Chapter 4 Practice Problems

Multiple Choice (Knowledge & Understanding)

Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.

____ 1. An experiment that models an actual event is a(n)

a. trial c. simulation
b. test d. experiment
____ 2. The chances of a family having a boy is simulated by tossing a coin ten times. Heads is used to simulate
having a girl and tails is used to simulate having a boy. Out of ten trials, two heads and eight tails turn up.

This experimental probability of is

a. close to the theoretical probability c. not close to the theoretical probability
b. equal to the theoretical probability d. none of the above
____ 3. Two friends play a game. They roll a die. If the roll is 1 or 2, the first friend gives the second friend $3.00. If
the roll is a 6, the second friend gives the first friend $5.00. The expected amount of money the first friend
receives if the die is rolled 12 times is
a. $5.00 c. $3.00
b. $10.00 d. $6.00
____ 4. A spinner is divided into twelve equal sectors, numbered 1 through 12. An event space is defined as spinning
a number divisible by 3. The value of is
a. c.

b. d.

____ 5. Each of the letters of the word PROBABILITY are placed in a hat. If one letter is drawn randomly, what is
the probability that a vowel is pulled out?
a. c.

b. d.

____ 6. Which of the following statements is true?

a. c.
b. d. none of the above
____ 7. Let set be the set of even numbers between 1 and 20. Let be the set of all numbers divisible by three
between 1 and 20. Which statement is true?
a. c.
b. d.
____ 8. Which of the following is the additive principle for probabilities?
a.
b.
c.
d.
____ 9. The probability that John will be accepted into the business program at Probability College is 0.6. The
probability that he will be accepted into the science program is 0.2. The probability that he will be accepted
into both programs is 0.1. What is the probability that he will be accepted into at least one of the programs?
a. 0.7 c. 0.12
b. 0.9 d. none of the above
____ 10. In a high school of 1000 students, 355 are playing sports and 233 are in a school band. If there are 175
students playing sports and are in a school band, how many are in neither activity?
a. 237 c. 413
b. 825 d. 587
____ 11. From a survey of 500 drivers, 200 drive cars, 120 drive SUVs, 60 drive minivans, and the rest drive trucks.
Determine P(truck driver|not a car driver).
a. c.

b. d. none of the above

____ 12. A pair of students is picked randomly from four students John, Sara, Adam, and Laura. Determine the
probability that a girl will be chosen given that Adam has been chosen already.
a. c.

b. d.

____ 13. Identify which of the following situations would not be easily represented by a tree diagram.
a. flipping a coin 5 times c. choosing 2 cards from a regular deck
b. rolling a pair of dice d. all are easily represented
____ 14. Identify which situation represents two dependent events.
a. drawing two cards from a deck without replacement
b. flipping a coin twice
c. rolling a pair of dice one after the other
d. none of the above
____ 15. Two people are playing rock, paper, and scissors. Determine the probability that they will choose the same
option two times in a row.
a. c.

b. d.

____ 16. Determine the number of ways the 8 members of the Junior Jazz Band can stand in a line if Val must be first,
Tim sixth, and Tricia last.
a. 56 c. 32 768
b. 40 230 d. none of the above
____ 17. Express 15  14  13 in a different manner.
a. P(15, 13) c.

b. d. P(15, 12)

____ 18. The letters of the word SIMILE are scrambled. Determine the probability that the word is spelled exactly
backwards.
a. c.

b. d. none of the above

____ 19. The expression is equivalent to

a. 42 c. 21
b. d. none of the above

____ 20. Determine which of the following problems must be determined using a combination.
a. Determine the probability of drawing an ace and a four from a deck of cards in that order.
b. Determine the probability that Rhys, Lorne, Cheryl, and Carl are chosen when a group of
six is chosen from nineteen people.
c. Determine the probability of rolling doubles when a pair of dice are rolled.
d. Determine the number of ways that a captain and co-captain can be chosen from a football
team of 35 members.

Short Answer (Knowledge & Understanding)

21. A CD is defective 3% of the time. A simulation is done by a spreadsheet which produces random numbers
from 1 to 100. What are the possible numbers that represent a non-defective CD?
22. A die is rolled and a coin is flipped at the same time. How many possible events can be simulated using this
method?
23. A bag contains 4 red marbles, 3 blue marbles, 6 black marbles, and 2 yellow marbles. If a marble is drawn at
random, determine the probability of not drawing a red marble.
24. Two dice are rolled. The probability of rolling doubles is to be determined. State .

25. According to the following Venn diagram, what is the value of ?

26. Two dice are rolled. Determine the probability of rolling pairs or a sum of four.
27. Out of a group of people surveyed, 70 say they read the newspaper and 83 say they watch television. If 25 say
they do both, draw a Venn diagram to represent this scenario. A is the set of people who read the newspaper
and B is the set of people who watch T.V. Assume that every person surveyed is involved in at least one of
these activities.
28. A survey indicated that 60% of the people watch television. Of those people, 70% watch more than one hour
per day and the rest watch more than one hour. Determine the probability that a person, chosen at random,
watches more than one hour of television per day.
29. Determine the probability of drawing a red card and then the ace of spades from a regular deck of cards, given
that the red card is not returned to the deck.
 30. If , , and , determine .

31. A box contains one each of a math, english, history, and science textbook. One textbook is drawn randomly
and then replaced. Then a second textbook is drawn out. Draw a tree diagram to represent the possible
outcomes.
32. Express 40  39 38 using factorials.
33. State the number of ways that the 9 members of the debating club can be lined up for a picture if Frasier must
be on the far left and Samantha and Charlotte must be together.

34. Solve for if .

35. Write 13C5 in terms of factorials.

36. A committee of 3 students is chosen from 6 music students and 5 drama students. Determine the probability
that exactly 2 are drama students.

Application Problems

37. A traffic light is red for 35 s, green for 60 s, and amber for 5 s. Design a simulation using a spinner to
determine the probability that, at the moment a car arrives at the intersection, the light will be green.
38. A student is writing a test with 4 true/false questions. The student wants to know the theoretical probability of
passing the test by guessing. This means that 2 or more of the 4 questions are answered correctly by guessing.
Determine this probability and show all your work.
39. A game show has three doors labelled A, B, and C behind which there may or may not be a prize. A group of
contestants are asked behind which doors they think there is a prize. The results are: 18 people choose A, 19
people choose B, 19 people choose C, 4 people choose A and B, 7 people choose A and C, 10 people choose
B and C, and 3 people choose all three. Determine the number of people who only choose A.
40. A group of 200 candidates apply for a job. Only 10 will be given interviews and only 3 of those candidates
will be given second interviews. If the selection process is completely random, what is the probability of
being given a second interview?
41. If a family has five children, determine the probability that two of the children are girls.
42. The first line of a local all-star team is to be composed of 4 strikers, 3 midfielders, and 3 defencemen. There
are 20 strikers, 17 midfielders, and 15 defencemen trying out. Determine the probability that Steven, a striker,
and Paul, a defenceman, both make the starting lineup.
Answer Section

MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. ANS: C
2. ANS: A
3. ANS: B
4. ANS: B
5. ANS: C
6. ANS: A
7. ANS: D
8. ANS: A
9. ANS: A
10. ANS: D
11. ANS: B
12. ANS: B
13. ANS: C
14. ANS: A
15. ANS: C
16. ANS: D
17. ANS: C
18. ANS: B
19. ANS: C
20. ANS: B

SHORT ANSWER

21. ANS:
The possible numbers that represent a non-defective CD are 4 to 100.

22. ANS:
The number of possible events that can be simulated using this method is 12.

23. ANS:

The probability of not drawing a red marble is .

24. ANS:
The value of is 30.

25. ANS:
The value of is 28.

26. ANS:

The probability of rolling pairs or a sum of four is .

27. ANS:

28. ANS:
The probability that a person watches more than one hour of television per day is 0.42.

29. ANS:

The probability of drawing a red card and then the ace of spades is .

30. ANS:

P(B|A) = .

31. ANS:

32. ANS:

Using factorials, 40  39  38 is .
 33. ANS:
The number of ways is 10 080.

34. ANS:
n = 42

35. ANS:
In terms of factorials, 13C5 is .

36. ANS:
The probability is .

PROBLEM

37. ANS:

Divide the spinner into 3 sections. The red sector will have an angle of . The green sector

will have an angle of . The amber sector will have an angle of . Each trial
will consist of one spin of the spinner. The arrow landing in the red sector will simulate arriving at a red light,
and likewise for the other two colours. Perform many trials and calculate the experimental probability.

38. ANS:
Let be the event of answering two or more questions correctly.
= {(question 1 correct, question 2 correct),
(1, 3), (1, 4), (2, 3), (2, 4), (3, 4), (1, 2, 3),(1, 2, 4), (1, 3, 4), (2, 3, 4), (1, 2, 3, 4)}
Therefore, .
39. ANS:
Let , and be the sets of people choosing doors A, B, and C.

(only A)

40. ANS:
Let A be the event of being given a first interview and B be the event of being given a second interview. The
probability of being given a second interview is:
P(A B)

41. ANS:
The probability of having a girl or a boy is and the number of ways of having two girls out of five children
is 10 which can be seen with a tree diagram or using another counting method.

P(2 are girls)

42. ANS:

P(both players make the lineup)