, or method.
3. Study weak concepts only at the level needed to apply a passage.
4. Practise the no-notes passage method in How to Read dMAT Academic Passages.
5. Use the focused concept guides for vectors, hydrostatics, EOQ, and research methods.
6. Practise original mixed passages like the solar-panel example above.
7. Keep using the main dMAT preparation guide for Core Module timing and weekly planning.

The right goal is not to become an expert in every possible subject. The right goal is to become fast at reading unfamiliar academic information and using it accurately.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is the General Academic Module the same as a subject test?
It is officially called the subject module for APS India, but it is the General Academic Module. It is not a branch-specific Engineering, Business, Finance, or Computer Science paper.

Will Engineering and Business students get different Part 2 tests?
The current APS India dMAT information points affected APS candidates to the General Academic Module. Do not assume a separate branch-specific paper unless an official page for your specific case says so.

Should I study vectors because vectors appeared in the sample?
Study vector basics, but do not overfit. Vectors are one sample topic. The more important lesson is that the test can give definitions, formulas, and diagrams, then ask you to apply them.

Is the General Academic Module mostly mathematics?
No. The official sample includes mathematics, physics/engineering reasoning, business operations, and social-science research methodology.

How many official Part 2 sample questions are available?
The General Academic Module sample has 27 Part 2 questions across four exercises. That count describes the sample paper, not necessarily the real exam.

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Source note: This article was reviewed against the official APS India dMAT page, the official dMAT India page, and the official General Academic Module preparatory material. External learning and practice resources linked above are free public resources from Khan Academy, OpenStax, Business LibreTexts, the National Centre for Research Methods, PhET, JobTestPrep, PrepDMAT, and TestAS; only d-mat.de and APS India links should be treated as official dMAT/APS sources.