UECM1693/UECM2623/UCCM2623 Tutorial S3: Probability Distribution

1. Let X denote the number of accidents that occur in a chemistry laboratory during a week. The
following table lists the probability distribution of X.
x
P(x)

0
1
2
3
4
5
6
0.22 0.24 0.19 0.12 0.09 0.08 0.06

(a) Draw a line graph for this probability distribution.

(b) Determine the probability that the number of accidents that will occur during a given week
in this laboratory is
(i) exactly 4.
(ii) at least 3.
(iii) less than 3.
(iv) 3 to 5.
(c) Calculate the mean and standard deviation for this probability distribution.
Answer: (b) 0.09, 0.35, 0.65, 0.29 (c) 2.10, 1.8083
2. Let X be a discrete random variable that has a binomial distribution. Using the binomial
formula, find the following probabilities.
(a) P (X = 5) for n = 8, p = 0.6
(b) P (X 2) for n = 6, p = 0.2
Answer: 0.2787, 0.3446
3. Suppose that the directory providers give out wrong telephone numbers 15% of the time. Assume
that you are testing such a provider by making 10 requests.
(a) Find the probability of getting
(i) one wrong number,
(ii) at least one wrong number,
(iii) at most one wrong number.
(b) Find the mean and variance of the number of wrong telephone numbers
Answer: (a) 0.3474, 0.8031, 0.5443 (b) 1.5, 1.275
4. Let X be a discrete random variable that has a Poisson distribution. Using the Poisson formula,
find the following probabilities.
(a) P (X = 3) for = 2
(b) P (X 2) for = 5
Answer: (a) 0.1804 (b) 0.9596

5. An average of 2.5 students of a university are absent per day. Assume that the occurrence of
absence is independent of each other. Find the probability that the number of students who will
be absent in a day is
(i) at most 1.
(ii) 1 to 5.
(iii) at least 7.
(iv) less than 3.
Answer: 0.2873, 0.8759, 0.0142, 0.5438
6. An average of 0.6 accidents occur per day in a city. Assume that the occurrence of accidents is
independent of each other.
(a) Find the probability that no accident will occur in a day.
(b) Let X denote the number of accidents that will occur in a day. Write the probability
distribution of X.
(c) Find the mean, variance and standard deviation of the probability distribution developed
in part (b).
Answer: (a) 0.5488 (c) 0.6, 0.7746
7. Find the following areas under a normal distribution curve with = 12 and = 2
(a) Area between x = 7.76 and x = 12.
(b) Area between x = 14.48 and x = 16.34.
(c) Area between x = 8.22 and x = 11.06.
Answer: (a) 0.4830 ((b) 0.0925 c) 0.2898
8. In an IQ test, suppose the scores of all participants who took the test have a normal distribution
with a mean of 110 and a standard deviation of 12.
(a) Ali scored 107 on this test. What percentage of the participants scored higher than him?
(b) Susan scored 122 on this test. What percentage of the participants scored lower than her?
(c) What percentage of the participants scores are from 90 to 120?
(d) If only 10% of the participants will be awarded a distinction. What is the cut-off point for
getting distinction?
Answer: (a) 59.87% (b) 84.13% (c) 74.92% (d) 125.38
9. A radar unit is used to measure the speed of automobiles on a highway. The speeds of individual
automobiles are normally distributed with a mean of 88kmph. If 10% of the automobiles travel
faster than 110kmph,
(a) find the standard deviation of the speeds of automobiles
(b) find the percentage of automobiles travel slower than 60kmph.
(c) find the 95th percentile of the speeds.
Answer: (a) 17.1660 (b)0.0516 (c) 116.2364kmph