BINOMIAL DISTRIBUTION

BANGALORE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS

Engineering Mathematics – IV (18MAT41)

MODULE - III
BINOMIAL DISTRIBUTION
A random experiment with only two possible outcomes success or failure is called
a Binomial trail or Bernoulli trail. If the binomial trails are repeated, the
probability of success is same in each trail and the trails are independent.
Consider probability of success as p
Probability of failure as q
 p  q 1

Examples
i) Tossing a coin ( outcomes are head or tail)
ii) selecting an item from the box containing defective and non defective items
(selected item may be defective or non defective).
Binomial Distribution
The probability of an event will happen exactly ‘ x ’ times in ‘ n ’ trails is given by
the probability function.

P  X   nc x p x q n x

n  Number of trails
x  Number of sucesses out of ' n ' trail
p  probability of sucess in each trail
q  probability of failure in each trail

The probability distribution is given by

X 0 1 2 3 n
P  X  nc 0 p q  q nc1 p q nc 2 p q
0 n 0 n 1 n 1 2 n2
nc 3 p3q n3 n n n
nc n p q  p n

DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS, B.I.T 1

 BINOMIAL DISTRIBUTION

Mean , variance and standard deviation(S.D) of the Binomial distribution

Mean     xi P  xi 
 0  q n  1  nc 1 p1q n1  2  nc 2 p 2 q n2  3  nc 3 p 3 q n3   n  pn
n  n  1 n  n  1 n  2 
 0  npq n1  2  p 2 q n2  3  p 3 q n 3   np n
2 3

 np  q n1   n  1 pq n2 
 n  1 n  2  p 2 q n3  
 p n1 
 2 
n n 1
W .K .T  q  p n  q n  npq n1  p 2 q n2   pn 
 2 
   np  q  p 
n 1

   np  p  q  1

Variance V    xi 2 P  xi     2
consider  xi 2 P  xi     xi 2  xi  xi  P  xi 
  xi  xi  1 P  xi    xi P  xi 
  xi  xi  1 P  xi   
 0  0  2  1  nc 2 p 2 q n2  3  2  nc 3 p 3 q n3   n  n  1  p n  
n  n  1 n  n  1 n  2 
 2 p 2 q n2  3  2  p 3 q n 3
2 3
n  n  1 n  2  n  3
 4 3 p 4 q n4   n  n  1 p n  
4

 n  n  1 p 2  q n2   n  2  pq n3 
 n  2  n  3 p 2 q n4  
 p n2   
 2 

DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS, B.I.T 2

 BINOMIAL DISTRIBUTION

n n 1
W .K .T  q  p n  q n  npq n1  p 2 q n2   pn 
 2 
 x P  x   n  n  1 p  q  p 
n2
 i
2
i
2

 n  n  1 p 2    p  q  1
 V  n  n  1 p 2     2
  n 2 p 2  np 2  np  n 2 p 2    np 
  np 1  p 
 V  npq  q  1  p
 S .D.    npq

PROBLEMS
1. Let ‘X’ be a binomially distributed random variable with mean 2 and standard
deviation 2 . Find the corresponding Probability mass function.
3

Solution: Given data :   2

S.D  2 3 V 4 3

W.K.T   np & V  npq

 np  2 & npq  4 3
 2q  4 3
 q2 3
 p 1  q  1 3
 n2 p 6
x 6 x
1  2
 P  X   nc x p q x n x
 6c x    
3  3

DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS, B.I.T 3

 BINOMIAL DISTRIBUTION

X : 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
0 6 1 5 2 4 3 3 4 2 5 1 6 0
1  2 1  2 1  2 1  2 1  2 1  2 1  2
P  X  :6c 0     6c1     6c 2     6c 3     6c 4     6c 5     6c 6    
 3  3  3  3  3  3  3  3  3  3  3  3  3  3

2. When a coin is tossed 4 times find the probability of getting

i) exactly one head ii) at most 3 heads iii) at least one heads

Solution:

X: Number of heads when a coin tossed 4 times.

X  0 to 4

p: probability of getting head in a toss  1

2

q: probability of getting tail in a toss  1

2
& n4
x 4 x
1 1
W.K.T. P  X   nc x p q x n x
 4c x    
2 2
1 41
1 1 3
i) P  Exactly onehead   P  X  1  4c1     
2 2 8

P  at most 3 heads   P  X  3 1  P  X  3  1  P( X  4)
4 44
ii) 1 1 15
1  4c 4     
2 2 16

P  at least onehead   P  X  1 1  P  X  1  1  P ( X  0)
0 40
iii) 1 1 7
1  4c 0     
2 2 8

DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS, B.I.T 4

 BINOMIAL DISTRIBUTION

3. The number of telephone lines busy at an instant of time with probability that a
line is busy is 0.1. If 10 lines are chosen at random . What is the probability that
i) No line is busy ii) All lines are busy iii) at least one line is busy iv) at most
two lines are busy.
Solution:

X: Number of telephone lines busy at an instant of time out of 10

selected lines.
X  0 to 10

p: probability that a line is busy  0.1

q: probability that a line is not busy 1  p 1  0.1 0.9

& n 10

P  X   nc x p x q n x 10c x  0.1  0.9 

x 10 x
W.K.T.

We have to find

P  nolineisbusy   P  X  0  10c 0  0.1  0.9 

100
 0.3487
0
i)

P  all lines arebusy   P  X  10  10c10  0.1  0.9   0.1

10 1010 10
ii)
iii) P  at least onelineisbusy   P  X  1 1  P  X  1 1  P  X  0   0.6514

iv) P  at most twolines arebusy   P  X  2   P  X  0   P  X  1  P  X  2 

10c 0  0.1  0.9   10c1  0.1  0.9   10c 2  0.1  0.9 

0 100 1 101 2 102

=0.9298
4. The probability that a pen manufactured by a factory be defective is 0.1.
If 12 such pens are manufactured. What is the probability that
i) 2 are defective ii) at least 2 are defective iii) none of them are defective

DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS, B.I.T 5

 BINOMIAL DISTRIBUTION

Solution:
X: Number of defective pens out of 12 pens.
X  0 to 12

p: probability that a manufactured pen is defective  0.1

q: probability that a manufactured pen is non-defective

1  p 1  0.1 0.9

& n 12

P  X   nc x p x q n x 12c x  0.1  0.9 

x 12 x
W.K.T.

We have to find

P  2 aredefective   P  X  2  12c 2  0.1  0.9 

122
 0.2301
2
i)
P  at least two are defective   P  X  2  1  P  X  2   P  X  0   P  X  1
ii)
 12c 0  0.1  0.9   12c1  0.1  0.9 
120 121
 0.341
0 1

P  noneof themaredefective   P  X  0  12c 0  0.1  0.9 

120
 0.2824
0
iii)

5. The probability that a person aged 60 years will live up to 70 is 0.65. What is
the probability that out of 10 persons aged 60 at least 7 of them will live up to
70.
Solution:
X: Number of persons aged 60 and live up to 70 out of 10 selected
persons.
X  0 to 10

p: probability that a person aged 60 years and live up to 70  0.65

DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS, B.I.T 6

 BINOMIAL DISTRIBUTION

q: probability that a person aged 60 years and will not live up to 70

1  p 1  0.65  0.35

& n 10

P  X   nc x p x q n x 10c x  0.65  0.35

x 10 x
W.K.T.

We have to find

P  at least 7 of themliveupto 70   P  X  7   P  X  7   P  X  8   P  X  9   P  X  10 
 10c 7  0.65   0.35   10c 8  0.65   0.35 
7 107 8 108

 10c 9  0.65   0.35   10c10  0.65   0.35 

9 10 9 10 10 10

 0.5138

6. In a large number of parts manufactured by a machine the mean number of

defectives in a sample of 20 is 2. Out of 1000 such samples how many would be
expected to contain at least 3 defective parts.

Solution:

X: Number of defective parts in a sample of 20 parts.

X  0 to 20  n  20

Given data :   2  np  2  p  1  0.1

10
p: probability that the manufactured part is defective  0.1

q: probability that the manufactured part is defective

1  p 1  0.1  0.9

P  X   nc x p x q n x  20c x  0.1  0.9 

x 20 x
W.K.T.

DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS, B.I.T 7

 BINOMIAL DISTRIBUTION

P  Asamplecontains at least 3 defective part   P  X  3  1  P  X  3

 1   P  X  0   P  X  1  P  X  2  
 20  0.10  0.9 200  20  0.11  0.9 201 
1 
c0 c1 
  20  0.1  0.9 
2 20 2

 c2 
= 0.323

Out of 1000 such samples the expected number of samples containing at least 3
defective parts  1000  0.323  323

i.e, out of 1000 such samples 323 samples are expected to contain at least 3
defective parts.

7. In 800 families with 5 children each how many families would be expected to
have i) 3 boys ii) 5 girls iii) either 2 or 3 boys iv)at most 2 girls
by assuming probabilities for boys and girls to be equal.

Solution:

X: Number of boys out of 5 children of a family.

X  0 to 5  n  5

p: probability that a manufactured pen is defective  1

2

q: probability that a manufactured pen is non-defective  1

2
x 5 x
1 1
W.K.T. P  X   nc x p q
x n x
 5c x    
2 2
3 53
1 1 5
i) P  having 3boys   P  X  3  5c 3     
2 2 16

5
Expected number of families having 3 boys out of 5 children  800   250
16

DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS, B.I.T 8

 BINOMIAL DISTRIBUTION

0 5 0
1 1 1
ii) P  having 5 girls   P  having 0 boys   P  X  0   5c 0     
2 2 32

1
Expected number of families having 5 girls out of 5 children  800   25
32

P  having either 2 or 3boys   P  X  2   P  X  3

2 5 2 3 5 3
1 1 1 1
iii)  5c 2      5c 3    
2 2 2 2
 0.625

Expected number of families having 2 0r 3 boys out of 5 children

 800  0.625  500

iv)
P  having at most 2 girls   P  having at least 3boys   P  X  3
 P  X  3  P  X  4   P  X  5 
3 5 3 4 5 4 5 5 5
1 1 1 1 1 1
 5c 3      5c 4      5c 5    
2 2 2 2 2 2
 0.5

Out of 800 families expected number of families having at most 2girls s out of 5
children  800  0.5  400

8. 4 coins are tossed 100 times and the following results are obtained . Fit a
binomial distribution for the data and calculate the theoretical frequency.

Number of heads 0 1 2 3 4
Frequency 5 29 34 27 5

Solution: f i  N  100

DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS, B.I.T 9

 BINOMIAL DISTRIBUTION

Mean of the frequency distribution   

x f
i i
 1.96
f i

Q the table gives us n  1 values of  xi , fi   n  1  5  n  4

W.K.T. Mean of the binomial distribution    np 1.96  4 p  p  0.49

 q 1  P  1  0.49  0.51

P  X   nc x p x q n x  4c x  0.49   0.51
x 4 x
W.K.T.

Theoretical frequency is given by

F  X   N  P  X   100  4c x  0.49   0.51

x 4 x

F  X  0  7
F  X  1  26
F  X  2   37
F  X  3  24
F  X  4 ; 6

Question Bank
1 Obtain the mean and standard deviation of a binomial distribution.

2 Find the binomial distribution which has mean 2 and variance 4/3.

3 For a binomial distribution, mean is 6 and variance is 2. Find the probability of getting (i)
at least one success and (ii) at most two success
4 When a coin is tossed 3 times. Find the probability of getting i) exactly one head ii) at least one
head iii) at most 2 head.
5 A die is thrown 8 times. Find the probability that 3 falls (i) exactly 2 times (ii) at least once
(iii) at the most 7 times.

DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS, B.I.T 10

 BINOMIAL DISTRIBUTION

6 The number of telephone lines busy at any instant of time with probability that a line is
busy is 0.1. If 10 lines are chosen at random, what is the probability that (i) no line is busy
(ii) at least one line is busy (iii) at most two lines are busy.

7 The probability that a pen manufactured by a company will be defective is 0.1. If 12 such
pens are selected, find the probability that (i) exactly 2 will be defective (ii) at least 2 will
be defective (iii) none will be defective.

8 The probability that a man, aged 60 will live up to 70 is 0.65 out of 10 men. Now at the age
of 60, find the probability that (i) at least 7 will live up to 70 (ii) exactly 9 will up to 70 (iii)
at most 9 will live up to 70.

9 The probability that a bomb dropped from a plane will strike the target is 1/5. If six bombs
are dropped, find the probability that (i) exactly two will strike the target (ii) at least two
will strike the target.

10 In a large number of parts manufactured by a machine the mean number of defectives in a sample
of 20 is
2. Out of 1000 such samples, how many would be expected to obtain at least 3 defective parts?
11 Out of 2000 families with 4 children each. How many families would you expect to have
(i) at least one boy (ii) 2 boys (iii) 1 or 2 girls (iv) no girls?

12 In 800 families with 5 children each. How many families would you expect to have (i) at
most two girls (ii) 3 boys (iii) either 2 or 3 boys (iv) 5 girls? Assume probabilities for boys
and girls to be equal.
13 If 10% of the rivets produced by a machine are defective. Find the probability that out of
12 randomly chosen rivets: i) Exactly 2 will be defective ii) At least 2 will be defective
iii) None will be defective.

14 A class of 100 students contains 10 bright students. 5 students from the class are selected at
random. Find the probability that i) None of the selected student is bright ii) all the selected
students are bright.
15 In a quiz contest of answering ‘Yes’ or ‘No’, what is the probability of guessing at least 6
answers correctly out of 10 questions asked? Also, find the probability of the same if there
are 4 options for a correct answer.
16 An air line knows that 5% of the people making reservations on a certain flight will not
turn up. Consequently their policy is to sell 52 tickets for a flight that can hold 50
passengers. What is the probability that there will be seat for every passenger who turns
up?

DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS, B.I.T 11

 BINOMIAL DISTRIBUTION

17 Fit a binomial distribution for the following data X 0 1 2 3

f X  28 62 46 10
18 4 coins are tossed 100 times and the following results are obtained. Fit a binomial
distribution for the data and calculate
the theoretical frequency. No. of heads 0 1 2 3 4
X
Frequency(f) 5 29 36 25 5

DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS, B.I.T 12