American Express 2024 aptitude
Quantitative, reasoning, and verbal drills with solutions
This page collects American Express placement papers from 2024 with practice questions, worked solutions, and the exam pattern students reported that cycle. Use it when you want drive history: what the first round looked like, which topics repeated, and how to approach solutions. Work the sets below under a timer, then compare with newer material so your prep matches both established American Express patterns and recent shifts.
American Express 2024 aptitude
Quantitative, reasoning, and verbal drills with solutions
American Express 2024 coding
DSA practice aligned to American Express online assessments
American Express interview experience
Round structure and tips from student reports
American Express prep guide
Study plan and weekly schedule
Timed placement-style MCQs with score and explanations after you submit. Use it to check speed and accuracy before the real test.
Quantitative
A number when divided by 5 leaves remainder 3. What is remainder when twice the number is divided by 5?
n = 5k+3 → 2n = 10k+6 = 5(2k+1)+1 → remainder 1.
Reasoning
Find the next number in the series: 2, 6, 12, 20, 30, ?
Pattern analysis: - 2 = 1 × 2 - 6 = 2 × 3 - 12 = 3 × 4 - 20 = 4 × 5 - 30 = 5 × 6 Next term = 6 × 7 = 42
Quantitative
A 120 m train crosses a pole in 8 s. Speed in km/h is:
Speed = 120/8 = 15 m/s = 54 km/h.
Reasoning
Two trains move in the same direction at 50 kmph and 32 kmph respectively. A man in the slower train observes that 15 seconds elapse before the faster train completely passes by him. What is the length of the faster train?
Relative speed = 50 - 32 = 18 kmph = 18 × 5/18 = 5 m/s Time = 15 seconds Length of faster train = Relative speed × Time = 5 × 15 = 75 meters
Reasoning
Statements: All engineers are professionals. Some professionals are managers. Conclusions: I. Some engineers are managers. II. All managers are engineers.
Analyzing the statements: - All engineers are professionals (A → B) - Some professionals are managers (B → C, some) Conclusion I: Some engineers are managers - Since all engineers are professionals, and some professionals are managers, we can say some engineer
Quantitative
Find compound interest on ₹10,000 for 2 years at 10% per annum, compounded annually.
Amount = P(1 + R/100)^n Amount = 10000(1 + 10/100)^2 = 10000 × 1.1^2 = 10000 × 1.21 = ₹12,100 CI = Amount - Principal = 12100 - 10000 = ₹2,100
Quantitative
A is twice as old as B. 10 years ago, A was 4 times as old as B. Find the present age of A.
Correct answer: 30 years
Verbal
Fill in: She is good _____ mathematics.
Good at a subject.
Reasoning
If every letter is shifted +2 in the alphabet, PEN becomes:
Each letter +2 → RGP.
Verbal
A trader sells an article at a profit of 25%. If he had bought it at 10% less and sold it for ₹15 less, he would have gained 30%. Find the cost price of the article.
Let actual CP = x Actual SP = 1.25x (25% profit) New CP = 0.9x (10% less) New SP = 1.25x - 15 New Profit = (1.25x - 15) - 0.9x = 0.35x - 15 New Profit % = ((0.35x - 15)/0.9x) × 100 = 30 (0.35x - 15)/0.9x = 0.30 0.35x - 15 = 0.27x 0.08x = 15 x = ₹187.50
Verbal
One who loves books is a:
Bibliophile = lover of books.
Quantitative
If 20% of a number is 48, the number is:
Number = 48 × 100/20 = 240.
Verbal
Find the synonym of "Benevolent".
Correct answer: Kind
Reasoning
Which of the following is the next term in the series: 2, 6, 12, 20, 30, ?
Pattern: Differences are 4, 6, 8, 10 (consecutive even numbers) Next difference = 12 Next term = 30 + 12 = 42 Alternative pattern: n(n+1) where n starts from 1 1×2=2, 2×3=6, 3×4=12, 4×5=20, 5×6=30, 6×7=42
Quantitative
Two numbers are in ratio 3:5 and their sum is 56. The larger number is:
Parts = 8. Larger = 5/8 × 56 = 35.
Your score
0/15(0%)
| Section | What shows up | Prep focus |
|---|---|---|
| Aptitude / logical | Quant, reasoning, sometimes verbal | Timed sectional accuracy |
| Coding / programming logic | Easy-medium DSA or output-style MCQs | Handle tricky inputs |
| Technical interview | OOPs, DBMS, OS, projects | Explain aloud |
| HR | Fit, location, intent | A few real examples ready |
First round: Amex Online Assessment
Skills emphasized: DSA, Java, SQL, product thinking
Languages: Java, Python, SQL
These are practice-style questions aligned to patterns students report for American Express drives around 2024. They are not leaked live papers. Work them timed, then read the solutions only after you have an answer.
Problem: If 30% of a number is 150, what is the number?
Solution: 0.3x = 150 → x = 150 / 0.3 = 500.
Answer: 500
Problem: The average of five numbers is 20. One number 30 is replaced by 10. What is the new average?
Solution: Old sum = 5 × 20 = 100. New sum = 100 − 30 + 10 = 80. New average = 80 / 5 = 16.
Answer: 16
Problem: Find the next term: 2, 6, 12, 20, 30, ?
Solution: Pattern: 1×2, 2×3, 3×4, 4×5, 5×6, 6×7. Next = 6 × 7 = 42.
Answer: 42
Problem: What is the probability of drawing an ace from a standard 52-card deck?
Solution: There are 4 aces in 52 cards. Probability = 4/52 = 1/13.
Answer: 1/13
Problem: A number is increased by 20% and then decreased by 20%. What is the net percentage change?
Solution: Start with 100 → 120 → 96. Net change = 4% decrease. Formula: successive +a then −a gives −(a²/100)% = −4%.
Answer: 4% decrease
Problem: If the price of an item rises by 25%, by what percent should consumption fall so that expenditure stays the same?
Solution: Required reduction = r/(100+r) × 100 with r = 25. = 25/125 × 100 = 20%.
Answer: 20%
Problem: An article is marked 40% above cost and sold after a 10% discount. Find the profit percent.
Solution: SP = CP × 1.4 × 0.9 = 1.26 CP. Profit = 26%.
Answer: 26%
Problem: An article sold at 10% loss would give 5% profit if sold for ₹60 more. Find the cost price.
Solution: 0.9P + 60 = 1.05P 60 = 0.15P P = 60 / 0.15 = ₹400.
Answer: ₹400
Problem: A person walks 5 km north, then 3 km east, then 5 km south. How far is he from the start, and in which direction?
Solution: North 5 and south 5 cancel. He is 3 km east of the start.
Answer: 3 km east
Problem: Find the next number: 3, 9, 27, 81, ?
Solution: Each term is multiplied by 3. Next = 81 × 3 = 243.
Answer: 243
Problem: Five friends sit in a row. A is to the left of B but right of C. D is to the right of B and left of E. Who is in the middle?
Solution: Order from left to right: C, A, B, D, E. The middle seat is B.
Answer: B
Problem: Book is to Reading as Fork is to ?
Solution: A book is used for reading; a fork is used for eating.
Answer: Eating
Problem: Rotate an array to the right by k steps. Example: [1,2,3,4,5,6,7], k = 3 → [5,6,7,1,2,3,4].
Approach: Normalize k %= n. Reverse the whole array, reverse the first k elements, then reverse the rest. That yields the rotation in place.
Complexity: O(n) time, O(1) space
American Express tip: Restate the problem, sketch a brute-force idea, then tighten it. Call out edge cases (empty input, single element, overflow) before you write code.
Problem: Find the first non-repeating character in a string and return its index, or -1 if none exists.
Approach: Count frequencies in one pass (hash map or array of 26 for lowercase). Second pass returns the first index with count 1.
Complexity: O(n) time
American Express tip: Restate the problem, sketch a brute-force idea, then tighten it. Call out edge cases (empty input, single element, overflow) before you write code.
Problem: Design a stack that supports push, pop, top, and getMin in average O(1) time.
Approach: Keep a parallel min-stack (or store pairs). When pushing, also push the new minimum. When popping, pop both stacks.
Complexity: O(1) per operation amortized
American Express tip: Restate the problem, sketch a brute-force idea, then tighten it. Call out edge cases (empty input, single element, overflow) before you write code.
Problem: Given an integer array, find the contiguous subarray with the largest sum and return that sum. Example: [-2,1,-3,4,-1,2,1,-5,4] → 6 (from [4,-1,2,1]).
Approach: Keep a running sum. If the running sum drops below 0, reset it to 0 before taking the next element (or track the best ending-here value). Track the global maximum as you scan once from left to right.
Complexity: O(n) time, O(1) extra space
American Express tip: Restate the problem, sketch a brute-force idea, then tighten it. Call out edge cases (empty input, single element, overflow) before you write code.
Problem: Given a mutable character array representing a string, reverse it in place without allocating another array of the same size.
Approach: Use two pointers at the start and end. Swap characters, then move inward until the pointers meet. Watch empty and single-character inputs.
Complexity: O(n) time, O(1) extra space
American Express tip: Restate the problem, sketch a brute-force idea, then tighten it. Call out edge cases (empty input, single element, overflow) before you write code.
Problem: Write a function that returns true if n is prime and false otherwise. Handle n < 2 correctly.
Approach: Return false for n < 2. Trial-divide from 2 to floor(sqrt(n)). If any divisor divides n evenly, it is composite; otherwise prime.
Complexity: O(√n) time
American Express tip: Restate the problem, sketch a brute-force idea, then tighten it. Call out edge cases (empty input, single element, overflow) before you write code.
Problem: Given a string containing only ‘()[]’, decide whether the brackets are balanced and correctly nested.
Approach: Scan left to right with a stack. Push opening brackets. On a closing bracket, the stack top must be the matching opener. At the end the stack must be empty.
Complexity: O(n) time, O(n) space
American Express tip: Restate the problem, sketch a brute-force idea, then tighten it. Call out edge cases (empty input, single element, overflow) before you write code.
Problem: Given an array of integers and a target, return indices of two numbers that add up to the target. Assume exactly one solution and you may not use the same element twice.
Approach: Walk the array once. For each value x, check whether target − x was seen earlier in a hash map of value → index. If yes, return both indices; else store x.
Complexity: O(n) time, O(n) space
American Express tip: Restate the problem, sketch a brute-force idea, then tighten it. Call out edge cases (empty input, single element, overflow) before you write code.
Students usually say the first round is time-tight - easy marks vanish if you sit too long on one hard question. For American Express, skim the paper in a couple of minutes, mark what you can finish cleanly, and protect accuracy. Languages people commonly use: Java, Python, SQL.
| Area | Why it matters at American Express |
|---|---|
| DSA | What usually helps you clear the first round |
| Core CS (OOPs / DBMS / OS) | Technical interview depth |
| Payments, Credit Cards awareness | Helps in managerial / HR conversations |
| Communication | Explain your approach clearly; keep a few real examples ready for HR |
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