BUSI-2342: Practice Exam 1 - Key & Solution

1. A fitness center is interested in the mean amount of time a client exercises in the center each week.
In this case, all of the clients of the fitness center is the _______
A. sample
B. parameter
C. population
D. statistic
Answer: C
Explain: Chapter 1.1
Population are all individuals, objects, or measurements whose properties are being studied. In this
question, all clients are population.

2. A fitness center is interested in the mean amount of time a client exercises in the center each week.
In this case, the clients that use the fitness center for a given week is the _______
A. population
B. parameter
C. statistic
D. sample
Answer: D
Explain: Chapter 1.1
Sample is a subset of the population studied. In this question, clients who use the fitness center for a
given week is a subset of all of the clients of the fitness center.

3. A cardiologist is interested in the mean recovery period of her patients who have had heart attacks.
In this case, all cardiologist’s patients are _______
A. population
B. sample
C. parameter
D. statistic
Answer: A
Explain: Chapter 1.1
Population are all individuals, objects, or measurements whose properties are being studied. In this
question, all patients are population.

4. A marriage counselor is interested in the proportion of clients she counsels who stay married. In this
case, all the clients of this counselor are _______
A. sample
B. parameter
C. population
D. statistic
Answer: C
Explain: Chapter 1.1
Population are all individuals, objects, or measurements whose properties are being studied. In this
question, all clients are population.
5. A marriage counselor is interested in the proportion of clients she counsels who stay married. In this
case, a group of clients of this marriage counselor is _______
A. sample
B. population
C. parameter
D. statistic
Answer: A
Explain: Chapter 1.1
Sample is a subset of the population studied. In this question, a group of clients is a subset of all clients.

6. _________ is a planned activity carried out under controlled conditions.

A. Outcome
B. Sample Space
C. Event
D. Experiment
Answer: D
Explain: Chapter 3.1
Probability is a measure that is associated with how certain we are of outcomes of a particular
experiment or activity. An experiment is a planned operation carried out under controlled conditions.

7. In a survey, 40 people were asked how many times they visited a store before making a major
purchase. The results are shown below:

Number of times in store Frequency

1 4
2 10
3 16
4 6
5 4

According to the results, how many people visited the store three times before making a major
purchase?

A. 10
B. 16
C. 4
D. 6
Answer: B
Explain: Chapter 2.1
In the particular line graph, the x-axis consists of data values and the y-axis consists of frequency points.
8. In a survey, 40 people were asked how many times they visited a store before making a major
purchase. The results are shown below:

Number of times in store Frequency

1 4
2 10
3 16
4 6
5 4

According to the results, how many people visited the store four times before making a major
purchase?

A. 16
B. 10
C. 6
D. 4
Answer: C
Explain: Chapter 2.1
In the particular line graph, the x-axis consists of data values and the y-axis consists of frequency points.
In this question, you can find the number of people from either the given table or line graph. There are 6
people visited the store four times before making a major purchase.

9. The students in Ms. Ramirez’s math class have birthdays in each of the four seasons. The following
table and bar graph shows the four seasons, the number of students who have birthdays in each
season, and the percentage (%) of students in each group.

Proportion of
Seasons Number of students
population
Spring 8 24%
Summer 9 26%
Autumn 11 32%
Winter 6 18%
 According to the results, the number of students who have birthdays in Spring is ______.

A. 8
B. 9
C. 11
D. 6

Answer: A
Explain: Chapter 2.1
Bar graphs consist of bars that are separated from each other. The bars can be rectangles, or they can
be rectangular boxes (used in three-dimensional plots), and they can be vertical or horizontal.
In this question, you can find the number of people from either the given table or bar graph. There are 8
students’ birthdays in Spring.

10. An operations manager is interested in the distances between the supermarket and the distribution.
He randomly picks up 10 supermarkets and the following data are the distances between
supermarkets and the distribution center. The distances are in miles.

55 56 61 62 66

77 83 92 95 99

What is the sample mean?

A. 77.2
B. 105.6
C. 20.3
D. 74.6

Answer: D
Explain: Chapter 2.3
You can use either the formula or Excel (open a new blank sheet) to find the answer.

55 + 56 + 61 + 62 + 66 + 77 + 83 + 92 + 95 + 99
𝑥̅ = = 74.6
10
11. An operations manager is interested in the distances between the supermarket and the distribution.
He randomly picks up 10 supermarkets and the following data are the distances between
supermarkets and the distribution center. The distances are in miles.

55 56 61 62 66
77 83 92 95 99

What is the median?

A. 71.5
B. 70.6
C. 88.9
D. 65.2
Answer: A
Explain: Chapter 2.3
𝑛+1
You can quickly find the location of the median by using the expression 2 .
The letter n is the total number of data values in the sample. If n is an odd number, the median is the
middle value of the ordered data (ordered smallest to largest). If n is an even number, the median is
equal to the two middle values added together and divided by two after the data has been ordered.
In this question, n = 10 is an even number. Therefore, we have:
66 + 77
𝑚𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑛 = = 71.5
2
You can also use Excel (open a new blank sheet) to find the answer:
12. Which of the following is NOT the basic laws of probability?

A. The sum of the probabilities of all events in a sample space could be negative.
B. Probabilities are between zero and one, inclusive.
C. P(A) = 0 means the event A never happen.
D. P(A) = 1 means the event A always happens.
Answer: A
Explain: Chapter 3.1 & Slides CH03.pptx

Basic Laws of Probability

1. Probabilities are between zero and one, inclusive.
2. P(A) = 0 means the event A never happen.
3. P(A) = 1 means the event A always happens.
4. The sum of the probabilities of all events in a sample space must be equal to 1.

Thus, the sum of the probabilities of all events in a sample space cannot be negative.

13. There are 23 countries in North America, 12 countries in South America, 47 countries in Europe, 44
countries in Asia, 54 countries in Africa, and 14 in Oceania (Pacific Ocean region).

• Let A = the event that a country is in Asia.

• Let E = the event that a country is in Europe.
• Let F = the event that a country is in Africa.
• Let N = the event that a country is in North America.
• Let O = the event that a country is in Oceania.
• Let S = the event that a country is in South America.

What is the value of P(S)?

A. 0.12
B. 0.06
C. 0.98
D. 1.23

Answer: B
Explain: Chapter 3.1
To calculate the probability of an event A when all outcomes in the sample space are equally likely,
count the number of outcomes for event A and divide by the total number of outcomes in the sample
space.

𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑆𝑜𝑢𝑡ℎ 𝐴𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑎 12

𝑃(𝑆) = = ≈ 0.06
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠 23 + 12 + 47 + 44 + 54 + 14
14. The following table shows a random sample of musicians and how they learned to play their
instruments.

Gender Self-taught Studied in School Private Instruction Total

Female 12 38 22 72
Male 19 24 15 58
Total 31 62 37 130

Let’s denote the events M = Male, F = Female, ST = Self-taught, SS = Studied in School, PI = Private
Instruction.

P(M ∩ PI) = ________

A. 0.12
B. 0.66
C. 0.82
D. 0.73
Answer: A
Explain: Chapter 3.1 & 3.4
An outcome is in the event A ∩ B if the outcome is in both A and B at the same time.
In this question, the total number of musicians is 130, and there are 15 musicians are both Male and
15
Studied in Private Instruction. Thus, we have: 𝑃(𝑀 ∩ 𝑃𝐼) = 130 ≈ 0.12

15. The following table shows a random sample of musicians and how they learned to play their
instruments.

Gender Self-taught Studied in School Private Instruction Total

Female 12 38 22 72
Male 19 24 15 58
Total 31 62 37 130

Let’s denote the events M = Male, F = Female, ST = Self-taught, SS = Studied in School, PI = Private
Instruction.

P(F | SS) = ________

A. 0.73
B. 0.54
C. 0.96
D. 0.61
Answer: D
Explain: Chapter 3.1 & 3.4
This question asks for a conditional probability. Please note that a conditional reduces the sample space.
In this question, we need to calculate the probability of F from the reduced sample space SS. If we only
focus on 62 musicians who studied in school, there are 38 female musicians who studied in school. Thus,
38
we have: 𝑃(𝐹 | 𝑆𝑆) = 62 ≈ 0.61
16. Javier volunteers in community events each month. He does not do more than five events in a
month. He attends exactly five events 35% of the time, four events 25% of the time, three events
20% of the time, two events 10% of the time, one event 5% of the time, and no events 5% of the
time.

x P(x)
0 0.05
1 0.05
2 0.10
3 0.20
4 0.25
5 0.35

Find the probability that Javier volunteers for less than three events each month.

P(x < 3) =_______

A. 0.20
B. 0.35
C. 0.44
D. 0.56
Answer: A
Explain: Chapter 4 – Introduction
The table shows the probability for each random variable.
For discrete random variable, P(x < 3) = P(x = 0) + P(x = 1) + P(x = 2) = 0.05 + 0.05 + 0.10 = 0.20

17. Javier volunteers in community events each month. He does not do more than five events in a
month. He attends exactly five events 35% of the time, four events 25% of the time, three events
20% of the time, two events 10% of the time, one event 5% of the time, and no events 5% of the
time.

x P(x)
0 0.05
1 0.05
2 0.10
3 0.20
4 0.25
5 0.35

Find the probability that Javier volunteers for five events each month.

P(x = 5) =_______

A. 0.25
B. 0.05
 C. 0.55
D. 0.35

Answer: D
Explain: Chapter 4 – Introduction
According to the given table, P(x = 5) = 0.35

18. The switchboard in a Minneapolis law office gets an average of 5.5 incoming phone calls during the
noon hour on Mondays. Experience shows that the existing staff can handle up to six calls in an
hour.

Let X = the number of calls received at noon.

What is the probability that the office receives less than six calls at noon on Monday? P(x < 6)

A. 0.5289
B. 0.2245
C. 0.9569
D. 0.1034

Answer: A
Explain: Chapter 4.4
The Poisson probability distribution gives the probability of a number of events occurring in a fixed
interval of time or space if these events happen with a known average rate.

Since μ (or λ) = the mean for the interval of interest, from question, we know μ (or λ) = 5.5.
Be careful, we do not use information from “Experience shows that the existing staff can handle up to
six calls in an hour” because it does not give us the number of occurrences that occur on average during
the interval period.

Also, because the question asks for P(x < 6), x = 6.

By using the “CH04-Poisson Distribution.xlsx”(can be found on Canvas Module “Week 3 - Discrete

Random Variables”) , we have:
19. The switchboard in a Minneapolis law office gets an average of 5.5 incoming phone calls during the
noon hour on Mondays. Experience shows that the existing staff can handle up to six calls in an
hour.

Let X = the number of calls received at noon.

What is the probability that the office receives five calls at noon on Monday? P(x = 5)
A. 0.3555
B. 0.9762
C. 0.1714
D. 0.8837

Answer: C
Explain: Chapter 4.4
This question is similar to question 18.

From question, we know μ (or λ) = 5.5.

Also, the question asks us to calculate P(x = 5).

By using the “CH04-Poisson Distribution.xlsx”(can be found on Canvas Module “Week 3 - Discrete

Random Variables”) , we have:

20. Which of the following is not a binomial process?

A. The number of bad checks a bank expects to receive per day.
B. You play a game that you can only either win or lose.
C. Flipping a fair coin.
D. A study of how many people passed the state driver’s exam on the first try.

Answer: A
Explain: Chapter 4.2
A binomial process has only two possible outcomes, called "success" and, "failure," for each trial.
In this question, the number of bad checks could be any number. Therefore, it is not a binomial process.
21. What does the shaded area represent? P(___< x < ___)

A. P(0 < x <7)

B. P(6 < x <10)
C. P(6 < x <4)
D. P(6 < x <7)

Answer: D
Explain: Chapter 5.1
For continuous probability distribution, the probability is evaluated as area under the curve.
P(c < x < d) is the probability that the random variable X is in the interval between the values c and d.

In this question, the shaded area is from 6 to 7. Therefore, it represents P(6 < x <7).

22. For a continuous probability distribution, 0 ≤ x ≤ 15. What is P(x > 15)?
A. 0
B. 1
C. 2
D. 0.5

Answer: A
Explain: Chapter 5.1
For continuous probability distribution, we only calculate the area in the given interval, and the entire
area under the curve and above the x-axis is equal to one.

In this question, x > 15 is out of the given interval. Therefore, P(x > 15) = 0.

23. The age of cars in the staff parking lot of a suburban college is uniformly distributed from brand new
(0 years) to 12 years. Let X = The age (in years) of cars in the staff parking lot.
 P(x > 9) = ?

A. 0.33
B. 0.98
C. 0.25
D. 0.12

Answer: C
Explain: Chapter 5.2
1
First, for uniform distribution, 𝑓(𝑥) = 𝑏−𝑎 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎 ≤ 𝑥 ≤ 𝑏.
In this question, a = the lowest value of x = 0, and b = the highest value of x = 12. Therefore, we have:

1 1 1
𝑓(𝑥) = = =
𝑏 − 𝑎 12 − 0 12

Second, according to the given graph, x > 9 shows the shaded area for 9 < x < 12.

1 3
Therefore, P(x > 9) = (base)(height) = (12 – 9)(12) = 12 = 0.25

24. A customer service representative must spend different amounts of time with each customer to
resolve various concerns. The amount of time spent with each customer can be modeled by the
following distribution: X ~ Exp(0.2)

Find P(2 < x < 10).

A. 0.7033
B. 0.6222
C. 0.9856
D. 0.5350

Answer: D
Explain: Chapter 5.3
First, the exponential distribution can be written as X ~ Exp(m). In this question, X ~ Exp(0.2) means m =
0.2.
Second, “CH05_Formula Review.pdf” shows that P(a < X < b) = 𝑒 (–𝑚𝑎) − 𝑒 (–𝑚𝑏) . You can find this file on
Canvas Module “Week 5 - Continuous Random Variables - Part 2”.
Therefore, P(2 < x < 10) = 𝑒 (–𝑚∙2) − 𝑒 (–𝑚∙10) = 𝑒 (–0.2∗2) − 𝑒 (–0.2∗10) = 𝑒 (–0.4) − 𝑒 (–2) = 0.6703 −
0.1353 = 0.5350
25. The uniform distribution can be written as X ~ U (a, b). Assume a distribution is given as X ~ U(0, 12).
What is the value of a?
A. 0
B. 12
C. 1/2
D. 1/12

Answer: A
Explain: Chapter 5.2
An uniform distribution can be written as X ~ U (a, b), where a = the lowest value of x and b = the highest
value of x. In this question, a = 0.