Laboratory Activity No.

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Discrete Probability Distributions

1. Objective(s):
● To use excel in computing discrete probabilities.

2. Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs):

The students shall be able to:

2.1 Demonstrate scientific thinking and the ability to approach scientific resources
intelligently;

2.2 Utilize Excel; and

2.3 Infer appropriate conclusions based upon the results of the activity.

3. Discussion:

Binomial Distribution

Suppose we have a statistical experiment consisting of n trials, where each trial can be classified
as a “success” or a “failure”. Let p be the probability of “success” for each trial; hence, 1 – p is
the probability of “failure” for each trial. Moreover, then trials are independent, and the
probability of success p is constant from trial to trial. Then, this experiment defines what we call
a binomial experiment, and the random variable X, which denotes the number of “success”
in n trials, has a binomial distribution.
If X is a binomial random variable with n trials, each of which has a probability of success p,
written as X ~ Bin(n, p), then the probability distribution function (pdf) of X is
P(X=x)= nCx∙px(1−p)n−x for x = 0, 1, 2, ..., n

Poisson Distribution

Suppose we have an experiment that consists of counting the number of times, X, an event occurs
in a given interval. The interval can be an interval of time, area, or volume. We will be interested
in the probability of the number of occurrences in any interval. If µ is the mean number of
occurrences per unit interval, then X is a Poisson random variable, written X ~ Po(µ), with
probability distribution function (pdf) given by

for x = 0, 1, 2, …

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❖ Excel Command in Computing Binomial Probabilities

The command BINOM.DIST returns probabilities according to the following

syntax. BINOM.DIST(number_s, trials, probability_s, cumulative)
where number_s denotes the number of successes in the n trials;
trials denote the number n of independent trials;
probability_s denotes the probability of success on each trial.
cumulative = TRUE when the probability that there are at most number_s successes
P(X ≤ x) is desired; and cumulative = FALSE when the probability that there are exactly number_s
successes P(X = x) is desired.
Example: If X is binomial with n = 10 and p = 0.4, then
P(X = 6) is computed using the command =BINOM.DIST(6,10, 0.4, FALSE)
and returns the value 0.111476736
P(X ≤ 6) is computed using the command =BINOM.DIST(6,10, 0.4, TRUE) and returns
the value 0.945238118.

❖ Excel Command in Computing Poisson Probabilities

The command POISSON.DIST returns probabilities according to the following

syntax. POISSON.DIST(x, mean, cumulative)
where x denotes the number of events;
mean denotes parameter mean µ;
cumulative = TRUE when the probability that there are at most x events P(X ≤ x) is desired;
and cumulative = FALSE when the probability that there are exactly x events P(X = x) is desired.
Example: If X is Poisson with mean µ = 7, then
P(X = 5) is computed using the command =POISSON.DIST(5, 7, FALSE) and
returns the value 0.127716668
P(X ≤ 5) is computed using the command =POISSON.DIST(5, 7, TRUE) and returns the
value 0.300708276.

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4. Resources:

Excel Software
Textbook: Heumann, Christian (2016). Introduction to Statistics and Data Analysis United
States of America: Springer .

5. Procedure:

1. Encode the given data on the spreadsheet.

2. Answer the given questions.

Exercises
1. The number of pumps in use at both a six-pump station and a four-pump station will
be determined. Give the
possible values for each of the following random variables.
(a) T = the total number of pumps in use
(b) D = the difference between the numbers in use at stations 1 and 2
(c) M = the maximum number of pumps in use at either station
(d) S = the number of stations having exactly two pumps in use

2. A dice is tossed twice. Let X be the product of the two numbers. Find the probability distribution
function of X.

3. Truck tires are tested over rough terrain. Trucks have a 25% chance of failing to complete
the test run without a blowout. If fifteen trucks go through the test, find the following:
(a) the probability that exactly five trucks have blowouts.
(b) the probability that at most five trucks have blowouts.
(c) the probability that more than two have blowouts.

4. An electronic product contains 40 integrated circuits. The probability that any integrated circuit
is defective is 0.01, and the integrated circuits are independent. The product operates only if there
are no defective integrated circuits. What is the probability that the product operates?

5. The phone lines to an airline reservation system are occupied 40% of the time. Assume that the
events that the lines are occupied on successive calls are independent. Assume that 10 calls are
placed to the airline.
(a) What is the probability that for exactly three calls the lines are occupied?
(b) What is the probability that for at least one call the lines are not occupied?

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6. The number of flaws in bolts of cloth in textile manufacturing is assumed to be Poisson
distributed with a mean of 0.1 flaw per square meter.
(a) What is the probability that there are two flaws in 1 square meter of cloth?
(b) What is the probability that there is one flaw in 10 square meters of cloth?
(c) What is the probability that there are no flaws in 20 square meters of cloth?
(d) What is the probability that there are at least two flaws in 10 square meters of cloth?
7. The number of surface flaws in plastic panels used in the interior of automobiles has a Poisson
distribution with a mean of 0.05 flaw per square foot of plastic panel. Assume an automobile
interior contains 10 square feet of plastic panel.
(a) What is the probability that there are no surface flaws in an auto’s interior?
(b) If 10 cars are sold to a rental company, what is the probability that none of the 10 cars has
any surface flaws?
(c) If 10 cars are sold to a rental company, what is the probability that at most three cars have
any surface flaws?
(d) If 10 cars are sold to a rental company, what is the probability that at least three cars have
any surface flaws?
8. A shipment of 10 boxes of meat contains 2 boxes of contaminated goods. An inspector
randomly selects 4 boxes. Let X be the number of boxes of contaminated meat among the selected
4 boxes.
(a) What is the probability that at least one of the four boxes is contaminated?
(b) How many boxes must be selected so that the probability of having at least one contaminated
box is larger than 75%?
9. The number of cracks in a section of an interprovincial highway that are significant enough to
require repair follows a Poisson distribution with an average of 2 cracks per mile.
(a) What is the probability that there are no cracks that require repair in 5 miles of highway?
(b) What is the probability that at least one crack requires repair in 1/2 mile of highway?
10. Traffic engineers often use a Poisson distribution to model the flow of cars in light traffic.
Suppose that during the hour from 9:00am to 10:00am each weekday, an average of 5 cars
pass through a particular stop sign without making a complete stop. Between the time 9:20am
to 9:40am, what is the probability that
(a) exactly 5 cars pass through without stopping?
(b) from 3 to 7 cars pass through without stopping?
(c) at least 3 cars pass through without stopping?

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Name: Lab Activity No.: 3
Rivera, Jomel Marcus
Simbajon. Marc Angelo
Singabor, Diomarie

Program: BSEE Section: EE22S1

Date Performed: 05/27/22 Date Submitted: 05/28/22
Instructor: Roxas, Arvin Reginald
6. Data and Results:

1. The number of pumps in use at both a six-pump station and a four-pump station will
be determined. Give the
possible values for each of the following random variables.
(a) T = the total number of pumps in use
(b) D = the difference between the numbers in use at stations 1 and 2
(c) M = the maximum number of pumps in use at either station
(d) S = the number of stations having exactly two pumps in use

a) Total number of pumps in use = 10

b) Difference between the numbers in use = -4, -3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
c) Maximum number of pumps in use at either station = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
d) Number of stations having exactly two pumps in use = 0, 1, 2

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2. A dice is tossed twice. Let X be the product of the two numbers. Find the probability distribution
function of X.

The probability distribution function of X is:

P(X) = nCx*(p^(x))*(1-p)^(n-x)

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3. Truck tires are tested over rough terrain. Trucks have a 25% chance of failing to complete
the test run without a blowout. If fifteen trucks go through the test, find the following:
(a) the probability that exactly five trucks have blowouts.
(b) the probability that at most five trucks have blowouts.
(c) the probability that more than two have blowouts.

a) The probability that exactly five trucks have blowouts

When the blowouts are considered as the success and the probability of failure is
considered as probability of success

P(X = 5) = 0.1651

b) The probability that at most five trucks have blowouts

When the blowouts are considered as the success and the probability of failure is
considered as probability of success

P(X ≤ 5) = 0.8516

c) The probability that more than two have blowouts

When the blowouts are considered as the success and the probability of failure is
considered as probability of success

P(X > 2) = 1 - 0.2361 = 0.7639

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4. An electronic product contains 40 integrated circuits. The probability that any integrated circuit
is defective is 0.01, and the integrated circuits are independent. The product operates only if there
are no defective integrated circuits. What is the probability that the product operates?

The probability that the product operates is:

P(X) = 0.66897

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5. The phone lines to an airline reservation system are occupied 40% of the time. Assume that the
events that the lines are occupied on successive calls are independent. Assume that 10 calls are
placed to the airline.

(a) What is the probability that for exactly three calls the lines are occupied?
(b) What is the probability that for at least one call the lines are not occupied?

a) What is the probability that for exactly three calls the lines are occupied?

The probability is equal to:

P(X) = 0.214990848 or 0.215

b) What is the probability that for at least one call the lines are not occupied?

The probability is equal to:

P(X) = 0.999895142 or 0.9999

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6. The number of flaws in bolts of cloth in textile manufacturing is assumed to be Poisson
distributed with a mean of 0.1 flaw per square meter.
(a) What is the probability that there are two flaws in 1 square meter of cloth?
(b) What is the probability that there is one flaw in 10 square meters of cloth?
(c) What is the probability that there are no flaws in 20 square meters of cloth?
(d) What is the probability that there are at least two flaws in 10 square meters of cloth?

a) What is the probability that there are two flaws in 1 square meter of cloth?

The probability is equal to:

P(X) = 0.004524187 or 0.0045

b) What is the probability that there is one flaw in 10 square meters of cloth?

The probability is equal to:

P(X) = 0.367879441 or 0.3679

c) What is the probability that there are no flaws in 20 square meters of cloth?

The probability is equal to:

P(X) = 0.135335283 or 0.1353

d) What is the probability that there are at least two flaws in 10 square meters of cloth?

The probability is equal to:

P(X) = 0.183939721 or 0.1839

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7. The number of surface flaws in plastic panels used in the interior of automobiles has a Poisson
distribution with a mean of 0.05 flaw per square foot of plastic panel. Assume an automobile
interior contains 10 square feet of plastic panel.
(a) What is the probability that there are no surface flaws in an auto’s interior?
(b) If 10 cars are sold to a rental company, what is the probability that none of the 10 cars has
any surface flaws?
(c) If 10 cars are sold to a rental company, what is the probability that at most three cars have
any surface flaws?
(d) If 10 cars are sold to a rental company, what is the probability that at least three cars have
any surface flaws?

a) What is the probability that there are no surface flaws in an auto’s interior?

The probability that there is no surface flaws in an auto’s interior is:

P(X) = 0.60653

b) If 10 cars are sold to a rental company, what is the probability that none of the 10 cars
has any surface flaws?

The probability that none of the cars has any surface flaws is:
P(X) = 0.006737874 or 0.0067

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c) If 10 cars are sold to a rental company, what is the probability that at most three cars
have any surface flaws?

The probability that at most three of the cars have any surface flaws is:
P(X) = 0.398789563 or 0.3988

d) If 10 cars are sold to a rental company, what is the probability that at least three cars
have any surface flaws?

The probability that at least three cars have any surface flaws:
P(X) = 1 - 0.398789563 + 0.220740554 = 0.821950991 or 0.822

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8. A shipment of 10 boxes of meat contains 2 boxes of contaminated goods. An inspector
randomly selects 4 boxes. Let X be the number of boxes of contaminated meat among the selected
4 boxes.
(a) What is the probability that at least one of the four boxes is contaminated?
(b) How many boxes must be selected so that the probability of having at least one contaminated
box is larger than 75%?

a) What is the probability that at least one of the four boxes is contaminated?

The probability that at least one of the four boxes is contaminated is:
P(X) = 1 - P(X=0) = 1 - 0.4096 = 0.5904

b) How many boxes must be selected so that the probability of having at least one
contaminated box is larger than 75%?

The number of boxes that must be selected to have at least one contaminated box is
7 boxes.

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9. The number of cracks in a section of an interprovincial highway that are significant enough to
require repair follows a Poisson distribution with an average of 2 cracks per mile.
(a) What is the probability that there are no cracks that require repair in 5 miles of highway?
(b) What is the probability that at least one crack requires repair in 1/2 mile of highway?

a) What is the probability that there are no cracks that require repair in 5 miles of highway?

The probability that there are no cracks that require repair is:
P(X) = 4.540 x 10^(-5) or 0.0000454

b) What is the probability that at least one crack requires repair in 1/2 mile of highway?

The probability that there is at least one crack that requires repair is:
P(X) = 1 - 0.367879441 = 0.632120559 or 0.6321

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10. Traffic engineers often use a Poisson distribution to model the flow of cars in light traffic.
Suppose that during the hour from 9:00am to 10:00am each weekday, an average of 5 cars
pass through a particular stop sign without making a complete stop. Between the time 9:20am
to 9:40am, what is the probability that
(a) exactly 5 cars pass through without stopping?
(b) from 3 to 7 cars pass through without stopping?
(c) at least 3 cars pass through without stopping?

a) exactly 5 cars pass through without stopping?

The probability of exactly 5 cars passing without stopping is:

P(X) = 0.020376 or 0.0204

b) from 3 to 7 cars pass through without stopping?

The probability from 3 to 7 cars passing through without stopping is:

P(X) = 0.234534 or 0.2345

c) at least 3 cars pass through without stopping?

The probability of at least 3 cars passing through without stopping is:

P(X) = 1 - 0.765121 = 0.234879

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7. Conclusion:

In conclusion, Binomial Distribution and Poisson Distribution can be used to calculate the
probabilities of specific events according to the conditions that are presented in the problem
and it makes it easier for analyzing the data without having to perform countless
calculations using the functions in Excel.

8. Assessment (Rubric for Laboratory Performance):

BEGINNER ACCEPTABLE PROFICIENT

CRITERIA SCORE
1 2 3
I. Laboratory Skills

Manipulative Members do not demonstrate Members occasionally Members always

Skills needed skills. demonstrate needed skills. demonstrate needed skills.

Members are able to set-up

Members are able to set-up
Experimental Members are unable to the material with minimum
the materials with
Set-up set-up the materials. supervision.
supervision.
Members occasionally Members always
Members do not demonstrate
Process Skills demonstrate targeted process demonstrate targeted
targeted process skills.
skills. process skills.

Safety Members do not follow Members follow safety Members follow safety
Precautions safety precautions. precautions most of the time. precautions at all times.
II. Work Habits
Time
Members finish ahead of
Management / Members do not finish on Members finish on time with
time with complete data and
Conduct of time with incomplete data. incomplete data.
time to revise data.
Experiment
Members do not know their Members have defined Members are on tasks and
tasks and have no defined responsibilities most of the have defined responsibilities
Cooperative and
responsibilities. Group time. Group conflicts are at all times. Group conflicts
Teamwork
conflicts have to be settledcooperatively managed most are cooperatively managed at
by the teacher. of the time. all times.
Clean and orderly workplace Clean and orderly workplace
Neatness and Messy workplace during and
with occasional mess during at all times during and after
Orderliness after the experiment.
and after the experiment. the experiment.
Ability to do
Members require supervision Members require occasional Members do not need to be
independent
by the teacher. supervision by the teacher. supervised by the teacher.
work
Other Comments / Observations:
TOTAL SCORE

Rating =
(Total Score / 24) x 50
+ 50%

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