Edexcel

GCE
Statistics 2
Binomial, Poisson and
Approximations.

Edited by: K V Kumaran

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1. On a stretch of motorway accidents occur at a rate of 0.9 per month.

(a) Show that the probability of no accidents in the next month is 0.407, to 3 significant figures.
(1)
Find the probability of
(b) exactly 2 accidents in the next 6 month period,
(3)
(c) no accidents in exactly 2 of the next 4 months.
(3)
Q2, June 2001
2. A company always sends letters by second class post unless they are marked first class. Over a
long period of time it has been established that 20% of letters to be posted are marked first class.
In a random selection of 10 letters to be posted, find the probability that the number marked first
class is
(a) at least 3,
(2)
(b) fewer than 2.
(2)
One Monday morning there are only 12 first class stamps. Given that there are 70 letters to be
posted that day,
(c) use a suitable approximation to find the probability that there are enough first class stamps.
(7)
(d) State an assumption about these 70 letters that is required in order to make the calculation in
part (c) valid.
(1)
Q4, June 2001
3. An Internet service provider has a large number of users regularly connecting to its computers. On
average only 3 users every hour fail to connect to the Internet at their first attempt.

(a) Give 2 reasons why a Poisson distribution might be a suitable model for the number of failed
connections every hour.
(2)
(b) Find the probability that in a randomly chosen hour

(i) all Internet users connect at their first attempt,

(2)
(ii) more than 4 users fail to connect at their first attempt.
(2)
(c) Write down the distribution of the number of users failing to connect at their first attempt in an
8-hour period.
(1)
(d) Using a suitable approximation, find the probability that 12 or more users fail to connect at
their first attempt in a randomly chosen 8-hour period.
(6)
Q5, Jan 2002

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4. A garden centre sells canes of nominal length 150 cm. The canes are bought from a supplier who
uses a machine to cut canes of length L where L ~ N(, 0.32).
(a) Find the value of , to the nearest 0.1 cm, such that there is only a 5% chance that a cane
supplied to the garden centre will have length less than 150 cm.
(4)
A customer buys 10 of these canes from the garden centre.

(b) Find the probability that at most 2 of the canes have length less than 150 cm.
(3)
Another customer buys 500 canes.
(c) Using a suitable approximation, find the probability that fewer than 35 of the canes will have
length less than 150 cm.
(6)
Q5, June 2002
5. From past records, a manufacturer of twine knows that faults occur in the twine at random and at
a rate of 1.5 per 25 m.
(a) Find the probability that in a randomly chosen 25 m length of twine there will be exactly 4
faults.
(2)
The twine is usually sold in balls of length 100 m. A customer buys three balls of twine.

(b) Find the probability that only one of them will have fewer than 6 faults.
(6)
As a special order a ball of twine containing 500 m is produced.

(c) Using a suitable approximation, find the probability that it will contain between 23 and 33
faults inclusive.
(6)
Q6, June 2002
6. A botanist suggests that the number of a particular variety of weed growing in a meadow can be
modelled by a Poisson distribution.

(a) Write down two conditions that must apply for this model to be applicable.
(2)
Assuming this model and a mean of 0.7 weeds per m2, find

(b) the probability that in a randomly chosen plot of size 4 m2 there will be fewer than 3 of these
weeds.
(4)
(c) Using a suitable approximation, find the probability that in a plot of 100 m2 there will be

more than 66 of these weeds. (6)

Q3, Jan 2003

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7. A farmer noticed that some of the eggs laid by his hens had double yolks. He estimated the
probability of this happening to be 0.05. Eggs are packed in boxes of 12.
Find the probability that in a box, the number of eggs with double yolks will be

(a) exactly one,

(3)
(b) more than three.
(2)
A customer bought three boxes.
(c) Find the probability that only 2 of the boxes contained exactly 1 egg with a double yolk.
(3)
The farmer delivered 10 boxes to a local shop.

(d) Using a suitable approximation, find the probability that the delivery contained at least

9 eggs with double yolks.

(4)
The weight of an individual egg can be modelled by a normal distribution with mean 65 g and
standard deviation 2.4 g.
(e) Find the probability that a randomly chosen egg weighs more than 68 g. (3)

Q5, Jan 2003

8. (a) Write down the condition needed to approximate a Poisson distribution by a Normal
distribution.
(1)
The random variable Y ~ Po(30).

(b) Estimate P(Y > 28).

(6)
Q2, June 2003
9. In a town, 30% of residents listen to the local radio station. Four residents are chosen at random.

(a) State the distribution of the random variable X, the number of these four residents that listen
to local radio.
(2)
(b) On graph paper, draw the probability distribution of X.
(3)
(c) Write down the most likely number of these four residents that listen to the local radio station.
(1)
(d) Find E(X) and Var (X).
(3)
Q3, June 2003

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10. (a) Write down the conditions under which the binomial distribution may be a suitable model to
use in statistical work.
(4)

A six-sided die is biased. When the die is thrown the number 5 is twice as likely to appear as any
other number. All the other faces are equally likely to appear. The die is thrown repeatedly.

Find the probability that

(b) (i) the first 5 will occur on the sixth throw,

(ii) in the first eight throws there will be exactly three 5s.
(8)
Q4, June 2003

11. The discrete random variable X is distributed B(n, p).

(a) Write down the value of p that will give the most accurate estimate when approximating

the binomial distribution by a normal distribution.

(1)
(b) Give a reason to support your value.
(1)
(c) Given that n = 200 and p = 0.48, find P(90  X < 105).
(7)

Q3, Jan 2004

12. (a) Write down two conditions needed to be able to approximate the binomial distribution by the
Poisson distribution.
(2)

A researcher has suggested that 1 in 150 people is likely to catch a particular virus.

Assuming that a person catching the virus is independent of any other person catching it,

(b) find the probability that in a random sample of 12 people, exactly 2 of them catch the virus.
(4)
(c) Estimate the probability that in a random sample of 1200 people fewer than 7 catch the
virus.
(4)
Q4, Jan 2004

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13. (a) State two conditions under which a random variable can be modelled by a binomial
distribution.
(2)
In the production of a certain electronic component it is found that 10% are defective.

The component is produced in batches of 20.

(b) Write down a suitable model for the distribution of defective components in a batch.
(1)

Find the probability that a batch contains

(c) no defective components,

(2)
(d) more than 6 defective components.
(2)
(e) Find the mean and the variance of the defective components in a batch.
(2)

A supplier buys 100 components. The supplier will receive a refund if there are more than 15
defective components.

(f) Using a suitable approximation, find the probability that the supplier will receive a refund.
(4)
Q4, June 2004
14. Minor defects occur in a particular make of carpet at a mean rate of 0.05 per m2.

(a) Suggest a suitable model for the distribution of the number of defects in this make of carpet.
Give a reason for your answer.

A carpet fitter has a contract to fit this carpet in a small hotel. The hotel foyer requires 30 m 2 of
this carpet. Find the probability that the foyer carpet contains

(b) exactly 2 defects,

(3)
(c) more than 5 defects.
(3)

The carpet fitter orders a total of 355 m2 of the carpet for the whole hotel.

(d) Using a suitable approximation, find the probability that this total area of carpet contains 22
or more defects.
(6)
Q6, June 2004

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15. From company records, a manager knows that the probability that a defective article is produced
by a particular production line is 0.032.

A random sample of 10 articles is selected from the production line.

(a) Find the probability that exactly 2 of them are defective.

(3)

On another occasion, a random sample of 100 articles is taken.

(b) Using a suitable approximation, find the probability that fewer than 4 of them are defective.
(4)

At a later date, a random sample of 1000 is taken.

(c) Using a suitable approximation, find the probability that more than 42 are defective.
(6)
Q5, Jan 2005
16. It is estimated that 4% of people have green eyes. In a random sample of size n, the expected
number of people with green eyes is 5.

(a) Calculate the value of n.

(3)

The expected number of people with green eyes in a second random sample is 3.

(b) Find the standard deviation of the number of people with green eyes in this second sample.
(4)
Q1, June 2005

17. The random variable X is the number of misprints per page in the first draft of a novel.

(a) State two conditions under which a Poisson distribution is a suitable model for X.
(2)

The number of misprints per page has a Poisson distribution with mean 2.5. Find the probability
that
(b) a randomly chosen page has no misprints,
(2)
(c) the total number of misprints on 2 randomly chosen pages is more than 7.
(3)

The first chapter contains 20 pages.

(d) Using a suitable approximation find, to 2 decimal places, the probability that the chapter will
contain less than 40 misprints.
(7)
Q3, June 2005

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18. In a manufacturing process, 2% of the articles produced are defective. A batch of 200 articles is
selected.
(a) Giving a justification for your choice, use a suitable approximation to estimate the probability
that there are exactly 5 defective articles.
(5)
(b) Estimate the probability that there are less than 5 defective articles. (2)

Q5, June 2005

19. A fair coin is tossed 4 times.
Find the probability that

(a) an equal number of head and tails occur

(2)
(b) all the outcomes are the same,
(3)
(c) the first tail occurs on the third throw.
(2)
Q1, Jan 2006
20. Accidents on a particular stretch of motorway occur at an average rate of 1.5 per week.

(a) Write down a suitable model to represent the number of accidents per week on this stretch of
motorway. (1)
Find the probability that

(b) there will be 2 accidents in the same week,

(2)
(c) there is at least one accident per week for 3 consecutive weeks,
(3)
(d) there are more than 4 accidents in a 2 week period.
(2)
Q2, Jan 2006
21. The random variable X  B(150, 0.02).

Use a suitable approximation to estimate P(X > 7).

(4)
Q4, Jan 2006
22. An estate agent sells properties at a mean rate of 7 per week.

(a) Suggest a suitable model to represent the number of properties sold in a randomly chosen
week. Give two reasons to support your model. (3)
(b) Find the probability that in any randomly chosen week the estate agent sells exactly
5 properties. (2)
(c) Using a suitable approximation find the probability that during a 24 week period the estate
agent sells more than 181 properties. (6)
Q3, June 2006

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23. A manufacturer produces large quantities of coloured mugs. It is known from previous records
that 6% of the production will be green.
A random sample of 10 mugs was taken from the production line.
(a) Define a suitable distribution to model the number of green mugs in this sample.
(1)
(b) Find the probability that there were exactly 3 green mugs in the sample.
(3)
A random sample of 125 mugs was taken.

(c) Find the probability that there were between 10 and 13 (inclusive) green mugs in this sample,
using
(i) a Poisson approximation,
(3)
(ii) a Normal approximation.
(6)
Q5, June 2006
24. The random variable J has a Poisson distribution with mean 4.

(a) Find P( J  10).

(2)
The random variable K has a binomial distribution with parameters n = 25, p = 0.27.

(b) Find P( K  1).

(3)
Q2, Jan 2007
25. For a particular type of plant 45% have white flowers and the remainder have coloured flowers.
Garden-mania sells plants in batches of 12. A batch is selected at random.
Calculate the probability this batch contains

(a) exactly 5 plants with white flowers,

(3)
(b) more plants with white flowers than coloured ones.
(2)

Garden-mania takes a random sample of 10 batched of plants.

(c) Find the probability that exactly 3 of these batches contain more plants with white flowers
than coloured ones.
(3)
Due to an increasing demand for these plants by large companies, Garden-mania decides to sell
them in batches of 50.
(d) Use a suitable approximation to calculate the probability that a batch of 50 plants contains
more than 25 plants with white flowers.
(7)
Q3, Jan 2007

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26. (a) State the condition under which the normal distribution may be used as an approximation to
the Poisson distribution.
(1)
(b) Explain why a continuity correction must be incorporated when using the normal distribution
as an approximation to the Poisson distribution.
(1)

A company has yachts that can only be hired for a week at a time. All hiring starts on a Saturday.
During the winter the mean number of yachts hired per week is 5.

(c) Calculate the probability that fewer than 3 yachts are hired on a particular Saturday in winter.
(2)

During the summer the mean number of yachts hired per week increases to 25. The company has
only 30 yachts for hire.

(d) Using a suitable approximation find the probability that the demand for yachts cannot be met
on a particular Saturday in summer.
(6)

In the summer there are 16 Saturdays on which a yacht can be hired.

(e) Estimate the number of Saturdays in the summer that the company will not be able to meet
the demand for yachts.
(2)
Q4, Jan 2007
27. An engineering company manufactures an electronic component. At the end of the manufacturing
process, each component is checked to see if it is faulty. Faulty components are detected at a rate
of 1.5 per hour.

(a) Suggest a suitable model for the number of faulty components detected per hour.
(1)
(b) Describe, in the context of this question, two assumptions you have made in part (a) for this
model to be suitable.
(2)
(c) Find the probability of 2 faulty components being detected in a 1 hour period.
(2)
(d) Find the probability of at least one faulty component being detected in a 3 hour period.
(3)
Q3, June 2007

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28. (a) Write down the conditions under which the Poisson distribution may be used as an
approximation to the Binomial distribution.
(2)

A call centre routes incoming telephone calls to agents who have specialist knowledge to deal with
the call. The probability of the caller being connected to the wrong agent is 0.01.
(b) Find the probability that 2 consecutive calls will be connected to the wrong agent.
(2)
(c) Find the probability that more than 1 call in 5 consecutive calls are connected to the wrong
agent.
(3)

The call centre receives 1000 calls each day.

(d) Find the mean and variance of the number of wrongly connected calls.
(3)
(e) Use a Poisson approximation to find, to 3 decimal places, the probability that more than 6 calls
each day are connected to the wrong agent.
(2)
Q5, June 2007
29. (a) (i) Write down two conditions for X ~ Bin(n, p) to be approximated by a normal distribution
Y ~ N (,  2).
(2)
(ii) Write down the mean and variance of this normal approximation in terms of n and p.
(2)

A factory manufactures 2000 DVDs every day. It is known that 3% of DVDs are faulty.

(b) Using a normal approximation, estimate the probability that at least 40 faulty DVDs are
produced in one day.
(5)

The quality control system in the factory identifies and destroys every faulty DVD at the end of
the manufacturing process. It costs £0.70 to manufacture a DVD and the factory sells non-faulty
DVDs for £11.
(c) Find the expected profit made by the factory per day. (3)
Q7, June 2007
30. The probability of a bolt being faulty is 0.3. Find the probability that in a random sample of 20
bolts there are
(a) exactly 2 faulty bolts,
(2)
(b) more than 3 faulty bolts.
(2)
These bolts are sold in bags of 20. John buys 10 bags.
(c) Find the probability that exactly 6 of these bags contain more than 3 faulty bolts.
(3)
Q2, Jan 2008

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31. (a) State two conditions under which a Poisson distribution is a suitable model to use in statistical
work.
(2)
The number of cars passing an observation point in a 10 minute interval is modelled by a Poisson
distribution with mean 1.
(b) Find the probability that in a randomly chosen 60 minute period there will be
(i) exactly 4 cars passing the observation point,
(ii) at least 5 cars passing the observation point.
(5)
The number of other vehicles, other than cars, passing the observation point in a 60 minute interval
is modelled by a Poisson distribution with mean 12.

(c) Find the probability that exactly 1 vehicle, of any type, passes the observation point in a 10
minute period.
(4)
Q3, Jan 2008
32. The probability that a sunflower plant grows over 1.5 metres high is 0.25. A random sample of 40
sunflower plants is taken and each sunflower plant is measured and its height recorded.

(a) Find the probability that the number of sunflower plants over 1.5 m high is between 8 and 13
(inclusive) using
(i) a Poisson approximation,

(ii) a Normal approximation.

(10)

(b) Write down which of the approximations used in part (a) is the most accurate estimate of the
probability. You must give a reason for your answer.
(2)
Q6, Jan 2008
33. In a large college 58% of students are female and 42% are male. A random sample of 100 students
is chosen from the college. Using a suitable approximation find the probability that more than half
the sample are female. (7)
Q2, May 2008
34. Each cell of a certain animal contains 11 000 genes. It is known that each gene has a probability
0.0 005 of being damaged.
A cell is chosen at random.
(a) Suggest a suitable model for the distribution of the number of damaged genes in the cell.
(2)
(b) Find the mean and variance of the number of damaged genes in the cell.
(2)
(c) Using a suitable approximation, find the probability that there are at most 2 damaged genes in
the cell.
(4)
Q4, May 2008

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35. A botanist is studying the distribution of daisies in a field. The field is divided into a number of
equal sized squares. The mean number of daisies per square is assumed to be 3. The daisies are
distributed randomly throughout the field.

Find the probability that, in a randomly chosen square there will be

(a) more than 2 daisies,

(3)
(b) either 5 or 6 daisies.
(2)
The botanist decides to count the number of daisies, x, in each of 80 randomly selected squares
within the field. The results are summarised below

 x = 295  x2 = 1386

(c) Calculate the mean and the variance of the number of daisies per square for the 80 squares.
Give your answers to 2 decimal places.
(3)
(d) Explain how the answers from part (c) support the choice of a Poisson distribution as a model.
(1)
(e) Using your mean from part (c), estimate the probability that exactly 4 daisies will be found in
a randomly selected square.
(2)
Q1, Jan 2009

36. A factory produces components of which 1% are defective. The components are packed in boxes
of 10. A box is selected at random.

(a) Find the probability that the box contains exactly one defective component.
(2)
(b) Find the probability that there are at least 2 defective components in the box.
(3)
(c) Using a suitable approximation, find the probability that a batch of 250 components contains
between 1 and 4 (inclusive) defective components.
(4)
Q5, Jan 2009
37. A bag contains a large number of counters of which 15% are coloured red. A random sample of
30 counters is selected and the number of red counters is recorded.
(a) Find the probability of no more than 6 red counters in this sample.
(2)
A second random sample of 30 counters is selected and the number of red counters is recorded.
(b) Using a Poisson approximation, estimate the probability that the total number of red counters
in the combined sample of size 60 is less than 13.
(3)
Q1, June 2009

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38. An administrator makes errors in her typing randomly at a rate of 3 errors every 1000 words.

(a) In a document of 2000 words find the probability that the administrator makes 4 or more
errors.
(3)

The administrator is given an 8000 word report to type and she is told that the report will only be
accepted if there are 20 or fewer errors.

(b) Use a suitable approximation to calculate the probability that the report is accepted.
(7)
Q5, June 2009
39. A cloth manufacturer knows that faults occur randomly in the production process at a rate of 2
every 15 metres.

(a) Find the probability of exactly 4 faults in a 15 metre length of cloth.

(2)
(b) Find the probability of more than 10 faults in 60 metres of cloth.
(3)

A retailer buys a large amount of this cloth and sells it in pieces of length x metres. He chooses x
so that the probability of no faults in a piece is 0.80.

(c) Write down an equation for x and show that x = 1.7 to 2 significant figures.
(4)

The retailer sells 1200 of these pieces of cloth. He makes a profit of 60p on each piece of cloth
that does not contain a fault but a loss of £1.50 on any pieces that do contain faults.

(d) Find the retailer’s expected profit.

(4)
Q8, June 2009
40. A manufacturer supplies DVD players to retailers in batches of 20. It has 5% of the players returned
because they are faulty.

(a) Write down a suitable model for the distribution of the number of faulty DVD players in a
batch.
(2)
Find the probability that a batch contains
(b) no faulty DVD players,
(2)
(c) more than 4 faulty DVD players.
(2)
(d) Find the mean and variance of the number of faulty DVD players in a batch.
(2)
Q1, Jan 2010

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41. A robot is programmed to build cars on a production line. The robot breaks down at random at a
rate of once every 20 hours.
(a) Find the probability that it will work continuously for 5 hours without a breakdown.
(3)
Find the probability that, in an 8 hour period,
(b) the robot will break down at least once,
(3)
(c) there are exactly 2 breakdowns.
(2)
In a particular 8 hour period, the robot broke down twice.
(d) Write down the probability that the robot will break down in the following 8 hour period. Give
a reason for your answer.
(2)
Q3, Jan 2010
42. A café serves breakfast every morning. Customers arrive for breakfast at random at a rate
of 1 every 6 minutes.
Find the probability that

(a) fewer than 9 customers arrive for breakfast on a Monday morning between 10 a.m.
and 11 a.m.
(3)
The café serves breakfast every day between 8 a.m. and 12 noon.
(b) Using a suitable approximation, estimate the probability that more than 50 customers arrive
for breakfast next Tuesday.
(6)
Q5, Jan 2010
43. Bhim and Joe play each other at badminton and for each game, independently of all others, the
probability that Bhim loses is 0.2.

Find the probability that, in 9 games, Bhim loses

(a) exactly 3 of the games,

(3)
(b) fewer than half of the games.
(2)
Bhim attends coaching sessions for 2 months. After completing the coaching, the probability that
he loses each game, independently of all others, is 0.05.

Bhim and Joe agree to play a further 60 games.

(c) Calculate the mean and variance for the number of these 60 games that Bhim loses.
(2)
(d) Using a suitable approximation calculate the probability that Bhim loses more than 4 games.
(3)
Q2, June 2010

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44. A company has a large number of regular users logging onto its website. On average 4 users every
hour fail to connect to the company’s website at their first attempt.
(a) Explain why the Poisson distribution may be a suitable model in this case.
Find the probability that, in a randomly chosen 2 hour period,
(b) (i) all users connect at their first attempt,

(ii) at least 4 users fail to connect at their first attempt.

(5)

Q5, June 2010

45. A disease occurs in 3% of a population.
(a) State any assumptions that are required to model the number of people with the disease in a
random sample of size n as a binomial distribution.
(2)
(b) Using this model, find the probability of exactly 2 people having the disease in a random
sample of 10 people.
(3)
(c) Find the mean and variance of the number of people with the disease in a random sample of
100 people.
(2)
A doctor tests a random sample of 100 patients for the disease. He decides to offer all patients a
vaccination to protect them from the disease if more than 5 of the sample have the disease.

(d) Using a suitable approximation, find the probability that the doctor will offer all patients a
vaccination.
(3)
Q1, Jan 2011
46. Cars arrive at a motorway toll booth at an average rate of 150 per hour.
(a) Suggest a suitable distribution to model the number of cars arriving at the toll booth, X, per
minute.
(2)
(b) State clearly any assumptions you have made by suggesting this model.
(2)
Using your model,
(c) find the probability that in any given minute
(i) no cars arrive
(ii) more than 3 cars arrive.
(3)
(d) In any given 4 minute period, find m such that P(X > m) = 0.0487
(3)
(e) Using a suitable approximation find the probability that fewer than 15 cars arrive in any given
10 minute period.
(6)
Q6, Jan 2011

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47. Defects occur at random in planks of wood with a constant rate of 0.5 per 10 cm length. Jim buys
a plank of length 100 cm.
(a) Find the probability that Jim’s plank contains at most 3 defects.
(2)
Shivani buys 6 planks each of length 100 cm.
(b) Find the probability that fewer than 2 of Shivani’s planks contain at most 3 defects.
(5)
(c) Using a suitable approximation, estimate the probability that the total number of defects on
Shivani’s 6 planks is less than 18. (6)
Q5, May 2011
48. The time in minutes that Elaine takes to checkout at her local supermarket follows a continuous
uniform distribution defined over the interval [3, 9].
Find

(a) Elaine’s expected checkout time,

(1)
(b) the variance of the time taken to checkout at the supermarket,
(2)
(c) the probability that Elaine will take more than 7 minutes to checkout.
(2)

Given that Elaine has already spent 4 minutes at the checkout,

(d) find the probability that she will take a total of less than 6 minutes to checkout.
(3)
Q1, Jan 2012

49. The probability of a telesales representative making a sale on a customer call is 0.15.

Find the probability that

(a) no sales are made in 10 calls,

(2)
(b) more than 3 sales are made in 20 calls.
(2)

Representatives are required to achieve a mean of at least 5 sales each day.

(c) Find the least number of calls each day a representative should make to achieve this
requirement.
(2)
(d) Calculate the least number of calls that need to be made by a representative for the probability
of at least 1 sale to exceed 0.95.
(3)
Q3, Jan 2012

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50. A website receives hits at a rate of 300 per hour.

(a) State a distribution that is suitable to model the number of hits obtained during a 1 minute
interval.
(1)
(b) State two reasons for your answer to part (a).
(2)

Find the probability of

(c) 10 hits in a given minute,

(3)
(d) at least 15 hits in 2 minutes.
(3)
The website will go down if there are more than 70 hits in 10 minutes.

(e) Using a suitable approximation, find the probability that the website will go down in a
particular 10 minute interval.
(7)
Q4, Jan 2012
51. The probability of an electrical component being defective is 0.075.
The component is supplied in boxes of 120.

(a) Using a suitable approximation, estimate the probability that there are more than 3 defective
components in a box.
(5)
A retailer buys 2 boxes of components.
(b) Estimate the probability that there are at least 4 defective components in each box.
(2)
Q5, Jan 2012
52. The number of houses sold by an estate agent follows a Poisson distribution, with a mean of 2 per
week.
(a) Find the probability that in the next four weeks the estate agent sells
(i) exactly 3 houses,

(ii) more than 5 houses.

(5)
The estate agent monitors sales in periods of 4 weeks.
(b) Find the probability that in the next twelve of those 4 week periods there are exactly nine
periods in which more than 5 houses are sold.
(3)
The estate agent will receive a bonus if he sells more than 25 houses in the next 10 weeks.

(c) Use a suitable approximation to estimate the probability that the estate agent receives a bonus.
(6)
Q4, May 2012

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53. In a large restaurant an average of 3 out of every 5 customers ask for water with their meal.

A random sample of 10 customers is selected.

(a) Find the probability that

(i) exactly 6 ask for water with their meal,

(ii) less than 9 ask for water with their meal.

(5)

A second random sample of 50 customers is selected.

(b) Find the smallest value of n such that

P(X < n)  0.9,

where the random variable X represents the number of these customers who ask for water.
(3)
Q8, May 2012

54. (a) Write down the conditions under which the Poisson distribution can be used as an
approximation to the binomial distribution.
(2)

The probability of any one letter being delivered to the wrong house is 0.01.
On a randomly selected day Peter delivers 1000 letters.

(b) Using a Poisson approximation, find the probability that Peter delivers at least 4 letters to the
wrong house.

Give your answer to 4 decimal places.

(3)
Q1, Jan 2013
55. In a village, power cuts occur randomly at a rate of 3 per year.

(a) Find the probability that in any given year there will be

(i) exactly 7 power cuts,

(ii) at least 4 power cuts.

(5)
(b) Use a suitable approximation to find the probability that in the next 10 years the number of
power cuts will be less than 20.
(6)
Q1, Jan 2013

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56. The number of defects per metre in a roll of cloth has a Poisson distribution with mean 0.25.

Find the probability that

(a) a randomly chosen metre of cloth has 1 defect,

(2)
(b) the total number of defects in a randomly chosen 6 metre length of cloth is more than 2.
(3)

A tailor buys 300 metres of cloth.

(c) Using a suitable approximation find the probability that the tailor’s cloth will contain less than
90 defects.
(5)
Q2, May 2013
57. A telesales operator is selling a magazine. Each day he chooses a number of people to telephone.
The probability that each person he telephones buys the magazine is 0.1.
(a) Suggest a suitable distribution to model the number of people who buy the magazine from the
telesales operator each day.
(1)
(b) On Monday, the telesales operator telephones 10 people. Find the probability that he sells at
least 4 magazines.
(3)
(c) Calculate the least number of people he needs to telephone on Tuesday, so that the probability
of selling at least 1 magazine, on that day, is greater than 0.95.
(3)

A call centre also sells the magazine. The probability that a telephone call made by the call centre
sells a magazine is 0.05. The call centre telephones 100 people every hour.

(d) Using a suitable approximation, find the probability that more than 10 people telephoned by
the call centre buy a magazine in a randomly chosen hour.
(3)
Q7, May 2013
58. As part of a selection procedure for a company, applicants have to answer all 20 questions of a
multiple choice test. If an applicant chooses answers at random the probability of choosing a
correct answer is 0.2 and the number of correct answers is represented by the random variable X.
(a) Suggest a suitable distribution for X.
(2)
Each applicant gains 4 points for each correct answer but loses 1 point for each incorrect answer.
The random variable S represents the final score, in points, for an applicant who chooses answers
to this test at random.
(b) Show that S = 5X – 20.
(2)
(c) Find E(S) and Var(S).
(4)

kumarmaths.weebly.com 31
 An applicant who achieves a score of at least 20 points is invited to take part in the final stage of
the selection process.

(d) Find P(S ≥ 20).

(4)

Cameron is taking the final stage of the selection process which is a multiple choice test consisting
of 100 questions. He has been preparing for this test and believes that his chance of answering
each question correctly is 0.4.

(e) Using a suitable approximation, estimate the probability that Cameron answers more than half
of the questions correctly.
(5)
Q7, May 2013_R
59. Patients arrive at a hospital accident and emergency department at random at a rate of
6 per hour.
(a) Find the probability that, during any 90 minute period, the number of patients arriving at the
hospital accident and emergency department is

(i) exactly 7,

(ii) at least 10.

(5)
A patient arrives at 11.30 a.m.
(b) Find the probability that the next patient arrives before 11.45 a.m.
(3)
Q1, June 2014
60. A cadet fires shots at a target at distances ranging from 25 m to 90 m. The probability of hitting
3
the target with a single shot is p. When firing from a distance d m, p   90  d  .
200
Each shot is fired independently.
The cadet fires 10 shots from a distance of 40 m.
(a) (i) Find the probability that exactly 6 shots hit the target.

(ii) Find the probability that at least 8 shots hit the target.
(5)
The cadet fires 20 shots from a distance of x m.
(b) Find, to the nearest integer, the value of x if the cadet has an 80% chance of hitting the target
at least once.
(4)
The cadet fires 100 shots from 25 m.
(c) Using a suitable approximation, estimate the probability that at least 95 of these shots hit the
target.
(5)
Q4, June 2014

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61. Accidents occur randomly at a road junction at a rate of 18 every year.
The random variable X represents the number of accidents at this road junction in the next
6 months.
(a) Write down the distribution of X.
(2)
(b) Find P(X > 7).
(2)
(c) Show that the probability of at least one accident in a randomly selected month is 0.777
(correct to 3 decimal places).
(3)
(d) Find the probability that there is at least one accident in exactly 4 of the next 6 months.
(3)
Q3, June 2014_R
62. In a survey it is found that barn owls occur randomly at a rate of 9 per 1000 km2.
(a) Find the probability that in a randomly selected area of 1000 km2 there are at least 10 barn
owls.
(2)
(b) Find the probability that in a randomly selected area of 200 km2 there are exactly 2 barn owls.
(3)
(c) Using a suitable approximation, find the probability that in a randomly selected area of 50 000
km2 there are at least 470 barn owls.
(6)
Q1, June 2015
63. In a large school, 20% of students own a touch screen laptop. A random sample of n students is
chosen from the school. Using a normal approximation, the probability that more than 55 of these
n students own a touch screen laptop is 0.0401 correct to 3 significant figures.
Find the value of n. (8)
Q5, June 2016
64. The time taken for a randomly selected person to complete a test is M minutes, where
M ~ N (14,  2)
Given that 10% of people take less than 12 minutes to complete the test,
(a) find the value of 
(3)
Graham selects 15 people at random.
(b) Find the probability that fewer than 2 of these people will take less than 12 minutes
to complete the test.
(3)
Jovanna takes a random sample of n people.
Using a normal approximation, the probability that fewer than 9 of these n people will take
less than 12 minutes to complete the test is 0.3085 to 4 decimal places.
(c) Find the value of n. (8)
Q5, June 2017
kumarmaths.weebly.com 33
65. The probability of a leaf cutting successfully taking root is 0.05.

Find the probability that, in a batch of 10 randomly selected leaf cuttings, the number taking root
will be

(a) (i) exactly 1,

(ii) more than 2.
(5)

A second random sample of 160 leaf cuttings is selected.

(b) Using a suitable approximation, estimate the probability of at least 10 leaf cuttings taking root.
(3)
IAL, Q1, Jan 2014

66. A school photocopier breaks down randomly at a rate of 15 times per year.

(a) Find the probability that there will be exactly 3 breakdowns in the next month.
(3)
(b) Show that the probability that there will be at least 2 breakdowns in the next month is 0.355
to 3 decimal places.
(2)
(c) Find the probability of at least 2 breakdowns in each of the next 4 months.
(2)

The teachers would like a new photocopier. The head teacher agrees to monitor the situation for
the next 12 months. The head teacher decides he will buy a new photocopier if there is more than
1 month when the photocopier has at least 2 breakdowns.

(d) Find the probability that the head teacher will buy a new photocopier.
(5)
IAL, Q5, Jan 2014

67. The random variable Y ~ B(n, p).

Using a normal approximation the probability that Y is at least 65 is 0.2266 and the probability that
Y is more than 52 is 0.8944

Find the value of n and the value of p.

(12)
IAL, Q7, Jan 2014

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68. (a) State the conditions under which the Poisson distribution may be used as an approximation to
the binomial distribution.
(1)
A farmer supplies a bakery with eggs. The manager of the bakery claims that the proportion of
eggs having a double yolk is 0.009.
The farmer claims that the proportion of his eggs having a double yolk is more than 0.009.

(b) State suitable hypotheses for testing these claims.

(1)
In a batch of 500 eggs the baker records 9 eggs with a double yolk.

(c) Using a suitable approximation, test at the 5% level of significance whether or not this
supports the farmer’s claim.
(5)
IAL, Q1, June 2014
69. Pieces of ribbon are cut to length L cm where L ~ N(μ, 0.52).

(a) Given that 30% of the pieces of ribbon have length more than 100 cm, find the value of μ to
the nearest 0.1 cm.
(3)
John selects 12 pieces of ribbon at random.

(b) Find the probability that fewer than 3 of these pieces of ribbon have length more than
100 cm.
(3)
Aditi selects 400 pieces of ribbon at random.

(c) Using a suitable approximation, find the probability that more than 127 of these pieces of
ribbon will have length more than 100 cm.
(6)
IAL, Q4, June 2014
70. Flaws occur at random in a particular type of material at a mean rate of 2 per 50 m.

(a) Find the probability that in a randomly chosen 50 m length of this material there will be exactly
5 flaws.
(2)
This material is sold in rolls of length 200 m. Susie buys 4 rolls of this material.

(b) Find the probability that only one of these rolls will have fewer than 7 flaws.
(6)
A piece of this material of length x m is produced.

Using a normal approximation, the probability that this piece of material contains fewer than 26
flaws is 0.5398.
(c) Find the value of x.
(8)
IAL, Q7, June 2014

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71. The number of cars caught speeding per day, by a particular camera, has a Poisson distribution
with mean 0.8.
(a) Find the probability that in a given 4 day period exactly 3 cars will be caught speeding by
this camera.
(3)
A car has been caught speeding by this camera.

(b) Find the probability that the period of time that elapses before the next car is caught speeding
by this camera is less than 48 hours.
(3)
Given that 4 cars were caught speeding by this camera in a two day period,

(c) find the probability that 1 was caught on the first day and 3 were caught on the second day.
(5)
Each car that is caught speeding by this camera is fined £60.

(d) Using a suitable approximation, find the probability that, in 90 days, the total amount of fines
issued will be more than £5000.
(5)
IAL, Q1, Jan 2015
72. A multiple choice examination paper has n questions where n > 30.
Each question has 5 answers of which only 1 is correct. A pass on the paper is obtained by
answering 30 or more questions correctly.

The probability of obtaining a pass by randomly guessing the answer to each question should not
exceed 0.0228.

Use a normal approximation to work out the greatest number of questions that could be used.
(8)
IAL, Q7, Jan 2015
73. Left-handed people make up 10% of a population. A random sample of 60 people is taken from
this population. The discrete random variable Y represents the number of left-handed people in the
sample.
(a) (i) Write down an expression for the exact value of P(Y ≤ 1)

(ii) Evaluate your expression, giving your answer to 3 significant figures.

(3)
(b) Using a Poisson approximation, estimate P(Y ≤ 1)
(2)
(c) Using a normal approximation, estimate P(Y ≤ 1)
(5)
(d) Give a reason why the Poisson approximation is a more suitable
estimate of P(Y ≤ 1)
(1)
IAL, Q3, Jan 2016

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74. During a typical day, a school website receives visits randomly at a rate of 9 per hour.
The probability that the school website receives fewer than v visits in a randomly selected one
hour period is less than 0.75.
(a) Find the largest possible value of v. (1)
(b) Find the probability that in a randomly selected one hour period, the school website
receives at least 4 but at most 11 visits.
(2)
(c) Find the probability that in a randomly selected 10 minute period, the school website
receives more than 1 visit.
(3)
(d) Using a suitable approximation, find the probability that in a randomly selected 8 hour
period the school website receives more than 80 visits.
(5)
IAL, Q1, June 2016
75. The random variable X ~ B(10, p)
(a) (i) Write down an expression for P(X = 3) in terms of p.

(ii) Find the value of p such that P(X = 3) is 16 times the value of P(X = 7).
(4)
The random variable Y ~ Po(λ).
(b) Find the value of λ such that P(Y = 3) is 5 times the value of P(Y = 5).
(3)
The random variable W ~ B(n, 0.4).
(c) Find the value of n and the value of 𝛼 such that W can be approximated by the normal
distribution, N(32, 𝛼)
(3)
IAL, Q2, June 2016
76. A large number of students sat an examination. All of the students answered the first
question. The first question was answered correctly by 40% of the students.
In a random sample of 20 students who sat the examination, X denotes the number of
students who answered the first question correctly.
(a) Write down the distribution of the random variable X
(1)
(b) Find P(4 ≤ X < 9)
(2)
Students gain 7 points if they answer the first question correctly and they lose 3 points if
they do not answer it correctly.
(c) Find the probability that the total number of points scored on the first question by the
20 students is more than 0.
(4)
(d) Calculate the variance of the total number of points scored on the first question by a
random sample of 20 students.
(3)
IAL, Q3, Oct 2016

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77. According to an electric company, power failures occur randomly at a rate of λ every
10 weeks, 1 < λ < 10
(a) Write down an expression in terms of λ for the probability that there are fewer than 2
power failures in a randomly selected 10 week period.
(2)
(b) Write down an expression in terms of λ for the probability that there is exactly 1
power failure in a randomly selected 5 week period.
(2)
Over a 100 week period, the probability, using a normal approximation, that fewer than 15
power failures occur is 0.0179 (to 3 significant figures).
(c) (i) Justify the use of a normal approximation.
(ii) Find the value of λ.
Show each stage of your working clearly.
(8)
IAL, Q6, Oct 2016
78. The continuous random variable W has the normal distribution N(32, 42)

(a) Write down the value of P(W = 36)

(1)
The discrete random variable X has the binomial distribution B(20, 0.45)
(b) Find P(X = 8)
(2)
(c) Find the probability that X lies within one standard deviation of its mean.
(4)
IAL, Q1, Jan 2017
79. (a) State the condition under which the normal distribution may be used as an
approximation to the Poisson distribution.
(1)
The number of reported first aid incidents per week at an airport terminal has a Poisson
distribution with mean 3.5.
(b) Find the modal number of reported first aid incidents in a randomly selected week.
Justify your answer.
(2)
The random variable X represents the number of reported first aid incidents at this airport
terminal in the next 2 weeks.
(c) Find P(X > 5)
(3)
(d) Given that there were exactly 6 reported first aid incidents in a 2 week period, find
the probability that exactly 4 were reported in the first week.
(4)
(e) Using a suitable approximation, find the probability that in the next 40 weeks there
will be at least 120 reported first aid incidents. (6)
IAL, Q3, Jan 2017

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80. Crispy-crisps produces packets of crisps. During a promotion, a prize is placed in 25%
of the packets. No more than 1 prize is placed in any packet. A box contains 6 packets of
crisps.
(a) (i) Write down a suitable distribution to model the number of prizes found in a box.
(ii) Write down one assumption required for the model.
(2)
(b) Find the probability that in 2 randomly selected boxes, only 1 box contains exactly
1 prize.
(3)
(c) Find the probability that a randomly selected box contains at least 2 prizes.
(2)

Neha buys 80 boxes of crisps.

(d) Using a normal approximation, find the probability that no more than 30 of the boxes
contain at least 2 prizes.
(5)
IAL, Q2, June 2017

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