BUS 273 - Problem Sheet #5

Q1. On a sample of 1,500 people in Sydney, Australia, 89 have no credit cards (event A), 750 have
one (event B), 450 have two (event C) and the rest have more than two (event D). On the basis of the
data, calculate each of the following.

a. The probability of event A

b. The probability of event D
c. The complement of event B
d. The complement of event C
e. The probability of event A or D

Q2. A corporation receives a particular part in shipments of 100. Research indicated the probabilities
shown in the accompanying table for numbers of defective parts in a shipment.

a. What is the probability that there will be fewer than three defective parts in a shipment?
b. What is the probability that there will be more than one defective part in a shipment?
c. The five probabilities in the table sum to1. Why must this be so?

Q3. You are 1 of 7 female candidates auditioning for 2 parts—the leading role and her best friend—in
a play. Before the auditions, you know nothing of the other candidates, and you assume all
candidates have equal chances for the parts.

a. How many distinct choices are possible for casting the two parts?
b. In how many of the possibilities in part (a) would you be chosen to play the leading role?
c. In how many of the possibilities in part (a) would you be chosen to play the best friend?
d. Use the results in parts (a) and (b) to find the probability that you will be chosen to play the
leading role. Indicate a more direct way of finding this probability.
e. Use the results in parts (a), (b), and (c) to find the probability that you will be chosen to play
1 of the 2 parts. Indicate a more direct way of finding this probability.

Q4. A work crew for a building project is to be made up of 2 craftsmen and 4 laborers selected from a
total of 5 craftsmen and 6 laborers.

a. How many different combinations are possible?

b. The brother of one of the craftsmen is a laborer. If the crew is selected at random, what is
the probability that both brothers will be selected?
c. What is the probability that neither brother will be selected?
Q5. A local public-action group solicits donations by telephone. For a particular list of prospects, it
was estimated that for any individual the probability was 0.05 of an immediate donation by credit
card, 0.25 of no immediate donation but a request for further information through the mail, and 0.7
of no expression of interest. Information is mailed to all people requesting it, and it is estimated that
20% of these people will eventually donate. An operator makes a sequence of calls, the outcomes of
which can be assumed to be independent.
a. What is the probability that no immediate credit card donation will be received until at least
four unsuccessful calls have been made?
b. What is the probability that the first call leading to any donation (either immediately or
eventually after a mailing) is preceded by at least four unsuccessful calls?

Q6. A company produces scooters used by small businesses, such as pizza parlors, that find them
convenient for making short deliveries. The company is notified whenever a scooter breaks down,
and the problem is classified as being either mechanical or electrical. The company then matches the
scooter to the plant where it was assembled as Lincoln or Tyler. The file Scooters contains a random
sample of 200 breakdowns. Among the 92 total electrical problems 28 of them comes from Lincoln
and Lincoln caused total 67 problems.
a. If a scooter was assembled in the Tyler plant, what is the probability its breakdown was due
to an electrical problem?
b. If mechanical problems are assigned a cost of $75 and electrical problems are assigned a cost
of $100, how much cost would be budgeted for the Lincoln and Tyler plants next year if a
total of 500 scooters were expected to be returned for repair?