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Assigmment 2

The document is an assignment for a Probability and Statistics course, detailing various problems related to random variables, probability mass functions, and distributions. It includes tasks on calculating probabilities, finding constants, and analyzing Poisson processes and normal distributions. Additionally, it covers practical applications such as error detection in communication and sensor measurement noise.

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Gabriel Roldán
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17 views3 pages

Assigmment 2

The document is an assignment for a Probability and Statistics course, detailing various problems related to random variables, probability mass functions, and distributions. It includes tasks on calculating probabilities, finding constants, and analyzing Poisson processes and normal distributions. Additionally, it covers practical applications such as error detection in communication and sensor measurement noise.

Uploaded by

Gabriel Roldán
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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ENGR-UH-2010Q

Probability and Statistics for Engineers


Assignment 2 (due Thursday Febreuary 06, 2025)

Problem 1: The random variable V has PMF


(
cv2 v = 1, 2, 3, 4
pV (v) =
0 otherwise.

(a) Find the value of the constant c.


(b) Find P[V ∈ A], where A = {u2 |u = 1, 2, 3, . . .}.
(c) Find the probability that V is an even number.
(d) Find P[V > 2].
(e) Draw the CDF of the RV V .

Problem 2: Appending three extra check bits to a 4-bit word in a particular way (a Hamming
code) allows detection and correction of up to one error in any of the bits. If each bit has probability
.05 of being changed (i.e. being received in error) during communication, and the bits are changed
independently of each other, what is the probability that the word is correctly received (that is,
either none or a single bit out of the seven transmitted bits is received in error)?
How does this probability compare to the probability that the word will be received correctly
with no check bits, in which case only four bits are transmitted and all four bits would have to be
received correctly for the word to be correct?

Problem 3 Phone calls are received at Diane’s residence as a Poisson process with rate α = 2
per hour.
(a) If Diane takes a 10-min. shower, what is the probability that the phone rings during that
time?
(b) How long can her shower be if she wishes the probability of receiving no phone calls to be
at most .5?

Problem 4 Two boys play basketball in the following way. They take turns shooting and stop
when a basket is made. Player A goes first and has probability p1 of making a basket on any

1
throw. Player B, who shoots second, has probability p2 of making a basket. The outcomes of the
successive trials are assumed to be independent.
(a) Find the probability mass function for the total number of attempts.
k 1
(b) What is the probability that player A wins? Hint: ∑∞
k=0 a = 1−a .

Problem 5: A random variable X has the following PDF:



c(1 − x2 ) −1 ≤ x ≤ 1
fX (x) =
0 otherwise
(a) Find c and plot the PDF.
(b) Find and plot the CDF of X. Why is this a valid CDF?
(c) Find P[X = 0], P[0 < X < 0.5], and P[|X − 0.5| < 0.25].

Problem 6: Let X be a normal random variable with µ = 5 and σ = 10. Find


(a) P[X > 10].
(b) the value of x such that P[X > x] = .05.

Problem 7: Suppose that the lifetime of an electronic component follows an exponential dis-
tribution with λ = .1.
(a) Find the probability that the lifetime is between 5 and 15.
(b) Find t such that the probability that the lifetime is greater than t is .01.

Problem 8: Autonomous robots rely on LIDAR sensors for mapping and obstacle detection.
However, these sensors are affected by measurement noise, which can be modeled as a Gaussian
random variable.
Suppose a robot’s LIDAR sensor measures distances to obstacles with an error X, which fol-
lows a normal distribution:
X ∼ N (0, σ 2 )
where the mean error is 0 meters (no bias), and the standard deviation is σ = 0.05 meters.
Tasks:
(a) Write the Probability Density Function (PDF) of this noise distribution.

2
(b) Compute the probability that a single LIDAR measurement falls within ±0.1 meters of the
true distance.
(c) The robot applies a trust threshold, meaning it ignores any LIDAR reading that has an error
greater than ±0.07 meters.
What is the probability that a measurement is discarded due to exceeding this threshold?
Hint: Use the Standard Normal Table Φ(z) to compute probabilities.

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