BINOMIAL DISTRIBUTION

An experiment often consists of repeated trials, each with two possible outcomes,
which may be labeled success or failure. This is true in flipping a coin 5 times, where each
trial may result in a head or tail. We may choose to define either outcome as a success.
Here the repeated trials are independent and the probability of success remains constant,
1 , from trial to trial. Experiments of this type are known as binomial experiments.
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A binomial experiment is one that possesses the following properties:

1. The experiment consists of n repeated trials.
2. Each trial results in an outcome that may be classified as a success or a
failure.
3. The probability of a success, denoted by p remains constant from trial to
trial.
4. The repeated trials are independent.

Consider the binomial experiment where a coin is tossed 3 times and a head is
designated a success. The number of success is a random variable X assuming
integral values from 0 to 3. The 8 possible outcomes and the corresponding values
of X are as follows:

Outcome X
TTT 0
TTH 1
THT 1
HTT 1
THH 2
HTH 2
HHT 2
HHH 3

Since the trials are independent with constant probability of success equal to 1 ,
2
the P(HTH ) = P(H )P(T )P(H ) = ( )( )( )
1 1 1
2 2 2
= 1
8
. Similarly, each of the other possible

outcomes occur with probability 1 .

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The number X of successes in n trials of a binomial experiment is called a binomial

random variable. The probability distribution of this discrete variable is called the
binomial distribution and its values will be denoted by b(x; n, p) , since they depend on the
number of trials and the probability of a success on a given trial.

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Definition:

BINOMIAL DISTRIBUTION. If a binomial trial can result in a success with

probability p and a failure with probability q, then the probability distribution of the
binomial random variable X, the number of successes in n independent trials is

b(x; n, p ) = ( )p q
n
x
x n− x
, for x = 0,1,2, n
Example 1. What is the probability of obtaining exactly four 5’s if an ordinary die
is tossed 7 times?

Solution:
The probability of a success on each of the independent trials is 1
6
and the probability of a failure is 5 . The outcome of 5 is considered a success in this
6
problem. Hence,

()
 
   
b ; ,  =     
   
!
= (.) (.)
!  !
=  (.)
= . or .

Example 2: A baseball player’s batting average is 0.250. What is the probability

that he gets exactly 1 hit in his next 5 times at bat?

Solution:

The probability of a success, that is, hitting the ball is p = 0.250 for
each of the 5 bat and the probability that he misses the ball is q = 0.750,
then

b (1; 5, 0.250 ) = ( ) (0.250) (0.750)

5
1
1 4

=
5!
(0.250 ) (0.3164 )
1! 4 !
= 5 (0.250) (0.3164 )
= 0.3955 or 0.40

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 Frequently, we are interested in problems in which it is necessary to find
r
P ( X  r ) or P (a  X  b). Binomial sums  b (x; n, p ) are available and are given in
x =0
a table.

Example 3 A research conducted by a non-government agency shows that 60% of high

school students think that having a college education is important in the business world. If
a random sample of 5 high school students is selected, find these probabilities.

a. Exactly two students will agree

n = _________ x = _________ p = _________

Therefore, P(2) = _____________.

b. at least two people will agree

P(2) = ____________ P(4) = ____________

P(3) = ____________ P(5) = ____________

Therefore, P(2) + P(3) + P(4) + P(5) = ____________

Example 4. The probability that a person recovers from a rare blood disease is 0.4. If 15
people are known to have contacted this disease, what is the probability that (a) at least 10
survive; (b) from 3 to 8 survive; and (c) exactly 5 survive?

Solution:

Let X be the number of people that survive. Then

(a) P ( X  10) = 1 − P ( X  10)

9
= 1 −  b (x;15, 0.4)
x =0

= 1− 0.9662
= 0.0338

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 8
(b) P (3  X  8) =  b (x;15, 0.4)
x =3
8 2
=  b (x;15, 0.4) −  b (x;15, 0.4)
x =0 x =0

= 0.9050 – 0.0271
= 0.8779

(c) P (x = 5) = b (5; 15, 0.4)

5 4
=  b (x; 15, 0.4) −  b (x; 15, 0.4)
x =0 x =0

= 0.4032 – 0.2173
= 0.1859

MEAN, VARIANCE, and STANDARD DEVIATION for the BINOMIAL DEVIATION

mean  = np
variance  2 = npq
standard deviation  = npq

Example 5 Find the mean, variance, and standard deviation for n = 100, p = 0.75

Solution
a. μ = np = (100)(0.75) = 75
b. σ2 = npq = (100) ().75) (0.25) = 18.75
c.  = npq = 18.75 = 4.33

Exercises:

1. Compute the probability of x successes using the table.

a. n = 2, p= 0.3, x = 1 d. n = 16, p= 0.9, x = 11

b. n = 7, p= 0.8, x = 4 e. n = 6, p= 0.1, x = 0
c. n = 12, p= 0.5, x = 7 f. n = 20, p= 0.4, x = 5

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2. A multiple-choice quiz has 15 question, each with 5 possible answers of which only one
is the correct answer. What is the probability that sheer guesswork yields
a) from 5 to 10 correct answers?
b) Exactly 2 correct answers?
c) From 3 to 4 correct answers?
d) At least 5 correct answers?
e) At most 3 correct answers?

3. The probability that a patient recovers from a delicate heart operation is 0.90. What is
the probability that of the next 8 patients having this operations.
a. Exactly 5 will survive?
b. From 3 to 7 will survive?
c. At most 4 will survive?
d. At least 6 will survive?

4. A survey of the residents in a United States city showed that 20% preferred a white
telephone over any other color. What is the probability that
a. more than one-half of the next 20 telephones installed in the city will be
white?
b. At least 15 of the next 20 telephones installed in the city will be white?
c. At most 10 of the next 20 telephones installed in the city will be white?

5. A baseball player’s batting average is 0.30. What is the probability that in his next 7
times at bat he gets,
a. Exactly 2 hits?
b. From 3 to 4 hits?
c. At least 5 hits?
d. At most 3 hits?

6. In a survey, 30% of the people interviewed said they bought most of their clothes during
the last three months of the year (October, November, and December). If nine people were
selected at random, find the probability that exactly three of these people buy most of their
clothes during these three months.

7. Find these probabilities for a sample of nine children if 60% of them had measles by the
time they each 12 years old.

a. At least four have had measles

b. Exactly eight have had measles
c. More than seven have had measles

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