FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION

Frequency distribution is a tool for organising data, we use it to group data into categories
and show the number of observations in each category.

In constructing frequency distribution table, many ways have been given, the most
effective and objective method of constructing frequency distribution from a given data is
the “Sturges Formula”, the application of Sturge formula gives accurate class size of a
distribution rather than using the popular method, although “Yule’s Formula” is also been
used.

Frequency distribution is simply an arrangement of the classes variates with

frequencies of each class indicated. Conventionally a frequency distribution is stated in
tabular form.

Definition:

A set of classes together with the frequencies of occurrence of values; in each

class, a given set of data, presented in a tabular form is referred to as a frequency
distribution.

Frequency distribution are broadly classified into 2 categories

1. Empirical/observed frequency
2. Theoretical/expected frequency

Empirical/observed frequency distributions are based on observation and

experimentation. As distinguish from this type of distribution which based on actual
observation, it is possible to deduce mathematically what the frequency distribution of
certain population should be. Such theoretical considerations are known as theoretical
distribution.

Knowledge of the expected behaviour of a phenomenon or the expected frequency

distribution is of great help in a large number of problems. In practical life, they served as
benchmark at which to compare observed distribution and act as substitute for actual
distribution when the latter are costly to obtain or cannot be obtained at all.

Definition:

Absolute Frequency: The absolute frequency is the number of time that a certain value
appear in a statistical duty, it is denoted by . The sum of the absolute frequencies is
equal to the total number of data which is denoted by N.

+ + + ⋯+ =

This sum is commonly denoted by the Greek letter ∑( ) which represent sum

Definition:

Relative Frequency: The relative frequency is the quotient between the absolute
frequency of a certain value and the total number of data. It can be expressed as a
percentage and is denoted by .

1 Basic Statistics
 =

The sum of the relative frequency is equal to 1.

Definition:

Cumulative Frequency: The cumulative frequency is the sum of the absolute frequencies
of all values less than or equal to the value considered. It is denoted by

Definition:

Relative Cumulative Frequency: The relative cumulative frequency is the quotient

between the cumulative frequency of a particular value and the total number of data. It
can be expressed as a percentage.

Example: A city has recorded the following daily maximum temperatures during a month.
Construct frequency distribution table

32 31 28 29 33 32 31 30
31 31 27 28 29 30 32 30
31 31 30 29 29 30 30 34
31 30 31 33 33 29 29

Count
27 I 1 1 0.032 0.032
28 II 2 3 0.065 0.097
29 IIII 6 9 0.194 0.290
⋮ ⋮ ⋮ ⋮ ⋮ ⋮

PROBABILITY DISTRIBUTION

To understand probability distribution, it is important to understand variables,

random variables, and some notation.

Definition:

A variable is a symbol (A, E, x, y etc) that can take on any of a specified set of
values.

Definition:

When the value of a variable is the outcome of a statistical experiment; that

variable is a random variable.
Generally, Statisticians use a capital letter to represent a random variable and a
lower case letter to represent one of its values. For example
X represents the random variable X
P(X) represents the probability of X
P(X=x) refers to the probability that the random variable X is equal to a particular value,
denoted by x. As an example, P(X=1) refers to the probability that the random variable X
is equal to 1.
Probability distribution is defined for random variable. A variable X which takes
values , ,…., with associated probabilities , ,…., respectively is called a
random variable. The qualification ‘random’ is made because the values which x takes
depend on chance and those are not known beforehand. If the variable is discrete, it is

2 Basic Statistics
 called discrete random variable; if the variable is continuous, it is called continuous
random variable.

Definition:

A probability distribution is a table or an equation that links each outcome of

statistical experiment with its probability of occurrence.
An example will make clear the relationship between random variable and
probability distribution. Suppose a coin is flip two times. This simple statistical
experiment can have four possible outcomes:

={ , , , }

Now, let the variable X represent the number of heads that result from this experiment.
The variable X can take on the values 0, 1, or 2. In this example, X is a random variable,
because its value is determined by the outcome of a statistical experiment.

Number of heads Probability

0 ¼
1 ½
2 ¼
The above table represents the probability distribution of a random variable X.
The function p(x) is called probability mass function and f(x) is called the
probability density function. The summary of the distinct values of a random variable
x together with their probabilities p(x) or f(x) is known as the probability distribution of
the random variable.

Q1. Determine the constant c so that the following probability mass function of the
random variable y is a valid PMF; ( )= = 1, 2, 3 …

Solution: ∑ ( )=1
∑ ( )=∑
∑ =1

+ + + +⋯ =1 But = where = & = =

=1

=1 ∴ =3

∴ ( )=3
Q2. Let be a continuous random variable where pdf is ( ) = for an interval 0 < <
What is the value of the constant c that make ( ) a valid pdf?
Solution
( )= ; ∫ ( ) = ∫ = ∫

= = −0 =

Since ∫ ( ) = 1; =1
= 16
=2

POPULATION AND SAMPLE SPACE

3 Basic Statistics
 The major use of inferential statistics is to use information from sample to infer something
about a population.
In statistics, we are interested in obtaining information about a total collection of
elements which we will refer to as the population. The population is often too large for us
to examine each of its members. In such case, we try to learn about the population by
choosing and then examining a subgroup or portion of its elements. This group is called a
sample.
If the sample is to be informative about the total or entire population, it must be,
in some sense, representative of that population.
A numerical measurement that describes a characteristic of a population is called
parameter, while a numerical measurement that describes a characteristic of a sample is
called statistics.

SAMPLING METHOD

There are various ways of actually selecting a sample. They are usually classified into
random (or probability sampling) and Non-random (or non probability) sampling. Some
types of random sampling method are

1. Simple random sampling: This is the best method from a theoretical view-point of
selecting a truly random sample. In this method, every member of the population
have equal chance of being selected or chosen in the sample.
2. Stratified random sampling: This method entails the use of the natural divisions of
a sampling frame such as sex, age, income group, occupation. These are the strata
and they can be used to ensure all sections of the population are adequately
represented in any sample.
In stratified sampling, the target population is set into homogeneous groups
called strata; and from each stratum a random selection is made. When using
stratified method of sampling, it is essential to know in advance the proportion of
the population in each natural stratum and to take account of this when selecting
the sample.
3. Cluster random sampling: In this method the population units group belongs to
some natural group called clusters. A simple random sample of clusters may be
selected from all available clusters, and the units in the selected clusters are
studied.

Non-random (or non probability) sampling occur when selection of the sample is
dependent on human judgment (which is surjective) and not on the rigorous
applications of probability theory. Some examples of non-random sampling are

1. Systematic sampling: in this method, the population units are selected using a
fixed interval from the frame. For example, if we desire to obtain a systematic
sample of 20 students from 1000 students, we obtain this by selecting every 50th
name in the list.
2. Quota sampling: In this method, the sample is selected from each part of the
population area. It is typical in social and political arrangements where political
representation is zonal.

REASONS FOR SAMPLING

1. Time available may not be enough to take a look at all members of the population
2. All members of the population may not be available at that time
3. Resources like money may not be available to work on all the members of the
population
4. The population may be too large as to consider each member.

4 Basic Statistics
 METHODS OF DATA COLLECTION

Once a sample has been selected the data must be collected from that sample. Method of
collecting data includes:
 The personal interview
 The postal questionnaire
 observation

CHARACTERIZATION OF GRAPHICAL REPRESENTATION

Some features which characterize a frequency distribution are; modality, symmetry,

central tendency and variability.
The averages and measures of variability can help in describing frequency
distribution. However they are not sufficient to describe the nature of distribution. If we
look at a frequency polygon, it is not impossible to gain any impression of either the
location or the dispersion of the distribution unless the graph includes numbers (values) on
the l-axis. Likewise, the frequency curve is enough to indicate the shape of the frequency
distribution. Frequency curves give us an idea of the way in which the variable is
distributed.
The graphic features of a distribution are most commonly described in terms of two
properties called skewness and kurtosis.

SKEWNESS

Skewness means lack of symmetry. A distribution is said to be symmetrical when

the values are uniformly distributed around the mean or when the portion of a frequency
polygon to the right of the mean is the mirror image of the portion to the left, then the
distribution is said to be symmetrical. In a symmetrical distribution, the mean, median
and mode coincide, that is, mean = median = mode

Mean
Mode
Median
If more observations lie on one side of the mean than on the other side, the distribution is
said to be skewed. If more observations lie to the left of the mean, the distribution is
typically balance (at the mean) by a long tail to the right and the distribution is said to be
positively skewed or skewed to the right.

5 Basic Statistics
 Mode Median Mean

If more observations lie to the right of the mean, the longer tail extends to the left and
the distribution is said to be negatively skewed or skewed to the left.

Mea n Mod e Med ia n

Several measures are used to express the direction and extent of skewness of a dispersion.
The important measures are that given by Pearson. The first one is the coefficient of
skewness which is given by
3( − )
=
.
For a symmetrical distribution, that is, when the mean and median are equal Pearson’s
skewness coefficient must equal zero i.e. the distribution is negative, and if it is
negatively skewed then is positive. The range of is −3 to +3

KURTOSIS

A Kurtosis is the degree of peakness of a distribution usually taken relative to a

normal distribution. A measure of the peakedness or convexity of a curve is known as
kurtosis.
A. Leptokurtic distribution is the one in which most of the observations are
concentrated near the mode and in the tails, it is called Leptokurtic because of the
leaping curve.

6 Basic Statistics
 Lep tokurtic distributio n

B. Mesokurtic distribution is the one which is less peaked and have more
observations in the “shoulder” than a leptokurtic distribution. It is called or known
as mesokurtic, that is, normal curve.

Mesokurtic d istributio n

C. Platykurtic is the one that has flat, like table or plateau and it is described as
platykurtic (flat curve)

Platykurtic

Kurtosis is measured by Pearson’s coefficient B2. It is given by =

∑( )
The sample estimate of thin coefficient is = where =
The distribution is called normal if = 3, when is more than 3, the distribution
is said to be platykurtic.

MEASURES OF PROBABILITY

The concepts of probability or chance are introduced into the study of the outcomes of
experiments. These outcomes are uncertain, hence, they are random or non-
deterministic.

Definition

7 Basic Statistics
 Random experiment: A random experiment is one that in a single trial the
experiment may result in any one of the possible outcomes, each determine by chance.
For example, taking examinations resulting in either success or failure.

Definition:

Sample space: This is a set of all possible outcomes of an experiment, usually

denoted by S. For example, if we toss a coin three times, the possible outcomes of this
experiment are
={ , , , , , , , }
where S = Sample space
H = Head
T = Tail

Definition:

Event: An event is simply set of possible outcome; that is event is a subset of a

sample space.
Example: Let A be the event that two or more needs appear consecutively and B that all
the losses are the same.
={ , , }
={ , }

Definition:

Sample point: This is a particular outcome of an experiment e.g. HHH

PROBABILITY FUNCTIONS OF RANDOM VARIABLE

Let E be an experiment and S be a sample space associated with the experiment. A

function X, assigning to every element ∈ , a real number x(s) is called a random
variable.

DISCRETE RANDOM VARIABLE

Let X be a random variable. If the number of possible values of X is finite or

countably infinite, we call X a discrete random variable, that is, the possible values of X
may be listed as , , … .
For the discrete random variable X, with each possible outcome , we associate a
number ( ) = ( = ) called the probability of satisfying the following:
(i) ( ) ≥ 0
∑
(ii) ( )=1
=1
∑
(iii) ( ∈ )= ( )
=
The function ( ) defined above is called the probability function of the random variable
x. The collection of pairs , ( ) , = 1, 2 … is called the probability distribution or
probability mass function

CONTINUOUS RANDOM VARIABLE

Continuous random variable is one that can be assume infinitely large number of values
corresponding to the points on a line interval. It means preceding without interruption. A
random variable x can thus be said to be continuous if there exist a function f commonly
called the probability density function (PDF) of x satisfying the following
(i) ( ) ≥ 0
(ii) ∫ ( ) =1

8 Basic Statistics
 (iii) For any a, b such that ≤ ≤ , ( ≤ ≤ )>∫ ( )
(iv) { ≤ }= ( )=∫ ( )

EXPECTED VALUE OF A RANDOM VARIABLE

The feature of a frequency distribution is expressed in terms of the summary measures

like mean, standard deviation, etc. Similarly, the features of a probability distribution can
be expressed by mean, standard deviation etc. For this purpose, we use the concept of
expectation.
Expectation is nothing but the mean of a random variable. If we consider a
discrete random variable x with distinct values , , … , with , , … as their
corresponding probabilities. The expected values of x is given by

( )= + + ⋯+
=∑ = 1, …
The variance of a random variable x can be given in terms of expectation

( )= − ( )
= ( )− ( )
=∑ − ∑ ( )

The expectation value E(x) of a random variable x distributed according to the probability
density function f(x) is defined as
( )= ( ) =
The variance is given by
( )= − ( )
=∫ ( − )

Var(x) = is called the population variance (or simply the variance of x). The
variance is a measure of how widely x is spread about its mean value. The square root of
the variance is called the standard deviation of x, which is often useful because it has
the same unit as x.

Example: Find the expectation, variance and standard deviation of the distribution
x 1 4 7
f(x) ½ 1 ¼
3

(i) ( )=∑ ( ) = 1×1 2+4×1 3+7×1 4

= 1 2 + 4 3 + 7 4 = 43 12
(ii) ( )= ( )− ( )
But ( ) = ∑ ( )

( )=1 × +4 × +7 ×
= + + = Var(x) = ( )− ( )

= − = − =
(iii) tandard deviation = ( )

9 Basic Statistics
 = = 2.29

Example: If the p.d.f of a random variable X is given by ( ) = , 0≤ ≤1

√
Find (i) ( )
(ii) var(x)
Solution
(i) ( ) =∫ ( )
=∫ .
√

= ∫ =

= = =

(ii) ( )=∫ ( − ) ( )
=∫ ( ) − ⟹ Var(x) = ( )− ( )
1
( )= .
2√
= ∫ = = =

( )=
( )= − = −
=

Example: Find the ( ) and ( ):

0 1 2 3
( ) 1 3 3 1
3 8 8 8
1. ( )=∑ ( )
=0 +1 +2 +3
= + + = =
2. ( )=∑ ( )
=0 +1 +2 +3
= + + = =3
( )= ( )− ( )
=3− =3− = =
Example: Let X be a continuous random variable with PDF ( )= 2 1 < < 2. Find
0 ℎ
the ( ) and ( )
( )=∫ ( )
=∫ 2 = 2∫ = 2∫
= 2[log ( )] = 2 log(2) − 2log (1)
( ) = 2 log(2)
( )=∫ 2 = ∫ 2 = 2 ∫
= 2[ ] = 2(2 − 1) = 2

10 Basic Statistics
 ∴ ( )= ( )− ( )
= 2 − [2 log(2)]

EXERCISE

1. Suppose that a random variable X has a discrete distribution with p.d.f

(i) ( )= where = 1, 2, 3 … .10
(ii) ( )= where = 1, 2, 3, 4
Determine the value of the constant c. Ans: (i) (ii) 10

2. Let the p.d.f of a random variable X be given by ( ) = , −1 ≤ ≤ 1

Find (i) E(x) (ii) var(x)
3. If X is a discrete random variable with p.d.f ( ) = , = 2, 4, 8, 10, 12
Find (i) E(x) (ii) (iii) var(x)
4. Consider a random variable X with p.d.f
1 − 0 < ≤ 1
( )=
+ 1 − 1 ≤ ≤ 0
Find (i) E(x) (ii) var(x)
5. Suppose that X has the pdf ( ) = , > 2. Find or evaluate E(x) and var(x)

METHOD OF COUNTING

INTRODUCTION

In some experiments, the number of sample points in the sample space is too many such
that complete listing of them is too tedious and cumbersome. This necessitates the need
for some counting techniques, which serve as essential tools in Probability Theory. It is
important to develop a convenient and easy ways to determining the total number of
elements in the sample space and in the various elements associated with the sample
space without having to make a comprehensive list of them. The simple, easy and
convenient ways determining the number of sample space without complete listing the
number of possible outcome of a particular experiment are called method of counting.

Consider a random experiment which can be performed in parts or stages. Suppose that
the first experiment can occur in ways and then, a second experiment can occur in
ways and for each of the first, the third can occur in ways etc.
Then the sequence of experiment has a total of × × …× outcomes.

Example: There are 5 roads between two towns A and B and 4 roads between towns B and
C. In how many ways can one drive from town A to C passing through town B.
Solution:
The journey is consisting of two stages. The first stage which consist of driving from town
A to B can be made in = 5 ways and second stage which consists of driving from town B
to C can be made in = 4 ways
Thus, the journey can be made in × = 5 × 4 = 20 ways

PERMUTATION

Permutation is an arrangement of all or a part of n distinct objects in a definite

order. The arrangement of n distinct objects taken all at a time is called the permutation
of n distinct objects taken all at a time and is given by ! and defined as

! = ( − 1)( − 2) … . .2 × 1

11 Basic Statistics
 An arrangement of any ≤ of these objects in a given order called an r-permutation or a
permutation of an object taking at a time. The permutation of n distinct objects taking r
n
at a time is denoted by Pr or (n, r) and defined as
n !
Pr = ( )!

The superscripted n represents the number of objects you are willing to arrange, while the
subscripted r represents the number of positions you have for the object to fill.

ORDERED SAMPLES

Selecting an item from a container is an example of ordered sampling. The sampling could
be with replacement or without replacement. For sampling with replacement, the number
of different ordered samples with replacement having size r is given by . For sampling
without replacement, there are repetitions in the ordered sampling. It becomes simply the
n
permutation of n objects taken r at a time, that is Pr.

Example: In how many ways can four people be seated in two different seats?
Solution
There are four persons who can occupy the first seat and when the first seat is filled,
three persons who can take the second seat.
Therefore, there are 4 × 3 = 12 permutations of four things taken two at a time.
4 !
P2 = ( )!
! × × ×
= = = 12
! ×
Example: In how many ways can a supermarket manager display 5 brands of cereals in 3
spaces on a shelf?

Solution: This is asking for the number of permutations, since we don’t want repetitions.
The number of ways is
5 ! !
P3 = ( )! = = 60
!
Example: In how many ways can one choose four cards in succession from a pack playing
of cards?
(i) with replacement
(ii) without replacement
Solution
(i) with replacement is where = 52
=4
∴ = 52
(ii) without replacement
n 52
Pr = P4
! !
=( )!
= !
= 6,497,400

PERMUTATIONS OF DIFFERENT KINDS OF OBJECTS

The number of different permutations of n objects of which are of one kind, are
of a second kind, ... are of a k-th kind is
!
! × ! × ! × …× !
Example: In how many ways can the letter of the word ‘LEADER’ be arranged?

12 Basic Statistics
 Solution
The word ‘LEADER’ contains 6 letters namely
1L, 2E, 1A, 1D and 1R
! × × × × !
Required no. of ways ! ! ! ! ! = !
= 360

Example: In how many ways can the six letters of the word “mammal” be arranged in a
row?
Solution:
!
Since there are 3 “m”s, 1 “l”, and 2 “a”s in the word “mammal”, we have ! ! ! = 60

Example: How many 4 letter words with or without meaning can be formed out of the
letters of the word ‘LOGARITHMS’ if repetition of letter is not allowed?
Solution
LOGARITHMS contains 10 different letters
Required no. of word = No. of arrangement of 10 letters, taking 4 at a time
= 10P4
! !
=( )!
= ! = 5040

Example: In how many different ways can the letters of the word LEADING be arranged in
such a way that the vowels always come together?
Solution
The word has 7 different letters. When the vowels EAI are always together, they
can be suppose to form one letter

Then we have to arrange the letter LDNG(EAI)

Now, 4 + 1 = 5 letters can be arrange in 5! = 120 ways
The vowel (EAI) can be arrange among themselves in 3! = 6 ways
Required number of ways = 120 × 6 = 720 ways

Example: In how many ways can the letters of the word ABACUS be rearranged such that
the vowels always appear together?
Solution
ABACUS is a 6 letter word with 3 of the letters being vowels. Because the 3 vowels have to
appear together, let us group the AAU as one unit. There are three consonants in addition
to one unit of vowels.
!
These 4 elements can be rearrange among themselves in ! ways as “a” appears twice
Hence the total number of rearrangement in which the vowels appear together is
! ! !× × !
!
= !
= 4 × 3 × 2 × 1 × 3 = 72

Example: What is the probability that the position in which the consonants appear remain
unchanged when the letters of the word MATH are re-arranged?
Solution
The total number of ways in which the word MATH can be re-arranged is 4! = 24
ways
Now: If the positions in which the consonants appear do not change. The first, third and
the fourth positions are reserved for consonants and the vowel A remained at the second
position.
The constant M, T and H can be re-arranged in the first, third and fourth positions
in 3! = 6 ways without the positions in which the consonant appear changing. Therefore,
!
the required probability = =
!

ARRANGING OBJECTS IN A CIRCLE

13 Basic Statistics
 There are ( − 1)! ways to arrange n distinct object in a circle

Example: In how many ways can 5 people be arranged in a circle?

Solution: (5 − 1)! = 4! = 24 ways

Example: In how many ways can 6 girls and 2 boys be arranged in a row
a) without restriction?
b) Such that the 2 boys are together?
c) Such that the 2 boys are not together?

Solution:
a) This is just 8 people being arranged in a row
∴ 8! = 40320
b) Regard the 2 boys as one “unit” and so there are 7 units to arrange. This can be
done 7! = 5040 ways
The boys can be arranged in 2! = 2 ways, so the required answer is 7! 2! = 10080
c) There are only two possibilities; the boys are together or they are not. So the
number of ways of arranging so that the boys are not together is:
40320 − 10080 = 30340
Example: Ten coins are tossed simultaneously, in how many of the outcomes will the third
coin turn up a head?
Example: There are 12 “Yes” or “No” questions. How many ways can there be answers?
Example: How many ways can 4 prizes be given away to 3 boys if each boy is eligible for
all the prize?
Example: In how many ways 4 boys and 3 girls can be seated in a row so that they are
alternate?
Example: In how many different ways can 5 girls and 5 boys form a circle such that the
boys and the girls alternate?
Example: Find out the number of ways in which 6 rings of different types can be worn in 3
types?
Example: In how many ways can 5 man draw water from 5 taps if no tap can be used more
than once?
Example: How many words with or without dictionary meaning can be formed using the
letters of the word EQUATION so that the vowel and consonant are side by side?

COMBINATION

A combination is a selection of r distinct objects from n objects without regard to order.

n
If ≤ of these objects are selected, we call it an r-combination. It is denoted by Cr or
!
= !( )!

Example: Calculate the number of combination of 8 objects chosen 6 at a time.

8 ! ×
∴ C6 = ! !
= !
= 28

Example: Find the number of ways in which 3 components can be selected from a branch
of 20 different components.
Solution:
20 ! !
C3 = !( )!
= ! !
= 1140

Example: In how many ways can a group of 4 boys be selected from 10 if

a) the eldest boy is included in each group?
b) the eldest boy is excluded?
c) What proportions of all possible groups contain the eldest boy?
Solution

14 Basic Statistics
 a) Choose 3 from 9, since the eldest boy is fixed
9 ! !
C3 = !( )!
= !× !
= 84
b) If the eldest boy is excluded, we will actually choose 4 boys from 9
9 ! !
C4 = !( )!
= ! !
= 126
c) The number of all possible groups is
10 ! !
C4 = !( )!
= ! !
= 210
So the proportion of all possible groups is containing the eldest boy is
84 2
= = 40%
210 5
Example: A class consists of 15 boys of whom 5 are prefects. How many committees of 8
can be formed if each consists of
a) Exactly 2 prefects?
b) Atleast 2 prefects?
Solution
a) The number of ways of choosing 2 prefect from 5 is
5 !
C2 = ! !
= 10
The number of ways of choosing 6 non-prefects from 10 is
10 !
C6 = ! !
= 210
Number of possible committees with exactly 2 prefects;
5
C2 × 10C6 = 10 × 210 = 2100
b) Number of committees with 3 prefects
5 ! !
C3 × 10C5 = ! !
× ! !
= 2520
Number of committee with 4 prefects
5 ! !
C4 × 10C4 = ! !
× ! !
= 1050
Number of committees with 5 prefect
5 ! !
C5 × 10C3 = ! !
× ! !
= 120
So the number of committees with at least 2 prefect is 2100 + 2520 + 1050 +
120 = 5790

Example: A committee of 6 is to be chosen from among 4 employers and 20 employees. In

how many ways can this be done if
a) The committee is to include 3 of both employers and employees
b) The committee is to include at least 2 employers
Solution
a) The required ways are to include (3 employers)(3 employees)
= 4C3 × 20C3
! !
= ! ! × ! ! = 4 × 1140 = 4560
b) We may have (2 employers and 4 employees) or (3 employers and 3 employees) or
(4 employers and 2 employees)

Required no. of ways = 4C2 × 20C4 + 4C3 × 20C3 + 4C4 × 20C2

! ! ! ! ! !
= ! ! × ! ! + ! ! × ! ! + ! ! × ! !
= 6 × 4845 + 4 × 1140 + 1 × 190
= 29070 + 4560 + 190
= 33820

15 Basic Statistics
 Example: Out of 10 consonants and 6 vowels, how many words of 5 consonants and 4
vowels can be formed?
Solution
No. of ways of selecting = (5 consonants out 10).(4 words out of 6)
= 10C5 × 6C4
! !
= ! !
× ! !
= 252 × 15 = 3780
No. of groups, each having 5 consonants and 4 vowels is 362880. Each group contains 9
letters. No. of ways arranging 9 letters is 9! = 362880

Example: In how many ways a committee, consisting of 5 men and 6 women can be
formed from 8 men and 10 women?
Solution
8 10
Required no. of ways = C5 × C6
8 10
= C3 × C4
! !
= ! !
× ! !
= 56 × 210 = 11760

Example: How many ways can a group of 5 men and 2 women be made out of a total of 7
men and 3 women?
Solution

Required no. of ways = 7C5 × 3C2

! !
= !( )!
× !( )!

! ! × × ! × !
= ! !
× ! !
= ! × !
× ! × !

= 21 × 3 = 63
Example: A box contains 2 white balls, 3 black balls and 4 red balls. In how many ways
can 3 balls be drawn from the box, if at least one black ball is to be included in the draw?
Solution
We may have (1 black and 2 non black) or (2 black and 1 non black) or (3 black)
Required no. of ways = 3C1 × 6C2 + 3C2 × 6C1 + 3C3
! ! ! ! !
= ! !× ! !+ ! !× ! !+ ! !
= 3 × 15 + 3 × 6 + 1 = 45 + 18 + 1
= 64

Example: In a group of 6 boys and 4 girls, four (4) children are to be selected. In how
many ways can they be selected such that at least one (1) boy should be there?

Solution

6 boys and 4 girls; four children

1st option = 1 boy and 3 girls
2nd option = 2 boys and 2 girls
3rd option = 3 boys and 1 girl
4th option = 4 boys and 0 girls

Total ways of selecting four children = 6C1 × 4C3 + 6C2 × 4C2 + 6C3 × 4C1 + 6C4 × 4C0
= 6 × 4 + 15 × 6 + 20 × 4 + 15 × 1
= 24 + 90 + 80 + 15
= 209

16 Basic Statistics
 Example: A division of a company consists of seven men and five women. If two of these
twelve employees are randomly selected as representatives of the division, what is the
probability that both representatives will be female?
Solution:
Approach 1:
7 men and 5 women = 12 people
× = 10 and = 66
Probability = =
Approach 2:
Let A represents no. of women
Let B represents no. of men
( )= ; ( | )= ; ∴ ( ∩ )= ( ) ( | )= × = =

Example: A bag containing 2 white balls, 3 black balls and 4 red balls. In how many ways
can 3 balls be drawn from the bag, if atleast one black is to be included in the draw?

1 black + 2 non-black
2 black + 1 non-black
3 black + 0 non-black
Required no. of ways = × + × + × = 64

Exercise

1) If in an examination, a student is to answer 4 out of 5 questions

(i) How many choice are available to him?
(ii) If question one is compulsory, how many choices has he?
2) In how many different ways can the letters of the word ‘CORPORATION’ be
arranged so that the vowels come together?
3) How many 3 digit numbers can be formed from the digits 2, 3,5, 6, 7 and 9 which
are divisible by 5 and none of the digits is repeated.

PROBABILITY

Probability is the study of random experiment or non-deterministic experiments. The

probability of an event represents the proportion of times under identical conditions that
the outcome can be expected to occur.
For instance, if a coin is tossed, it is certain that the coin will fall down but it is not
certain which side will fail.

PROBABILITY FUNCTION

This is used as a measure of the probability of an event and written as p(x). It could be
defined as a set of function with a domain and counter domain [0, 1] which satisfies the
axioms of probability.

Random Experiment: An experiment is said to be random if the outcome cannot

be predicted with certainty prior to the performance of the experiment; the outcome is
determined by chance alone.
Example: Toss a coin and observed whether the head or tail face up.

Sample space: Sample space is the collection of all possible outcomes of the
experiment. A sample space may be finite or infinite. It is finite if the number of elements
in the space can be counted, otherwise it is infinite. It may also be discrete or
continuous.
A sample point is a particular outcome in a sample space.

17 Basic Statistics
 BASIC DEFINITIONS OF PROBABILITY

Classical definition of probability: Suppose an event ‘A’ can happen in n(A) ways out of N
equally likely ways; then the probability of occurrence of the event (called its success) is
denoted by the fraction
( )
( )=
The probability of non-occurrence is
− ( )
( )=
( )
=1− = 1 − ( )

Example: Find the probability of drawing a spade in the pack of 52 cards?

Solution
4-aces

}
52 c a rd s
4-Kings one in ea c h
4-Queens
26 Blac ks 26 Red s 4-Jacks

13 Hea rts
13 Diam onds
13 Club s 13 Spad es

The probability of drawing a space from a deck of cards is

( )= =

Relative Frequency Definition

If an experiment is performed n times and a particular attribute ‘A’ occurs ‘r’ times, then
( ) = lim =
→
Example: A fair coin is tossed 100 times and 56 heads were observed. Obtain the
probability of a head.
Solution: = 100, = 56
( )= = 0.56

AXIOMATIC DEFINITION

Let ‘S’ be a sample space and P a probability function with P(A) called the probability of
event A. Then the following axioms hold
(i) ( )=1
(ii) ( )≥0 V ∈
(iii) ( ∪ ) = ( ) + ( ), if ∩ = ∅
In general, if A1, A2, ... An is a sequence of mutually exclusive events then
( ∪ ∪ …∪ ) = ( ) + ( ) + ⋯+ ( )
=∑ ( )

Some Consequences of the Axioms

1. 0 ≤ ( ) ≤ 1
2. ( ) = 1
3. If A and B are mutually exclusive events, then ( ∪ )= ( )+ ( )

18 Basic Statistics
 4. If ∅ is an empty set, then (∅) = 0
5. If is the compliment of an event, then ( )=1− ( )
6. If A and B are two events, then ( )= ( )− ( )

SIMPLE CONDITIONAL PROBABILITY

When you are faced with the situation of finding the probability of an event given some
prior information about the event, then we employ the concept of conditional probability
in finding the probability of the event.

Definition:
Let A and B be any two events defined on a sample space S. The probability that
event A occurs given that B has already occurred is called the conditional probability of A
given B. It is denoted and defined as
( ⋂ )
( | )= , ( )>0
( )
( ⋂ )
Similarly ( | )= , ( )>0
( )
NOTE: ( ⋂ )= ( ) ( )
( | )= ( )
( | )= ( )

Example: Consider the experiment of throwing a die once. Suppose that it is known that
the toss resulted in an even number, obtain the probability of an event of getting 4
Solution
Let the event of getting an even number be B and getting a 4 be A
Then = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6} = {2, 4, 6} = {4}
⋂ = {4}
( ⋂ )
Hence ( | ) = = ×2=
( )

DEPENDENT AND INDEPENDENT

Dependent Events: Two events A and B are said to be dependent if the occurrence of one
in any trial affects the probability of occurrence of other events in subsequent trials.

Example: If in a lot containing 100 items, 15 are bad. Suppose two items are selected at
random without replacement, what is the probability that both items are bad?
Solution:
Let A represent the first draw – yields a bad item and
B represent the event that the second draw yields a bad item
( ⋂ )
( | )=
( )
( ⋂ ) = ( ). ( | )
( )= , ( | )=
( ⋂ )= × =

Independent Events: An event B is said to be independent of another event A if the

probability that B occurs or does not occur is not influenced by whether A has or has not
occurred.
( ⋂ )= ( ) ( )

Example: The probability that a man will live 10 more years is 1 4 , and the probability
that his wife will live 10 more years is 1 3. Find the probability that
i) Both will be alive in 10 years time

19 Basic Statistics
 ii) At least one will be alive in 10 years time
iii) Neither will be alive in 10 years time
iv) Only the wife will be alive in 10 years times

Solution

( )=1 4; ( )=1 3

i) ( ⋂ )= ( )× ( )
= × =
ii) ( ∪ )= ( )+ ( )− ( )× ( )
= + − =
iii) ( ⋂ )= ( ∪ )
=1− ( ∪ )
=1−
iv) ( ⋂ )= ( )− ( )
= − =

BASIC CONCEPTS OF PROBABILITY

The mathematical theory of probability gives us the basic tools of constructing and
analysing mathematical models for random phenomena. In studying a random
phenomenon, we are dealing with experiment of which the outcome is not predictable in
advance. Experiments of this type immediately are those arising in games of chance.
In science and engineering, random phenomenon describes a wide anxiety of
situations. By and large, they can be grouped into two broad classes. The first class deals
with physical or natural phenomena involving uncertainties. Uncertainty enters into
problem formation through complexity, through lack of understanding of all causes and
effects, and through lack of information.
The second class of problems widely studied by means of probabilistic models
concerns these exhibiting variability. For example, consider a problem in traffic flow
where an engineer wishes to know the number of vehicles crossing a certain point in a
road within a specified interval of time. This varies unpredictably from one interval to
another, and this variability reflect variable driver behaviour and is inherent in the
problem.
This probability forces us to adopt a probabilistic point of view and probability
theory provides a powerful tool for analysing problems of this type.
It is safe to say that uncertainty and variability are present in our modelling of all
real phenomena, and is only natural to see that probabilistic modelling and analysis
occupy a central place in the study of a variety of topics in Science and Engineering

PROBABILITY DISTRIBUTIONS

The behaviour of a random variable is characterized by its probability distribution, that is,
by the way probabilities are distributed over the values it assumes. A probability
distribution function and a probability mass function are two ways to characterize the
distribution for a discrete random variable. They are equivalent in the sense that the
knowledge of either one completely specifies the random variable. The corresponding
functions for a continuous random variable are the probability distribution function,
defined in the same way as in the case of a discrete random variable and the probability
density function.

Probability Distribution Function

20 Basic Statistics
 Given a random experiment with its associated random variable X and given a real no. x,
let us consider the probability of the event { : ( ) ≤ } or simple ( ≤ ). This
probability is clearly dependent on the assigned value of x. The function is defined as the
( )= ( ≤ )
probability distribution function or simply the distribution function. The subscript X
identifies the random variable.
( ) is simple P(A) the probability of an event A occurring, the event being ≤ .
The name cumulative distribution function is also used for this function.

Properties

(1) It exist for discrete and continuous random variable and has values between 0 and
1
(2) It is a non-negative, continuous to the left, and non decreasing function of the real
number X
(3) If a and b are two real numbers such that < then ( ≤ ≤ ) = ( ) − ( )

This relation is a direct result of the identity

( ≤ )= ( ≤ )+ ( < ≤ )

Example: Let a discrete random variable X assumes values −1, 1, 2, and 3 with
probability , , and respectively. We then have
0, < −1
⎧1
⎪ , −1≤ <1
⎪4
3
( )= , 1 ≤ < 2
⎨8
⎪1
, 2 ≤ < 3
⎪2
⎩ 1, ≥ 3

A continuous random variable assumes a non-numerable number of values over the real
line. Hence, the probability of a continuous random variable assuming any particular value
is zero and therefore no discrete groups are possible for its PDF.

Example: (−1 < ≤ 1) = (1) − (−1)

= 0.8 − 0.4 = 0.4

PROBABILITY MASS FUNCTION FOR DISCRETE RANDOM VARIABLE

Let X be a discrete random variable that assumes at most a countably infinite number of
values X1, X2 .... with non zero probability. If we denote ( = ) = ( ); = 1, 2, …
then, clearly
0 < ( ) ≤ 1 for all
∑ ( )=1

Definition: The function ( ) = ( = ) is defined as the probability mass function

(P.M.F) of X. Again the subscript X is used to identify the associated random variable.

PROBABILITY DENSITY FUNCTION FOR CONTINUOUS RANDOM VARIABLE

For a continuous random variable X, its PDF, ( ) is a continuous function of it and the
( )
( )=

21 Basic Statistics
 derivative exist for all x, the function ( ) is called the probability density function (PDF)
or simply the density function of X.

Since ( ) is monotonic non-decreasing, we clearly have

( ) ≥ 0

Additional properties of ( ) can be derived easily

( )=∫ ( )
∫ ( ) =1

( < ≤ )= ( )− ( )= ( )
Example: The growth pattern of a particular species of guava pigs is considered a random
variable whose p.d.f is given by
( )= , > 0
0, ℎ
Find (i) K
(ii) (1 ≤ ≤ 2)
(iii) P(x > 3)

Example: The waiting time X (in minutes) of a customer waiting to be served at a ticket
counter has the density function
( )=2 ≥0
Obtain the probability that 2 ≤ ≤ 3

BINOMIAL DISTRIBUTION

One of the most simple, useful and interesting discrete random variable is
associated with the coin tossing experiment to determine certain attributes. Binomial
means two categories. For example an outcome of an experiment can be categorized as
success or failure, a coin 1 and 2 either head or tail, a light bulb is either defective or not
defective.
In general, the successive repetition of an observation (trial) may result in an
outcome which possesses or which doesn’t possess a specified character. Our primary
interest will be either of these possibilities. Conventionally the outcome of primary
interest is termed as success; the alternative outcome is termed as failure.

Properties of Binomial Experiment

(i) The experiment consists of n repeated (identical) trials

(ii) Each trial result in one of two outcome called success or failure
(iii) The probability of success on a single trial is P and remains constant from trial
to trial. The probability of failure is = (1 − )
(iv) The trials are independent

A random variable generated under the above conditions is called Binomial variable.

Definition:
A random variable x is defined to follow a binomial distribution if its probability
mass function is given by
n x n-x
( ) = Cx P q or
we may be interested in x, the number of successes in n trials, the probability of obtaining
x successes in such trials is given by
( = )= , = 0, 1 …
where 0 < < 1, + =1

22 Basic Statistics
 is called Binomial distribution.

The mean is given by ( ) = while the variance is given by ( )=σ = , the

standard deviation is σ = npq

Theorem: Let X be a random variable with the binomial distribution ( , , ) then

(i) ( )=
(ii) ( )=
n
Proof: ( , , )= Cx Px qn-x; = 0, 1 …

(i)
( )=∑ ( ) By definition
n 0 n-0 n 1 n-1 n
= 0. C0 P q + 1. C1 P q + 2. C2 P2 qn-2 +⋯+ .
n
Cn Pn qn-n
! ! ! !
=0 !( )!
+ !( )! + !( )! + ⋯+ . !( )!
( )! .( )( )! . !
=0+ ( )!
+ !( )!
+ ⋯+ !( )!
= + ( − 1) + ⋯+
= [ + ( − 1) + ⋯+ ]
= [ + ]
( )=

(ii) ( )= ( )−
Note: we know that = ( − 1) +
∴ ( ) = [ ( − 1) + ] = [ ( − 1)] + ( )
n 0
∴ [ ( − 1)] = 0(0 − 1) C0 P qn-0 + 1. (1 − 1) nC1 P1 qn-1+ 2(2 − 1). nC2
P2 qn-2 + ⋯ + . ( − 1) nCn Pn qn-n
! . ( )( )( )!
=2 )!
+ )!
+ ⋯ + ( − 1)
!( !(
= ( − 1) + ( − 1)( − 2) + ⋯ + ( − 1)
= ( − 1) [ (
+ − 2) + ⋯+ ]
= ( − 1) ( + )
( ) = ( − 1)
( )= ( )−
= ( − 1) + −
= − + −
= −
= (1 − )
=
Using moment generating function we have
n x n-2
( = ) = ( ) = Cx P q
( )=∑ ( ) ( )
!
=∑ ( ) ( )!
!
( ) ! ! ! !
= . )!
+ . )!
+ . )!
+ ⋯+ . )!
!( !( !( !(
( )
= + + ( ) +⋯+( )
!
∴ The moment generating function is given by
( )=[ +( )]

23 Basic Statistics
 Example: A company tested a sample of 12 TV tubes, 3 are defective if a tube is drawn at
random, what is the probability that
(i) Exactly 3 is defective
(ii) None is defective
(iii) At least 3 is defective
(iv) At most 3 is defective

Solution:
= 12, = 3, = = =
n x n-x
( ) = Cx P q ; = 0, 1 …

12
i) ( = 3) = C3
!
= )!
!(
!
= ! !
= 220(0.015625)(0.075084686) = 0.2581

ii) ( ) = ( = 0)
12
( = 0) = C0
=
= 0.0317
iii) ( 3) = ( = 3) + ( = 4) + ⋯ ( = 12) which is the same as 1 −
(atmost 2)
P(at least 3) = 1 − [ ( = 0) + ( = 1) + ( = 2)]
12 12 12
= 1 − [ C0 + C1 + C2 ]
= 1 − [0.0317 + 0.1267 + 0.2323]
= 1 − (0.3907)
= 0.6093

iv) ( 3) = ( = 0) + ( = 1) + ( = 2) + ( = 3)
= 0.0317 + 0.1267 + 0.2323 + 0.2581
= 0.6488

Example: Injection of a certain dose of digitals per unit of body weight into a large
number of frogs causes the death of 35% of them. What is the expected number of deaths
when this dose is injected into each of a group of ten frogs? What is the probability that
the number of deaths will be
(i) exactly 3
(ii) atmost 5
(iii) at least 6
(iv) compute the variance

Solution
10
(i) ( = 3) = C3 Note: = ; = ; = 10
!
= ! ! = 0.2524
(ii) At most 5
( ≤ 5) = ( = 0) + ( = 1) + ( = 2) + ( = 3) + ( = 4) + ( = 5)

24 Basic Statistics
 = + 10 + 45 + 120 + 210 +

252 = 0.9050
(iii) At least six
( ≥ 6) = 1 − ( ≤ 5)
= 1 − 0.9050
= 0.095
(iv) Variance =
= 10
= 10(0.35)(0.65)
= 2.275

Exercise: An investigator intends to estimate, by random sampling from a large file of

house records, the percentage of houses in a town that have been sold in the last year. He
thinks that P is about 10% and would like the standard deviation of his estimated
percentage to be about 1%. How large should n be?

BERBOULLI DISTRIBUTION

A random experiment whose outcome has being classified into two categories
mainly “success and failure” or an experiment consisting of a series of trials resulting in
only two outcome are called Bernoulli trials.

Definition:
A random variable X is defined to have a Bernoulli distribution if its probability
mass function is given by
The mean and variance of Bernoulli distribution is given by = and variance =

Show that the mean and variance of Bernoulli are p and pq.

Proof: Mean = ( ) = 0, 1
( )=∑ ( )
=∑
= 0. + 1.
=0+
=0+
( )=
( )= ( − )
= ( )−
( )=∑
=0 +1
=0+
=
( )= ( − )
= −
= (1 − )
=
We can also use moment generating function to obtain Bernoulli distribution.
( )= ( )
= ∑( ) ( )
=∑
= ∑( )
=( ) =( )

25 Basic Statistics
 = +( )
( )= +

POISSON DISTRIBUTION

The binomial distribution is useful in situations where we consider a fixed number

of trials and count the number of successes. Sometime we encounter cases where we do
not have definite number of trials and the binomial distribution cannot be used. For
example, if we studying the number of planes landing at an airport in a time interval, we
can count the number of planes that land at the airport, but we have no way of knowing
how many planes did not land at the airport. In such cases, provided the only variation of
a random nature, the Poisson distribution enable us to find the probability of specified
number of events occurring when we know only the mean (Average) number of time the
events occur in a given interval of time.

The Poisson distribution is popular for modelling the number of times an event occurs
in an interval of time or space.

Poisson experiments are event whose outcome do not depend on the number of
trials but occur at random points of time interval. Example:
(i) Number of phone calls per minute at some switchboard
(ii) Number of deaths per year
(iii) Number of misprints per page of text
(iv) The number of goals scored in a World cup football match
(v) The number of patients arriving in an emergency room between 11 and 12pm

PROPERTIES OF POISSON EXPERIMENT

(i) The occurrence of one event does not affect the probability that a second
event will occur. That is, events occur independently.
(ii) The intervals used can be divided into many subinterval; so small that the
probability of the event occurring in any one sub-interval is almost zero.
(iii) The rate at which events occur is constant
(iv) Two events cannot occur at exactly the same intent

Definition:

Let X be a discrete random variable that can take on the values 0, 1, 2 ... such that
the probability function x is given by

( )= ( = )= = 0, 1, 2 ...
!
where is called the mean rate of the occurrence and is the only parameter involved.

Theorem: If X has a Poisson distribution with parameter, , then E(x) = ( ) = . It is

the only distribution that has mean and variance equal.

Proof:
Mean = ( )=∑ ( )
∑
= !
=0
. . . .
∴ ( )= + + + +⋯
! ! ! !

= + + +⋯
= 1+ + +⋯
=

26 Basic Statistics
 ( )=

( )= ( − )
= ( )−
= [ ( − 1)] + ( ) −
∑
= ( − 1) !
=0
( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
= !
+ !
+ !
+ !
+⋯
.
= + + +⋯
! ! !
.
= . + . + +⋯
= 1+ + !
+⋯
=
=

( ) = [ ( − 1)] + ( ) −
= + −
=

MOMENT GENERATING FUNCTION OF POISSON DISTRIBUTION

( )= ( )
=∑ ( )

=∑ !

=∑ !

= + + + +⋯
! ! ! !

= + ( )+ + +⋯
! !

= 1+ + + +⋯
! !
=
=
( )=

Example: If the random variable X follows a Poisson distribution with mean 3.4. Find
P(x=6)
Solution
This can be written more quickly as if x ⍽ (3.4), what is P(x=6)

Now P(x=6) = !
. ( . )
= = 3.4
!
= 0.071604409
= 0.072

27 Basic Statistics
 Example: ...................... injuries per working week in a particular factory is known to
follow a Poisson distribution with mean ½. Find the probability that in a particular week
there will be
i) Less than 2 accidents
ii) More than 2 accidents
iii) In a 3 week period there will be no accidents
Solution
Let K be the number of accidents in one week, so ⍽
i) ( < 2) = ( ≤ 1)
= ( = 0) + ( = 1)


= !
+ !


= + !
=
= 0.6065 + 0.6065(0.5)
= 0.9098

ii) ( > 2) = 1 − ( ≤ 2)
= 1 − [ ( = 0) + ( = 1) + ( = 2)]


=1− + + !

=1− 1+ +

=1−
.
= 1 − 1.625
= 0.0744
. )
iii) P(0 in 3 weeks) = (
= 0.223
Exercise: The number of misprints on a page of the Daily Trust has a Poisson distribution
with mean 1.2. Find the probability that the number of errors
(i) On page four is 2; 0.23(P=3)
(ii) On page three is less than 3; (P≤2)
(iii) On the first ten page total 5; (P=5)
(iv) On all fourty pages adds up to atleast 3 1 − ( ≤ 2)

Example: Let X be the point chosen, ( ) = , 0≤ ≤ , Find ....

∴ 1≤ ≤ =∫ ( )

=∫

=[ ]

= − (1)

= − =
Exercise: Suppose that X is uniformly distributed over – , where > 0. Determine
(where possible) so that the following are satisfied.
(i) ( > 1) =

28 Basic Statistics
 (ii) < = 0.7
(iii) < = 0.3

Exercise: Let X be uniformly distributed in −2 ≤ ≤ 2 . Find ( < 1)

NORMAL DISTRIBUTION

The most important, useful and widely used probability distribution is normal
distribution. It is also known as Gaussian distribution. Most of the distribution occurring
in practice, for instance, binomial, Poisson etc can be approximated by normal
distribution. Further, many of the sampling distribution like student t-distribution, c-
distribution and X2 distribution tend to normality for large sample. Therefore, the normal
distribution finds an important place in statistical inference.
Normal distribution means commonly occurring distribution. Earlier, it was
believed that every real life data must conform to bell shaped curve. If the curve did not
have that shape the data was suspected for the quality. It is in this context the term
‘normal’ was used.
The normal distribution is used to represent the probability distribution of a
continuous random variable. Its probability density function is expressed by the relation

( )= −∞ < <∞
√
where and are the mean and standard deviation respectively.

For a normal distribution, the frequency curve will be symmetrical-bell shaped.

However, not all symmetrical curves are normal. The shape of the normal curve is
completely determined by two parameters and . For any given , there can be a
number of normal curves each with a different . In order to make all such distributions
readily comparable with each other, their individuality as expressed by their mean and
standard deviation has to be suppressed. This is bone by transforming the normal variable
into a standard normal variable. The standard normal variable is denoted by Z and is
given by =

The distribution of the standard normal variable is known as standard normal

distribution. It is given by

( )= in the range −∞ < <∞
√
For a standard normal distribution = 0 and =1

PROPERTIES OF NORMAL DISTRIBUTION

(i) It is symmetrical about =

(ii) The mode occurs at =
(iii) The normal curve approaches horizontal axis asymptotically as → ±∞
(iv) The area under the curve is equal to 1
(v) Since it is symmetrical, all the measures of central tendency (mean, mode and
median) are equal.
(vi) It is often called the ball curve because the graph of its probability density
resembles a bell

REASONS FOR THE USE OF THE NORMAL DISTRIBUTION

29 Basic Statistics
 ( )

You may be wondering why such a model = is presented since it

√
obviously cannot describe any real population. It is astonishing that this normal
distribution has dominated statistical practice as well as theory. Briefly, the main reasons
are as follows:
(i) Convenience certainly plays a part. The normal distribution has been
extensively and accurately tabulated, including many auxillary results that flow
from it. Consequently if it seems to apply well to a problem, the investigator
has many time-saving tables ready at hand.
(ii) The distributions of some variables are approximately normal, such as heights
of men, lengths of ears of corn, and, more generally, many linear dimensions,
for instance those of numerous manufactured articles.
(iii) With measurements whose distributions are not normal, a simple
transformation of the scale of measurement may induce approximate
normality. The square root, √ and the logarithm, log , are often used as
transformations in this way. The scores made by students in national
examinations are frequently resealed so that they appear to follow a normal
curve.
(iv) With measurement data, many investigations have their purpose the estimation
of averages – the average life of a bulb, the average income of carpenters, and
so on. Even if the distribution in the original population is far from normal, the
distribution of sample averages tends to become normal, under a variety of
conditions, as the size of sample increases. This is perhaps the single most
important reason for the use of the normal

−
=

The quantity goes by various names – a standard normal variate, a standard

normal deviate, a normal variate in standard measure, or, in education and psychology, a
standard score (although this term sometimes has a slightly different meaning). To
transform back from the Z scale to the X scale, the formula is
= +

FORMULAS FOR FINDING PROBABILITIES RELATED TO THE NORMAL DISTRIBUTION

Probability of a value Formula

1. lying between 0 and T
2. lying between − and 2T
3. lying outside the interval (− , ) 1− 2T
4. less than ( + ) 0.5 + T
5. less than ( − ) 0.5 – T
6. greater than ( + ) 0.5 – T
7. greater than ( − ) 0.5 + T

Example: A certain type of electric bulbs has a mean life span of 810 hours and variance
of 1600 hours. Assume that the bulb life spans are normally distributed. Find the
probability that
(i) A bulb burns between 788 and 844 hours
(ii) Less than 834 hours
(iii) More than 788 hours
Solution
Let the life span of the bulbs be represented by X. Then X ⍽ N (810, 1600)

30 Basic Statistics

(i) (788 ≤ ≤ 844) = ≤ ≤
= (−0.55 ≤ ≤ 0.85)
= 0.2088 + 0.3023
= 0.511

0.55 0 0.85

(ii) ( < 834) = <
= ( < 0.6)
= 0.2257
= 0.5 + 0.225 = 0.725

0 0.6

(iii) ( > 788) = >

= ( > −0.55)
= 0.5 + 0.2088
= 0.7088

- 0.55 0

Exercise: If X has a normal distribution with mean 6 and variance 25, i.e. X ⍽ N(6, 25)
Find
(i) (| − 6| < 5)
(ii) (−2 < ≤ 0)
(iii) (| − 6| < 15)

Example: What is the probability that a normal deviate lies between −1.62 and +0.28 ?

We have to split the interval into two parts from −1.62 and 0 , and from 0 to 0.28
from table. The areas for the two parts are, respectively, 0.4474 and 0.1103, giving
0.5577 as the answer.

Example: The heights of a large sample of men were found to be approximately normally
distributed with mean = 67.56 inches and standard deviation = 2.57 inches. What
proportions of the men have height less than 5 feet 2 inches?
Solution
We must first find , where is given as
− 62 − 67.56
= = = −2.163
2.57

31 Basic Statistics
 -2.16 3 0

The probability wanted is the probability of a value less than , where is

negative. We use formula 5 from table; = 2.163, we get = 0.4847. Interpolating
mentally between = 2.16 and = 2.17, the answer is 0.5 − , which is 0.0153. That is
about 1 ½ % of the men have height less than 5 2 inches

Q1. X is a normally distributed variable with mean = 30 and standard deviation = 4.

Find
(a) ( < 40)
(b) ( > 21)
(c) (30 < < 35)
Solution
(a) For = 40 ∴ = = 2.5
Hence ( < 40) = ( < 2.5) = ℎ 2.5 = 0.9938
(b) For = 21, = = −2.25
Hence ( > 21) = ( > −2.2.5) = [ ]−[ ℎ − 2.25]
= 1 − 0.0122 = 0.9878
(c) For = 30, = =0
For = 35, = = 1.25
Hence (30 < < 35) = (0 < < 1.25)
=[ ℎ = 1.25] − [ ℎ 0]
= 0.8944 − 0.5 = 0.3944

Q2. A radar unit is used to measure speeds of cars on a motorway. The speeds are
normally distributed with a mean of 90km/hr and a standard deviation of 10km/hr. What
is the probability that a car picked at random is travelling at more than 100km/hr?
Solution
= 90; = 10
Find the probability that > 100 or ( > 100)
For = 100, = =1
( > 90) = ( > 1) = [ ]−[ ℎ = 1]
= 1 − 0.8413 = 0.1587
The probability that car selected at a random has a speed greater than 100km/hr is equal
to 0.1587

Q3. For a certain type of computers, the length of time between charges of the battery is
normally distributed with a mean of 50 hours and a standard deviation of 15 hours. John
owns one of these computers and wants to know the probability that the length of time
will be between 50 and 70 hours.

Solution: = 50; = 15
Finding (50 < < 70)
For = 50, = =0
For = 70, = = 1.33 (to 2 d.p.)
(50 < < 70) = (0 < < 1.33)

32 Basic Statistics
 =[ ℎ = 1.33] − [ ℎ = 0]
= 0.9082 − 0.5 = 0.4082
The probability that John’s computer has a length of time between 50 and 70 hours is
equal to 0.4082

33 Basic Statistics
 ADDITIONAL NOTE
QUANTILES

Quartiles, deciles and percentiles are collectively called quantiles and are the extention
of median formula.
First Quartile, = First Decile =
Second Quartile, = Second Decile =
Third Quartile, = Fifth Decile = and so on

Second Quartile = Fifth Decile = 50th Percentile = Median

= = = Median

Problem: In a work study investigation, the times taken by 20 men in a firm to do a

particular job were tabulated as follows:
Time taken 8 − 10 11−13 14−16 17−19 20−22 23−25
(min)
Frequencies 2 4 6 4 3 1
Prove that = = = Median

Solution:
. Class boundaries
8 − 10 2 2 7.5 − 10.5
11−13 4 6 10.5−13.5
14−16 6 12 13.5−16.5
17−19 4 16 16.5−19.5
20−22 3 19 20.5−22.5
23−25 1 20 22.5−25.5
20
 Quartile formula is = + − ; = 1, 2, 3
where = lower boundary of Quartile group
ℎ = width of quartile group
= frequency of quartile group
= Total number of observation i.e. sum of frequencies
= Cummulative frequency preceding quartile group
( )
= ℎ value
( )
= ℎ value = 10 ℎ value
Since the 10th value is in the interval (13.5−16.5). Therefore Group of is
(13.5−16.5)
= + −
( )
= 13.5 + − 6 = 13.5 + 2 = 15.5
 Decile formula is = + − ; = 1, 2, 3, … 9
where: = lower boundary of deciles group
ℎ = width of deciles group
= frequency of decile group
= Total number of observation i.e. sum of frequencies
= Cumulative frequency preceding deciles group
( )
= ℎ value
( )
= ℎ value = 10 ℎ value

34 Basic Statistics
 Since the 10th value is in the interval (13.5−16.5). Therefore Group of is
(13.5−16.5)
= + −
( )
= 13.5 + − 6 = 13.5 + 2 = 15.5
 Percentile formula is = + − ; = 1, 2, 3, … 99
where: = lower boundary of percentile group
ℎ = width of percentile group
= frequency of percentile grop
= Total number of observation i.e. sum of frequencies
= Cumulative frequency preceding percentile group
( )
= ℎ value
( )
= ℎ value = 10 ℎ value
( )
∴ = 13.5 + − 6 = 15.5
 Median = + −
where: = lower boundary of the median class
ℎ = size of the median class interval
= frequency corresponding to the median class
= Total number of observation i.e. sum of frequencies
= Cumulative frequency preceding median class
Median = ℎ value = = 10 ℎ value
10th value lies in the interval 13.5−16.5
∴ 13.5−16.5 is called the median class
Median = + −
= 13.5 + − 6 = 15.5

TYPES OF EVENTS

Mutually exclusive – events that cannot happen together ( ∩ ) = 0

1. Tossing a coin, events are ‘head’ and ‘tail’
2. Testing a switch ‘operate’ and ‘fail’
3. Strength of a piece of wire ‘hold’ and ‘snap’
( ∪ ) = ( ) = ( ) + ( ) - mutually exclusive event ( ∩ ) = 0
( ∪ ) = ( ) + ( ) − ( ∩ ) - not mutually exclusive

Independent events
If the occurrence of event A does not affect the occurrence of another event B
then we say that A and B are independent events.
( ∩ )= ( ) ( )= ( ℎ )

P(A and B) = P(A).P(B)

probability
of
probability sec ond event
probability
of of
both events first event
So, ( ℎ )=1− ( ∪ )

Dependent events
Here, the outcome of first event affects the outcome of second event

35 Basic Statistics
 Conditional Probability
The conditional probability of an event B occurring given that event A has occurred is
written as ( | )
( ∩ )
( | )= or equivalently ( ∩ )= ( | ) ( )
( )

Q1. A bag contains 20 marbles, 3 are coloured red, 6 are coloured green, 4 are coloured
blue, 2 are coloured white and 5 are coloured yellow. One ball is selected ate random.
Find the probabilities of the following events.
(a) the ball is either red or green
(b) the ball is not blue
(c) the ball is either red or white or blue

Solution: Total marble = 20

R = 3; G = 6; B = 4; W = 2; and Y = 5
(a) ( ) = ( )+ ( ) = + =
(b) ( )= = ∴ ( ) =1− =
(c) ( ) = ( )+ ( )+ ( ) = + + =

Q2. In a single throw of two dice, what is the probability that neither a double nor a 9 will
appear?
1 2 3 4 5 6

1 1,1 1,2 1,3 1,4 1,5 1,6

2 2,1 2,2 2,3 2,4 2,5 2,6

3 3,1 3,2 3,3 3,4 3,5 3,6

4 4,1 4,2 4,3 4,4 4,5 4,6

5 5,1 5,2 5,3 5,4 5,5 5,6

6 6,1 6,2 6,3 6,4 6,5 6,6

Total outcome = 36
(9) = =
( )= =
(9 )= + =
( ℎ 9 ) = 1 − (9 ) =1− =

FLIPPING A DICE

1 dice = 6 outcomes
2 dice = 6 = 36 outcomes
3 dice = 6 = 216 outcomes
∴ If we roll n dice then there are 6 outcomes

Probability of obtaining a sum (for a 3 dice flip):

P(sum of 3) = = 0.5%

36 Basic Statistics
 P(sum of 4) = = 1.4%
P(sum of 5) = = 2.8%
P(sum of 6) = = 4.6%
P(sum of 7) = = 7.0%
P(sum of 8) = = 9.7%
P(sum of 9) = = 11.6%
P(sum of 10) = = 12.5%
P(sum of 11) = = 12.5%
P(sum of 12) = = 11.6%
P(sum of 13) = = 9.7%
P(sum of 14) = = 7.0%
P(sum of 15) = = 4.6%
P(sum of 16) = = 2.8%
P(sum of 17) = = 1.4%
P(sum of 18) = = 0.5%

Question: Suppose a die is tossed 5 times. What is the probability of getting exactly 2
fours?
Solution
No. of trials, = 5 ; No. of successes, = 2; Probability of success = = 0.167
∴ 5 2 × (0.167) (0.833) = 0.161

TOSSING A COIN
Question: A coin is tossed 6 times. What is the probability that 6 heads will occur?
Ans:
Probability that 3 heads will occur ( Ans: )

37 Basic Statistics
 University of Maiduguri
Faculty of Science
Department of Mathematics and Statistics
First Semester Examinations 2008/2009 Session
Stat: 206 Basic Statistics Units: 3
Note: Attempt any 4 questions 3 hours

1a). Briefly explain the following

i) Statistics ii) Discrete and Continuous variable iii) Frequency Distribution

1b). Consider the marks of 50 students in statistics which are arranged below according to
their ID numbers, the maximum marks being 100

19 70 75 15 0 23 59 27 89 91 22 21 22 50 89 56 73 56 89 75
65 85 22 3 12 41 87 82 72 50 22 87 50 89 28 89 50 40 36 40
30 28 87 81 90 22 15 30 35

i) Construct a frequency table for the data, using the classes 0-15, 16-31, 32-47
... etc
ii) Calculate the mean, median and the mode of the distribution
iii) Represent the data diagrammatically using histogram and frequency polygon
and then comment on the shape of the distribution.

2a). State and prove the properties of arithmetic mean

2b). The following table shows the distribution of families according to their expenditure
per week. Number of families corresponding to the expenditure groups (10-20) and (30-40)
are missing. The median and the mode for the distribution are £25 and £24 respectively.
Calculate the missing frequencies and then the arithmetic average of the data.

Expenditure(£) 0-10 10-20 20-30 30-40 40-50

No of families 14 ? 27 ? 15

2c) What are the essentials steps for preparation of frequency distribution.

3a) Write a short note on the following:

i) sample space ii) random variable iii) random events iv) random experiments

3b) State the laws of probability

3c) If the probability of one student solving a mathematics problem is and of another
student solving it is , what is the probability that
i) At least one will solve it
ii) One will solve it and one will not solve it
iii) Both will solve the problem?

38 Basic Statistics
 University of Maiduguri

Faculty of Engineering

Department of Mathematics & Statistics

Second Semester End-of-Course Examination 2011/2012 Session

STT 206 Basic Statistics Units: 3 Time: 3 Hours

INSTRUCTIONS: You are required to attempt all questions in section, 1 and 2. Use the
front and the back of the multi-choice sheet for sections 1 and 2 respectively.

SECTION 1

1. ______________ displays all the observed values of a variable under study and
shows how many times each value occurs.
(a) Probability (b) Frequency table (c) Frequency (d) Function
Use the data below to answer questions 2, 3, and 4
2, 4, 2, 6, 3, 4, 1, 8, 2, 1, 4, 3, 7, 8, 10, 0, 2, 4, 5, 6
2. The above data set can be called a ___________
(a) Probability distribution (b) Grouped data (c) Ungrouped data (d) Relative
frequency
3. The sample variance S2 of the above data set is _______ (a) 20.22 (b) 2.61 (c)
7.01 (d) 7.25
4. The above data set can be said to be _________ (a) Bimodal (b) Unimodal
(c) Multimodal (d) Uniform
5. __________ formula is used as a guide to the construction of a grouped frequency
distribution
(a) Random variable (b) Sturge’s (b) Sterile (d) Variance
6. The mode of a grouped frequency distribution is given by __________
∆ ∆ ∆ ∆
(a) = + ∆
(b) = + (c) = +∆ (d) = + ∆ ∆
7. __________ is affected by distorting effects of possible extreme values.
(a) Mean (b ) Mode (c) Median (d) Variance
8. The sum of the deviations of the units from the mean is ______ (a) one (b) zero
(c) absolute value (d) unity
9. ________ is NOT a measure of dispersion (a) Variance (b) Standard deviation
(c) Mode (d) Coefficient of variation
10. _________ is NOT one of the conceptual approaches in measuring probability.
(a) Surjective probability (b) Classical probability (c) Relative frequency of
occurrence (d) Objective probability
11. The probability that events A or B or both occur is given as ________ when they are
mutually exclusive.
(a) ( )+ ( ) (b) ( ) + ( ) − ( ∩ ) (c) ( ) + ( ) + ( ∩ )
(d) ( ) × ( )
12. According to _________ probability concept, the probability of an event is the
degree of belief or confidence placed on the occurrence of an event by a particular
individual.
13. In an experiment involving the tossing of 10 coins as number of sample ... in the
sample space S of the experiment is _________ (a) 1000 (b) 8 (c) 1024 (d) 100
14. The sample space S of an experiment involving equally likely outcomes is given as
={ , , .. , }. The probability that event will occur is _________
(a) (b) (c) 1.5 (d)
Use the table below for questions 15, 16 and 17

39 Basic Statistics
 A B
C 0.08 0.36
D 0.48 0.08

15. What is the marginal probability of event C? (a) 0.44 (b) 0.61 (c) 0.08 (d) 0.36
16. What is the joint probability of events A and D? (a) 0.56 (b) 0.48 (c) 0.36 (d) 0.44
17. The conditional probability that events A will occur given that C has occurred is
___________ (a) 0.86 (b) 1 (c) 0.18 (d) 0.5
18. In how many ways can the members of a committee of 5 men take handshakes?
(a) 5 (b) 20 (c) 4 (d) 10
19. __________ is an experiment that has only two mutually exclusive and independent
possible outcomes in a single trial
(a) Bernoulli process (b) A binomial experiment (c) Normal experiment (d) The
throw of a die
20. The total area under the normal distribution curve is ___________ (a) 2 (b) 1
(c) 0.5 (d) infinity
21. The probability mass function of a Bernoulli distribution is _____________
(a) (b) (c) (d)
22. The probability that a binomial random variable X assumes the value 3 is _______,
if = 5, = 0.2 a) 0.5 (b) 0.512 (c) 0.0512 (d) 0.67
23. The probability that a continuous random variable assumes a value 2 is equal to
___________.
(a) zero (b) 1 (c) 0.5 (d) 0.25
24. The probability density function of a normal random variable is given as _________

(a) (b) (c) (d)
√ √ √
25. A ____________ is a function or rule that assigns numerical values to the sample
points of the sample space S of an experiment (a) variable (b) function (c)
random variable (d) experiment
26. In an experiment involving the toss of 3 coins, the probability of obtaining a head H
or two heads is equal to __________ (a) (b) (c) (d)
27. If a normal distribution has = 2 and = 3, then ( ≤ 5) = ____________
(a) 0.8314 (b) 0.8413 (c) 0.3413 (d) 0.30
28. The expected value of a binomial random variable is given as ______________
(a) (b) (c) (d)
29. Find (5 ≤ ≤ 20) for a normal distribution with = 10 and = 5
(a) 0.8413 (b) 0.8185 (c) 0.05 (d) 0.812
30. The probability function of a discrete random variable X is given by ( ) = ; for
0 ≤ ≤ 2. Find the value of the constant C. (a) (b) (c) (d) 2
31. If ( ) = ; for 0 ≤ ≤ 2 is that of a continuous random variable, then the
value of C is ___________. (a) (b) (c) (d)
32. The expectation of 6X is equal to ___________, given that the E(X) = (a) 4
(b) (c) 12 (d)
33. The variance of 3X is equal to __________, given that the ( )= (a) 6
(b) 12 (c) 2 (d) 1
34. ___________ is defined as those elements in the population within the reach of the
researcher.
(a) Target population (b) Accessible population (c) Finite population (d)
Hypothetical population
35. ____________ is the process through which a portion of a population is selected for
study.

40 Basic Statistics
 (a) Sample (b) Sampling frame (c) Sampling (d) Sampling units
36. A binomial distribution with parameters = 10 and = 7% has the variance
__________. (a) 0.62 (b) 0.07 (c) 0.71 (d) 0.651
37. If there are 4 routes available between A and B, 3 between B and C and 4 between
C and D. What is the total number of available routes between A and D (a) 48
(b) 72 (c) 36 (d) 104
38. The units of the population from which a random sample is to be selected is called
______________.
(a) Sample units (b) Sampling units (c) Sampling frame (d) Sample
39. Which of the following is a continuous random variable?
(a) The number of printing error observed in an article in a weekly news magazine
(b) The number of emergency cases arriving a city hospital
(c) The time to assemble a product (d) The number of females arriving a given
store
40. Which of the following is a Bernoulli trial? (a) The number of persons arriving a
store (b) The outcome of a binomial experiment (c) The throw of die (d) The
toss of a fair coin
41. ___________ is a sampling method that involves dividing a heterogeneous
population into homogeneous population groups, then using simple random
sampling to select units from each group. (a) Systematic random sampling (b)
Cluster sampling (c) Stratified random sampling (d) Quota sampling
42. Which of the following is NOT a probability sampling method? (a) Stratiifed random
sampling (b) Judgement sampling (c) Systematic random sampling (d) Simple
random sampling
43. __________ is the difference obtained from sample study and the result which
would have been obtained from the complete enumeration.
(a) Sampling frame (b) Sampling fraction (c) Sampling error (d) Sample units
44. A set of data of size = 50 is to be summarised on a grouped frequency
distribution table, using the Sturge’s formula, what is the number of class interval
that can be obtained? (a) 7 (b) 5 (c) 8 (d) 10
45. The data set of size = 50, has the highest and lowest observations as 39 and 4
respectively. What is the size of the class interval obtained?
(a) 4 (b) 5 (c) 7 (d) 6

The age distribution of 60 women at the birth of their first child is as follows:
Age 15−19 20−24 25−29 30−34 35−39 40−44
Frequency 15 20 10 7 5 3
Use the above information to answer questions 46, 47 and 48.

46. What is the size of the class intervals? (a) 4 (b) 5 (c) 6 (d) 10
47. What is the mean age at which the observed women give birth to their first child?
(a) 20 years (b) 35 years (c) 25 years (d) 15 years
48. What is the modal age at which the observed women give birth to their first child?
(a) 20 years (b) 35 years (c) 24 years (d) 21 years
49. _________ is a method of handling non-response in sample survey.
(a) Repeated calls (b) Discarding (c) Merging (d) Neglect
50. Which one of the following is NOT a disadvantage in personal interview method of
data collection? (a) Lacks secrecy (b) Non response is high (c) Introduces
enumerator bias (d) It is costly
51. Based on the source from which a data is collected, data can be grouped into
(a) Internal and external data (b) Sample and population (c) Primary and
secondary data (d) Optimal and suboptimal data

41 Basic Statistics
 Suppose the mean and standard deviations of a normal population are 30 and 4
respectively. (For questions 52 and 53)

52. What is the probability that the random variable X falls in the interval (22,34)?
(a) 0.3413 (b) 0.4772 (c) 0.812 (d) 0.8185
53. Approximately what percentage of the values of the normal random variable X falls
in the interval ( , + 2 ) (a) 44.72% (b) 40.00% (c) 34.13% (d) 50.00%
54. _________ is a number that describes population characteristics. (a) A parameter
(b) A statistics (c) Statistics (d) A sample
55. _________ is the complete collection of items under study.
(a) A parameter (b) A sample (c) A population (d) A questionnaire
56. _________ is a number that describes sample characteristics. (a) Statistics (b)
Sample units (c) A parameter (d) A statistic

Use the information below for questions 57, 58 and 59.

The probabilities of occurrence of two independent events A and B are given as

( ) = and ( ) =

57. What is the probability that either events A or B or both will occur? (a) (b)
(c) (d)
58. Calculate the probability that event B will occur given that A has occurred. (a)
(b) (c) (d) 1
59. Calculate the probability that event A will occur given that B has occurred. (a)
(b) (c) (d)

A discrete random variable X has the following probability distribution;

X 10 15 20 25
P(X) 0.2 0.3 Z 0.1

Use the above table to answer questions 60, 61 and 62

60. Find the value of Z in the above table. (a) 0.2 (b) 0.4 (c) 1 (d) 0.6
61. Find the expected value of X (a) 10 (b) 15 (c) 17 (d) 25
62. Calculate the variance of X. (a) 10 (b) 20 (c) 18 (d) 21
63. The variance of a standard normal distribution is ________
(a) 0 (b) 1 (c) 2 (d) −1
64. A random variable X that arises when one counts the number of successes in n
independent repeated Bernoulli trials is known as _________ (a) Normal random
variable (b) Bernoulli random variable (c) Binomial random variable (d) Poisson
random variable
65. __________ serves as the raw material in any statistical investigation.
(a) Sample units (b) Mean (c) Sampling method (d) Data
66. Statistics as a science is divided into two major branches;
(a) Descriptive and Inferential Statistics (b) Statistics and Parametric Statistics
(c) Deductive and Inductive Statistics (d) Population and Sample Statistics
67. _________ is a numerical value that measures the uncertainty that some event will
occur. (a) The mean (b) The variance (c) Probability (d) The sample
68. _________ is used as a graphical representation of a discrete data. (a) Histogram
(b) Line charts (c) Ogive (d) Bar charts
69. _________ is a set of all possible outcomes of a random experiment.

42 Basic Statistics
 (a) Simple event (b) Sample space (c) Event (d) Population
70. If a random experiment has 5 equally possible outcomes, then the probability of
occurrence of each outcome is __________ (a) (b) (c) (d) 1

SECTION 2

1. (a) State the additive law of probability for a case of two events A and B only.
(b) The table below shows the distribution of 200-level Mechanical Engineering
Students of University of Maiduguri by their academic performance and mode of
entry;
Academic Mode of Entry
Performance
JAMB Direct Entry Remedial Transfer
Below Average 50 20 75 25
Average 75 15 75 20
Above Average 50 35 90 45

(i) Calculate the probability that a randomly selected student is either an above
average student or was admitted through the remedial program or both.
(ii) Calculate the probability that a randomly selected student is an average
student given that the student was admitted through JAMB.

2. (a) Differentiate between Stratified sampling and Cluster sampling

(b) What is the difference between Sample units and Sampling units?

43 Basic Statistics
 University of Maiduguri
Faculty of Science
Department of Mathematics & Statistics
End of Second Semester Course Examination 2012/2013 Session
Course: STT 206 Instruction: Answer all questions Time: 2:30hrs Units: 3

1. A set of classes together with the frequencies of occurrence of values in each class
in a given set of data is called A) Probability distribution B) Frequency
distribution C) Cumulative distribution D) Relative frequency
2. The quotient between the cumulative frequency of a particular value and the total
number of data is known as
A) Relative cumulative frequency B) Cumulative frequency C) Absolute
frequency D) Relative frequency
3. Which of the following is not the type of probability sampling?
A) Simple random sampling B) Cluster sampling C) Systematic sampling
D) Stratified sampling
4. Kurtosis is measured by Pearson’s coefficient , the distribution is said to be
leptokurtic if
A) =3 B) >3 C) <3 D) ≠3
5. If the probability density function of a random variable is given by ( ) = ,
√
0 ≤ ≤ 1. Find the variance. A) 1/3 B) 4/9 C) 1/5 D) 4/45
6. How many 3 digit number can be formed from the digits 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 9 which
are divisible by 5 and none of the digits is repeated.
A) 50 B) 10 C) 15 D) 20
7. If a distribution is abnormally tall and peaked, then it can be said that the
distribution is A) Mesokurtic B) Platykurtic C) Leptokurtic D) Skew
8. A group is consist of 7 men and 6 women, five persons are to be selected to form a
committee so that at least 3 men are there on the committee. In how many ways
can it be done?
A) 564 B) 645 C) 735 D) 756
9. Out of 7 consonants and 4 vowels, how many words of 3 consonant and 2 vowels
can be formed? A) 210 B) 1050 C) 25200 D) 21400
10. In how many different ways can the letters of the word ‘DETAIL’ be arranged in
such a way that the vowels occupy only the odd positions?
A) 32 B) 48 C) 120 D) 60
11. How many 4 letters words with or without meaning can be formed out of the
letters of the word ‘LOGARITHMS’ if repetition of letters is not allowed?
A) 4050 B) 400 C) 5040 D) 2820
12. In a group of 6 boys and 4 girls, four children are to be selected. In how many
different ways can they be selected so that at least one boy should be there?
A) 159 B) 194 C) 205 D) 209
13. What is the probability that the position in which the consonants appear remain
unchanged when the letters of the word ‘MATHS’ are re-arranged?
A) 1/4 B) 1/6 C) 1/3 D) 1/24
14. Thirty boys and x girls sat for a test. The mean of the boy’s scores and that of the
girls were 6 and 8 respectively. Find x if the total score was 468.
A) 28 B) 24 C) 36 D) 41
15. If two fair coins are tossed. What is the probability of getting at least one head?
A) 1/4 B) 1/2 C) 2/3 D) 3/4
16. What is the probability that a number chosen at random from the integers between
1 and 10 inclusive is either a prime or a multiple of 3?
A) 7/10 B) 3/5 C) 4/5 D) 1/2
17. A bag contains 4 white balls and 6 red balls. Two balls are taken from the bag
without replacement. What is the probability that they are both red?

44 Basic Statistics
 A) 1/3 B) 2/9 C) 2/15 D) 1/5
18. If Musa scored 75 in biology instead of 57, his average mark in four subjects would
have been60. What was his total mark? A) 282 B) 240 C) 228 D) 210
19. A man kept 6 black, 5 brown and 7 purple shirts in a drawer. What is the
probability of his picking a purple shirt with his eyes closed?
A) 1/7 B) 11/18 C) 7/18 D) 7/11
20. In how many ways can the letters of the word ELATION be arranged?
A) 5! B) 8! C) 7! D) 6!
21. In how many ways can five people sit round a circular table?
A) 12 B) 120 C) 60 D) 24
22. The mean of ten positive numbers is 16. When another number is added, the mean
becomes 18. Find the eleventh number. A) 21 B) 16 C) 18 D) 30
23. The average marks scored by sixteen girls and fourteen boys in a class were 24 and
32 respectively. What was the average mark scored by the whole class, correct to
one decimal place? A) 31.2 B) 30.5 C) 28.0 D) 27.7
24. Two fair dice are tossed together. Find the probability that the total score is at
most 4 A) 1/12 B) 1/9 C) 5/36 D) 1/6
25. If the mean of 3, 5, 8, k, 14 and 17 is 11. What is the value of k?
A) 58 B) 66 C) 38 D) 19
26. A sample space consists of 80 separate events that are equally likely. What is the
probability of each? A) 1 B) 0 C) 1/80 D) 80
27. On a multiple choice test, each question has 4 possible answers. If you make a
random guess on the first question, what is the probability that you are correct?
A) 4 B) 1 C) D) 0
28. A die, when 12 sides is rolled. What is the probability of rolling a number less than
11? A) 1/12 B) 10 C) 5/6 D) 11/12
29. A bag contains 6 red marbles, 3 blue marbles, and 7 green marbles. If a marble is
randomly selected from the bag, what is the probability that it is blue?
A) 1/3 B) 3/16 C) 1/13 D) 1/7
30. Flip a coin twice. A) HT TH B) HH HT TH TT C) HH HT TT D) HH TT HT HT
31. The variance of Bernoulli distribution is... A) np B) p C) npq D) pq
32. If ( ) = 12/19, find ( ). A) 7/19 B) 12/31 C) 0 D) 19/12
33. Based on meteorological records, the probability that it will snow in a certain town
on January 1st is 0.315. Find the probability that in a given year it will not snow on
January 1st in that town.
A) 0.685 B) 3.175 C) 0.460 D) 1.315
34. A spinner has equal regions numbered 1 through 15. What is the probability that
the spinner will stop on an even number or a multiple of 3?
A) 2/3 B) 1/3 C) 12 D) 7/9
35. A 6-sided die is rolled. What is the probability of rolling a 3 or a 6?
A) 2 B) 1/36 C) 1/6 D) 1/3
36. In one town, 30% of all voters are Democrats. If two voters are randomly selected
for a survey, find the probability that they are both Democrats.
A) 0.300 B) 0.087 C) 0.090 D) 0.600
37. Find the probability of correctly answering the first 3 questions on a multiple
choice test if random guesses are made and each question has 6 possible answers.
A) 2 B) 1/2 C) 1/216 D) 1/729
38. A manufacturing process has a 70% yield, meaning that 70% of the products are
acceptable and 30% are defective. If three of the products are randomly selected,
find the probability that all of them are acceptable.
A) 0.343 B) 0.027 C) 0.429 D) 2.1
39. A sample of 4 different calculators is randomly selected from a group containing 36
that are defective and 21 that have no defects. What is the probability that all four
of the calculators selected are defective?

45 Basic Statistics
 A) 9.8421 B) 0.1158 C) 0.1491 D) 0.1591
40. Which of the measures given here are based on every item of the series?
A) Range B) Standard deviation C) Quartile deviation D) All of them
41. A researcher select a probability sample of 100 out of the total population, it is
A) A cluster sample B) A random sample C) A systematic sample D) A stratified
sample
42. A statistical measure based upon the entire population is called parameter while
measure based upon a sample is known as A) Sample parameter B) Inference
C) Statistics D) None of these
43. In a frequency distribution the last cumulative frequency is 300, median shall lie in
A) 140th item B) 150th item C) 160th item D) 130th item
44. In a week, the prices of a bag of rice were 350, 280, 340, 290, 320, 310 and 300.
The range is A) 60 B) 70 C) 60 D) 100
45. A die with 12 sides is rolled. What is the probability of rolling a number less than
11? A) 1/12 B) 10 C) 5/6 D) 11/12
46. Find the probability of correctly answering the first 3 questions on a multiple
choice test if random guesses are made and each question has 6 possible answers.
A) 2 B) ½ C) 1/216 D) 1/729

Is Event B dependent or independent of Event A? In Questions 47-49

47. A: A mosquito lands on your arm B: You get a mosquito bite

A) Independent B) Dependent
48. A: A green ball is drawn from a box with five balls and placed next to the box
B: A red ball is drawn next and placed next to the green one
A) Dependent B) Independent
49. A: A Chicagoan visits New York on vacation. B: He visits Central Park
A) Independent B) Dependent
15 (0.29) (.
50. Suppose we have a random variable where ( = ) = 71) for
= 0, 1, … ,15. What is the mean of ?
A) 0.29 B) 0.71 C) 4.35 D) 10.65
51. Determine the standard deviation of the above question. A) 3.09 B) 4.24 C) 1.76
D) 0.71
52. A magazine printed a survey in its monthly issue and asked readers to fill it out and
send it in. Over 1000 readers did so. This type of sample is called
A) A cluster sample B) A self selected sample C) A stratified sample D) A
simple random sample
53. If the standard deviation of a population is 9, the population variance is
A) 3 B) 9 C) 21.35 D) 81
54. Which of the following is measure of central tendency?
A) The range B) The Standard deviation C) Quartile D) Mode
55. The sum of deviations about the mean are always
A) The range B) The Standard deviation C) Zero D) Negative
56. A card is drawn randomly from a deck of ordinary playing cards. You win N100 if
the card is a spade or an ace. What is the probability that you will win the game?
A) 8/13 B) 13/52 C) 1/52 D) 5/13

46 Basic Statistics
 University of Maiduguri
(Faculty of Science)
Department of Mathematics & Statistics
End of Second Semester Course Examination 2013/2014 Academic Session
Course: STT 206 Units: 3 Time: 2.5 hrs

1. The probability that a particular machine breaks down on any day is 0.2 and is
independent of the breakdowns on any other day. The machine can break down
only once per day. Calculate the probability that the machine breaks down two or
more times in ten days. (A) 0.0175 (B) 0.0400 (C) 0.2684 (D) 0.6242
(D) 0.9596
2. A group consists of 7 men and 6 women, five persons are to be selected to form a
committee so that at least 3 men are there on the committee. In how many ways
can it be done? (A) 564 (B) 645 (C) 735 (D) 756 (E) None of these
3. Out of 7 consonants and 4 vowels, how many words of 3 consonant and 2 vowels
can be formed? (A) 210 (B) 1050 (C) 25200 (D) 21400 (E) None of these
4. How many 4 letters words with or without meaning can be formed out of the
letters of the word ‘LOGARITHMS’ if repetition of letters is not allowed?
A) 40 B) 400 C) 5040 D) 2820 E) 4050
5. In a group of 6 boys and 4 girls, four children are to be selected. In how many
different ways can they be selected such that at least one boy should be there?
A) 159 B) 194 C) 205 D) 209 E) None of these
6. The average number of homes sold by the XYZ Company is 2 homes per day. What
is the probability that exactly 3 homes will be sold tomorrow?
A) 1.0871 B) 0.871 C) 0.1358 D) 0.14 E) 0.18
7. Which of the following is not the method of fitting a regression line?
A) The method of semi-average B) The free hand method C) The least square
method D) The grand mean method E) The product moment coefficient
method
8. In an office 2 customer arrived today, calculate the probabilities for exactly 2
customer to be arrived on tomorrow? A) 0.20 B) 0.082 C) 0.91 D) 0.18
E) 0.81
9. What is the probability that the position in which the consonants appear remain
unchanged when the letters of the word ‘MATH’ are re-arranged?
A) B) C) D) E)
10. A card is drawn randomly from a deck of ordinary playing cards. You win N100 if
the card is a spade or an ace. What is the probability that you will win the game?
A) B) C) D) E)
11. Thirty boys and girls sat for a test. The mean of the boy’s scores and that of the
girls were 6 and 8 respectively. Find if the total score was 468.
A) 28 B) 24 C) 36 D) 22 E) 41
12.
Class interval 3−5 6−8 9−11
Frequency 2 2 2
Find the standard deviation of the above distribution
A) √7 B) √2 C) √3 D) √5 E) √6
15 (0.29) (.
27. Suppose we have a random variable where ( = ) = 71)
= 0, 1, … ,15. What is the mean of ?
A) 0.29 B) 0.71 C) 4.35 D) 10.65
28. Determine the standard deviation of the above question.
A) 3.09 B) 4.24 C) 1.76 D) 0.71

47 Basic Statistics
 29. Under which of the following conditions is it preferable to use stratified random
sampling rather than simple random sampling?
(A) The population can be divided into a large number of strata so that each
stratum contains only a few individuals (B) The population can be divided into a
small number of strata so that each stratum contains a large number of individuals
(C) The population can be divided into strata so that the individuals in each
stratum are as much alike as possible. (D) The population can be divided into
strata so that the individuals in each stratum are as different as possible. (E) The
population can be divided into strata of equal sizes so that each individual in the
population still has the same chance of being selected
30. Toss a coin for 12 times. What is the probability of getting exactly 7 heads?
A) 0.19 B) 0.002 C) 0.23 D) 0.5 E) 0.29
31. A summer resort rents rowboats to customers but does not allow more than four
people to a boat. Each boat is designed to hold no more than 800 pounds. Suppose
the distribution of adult males who rent boats, including their clothesand gear, is
normal with a mean of 190 pounds and standard deviation of 10 pounds. If the
weights of individual passengers are independent, what is the probability that a
group of four adult male passengers will exceed the acceptable weight limit of 800
pounds? A) 0.023 B) 0.046 C) 0.159 D) 0.317 E) 0.977
32. In the textile industry, a manufacturer is interested in the number of blemishes or
laws occurring in each 100 feet of material. The probability distribution that has
the greatest chance of applying to this situation is the (A) Normal distribution (B)
Binomial distribution (C) Poisson distribution (D) Uniform distribution
33. Which of the following is not a property of a binomial experiment?
A) the experiment consist of a sequence of identical trials B) each outcome can
be referred to as a success or a failure (C) the probabilities of the two outcomes
can change from one trial to the next (D) the trials are independent
34. For a continuous random variable , the probability density function ( )
represents (A) the probability at a given value of (B) the area under the curve
at (C) the area under the curve to the right of (D) the height of the
function at
35. A random sample of 121 bottles of cologne showed an average content of 4 ounces.
It is known that the standard deviation of the contents (i.e., of the population) is
0.22 ounces. In this problem the 0.22 is (A) a parameter (B) a statistic (C)
the standard error of the mean (D) the average content of colognes in the long
run

48 Basic Statistics
 STT 206 ASSIGNMENT

2nd SEMESTER, 2015

1. If pair of dice is tossed. Let the random variable X be the maximum outcome in the
two dice
(i) Obtain the distribution of X
(ii) Find the mean and variance
2. Find the expectation, variance and standard deviation of each of the following
distribution
(i)
1 4 7
( ) 1 1 1
2 3 4

(ii)
0 1 2 3
( ) 0.4 0.1 0.2 0.3

3. A bag contains 2 blue marbles and 8 white marbles. A sample of four marbles is to
be drawn at random from the bag without replacement. Find the probability of
obtaining (i) Exactly 2 blue marbles (ii) Exactly one blue marble (iii) What is the
expected number of blue marbles that could be drawn.
4. Consider a random variable X with PDF
1 − 0 < ≤ 1
( )=
+ 1 − 1 ≤ ≤ 0
Find (i) E(x) (ii) v(x)
5. If the PDF of a random variable X is given by ( ) = , 0≤ ≤1
√
Find (i) E(x) and (ii) var(x)
6. A card is drawn and replaced three times from an ordinary pack of 52 cards. Find
the probability that
(i) two spades are drawn (ii) three spades are drawn
(iii) at least one spade is drawn
7. The probability of a player scoring a penalty is . If he plays 5 times, (i) what is
the probability of scoring at least twice? (ii) how many times must he play so that
the probability of scoring at least once is more than 90%?
8. Given that spots on a certain brand of aluminium roofing shall occur on the average
of one per 1200 feet
(i) What is the distribution of X, the number of spots in a 48 foot roof?
(ii) What is the probability of getting no spot?
9. The probability that there are no errors in a page for a book that is about to be
published is 0.05 −
(i) What is the mean number of errors per page to the nearest whole number?
(ii) If the book is 1000 pages, estimate the number of pages on which you would
expect to find fewer than four errors.
n 2n
10. Find if 2 × P2 +50 = P2
11. If in an examination, a student is to answer 4 out of 6 questions (i) How many
choices are available to him (ii) If question 1 is compulsory, how many choices has
he?
12. 25 blues are running between two places A and B. In how many ways can a person
go from A to B and return by a different bus?
13. How many 6 digits telephone numbers can be formed if each number starts with 35
and no digit appears more than one?

49 Basic Statistics
 14. In how many ways can 7 man draw water from 7 tap if no tap can be used more
than one?
15. Let X be a random variable with PDF ( ) = , 0≤ ≤2
(i) Obtain the value of K that makes ( ) a PDF
(ii) Find the expectation of X
16. When four dice are rolled simultaneously, in how many outcomes will at least one
of the dice show 3?
17. In how many different ways can the letters of the word CORPORATE be arranged in
such a way that the vowels always come together?
18. There are eight periods in each working day of a school. In how many ways can one
organise 5 subjects that each subject is allowed at least one period.

50 Basic Statistics
 University of Maiduguri

Faculty of Science

Department of Mathematics and Statistics

Course: STT 206 TEST DATE: 6th May, 2015

ID NO....................................... DEPARTMENT..........................................

1. In a certain frequency table of grouped data, the class marks for the first three
classes are 7.5, 8.2, 8.9 respectively, assuming all classes have the same width and
given that the lower limit for the first class is 7.2. What is the lower boundary for
the third class?
(Hint: lower boundary is not the same as lower limit). A) 8.45 B) 8.5 C) 8.55
D) 8.65
2. A number that describes a characteristics of a complete set of objects, events,
people, or animals that share a common characteristics is called A) A Statistics B)
A variable C) A Parameter D) An estimate
3. Random sampling A) is used to create populations from samples B) Selects
individuals from a sample so that each person has equal chance of being selected
C) selects individuals from a population so that each person has an equal chance of
being selected D) selects individuals from a population so that the selection of
one person affects the probability of selecting someone else.
4. Mu is an example of a A) Population parameter B) sample statistics C)
Population variance D) Mode

Use the information to answer questions 5, 6, and 7. The following data show the
number of hours worked by 200 statistics students
No of hours 0-9 10-19 20-29 30-39
Frequency 40 50 70 40

5. The number of students working 19 hours or less is A) 40 B) 50 C) 90 D) 160

6. The relative frequency of students working 9 hours or less is A) 0.2 B) 0.45
C)40 D) 0.25
7. The cumulative relative frequency for the class of 10-19 is A) 90 B) 0.25 C)
0.45 D) 50
8. Which of the following is not the method of probability sampling? A) Simple
random sampling B) stratified random sampling C) cluster sampling D)
Systematic sampling
9. A box contains 4 red, 3 white and 2 blue balls. Three balls are drawn at random.
Find out the number of ways of selecting the balls of different colors? A) 62 B)
48 C) 12 D) 24
10. Given a binomial distribution in which the probability of success is 0.88 and the
number of trials is 20, what is the approximate probability of getting at least 19
successes? A) 0.37 B) 0.33 C) 0.29 D) 0.21
11. An experiment consists of a pair of coin three times, let the random variable X be
the sum of heads obtained. Find the expected value of X? A) 3/8 B) 3/2
C) 4/9 D) 12/8
12. In how many different ways can the letters of the word ‘CORPORATION’ be
arranged so that the vowels always come together? A) 47200 B) 48000
C) 42000 (D) 504000
13. A doctor knows 15% of all her patients are late for their appointments. Given five
randomly selected patients. What is the approximate probability that exactly three
are late for their appointment? A) 0.004 B) 0.024 C) 0.064 D) 0.114

51 Basic Statistics
 14. Let X be a random variable with PDF ( ) = , 0 ≤ ≤ 2, find the expectation
of X?
15. When four dice are rolled simultaneously in how many outcomes will at least one of
the dice shows 3? A) 155 B) 620 C) 671 D) 625
16. Let X be a random variable with PDF ( ) = 4 , 0 ≤ ≤ 1 find the variance of
X? A) 4/6 B) 4/5 C) 2/75 D) 2/9
17. 25 buses are running between two place P and Q. In how many ways can a person
go from P to Q and return by a different bus? A) 725 B) 600 C) 576 D) 625
n
18. Find n if P2 = 72 A) 18 B) 6 C) 12 D) 9
19. There are 6 periods in each working day of a school. In how many ways can one
organize 5 subjects such that each subject is allowed at least one period? A) 3200
B) None of them C) 2400 D) 3600
20. Using the Poisson distribution and assuming a bank averages seven bad checks on a
given day. What is the probability that the bank receives 5 bad checks on a given
day? A) 0.18 B) 0.162 C) 0.144 D) 0.127

52 Basic Statistics
 University of Maiduguri
(Faculty of Science)
Department of Mathematics & Statistics
End of Second Semester Course Examination 2014/2015 Session

Course: Stat 206 Unit: 3 Time: 2:00 hrs

1. Let the random variable X represent the profit made on randomly selected day by a
certain store. Assume X is normal with mean of N360 and standard deviation of
N40. The value of ( > 400) is A) 0.1587 B) 0.2881 C) 0.7119 D) 0.8413
2. Consider the result of a fictional STT 206 final exam taken by 120 students, as
given in the following relative frequency distribution:
Grade Less than 50 50−59 60−69 70−79 80−89 90−100
Cumulative frequency 15% 10% 30% 25% 15% 5%

How many students received at least a 70 on this exam? A) 54 B) 45 C) 25

D) 30 E) 66

Answer question 3 to 6 based on the following grouped frequency table of the

income, of 30 employees at a local small business (in N1000)
Income 26 < ≤ 28 28 < ≤ 30 30 < ≤ 32 32 < ≤ 34 34 < ≤ 36
Frequency 2 11 8 5 4

3. The relative cumulative frequency of the 28 < ≤ 30 class is A) 11 B) 0,43

C) 0.06 D) 13 E) 0.7
4. The class that contains the 80th percentile is: A) 26 < ≤ 28 B) 28 < ≤ 30
C) 30 < ≤ 32 D) 32 < ≤ 34 E) 34 < ≤ 36
5. Using the class-midpoints as representative values, we can estimate the mean for
this data as:
A) N30,870 B) N29,790 C) N31,000 D) N30,500 E) N31,340
6. If the boss’ income (the “31st employee”) is N250 000, the mean income for all 31
workers is approximately equal to A) N8,000 B) N30,000 C) N38,000
D) N140,000 E) N220,000
Question 7 to 9 are based on the following information: the cholesterol content
of large eggs is normally distributed with mean of 200 milligrams and standard
deviation 15 milligrams.
7. What proportions of these eggs have cholesterol content above 204 milligrams?
A) 0.2004 B) 0.6293 C) 0.7250 D) 0.3300 E) 0.3707
8. What is the probability that the mean cholesterol content of a random sample of
25 of these eggs is less than 205 milligrams?
A) 0.6293 B) 0.9525 C) 0.5793 D) 1.67 E) 0.0475
9. In sixty-seven percent of the eggs, the cholesterol content is less than a certain
value “C”. Find the value of “C”. A) 0.33 B) 206.6 C) 210 D) 0.44 E) 193.4
10. The mean and variance of a binomial distribution are 8 and 4 respectively. What is
( = 1) equal to? A) 2 B) 2 C) 2 D) 2
11. Suppose that the probability that an individual suffers a bad reaction from
injection of a given serum is 0.001 and suppose that 2000 individuals are being
given the injection.
Consider the following statements:
1. The expected number of individuals who suffer a bad reaction is 20
2. The probability that not more than 2 individuals will suffer a bad reaction is
4
Which of the above statements is/are correct? A) 1 only B) 2 only C) Both 1
and 2 D) Neither 1 nor 2

53 Basic Statistics
 12. Suppose the respective probabilities are 0.7, 0.2, and 0.1 that a person applying
for an admission in UNIMAID will require 1, 2, or 3 attempts in order to obtain
admission. Let X be a random variable, the number of attempts in order to obtain
an admission. Find mean (expected value) of X. A) 0.63 B) 2 C) 1 D) 1.4
13. How many ways can the letters from the word TREES be ordered such that each
“word” starts with a consonant and end with vowel? A) 9 B) 18 C) 24 D) 27
!
14. The equation = has the solution: A) = 5 B) = 6 C) = 7
D) = 8
15. Twelve people at a party shake hands once with everyone else in the room. How
many handshakes took place? A) 66 B) 132 C) 12! ÷ 2 D) 12!
16. An electrical panel has five switches. How many ways can the switches be
positioned up or down if three switches must be up and two must be down?
A) 100 B) 24 C) 48 D) 120
17. A bookshelf has fiction and six non-fiction books. If there are 150 ways to choose
two books of each type, how many fiction books are on the bookshelf?
A) 5 B) 6 C) 7 D) 8
18. The difference between a random variable and a probability distribution is: A) A
random variable does not include the probability of an event. B) A random
variable can only assume whole numbers. C) A probability distribution can only
assume whole numbers. D) None of the above
19. Which of the following is not a requirement of a binomial distribution? A) A
constant probability of success B) Only two possible outcomes C) A fixed
number of trials D) equally likely outcomes
20. The mean and variance are equal in: A) all probability distribution B) the
Binomial distribution C) the Poisson distribution D) The Normal distribution
21. In which of the following distribution is the probability of success usually small?
A) Binomial B) Poisson C) Normal D) All distribution
22. Which of the following is not a requirement of a probability distribution?
A) Equally likely probability of success B) Sum of the possible outcomes is 1.00
C) The outcome are mutually exclusive D) The probability of each outcome is
between 0 and 1.
23. In a continuous probability distribution: A) Only certain outcomes are possible
B) All the values within a certain range are possible C) The sum of the outcomes
is greater than 1 D) None of the above
24. When four dice are rolled simultaneously, in how many outcomes will at least one
of the dice show 3 ? A) 155 B) 620 C) 671 D) 625
25. Which of the following best describes the expected value of a discrete random
variable? A) It is the simple average of all possible outcomes B) None of the
above C) It is the geometric average of all possible outcomes. D) It is weighted
average over all possible outcomes
26. If = 10 and = 0.8, then standard deviation of the binomial distribution is
(round to nearest hundredth) A) 0.80 B) 1.26 C) 8.00 D) 1.60
27. The sum of the cross products between values of “X” and their respective
probabilities, ( ), is equal to the: A) None of the below B) Expected value C)
Variance D) Mean
28. A multiple choice test has 15 questions with each having 4 possible answers with
one correct. Assume a student answers every question. What is the probability of
getting exactly 5 correct answers? A) 0.175 B) 0.165 C) 0.654 D) 0.175
29. represents the number of combinations of items taken at a time,
what is the value of ∑ . ? A) 24 B) 14 C) 6 D) 4
30. Value of in the following is
0 1 2
( ) 2

54 Basic Statistics
 A) 1 3 B) 1 2 C) 1 4 D) None of the above
31. If the of a continuous random variable is given as ( )=2 if 0≤ ≤ 1, 0
or otherwise. What is the value of = ? A) 0.5 B) 1 C) 0 D) None of these
32. A box contains 2 white balls, 3 black balls and 4 red balls. In how many ways can 3
balls be drawn from the box, if at least one black ball is to be included in the
draw? A) 32 B) 48 C) 64 D) 96
33. Let X be a random variable with PDF ( ) = , 0 ≤ ≤ 2, find the expectation
of X ? A) 4 5 B) 4 6 C) 2 75 D) 2 35
34. In how many ways can 5 prizes be distributed among four students when every
student can take one or more prizes? A) 1024 B) 625 C) 120 D) 600
35. In how many ways can letters be posted in letter-boxes? A) ( )
B) ( ) C) ( ) D) None of the above

55 Basic Statistics
 University of Maiduguri
(Faculty of Science)
Department of Mathematics & Statistics
End of Second Semester Course Examination 2015/2016 Session
Course: Stat 206 Unit: 3 Time: 2:00 hrs

Answer question 1 to 3 based on the following grouped frequency table of the income,
( ) of 30 employees at a local small business (in N1000)
Income 26 < ≤ 28 28 < ≤ 30 30 < ≤ 32 32 < ≤ 34 34 < ≤ 36
Frequency 2 11 8 5 4
1. The relative cumulative frequency of the 28 < ≤ 30 is
A) 11 B) 0.43 C) 0.06 D) 13 E) 0.7
th
2. The class that contains the 80 percentile is: A) 26 < ≤ 28 B) 28 < ≤ 30
C) 30 < ≤ 32 D) 32 < ≤ 34 E) 34 < ≤ 36
3. Using class-mid-points as representative values, we can estimate the mean for this
data as: A) N30,870 B) N29,790 C) N31,000 D) N30,500 E) N3,340
4. If the boss’ income (the “31st employee”) is N250,000, the mean income for all 31
workers is approximately equal to A) N8,000 B) N30,000 C) N38,000
D) N140,000 E) N220,000
5. Let the random variable X have the P.M.F ( = )= , = 0, 1, 2 …. What is the
value of “C” ? A) 3 4 B) 4 7 C) 1 2 D) 1 4
6. Suppose the respective probabilities are 0.7, 0.2, and 0.1 that a person applying for an
admission in UNIMAID will require 1, 2, or 3 attempts in order to obtain admission. Let
X be a random variable, the number of attempts in order to obtain an admission. Find
mean (expected value) of X. A) 0.63 B) 2 C) 1 D) 1.4
!
7. The equation = has the solution: A) = 5 B) = 6 C) = 7 D) = 8
8. Twelve people at a party shake hands once with everyone else in the room. How many
handshakes took place? A) 66 B) 132 C) 12! ÷ 2 D) 12!
9. An electrical panel has five switches. How many ways can the switches be positioned
up or down if three switches must be up and two must be down?
A) 10 B) 24 C) 48 D) 120
10. The difference between a random variable and a probability distribution is: A) A
random variable does not include the probability of an event. B) A random variable
can only assume whole numbers. C) A probability distribution can only assume whole
numbers. D) None of the above
11. Which of the following best describes the expected value of a discrete random
variable? A) It is the simple average of all possible outcomes B) None of the above
C) It is the geometric average of all possible outcomes. D) It is weighted average
over all possible outcomes
12. represents the number of combinations of items taken at a time, what is
the value of ∑ . ? A) 24 B) 14 C) 6 D) 4
13. If the of a continuous random variable is given as ( ) = 2 if 0 ≤ ≤ 1, 0 or
otherwise. What is the value of = ? A) 0.5 B) 1 C) 0 D) None of these
14. Let X be a random variable with PDF ( ) = , 0 ≤ ≤ 2, find the expectation of X?
A) 4 5 B) 4 6 C) 2 75 D) 2 35
15. Random sampling A) is used to create populations from samples B) Selects
individuals from a sample so that each person has equal chance of being selected. C)
selects individuals from a population so that each person has an equal chance of being
selected. D) selects individuals from a population so that the selection of one person
affects the probability of selecting someone else.
16. Which of the following is not the method of probability sampling? A) Simple random
sampling B) Stratified random sampling C) Cluster sampling D) Systematic sampling

56 Basic Statistics
 17. A box contains 4 red, 3 white and 2 blue balls. Three balls are drawn at random. Find
out the number of ways of selecting the balls of different colors? A) 62 B) 48
C) 12 D) 24
18. Given a binomial distribution in which the probability of success is 0.88 and the
number of trials is 20, what is the appropriate probability of getting at least 19
successes? A) 0.37 B) 0.33 C) 0.29 D) 0.21
19. An experiment consists of tossing a pair of coin three times, let the random variable X
be the sum of heads obtained. Find the expected value of X ? A) 3/8 B) 3/2
C) 4/9 D) 12/8
20. In how many ways can the letters of the word ‘CORPORATION’ be arranged so that the
vowels always come together? A) 47200 B) 48000 C) 42000 D) 50400
21. Let X be a random variable with PDF ( ) = 4 0 ≤ ≤ 1 find the variance of X ?
A) 4 6 B) 4 5 C) 2 75 D) 2 9
22. 25 buses are running between two place P and Q. In how many ways can a person go
from P to Q and return by a different bus? A) 725 B) 600 C) 576 D) 625
23. Find = 72 A) 18 B) 6 C) 12 D) 9
24. A set of classes together with the frequencies of occurrence of values in each class in a
given set of data is called A) Probability distribution B) Frequency distribution
C) Cumulative distribution D) Relative frequency
25. The quotient between the cumulative frequency of a particular value and the total
number of data is known as A) Relative cumulative frequency B) Cumulative
frequency C) Absolute frequency D) Relative frequency
26. Which of the following is not the type of probability sampling?
A) Simple random sampling B) Cluster sampling C) Systematic D) Stratified
sampling
27. A group consists of 7 men and 6 women, five persons are to be selected to form a
committee so that at least 3 men are there on the committee. In how many ways can
it be done? A) 564 B) 645 C) 735 D) 756
28. Out of 7 consonants and 4 vowels, how many words of 3 consonant and 2 vowels can be
formed? A) 210 B) 1050 C) 25200 D) 21400
29. In a group of 6 boys and 4 girls, four children are to be selected. In how many different
ways can they be selected such that at least one boy should be there?
A) 159 B) 194 C) 205 D) 209
30. A bag contains 4 white balls and 6 red balls. Two balls are taken from the bag without
replacement. What is the probability that they are both red?
A) 1/3 B) 2/9 C) 2/15 D) 1/5
31. Two fair dice are tossed together. Find the probability that the total score is at most
4. A) 1/12 B) 1/9 C) 5/36 D) 1/6
32. Based on meteorological records, the probability that it will snow in a certain town on
January 1st is 0.315. Find the probability that in a given year it will not snow on
January 1st in that town. A) 0.685 B) 3.175 C) 0.460 D) 1.315
15
33. Suppose we have a random variable where ( = ) = (0.29) (. 71) for
= 0, 1, … 15. What is the mean of ? A) 0.2 B) 0.71 C) 4.35 D) 10.65
34. Determine the standard deviation of the above question.
A) 3.09 B) 4.24 C) 1.76 D) 0.71
35. The average number of home sold by the XYZ Company is 2 homes per day. What is the
probability that exactly 3 homes will be sold tomorrow?
A) 1.0871 B) 0.871 C) 0.1358 D) 0.14 E) 0.18

 

57 Basic Statistics
 

1.
Income f C.f. Relative C.f.

26–28 2 2 2/30 = 0.07

28–30 11 13 13/30 = 0.43

30–32 8 21 21/30 = 0.70 (B) 0.43

e
a tiv e
Re l u la tiv
c um 3
32–34 5 26 26/30 = 0.87
4
= 0.
34–36 4 30 30/30 = 1.00

2. Class of 24th cumulative frequency

= where = 80 & = 30
×
∴ = = 24 ℎ cumulative frequency
∴ (D) 32 < ≤ 34
3. .
Income Mid-points
26 − 28 26 + 28 2
= 27
2
28 − 30 28 + 30 11
= 29
2
30 − 32 30 + 32 8
= 31
32 − 34 2 5
32 + 34
= 33
34 − 36 2 4
34 + 36
= 35
2
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
= = = 30.867
So, 30.867 × 1000 = 30,867
Based on estimate, = 30,870 (to the nearest ten) (A)

, ,
4. = = 140,434 ;
Estimate = 140,000 to the nearest thousand (D)

5. P.M.F; ( )= , = 0, 1, 2 … C = ?
∑ ( )=1
∑ =1
+ + +⋯ =1
1+ + +⋯ = 1 First term =1

Common ratio = =

58 Basic Statistics
 =
=
= =2
∴ (2) = 1 ⟹ = (C)
6. .
1 2 3
( ) 0.7 0.2 0.1
Mean or expected value = ∑ ( )
= 1(0.7) + 2(0.2) + 3(0.1)
= 0.7 + 0.4 + 0.3
= 1.4 (D)
!
7. =
! ( )! ( )!
= [( ) ( )]!
= !

( )! ( )!
=
= =5 (A)

8. Let the 12 people be A B C D E F G H I J K L

 A will shake hand with B to L (i.e. 11 people)

 B will shake hand with C to L except A (i.e. 10 people)
 C will shake hand with D to L except A & B (i.e. 9 people)

In summary:
PersonsNo. of Handshake Persons to shake
A 11 B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I,J,K,L
B 10 C,D,E,F,G,H,I,J,K,L
C 9 D,E,F,G,H,I,J,K,L
D 8 E,F,G,H,I,J,K,L
E 7 F,G,H,I,J,K,L
F 6 G,H,I,J,K,L
G 5 H,I,J,K,L
H 4 I,J,K,L
I 3 J,K,L
J 2 K,L
K 1 L
L 0 (He had already -
shake hand with
everybody)
Total no. of handshakes = 11 + 10 + 9 + 8 + 7 + 6 + 5 + 4 + 3 + 2 + 1 = 66 (A)

!
9. = 10 (A)
! !
10. (B)
11. (A)
4 4 4
12. ∑ . = C1 × C2 + C3 = 4 + 6 + 4 = 14 (B)

13. ( )=2 if 0≤ ≤1 & = = ?

Solution: If = ∴ ( )=2 =2 =1
So, (0 ≤ ≤ 1) = ∫ 1 =[ ] =1−0=1 (B)

59 Basic Statistics
 14. PDF ( )= where 0 ≤ ≤ 2; ( ) = ?
(0 ≤ ≤ 2) = ∫ ( ) =∫ =

= =

But ∑ ( ) = 1
=1 ∴ =3 8

( )=∫ ( ) =∫ = ∫

= = = × =
15. (C)
16. (D)
9 9 9
17. C4 + C3 + C2 = 246 (D)

18. = 0.88 ∴= 1 − = 1 − 0.88 = 0.12 ; = 20 & = 19

( ) =
( = 19) = (0.88) (0.12)
= 20 × 0.88 × 0.12 = 0.21 (D)

19. Tossing a coin three times:

no. of head
H HHH 3

H T HHT 2
H HTH 2 X= { 0,1,2,3}
H
T T HTT 1 P(X= 0)= 1
8
3
H THH 2 P(X= 1)=
8
H P(X= 2)= 3
T THT 1 8
P(X= 3)= 1
T H TTH 1 8
T
T TTT 0
0 1 2 3
( ) 1 3 3 1
8 8 8 8

( )=∑ ( )
=0 1 8 +1 3 8 +2 3 8 +3 1 8
=3 8+6 8+3 8= = 12 8 (D)

20. CORPORATION
!
Arranging vowels: OOAIO ---- !

60
 CRPRTN OOAIO taking vowels as 1 unit
!
= !
! !
∴ !
× !
= 50400 (D)

21. Given PDF ( )=4 ; 0≤ ≤1 ( ) = ?

( )=∫ 4 = 4∫ =4 =4 =1

( )=∫ 4 = 4∫ =4 =4 =

=( )= ( )− ( )
= − (1) = − 1 = − 1 5

25
22. P2 = 600 (B)
n
23. P2 = 72
!
( )!
= 72
( )( )!
( )!
= 72 ; ( − 1) = 72
− − 72 = 0
Solving quadratically ...
( ) ± ( ) ( )( ) ±
= ( )
=

Either = = 9 or = = −8 (the answer cannot be negative)
∴ =9 (D)

24. (B)
25. (A)
26. (C)

27. 7 + 6 = 13
× + × + × = 525 + 210 + 21 = 756 (D)

28. × = 210 (A)

29. 6 and 4 girls = 10 children

× + × + × + × = 24 + 90 + 80 + 15 = 209 (D)

30. 4 ℎ + 6 = 10

1st pick: ( )=
2nd pick: without replacement: ( )=
∴ ( ℎ ) = × = × = (A)

31. Tossing 2 dice:

61 Basic Statistics
 1 2 3 4 5 6 sum 1 2 3 4 5 6
1 1,1 1,2 1,3 1,4 1,5 1,6 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

2 2,1 2,2 2,3 2,4 2,5 2,6 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

3 3,1 3,2 3,3 3,4 3,5 3,6 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

4,5 4,6 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
4 4,1 4,2 4,3 4,4
5 5,1 5,2 5,3 5,4 5,5 5,6 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

6 6,1 6,2 6,3 6,4 6,5 6,6 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

P(sum= 2)= 1 36

P(sum= 3)=
2 1
36 = 18
P(sum= 4)= 3 = 1
36 12

∴ ( 4) = + + = (D)

32. ( ) = 0.315 ∴ ( ) = 1 − 0.315 = 0.685 (A)

33. See solution to Q27. (2013/2014 Session)

34. See solution to Q28. (2013/2014 Session)

35. Using Poisson distribution

( )= where =2 & =3
!

( = 3) = = 0.18 (E)
!

 

62 Basic Statistics
 

Q1. ( ) = 0.2
( ) = 2 × 0.2 = 0.4
.
( 10 )= = 0.04 (B)

Q2. 7 + 6 = 13
7
C3 × 6C2 = 525
7
C4 × 6C1 = 210 ∴ 525 + 210 + 21 = 756 (D)
7
C5 × 6C0 = 21
7 4
Q3. C3 × C2 = 210 (A)

Q4. LOGARITHMS = 10 letters

10 !
P4 = ( )!
= 5040 (C)

Q5. 6 + 4 = 10
6
C1 × 4C3 + 6C2 × 4C2 + 6C3 × 4C1 + 6C4 × 4C0
= 24 + 90 + 80 + 15 = 209 (D)

Q6. Apply Poisson distribution; where = 2 and =3

( )
( = 3) = = 0.18 (E)
!
Q7. (D)
Q8. Again apply Poisson distribution
= 2; =3
( )
( = 3) = = 0.18 (D)
!

Q9. MATH
 Arranging MATH we have 4!
 Arranging consonants MTH we have 3!
! !
Probability = = = (A)
! × !

Q10.
52 card s

26 bla ck 26 re d
P(ace)= 1352 (B)

13 club 13 ace 13 spa de 13 dia mond

Q11. No. of boys = 30 =6

No. of girls = = ? =8 total score = 468

=6=
= 6 × 30 = 180

=8=

= = = 36 (C)

63 Basic Statistics
 Q12.
Class interval Class mark − ( − )
3−5 3+5 2 4 − 7 = −3 9
=4
2
6−8 6+8 2 7−7 =0 0
=7
2
9 − 11 9 + 11 2 10 − 7 = 3 9
= 10
2
=6 ∑( − ) = 18

4(2) + 7(2) + 10(2) 8 + 14 + 20

= = =7
6 6
∑( )
= = = √3 (C)

Q27. Given: ( = ) = 15 (0.29) (0.71)

mean or ( ) = ?
Compare with ( = ) =
Where = , = 15, = 0.29 & = 0.71
mean or ( ) = = 15 × 0.29 = 4.35 (C)

Q28. =√ = = √15 × 0.29 × 0.71 = 1.76 (C)

Q29. (E)

Q30. = 12; = 0.5; = 7; = 0.5

∴ (0.5) (0.5) = 0.19 (A)

Q31. (C)
Q32. (C)
Q33. (C)
Q34. (B)
Q35. (A)

64 Basic Statistics