𝟗𝟕𝟎𝟗_𝐬𝟐𝟐_𝐪𝐩_𝟓𝟏

𝟒 Jacob has four coins. One of the coins is biased such that when it is thrown the probability of obtaining
7
a head is . The other three coins are fair. Jacob throws all four coins once. The number of heads
10
that he obtains is denoted by the random variable X. The probability distribution table for X is as
follows.

1
𝐚 Show that a and ind the values of b and c. 4
5
𝐛 Find E X . 1
Jacob throws all four coins together 10 times.
𝐜 Find the probability that he obtains exactly one head on fewer than 3 occasions. 3
𝐝 Find the probability that Jacob obtains exactly one head for the irst time on the 7th or 8th time
that he throws the 4 coins. 2
𝟗𝟕𝟎𝟗_𝐬𝟐𝟐_𝐪𝐩_𝟓𝟐
𝟐 A fair 6 sided die has the numbers 1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3 on its faces. The die is rolled twice. The random
variable X denotes the sum of the two numbers obtained.
𝐚 Draw up the probability distribution table for X. 3
𝐛 Find E X and Var X . 3
𝟗𝟕𝟎𝟗_𝐬𝟐𝟐_𝐪𝐩_𝟓𝟑
𝟑 The random variable X takes the values 2, 1, 2, 3. It is given that P X x kx2 , where k is a
constant.
𝐚 Draw up the probability distribution table for X, giving the probabilities as numerical fractions.
3
𝐛 Find E X and Var X . 3
𝟒 Ramesh throws an ordinary fair 6 sided die.
𝐚 Find the probability that he obtains a 4 for the irst time on his 8th throw. 1
𝐛 Find the probability that it takes no more than 5 throws for Ramesh to obtain a 4. 2
Ramesh now repeatedly throws two ordinary fair 6 sided dice at the same time. Each time he adds
the two numbers that he obtains.
𝐜 For 10 randomly chosen throws of the two dice, ind the probability that Ramesh obtains a total
of less than 4 on at least three throws. 4
𝟗𝟕𝟎𝟗_𝐰𝟐𝟐_𝐪𝐩_𝟓𝟏
𝟏 The probability distribution table for a random variable X is shown below.

Given that E X 0.28, ind the value of p and the value of q. 4

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 𝟗𝟕𝟎𝟗_𝐰𝟐𝟐_𝐪𝐩_𝟓𝟐
𝟑 Three fair 6 sided dice, each with faces marked 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, are thrown at the same time repeatedly.
The score on each throw is the sum of the numbers on the uppermost faces.
𝐚 Find the probability that a score of 17 or more is irst obtained on the 6th throw. 3
𝐛 Find the probability that a score of 17 or more is obtained in fewer than 8 throws. 2
𝟓 Eric has three coins. One of the coins is fair. The other two coins are each biased so that the probability
1
of obtaining a head on any throw is , independently of all other throws. Eric throws all three coins
4
at the same time.
Events A and B are de ined as follows.
A: all three coins show the same result
B: at least one of the biased coins shows a head
7
𝐚 Show that 𝐏 𝐁 . 2
16
𝐛 Find P A | B . 2
The random variable X is the number of heads obtained when Eric throws the three coins.
𝐜 Draw up the probability distribution table for X. 3
𝟗𝟕𝟎𝟗_𝐰𝟐𝟐_𝐪𝐩_𝟓𝟑
𝟒 Three fair 4 sided spinners each have sides labelled 1, 2, 3, 4. The spinners are spun at the same time
and the number on the side on which each spinner lands is recorded. The random variable X denotes
the highest number recorded.
7
𝐚 Show that P X 2 . 3
64
𝐛 Complete the probability distribution table for X. 2

On another occasion, one of the fair 4 sided spinners is spun repeatedly until a 3 is obtained. The
random variable Y is the number of spins required to obtain a 3.
𝐜 Find P Y 6 . 1
𝐝 Find P Y 4 . 2
𝟗𝟕𝟎𝟗_𝐬𝟐𝟏_𝐪𝐩_𝟓𝟏
𝟕 Sharma knows that she has 3 tins of carrots, 2 tins of peas and 2 tins of sweetcorn in her cupboard.
All the tins are the same shape and size, but the labels have all been removed, so Sharma does not
know what each tin contains.
Sharma wants carrots for her meal, and she starts opening the tins one at a time, chosen randomly,
until she opens a tin of carrots. The random variable X is the number of tins that she needs to open.
6
𝐚 Show that P X 3 . 2
35
𝐛 Draw up the probability distribution table for X. 4
𝐜 Find Var X . 3
𝟗𝟕𝟎𝟗_𝐬𝟐𝟏_𝐪𝐩_𝟓𝟐
𝟏 An ordinary fair die is thrown repeatedly until a 5 is obtained. The number of throws taken is denoted
by the random variable X.

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 𝐚 Write down the mean of X. 1
𝐛 Find the probability that a 5 is irst obtained after the 3rd throw but before the 8th throw. 2
𝐜 Find the probability that a 5 is irst obtained in fewer than 10 throws. 2
𝟒 A fair spinner has sides numbered 1, 2, 2. Another fair spinner has sides numbered 2, 0, 1. Each
spinner is spun. The number on the side on which a spinner comes to rest is noted. The random
variable X is the sum of the numbers for the two spinners.
𝐚 Draw up the probability distribution table for X. 3
𝐛 Find E X and Var X . 3
𝟗𝟕𝟎𝟗_𝐬𝟐𝟏_𝐪𝐩_𝟓𝟑
𝟐 The random variable X can take only the values 2, 1, 0, 1, 2. The probability distribution of X is
given in the following table.

Given that P X 0 3P X 0 , ind the values of p and q. 4

𝟒 Three fair six sided dice, each with faces marked 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, are thrown at the same time,
repeatedly. For a single throw of the three dice, the score is the sum of the numbers on the top faces.
𝐚 Find the probability that the score is 4 on a single throw of the three dice. 3
𝐛 Find the probability that a score of 18 is obtained for the irst time on the 5th throw of the three
dice. 3
𝟗𝟕𝟎𝟗_𝐰𝟐𝟏_𝐪𝐩_𝟓𝟏
𝟏 Two fair coins are thrown at the same time. The random variable X is the number of throws of the
two coins required to obtain two tails at the same time.
𝐚 Find the probability that two tails are obtained for the irst time on the 7th throw. 2
𝐛 Find the probability that it takes more than 9 throws to obtain two tails for the irst time. 2
𝟒 A fair spinner has edges numbered 0, 1, 2, 2. Another fair spinner has edges numbered
1, 0, 1. Each spinner is spun. The number on the edge on which a spinner comes to rest is noted. The random
variable X is the sum of the numbers for the two spinners.
𝐚 Draw up the probability distribution table for X. 3
𝐛 Find Var X . 3
𝟗𝟕𝟎𝟗_𝐰𝟐𝟏_𝐪𝐩_𝟓𝟐
𝟑 A bag contains 5 yellow and 4 green marbles. Three marbles are selected at random from the bag,
without replacement.
5
𝐚 Show that the probability that exactly one of the marbles is yellow is . 3
14
The random variable X is the number of yellow marbles selected.
𝐛 Draw up the probability distribution table for X. 3
𝐜 Find E X . 1
𝟓 In a certain region, the probability that any given day in October is wet is 0.16, independently of other
days.
𝐚 Find the probability that, in a 10 day period in October, fewer than 3 days will be wet. 3
𝐛 Find the probability that the irst wet day in October is 8 October. 2
𝐜 For 4 randomly chosen years, ind the probability that in exactly 1 of these years the irst wet day
in October is 8 October. 2

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 𝟗𝟕𝟎𝟗_𝐰𝟐𝟏_𝐪𝐩_𝟓𝟑
𝟔 In a game, Jim throws three darts at a board. This is called a ‘turn’. The centre of the board is called
the bull’s eye.
The random variable X is the number of darts in a turn that hit the bull’s eye. The probability
distribution of X is given in the following table.

It is given that E X 0.55.

𝐚 Find the values of p and q. 4
𝐛 Find Var X . 2
Jim is practising for a competition and he repeatedly throws three darts at the board.
𝐜 Find the probability that X 1 in at least 3 of 12 randomly chosen turns. 3
𝐝 Find the probability that Jim irst succeeds in hitting the bull’s eye with all three darts on his 9th
turn. 1

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