
Cover probability for actuaries part two, discrete and continuous distributions used in actuarial exams, including common distributions such as binomial, Poisson, normal, and gamma, to prepare for soa exam p.
explores the discrete uniform distribution, its probability mass function, and core moments—expected value and variance—plus probability generating and moment generating functions, with practical eight-sided die examples.
Explore the Bernoulli distribution, detailing its pmf, mean p, variance p(1−p), and how to derive its mgf q + p e^t and pgf q + p t.
Explore the binomial distribution, its pmf, mean np, variance np(1-p), and generating functions, then apply to actuarial problems like floods, testing, Bayes, and quality control.
Explore the geometric distribution, its pmf p(1-p)^(x-1) and alternative y=x-1 for failures, plus cdf, the expected value 1/p, the variance (1-p)/p^2, memoryless properties, and the moment and probability generating functions.
Explore the negative binomial distribution with parameters r and p, modeling the number of failures until the r-th success and the corresponding two pmf forms.
Master the Poisson distribution, with lambda as the average rate and PMF lambda^x e^{-lambda}/x!. Learn that the mean and variance both equal lambda, and connect to MGF and PGF.
Explore the hypergeometric distribution with parameters m, k, and n, derive its pmf and moments, and apply to sampling without replacement in urn and class problems.
Explore advanced topics in discrete distributions, including the recursive ratio for Poisson binomial and negative binomial distributions. Demonstrate the multinomial distribution with real-world examples.
Learn the uniform distribution on [a, b], its pdf and cdf, the mean and variance formulas, and the moment generating function, with examples from 0–1 and 15–40.
Learn the exponential distribution with parameter theta, its pdf and cdf, and the survival function. See how moments, memoryless property, and its link to Poisson emerge through practical examples.
Study the gamma distribution with alpha and theta, its pdf and mgf, its link to the exponential, and how sums of gamma or exponential variables form new gamma distributions.
Explore the normal distribution and standard normal, compute with z-scores, mu, sigma, and moment generating functions, and use the pdf and table for exam-style probability.
Model proportions with the beta distribution on [0,1], parameterized by alpha and beta; its shape ranges from uniform to hump-shaped, with mean alpha/(alpha+beta) and variance alpha beta/(alpha+beta)^2(alpha+beta+1).
Learn how the lognormal distribution models positive variables, derive its PDF and CDF, compute moments and coefficient of variation, and solve a wildfire claim probability example.
Are you studying for your first actuarial exam? Do you want to one day work as an Actuary, which is consistently ranked as a top 10 career?
Well then, you’ve come to the right place!
This is where you start. And it is the perfect time to start. Actuaries are in high demand globally. Actuaries can earn a great living and enjoy great job satisfaction.
To become a fully qualified actuary, you have to pass a series of professional exams. Most students start by taking a related university degree. This course along with Part 1 and Part 3 to the course, will provide you with the skills required to pass the first actuarial exam.
Whether you are writing with the Society of Actuaries (SOA) or Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS), this course is for you. The material for SOA Exam P or CAS Exam 1 is covered in this course and Part 1 and Part 3 to this course.
Part 2 will cover the following areas of the exam:
Frequently Used Discrete Distributions (Discrete Uniform, Bernoulli, Binomial, Geometric, Negative Binomial, Poisson, Hypergeometric and Advanced Topics)
Frequently Used Continuous Distributions (Uniform, Exponential, Gamma, Normal, Beta and Lognormal)
Practice makes perfect with actuarial exams. As such, we have included many practice problems for you to hone your skills. The SOA also provides sample questions and we highly recommend that you practice your skills on these questions as well.
Teaching is my passion!
I have been teaching actuaries around the world since 2014 and have helped 100s of actuaries pass actuarial exams. I have also taught at the University level, teaching courses on probability and mathematical statistics. My teaching style focuses on explaining concepts and then illustrating those concepts with lots of examples. I find that this allows the students to understand the basics and then directly tie the theory to practical applications with practice problems. This sets the students up for success with the actuarial exams that they intend to write.
Why take this course?
This course (along with Part 1 and Part 3) is designed to cover the SOA Exam P/CAS Exam 1 syllabus in entirety. This course is specifically tailored to the actuarial exam. There are a lot of other courses that teach probability and statistics, however, they are more general in nature, whereas this course focuses exclusively on getting you to a passing grade come exam day. My course also offers you lifetime access to the material and was priced at a price point that would be affordable to students around the world.
What you get with this course?
You get access to over 17 hours of video lectures that cover the entire syllabus, split between Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3. You also get access to an electronic manual for the course and over 100 practice questions to hone your skills and prepare you for the actual exam day.