More discrete problems
September 16th, 2007
I’ve added a collection of general problems on discrete probability from some old Course 110 exams (Course 110 was the probability exam two syllabus changes ago). These problems won’t go up on the main page until I am done with the solutions, and I often find some minor typos when working on the solutions, but here is a draft if you want to work on them now: Discrete Problems. For many of these problems, I have a copy of the solutions and not the original exam, so the questions are my attempt to reconstruct the original problem.
Dave,
The more problems that you can add the better. Your explanations of problems and techniques are outstanding. The actual exam seemed to be composed of problems that combined many of the skills and topics rather than problems that tested only one skill. (I’m sure you already Know this!!) Could you suggest any other sources for questions of this type?
Of the textbooks on the syllabus, the problems in Hassett and Stewart are most similar to the exam problems. A lot of their problems, though, are also taken from the set of 124 sample problems that are also available on the SOA and CAS websites.
Unfortunately none of the exams given since the syllabus changed in 2005 have been published. Some of the exam problems that will be on the exam have been written since then, and the style of those problems is slightly different due to the exam committee being different. If you want free problems and are willing to do some digging, you could look at the Exam 1/P forum on the Actuarial Outpost, sorted by number of replies to find some discussions from after prior exams. The problems are often restated poorly (if at all) in those threads, so it will take some patience to find useful information.
Hi Dave,
When can we expect worked solutions for these problems? I was able to work through them, but would like to see the worked solutions.
Also, I haven’t been able to access the backup sites to see the worked solutions. Can you point me in the right directions for backup site help?
Thanks,
Brandon
I uploaded the video solutions to these this weekend, and they will be up on the backup sites as soon as they are produced. That has taken longer than usual because our technical staff was in Chicago for a Course 6 seminar. In the meantime, here is a .pdf version of the solutions.
The backup sites require a different password because they are hosted on different servers. The first time you try logging in to the backup sites, click the “forgot my password” button to get your password mailed to you. That should work, but if it doesn’t, follow the “Contact Us” link and send a note to Customer Service.