Chapter 5 - Discrete Probability Distributions

Multiple Choice

1. A numerical description of the outcome of an experiment is called a

a. descriptive statistic
b. probability function
c. variance
d. random variable
ANSWER: d
POINTS: 1

2. A random variable that can assume only a finite number of values is referred to as a(n)
a. infinite sequence
b. finite sequence
c. discrete random variable
d. discrete probability function
ANSWER: c
POINTS: 1

3. A continuous random variable may assume

a. any value in an interval or collection of intervals
b. only integer values in an interval or collection of intervals
c. only fractional values in an interval or collection of intervals
d. only the positive integer values in an interval
ANSWER: a
POINTS: 1

4. An experiment consists of making 80 telephone calls in order to sell a particular insurance policy. The random variable
in this experiment is the number of sales made. This random variable is a
a. discrete random variable
b. continuous random variable
c. complex random variable
d. None of the answers is correct.
ANSWER: a
POINTS: 1

5. The number of customers that enter a store during one day is an example of
a. a continuous random variable
b. a discrete random variable
c. either a continuous or a discrete random variable, depending on the number of the customers
d. either a continuous or a discrete random variable, depending on the gender of the customers
ANSWER: b
POINTS: 1

6. An experiment consists of measuring the speed of automobiles on a highway by the use of radar equipment. The
random variable in this experiment is speed, measured in miles per hour. This random variable is a

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Chapter 5 - Discrete Probability Distributions
a. discrete random variable
b. continuous random variable
c. complex random variable
d. None of the answers is correct.
ANSWER: b
POINTS: 1

7. The weight of an object, measured in grams, is an example of

a. a continuous random variable
b. a discrete random variable
c. either a continuous or a discrete random variable, depending on the weight of the object
d. either a continuous or a discrete random variable depending on the units of measurement
ANSWER: a
POINTS: 1

8. The weight of an object, measured to the nearest gram, is an example of

a. a continuous random variable
b. a discrete random variable
c. either a continuous or a discrete random variable, depending on the weight of the object
d. either a continuous or a discrete random variable depending on the units of measurement
ANSWER: b
POINTS: 1

9. A description of how the probabilities are distributed over the values the random variable can assume is called a
a. probability distribution
b. probability function
c. random variable
d. expected value
ANSWER: a
POINTS: 1

10. Which of the following is(are) required condition(s) for a discrete probability function?
a. ∑f(x) = 0
b. f(x) ≥ 1 for all values of x
c. f(x) < 0
d. None of the answers is correct.
ANSWER: d
POINTS: 1

11. Which of the following is not a required condition for a discrete probability function?
a. f(x) ≥ 0 for all values of x
b. ∑f(x) = 1
c. ∑f(x) = 0
d. All of the answers are correct.
ANSWER: c
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Chapter 5 - Discrete Probability Distributions
POINTS: 1

12. Which of the following statements about a discrete random variable and its probability distribution are true?
a. Values of the random variable can never be negative.
b. Negative values of f(x) are allowed as long as ∑f(x) = 1.
c. Values of f(x) must be greater than or equal to zero.
d. The values of f(x) increase to a maximum point and then decrease.
ANSWER: c
POINTS: 1

13. A measure of the average value of a random variable is called a(n)

a. variance
b. standard deviation
c. expected value
d. None of the answers is correct.
ANSWER: c
POINTS: 1

14. A weighted average of the value of a random variable, where the probability function provides weights is known as
a. a probability function
b. a random variable
c. the expected value
d. None of the answers is correct
ANSWER: c
POINTS: 1

15. The expected value of a random variable is the

a. value of the random variable that should be observed on the next repeat of the experiment
b. value of the random variable that occurs most frequently
c. square root of the variance
d. None of the answers is correct.
ANSWER: d
POINTS: 1

16. The expected value of a discrete random variable

a. is the most likely or highest probability value for the random variable
b. will always be one of the values x can take on, although it may not be the highest probability value for the
random variable
c. is the average value for the random variable over many repeats of the experiment
d. All of the answers are correct.
ANSWER: c
POINTS: 1

17. Excel's __________ function can be used to compute the expected value of a discrete random variable.
a. SUMPRODUCT
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Chapter 5 - Discrete Probability Distributions
b. AVERAGE
c. MEDIAN
d. VAR
ANSWER: a
POINTS: 1

18. Variance is
a. a measure of the average, or central value of a random variable
b. a measure of the dispersion of a random variable
c. the square root of the standard deviation
d. the sum of the deviation of data elements from the mean
ANSWER: b
POINTS: 1

19. The variance is a weighted average of the

a. square root of the deviations from the mean
b. square root of the deviations from the median
c. squared deviations from the median
d. squared deviations from the mean
ANSWER: d
POINTS: 1

20. Excel's __________ function can be used to compute the variance of a discrete random variable.
a. SUMPRODUCT
b. AVERAGE
c. MEDIAN
d. VAR
ANSWER: a
POINTS: 1

21. The standard deviation is the

a. variance squared
b. square root of the sum of the deviations from the mean
c. same as the expected value
d. positive square root of the variance
ANSWER: d
POINTS: 1

22. x is a random variable with the probability function: f(x) = x/6 for x = 1,2 or 3. The expected value of x is
a. 0.333
b. 0.500
c. 2.000
d. 2.333
ANSWER: d
POINTS: 1
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Chapter 5 - Discrete Probability Distributions

23. The number of electrical outages in a city varies from day to day. Assume that the number of electrical outages (x) in
the city has the following probability distribution.
x f(x)
0 0.80
1 0.15
2 0.04
3 0.01
The mean and the standard deviation for the number of electrical outages (respectively) are
a. 2.6 and 5.77
b. 0.26 and 0.577
c. 3 and 0.01
d. 0 and 0.8
ANSWER: b
POINTS: 1

Exhibit 5-1
The following represents the probability distribution for the daily demand of microcomputers at a local store.
Demand Probability
0 0.1
1 0.2
2 0.3
3 0.2
4 0.2
24. Refer to Exhibit 5-1. The expected daily demand is
a. 1.0
b. 2.2
c. 2
d. 4
ANSWER: b
POINTS: 1

25. Refer to Exhibit 5-1. The probability of having a demand for at least two microcomputers is
a. 0.7
b. 0.3
c. 0.4
d. 1.0
ANSWER: a
POINTS: 1

Exhibit 5-2
The probability distribution for the daily sales at Michael's Co. is given below.
Daily Sales ($1,000s) Probability
40 0.1
50 0.4
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Chapter 5 - Discrete Probability Distributions
60 0.3
70 0.2
26. Refer to Exhibit 5-2. The expected daily sales are
a. $55,000
b. $56,000
c. $50,000
d. $70,000
ANSWER: b
POINTS: 1

27. Refer to Exhibit 5-2. The probability of having sales of at least $50,000 is
a. 0.5
b. 0.10
c. 0.30
d. 0.90
ANSWER: d
POINTS: 1

Exhibit 5-3
The probability distribution for the number of goals the Lions soccer team makes per game is given below.
Number of Goals Probability
0 0.05
1 0.15
2 0.35
3 0.30
4 0.15
28. Refer to Exhibit 5-3. The expected number of goals per game is
a. 0
b. 1
c. 2
d. 2.35
ANSWER: d
POINTS: 1

29. Refer to Exhibit 5-3. What is the probability that in a given game the Lions will score at least 1 goal?
a. 0.20
b. 0.55
c. 1.0
d. 0.95
ANSWER: d
POINTS: 1

30. Refer to Exhibit 5-3. What is the probability that in a given game the Lions will score less than 3 goals?
a. 0.85
b. 0.55
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Chapter 5 - Discrete Probability Distributions
c. 0.45
d. 0.80
ANSWER: b
POINTS: 1

31. Refer to Exhibit 5-3. What is the probability that in a given game the Lions will score no goals?
a. 0.95
b. 0.85
c. 0.75
d. None of the answers is correct.
ANSWER: d
POINTS: 1

Exhibit 5-4
A local bottling company has determined the number of machine breakdowns per month and their respective probabilities
as shown below.
Number of
Breakdowns Probability
0 0.12
1 0.38
2 0.25
3 0.18
4 0.07
32. Refer to Exhibit 5-4. The expected number of machine breakdowns per month is
a. 2
b. 1.70
c. one
d. None of the alternative answers is correct.
ANSWER: b
POINTS: 1

33. Refer to Exhibit 5-4. The probability of at least 3 breakdowns in a month is

a. 0.5
b. 0.10
c. 0.30
d. None of the alternative answers is correct.
ANSWER: d
POINTS: 1

34. Refer to Exhibit 5-4. The probability of no breakdowns in a month is

a. 0.88
b. 0.00
c. 0.50
d. None of the alternative answers is correct.
ANSWER: d
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Chapter 5 - Discrete Probability Distributions
POINTS: 1

Exhibit 5-5
AMR is a computer-consulting firm. The number of new clients that they have obtained each month has ranged from 0 to
6. The number of new clients has the probability distribution that is shown below.
Number of
New Clients Probability
0 0.05
1 0.10
2 0.15
3 0.35
4 0.20
5 0.10
6 0.05
35. Refer to Exhibit 5-5. The expected number of new clients per month is
a. 6
b. 0
c. 3.05
d. 21
ANSWER: c
POINTS: 1

36. Refer to Exhibit 5-5. The variance is

a. 1.431
b. 2.0475
c. 3.05
d. 21
ANSWER: b
POINTS: 1

37. Refer to Exhibit 5-5. The standard deviation is

a. 1.431
b. 2.047
c. 3.05
d. 21
ANSWER: a
POINTS: 1

Exhibit 5-6
Probability Distribution
x f(x)
10 .2
20 .3
30 .4
40 .1

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Chapter 5 - Discrete Probability Distributions
38. Refer to Exhibit 5-6. The expected value of x equals
a. 24
b. 25
c. 30
d. 100
ANSWER: a
POINTS: 1

39. Refer to Exhibit 5-6. The variance of x equals

a. 9.165
b. 84
c. 85
d. 93.33
ANSWER: b
POINTS: 1

Exhibit 5-7
A sample of 2,500 people was asked how many cups of coffee they drink in the morning. You are given the following
sample information.
Cups of Coffee Frequency
0 700
1 900
2 600
3 300
2,500
40. Refer to Exhibit 5-7. The expected number of cups of coffee is
a. 1
b. 1.2
c. 1.5
d. 1.7
ANSWER: b
POINTS: 1

41. Refer to Exhibit 5-7. The variance of the number of cups of coffee is
a. .96
b. .9798
c. 1
d. 2.4
ANSWER: a
POINTS: 1

42. Which of the following is a characteristic of a binomial experiment?

a. at least 2 outcomes are possible
b. the probability of success changes from trial to trial
c. the trials are independent
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Chapter 5 - Discrete Probability Distributions
d. All of these answers are correct.
ANSWER: c
POINTS: 1

43. In a binomial experiment, the

a. probability of success does not change from trial to trial
b. probability of success does change from trial to trial
c. probability of success could change from trial to trial, depending on the situation under consideration
d. All of these answers are correct.
ANSWER: a
POINTS: 1

44. Which of the following is not a characteristic of an experiment where the binomial probability distribution is
applicable?
a. the experiment has a sequence of n identical trials
b. exactly two outcomes are possible on each trial
c. the trials are dependent
d. the probabilities of the outcomes do not change from one trial to another
ANSWER: c
POINTS: 1

45. Which of the following is not a property of a binomial experiment?

a. the experiment consists of a sequence of n identical trials
b. each outcome can be referred to as a success or a failure
c. the probabilities of the two outcomes can change from one trial to the next
d. the trials are independent
ANSWER: c
POINTS: 1

46. A probability distribution showing the probability of x successes in n trials, where the probability of success does not
change from trial to trial, is termed a
a. uniform probability distribution
b. binomial probability distribution
c. hypergeometric probability distribution
d. normal probability distribution
ANSWER: b
POINTS: 1

47. The binomial probability distribution is used with

a. a continuous random variable
b. a discrete random variable
c. any distribution, as long as it is not normal
d. All of these answers are correct.
ANSWER: b
POINTS: 1
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Chapter 5 - Discrete Probability Distributions

48. If you are conducting an experiment where the probability of a success is .02 and you are interested in the probability
of 4 successes in 15 trials, the correct probability function to use is the
a. standard normal probability density function
b. normal probability density function
c. Poisson probability function
d. binomial probability function
ANSWER: d
POINTS: 1

49. In a binomial experiment the probability of success is 0.06. What is the probability of two successes in seven trials?
a. 0.0036
b. 0.06
c. 0.0554
d. 0.28
ANSWER: c
POINTS: 1

50. Four percent of the customers of a mortgage company default on their payments. A sample of five customers is
selected. What is the probability that exactly two customers in the sample will default on their payments?
a. 0.2592
b. 0.0142
c. 0.9588
d. 0.7408
ANSWER: b
POINTS: 1

51. A production process produces 2% defective parts. A sample of five parts from the production process is selected.
What is the probability that the sample contains exactly two defective parts?
a. 0.0004
b. 0.0038
c. 0.10
d. 0.02
ANSWER: b
POINTS: 1

52. Excel's BINOM.DIST function can be used to compute

a. bin width for histograms
b. binomial probabilities
c. cumulative binomial probabilities
d. Both binomial probabilities and cumulative binomial probabilities are correct.
ANSWER: d
POINTS: 1

53. Excel's BINOM.DIST function has how many inputs?

a. 2
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Chapter 5 - Discrete Probability Distributions
b. 3
c. 4
d. 5
ANSWER: c
POINTS: 1

54. When using Excel's BINOM.DIST function, one should choose TRUE for the fourth input if
a. a probability is desired
b. a cumulative probability is desired
c. the expected value is desired
d. the correct answer is desired
ANSWER: b
POINTS: 1

55. The expected value for a binomial probability distribution is

a. E(x) = pn(1 − n)
b. E(x) = p(1 − p)
c. E(x) = np
d. E(x) = np(1 − p)
ANSWER: c
POINTS: 1

56. The variance for the binomial probability distribution is

a. Var(x) = p(1 − p)
b. Var(x) = np
c. Var(x) = n(1 − p)
d. Var(x) = np(1 − p)
ANSWER: d
POINTS: 1

57. The standard deviation of a binomial distribution is

a. E(x) = pn(1 − n)
b. E(x) = np(1 − p)
c. E(x) = np
d. None of the alternative answers is correct.
ANSWER: d
POINTS: 1

58. Assume that you have a binomial experiment with p = 0.5 and a sample size of 100. The expected value of this
distribution is
a. 0.50
b. 0.30
c. 50
d. Not enough information is given to answer this question.
ANSWER: c
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Chapter 5 - Discrete Probability Distributions
POINTS: 1

59. Assume that you have a binomial experiment with p = 0.4 and a sample size of 50. The variance of this distribution is
a. 20
b. 12
c. 3.46
d. Not enough information is given to answer this question.
ANSWER: b
POINTS: 1

60. Twenty percent of the students in a class of 100 are planning to go to graduate school. The standard deviation of this
binomial distribution is
a. 20
b. 16
c. 4
d. 2
ANSWER: c
POINTS: 1

Exhibit 5-8
The student body of a large university consists of 60% female students. A random sample of 8 students is selected.
61. Refer to Exhibit 5-8. What is the random variable in this experiment?
a. the 60% of female students
b. the random sample of 8 students
c. the number of female students out of 8
d. the student body size
ANSWER: c
POINTS: 1

62. Refer to Exhibit 5-8. What is the probability that among the students in the sample exactly two are female?
a. 0.0896
b. 0.2936
c. 0.0413
d. 0.0007
ANSWER: c
POINTS: 1

63. Refer to Exhibit 5-8. What is the probability that among the students in the sample at least 7 are female?
a. 0.1064
b. 0.0896
c. 0.0168
d. 0.8936
ANSWER: a
POINTS: 1

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Chapter 5 - Discrete Probability Distributions
64. Refer to Exhibit 5-8. What is the probability that among the students in the sample at least 6 are male?
a. 0.0413
b. 0.0079
c. 0.0007
d. 0.0499
ANSWER: d
POINTS: 1

Exhibit 5-9
Forty percent of all registered voters in a national election are female. A random sample of 5 voters is selected.
65. Refer to Exhibit 5-9. What is the random variable in this experiment?
a. the 40% of female registered voters
b. the random sample of 5 voters
c. the number of female voters out of 5
d. the number of registered voters in the nation
ANSWER: c
POINTS: 1

66. Refer to Exhibit 5-9. The probability that the sample contains 2 female voters is
a. 0.0778
b. 0.7780
c. 0.5000
d. 0.3456
ANSWER: d
POINTS: 1

67. Refer to Exhibit 5-9. The probability that there are no females in the sample is
a. 0.0778
b. 0.7780
c. 0.5000
d. 0.3456
ANSWER: a
POINTS: 1

Exhibit 5-10
The probability that Pete will catch fish on a particular day when he goes fishing is 0.8. Pete is going fishing 3 days next
week.
68. Refer to Exhibit 5-10. What is the random variable in this experiment?
a. the 0.8 probability of catching fish
b. the 3 days
c. the number of days out of 3 that Pete catches fish
d. the number of fish in the body of water
ANSWER: c
POINTS: 1

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Chapter 5 - Discrete Probability Distributions
69. Refer to Exhibit 5-10. The probability that Pete will catch fish on exactly one day is
a. .008
b. .096
c. .104
d. .8
ANSWER: b
POINTS: 1

70. Refer to Exhibit 5-10. The probability that Pete will catch fish on one day or less is
a. .008
b. .096
c. .104
d. .8
ANSWER: c
POINTS: 1

71. Refer to Exhibit 5-10. The expected number of days Pete will catch fish is
a. .6
b. .8
c. 2.4
d. 3
ANSWER: c
POINTS: 1

72. Refer to Exhibit 5-10. The variance of the number of days Pete will catch fish is
a. .16
b. .48
c. .8
d. 2.4
ANSWER: b
POINTS: 1

Exhibit 5-11
The random variable x is the number of occurrences of an event over an interval of ten minutes. It can be assumed that the
probability of an occurrence is the same in any two time periods of an equal length. It is known that the mean number of
occurrences in ten minutes is 5.3.
73. Refer to Exhibit 5-11. The random variable x satisfies which of the following probability distributions?
a. normal
b. Poisson
c. binomial
d. Not enough information is given to answer this question.
ANSWER: b
POINTS: 1

74. Refer to Exhibit 5-11. The appropriate probability distribution for the random variable is
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Chapter 5 - Discrete Probability Distributions
a. discrete
b. continuous
c. either a or b depending on how the interval is defined
d. not enough information is given
ANSWER: a
POINTS: 1

75. Refer to Exhibit 5-11. The expected value of the random variable x is
a. 2
b. 5.3
c. 10
d. 2.30
ANSWER: b
POINTS: 1

76. Refer to Exhibit 5-11. The probability that there are 8 occurrences in ten minutes is
a. .0241
b. .0771
c. .1126
d. .9107
ANSWER: b
POINTS: 1

77. Refer to Exhibit 5-11. The probability that there are less than 3 occurrences is
a. .0659
b. .0948
c. .1016
d. .1239
ANSWER: c
POINTS: 1

78. The Poisson probability distribution is a

a. continuous probability distribution
b. discrete probability distribution
c. uniform probability distribution
d. normal probability distribution
ANSWER: b
POINTS: 1

79. The Poisson probability distribution is used with

a. a continuous random variable
b. a discrete random variable
c. either a continuous or discrete random variable
d. any random variable
ANSWER: b
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Chapter 5 - Discrete Probability Distributions
POINTS: 1

80. When dealing with the number of occurrences of an event over a specified interval of time or space and when the
occurrence or nonoccurrence in any interval is independent of the occurrence or nonoccurrence in any other interval, the
appropriate probability distribution is a
a. binomial distribution
b. Poisson distribution
c. normal distribution
d. hypergeometric probability distribution
ANSWER: b
POINTS: 1

81. Excel's POISSON.DIST function can be used to compute

a. bin width for histograms
b. Poisson probabilities
c. cumulative Poisson probabilities
d. Both Poisson probabilities and cumulative Poisson probabilities are correct.
ANSWER: d
POINTS: 1

82. Excel's POISSON.DIST function has how many inputs?

a. 2
b. 3
c. 4
d. 5
ANSWER: b
POINTS: 1

83. When using Excel's POISSON.DIST function, one should choose TRUE for the third input if
a. a probability is desired
b. a cumulative probability is desired
c. the expected value is desired
d. the correct answer is desired
ANSWER: b
POINTS: 1

84. In the textile industry, a manufacturer is interested in the number of blemishes or flaws occurring in each 100 feet of
material. The probability distribution that has the greatest chance of applying to this situation is the
a. normal distribution
b. binomial distribution
c. Poisson distribution
d. uniform distribution
ANSWER: c
POINTS: 1

85. When sampling without replacement, the probability of obtaining a certain sample is best given by a
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Chapter 5 - Discrete Probability Distributions
a. hypergeometric distribution
b. binomial distribution
c. Poisson distribution
d. normal distribution
ANSWER: a
POINTS: 1

86. The key difference between the binomial and hypergeometric distribution is that with the hypergeometric distribution
the
a. probability of success must be less than 0.5
b. probability of success changes from trial to trial
c. trials are independent of each other
d. random variable is continuous
ANSWER: b
POINTS: 1

87. Excel's HYPGEOM.DIST function can be used to compute

a. bin width for histograms
b. hypergeometric probabilities
c. cumulative hypergeometric probabilities
d. Both hypergeometric probabilities and cumulative hypergeometric probabilities are correct.
ANSWER: b
POINTS: 1

88. Excel's HYPGEOM.DIST function has how many inputs?

a. 2
b. 3
c. 4
d. 5
ANSWER: d
POINTS: 1

89. When using Excel's HYPGEOM.DIST function, one should choose TRUE for the fifth input if
a. a probability is desired
b. a cumulative probability is desired
c. the expected value is desired
d. None of the alternative answers is correct.
ANSWER: b
POINTS: 1

90. The binomial probability distribution is most symmetric when

a. n is 30 or greater
b. n equals p
c. p approaches 1
d. p equals 0.5
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Chapter 5 - Discrete Probability Distributions
ANSWER: d
POINTS: 1

91. If one wanted to find the probability of ten customer arrivals in an hour at a service station, one would generally use
the
a. binomial probability distribution
b. Poisson probability distribution
c. hypergeometric probability distribution
d. exponential probability distribution
ANSWER: b
POINTS: 1

92. The _____ probability function is based in part on the counting rule for combinations.
a. binomial
b. Poisson
c. hypergeometric
d. exponential
ANSWER: c
POINTS: 1

93. To compute the probability that in a random sample of n elements, selected without replacement, we will obtain x
successes, we would use the
a. binomial probability distribution
b. Poisson probability distribution
c. hypergeometric probability distribution
d. exponential probability distribution
ANSWER: c
POINTS: 1

94. Experimental outcomes that are based on measurement scales such as time, weight, and distance can be described by
_____ random variables.
a. discrete
b. continuous
c. uniform
d. intermittent
ANSWER: b
POINTS: 1

95. Which of the following properties of a binomial experiment is called the stationarity
a. The experiment consists of n identical trials
b. Two outcomes are possible on each trial
c. The probability of success is the same for each trial
d. The trials are independent
ANSWER: c
POINTS: 1
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Chapter 5 - Discrete Probability Distributions
96. The function used to compute the probability of x successes in n trials, when the trials are dependent, is the
a. binomial probability function
b. Poisson probability function
c. hypergeometric probability function
d. exponential probability function
ANSWER: c
POINTS: 1

97. The expected value of a random variable is the

a. most probable value
b. simple average of all the possible values
c. median value
d. mean value
ANSWER: d
POINTS: 1

98. In a binomial experiment consisting of five trials, the number of different values that x (the number of successes) can
assume is
a. 2
b. 5
c. 6
d. 10
ANSWER: c
POINTS: 1

99. A binomial probability distribution with p = .3 is

a. negatively skewed
b. symmetrical
c. positively skewed
d. bimodal
ANSWER: a
POINTS: 1

100. In a Poisson probability problem, the rate of defects is one every two hours. To find the probability of three defects
in four hours,
a. μ = 1, x = 4
b. μ = 2, x = 3
c. μ = 3, x = 4
d. μ = 4, x = 3
ANSWER: b
POINTS: 1

101. Experiments with repeated independent trials will be described by the binomial distribution if
a. the trials are continuous
b. each trial result influences the next
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Chapter 5 - Discrete Probability Distributions
c. the time between trials is constant
d. each trial has exactly two outcomes whose probabilities do not change

ANSWER: d
POINTS: 1

102. In order to compute a binomial probability we must know all of the following except
a. the probability of success
b. the number of elements in the population
c. the number of trials
d. the value of the random variable
ANSWER: b
POINTS: 1

103. A property of the Poisson distribution is that the mean equals the
a. mode
b. median
c. variance
d. standard deviation
ANSWER: c
POINTS: 1

104. A discrete probability distribution for which the relative frequency method is used to assign probabilities is the
a. binomial distribution
b. empirical discrete distribution
c. hypergeometric distribution
d. discrete uniform distribution
ANSWER: b
POINTS: 1

105. A name closely associated with the binomial probability distribution is

a. Bernoulli
b. de Moivre
c. Pareto
d. Poisson
ANSWER: a
POINTS: 1

Subjective Short Answer

106. The probability distribution for the rate of return on an investment is

Rate of Return (%) Probability
9.5 .1
9.8 .2
10.0 .3
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Chapter 5 - Discrete Probability Distributions
10.2 .3
10.6 .1
a. What is the probability that the rate of return will be at least 10%?
b. What is the expected rate of return?
c. What is the variance of the rate of return?
ANSWER: a. 0.7
b. 10.03
c. 0.0801
POINTS: 1

107. A random variable x has the following probability distribution:

x f(x)
0 0.08
1 0.17
2 0.45
3 0.25
4 0.05
a. Determine the expected value of x.
b. Determine the variance.
ANSWER: a. 2.02
b. 0.9396
POINTS: 1

108. For the following probability distribution:

x f(x)
0 0.01
1 0.02
2 0.10
3 0.35
4 0.20
5 0.11
6 0.08
7 0.05
8 0.04
9 0.03
10 0.01
a. Determine E(x).
b. Determine the variance and the standard deviation.
ANSWER: a. 4.14
b. variance = 3.7 std. dev. = 1.924
POINTS: 1

109. A company sells its products to wholesalers in batches of 1,000 units only. The daily demand for its product and the
respective probabilities are given below.
Demand (Units) Probability
0 0.2
1000 0.2
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Chapter 5 - Discrete Probability Distributions
2000 0.3
3000 0.2
4000 0.1
a. Determine the expected daily demand.
b. Assume that the company sells its product at $3.75 per unit. What is the expected daily revenue?
ANSWER: a. 1800
b. $6,750
POINTS: 1

110. The demand for a product varies from month to month. Based on the past year's data, the following probability
distribution shows MNM company's monthly demand.
x f(x)
Unit Demand Probability
0 0.10
1,000 0.10
2,000 0.30
3,000 0.40
4,000 0.10
a. Determine the expected number of units demanded per month.
Each unit produced costs the company $8.00, and is sold for $10.00. How much will the company gain or lose in a
b.
month if they stock the expected number of units demanded, but sell 2000 units?
ANSWER: a. 2300
b. Profit = $1600
POINTS: 1

111. The probability distribution of the daily demand for a product is shown below.
Demand Probability
0 0.05
1 0.10
2 0.15
3 0.35
4 0.20
5 0.10
6 0.05
a. What is the expected number of units demanded per day?
b. Determine the variance and the standard deviation.
ANSWER: a. 3.05
b. variance = 2.0475 std. dev. = 1.431
POINTS: 1

112. The random variable x has the following probability distribution:

x f(x)
0 .25
1 .20
2 .15
3 .30
4 .10
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Chapter 5 - Discrete Probability Distributions

a. Is this probability distribution valid? Explain and list the requirements for a valid probability distribution.
b. Calculate the expected value of x.
c. Calculate the variance of x.
d. Calculate the standard deviation of x.
ANSWER: a. yes f(x) ≥ 0 and ∑f(x) = 1
b. 1.8
c. 1.86
d. 1.364
POINTS: 1

113. The probability function for the number of insurance policies John will sell to a customer is given by
f(x) = .5 − (x/6) for x = 0, 1, or 2
a. Is this a valid probability function? Explain your answer.
b. What is the probability that John will sell exactly 2 policies to a customer?
c. What is the probability that John will sell at least 2 policies to a customer?
d. What is the expected number of policies John will sell?
e. What is the variance of the number of policies John will sell?
ANSWER: a. yes f(x) ≥ 0 and ∑f(x) = 1
b. 0.167
c. 0.167
d. 0.667
e. 0.556
POINTS: 1

114. Thirty-two percent of the students in a management class are graduate students. A random sample of 5 students is
selected. Using the binomial probability function, determine the probability that the sample contains exactly 2 graduate
students?
ANSWER: 0.322 (rounded)
POINTS: 1

115. A production process produces 2% defective parts. A sample of 5 parts from the production is selected. What is the
probability that the sample contains exactly two defective parts? Use the binomial probability function and show your
computations to answer this question.
ANSWER: 0.0037648
POINTS: 1

116. When a particular machine is functioning properly, 80% of the items produced are non-defective. If three items are
examined, what is the probability that one is defective? Use the binomial probability function to answer this question.
ANSWER: 0.384
POINTS: 1

117. The records of a department store show that 20% of its customers who make a purchase return the merchandise in
order to exchange it. In the next six purchases,
a. what is the probability that three customers will return the merchandise for exchange?
b. what is the probability that four customers will return the merchandise for exchange?
c. what is the probability that none of the customers will return the merchandise for exchange?
ANSWER: a. 0.0819
b. 0.0154
c. 0.2621
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Chapter 5 - Discrete Probability Distributions
POINTS: 1

118. Ten percent of the items produced by a machine are defective. Out of 15 items chosen at random,
a. what is the probability that exactly 3 items will be defective?
b. what is the probability that less than 3 items will be defective?
c. what is the probability that exactly 11 items will be non-defective?
ANSWER: a. 0.1285
b. 0.816
c. 0.0428
POINTS: 1

119. In a large university, 15% of the students are female. If a random sample of twenty students is selected,
a. what is the probability that the sample contains exactly four female students?
b. what is the probability that the sample will contain no female students?
c. what is the probability that the sample will contain exactly twenty female students?
d. what is the probability that the sample will contain more than nine female students?
e. what is the probability that the sample will contain fewer than five female students?
f. what is the expected number of female students?
ANSWER: a. 0.1821
b. 0.0388
c. 0.0000
d. 0.0002
e. 0.8298
f. 3
POINTS: 1

120. Seventy percent of the students applying to a university are accepted. What is the probability that among the next 18
applicants
a. At least 6 will be accepted?
b. Exactly 10 will be accepted?
c. Exactly 5 will be rejected?
d. Fifteen or more will be accepted?
e. Determine the expected number of acceptances.
f. Compute the standard deviation.
ANSWER: a. 0.9988
b. 0.0811
c. 0.2017
d. 0.1646
e. 12.6
f. 1.9442
POINTS: 1

121. Twenty percent of the applications received for a particular position are rejected. What is the probability that among
the next fourteen applications,
a. none will be rejected?
b. all will be rejected?
c. less than 2 will be rejected?
d. more than four will be rejected?
e. Determine the expected number of rejected applications and its variance.
ANSWER: a. 0.0440
b. 0.0000
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Chapter 5 - Discrete Probability Distributions
c. 0.1979
d. 0.1298
e. 2.8, 2.24
POINTS: 1

122. Fifty-five percent of the applications received for a particular credit card are accepted. Among the next twelve
applications,
a. what is the probability that all will be rejected?
b. what is the probability that all will be accepted?
c. what is the probability that exactly 4 will be accepted?
d. what is the probability that fewer than 3 will be accepted?
e. Determine the expected number and the variance of the accepted applications.
ANSWER: a. 0.0001
b. 0.0008
c. 0.0762
d. 0.0079
e. 6.60; 2.9700
POINTS: 1

123. In a southern state, it was revealed that 5% of all automobiles in the state did not pass inspection. Of the next ten
automobiles entering the inspection station,
a. what is the probability that none will pass inspection?
b. what is the probability that all will pass inspection?
c. what is the probability that exactly two will not pass inspection?
d. what is the probability that more than three will not pass inspection?
e. what is the probability that fewer than two will not pass inspection?
f. Find the expected number of automobiles not passing inspection.
g. Determine the standard deviation for the number of cars not passing inspection.
ANSWER: a. 0.0000
b. 0.5987
c. 0.0746
d. 0.0010
e. 0.9139
f. 0.5
g. 0.6892
POINTS: 1

124. Only 0.02% of credit card holders of a company report the loss or theft of their credit cards each month. The
company has 15,000 credit cards in the city of Memphis. What is the probability that during the next month in the city of
Memphis
a. no one reports the loss or theft of their credit cards?
b. every credit card is lost or stolen?
c. six people report the loss or theft of their cards?
d. at least nine people report the loss or theft of their cards?
e. Determine the expected number of reported lost or stolen credit cards.
f. Determine the standard deviation for the number of reported lost or stolen cards.
ANSWER: a. 0.0498
b. 0.0000
c. 0.0504
d. 0.0038
e. 3
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Chapter 5 - Discrete Probability Distributions
f. 1.73
POINTS: 1

125. Two percent of the parts produced by a machine are defective. Forty parts are selected. Define the random variable x
to be the number of defective parts.
a. What is the probability that exactly 3 parts will be defective?
b. What is the probability that the number of defective parts will be more than 2 but fewer than 6?
c. What is the probability that fewer than 4 parts will be defective?
d. What is the expected number of defective parts?
e. What is the variance for the number of defective parts?
ANSWER: a. 0.0374
b. 0.0455
c. 0.9918
d. 0.8
e. 0.784
POINTS: 1

126. A manufacturing company has 5 identical machines that produce nails. The probability that a machine will break
down on any given day is 0.1. Define a random variable x to be the number of machines that will break down in a day.
a. What is the appropriate probability distribution for x? Explain how x satisfies the properties of the distribution.
b. Compute the probability that 4 machines will break down.
c. Compute the probability that at least 4 machines will break down.
d. What is the expected number of machines that will break down in a day?
e. What is the variance of the number of machines that will break down in a day?
ANSWER: a. binomial
b. 0.0004
c. 0.0004
d. 0.5
e. 0.45
POINTS: 1

127. In a large corporation, 65% of the employees are male. A random sample of five employees is selected.
a. Define the random variable in words for this experiment.
b. What is the probability that the sample contains exactly three male employees?
c. What is the probability that the sample contains no male employees?
d. What is the probability that the sample contains more than three female employees?
e. What is the expected number of female employees in the sample?
ANSWER: a. x = the number of male employees out of 5
b. 0.3364
c. 0.0053
d. 0.0541
e. 1.75
POINTS: 1

128. In a large university, 75% of students live in the dormitories. A random sample of 5 students is selected.
a. Define the random variable in words for this experiment.
b. What is the probability that the sample contains exactly three students who live in the dormitories?
c. What is the probability that the sample contains no students who live in the dormitories?
d. What is the probability that the sample contains more than three students who do not live in the dormitories?
e. What is the expected number of students (in the sample) who do not live in the dormitories?
ANSWER: a. x = the number of students out of 5 who live in the dormitories
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Chapter 5 - Discrete Probability Distributions
b. 0.2637
c. 0.001
d. 0.0156
e. 1.25
POINTS: 1

129. A production process produces 90% non-defective parts. A sample of 10 parts from the production process is
selected.
a. Define the random variable in words for this experiment.
b. What is the probability that the sample will contain 7 non-defective parts?
c. What is the probability that the sample will contain at least 4 defective parts?
d. What is the probability that the sample will contain less than 5 non-defective parts?
e. What is the probability that the sample will contain no defective parts?
ANSWER: a. x = the number of non-defective parts out of 10
b. 0.0574
c. 0.0128
d. 0.0001
e. 0.3487
POINTS: 1

130. The student body of a large university consists of 30% Business majors. A random sample of 20 students is selected.
a. Define the random variable in words for this experiment.
b. What is the probability that among the students in the sample at least 10 are Business majors?
c. What is the probability that at least 16 are not Business majors?
d. What is the probability that exactly 10 are Business majors?
e. What is the probability that exactly 12 are not Business majors?
ANSWER: a. x = the number of students out of 20 who are Business majors
b. 0.0480
c. 0.2375
d. 0.0308
e. 0.1144
POINTS: 1

131. A local university reports that 3% of their students take their general education courses on a pass/fail basis. Assume
that fifty students are registered for a general education course.
a. Define the random variable in words for this experiment.
b. What is the expected number of students who have registered on a pass/fail basis?
c. What is the probability that exactly five are registered on a pass/fail basis?
d. What is the probability that more than three are registered on a pass/fail basis?
e. What is the probability that less than four are registered on a pass/fail basis?
ANSWER: a. x = the number of student out of 50 who are registered for a general education course
b. 1.5
c. 0.0131
d. 0.0628
e. 0.9372
POINTS: 1

132. Twenty-five percent of the employees of a large company are minorities. A random sample of 7 employees is
selected.
a. Define the random variable in words for this experiment.
b. What is the probability that the sample contains exactly 4 minorities?
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Chapter 5 - Discrete Probability Distributions
c. What is the probability that the sample contains fewer than 2 minorities?
d. What is the probability that the sample contains exactly 1 non-minority?
e. What is the expected number of minorities in the sample?
f. What is the variance of the minorities?
ANSWER: a. x = the number of minority employees out of 7
b. 0.0577
c. 0.4449
d. 0.0013
e. 1.75
f. 1.3125
POINTS: 1

133. Twenty-five percent of all resumes received by a corporation for a management position are from females. Fifteen
resumes will be received tomorrow.
a. Define the random variable in words for this experiment.
b. What is the probability that exactly 5 of the resumes will be from females?
c. What is the probability that fewer than 3 of the resumes will be from females?
d. What is the expected number of resumes from women?
e. What is the variance of the number of resumes from women?
ANSWER: a. x = the number of resumes out of 15 that are from females
b. 0.1651
c. 0.2361
d. 3.75
e. 2.8125
POINTS: 1

134. A salesperson contacts eight potential customers per day. From past experience, we know that the probability of a
potential customer making a purchase is 0.10.
a. Define the random variable in words for this experiment.
b. What is the probability the salesperson will make exactly two sales in a day?
c. What is the probability the salesperson will make at least two sales in a day?
d. What percentage of days will the salesperson not make a sale?
e. What is the expected number of sales per day?
ANSWER: a. x = the number of sales made out of 8 contacts
b. 0.1488
c. 0.1869
d. 43.05%
e. 0.8
POINTS: 1

135. An insurance company has determined that each week an average of nine claims are filed in their Atlanta branch.
What is the probability that during the next week
a. exactly seven claims will be filed?
b. no claims will be filed?
c. less than four claims will be filed?
d. at least eighteen claims will be filed?
ANSWER: a. 0.1171
b. 0.0001
c. 0.0212
d. 0.0053
POINTS: 1
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Chapter 5 - Discrete Probability Distributions

136. John parks cars at a hotel. On the average, 6.7 cars will arrive in an hour. Assume that a driver's decision on whether
to let John park the car does not depend upon any other person's decision. Define the random variable x to be the number
of cars arriving in any hour period.
a. What is the appropriate probability distribution for x? Explain how x satisfies the properties of the distribution.
b. Compute the probability that exactly 5 cars will arrive in the next hour.
c. Compute the probability that no more than 5 cars will arrive in the next hour.
ANSWER: a. Poisson
b. 0.1385
c. 0.3406
POINTS: 1

137. The average number of calls received by a switchboard in a 30-minute period is 15.
a. Define the random variable in words for this experiment.
b. What is the probability that between 10:00 and 10:30 the switchboard will receive exactly 10 calls?
What is the probability that between 10:00 and 10:30 the switchboard will receive more than 9 calls but fewer than
c.
15 calls?
d. What is the probability that between 10:00 and 10:30 the switchboard will receive fewer than 7 calls?
ANSWER: a. x = the number of calls received in a 30-minute period
b. 0.0486
c. 0.3958
d. 0.0076
POINTS: 1

138. A life insurance company has determined that each week an average of seven claims is filed in its Nashville branch.
a. Define the random variable in words for this experiment.
b. What is the probability that during the next week exactly seven claims will be filed?
c. What is the probability that during the next week no claims will be filed?
d. What is the probability that during the next week fewer than four claims will be filed?
e. What is the probability that during the next week at least seventeen claims will be filed?
ANSWER: a. x = the number of claims filed in a one-week period
b. 0.1490
c. 0.0009
d. 0.0818
e. 0.0010
POINTS: 1

139. General Hospital has noted that they admit an average of 8 patients per hour.
a. Define the random variable in words for this experiment.
b. What is the probability that during the next hour fewer then 3 patients will be admitted?
c. What is the probability that during the next two hours exactly 8 patients will be admitted?
ANSWER: a. x = the number of patients admitted per hour
b. 0.0137
c. 0.0120
POINTS: 1

140. Shoppers enter Hamilton Place Mall at an average of 120 per hour.
a. Define the random variable in words for this experiment.
b. What is the probability that exactly 5 shoppers will enter the mall between noon and 1:00 p.m.?
c. What is the probability that exactly 5 shoppers will enter the mall between noon and 12:05 p.m.?
d. What is the probability that at least 35 shoppers will enter the mall between 5:00 and 5:10 p.m.?
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Chapter 5 - Discrete Probability Distributions
ANSWER: a. x = the number of shoppers entering the mall in a one-hour period
b. 0.0000
c. 0.0378
d. 0.0015
POINTS: 1

141. Compute the hypergeometric probabilities for the following values of n and x. Assume N = 8 and r = 5.
a. n = 5, x = 2
b. n = 6, x = 4
c. n = 3, x = 0
d. n = 3, x = 3
ANSWER: a. 0.1786
b. 0.5357
c. 0.01786
d. 0.1786
POINTS: 1

142. A retailer of electronic equipment received six HDTVs from the manufacturer. Three of the HDTVs were damaged
in the shipment. The retailer sold two HDTVs to two customers.
a Can a binomial formula be used for the solution of the above problem?
b. What kind of probability distribution does the above satisfy, and is there a function for solving such problems?
c. What is the probability that both customers received damaged HDTVs?
d. What is the probability that one of the two customers received a defective HDTV?
ANSWER: a. No, in a binomial experiment, trials are independent of each other.
b. Hypergeometric probability distribution
c. 0.2
d. 0.6
POINTS: 1

143. Waters’ Edge is a clothing retailer that promotes its products via catalog and accepts customer orders by all of the
conventional ways including the Internet. The company has gained a competitive advantage by collecting data about its
operations and the customer each time an order is processed.

Among the data collected with each order are: number of items ordered, total shipping weight of the order,
whether or not all items ordered were available in inventory, time taken to process the order, customer’s number
of prior orders in the last 12 months, and method of payment. For each of the six aforementioned variables,
identify which of the variables are discrete and which are continuous.
ANSWER: Discrete: number of items ordered, whether or not all items ordered were available in inventory,
customer’s number of prior orders in the last 12 months, method of payment
Continuous: total shipping weight of the order, time taken to process the order
POINTS: 1

144. June's Specialty Shop sells designer original dresses. On 10% of her dresses, June makes a profit of $10, on 20% of
her dresses she makes a profit of $20, on 30% of her dresses she makes a profit of $30, and on 40% of her dresses she
makes a profit of $40. On a given day, the probability of June having no customers is .05, of one customer is .10, of two
customers is .20, of three customers is .35, of four customers is .20, and of five customers is .10.
a. What is the expected profit June earns on the sale of a dress?
b. June's daily operating cost is $40 per day. Find the expected net profit June earns per day. (Hint: To find the expected
daily gross profit, multiply the expected profit per dress by the expected number of customers per day.)
c. June is considering moving to a larger store. She estimates that doing so will double the expected number of customers.
If the larger store will increase her operating costs to $100 per day, should she make the move?
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Chapter 5 - Discrete Probability Distributions
ANSWER: a. $30
b. $45.50
c. Yes; new daily net profit expected is $71
POINTS: 1

145. The salespeople at Gold Key Realty sell up to 9 houses per month. The probability distribution of a salesperson
selling x houses in a month is as follows:
Sales (x) 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Probability f (x) .05 .10 .15 .20 .15 .10 .10 .05 .05 .05
a. What are the mean and standard deviation for the number of houses sold by a salesperson per month?
b. Any salesperson selling more houses than the amount equal to the mean plus two standard deviations receives a bonus.
How many houses per month must a salesperson sell to receive a bonus?
ANSWER: a. mean = 3.9, standard deviation = 2.34
b. 8.58 or 9 houses
POINTS: 1

146. Sandy's Pet Center grooms large and small dogs. It takes Sandy 40 minutes to groom a small dog and 70 minutes to
groom a large dog. Large dogs account for 20% of Sandy's business. Sandy has 5 appointments tomorrow.
a. What is the probability that all 5 appointments tomorrow are for small dogs?
b. What is the probability that two of the appointments tomorrow are for large dogs?
c. What is the expected amount of time to finish all five dogs tomorrow?
ANSWER: a. .3277
b. .2048
c. 230 minutes
POINTS: 1

147. Ralph's Gas Station is running a giveaway promotion. With every fill-up of gasoline, Ralph gives out a lottery ticket
that has a 25% chance of being a winning ticket. Customers who collect four winning lottery tickets are eligible for the
"BIG SPIN" for large payoffs. What is the probability of qualifying for the big spin if a customer fills up: (a) 3 times; (b)
4 times; (c) 7 times?
ANSWER: a. 0
b. .0039
c. .0705
POINTS: 1

148. The number of customers at Winkies Donuts between 8:00a.m. and 9:00a.m. is believed to follow a Poisson
distribution with a mean of 2 customers per minute.
a. During a randomly selected one-minute interval during this time period, what is the probability of 6 customers arriving
to Winkies?
b. What is the probability that at least 2 minutes elapse between customer arrivals?
ANSWER: a. .0120
b. .0183
POINTS: 1

149. During lunchtime, customers arrive at Bob's Drugs according to a Poisson distribution with λ = 4 per minute.
a. During a one minute interval, determine the following probabilities: (1) no arrivals; (2) one arrival; (3) two arrivals;
and, (4) three or more arrivals.
b. What is the probability of two arrivals in a two-minute period?
ANSWER: a. (1) .0183, (2) .0733, (3) .1465, (4) .7619
b. .0107
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Chapter 5 - Discrete Probability Distributions
POINTS: 1

150. Telephone calls arrive at the Global Airline reservation office in Louisville according to a Poisson distribution with a
mean of 1.2 calls per minute.
a. What is the probability of receiving exactly one call during a one-minute interval?
b. What is the probability of receiving at most 2 calls during a one-minute interval?
c. What is the probability of receiving at least two calls during a one-minute interval?
d. What is the probability of receiving exactly 4 calls during a five-minute interval?
e. What is the probability that at most 2 minutes elapse between one call and the next?
ANSWER: a. .36
b. .88
c. .34
d. .135
e. .9093
POINTS: 1

151. Before dawn Josh hurriedly packed some clothes for a job-interview trip while his roommate was still sleeping. He
reached in his disorganized sock drawer where there were five black socks and five navy blue socks, although they
appeared to be the same color in the dimly lighted room. Josh grabbed six socks, hoping that at least two, and preferably
four, of them were black to match the gray suit he had packed. With no time to spare, he then raced to the airport to catch
his plane.
a. What is the probability that Josh packed at least two black socks so that he will be dressed appropriately the day of his
interview?
b. What is the probability that Josh packed at least four black socks so that he will be dressed appropriately the latter day
of his trip as well?
ANSWER: a. .976
b. .262
POINTS: 1

152. Consider a Poisson probability distribution in a process with an average of 3 flaws every 100 feet. Find the
probability of
a. no flaws in 100 feet
b. 2 flaws in 100 feet
c. 1 flaws in 150 feet
d. 3 or 4 flaws in 150 feet

ANSWER:
a. .0498
b. .2240
c. .0500
d. .3585

POINTS: 1

153. After a severe winter, potholes develop in a state highway at the rate of 5.2 per mile. Thirty-five miles of this
highway pass through Washington County.
a. How many potholes would you expect to see in the county?
b. What is the probability of finding 8 potholes in 1 mile of highway?

ANSWER:

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Chapter 5 - Discrete Probability Distributions
a. 182
b. P(x = 8 | λ = 5.2) = .0731

POINTS: 1

154. A manufacturer of computer disk drives has a historical defective rate of .001. What is the probability that in a batch
of 1000 drives, 2 would be defective?

ANSWER:
.1840

POINTS: 1

155. For a binomial distribution, compare P(x = 3) when n = 10 and p = .4, to P(x = 7) when n = 10 and p = .6.
ANSWER:
3 7
P(x = 3 | n = 10, p = .4) = [10!/3!(7!)] (.4) (.6) = .215
7 3
P(x = 7 | n = 10, p = .6) = [10!/7!(3!)] (.6) (.4) = .215

POINTS: 1

156. A rental store has two video cameras available for customers to rent. Historically, demand for cameras has followed
this distribution. The revenue per rental is $40. If a customer wants a camera and none is available, the store gives a $15
coupon for snacks.

Demand Relative Frequency Revenue Cost

0 .35 0 0
1 .30 40 0
2 .20 80 0
3 .10 80 15
4 .05 80 30

a. What is the expected demand for camera rentals?

b. What is the expected revenue from camera rentals?
c. What is the expected cost associated with camera rentals?
d. What is the expected profit from camera rentals?

ANSWER:

a. 1.2
b. 40
c. 3
d. 37
POINTS: 1

157. A calculus instructor uses computer aided instruction and allows students to take the midterm exam as many times as
needed until a passing grade is obtained. Following is a record of the number of students in a class of 20 who took the test
each number of times.

Students Number of Tests

10 1
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Chapter 5 - Discrete Probability Distributions
7 2
2 3
1 4

a. Use the relative frequency approach to construct a probability distribution and show that it satisfies the
required condition.
b. Find the expected value of the number of tests taken.
c. Compute the variance.
d. Compute the standard deviation.

ANSWER:

a. Relative frequency Number of tests

.50 1
.35 2
.10 3
.05 4

Each probability is between 0 and 1 and the sum is 1.00.

b. μ = 1.7
c. σ 2 = .71
d. σ = .8426

POINTS: 1

158. A pet ownership survey was conducted by Stanton Marketing for Dollar Department Store. Out of 400 families
surveyed, 260 owned no pet, 120 owned dogs and 50 owned cats.

a) On the basis of this information, find the probability distribution for the random variable x, where x = 1 if own no pet,
x = 2 if own dog(s) only, x = 3 if own cat(s) only, and x = 4 if own dog(s) and cat(s).
b) Dollar Department Stores is considering opening a pet department if the expected number of families owning pets
shopping at its store exceeds 4,000. If Dollar expects to serve 12,000 families, should it open a pet department?
ANSWER:

a. f(1) = .65, f(2) = .225, f(3) = .05, f(4) = .075

b. E(x) = 4200, so Dollar should open a pet department.

POINTS: 1

159. Sandy's Pet Center grooms large and small dogs. It takes Sandy 40 minutes to groom a small dog and 70 minutes to
groom a large dog. Large dogs account for 20% of Sandy's business. Sandy has 5 appointments on August 15.

a) What is the probability that all 5 dogs are small?

b) What is the probability that two of the dogs are large?
c) What is the expected amount of time to finish all five dogs?

ANSWER:

a. .3277
b. .2048

c. 300 minutes
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Chapter 5 - Discrete Probability Distributions

POINTS: 1

160. June's Specialty Shop sells designer original dresses. On 10% of her dresses, June makes a profit of $10, on 20% of
her dresses she makes a profit of $20, on 30 of her dresses she makes a profit of $30, and on 40% of her dresses she
makes a profit of $40.

a) What is the expected profit June earns on the sale of a dress?

b) On a given day, the probability of June having no customers is .05, one customer is .10, two customers is .20, three
customers is .35, four customers is .20, and five customers is .10. June's daily operating cost is $0 per day. Using your
answer to (a), find the expected net profit June earns per day. (Hint: To find the expected daily gross profit, multiply the
expected profit per dress by the expected number of customers per day.)
c) June is considering moving to a larger store. She estimates that doing so will double the expected number of
customers. If the larger store will increase her operating costs to $100 per day, should she make the move?

ANSWER:

a. $30.00
b. $45.50

c. Yes. New daily profit = $71.00

POINTS: 1

161. Chez Paul is an exclusive French restaurant that seats only 10 couples for dinner. Paul is famous for his "truffle
salad for two" which must be prepared one day in advance. The probability of any couple ordering the salad is .4 and
each couple orders independently of other couples.

a) What is the expected number of "truffle salads for two" that Paul serves per dinner? What is the variance?
b) What is the probability that on a given evening, at most three couples want a "truffle salad for two"?
c) How many salads should Paul prepare if he wants the probability of not having enough salads for all customers who
desire one to be no greater than .10?
d) There is a 70% chance a couple will order coffee after dinner. What is the probability that on a given evening, exactly
eight of the ten couples will order coffee? (Again assume that couples order independently of each other.)

ANSWER:

a. Expected value = 4; variance = 2.4

b. .3822

c. 6
d. .2335

POINTS: 1

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