Porisma
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The binomial distribution

Practice section 4 of 7

Questions 19–24 in this collection

Practice questions

Discussion practice · 1 of 6

Convert the hit count into a score

Teams of 8 people enter a shooting competition. Each member of a team takes a shot at the target. The number of points scored by a team is obtained by 2x2x where xx is the number of shots that hit the target. For a particular team, each member of the team independently has a probability of 0.75 of hitting the target.

(i) Find the probability that a randomly chosen team scores more than 6 points.

(ii) Find the number of points that a team is most likely to score.

CJC · Discussion · Question 7

See which counts the words include

More than 6 points

n = 8, p = 0.75. Included counts: 4–8.

Count 0: 0.0000153; outside eventCount 1: 0.000366; outside eventCount 2: 0.00385; outside eventCount 3: 0.0231; outside eventCount 4: 0.0865; in eventCount 5: 0.208; in eventCount 6: 0.311; in eventCount 7: 0.267; in eventCount 8: 0.100; in event
Count X ranges from 0 to 8. Use the inspector for individual values.

Highlighted bars form the requested event.

Solution

Discussion practice · 2 of 6

Game winnings, a mode and a tournament cutoff

A bag contains 4 red, 5 blue and 6 green balls. The balls are indistinguishable except for their colour. A trial consists of drawing a ball at random from the bag, noting its colour and replacing it in the bag. A game is played by performing 10 trials in all.

The player receives $0.50 for every blue ball drawn in a game. He receives nothing if balls of other colours are drawn.

(a) Find the probability that, in a game, he receives

(i) exactly $3,

(ii) more than $2.50,

(b) Find also the amount a player is most likely to receive.

(c) At the start of a tournament, each player plays the above game once. Players who earned more than $ kk proceed to the next round. Find the least value of kk such that, in a random sample of 10 players, the probability that all the 10 players proceed to the next round is less than 0.1.

CJC · Discussion · Question 8

See which counts the words include

Exactly $3

n = 10, p = 0.3333333333333333. Included counts: 6–6.

Count 0: 0.0173; outside eventCount 1: 0.0867; outside eventCount 2: 0.195; outside eventCount 3: 0.260; outside eventCount 4: 0.228; outside eventCount 5: 0.137; outside eventCount 6: 0.0569; in eventCount 7: 0.0163; outside eventCount 8: 0.00305; outside eventCount 9: 0.000339; outside eventCount 10: 0.0000169; outside event
Count X ranges from 0 to 10. Use the inspector for individual values.

Highlighted bars form the requested event.

Solution

Discussion practice · 3 of 6

Packets, nested counts and a modal-parameter range

A manufacturer produces a large number of coloured glowing sticks, which are packed in packets of 8. Each packet consists of randomly chosen coloured glowing sticks. On average, 12% of the glowing sticks are green.

(i) Explain the significance of ‘large number’ in the first sentence.

(ii) Find the probability that a randomly chosen packet of glowing sticks contains at least 3 green glowing sticks.

(iii) Ian buys 40 randomly chosen packets of glowing sticks for a concert. Find the probability that fewer than 6 of these packets contain at least 3 green glowing sticks.

On average, the proportion of glowing sticks that are blue is pp. It is known that the modal number of blue glowing sticks in a packet is 3.

(iv) Use this information to find exactly the range of values that pp can take.

[2018/YJC/II/8]

CJC · Discussion · Question 9

See which counts the words include

Packet: at least 3 green

n = 8, p = 0.12. Included counts: 3–8.

Count 0: 0.360; outside eventCount 1: 0.392; outside eventCount 2: 0.187; outside eventCount 3: 0.0511; in eventCount 4: 0.00870; in eventCount 5: 0.000950; in eventCount 6: 0.0000647; in eventCount 7: 0.00000252; in eventCount 8: 4.30e-8; in event
Count X ranges from 0 to 8. Use the inspector for individual values.

Highlighted bars form the requested event.

Solution

Discussion practice · 4 of 6

Estimate a defect probability from a frequency table

A company manufactures a wide variety of components for use in domestic appliances.

The company introduces a new type of light fitting for refrigerators. Each day a supervisor selects a sample of 100 of the light fittings for testing.

(i) How should the light fittings be selected? Give a reason for this method of selection.

The supervisor records the number of faulty light fittings found on each of 150 working days. Her results are shown in the table.

Number faultyNumber of days
04
119
238
341
422
516
66
74
8 or more0

(ii) Use the information in the table to estimate pp, the probability that a light fitting is faulty.

(iii) Assuming the number of faulty fittings found each day follows the binomial distribution B(100,p)B(100,p), find the expected number of days on which 3 faulty fittings are found in a period of 150 working days.

[2021/II/11(a)]

CJC · Discussion · Question 10

Solution

Review practice · 5 of 6

Seeds: when a binomial model is an approximation

(i) In a small plot of land, there are 20 seeds being sown, of which only 4 will germinate. If 5 seeds are selected at random without replacement, find the probability that at least a seed that germinates would be selected. [3]

(ii) In a huge plot of land where a large number of seeds are sown, 10% of the seeds would germinate. If 5 seeds are selected at random without replacement, find the probability that more than a seed that germinates would be selected. [3]

State an assumption made in calculating the probability in (ii). [1]

[2009/DHS/II/7]

CJC · Review Problems · Question 1

Solution

Review practice · 6 of 6

Separate a bulb fault from simultaneous bulb-and-switch faults

When a large number of flashlights leaving a factory is inspected, it is found that the bulb is faulty in 1% of the flashlights and the switch is faulty in 1.5% of them. Assuming that the faults occur independently and at random, find the probability that a sample of

(i) 10 flashlights contains no faulty bulb, [2]

(ii) 80 flashlights contains at least one flashlight with both a faulty bulb and a faulty switch. [3]

[2009/MJC/II/9(a)]

CJC · Review Problems · Question 2

See which counts the words include

(i) No faulty bulbs

n = 10, p = 0.01. Included counts: 0–0.

Count 0: 0.904; in eventCount 1: 0.0914; outside eventCount 2: 0.00415; outside eventCount 3: 0.000112; outside eventCount 4: 0.00000198; outside eventCount 5: 2.40e-8; outside eventCount 6: 2.02e-10; outside eventCount 7: 1.16e-12; outside eventCount 8: 4.41e-15; outside eventCount 9: 9.90e-18; outside eventCount 10: 1.00e-20; outside event
Count X ranges from 0 to 10. Use the inspector for individual values.

Highlighted bars form the requested event.

Solution

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