Mathematics SM025

Topic 10 : Special Probability Distribution -Lecturer

PAST YEAR QUESTIONS

Session 2005/2006

1. The number of short messages (SMS) received by a teenager in half an hour has Poisson
distribution with mean .
(a) If the probability of receiving no (SMS) within half an hour is 0.0025, show that
(to the nearest integer).
(b) Using the value of , find the probability that
(i) he receives less than six SMS in half an hour.
(ii) he receives less than six SMS in one hour.
(iii) two teenagers selected at random will receive at least six SMS in half an hour.

Solution:
(a) Let X = number of short messages (sms) received by a teenager in half an hour.

P( X = 0) = 0.0025

= - (-5.991)
(b) (i)
(ii)

(iii)
P(every 2 teenagers obtain 6 in ½ hour)=(0.5543)2 = 0.3072

2. In any of its shipments, a company found that the probability of bad oranges it supplies is
0.2. At the receiving terminal, a sample is taken at random and the number of bad oranges
is recorded.
(a) A shipment will be rejected if there are more than 10% bad oranges in the sample
taken. Calculate the probability that a particular shipment will be accepted if a sample
of size 20 is taken.
(b) Using the normal approximation, estimate the probability of obtaining 180 to 210 bad
oranges if 1000 oranges are inspected at random.

Solution:

(a) X = number of bad oranges, hence ~B(n,0.2)

P(Accept)= with X~B(20,0.2)
= 1- 0.7939 = 0.2061
(b) n = 1000, p = 0.2
E(X)=1000(0.2)=200
Var(X)=1000(0.2)(0.8)=160
Using normal approximation, ~N(200,160)
 Mathematics SM025
Topic 10 : Special Probability Distribution -Lecturer

= P(-1.62 < Z < 0.83) = 0.7967 - 0.0526 = 0.7441

Session 2006/ 2007

3. In a delivery of microchips, it is known that the number of defective is 2 out of 10.

(a) If 15 microchips are delivered, calculate the probability that
(i) at least 5 microchips are defective.
(ii) exactly 11 microchips are good.
(b) If 500 microchips are delivered, find n such that the probability of obtaining the
number of defective microchips exceeding n is 0.147.

Solution:
(a) (i) Let X = Number of microchips are defective.
(from table)
(ii) Let Y = Number of microchips are good.

(b)

Let ,

From table,

Session 2007/ 2008

4. Assume that the number of e-mails received by a student daily has a Poisson distribution
with a mean of 5.
(a) (i) Determine the probability that the student receives between 5 and 13 e-mails daily.
(ii) If the probability of a student receiving not more than m e-mails in a day is 0.616,
determine the value of m.
(b)If 15 days are randomly chosen, find the probability that the student receives between 5
and 13 e-mails daily for a period of 9 days.
(c) If 150 days are randomly chosen, use the normal approximation to find the
probability that the student receives between 5 and 13 e-mails daily for less than 70
days.
 Mathematics SM025
Topic 10 : Special Probability Distribution -Lecturer

Solution:

(a) (i)

(ii)

(b) ,

(c)

Session 2008/2009

5. Compact discs produced by a factory are packed in boxes. Each box contains 100 compact
discs. It is known that 4% of the compact discs produced are defective. Given the
probability that a box chosen at random will contain at most 3 defective compact discs is
approximately 0.43.
(a) Find the probability that among 12 boxes chosen at random, there will be 4 boxes
which contain at most 3 defective compact discs.
(b) Seventy boxes are chosen at random. Find the probability that between 20 boxes and
40 boxes, inclusively, which contain at most 3 defective compact discs.

Solution:

(a) Let X= Number of boxes contain at most 3 defective compact discs.

(b)
 Mathematics SM025
Topic 10 : Special Probability Distribution -Lecturer

Session 2009/2010

6. In any large shipment of watermelons from a particular orchard, it is known that 2% are
unripe. Upon arrival of a shipment at a receiving depot, random samplings with
replacement are conducted.
(a) Calculate the probability of getting at most one unripe watermelon in a sample of size
20.
(b) If the sample size is 1000, approximate the probability of getting not more than eight
unripe watermelon.

Solution:

Let X = Number of unripe watermelon.

(a)
(b)

Session 2010/2011

7. The distribution of the weights of all sugar sachets produced by a particular factory is
assumed to be normal with mean 25 gm and standard deviation 2 gm.
Show that the probability of a random selected sachet weights within 1 gm of the mean is
0.383.
(a) If ten sachets are randomly selected, find the probability that between four and seven
sachet weights within 1 gm of the mean.
(b) Determine the sample size, n such that none of the sachet weights within 1 gm of the
mean is 0.021.
(c) If one hundred sachets are randomly selected, approximate the probability that less
than 40 sachets weights within 1 gm of the mean.

Solution:
 Mathematics SM025
Topic 10 : Special Probability Distribution -Lecturer

(a)

(b)

(c)

SESSION 2011/2012

8. On average, a hospital receives 6 emergency calls in 15 minutes. It is assumed that the

number of emergency calls received follows the Poisson distribution.

(a) find the probability that

(i) not more thah 15 emergency calls are receive in an hour.
(ii) the hospital will receive the first emergency call between 9.00 am and 9.05 am.

(a) Find the number of emergency calls received,m, if it is known that the probability at
most m emergency calls received in half an hour is 0.155.
Solution

(a) ( i) in 15 minutes
In one hour ,
 Mathematics SM025
Topic 10 : Special Probability Distribution -Lecturer

(ii) In 5 mins ,

(b) In half an hour ,

From table

9. The probability that a type of antibiotics can cure a certain disease is 0.95.

(a) If five patients are given the antibiotics, find the

(i) exactly three patients are cured after finishing the course of the antibiotics.
(ii) at least one patient is cured after finishing the course of the antibiotics.

(b) If 500 patients are given the antibiotics, find the

(i) probability that more tha 480 patients are cured.
(ii) largest possible value n such that the probability that at least n patients recovered
after finishing the course of antibiotics is 0.9.

Solution

P(C) = 0.95

(a)
(i)
(ii)

(b) np = 500(0.95) = 475

npq = 23.75

(i)
 Mathematics SM025
Topic 10 : Special Probability Distribution -Lecturer

(ii)

Session 2012/2013

10. The number of motorcycles arriving at the main entrance of a university during peak
hours has a Poisson distribution with mean three per minute. Find the probability that
(a) At most one motorcycles will arrive in one minute.
(b) Exactly five motorcycles will arrive in two minutes.

Solution:

(a)

(b)

11. The registration record of a private college indicates that 40% of its new intakes are inter-
national students and the remaining are local students.
(a) If 20 new students are randomly selected and the number of local students are noted,
find the probability that there are
(i) Equal number of local and international students.
(ii) Not less than 9 local students.
(b) Exactly 100 new students are randomly selected. By using a suitable approximate dis-
tribution,
(i) Find the probability that between 38 and 46 are international students.
(ii) Determine the value m such that the probability that the number of international
students is at most m is 0.993.

Solution:

X = the number of international students.

 Mathematics SM025
Topic 10 : Special Probability Distribution -Lecturer

(a) (i).

(ii).

(b) (i).

( ii).

From table

Session 2013/2014
12.A discrete random variable X has a Poisson distribution with parameter . By using its
probability distribution function, show that where is an

integer. Given that , find .

Solution:
 Mathematics SM025
Topic 10 : Special Probability Distribution -Lecturer

Thus,

Given that then

Or

13. The lifetime of D sized batteries produced by local factory is normally distributed
with mean 11.5 months and standard deviation 0.8 months.

(a) Suppose a battery is selected at random from the factory’s production line.

(i) Calculate the probability that the battery’s lifetime is between 9.5 and
11.5 months, correct to one decimal place.

(ii) If the probability that the battery’s lifetime is less than h months is
0.975, determine the value of h.

(b) Suppose ten batteries are selected at random from the factory’s productions
line, calculate the probability that at most three batteries have lifetime between
9.5 and 11.5 months.

(c) If 100 batteries are selected at random from the factory’s productions line, ap-
proximate the probability that from 48 to51 batteries have lifetime between 9.5
and 11.5 months.

Solutions:
10. X = lifetime of a battery

(a)(i)
 Mathematics SM025
Topic 10 : Special Probability Distribution -Lecturer

(correct to 1 d.p.)

(a)(ii)

months

(b) Y = the number of batteries

(c)