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Statistics 1 Discrete Random Variables Past Examination
Statistics 1 Discrete Random Variables Past Examination
Statistics 1 Discrete Random Variables Past Examination
questions
Statistics 1
Jan 2001, Q3
2. The discrete random variable X has the probability function shown in the table below.
x 2 1 0 1 2 3
Find
(a) , (1)
June 2001, Q4
3. A discrete random variable X has the probability function shown in the table below.
x 0 1 2
P(X = x) 1
3 a 2
3
a
Jan 2002, Q3
X 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
(b) Calculate E (X) and show that Var (X) = 5.76. (6)
May 2002, Q4
x 2 1 0 1 2
(a) Given that E(X) = 0.2, find the value of and the value of . (6)
Nov 2002, Q6
k(2 – x), x = 0, 1, 2,
P(X = x) =
{ k(x – 2), x = 3,
0, otherwise,
Jan 2003, Q5
k ( x 2 9), x 4, 5, 6
P(X = x) =
0, otherwise,
1
(a) Show that k = . (3)
50
(b) Find E(X) and Var(X). (6)
June 2003, Q4
(a) Find the probability that Linda scores 30 points in a round. (2)
(d) Find the probability that Linda scores more points in round 2 than in round 1. (6)
Nov 2003, Q2
1
P(X = x) = , x = 1, 2, ..., n.
n
Given that E(X) = 5,
Find
Nov 2003, Q5
10. A discrete random variable X has the probability function shown in the table below.
x 0 1 2 3
1 1 1 1
P(X = x)
3 2 12 12
x 0 1 2 3
P(X = x) 0.2 0.3 b a
Find
0.2, x 3, 2,
P(X = x) = , x 1, 0
0.1, x 1, 2.
Find
(a) , (2)
Nov 2004, Q4
1
(a) Show that k = . (2)
15
Find
Jan 2005, Q4
kx, x 1, 2, 3,
P(X = x) =
k ( x 1), x 4, 5,
June 2005, Q5
x 1 2 3 4 5
(a) Given that E(X) = 3.5, write down two equations involving p and q. (3)
Find
Jan 2006, Q2
1
P(X = x) = , x = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
5
(a) Write down the value of E(X) and show that Var(X) = 2. (3)
Find
May 2006, Q4
(2 x 1)
P( X x) x 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
36
(a) Construct a table giving the probability distribution of X. (3)
Find
Jan 2007, Q3
x 1 3 5 7 9
(a) Given that E(X) = 4.5, write down two equations involving p and q. (3)
Find
June 2007, Q7
19. Tetrahedral dice have four faces. Two fair tetrahedral dice, one red and one blue, have faces numbered
0, 1, 2, and 3 respectively. The dice are rolled and the numbers face down on the two dice are recorded.
The random variable R is the score on the red die and the random variable B is the score on the blue die.
(b) Complete the diagram below to represent the sample space that shows all the possible values of T.
2 2
1 0
R 0 1 2 3
(3)
The table below represents the probability distribution of the random variable T.
t 0 1 2 3 4 6 9
1 1 1
P(T = t) a b 8 8 c 8 d
Jan 2008, Q7
x –1 0 1 2 3
P(X = x) p q 0.2 0.15 0.15
May 2008, Q3
21. The discrete random variable X can take only the values 2, 3 or 4. For these values the cumulative
distribution function is defined by
(x k)2
F(x) for x = 2, 3, 4,
25
where k is a positive integer.
May 2008, Q6
22. When Rohit plays a game, the number of points he receives is given by the discrete random variable X
with the following probability distribution.
x 0 1 2 3
Rohit can win a prize if the total number of points he has scored after 5 games is at least 10. After 3 games
he has a total of 6 points. You may assume that games are independent.
(e) Find the probability that Rohit wins the prize. (6)
Jan 2009, Q3
a(3 x) x 0, 1, 2
P(X = x) =
b x3
(a) Find P(X = 2) and copy and complete the table below.
x 0 1 2 3
P(X=x) 3a 2a b
(1)
Find
May 2009, Q6
p(x) = kx2, x = 1, 2, 3.
1
(a) Show that k = . (2)
14
Find
Jan 2010, Q5
x –1 0 1 2 3
1 1 1
P(X = x) 5 a 10 a 5
where a is a constant.
May 2010, Q3
x 1 2 3 4
P(X = x) k 2k 3k 4k
Find
Jan 2011, Q6
y 1 2 3 4
P(Y = y) a b 0.3 c
y 1 2 3 4
where d is a constant.
(a) Find the value of a, the value of b, the value of c and the value of d. (5)
May 2011, Q3
28. A spinner is designed so that the score S is given by the following probability distribution.
s 0 1 2 4 5
(e) Find the probability that Jess wins after 2 spins. (2)
(f) Find the probability that Tom wins after exactly 3 spins. (4)
(g) Find the probability that Jess wins after exactly 3 spins. (3)
May 2011, Q8
29. The discrete random variable X can take only the values 2, 3, 4 or 6. For these values the probability
distribution function is given by
x 2 3 4 6
5 2k 7 k
P(X = x)
21 21 21 21
Find
Jan 2012, Q3
k (1 x) 2 x 1, 0, 1and 2
P(X = x) =
0 otherwise.
1
(a) Show that k = . (3)
6
May 2012, Q1
31. The discrete random variable X can take only the values 1, 2 and 3. For these values the cumulative
distribution function is defined by
x3 k
F(x) = , x = 1, 2, 3.
40
259
Given that Var(X) = ,
320
Jan 2013, Q2
32. A fair blue die has faces numbered 1, 1, 3, 3, 5 and 5. The random variable B represents the score when
the blue die is rolled
A second die is red and the random variable R represents the score when the red die is rolled.
r 2 4 6
2 1 1
P(R = r)
3 6 6
Tom spins a fair coin with one side labeled 2 and the other side labeled 5. When Avisha sees the number
showing on the coin she then chooses one of the dice and rolls it. If the number showing on the die is
greater than the number showing on the coin, Avisha wins, otherwise Tom wins.
Avisha chooses the die which gives her the best chance of winning each time Tom spins the coin.
(f) Find the probability that Avisha wins the game, stating clearly which die she should use in each
case. (4)
Jan 2013, Q2
33. A biased die with six faces is rolled. The discrete random variable X represents the score on the uppermost
face. The probability distribution of X is shown in the table below.
x 1 2 3 4 5 6
P(X = x) a a a b b 0.3
(a) Given that E(X) = 4.2 find the value of a and the value of b. (5)
A biased die with five faces is rolled. The discrete random variable Y represents the score which is
uppermost. The cumulative distribution function of Y is shown in the table below.
y 1 2 3 4 5
1 2
F(y) 3k 4k 5k
10 10
Each die is rolled once. The scores on the two dice are independent.
(f) Find the probability that the sum of the two scores equals 2. (2)
May 2013, Q5
x 1 2 3
F(x) 0.4 0.65 1
May 2013_R, Q2
35. The score S when a spinner is spun has the following probability distribution.
s 0 1 2 4 5
(d) Find
The score from the first spin is S1 and the score from the second spin is S2.
The random variables S1 and S2 are independent and the random variable X = S1 × S2.
May 2013_R, Q7
kx x 2, 4, 6
P X x k x 2 x 8 x 8
0
otherwise
where k is a constant.
1
(a) Show that k = . (2)
18
(e) Calculate Var(3 – 4X) giving your answer to 3 significant figures. (3)
May 2014, Q5
x –4 –2 1 3 5
Find
(e) find the possible values of a such that Var(aX + 3) = 53.4. (2)
May 2014_R, Q1
1
P( X x) x = 1, 2, 3, … 10
10
The continuous random variable Y has the normal distribution N(10, 22).
May 2014_R, Q2
39. In a quiz, a team gains 10 points for every question it answers correctly and loses 5 points for every
question it does not answer correctly. The probability of answering a question correctly is 0.6 for each
question. One round of the quiz consists of 3 questions.
The discrete random variable X represents the total number of points scored in one round.
x 30 15 0 –15
(a) Show that the probability of scoring 15 points in a round is 0.432. (2)
(f) Find the expected number of points scored in the bonus round.
(3)
May 2015, Q5