ICET 2010 – Analysis

This year the ICET was conducted by Andhra University . ICET 2010 was written by 1,62,000 plus candidates.

The ICET paper pattern has remained the same over the last ten years. This year’s test was relatively more difficult than ICET 2009. To help you understand this year’s test paper better, we provide you with a comprehensive analysis, below.

Data Sufficiency

The questions in Data Sufficiency were from a wide range of topics including topics from pure maths and reasoning. This can be seen clearly from the table that is given below. There were traps here and there. Some questions were tricky. But, on the whole, it was a good mixture of concepts and logic.

More than half of the questions were of moderate difficulty. On the whole, the data sufficiency part can be rated as neither easy nor difficult. There were a few questions which required thorough conceptual knowledge of the topic. There was one question with two correct answer choices. The question, where one needs to check whether ‘a’ is positive or not, can be answered either from statement I alone or statement II alone. In such a case, the answer choice can be (1) or (2).

Chapter wise break-up of questions in Data Sufficiency

Data Analysis

This part had two DI sets of five questions each. Usually one DI set and one Venn diagram set appear in the ICET. For the past few years, giving two sets on DI in this part has become a tradition. The students who were aware of this possibility could have adjusted to it.

As far as the sets are concerned, there were two sets, one based on a Pie-chart and the other on a bar graph. The set of 5 questions based on the Pie chart was of moderate difficulty. Of the 5 questions, one was simple, three were moderately difficult and one was difficult. The question where we need to find the cost of a copy, if a profit of 4% is desired, was relatively difficult.

The second set of 5 questions based on the bar graph were easy. Except for one question in this set the other four questions were easy.

Overall Data Analysis can be considered to be of ‘moderate’ difficulty.

Reasoning

(Problem Solving, Coding-Decoding and Date, Time and Arrangement)

There were 43 questions in reasoning, including one question in DS.

The 15 questions based on series and analogies were on expected lives, except for one question in series, which was based on surds. Among the 10 questions on odd man out, there were few questions where the students were in for a few surprises. For one of the questions (35, 46, 72, 91) some students would have arrived at two answers, 46 and 72 based on two different convincing logics. A question on quadratic equation, in this section was another surprise element.

An oddity that can be observed in this part, is the type of questions based on coding-decoding. Instead of the traditional varieties of questions (r-model and so on), new models of questions have crept in. There were two sets, with 5 questions in each set. The set based on, n^th letter being coded to k^th letter, where K ≡ 3n + 2(mod 26), 1 £ K £ Z6, was a shocker for the students. This type of set was given for the first time in ICET2010. Even if one understands the pattern, answering the questions would still be time consuming. The second set was relatively easier when compared to the first one. Instead of the usual type when the odd/even letters of English Alphabet are coded following a certain pattern, vowels and consonants were coded following a fixed pattern. The students would have found it simpler to understand the pattern. But answering the questions would have consumed a fair amount of time.

The questions on miscellaneous topics of clocks, calendar, symbols and notations etc. were on expected lines.

The reasoning questions were tougher when compared to previous years.

This section contained three questions from maths topics (ages, permutations and Numbers)

Mathematical Ability

Arithmetical Ability: Most of the questions in Arithmetical Ability were direct. About half of the questions were easy. This part had a good mixture of questions from different topics.

For the first time in ICET, there were no questions on percentages. There are surprises in the question types. When compared to previous year’s ICET paper, we observe that this year there is a decrease in the number of questions from the topics of equations, ratio and proportion.

Though there was a slight variation in the weightage given to topics, when compared to previous years, the dominant topics were Numbers and Mensuration, with a whopping 11 questions from mensuration.

Like last year, this part was not time consuming.

Chapter wise break-up of questions in Arithmetical Ability

Algebraical / Geometrical / Statistical Ability : This part was easy, when compared to ICET2009 paper. Questions with medium and higher levels of difficulty were spread across the section, making the students a little anxious.

Out of 10 questions on probability and statistics, most of them were standard formula based questions. There were no questions on Inequalities and Modules. The weightage of questions from the rest of the chapters was on expected lines. (There were 6 questions from calculus, a little more than the 2-3 which usually appear in this section).

Chapter wise break-up of questions in Algebraical / Geometrical / Statistical Ability

Communication Ability

Section C on Communication Ability followed the usual pattern of the ICET that is familiar from the past years.

The English section of the paper followed the usual pattern of 25 verbal (vocab & grammar) questions and 15 R.C questions. The verbal section had questions on synonyms(6Q), fill in the blanks/ verbs(4Q), Conversation (3Q), idioms (4Q), fill in the blanks (2 phrasal verbs, 3 verbs and 3 prepositions).

The words given in synonyms were moderate to difficult. The meaning of ‘visage’ was difficult to answer. ‘Apprehend’ was difficult because the examinees would have been hard put to choose between ‘punish’ and ‘arrest’ (the latter is correct). In fill in the blanks (with verbs), the question on telephonic message, was difficult because the word ‘effected’ (wrong choice) would have been mistaken for ‘affected’ by many students (which would have been right). The correct word here was saddened.

Two questions on conversations were difficult. One question asked the meaning of ‘I beg your pardon’ which is normally used instead of ‘Excuse me’. The second half of the sentence shows that it is used to express disagreement. In the question, where B drops A home – many examinees would have assumed that B is happy to have dropped A home (since A’s tone is cheerful with an exclamation mark). In reality B is resentful because he feels he was forced to do it (I have no choice).

The four idioms were easy.

Both the questions on ‘phrasal verbs’, one which talks about honest people and the other question about the seminar were difficult because the sentences given were short and abrupt. In the question – “The plane – to a great height”, many examinees would have been confused between ‘lifted’, ‘raised’, ‘rose’, and ‘elevated’ since all four have similar meanings.

The question on fill in the blank, “Much water ________ under the Ganges” also would have been difficult since people tend to confuse between ‘flowed’ and ‘flown’ (Fly – flew – flown) (Flow – flowed – flowed).

The 3 questions on prepositions were easy.

The three RC passages were simple to read (200, 150 and 150 words) and most of the questions were direct. However, in the passage on animal mind, the two questions, one on Human memory and other animal mind’s stimuli – required the students to think carefully before answering. In the passage on unclear speech, the two questions where one needs to understand the authors point of view, were implications, not direct statements.

On the whole it was a paper of moderate difficulty with a few easy and some difficult questions.

Computer and Business Terminology:

The business terminology section in ICET2010 was a mixed bag. There were some easy questions like the one on stocks property and the one on record of proceedings and resolutions. The difficult questions were the one on convertible debentures and one on arrangement of funding capital from abroad. It will not be a cake walk to get all the questions right in this case but a score of 3 out of 5 would be decent.

If one looks at the questions on computer terminology, unlike the usual expectations of standard definitions and abbreviations, there were questions on terms – CDMA, Multimedia, Resolution, which would come across in news papers / journals. All the 5 questions on computers can be rated as easy.

T.I.M.E. students, who have strictly adhered to the strategy recommended by experts, would have done exceedingly well in ICET 2010.