Practice Problems for Part II

1. A fund manager is considering investment in the stock of a health care

provider. The manager's assessment of probabilities for rates of return on
this stock over the next year are summarized in the accompanying table. Let
A be the event "Rate of return will be more than 10%" and B the event "Rate
of return will be negative."
RATE OF RETURN Less than - - 10% to 0% 0% to 10% 10% to More than
10% 20% 20%
PROBABILITY .04 .14 .28 .33 .21
a. Find the probability of event A.

b. Find the probability of event B.

c. Describe the event that is the complement of A.

d. Find the probability of the complement of A.

e. Describe the event that is the intersection of A and B.

f. Find the probability of the intersection of A and B.

g. Describe the event that is the union of A and B.

h. Find the probability of the union of A and B.

i. Are A and B mutually exclusive?

j. Are A and B collectively exhaustive?

2. A manager has available a pool of eight employees who could be assigned
to a project-monitoring task. Four of the employees are women and four are
men. Two of the men are brothers. The manager is to make the assignment
at random, so that each of the eight employees is equally likely to be
chosen. Let A be the event "chosen employee is a man" and B the event
"chosen employee is one of the brothers."

a. Find the probability of A.

b. Find the probability of B.

c. Find the probability of the intersection of A and B.

d. Find the probability of the union of A and B.

3. A department store manager has monitored the numbers of complaints

received per week about poor service. The probabilities for numbers of
complaints in a week, established by this review, are shown in the table. Let
A be the event "There will be at least one complaint in a week," and B the
event "There will be less than 10 complaints in a week."
NUMBER OF COMPLAINTS 0 1-3 4-6 7-9 10-12 More than
12
PROBABILITY .14 .39 .23 .15 .06 .03
a.Find the probability of A.

b. Find the probability of B.

c.Find the probability of the complement of A.

d. Find the probability of the union of A and B.

e.Find the probability of the intersection of A and B.

f. Are A and B mutually exclusive?

g. Are A and B collectively exhaustive?

B01.1305 2 Prof. Juran

4. A local public-action group solicits donations by telephone. For a particular
list of prospects, it was estimated that for any individual, the probability
was .05 of an immediate donation by credit card, .25 of no immediate
donation but a request for further information through the mail, and .7 of no
expression of interest. Mailed information is sent to all people requesting it,
and it is estimated that 20% of these people will eventually donate. An
operator makes a sequence of calls, the outcomes of which can be assumed
to be independent.

a. What is the probability that no immediate credit card donation will be

received until at least four unsuccessful calls have been made?

b. What is the probability that the first call leading to any donation (either
immediately or eventually after a mailing) is preceded by at least four
unsuccessful calls?

5. A mall-order firm considers three possible foul-ups in filling an order:

A: The wrong item is sent.
B: The item is lost in transit.
C: The item is damaged in transit.
Assume that event A is independent of both B and C and that events B and C
are mutually exclusive. The individual event probabilities are P(A) = .02, P(B)
= .01, and P(C) = .04. Find the probability that at least one of these foul-ups
occurs for a randomly chosen order.

6. Market research in a particular city indicated that during a week 18% of all
adults watch a television program oriented to business and financial issues,
12% read a publication oriented to these issues, and 10% do both.

a. What is the probability that an adult in this city, who watches a television
program oriented to business and financial issues, reads a publication
oriented to these issues?

b. What is the probability that an adult in this city, who reads a

publication oriented to business and financial issues, watches a
television program oriented to these issues?

B01.1305 3 Prof. Juran

7. An inspector examines items coming from an assembly line. A review of
her record reveals that she accepts only 8% of all defective items. It was also
found that 1% of all items from the assembly line are both defective and
accepted by the inspector. What is the probability that a randomly chosen
item from this assembly line is defective?

8. A bank classifies borrowers as high-risk or low-risk. Only 15% of its loans

are made to those in the high-risk category. Of all its loans, 5% are in
default, and 40% of those in default are to high-risk borrowers. What is the
probability that a high-risk borrower will default?

9. A quality control manager found that 30% of worker-related problems

occurred on Mondays, and that 20% occurred in the last hour of a day's shift.
It was also found that 4% of worker-related problems occurred in the last
hour of Monday's shift.

a. What is the probability that a worker-related problem that occurs on a

Monday does not occur in the last hour of the day's shift?

b. Are the events "Problem occurs on Monday" and "Problem occurs in

the last hour of the day's shift" statistically independent?

10. A lawn care service makes telephone solicitations, seeking customers for
the coming season. A review of the records indicated that 15% of these
solicitations produced new customers, and that, of these new customers,
80% had used some rival service in the previous year. It was also estimated
that, of all solicitation calls made, 60% were to people who had used a rival
service the previous year. What is the probability that a call to a person who
used a rival service the previous year will produce a new customer for the
lawn care service?

B01.1305 4 Prof. Juran

11. A survey carried out for a supermarket classified customers according to
whether their visits to the store are frequent or infrequent and to whether
they often, sometimes, or never purchase generic products. The
accompanying table gives the proportions of people surveyed in each of the
six joint classifications.
Frequency of Visit Purchase of Generic Products
OFTEN SOMETIMES NEVER
Frequent .12 .48 .19
Infrequent .07 .06 .08
a. What is the probability that a customer is both a frequent shopper and
often purchases generic products?

b. What is the probability that a customer who never buys generic

products visits the store frequently?

c. Are the events "Never buys generic products" and "Visits the store
frequently" independent?

d. What is the probability that a customer who infrequently visits the

store often buys generic products?

e. Are the events "Often buys generic products" and "Visits the store
infrequently" independent?

f.What is the probability that a customer frequently visits the store?

g. What is the probability that a customer never buys generic products?

h. What is the probability that a customer either frequently visits the

store or never buys generic products, or both?

B01.1305 5 Prof. Juran

12. An analyst attempting to predict a corporation's earnings next year
believes that the corporation's business is quite sensitive to the level of
interest rates. She believes that if average rates in the next year are more
than 1% higher than this year, the probability of significant earnings growth
is 0.1. If average rates next year are more than 1% lower than this year, the
probability of significant earnings growth is estimated to be 0.8. Finally, if
average interest rates next year are within 1% of this year's rates, the
probability for significant earnings growth is put at 0.5. The analyst
estimates that the probability is 0.25 that rates next year will be more than
1% higher than this year, and 0.15 that they will be more than 1% lower than
this year.
a. What is the estimated probability that both interest rates will be more
than 1% higher and significant earnings growth will result?

b. What is the probability this corporation will experience significant

earnings growth?

c. If the corporation exhibits significant earnings growth, what is the

probability that interest rates will have been more than 1% lower
than in the current year?

13. A manufacturer produces boxes of candy, each containing ten pieces.

Two machines are used for this purpose. After a large batch has been
produced, it is discovered that one of the machines, which produces 40% of
the total output, has a fault that has led to the introduction of an impurity
into 10% of the pieces of candy it makes. From a single box of candy, one
piece is selected at random and tested. If that piece contains no impurity,
what is the probability that the box from which it came was produced by the
faulty machine?

14. A student feels that 70% of his college courses have been enjoyable and
the remainder have been boring. He has access to student evaluations of
professors and finds that 60% of his enjoyable courses and 25% of his boring
courses have been taught by professors who had previously received strong
positive evaluations from their students. Next semester the student decides
to take three courses, all from professors who have received strongly
positive student evaluations. Assume that his reactions to the three courses
are independent of one another.
a. What is the probability that he will find all three courses enjoyable?

b. What is the probability that he will find at least one of the courses
enjoyable?

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15. In a large corporation, 80% of the employees are men and 20% are
women. The highest levels of education obtained by the employees are
graduate training for 10% of the men, undergraduate training for 30% of the
men, and high school training for 60% of the men. The highest levels of
education obtained are also graduate training for 15% of the women,
undergraduate training for 40% of the women, and high school training for
45% of the women.

a. What is the probability that a randomly chosen employee will be a man

with only a high school education?

b. What is the probability that a randomly chosen employee will have

graduate training?

c. What is the probability that a randomly chosen employee who has

graduate training is a man?

d. Are sex and level of education of employees in this corporation

statistically independent?

e. What is the probability that a randomly chosen employee who has not
had graduate training is a woman?

16. A large corporation organized a ballot for all its workers on a new bonus
plan. It was found that 65% of all night-shift workers favored the plan and
that 40% of all women workers favored the plan. Also, 50% of all employees
are night-shift workers, and 30% of all employees are women. Finally, 20% of
the night-shift workers are women.

a. What is the probability that a randomly chosen employee is a woman

in favor of the plan?

b. What is the probability that a randomly chosen employee is either a

woman or a night-shift worker (or both)?

c. Is employee sex independent of whether the night-shift is worked?

d. What is the probability that a woman employee is a night-shift worker?

e. If 50% of all male employees favor the plan, what is the probability
that a randomly chosen employee both does not work the night-shift
and does not favor the plan?

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17. Subscriptions to American History Illustrated are classified as gift,
previous renewal, direct mail, or subscription service. In January 1979, 8% of
expiring subscriptions were gift; 41%, previous renewal; 6%, direct mail; and
45% subscription service. The percentages of renewals in these four
categories were 81%, 79%, 60%, and 21%, respectively. In February 1979,
10% of expiring subscriptions were gift; 57%, previous renewal; 24%, direct
mail; and 9% subscription service. The percentages of renewals were 80%,
76%, 51%, and 14%, respectively.

a. Find the probability that a randomly chosen subscription expiring in

January 1979 was renewed.

b. Find the probability that a randomly chosen subscription expiring in

February 1979 was renewed.

c.Verify that the probability in part (b) is higher than that in part (a). Do
you believe that the editors of American History Illustrated should view
the change from January to February as a positive or negative
development?

18. The accompanying table shows, for 1,000 forecasts of earnings per share
made by financial analysts, the numbers of forecasts and outcomes in
particular categories (compared with the previous year).
Outcome Forecast
Improvemen About the Worse
t Same
Improvement 210 82 66
About the 106 153 75
Same
Worse 75 84 149
a. Find the probability that if the forecast is for a worse performance in
earnings, this outcome will result.

b. If the forecast is for an improvement in earnings, find the probability that

this outcome fails to result.

B01.1305 8 Prof. Juran

19. A corporation produces packages of paper clips. The number of clips per
package varies, as indicated in the accompanying table.
NUMBER OF CLIPS 47 48 49 50 51 52 53
PROPORTION OF PACKAGES .04 .13 .21 .29 .20 .10 .03
a. Draw the probability function.

b. Calculate and draw the cumulative probability function.

c. What is the probability that a randomly chosen package will contain

between 49 and 51 clips (inclusive)?

d. Two packages are chosen at random. What is the probability that at

least one of them contains at least fifty clips?

20. Refer to the information in Exercise 19.

a. Find the mean and standard deviation of the number of paper clips per
package.

b. The cost (in cents) of producing a package of clips is 16 + 2X, where X

is the number of clips in the package. The revenue from selling the
package, however many clips it contains, is $1.50. If profit is defined
as the difference between revenue and cost, find the mean and
standard deviation of profit per package.

21. A college basketball player, who sinks 75% of his free throws, comes to
the line to shoot a "one and one" (if the first shot is successful, he is allowed
a second shot, but no second shot is taken if the first is missed; one point is
scored for each successful shot). Assume that the outcome of the second
shot, if any, is independent of that of the first. Find the expected number of
points resulting from the "one and one." Compare this with the expected
number of points from a "two-shot foul," where a second shot is allowed
irrespective of the outcome of the first.

B01.1305 9 Prof. Juran

 22. A store owner stocks an out-of-town newspaper, which is sometimes
requested by a small number of customers. Each copy of this newspaper
costs him 70 cents, and he sells them for 90 cents each. Any copies left over
at the end of the day have no value and are destroyed. Any requests for
copies that cannot be met because stocks have been exhausted are
considered by the store owner as a loss of 5 cents in goodwill. The
probability distribution of the number of requests for the newspaper in a day
is shown in the accompanying table. If the store owner defines total daily
profit as total revenue from newspaper sales, less total cost of newspapers
ordered, less goodwill loss from unsatisfied demand, how many copies per
day should he order to maximize expected profit?
NUMBER OF REQUESTS 0 1 2 3 4 5
PROBABILITY .12 .16 .18 .32 .14 .08

23. An investor is considering three strategies for a $1,000 investment. The

probable returns are estimated as follows:

Strategy 1: A profit of $10,000 with probability 0.15 and a loss of $1,000 with
probability 0.85.

Strategy 2: A profit of $1,000 with probability 0.50, a profit of $500 with

probability 0.30, and a loss of $500 with probability 0.20.

Strategy 3: A certain profit of $400.

Which strategy has the highest expected profit? Would you necessarily advise
the investor to adopt this strategy?

B01.1305 10 Prof. Juran

24. The accompanying table shows, for credit card holders with one to three
cards, the joint probabilities for number of cards owned (X) and number of
credit purchases made in a week (Y).
Number of Cards Number of Purchases in Week
(X) (Y)
0 1 2 3 4
1 0.08 0.13 0.09 0.06 0.03
2 0.03 0.08 0.08 0.09 0.07
3 0.01 0.03 0.06 0.08 0.08
a. For a randomly chosen person from this group, what is the probability
function for number of purchases made in the week?

b. For a person in this group who has three cards, what is the probability
function for number of purchases made in the week?

c. Are the number of cards owned and number of purchases made

statistically independent?

25. A market researcher wants to determine whether a new model of a

personal computer, which had been advertised on a late-night talk show, had
achieved more brand name recognition among people who watched the
show regularly than among people who did not. After conducting a survey, it
was found that 15% of all people both watched the show regularly and could
correctly identify the product. Also, 16% of all people regularly watched the
show and 45% of all people could correctly identify the product. Define a pair
of random variables as follows:
1 if regularly watch the show
X =
0 otherwise
1 if product correctly identified
Y =
0 otherwise

a.Find the joint probability function of X and Y

b. Find the conditional probability function of Y, given X = 1.

B01.1305 11 Prof. Juran

26. A production manager knows that 5% of components produced by a
particular manufacturing process have some defect. Six of these
components, whose characteristics can be assumed to be independent of
each other, were examined.

a. What is the probability that none of these components has a defect?

b. What is the probability that one of these components has a defect?

c. What is the probability that at least two of these components have a

defect?

27. Suppose that the probability is .5 that the value of the U.S. dollar will rise
against the Japanese yen over any given week, and that the outcome in one
week is independent of that in any other week. What is the probability that
the value of the U.S. dollar will rise against the Japanese yen in a majority of
weeks over a period of 7 weeks?

28. A company installs new central heating furnaces, and has found that for
15% of all installations a return visit is needed to make some modifications.
Six installations were made in a particular week. Assume independence of
outcomes for these installations.

a. What is the probability that a return visit was needed in all of these
cases?

b. What is the probability that a return visit was needed in none of these
cases?

c. What is the probability that a return visit was needed in more than one of
these cases?

B01.1305 12 Prof. Juran

29. A small commuter airline flies planes that can seat up to eight
passengers. The airline has determined that the probability that a ticketed
passenger will not show up for a flight is 0.2. For each flight, the airline sells
tickets to the first ten people placing orders. The probability distribution for
the number of tickets sold per flight is shown in the accompanying table. For
what proportion of the airline's flights does the number of ticketed
passengers showing up exceed the number of available seats? (Assume
independence between number of tickets sold and the probability that a
ticketed passenger will show up.)
NUMBER OF TICKETS 6 7 8 9 10
PROBABILITY 0.25 0.35 0.25 0.10 .05

30. An automobile dealer mounts a new promotional campaign, in which it is

promised that purchasers of new automobiles may, if dissatisfied for any
reason, return them within two days of purchase and receive a full refund. It
is estimated that the cost to the dealer of such a refund is $250. The dealer
estimates that 15% of all purchasers will indeed return automobiles and
obtain refunds. Suppose that fifty automobiles are purchased during the
campaign period.

a. Find the mean and standard deviation of the number of these

automobiles that will be returned for refunds.

b. Find the mean and standard deviation of the total refund costs that will
accrue as a result of these fifty purchases.

31. A company receives a very large shipment of components. A random

sample of sixteen of these components is checked, and the shipment is
accepted if fewer than two of these components are defective. What is the
probability of accepting a shipment containing:

a. 5% defectives?

b. 15% defectives?

c. 25% defectives?

B01.1305 13 Prof. Juran

32. In the past several years, credit card companies have made an
aggressive effort to solicit new accounts from college students. Suppose that
a sample of 200 students at your college indicated the following information
as to whether the student possessed a bank credit card and/or a travel and
entertainment credit card:
Travel and
Entertainment
Credit Card
Bank Credit Card Yes No
Yes 60 60
No 15 65
(a) Give an example of a simple event.

(b) Give an example of a joint event.

(c) What is the complement of having a bank credit card?

(d) Why is "having a bank credit card and having a travel and
entertainment credit card" a joint event?

If a student is selected at random, what is the probability that

(e) the student has a bank credit card?

(f)the student has a travel and entertainment credit card?

(g) the student has a bank credit card and a travel and entertainment
card?

(h) the student has neither a bank credit card nor a travel and
entertainment card?

(i) the student has a bank credit card or has a travel and entertainment
card?

(j) the student does not have a bank credit card or has a travel and
entertainment card?

B01.1305 14 Prof. Juran

33. A company has made available to its employees (without charge)
extensive health club facilities that may be used before work, during the
lunch hour, after work, and on weekends. Records for the last year indicate
that of 250 employees, 110 used the facilities at some time. Of 170 males
employed by the company, 65 used the facilities.
(a) Set up a 2 x 2 table to evaluate the probabilities of using the facilities.

(b) Give an example of a simple event.

(c) Give an example of a joint event.

(d) What is the complement of "used the health club facilities"?

What is the probability that an employee chosen at random

(e) is a male?

(f) has used the health club facilities?

(g) is a female and has used the health club facilities?

(h) is a female and has not used the health club facilities?

(i) is a female or has used tlie health club facilities?

(j) is a male or has not used the health club facilities?

(k) has used the health club facilities OT has not used the health club
facilities?

B01.1305 15 Prof. Juran

 34. Each year, ratings are compiled concerning the performance of new cars
during the first 90 days of use. Suppose that the cars have been categorized
according to two attributes, whether or not the car needs warranty-related
repair (yes or no) and the country in which the company manufacturing the
car is based (United States, not United States). Based on the data collected,
the probability that the new car needs a warranty repair is .04, the
probability that the car is manufactured by an American-based company is .
60, and the probability that the new car needs a warranty repair and was
manufactured by an American-based company is .025.
(a) Set up a 2 x 2 table to evaluate the probabilities of a warranty-
related repair.

(b) Give an example of a simple event.

(c) Give an example of a joint event.

(d) What is the complement of "manufactured by an American-based

company"?

What is the probability that a new car selected at random

(e) needs a warranty-related repair?

(f) is not manufactured by an American-based company?

(g) needs a warranty repair and is manufactured by a company based

in the United States?

(h) does not need a warranty repair and is not manufactured by a

company based in the United States?

(i) needs a warranty repair or was manufactured by an American-

based company?

(j) needs a warranty repair or was not manufactured by an American-

based company?

(k) needs a warranty repair or does not need a warranty repair?

B01.1305 16 Prof. Juran

35. Recall the following data from a sample of 200 students in Problem 31
above.
Travel and
Entertainment
Credit Card
Bank Credit Card Yes No
Yes 60 60
No 15 65
(a) Assume we know that the student has a bank credit card. What is
the probability, then, that he or she has a travel and entertainment
card?

(b) Assume that we know that the student does not have a travel and
entertainment card. What, then, is the probability that he or she
has a bank credit card?

(c) Are the two events, having a bank credit card and having a travel
and entertainment card, statistically independent? Explain.

36. Use the data from Problem 32 above (in which a company has made
health club facilities available to its employees) to answer the following:

(a) Suppose that we select a female employee of the company. What,

then, is the probability that she has used the health club facilities?

(b) Suppose that we select a male employee of the company. What,

then, is the probability that he has not used the health club
facilities?

(c) Are the gender of the individual and the use of the health club
facilities statistically independent? Explain.

37. Use the new car performance ratings data from Problem 33 above to
answer the following:

(a) Suppose we know that the car was manufactured by a company

based in the United States. What. then, is the probability that the
car needs a warranty repair?

(b) Suppose we know that the car was not manufactured by a

company based in the United States. What, then, is the probability
that the car needs a warranty repair?

B01.1305 17 Prof. Juran

 (c) Are need for a warranty repair and location of the company
manufacturing the car statistically independent?

B01.1305 18 Prof. Juran

38. A standard deck of cards is being used to play a game. There are four
suits (hearts, diamonds, clubs, and spades), each having 13 faces (ace. 2, 3,
4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, jack, queen, and king), making a total of 52 cards. This
complete deck is thoroughly mixed, and you will receive the first two cards
from the deck without replacement.

(a) What is the probability that both cards are queens?

(b) What is the probability that the first card is a 10 and the second
card is a 5 or 6?

(c) If we were sampling with replacement, what would be the answer in

(a)?

(d) In the game of Blackjack, the picture cards (jack, queen, king)
count as 10 points and the ace counts as either 1 or 11 points. All
other cards are counted at their face value. Blackjack is achieved if
your two cards total 21 points. What is the probability of getting
blackjack in this problem?

39. Suppose that the probability that a person has a certain disease is 0.03.
Medical diagnostic tests are available to determine whether the person
actually has the disease. If the disease is actually present, the probability
that the medical diagnostic test will give a positive result (indicating that the
disease is present) is 0.90. If the disease is not actually present, the
probability of a positive test result (indicating that the disease is present) is
0.02. Given this information, we would like to know the following:

(a) If the medical diagnostic test yields a positive result (indicating that
the disease is present), what is the probability that the disease is
actually present?

(b) If the medical diagnostic test has given a negative result (indicating
the disease is not present), what is the probability that the disease is
not present?

40. The Olive Construction Company is determining whether it should submit

a bid for a new shopping center. In the past, Olive's main competitor, Base
Construction Company, has submitted bids 70% of the time. If Base
Construction Company does not bid on a job, the probability that the Olive
Construction Company will get the job is .50. If Base Construction Company
does bid on a job, the probability that the Olive Construction Company will
get the job is .25.

B01.1305 19 Prof. Juran

(a) If the Olive Construction Company gets the job, what is the probability
that the Base Construction Company did not bid?

(b) What is the probability that the Olive Construction Company will get
the job?

B01.1305 20 Prof. Juran

41. A municipal bond service has three rating categories (A, B, and C).
Suppose that in the past year, of the municipal bonds issued throughout the
United States, 70% were rated A, 20% were rated B, and 10% were rated C.
Of the municipal bonds rated A, 50% were issued by cities, 40% by suburbs,
and 10% by rural areas. Of the municipal bonds rated B, 60% were issued by
cities, 20% by suburbs, and 20% by rural areas. Of the municipal bonds rated
C, 90% were issued by cities, 5% by suburbs, and 5% by rural areas.

(a) If a new municipal bond is to be issued by a city, what is the probability

it will receive an A rating?

(b) What proportion of municipal bonds are issued by cities?

(c) What proportion of municipal bonds are issued by suburbs?

42. Using the company records for the past 500 working days, the manager
of Torrisi Motors, a suburban automobile dealership, has summarized the
number of cars sold per day into the following table:
Number of Frequency
Cars
Sold per Day of
Occurrence
0 40
1 100
2 142
3 66
4 36
5 30
6 26
7 20
8 16
9 14
10 8
11 2
Total 500
(a) Form the empirical probability distribution (i.e., relative frequency
distribution) for the discrete random variable X, the number of cars
sold per day.

(b) Compute the mean or expected number of cars sold per day.

(c) Compute the standard deviation.

(d) What is the probability that on any given day

B01.1305 21 Prof. Juran

 (i) fewer than four cars will be sold?

(ii) at most four cars will be sold?

(iii) at least four cars will be sold?

(iv) exactly four cars will be sold?

(v) more than four cars will be sold?

43. In the carnival game Under-or-over-Seven, a pair of fair dice are rolled
once, and the resulting sum determines whether or not the player wins or
loses his or her bet. For example, the player can bet $1.00 that the sum will
be under 7 — that is, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6. For such a bet the player will lose $1.00
if the outcome equals or exceeds 7 or will win $1.00 if the result is under 7.
Similarly, the player can bet $1.00 that the sum will be over 7 — that is, 8, 9,
10, II, or 12. Here the player wins $1.00 if the result is over 7 but loses $l.00
if the result is 7 or under. A third method of play is to bet $1.00 on the
outcome 7. For this bet the player will win $4.00 if the result of the roll is 7
and lose $1.00 otherwise.

(a) Form the probability distribution function representing the different

outcomes that are possible for a $1.00 bet on being under 7.

(b) Form the probability distribution function representing the different

outcomes that are possible for a $1.00 bet on being over 7.

(c) Form the probability distribution function representing the different

outcomes that are possible for a $1.00 bet on 7.

(d) Show that the expected long-run profit (or loss) to the player is the
same — no matter which method of play is used.

B01.1305 22 Prof. Juran

44. Suppose that warranty records show the probability that a new car needs
a warranty repair in the first 90 days is 0.05. If a sample of three new cars is
selected,

(a) what is the probability that

(i) none needs a warranty repair?

(ii) at least one needs a warranty repair?

(iii) more than one needs a warranty repair?

(b) What assumptions are necessary in (a)?

(c) What are the mean and the standard deviation of the probability
distribution in (a)?

(d) What would be your answers to (a)-(c) if the probability of needing a

warranty repair was 0.10?

45. Suppose that the likelihood that someone who logs onto a particular site
on the World Wide Web will purchase an item is 0.20. If the site has 10
people accessing it in the next minute, what is the probability that

(a) none of the individuals will purchase an item?

(b) exactly 2 individuals will purchase an item?

(c) at least 2 individuals will purchase an item?

(d) at most 2 individuals will purchase an item?

(e) If 20 people accessed the site in the next minute, what would be your
answers to (a)-(d)?

(f) If the probability of purchasing an item was only 0.10, what would be
your answers to

B01.1305 23 Prof. Juran

46. An important part of the customer service responsibilities of a telephone
company relate to the speed with which troubles in residential service can be
repaired. Suppose past data indicate that the likelihood is 0.70 that troubles
in residential service can be repaired on the same day.

(a) For the first five troubles reported on a given day, what is the
probability that

(i) all five will be repaired on the same day?

(ii) at least three will be repaired on the same day?

(iii) fewer than two will be repaired on the same day?

(b) What assumptions are necessary in (a)?

(c) What are the mean and the standard deviation of the probability
distribution in (a)?

(d) What would be your answers in (a) and (c) if the probability is 0.80 that
troubles in residential service can be repaired on the same day?

(e) Compare the results of (a) and (d).

B01.1305 24 Prof. Juran

47. Suppose that a student is taking a multiple-choice exam in which each
question has four choices. Assuming that she has no knowledge of the
correct answers to any of the questions, she has decided on a strategy in
which she will place four balls (marked A, B, C, and D) into a box. She
randomly selects one ball for each question and replaces the ball in the box.
The marking on the ball will determine her answer to the question.

(a) If there are five multiple-choice questions on the exam, what is the
probability that she will get

(i) five questions correct?

(ii) at least four questions correct?

(iii) no questions correct?

(iv) no more than two questions correct?

(b) What assumptions are necessary in (a)?

(c) What are the average and the standard deviation of the number of
questions that she will get correct in (a)?

(d) Suppose that the exam has 50 multiple-choice questions and 30 or

more correct answers is a passing score. What is the probability that
she will pass the exam by following her strategy? (Use Microsoft Excel
to compute this probability.)

B01.1305 25 Prof. Juran

48. Suppose that a survey has been undertaken to determine if there is a
relationship between place of residence and ownership of a foreign-made
automobile. A random sample of 200 car owners from large cities, 150 from
suburbs, and 150 from rural areas was selected with the following results.
Type of Area
Car Ownership Large Subur Rural Total
City b
Own foreign car 90 60 25 175
Do not own foreign 110 90 125 325
car
Total 200 150 150 500
(a) If a car owner is selected at random, what is the probability that he or
she

(i) owns a foreign car?

(ii) lives in a suburb?

(iii) owns a foreign car or lives in a large city?

(iv) lives in a large city or a suburb?

(v) lives in a large city and owns a foreign car?

(vi) lives in a rural area or does not own a foreign car?

(b) Assume we know that the person selected lives in a suburb. What is
the probability that he or she owns a foreign car?

(c) Is area of residence statistically independent of whether the person

owns a foreign car? Explain.

B01.1305 26 Prof. Juran

49. The finance society at a college of business at a large state university
would like to determine whether there is a relationship between a student's
interest in finance and his or her ability in mathematics. A random sample of
200 students is selected and they are asked whether their interest in finance
and ability in mathematics are low, average, or high. The results are as
follows:
Ability in Mathematics
Interest in Low Average High Total
Finance
Low 60 15 15 90
Average 15 45 10 70
High 5 10 25 40
Total 80 70 50 200
(a) Give an example of a simple event.

(b) Give an example of a joint event.

(c) Why are high interest in finance and high ability in mathematics a joint
event?

(d) If a student is chosen at random, what is the probability that he or she

(1) has a high ability in mathematics?

(2) has an average interest in finance?

(3) has a low ability in mathematics?

(4) has a high interest in finance?

(5) has a low interest in finance and a low ability in

mathematics?

(6) has a high interest in finance and a high ability in

mathematics?

(7) has a low interest in finance or a low ability in

mathematics?

(8) has a high interest in finance or a high ability in

mathematics?

(9) has a low ability in mathematics or an average ability in

mathematics or a high ability in mathematics? Are these events
mutually exclusive? Are they collectively exhaustive? Explain.

B01.1305 27 Prof. Juran

 (e) Assume we know that the person selected has a high ability in
mathematics. What is the probability that the person has a high
interest in finance?

(f) Assume we know that the person selected has a high interest in
finance. What is the probability that the person has a high ability in
mathematics?

(g) Explain the difference in your answers to (e) and (f).

(h) Are interest in finance and ability in mathematics statistically

independent? Explain.

50. On the basis of past experience, 15% of the bills of a large mail-order
book company are incorrect. A random sample of three current bills is
selected.

(a) What is the probability that

(1) exactly two bills are incorrect?

(2) no more than two bills are incorrect?

(3) at least two bills are incorrect?

(b) What assumptions about the probability distribution are necessary to

solve this problem?

(c) What would be your answers to (a) if the percentage of incorrect bills
was 10%?

51. Suppose that on a very long mathematics test, the probability is that
Lauren would get 70% of the items right.

(a) For a 10-item quiz, calculate the probability that Lauren will get

(1) at least 7 items right.

(2) fewer than 6 items right (and therefore fail the quiz).

(3) 9 or 10 items right (and get an A on the quiz).

(b) What is the expected number of items that Lauren will get right? What
proportion of the time will she get that number right?

B01.1305 28 Prof. Juran

(c) What is the standard deviation of the number of items that Lauren will
get right?

(d) What would be your answers to (a)-(c) if she typically got 80% correct?

B01.1305 29 Prof. Juran