Group 3 Data Analysis

Exercises 1-30
1. The probability that a person, living in a certain city, owns a dog

is estimated to be 0.3. Find the probability that the tenth person
randomly interviewed in that city is the fifth one to own a dog.
2. A scientist inoculates several mice, one at a time, with a disease

germ until he finds 2 that have contracted the disease. If the
probability of contracting the disease is 1/6, what is the probability
that 8 mice are required?
3. An inventory study determines that, on average, demands for a

particular item at a warehouse are made 5 times per day. What is the
probability that on a given day this item is requested:
(a) More than 5 times?
(b) Not at all?
4. Find the probability that a person flipping a coin gets :
(a) The third head on the seventh flip;
(b) The first head on the fourth flip.
5. Three people toss a fair coin and the odd man pays for coffee. If
the coins all turn up the same, they are tossed again. Find the
probability that fewer than 4 tosses are needed.
6. According to a study published by a group of University of

Massachusetts sociologists, about two-thirds of the 20 million
persons in this country who take Valium are women. Assuming this
figure to be a valid estimate, find the probability that on a given day
the fifth prescription written by a doctor for Valium is:
(a) The first prescribing Valium for a woman;
(b) The third prescribing Valium for a woman.

7. The probability that a student pilot passes the written test for a
private pilot's license is 0.7. Find the probability that the student will
pass the test:
(a) On the third try;
(b) Before the fourth try.
8. On average a certain intersection results in 3 traffic accidents per

month. What is the probability that for any given month at this
intersection:
(a) Exactly 5 accidents will occur?
(b) Less than 3 accidents will occur?
(c) At least 2 accidents will occur?
9. A secretary makes 2 errors per page, on average. What is the

probability that on the next page he or she will make:
(a) 4 or more errors?
(b) No errors?
10. A certain area of the eastern United States is, on average, hit by
6 hurricanes a year. Find the probability that for a given year that
area will be hit by:
(a) Fewer than 4 hurricanes;
(b) Anywhere from 6 to 8 hurricanes.
11. Suppose the probability is 0.8 that any given person will believe
a tale about the transgressions of a famous actress. What is the
probability that:
(a) The sixth person to hear this tale is the fourth one to believe
it?
(b) The third person to hear this tale is the first one to believe
it?
12. The average number of field mice per acre in a 5-acre wheat field
is estimated to be twelve. Find the probability that fewer than 7 field
mice are found:
(a) On a given acre;
(b) On 2 of the next 3 acres inspected.
13. A restaurant chef prepares a tossed salad containing, on

average, 5 vegetables. Find the probability that the salad contains
more than 5 vegetables:
(a) On a given day;
(b) On 3 of the next 4 days;
(c) For the first time in April on April 5.
14. The probability that a person die from a certain respiratory

infection is 0.002. Find the probability that fewer than 5 of the next
2000 so infected will die.
15. Suppose that, on average, 1 person in 1000 makes numerical

error in preparing his or her income tax return. If 10,000 forms are
selected at random and examined, find the probability that 6, 7, or 8
of the forms contain an error.
16. The probability that a student fails the screening test for scoliosis
(curvature of the spine) at a local high school is known to be 0.004.
Of the next 1875 students who are screened for scoliosis, find the
probability that:
(a) Fewer than 5 fail the test;
(b) 8, 9, or 10 fail the test.

17. (a) Find the mean and variance in Exercise 5.64 of the random
variable X representing the number of persons among 2000 that die
from the respiratory infection.
(b) According to Chebyshev's theorem, there is a probability of at least

3/4 that the number of persons to die among 2000 persons infected
will fall within what interval?
18. (a) Find the mean and variance in Exercise 5.65 of the random
variable X representing the number of persons among 10,000 who
make an error in preparing their income tax returns.
(b) According to Chebyshev's theorem, there is a probability of at least

8/9 that the number of persons who make errors in preparing their
income tax returns among 10,000 returns will be within what
interval?
19. An automobile manufacturer is concerned about a fault in the

braking mechanism of a particular model. The fault can, on rare
occasions, cause a catastrophe at high speed. The distribution of the
number of cars per year that will experience the fault is a Poisson
random variable with A = 5.
(a) What is the probability that at most 3 cars per year will
experience a catastrophe?
(b) What is the probability that more than 1 car per year will
experience a catastrophe?
20. Changes in airport procedures require considerable planning.

Arrival rates of aircraft are important factors that must be taken into
account. Suppose small aircraft arrive at a certain airport, according
to a Poisson process, at the rate of 6 per hour. Thus the Poisson
parameter for arrivals for a period of hours is µ = 6t.
(a) What is the probability that exactly 4 small aircraft arrive

during a 1-hour period?
(b) What is the probability that at least 4 arrive during a 1-hour

period?
(c) If we define a working day as 12 hours, what is the

probability that at least 75 small aircraft arrive during a
day?
21. The number of customers arriving per hour at a certain

automobile service facility is assumed to follow a Poisson
distribution with mean A = 7.
(a) Compute the probability that more than 10 customers will

arrive in a 2-hour period.
(b) What is the mean number of arrivals during a 2hour period?
22. What is the mean number of students who fail the test?
23. The probability that a person dies when he contracts a virus

infection is 0.001. Of the next 4000 so infected, what is the mean
number that will die?
24. A company purchases large lots of a certain kind of electronic

device. A method is used that rejects a lot if 2 or more defective units
are found in a random sample of 100 units.
(a) What is the mean number of defective units found in a

sample of 100 units if the lot is 1% defective?
(b) What is the variance?
25. In the case of a certain type of copper wire, it is known that, on

the average, 1.5 flaws occur per millimeter. Assuming that the
number of flaws is a Poisson random variable, what is the probability
that no flaws occur in a certain portion of wire of length 5
millimeters? What is the mean number of flaws in a portion of length
5 millimeters?
26. Potholes on a highway can be a serious problem and are in

constant need of repair. With a particular type of terrain and make
of concrete, past experience suggests that there are, on the average,
2 potholes per mile after a certain amount of usage. It is assumed
that the Poisson process applies to the random variable "number of
potholes."
(a) What is the probability that no more than one hole will
appear in a section of one mile?
(b) What is the probability that no more than 4 pot holes will
occur in a given section of 5 miles?
27. Hospital administrators in large cities anguish about problems

with traffic in emergency rooms in hospitals. For a particular hospital
in a large city, the staff on hand cannot accommodate the patient
traffic if there are more than 10 emergency cases in a given hour. It
is assumed that patient arrival follows a Poisson process and
historical data suggest that, on the average, 5 emergencies arrive per
hour.
(a) What is the probability that in a given hour the staff can no
longer accommodate the traffic?
(b) What is the probability that more than 20 emergencies arrive

during a 3-hour shift of personnel?
28. In airport luggage screening it is known that 3% of people
screened have questionable objects in their luggage. What is the
probability that a string of 15 people pass through successfully before
an individual is caught with a questionable object? What is the
expected number in a row that pass through before an individual is
stopped?
29. Computer technology has produced an environment in which

"robots" operate with the use of microprocessors. The probability that
a robot fails during any 6 hour shift is 0.10. What is the probability
a robot will operate at most 5 shifts before it fails?
30. Refusal rate in telephone polls is known to be approximately

20%. A newspaper report indicates that 50 people were interviewed
before the first refusal.
(a) Comment on the validity of the report. Use a probability in

your argument.
(b) What is the expected number of people interviewed before a

refusal?

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Exercises 1-30

1. The probability that a person, living in a certain city, owns a dog

2. A scientist inoculates several mice, one at a time, with a disease

3. An inventory study determines that, on average, demands for a

(a) More than 5 times?

(b) Not at all?

4. Find the probability that a person flipping a coin gets :

(a) The third head on the seventh flip;

(b) The first head on the fourth flip.

6. According to a study published by a group of University of

(a) The first prescribing Valium for a woman;

(b) The third prescribing Valium for a woman.

(a) On the third try;

(b) Before the fourth try.

8. On average a certain intersection results in 3 traffic accidents per

(a) Exactly 5 accidents will occur?

(b) Less than 3 accidents will occur?

(c) At least 2 accidents will occur?

9. A secretary makes 2 errors per page, on average. What is the

(a) 4 or more errors?

(a) Fewer than 4 hurricanes;

(b) Anywhere from 6 to 8 hurricanes.

(a) On a given acre;

(b) On 2 of the next 3 acres inspected.

13. A restaurant chef prepares a tossed salad containing, on

(a) On a given day;

(b) On 3 of the next 4 days;

(c) For the first time in April on April 5.

14. The probability that a person die from a certain respiratory

15. Suppose that, on average, 1 person in 1000 makes numerical

(a) Fewer than 5 fail the test;

(b) 8, 9, or 10 fail the test.

(b) According to Chebyshev's theorem, there is a probability of at least

(b) According to Chebyshev's theorem, there is a probability of at least

19. An automobile manufacturer is concerned about a fault in the

20. Changes in airport procedures require considerable planning.

(a) What is the probability that exactly 4 small aircraft arrive

(b) What is the probability that at least 4 arrive during a 1-hour

(c) If we define a working day as 12 hours, what is the

21. The number of customers arriving per hour at a certain

(a) Compute the probability that more than 10 customers will

(b) What is the mean number of arrivals during a 2hour period?

23. The probability that a person dies when he contracts a virus

24. A company purchases large lots of a certain kind of electronic

(a) What is the mean number of defective units found in a

(b) What is the variance?

25. In the case of a certain type of copper wire, it is known that, on

26. Potholes on a highway can be a serious problem and are in

27. Hospital administrators in large cities anguish about problems

(b) What is the probability that more than 20 emergencies arrive

29. Computer technology has produced an environment in which

30. Refusal rate in telephone polls is known to be approximately

(a) Comment on the validity of the report. Use a probability in

(b) What is the expected number of people interviewed before a

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