LIC AAO key terms

A reasoning format in which two or more premises are given and a conclusion must be judged as definitely true, possibly true, or false. Candidates test validity using Venn diagrams rather than real-world belief.

A technique for solving syllogisms and set-based puzzles by drawing circles for each category and checking whether a conclusion holds in every possible arrangement of overlapping regions.

In syllogism questions, a conclusion stated as 'it is possible that...' is true when at least one valid diagram arrangement satisfies it, even if other arrangements contradict it.

A pair of conclusions where exactly one must follow, because together they exhaust all arrangements and neither is individually certain. Both must share the same subject and predicate to qualify.

A machine-based reasoning set where numbers or words are rearranged by a fixed hidden rule across steps. The candidate identifies the pattern from the given steps and predicts later stages.

A puzzle requiring placement of people around a circle or in a row using clues about facing direction, adjacency, and relative position. Circular sets often assume all face the centre unless stated otherwise.

A seating puzzle where people sit in a single row or two parallel rows, with clues about ends, immediate neighbours, and how many persons sit between two named individuals.

A reasoning set where people or flats are assigned to numbered floors of a building, often with two flats per floor, using clues about who lives above, below, or beside whom.

A question type where symbols such as @, #, and $ stand for comparison relations like greater than or not less than. Conclusions are tested by decoding the expression and chaining the relations.

A puzzle describing family links through statements or a diagram, requiring the candidate to identify how two named persons are related, such as maternal uncle or sister-in-law.

A reasoning question where a person moves through turns and distances, and the candidate must find final facing direction or shortest distance, often applying Pythagoras to right triangles.

A format where a question is followed by two or more statements, and the candidate judges only whether the data is enough to answer, without computing the actual answer.

The umbrella category covering distribution, scheduling, box-stacking, and floor sets in which entities must be assigned to attributes using interlocking constraints.

A sequence mixing letters, digits, and symbols where questions ask for counts of a pattern, such as how many digits are immediately preceded by a consonant and followed by a symbol.

A question type in which words or sentences are written in a code under a rule, and the candidate must decode a new word or infer the rule from examples given.

A set presenting numerical data as a table, bar chart, line graph, pie chart, or caselet, followed by questions requiring calculation of ratios, percentages, averages, or differences.

A data interpretation set given entirely as prose paragraphs rather than a chart, so the candidate must first extract and tabulate the numbers before answering the questions.

The increase or decrease in a value expressed as a fraction of the original value, computed as (new minus old) divided by old, then multiplied by 100.

Two or more discounts applied one after another on the reducing price, so the effective discount is less than the simple sum; for example 10% then 20% equals 28% overall.

Cost price is what a trader pays; marked price is the label price before discount. Profit or loss is always calculated on cost price unless the question states otherwise.

Simple interest is computed only on the principal each year; compound interest is computed on principal plus accumulated interest, growing faster and following a geometric pattern.

The relation distance equals speed multiplied by time, extended to relative speed for trains and boats, and to average speed, which is total distance divided by total time.

Problems where downstream speed is boat speed plus current speed and upstream speed is boat speed minus current speed, so the two are averaged to find still-water speed.

A work-rate problem type in which inlet pipes fill and outlet pipes empty a tank, solved by adding rates as fractions of the tank filled per hour.

Problems relating the rate of work of individuals or groups to the time taken, solved by converting each worker's capacity into a fraction of the job done per day.

A comparison of two quantities of the same kind, with proportion stating that two ratios are equal; widely used to split amounts and to set up mixture and partnership problems.

A method using a cross-diagram to find the ratio in which two ingredients of different values must be mixed to obtain a desired mean value.

The sum of all observations divided by their count; questions often involve how the average shifts when a value is added, removed, or replaced in a group.

Counting arrangements where order matters (permutation) versus selections where order does not matter (combination), applied to seating, committee, and word-formation questions.

The number of favourable outcomes divided by total equally likely outcomes, often combined with combinations to count ways of drawing balls, cards, or committee members.

A question giving two quadratic equations in x and y, requiring the candidate to find both roots of each and determine the relationship between x and y.

A sequence with a missing or wrong term, where the candidate identifies the underlying rule, such as differences, squares, cubes, or a mixed pattern, to supply the answer.

A simplification question where exact calculation is unnecessary and values are rounded to convenient numbers so the closest option can be chosen quickly.

A passage with blanks, each to be filled by the option that fits the grammar and meaning of the surrounding sentence and the overall theme of the text.

A set of sentences given out of order that must be rearranged into a coherent paragraph by tracing connectors, pronouns, and the logical flow from general to specific.

A passage followed by questions on main idea, inference, tone, and vocabulary, requiring the candidate to answer strictly from the text rather than outside knowledge.

A question presenting a sentence divided into parts, where the candidate identifies the segment containing a grammatical error in subject-verb agreement, tense, preposition, or article use.

A sentence with an underlined portion is given along with alternative phrasings; the candidate selects the replacement that makes the sentence grammatically correct and idiomatic.

Single or double blank sentences where the candidate chooses words that fit both grammatically and contextually, often testing collocations and parallel structure.

The statutory regulator for the Indian insurance industry, established under the IRDA Act, 1999, with its headquarters at Hyderabad. It licenses insurers and intermediaries and protects policyholders.

The state-owned life insurer incorporated in 1956 after nationalisation of 245 private insurers, headquartered in Mumbai. It is the largest life insurer in India by premium and agent network.

A distribution arrangement in which banks sell insurance products to their customers, acting as corporate agents or referral partners for insurers under a regulated framework.