Name:

Date:

Due: 11:59 pm, March 13, 2025

ECO2121 Basic Statistics: Problem Set 2

Due Date: March 13 (Thursday), 11:59pm

Total Points: 100 points

Instruction: You can type or hand-write your answers. Please indicate clearly the question numbers. In the
free response questions and data analysis questions, please show steps of calculation or detailed
explanation.

Academic Integrity: Copying is NOT allowed. If your answers are from collaborated work with other
classmates, please cite properly. Identical answers in non-multiple-choice questions without citation are
considered as cheating. For more details, please refer to the course syllabus.

Note: If possible, please scan your hand-written answers using APP like Adobe Scan in smart phones and
upload your answers in .pdf format to the Blackboard. Please check the legibility of your file before
uploading.

I. Multiple Choices (20 points in total, 2pt for each question)

1. Posterior probabilities are

a. joint probabilities.
b. conditional probabilities.
c. simple probabilities.
d. marginal probabilities.

2. When dealing with the number of occurrences of an event over a specified interval of time or space, the
appropriate probability distribution is a

a. binomial distribution
b. Poisson distribution
c. normal distribution
d. hypergeometric probability distribution

3. 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. random function

4. The key difference between the binomial and hypergeometric distribution is that with the
hypergeometric distribution

a. the probability of success must be less than 0.5

b. the probability of success changes from trial to trial
c. the trials are independent of each other
d. the random variable is continuous

5. When sampling without replacement, the probability of obtaining a certain sample is best given by a

a. hypergeometric distribution
b. binomial distribution
c. Poisson distribution
d. normal distribution

6. 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

7. 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

8. In statistical experiments, each time the experiment is repeated

a. the same outcome must occur

b. the same outcome can not occur again
c. a different outcome may occur
d. a different outcome must occur
9. Events that have no sample points in common are

a. independent events
b. posterior events
c. complements
d. mutually exclusive events

10. If two events are independent, then

a. they must be mutually exclusive

b. the sum of their probabilities must be equal to one
c. their intersection must be empty set
d. none of the above

II. Free Response

Show detailed steps for the questions in this section.

1. (10 pts, 2pt for each question) Assume you have applied for two scholarships, a Merit scholarship (M)
and an Athletic scholarship (A). The probability that you receive an Athletic scholarship is 0.18. The
probability of receiving both scholarships is 0.11. The probability of getting at least one of the
scholarships is 0.3.

a. What is the probability that you will receive a Merit scholarship?

b. Are events A and M mutually exclusive? Why or why not? Explain.
c. Are the two events A, and M, independent? Explain, using probabilities.
d. What is the probability of receiving the Athletic scholarship given that you have been awarded
the Merit scholarship?
e. What is the probability of receiving the Merit scholarship given that you have been awarded
the Athletic scholarship?
2. (10 pts) If 12 different balls are thrown at random into 20 different boxes, what is the probability that
no box will receive more than one ball?

3. (10 pts) For any two events A and B with P(B) > 0, prove that P(Ac|B) = 1 - P(A|B).

4. (10 pts) What is the number of ways in which you can distribute 5 balls in 3 boxes when:

a. Balls are same; boxes are same (2.5pt)

b. Balls are same; boxes are different (2.5pt)

c. Balls are different; boxes are same (2.5pt)

d. Balls are different; boxes are different (2.5pt)

5. (15 pts) Shoppers enter Hamilton Place Mall at an average of 120 per hour.

a. Define the random variable in words for this experiment. (2pt)

b. What is the probability that exactly 5 shoppers will enter the mall between noon and 1:00 p.m.? (3pt)

c. What is the probability that exactly 5 shoppers will enter the mall between noon and 12:05 p.m.? (5pt)

d. What is the probability that at least 35 shoppers will enter the mall between 5:00 and 5:10 p.m.? (5pt)

6. (15 pts) 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? (2pt)
 What kind of probability distribution does the above satisfy, and is there a function for
b.
solving such problems? (3pt)

c. What is the probability that both customers received damaged HDTVs? (5pt)

d. What is the probability that one of the two customers received a defective HDTV? (5pt)

7. (10 pts, 2pt for each question) 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?