Institute of Actuaries of India

ACET December 2024

Mathematics
1. The domain of the function 𝑓(𝑥) = 𝑠𝑞𝑟𝑡(ln⁡(𝑥 2 − 2024)) is:
A. (-∞,-√2024] U [√2024,∞)
B. (-∞,-√2024) U (√2024,∞)
C. (-∞,-45] U [45,∞)
D. None of the above
1 mark

2. If 𝑓(𝑥) = ln⁡(𝑥) and 𝑔(𝑥) = 𝑥 2024 , then the interval where exactly one of
𝑓(𝑔(𝑥))⁡𝑎𝑛𝑑⁡𝑔(𝑓(𝑥)) is defined is:
A. (-∞,0]
B. (-∞,0)
C. (0,∞)
D. [0,∞)
1 mark

3. The equation x20 = x24 has exactly m distinct real roots and n distinct non-real roots. Then
10m+n is:
A. A power of 2
B. A prime number
C. Divisibly by 3
D. None of the above
2 marks

√2024 1
4. If 𝛼 = ∫0 𝑥 2 +1
𝑑𝑥 , then the value of sec(𝛼) is:
A. A positive integer
B. Not an integer, but a positive rational number
C. A positive irrational number
D. None of the above
1 mark

5. If a, b, c are the roots of 𝑥 3 − 𝑎𝑥 2 + 𝑏𝑥 − 𝑐 = 0 and c≠0, then the number of possible triples
(a,b,c) are:
A. 0
B. 1
C. More than 1, but finitely many
D. Infinitely many
3 marks

e20x −𝑒 24𝑥
6. Evaluate lim :
𝑥→0 sin⁡(𝑥)
A. -1/120
B. 1/120
C. 4
D. -4
1 mark

7. An arithmetic progression ai is such that a202 = 4 and a4 = 202. Then a2024 equals:

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 A. -1818
B. 1818
C. 0
D. None of the above
1 mark

8. Given two vectors 𝑎⃗, ⃗⃗⃗

⁡𝑏, let M be the sum of magnitudes of vectors (𝑎⃗ + 𝑏⃗⃗) and (𝑎⃗ − 𝑏⃗⃗). Let
m be the sum of magnitudes of vectors 𝑎⃗ and 𝑏⃗⃗. Then:
A. M=m
B. m < M < 2m
C. M = 2m
D. M > 2m
1 mark

9. Which of the following statements is/are true?

X: The dot product of a vector with itself is always 0.
Y: The cross product of a vector with itself is always 0 (the zero vector).
A. Both X and Y
B. Neither X, nor Y
C. X but not Y
D. Y but not X
1 mark

10. If A is a 2x2 matrix with entries from {1, 2, 3, 4} in some order and without repetition. The
maximum and the minimum possible values of |A| (i.e. determinant of A) differ by:
A. 4
B. 10
C. 20
D. None of the above
2 marks

11. For a square matrix M, let MT denote the transpose of M. Also let X = M + MT and Y = M - MT.
Then:
A. X is symmetric and Y is skew-symmetric.
B. Y is symmetric and X is skew-symmetric.
C. Both X and Y are symmetric.
D. Both X and Y are skew-symmetric.
1 mark

12. At x = 0, the function f(x) = x|x| is:

A. Discontinuous
B. Continuous but not differentiable
C. Differentiable, but not infinitely differentiable
D. Infinitely differentiable
2 marks

𝑑𝑦
13. If 1 + 𝑥 + 𝑥 2 = 𝑥𝑦, then the value of 𝑑𝑥 at x = √2 equals:
A. 0
B. 1/2
C. 1
D. None of the above
2 marks

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14. Given that a,b,c,d are in arithmetic progression, a,b,d are in geometric progression and a<b,
then compute (c2+d2)/(a2+b2).
A. 5
B. 3.5
C. 2
D. None of the above
2 marks

1
15. The coefficient of x20 in (𝑥 2 − 𝑥 2 )24 is:
24
A. ( )
17
24
B. − ( )
17
24
C. ( )
20
D. None of the above
1 mark

240
16. The value of ∑∞
𝑛=1 𝑛2 +4𝑛 is:
A. A perfect square
B. A prime number
C. A composite number, but not a perfect power
D. A perfect cube
1 mark

𝜋
17. Which of the below approximation methods, if used to evaluate the integral ∫0 cos⁡(𝑥)𝑑𝑥, will
not give the correct answer?
A. Trapezoidal rule, with h = π/4
B. Simpson’s 1/3rd rule, with h = π/3
C. Simpson’s 3/8th rule, with h = π/2
D. None of the above
2 marks

18. For solving the equation 2𝑥 = 𝑥 3 using bisection method over the interval [1,2], the
approximate root where we land after two iterations (instances of narrowing intervals) is
A. 1.375
B. 1.5
C. 1.25
D. None of the above
3 marks

19. If a complex number z satisfies the condition |𝑧 − 20| = 24, then z lies on:
A. A circle with centre at (24,0) and radius 20
B. A circle with centre at (20,0) and radius 24
C. A line parallel to one of the axes
D. None of the above
1 mark

20. If ω is the non-real cube-root of 1, then⁡1 + 𝜔 + 𝜔2 + 𝜔3 + ⋯ + 𝜔2024 =

A. 1
B. 1+ω
C. 0
D. None of the above
1 mark

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Page 4 of 15
 Statistics
21. Two potentially biased (with probability of heads = p) are rolled and the number of heads is
recorded. Let this be a random variable N. Given that the median of N is 1, the set of all
possible values of p is:
A. {0.5}
B. [1/3,2/3]
C. [3/8,5/8]
D. None of the above
2 marks

22. The average of weight of five adults is 65 kg. We then take three (of the five) adults and record
their average weight. We repeat this for all possible subsets of size 3. The minimum and
maximum of these 3-person average weights is 58 kg and 70 kg respectively. The median
weight of the five adults is:
A. 65 kg
B. 59 kg
C. 64 kg
D. Insufficient information / cannot be determined
1 mark

23. From a squad of 15 cricketers (6 batsmen, 2 wicket-keepers, 2 all-rounders and 5 bowlers), a

playing team of 11 cricketers (with exactly five batsmen, 1 wicket-keeper, 1 all-rounder and 4
bowlers) needs to be selected. The number of possible selections is:
A. 120
B. 20
C. 210
D. None of the above
1 mark

24. The mode of marks of all boys in a class is 20, while the mode of marks of all girls in that class
is 24. Then the mode marks of all students (boys and girls) in that class will be
A. 22
B. Indeterminate, but will surely be between 21 and 23.
C. Indeterminate, but will surely be between 20 and 24.
D. None of the above
1 mark

25. The probability of a random person contracting an infection X is 1%. The probability of a
random person contracting an infection Y is 5%. However, if a person contracts infection X,
their probability of contracting Y increases to 10%. Compute the probability of a person
contracting X given they have contracted Y.
A. 1%
B. 2%
C. 10%
D. None of the above
1 mark

26. Five fair (= unbiased) coins are tossed leading to exactly two heads. The toss outcomes are laid
out in a row. The probability that the two heads are not next to each other is:
A. 40%
B. 60%
C. 50%
D. None of the above

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 1 mark

27. If X follows an exponential distribution with mean 1, the interquartile range of X is:
A. A rational number greater than 1
B. A rational number less than 1
C. An irrational number greater than 1
D. An irrational number less than 1
2 marks

28. Two fair, six-sided dice are rolled together and their sum (say, S) recorded. The probability that
S is a perfect square given that S is an even number is:
A. 1/12
B. 1/6
C. 1/2
D. None of the above
2 marks

29. If X and Y are two independent exponential distributions with means mx and my, then X+Y
follows:
A. An exponential distribution with mean mx + my.
B. An exponential distribution with mean (mx + my)/2.
C. An exponential distribution with a mean other than the above.
D. A distribution other than exponential distribution.
1 mark

30. Which of the following distributions can be used to model a discrete random variable that can
take any (arbitrarily large) positive integer value?
A. Binomial
B. Poisson
C. Bernoulli
D. None of the above
1 mark

31. A discrete random variable X has the following cumulative distribution function:
x 0 1 2 3 4 5
F(X) 0 0.1 0.4 k 0.9 1
Find the value of k such that the expected value of X is the same as its median.
A. 0.75
B. 0.5
C. 0.6
D. None of the above
2 marks

32. The following stem-and-leaf plot depicts scores of students (out of 100) on a test where the
passing score was 40.

Stem Leaves
2 2,5
3 1,6,9
4 1,1,7,8,9,9
5 2,3,5,7
6 1,6,7,7
7 1,3,4,8
8 4,5,9

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 9 0,2

Find the median score among the set of students who have passed:
A. 66
B. 59
C. 56
D. None of the above
1 mark

33. The means of x and y are 𝑥̅ = 20⁡𝑎𝑛𝑑⁡𝑦̅ = 24 respectively, and their standard deviations are
sx = 1.2 and sy = 2 respectively. The regression line of x on y is 10x = 3y + c (for some constant
c). Then the regression line of y on x will be:
A. y = (3/5)x + 12
B. y = (5/3)x – 28/3
C. y = (10/3)x – 72
D. y = (5/6)x + 22/3
3 marks

34. If X follows a normal distribution with mean 20 and variance 24, Y follows a normal distribution
5
with mean 24 and variance 20, and the correlation coefficient between X and Y is √ , then the
6
expected value of XY will be:
A. 480
B. 500
C. 520
D. None of the above
2 marks

35. If a six-faced die is loaded (made biased) such that the probability of each face is proportional
to the number of it, the expected value of the outcome of its roll is:
A. 91/15
B. 7/2
C. 13/3
D. 9/2
2 marks

36. An actuarial student rolls a fair, six-sided die. If it shows n, the student then tosses a fair coin
n times and records the number of tails. The probability of recording at least one tail:
A. 3/16
B. 63/64
C. 107/128
D. None of the above
3 marks

37. A child decides to make two cuts on a stick, at points chosen uniformly randomly and
independently. This will break the stick into three pieces The probability that the largest of the
three pieces will exceed half the length of the stick is:
A. Greater than 1/2
B. Exactly 1/2
C. Less than 1/2
D. Indeterminate
1 mark

38. If A and B are independent events, each with a positive probability, then they are:

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 A. Necessarily disjoint
B. May or may not be disjoint – it depends on their probability values.
C. May or may not be disjoint – it depends on the universal set.
D. Definitely not disjoint
1 mark

39. If the average number of goals scored in a soccer match is 2.56 and it is given that the Poisson
distribution is appropriate to model these number of goals, then the mode and the standard
deviation of the number of goals in a soccer match will be (respectively):
A. 2 and 2.56
B. 3 and 2.56
C. 2 and 1.6
D. 3 and 1.6
1 mark

40. All possible diagonals are drawn in a regular n-gon (n-sided polygon). There are 252 diagonals
in all. Then n equals:
A. 20
B. 24
C. 16
D. None of the above
1 mark

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 Data Interpretation
The following chart shows the annual production of vehicles by two vehicle manufacturers - X and Y
during the observation period (1997 to 2002 – both inclusive). Questions 41 to 44 are based on the
information.

41. The median annual combined production (of X and Y) of vehicles during the observation period
is between:
A. 230,000 and 240,000
B. 220,000 and 230,000
C. 240,000 and 250,000
D. None of the above
1 mark

42. The highest year-on-year increase in production by a manufacturer was:

A. By X from 1998 to 1999
B. By X from 2000 to 2001
C. By Y from 2001 to 2002
D. By X from 2001 to 2002
1 mark

43. During the entire observation period, relative to the total production by Y, the total production
by X was:
A. More by around 3-5%
B. Nearly the same (i.e. within 2% on either side)
C. Less by around 3-5%
D. None of the above
2 marks

44. For a particular year, the market share of a company is defined as the number vehicles
manufactured by that company divided by the total number of vehicles manufactured by both
companies. During the observation period, the market share was maximum of:
A. Company Y in 1999
B. Company Y in 2000
C. Company X in 1999
D. Company X in 2000
1 mark

The chart below contains the results of a survey asking people to specify their favourite genre of films.
Questions 45 to 47 are based on this information.

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 45. Of the total survey respondents, the proportion of adults was close to:
A. 49.6%
B. 50%
C. 50.4%
D. None of the above
1 mark

46. The proportion of children who prefer a genre other than Animation is:
A. 51.6%
B. 50%
C. 48.4%
D. None of the above
1 mark

47. The genre where the spread of people (between adults and children) who prefer it is most
even (closest to a 50% split) is:
A. Action
B. Drama
C. Animation
D. Sci-fi
2 marks

The International Chess Championship is a tournament between two chess players – the Defending
Champion (D) and the Challenger (C). It is a series of 14 games (numbered 1 to 14) where the winner
of each game gets a point and the loser gets none. If a game ends as a draw, both players get half a
point each. The winner of the tournament is the one with more points at the end of the 14 games. If
both players end with the same number of points, the tournament ends as a tie. The following
additional facts are known:

• All prime numbered games ended as a draw.

• Moreover, all games ending in a draw were prime numbered.

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 • The Defending Champion won the games that were numbered a perfect square and no others.

Questions 48 to 51 are dependent on the above information.

48. Who won the tournament?

A. Defending Champion
B. Challenger
C. Neither – it ended as a tie
D. Insufficient information to determine
1 mark

49. The difference in total points of the two players was

A. 0
B. 1
C. 2
D. Insufficient information to determine
1 mark

50. The first instance in the tournament where the Challenger had more points than the Defending
Champion could have happened in Game numbered:
A. 1
B. 6
C. 8
D. 12
2 marks

51. The number of matches after which the scores were tied AFTER the start of the tournament
was:
A. 2
B. 3
C. 1
D. None of the above / cannot be determined
2 marks

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 English
52. Something that is ‘ancillary’ is:
A. Grand or magnificent
B. Relating to a certain blood vessel (i.e. artery) in the body
C. Old or ancient
D. Subordinate or supplementary
1 mark

53. Which of the following is incorrect?

A. A hat
B. A hour
C. A home
D. A hand
1 mark

54. Someone who is ill or unwell can be said to be ‘under the _____’.
A. Blanket
B. Weather
C. Fever
D. Infection
1 mark

55. Poet : Poem :: Cartographer : ?

A. Diamond jewelry
B. Letters
C. Maps
D. Horse carts
1 mark

56. “This phone costed me a lot of money.” Identify the erroneous portion in these sentences.
A. “This phone”
B. “costed me”
C. “a lot of money”
D. None of the above
1 mark

57. “Ram and Sita are going _____ for _____ wedding.” Fill in the blanks.
A. their, there
B. there, they’re
C. their, they’re
D. there, their
1 mark

58. Which of the words is NOT similar in meaning to the others?

A. Wrathful
B. Enraged
C. Furious
D. Noxious
1 mark

59. “To avoid disappointment, one should not _____ too much from others.” Fill in the blanks.
A. except
B. expect

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 C. accept
D. ascept
1 mark

60. Which of these is NOT a valid inference from the passage below?
“What should an essay be? Many people would say persuasive. That's what a lot of us were
taught essays should be. But I think we can aim for something more ambitious: that an essay
should be useful.
To start with, that means it should be correct. But it's not enough merely to be correct. It's
easy to make a statement correct by making it vague. That's a common flaw in academic
writing, for example. If you know nothing at all about an issue, you can't go wrong by saying
that the issue is a complex one, that there are many factors to be considered, that it's a
mistake to take too simplistic a view of it, and so on.
Though no doubt correct, such statements tell the reader nothing. Useful writing makes
claims that are as strong as they can be made without becoming false.
For example, it's more useful to say that Pike's Peak is near the middle of Colorado than
merely somewhere in Colorado. But if I say it's in the exact middle of Colorado, I've now gone
too far, because it's a bit east of the middle.
Precision and correctness are like opposing forces. It's easy to satisfy one if you ignore the
other. The converse of vaporous academic writing is the bold, but false, rhetoric of
demagogues. Useful writing is bold, but true.”

A. Academic writing is usually correct but not always bold.

B. If one were to draw a vertical line passing through the middle of Colorado on a map,
Pike’s Peak is to the east of that line.
C. Any piece of writing cannot be both precise and correct at the same time.
D. The fact that an essay is persuasive does not imply that it is useful.
3 marks

61. The following sentences are jumbled up. Choose the correct sequence from the options
below.
I. There are 12 year olds who work amazingly hard.
II. It might not seem there's much to learn about how to work hard.
III. And yet when I ask if I know more about working hard now than when I was in school, the
answer is definitely yes.
IV. Anyone who's been to school knows what it entails, even if they chose not to do it.
A. II, IV, III, I
B. II, I, III, IV
C. II, I, IV, III
D. II, IV, I, III
2 marks

62. Consider the following set of sentences:

I. Ram was married with Sita.
II. Sita was sitting besides Ram.
III. Although Ram was a prince, but he had to spend fourteen years in the forest.

Of these, the sentences that are erroneous are:

A. I and II
B. I and III
C. II and III
D. I, II and III
2 marks

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 Logical Reasoning
63. Today is 21st December 2024 and it falls on a Saturday. The next time that 21st December will
fall on a Saturday will happen in:
A. 2029
B. 2035
C. 2031
D. 2030
1 mark

64. A three hour exam starts in the morning at time T1 and ends in the afternoon at time T2.
Interestingly, the clock at time T2 is a mirror image of that at time T1. Then, T1 equals:
A. 10:30
B. 10:00
C. 11:00
D. None of the above
1 mark

65. All sides of a 5x5x5 cube are painted red. The cube is then divided into 125 unit cubes (i.e. of
dimension 1x1x1). Let X be the number of unit cubes with no red sides, Y be the number of
unit cubes with exactly one red side and Z be the number of unit cubes with exactly two red
sides. Then which of the following statements are false?
A. X+Y+Z is divisible by 9.
B. Y+Z = 3X
C. LCM of X, Y and Z is 108.
D. Y > Z > X
2 marks

66. If X’s mother’s father is married to Y’s father’s mother, then X’s father is Y’s mother’s:
A. Husband’s brother
B. Sister’s husband
C. Husband’s sister’s husband
D. None of the above
1 mark

67. Four couples (W, X, Y, Z) – each comprising a lady and a gentleman – are seated on a round
table such that:
• Mr. and Mrs. X are NOT sitting next to each other.
• Mr. and Mrs. Z are sitting next to each other.
• Mr. and Mrs. W are sitting exactly opposite each other.

Which of the following statements is NOT necessarily false?

A. Each gentleman is surrounded by a lady on both side (to his left and to his right).
B. None of the Y’s is seated next to a X.
C. None of the Z’s is seated next to a W.
D. There are an even number of individuals seated between Mr. and Mrs. X.
2 marks

68. If all dancers are singers, and no singers are painters, then which of the following conclusions
are true?
Conclusion X: No dancer is a painter.
Conclusion Y: All singers are dancers.

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 A. Both X and Y
B. Only X
C. Only Y
D. Neither X nor Y
1 mark

69. Arrange the following words in a meaningful sequence:

P = Punishment, Q = Crime, R = Judgement, S = Arrest
A. Q,S,P,R
B. Q,S,R,P
C. P,Q,S,R
D. None of the above
1 mark

70. Find the wrong number in the series: 1, 5, 14, 30, 55, 90, 140, …
A. 14
B. 55
C. 90
D. None of the above
1 mark

************************

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