Problem 5.2.13b
Binomial Probability Formula. In Exercises 13 and 14, answer the questions designed to help understand the rationale for the binomial probability formula.
Guessing Answers Standard tests, such as the SAT, ACT, or Medical College Admission Test (MCAT), typically use multiple choice questions, each with five possible answers (a, b, c, d, e), one of which is correct. Assume that you guess the answers to the first three questions.
b. Beginning with WWC, make a complete list of the different possible arrangements of two wrong answers and one correct answer, and then find the probability for each entry in the list.
Problem 5.2.13c
Binomial Probability Formula. In Exercises 13 and 14, answer the questions designed to help understand the rationale for the binomial probability formula.
Guessing Answers Standard tests, such as the SAT, ACT, or Medical College Admission Test (MCAT), typically use multiple choice questions, each with five possible answers (a, b, c, d, e), one of which is correct. Assume that you guess the answers to the first three questions.
c. Based on the preceding results, what is the probability of getting exactly one correct answer when three guesses are made?
Problem 5.2.15
40% of consumers believe that cash will be obsolete in the next 20 years (based on a survey by J.P. Morgan Chase). In each of Exercises 15–20, assume that 8 consumers are randomly selected. Find the indicated probability.
Find the probability that exactly 6 of the selected consumers believe that cash will be obsolete in the next 20 years.
Problem 5.2.16
40% of consumers believe that cash will be obsolete in the next 20 years (based on a survey by J.P. Morgan Chase). In each of Exercises 15–20, assume that 8 consumers are randomly selected. Find the indicated probability.
Find the probability that at least 6 of the selected consumers believe that cash will be obsolete in the next 20 years.
Problem 5.2.17
40% of consumers believe that cash will be obsolete in the next 20 years (based on a survey by J.P. Morgan Chase). In each of Exercises 15–20, assume that 8 consumers are randomly selected. Find the indicated probability.
Find the probability that fewer than 3 of the selected consumers believe that cash will be obsolete in the next 20 years.
Problem 5.2.18
40% of consumers believe that cash will be obsolete in the next 20 years (based on a survey by J.P. Morgan Chase). In each of Exercises 15–20, assume that 8 consumers are randomly selected. Find the indicated probability.
Find the probability that no more than 3 of the selected consumers believe that cash will be obsolete in the next 20 years.
Problem 5.2.25
In Exercises 25–28, find the probabilities and answer the questions.
Whitus v. Georgia In the classic legal case of Whitus v. Georgia, a jury pool of 90 people was supposed to be randomly selected from a population in which 27% were minorities. Among the 90 people selected, 7 were minorities. Find the probability of getting 7 or fewer minorities if the jury pool was randomly selected. Is the result of 7 minorities significantly low? What does the result suggest about the jury selection process?
Problem 5.2.38d
Politics The County Clerk in Essex, New Jersey, was accused of cheating by not using randomness in assigning the order in which candidates’ names appeared on voting ballots. Among 41 different ballots, Democrats were assigned the desirable first line 40 times. Assume that Democrats and Republicans are assigned the first line using a method of random selection so that they are equally likely to get that first line.
.
d. Which probability is relevant for determining whether 40 first lines for Democrats is significantly high: the probability from part (b) or part (c)? Based on the relevant probability, is the result of 40 first lines for Democrats significantly high?
Problem 5.2.38e
Politics The County Clerk in Essex, New Jersey, was accused of cheating by not using randomness in assigning the order in which candidates’ names appeared on voting ballots. Among 41 different ballots, Democrats were assigned the desirable first line 40 times. Assume that Democrats and Republicans are assigned the first line using a method of random selection so that they are equally likely to get that first line.
e. What do the results suggest about how the clerk met the requirement of using a random method to assign the order of candidates’ names on voting ballots?
Problem 5.2.40a
One of Mendel’s famous experiments with peas resulted in 580 offspring, and 152 of them were yellow peas. Mendel claimed that under the same conditions, 25% of offspring peas would be yellow. Assume that Mendel’s claim of 25% is true, and assume that a sample consists of 580 offspring peas.
a. Use the range rule of thumb to identify the limits separating values that are significantly low and those that are significantly high. Based on the results, is the result of 152 yellow peas either significantly low or significantly high?
Problem 5.2.40b
One of Mendel’s famous experiments with peas resulted in 580 offspring, and 152 of them were yellow peas. Mendel claimed that under the same conditions, 25% of offspring peas would be yellow. Assume that Mendel’s claim of 25% is true, and assume that a sample consists of 580 offspring peas.
b. Find the probability of exactly 152 yellow peas.
Problem 5.2.40c
One of Mendel’s famous experiments with peas resulted in 580 offspring, and 152 of them were yellow peas. Mendel claimed that under the same conditions, 25% of offspring peas would be yellow. Assume that Mendel’s claim of 25% is true, and assume that a sample consists of 580 offspring peas.
c. Find the probability of 152 or more yellow peas.
Problem 5.2.27a
In Exercises 25–28, find the probabilities and answer the questions.
Internet Voting Based on a Consumer Reports survey, 39% of likely voters would be willing to vote by Internet instead of the in-person traditional method of voting. For each of the following, assume that 15 likely voters are randomly selected.
a. What is the probability that exactly 12 of those selected would do Internet voting?
Problem 5.2.29b
In Exercises 29 and 30, assume that different groups of couples use the XSORT method of gender selection and each couple gives birth to one baby. The XSORT method is designed to increase the likelihood that a baby will be a girl, but assume that the method has no effect, so the probability of a girl is 0.5.
Gender Selection Assume that the groups consist of 36 couples.
b. Use the range rule of thumb to find the values separating results that are significantly low or significantly high.
Problem 5.2.32a
In Exercises 31 and 32, assume that hybridization experiments are conducted with peas having the property that for offspring, there is a 0.75 probability that a pea has green pods (as in one of Mendel’s famous experiments).
Hybrids Assume that offspring peas are randomly selected in groups of 16.
a. Find the mean and standard deviation for the numbers of peas with green pods in the groups of 16.
Problem 5.2.32b
In Exercises 31 and 32, assume that hybridization experiments are conducted with peas having the property that for offspring, there is a 0.75 probability that a pea has green pods (as in one of Mendel’s famous experiments).
Hybrids Assume that offspring peas are randomly selected in groups of 16.
b. Use the range rule of thumb to find the values separating results that are significantly low or significantly high.
Problem 5.2.32c
In Exercises 31 and 32, assume that hybridization experiments are conducted with peas having the property that for offspring, there is a 0.75 probability that a pea has green pods (as in one of Mendel’s famous experiments).
Hybrids Assume that offspring peas are randomly selected in groups of 16.
c. Is a result of 7 peas with green pods a result that is significantly low? Why or why not?
Problem 5.2.27c
In Exercises 25–28, find the probabilities and answer the questions.
Internet Voting Based on a Consumer Reports survey, 39% of likely voters would be willing to vote by Internet instead of the in-person traditional method of voting. For each of the following, assume that 15 likely voters are randomly selected.
c. Find the probability that at least one of the selected likely voters would do Internet voting.
Problem 5.2.28a
In Exercises 25–28, find the probabilities and answer the questions.
Too Young to Tat Based on a Harris poll, among adults who regret getting tattoos, 20% say that they were too young when they got their tattoos. Assume that five adults who regret getting tattoos are randomly selected, and find the indicated probability.
a. Find the probability that none of the selected adults say that they were too young to get tattoos.
Problem 5.2.28b
In Exercises 25–28, find the probabilities and answer the questions.
Too Young to Tat Based on a Harris poll, among adults who regret getting tattoos, 20% say that they were too young when they got their tattoos. Assume that five adults who regret getting tattoos are randomly selected, and find the indicated probability.
b. Find the probability that exactly one of the selected adults says that he or she was too young to get tattoos.
Problem 5.2.28c
In Exercises 25–28, find the probabilities and answer the questions.
Too Young to Tat Based on a Harris poll, among adults who regret getting tattoos, 20% say that they were too young when they got their tattoos. Assume that five adults who regret getting tattoos are randomly selected, and find the indicated probability.
c. Find the probability that the number of selected adults saying they were too young is 0 or 1.
Problem 5.2.28d
In Exercises 25–28, find the probabilities and answer the questions.
Too Young to Tat Based on a Harris poll, among adults who regret getting tattoos, 20% say that they were too young when they got their tattoos. Assume that five adults who regret getting tattoos are randomly selected, and find the indicated probability.
d. If we randomly select five adults, is 1 a significantly low number who say that they were too young to get tattoos?
Problem 5.2.33
Exercises 33 and 34 involve the method of composite sampling, whereby a medical testing laboratory saves time and money by combining blood samples for tests so that only one test is conducted for several people. A combined sample tests positive if at least one person has the disease. If a combined sample tests positive, then individual blood tests are used to identify the individual with the disease or disorder.
HIV It is estimated that in the United States, the proportion of people infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is 0.00343. In tests for HIV, blood samples from 50 different people are combined. What is the probability that the combined sample tests positive for HIV? Is it unlikely for such a combined sample to test positive?
Problem 5.2.2
Notation Assume that we want to find the probability that when five speaking characters in movies are randomly selected, exactly two of them are females. Also assume that when randomly selecting a speaking character in a movie, the probability of getting a female is 0.331. Identify the values of n, x, p, and q.
Problem 5.2.3
Independent Events Again assume that when randomly selecting a speaking character in a movie, the probability of getting a female is 0.331, as in Exercise 1. If we want to find the probability of 20 females when 50 different speaking characters are randomly selected from a population of 1500 speaking characters, are the 50 selections independent? Using the 5% guideline for cumbersome calculations, can they be treated as being independent?
Problem 5.2.5
In Exercises 5–12, determine whether the given procedure results in a binomial distribution or a distribution that can be treated as binomial (by applying the 5% guideline for cumbersome calculations). For those that are not binomial and cannot be treated as binomial, identify at least one requirement that is not satisfied.
Pew Survey In a Pew Research Center survey of 3930 subjects, the ages of the respondents are recorded.
Problem 5.2.6
In Exercises 5–12, determine whether the given procedure results in a binomial distribution or a distribution that can be treated as binomial (by applying the 5% guideline for cumbersome calculations). For those that are not binomial and cannot be treated as binomial, identify at least one requirement that is not satisfied.
In a Pew Research Center survey, 3930 subjects were asked if they have ever fired a gun, and the responses consist of “yes” or “no.”
Problem 5.2.7
In Exercises 5–12, determine whether the given procedure results in a binomial distribution or a distribution that can be treated as binomial (by applying the 5% guideline for cumbersome calculations). For those that are not binomial and cannot be treated as binomial, identify at least one requirement that is not satisfied.
LOL In a U.S. Cellular survey of 500 smartphone users, subjects are asked if they find abbreviations (such as LOL or BFF) annoying, and each response was recorded as “yes,” “no,” or “not sure.”
Problem 5.2.13a
Binomial Probability Formula. In Exercises 13 and 14, answer the questions designed to help understand the rationale for the binomial probability formula.
Guessing Answers Standard tests, such as the SAT, ACT, or Medical College Admission Test (MCAT), typically use multiple choice questions, each with five possible answers (a, b, c, d, e), one of which is correct. Assume that you guess the answers to the first three questions.
a. Use the multiplication rule to find the probability that the first two guesses are wrong and the third is correct. That is, find P(WWC), where W denotes a wrong answer and C denotes a correct answer.
Problem 5.2.29a
In Exercises 29 and 30, assume that different groups of couples use the XSORT method of gender selection and each couple gives birth to one baby. The XSORT method is designed to increase the likelihood that a baby will be a girl, but assume that the method has no effect, so the probability of a girl is 0.5.
Gender Selection Assume that the groups consist of 36 couples.
a. Find the mean and standard deviation for the numbers of girls in groups of 36 births.
Ch. 5 - Discrete Probability Distributions
