The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

AMA1606 Basic Statistics

Question 1.
The probability of the discrete random variable X is

( )( ) ( )
X 3 −X
3 1 3
f ( X )= , X=0 , 1 ,2 , 3. Find the mean of X .
X 4 4

3
X Binomial(n=3 , p=0.25), hence E ( X )= .
4

Question 2.
1
Assume that the probability of a male birth is . Find the probability that in
2
a family of 4 children there will be
a. At least 1 boy;
Let X be the number of boys, hence,

()
4
1 15
X binomial ( n=4 , p=0.5 ) . P ( X ≥ 1 )=1−P ( X=0 )=1− =
2 16

b. At least 1 boy and 1 girl.

()
4
1 7
P ( X=1∨X =2∨X =3 )=1−P ( X=0 )−P ( X=4 )=1−2 × =
2 8

Question 3.
According to a study published by a group of sociologists, 60% of the
Valium users took Valium for psychological problems. Find the probability
that among the next 8 users interviewed:
a. Exactly 3 took Valium for psychological problems;
Let X be the number of users for psychological problems.
X binomial ( n=8 , p=0.6 )
8 3 5
P ( X=3 )=C 3 × 0.6 ×0.4 =0.123863
b. At least 5 took Valium for problems that were not psychological.
 Let Y be the number of users not for psychological problems.
Y binomial(n=8 , p=0.4)
8 5 3 8 6 2 8 7 8
P ( Y ≥ 5 ) =C5 ×0.4 ×0.6 +C 6 ×0.4 × 0.6 +C 7 × 0.4 × 0.6+0.4 =0.1736704

Question 4.
One box contains six red balls and four green balls, and a second box
contains seven red balls and three green balls. A ball is randomly chosen
from the first box and placed in the second box. Then a ball is randomly
selected from the second box and placed in the first box.
a. What is the probability that a red ball is selected from the first ball
and a red ball is selected from the second box?
b. At the conclusion of the selection process, what is the probability that
the numbers of red and green balls in the first box are identical to the
numbers at the beginning?

Let Ri denote getting a red ball from box i and Gi denote getting a green
ball from box i.

6 8
a. P ( R1 ∩ R 2 )=P ( R1 ) P ( R 2| R1 )= × =0.4363636
10 11
6 8 4 4
b. P ( ( R1 ∩ R2 ) ∪ ( G1 ∩G 2) )=P ( R1 ∩ R2 ) + P ( G1 ∩G 2) = × + × =0.5818182
10 11 10 11

Question 5.
The number of requests for assistance received by a towing service is a
Poisson process with rate α =4 per hour.
a. Compute the probability that exactly ten requests are received during
a particular 2-hour period.
X ∼ Poisson(λ=4 per hour )
−8 10
( ) e ×8
P X=10 = =0.09926153
10 !
b. If the operators of the towing service take a 30-min break for lunch,
what is the probability that they do not miss any calls for assistance?
−2 0
e ×2 −2
P ( X=0 )= =e =0.1353353
0!
c. How many calls would you expect during their break?
 E ( X )=λ=2

Question 6.
The average number of field mice per acre in a 5-acre wheat field is
estimated to be 6. Find the probability that fewer than 3 field mice are
found
a. On a given acre;
X ∼ Poisson ( λ=6 per acre )

[ ]
0 2
−6 6 6 6
P ( X <3 )=P ( X=0 )+ P ( X=1 ) + P ( X=2 )=e + + = 0.0619688
0! 1 ! 2 !
b. On 2 of the next 3 acres inspected.
Y =¿ number of acres with less than 3 field mice
Y Binomial (n=3 , p=0.0619688)
3 2 1
P ( Y =2 ) =C2 ×0.0619688 × ( 1−0.0619688 ) =0.01080649

Question 7.
A restaurant chef prepares a tossed salad containing, on average, 5
vegetables. Find the probability that the salad contains more than 5
vegetables.
a. On a given day;
X Poisson(λ=5)

[ ]
0 5
−5 5 5 5
P ( X >5 ) =1−P ( X=0 )−P ( X =1 )−⋯−P ( X =5 )=1−e + +⋯+ = 0.3840393
0 ! 1! 5!
b. On 3 of the next 4 days;
Y = number of days with more than 5 vegetables
Y Binomial (n=4 , p=0.3840393)
4 3
P ( Y =3 )=C3 × 0.3840393 × ( 1−0.3840393 )=0.1395533
c. For the third time in April on April 7th.
P ( 3rd time on Apr . 7 ) =C 62 × 0.38403932 × ( 1−0.3840393 ) ×0.3840393=0.1223011
4

Question 8.
Consider the following probability distribution of blood types among
Americans.
Type O A B AB
Probability 0.44 0.42 0.10 0.04
In a random sample of 10 Americans, what is the probability that 6 have
type O, 2 have type A, 1 has type B and 1 has type AB?