Binomial and Geometric Review Questions

1. Under new guidelines for the HOPE scholarship, students must have a total score of at least
1200 in the same sitting for the Critical Reading and Mathematics sections to receive 100%
tuition money. Assume that the proportion on seniors who meet the criteria is 15% (and also
that all students meet the GPA and other requirements). If an SRS of 50 students from around
the state is taken, then find:

a. The probability that 10 or more students would qualify for full HOPE. Use any method, but
show your work clearly.

b. What are the mean and standard deviation of the count of the 50 students that would fully
qualify?

c. Use the binomial formula (not the calculator) to find the probability that exactly 5 students
will qualify.

d. Did you do all of the work above in vain? Show that this meets or does not meet the
Binomial setting.

e. How many students would you expect to have to select at random until you got one who is rully
HOPE qualified?
f. What’s the probability that it would take 5 or more students selected at random until you found
one who is fully HOPE qualified?

2. Nationally, 53% of students taking the AP Statistics exam make a score of 3 or higher. This ranks
the Statistic test as one of the tougher to pass out of all of the AP exams. Suppose a large
random sample of 2000 test takers is taken.

a. Using the calculator, find the exact probability that between 950 and 1050 (inclusive on
both ends) of the sample will make a score of 3 or higher.

b. Is Normal approximation safe to use in this scenario? Explain why or why not.

c. If so, use Normal approximation to answer the same question as in part a).

d. What’s the probability of randomly selecting a student from this population who scored a 3
or higher in less than 4 trials?
 e. What’s the expected number of students you would have to select to find one who did not
pass the exam?

1. It is reported that 21% of banks charge their customers a service fee for each ATM transaction. If 5
persons with ATM privileges are randomly selected, what is the probability that only 1 has to pay a
transaction fee?

2. A lumberyard sells 2 X 4’s in different types of wood, but it has found that 35% of its orders are for pine.
Find the probability that 2 of its next 6 orders of 2 X 4’s will be for pine.

3. Safety-tipped wooden matches pose less threat of an accidental fire but are more difficult to ignite than
matches without this feature. Suppose a certain manufacturer has found that 25% of its safety-tipped
matches fail to ignite on the first strike. Find the probability that in a box of 20 matches,

a. 18 will light on the first strike.

4. Based on a recent survey of government workers, it is estimated that 85 percent have had some college
education. If 6 government workers are selected at random, what is the probability that at least 5 have had
some college education?
5. Twenty percent of the tires manufactured by a company are snow tires. Suppose 15 tires made by this
company are randomly selected. Find the probability that
a. 4 are snow tires
b. At least 4 are snow tires
c. At most 4 are snow tires
d. At least 2 but not more than 4 are snow tires