CHAPTER PROBLEMS

Problem 1 Number of
Breakdowns
Bill Russe, production manager at Ross Manufacturing, Per Week Weeks Probability
maintains detailed records on the number of times each 0 20 0.333
machine breaks down and requires service during the week. 1 20 0.333
Bill’s records show that the Puret grinder has required repair 2 10 0.167
service according to the following distribution. Compute the
3 10 0.167
arithmetic mean and the variance of the number of
Total 60 1.000
breakdowns per week.

Exercise 5.1
Check your answers against those in the ANSWER section. Number of
Accidents Probability
The safety engineer at Manellis Electronics reported the following
0 0.60
probability distribution for the number of on-the-job accidents during a
one-month period. 1 0.30
a. Compute the mean b. Compute the variance. 2 0.10

Problem 2
An insurance representative has appointments with four prospective clients tomorrow. From past
experience she knows that the probability of making a sale on any appointment is 1 in 5 or 0.20. Use the
rule of probability to determine the likelihood that she will sell a policy to 3 of the 4 prospective clients.

Problem 3
Now let’s use formula [5-3] for the binomial distribution to compute the probability that the sales
representative in Problem 2 will sell a policy to exactly 3 out of the 4 prospective clients.

83 Chapter 5
Discrete Probability Distributions
 Exercise 5.2
Check your answers against those in the ANSWER section.

It is known that 60 percent of all registered voters in the 42 nd Congressional District are Republicans.
Three registered voters are selected at random from the district. Compute the probability that exactly 2 of
the 3 selected are Republicans, using:
a. The rules of probability b. The binomial formula.

Problem 4
In Problems 2 and 3 the probability of 3 sales resulting from 4 Binomial Probability
appointments was computed using both the rules of addition and Distribution
multiplication and the binomial formula. A more convenient way of n=4  = 0.20
arriving at the probabilities for 0, 1, 2, 3, or 4 sales out of 4 Number of
appointments is to refer to a binomial table. We use the binomial table Successes (x) Probability
to determine the probabilities for all possible outcomes. 0 0.410
1 0.410
2 0.154
3 0.026
4 0.002
*1.000
*Slight discrepancy due to
rounding

Problem 5
Use the information regarding the insurance representative, where n = 4 and  = 0.20, to compute the
probability that the representative sells more than two policies. Also determine the mean and variance of
the number of policyholders.

84 Chapter 5
Discrete Probability Distributions
 Exercise 5.3
Check your answers against those in the ANSWER section.

Labor negotiators estimate that 30 percent of all major contract negotiations result in a strike. During the
next year, 12 major contracts must be negotiated. Determine the following probabilities using Appendix
A:
a. no major strikes b. at least 5 c. between 2 and 4 (that is 2, 3, or 4).

Problem 6
Alden & Associates write weekend trip insurance at a very nominal charge. Records show that the
probability a motorist will have an accident during the weekend and will file a claim is quite small
(0.0005). Suppose Alden wrote 400 policies for the forthcoming weekend. Compute the probability that
exactly two claims will be filed. Depict this distribution in the form of a chart.

Exercise 5.4
Check your answers against those in the ANSWER section.
The probability of a typographical error on any page is 0.002. If a textbook contains 1,000 pages, compute
the probability there are:
a. No typos on a page b. At least 2 typos on a page.

Problem 7
The government of an underdeveloped country has 8 loans payable, 5 of which are overdue. If a
representative of the International Monetary Fund randomly selects 3 loans, what is the probability that
exactly 2 are overdue?

Exercise 5.5
Check your answers against those in the ANSWER section.

A retailer of personal computers just received a shipment of 30 units of a new model. The store has a
quality agreement with the manufacturer which states that four of the machines are to be selected for a
thorough performance check. If more than one fails a performance test, the shipment is returned. Suppose
the retailer did not know that 5 of the 30 incoming personal computers are defective. Compute the
probability that exactly two computers of the four selected at random are defective.

85 Chapter 5
Discrete Probability Distributions