Ms Abrao

Math 43 Introduction to Probability and Statistics

Chapter 4. Discrete Random Variables Homework Solutions
HW pp. 288 - 294 #71 - 77, 80, 81, 83 - 91, 95, 96, 98 - 100
Note: Do not attempt #104 - 106, 107 (g) - (i), 108, 110 - 118, 120 - 122, 124, 125, 127 - 129. The
material these homework problems are based on is not covered in the scope of this class.

71. (a)

x $6 $2 -$2

12 12
P (X ) ⋅ 0.5 = 0.115 ⋅ 0.5 = 0.115 ?
52 52

Use the complement rule to nd the missing probability.

x $6 $2 -$2

P (X ) 0.115 0.115 1 − 2 ⋅ 0.115 = 0.770

(b) I expect to lose $0.62 on average, over the long run of this game.

(c) No way. I expect to lose. I don’t want to play!

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72.

x $500 $100 $25 $0

1-(0.01+0.02+0.04)
P (X ) 1/100 = 0.01 2/100 = 0.02 4/100 = 0.04
= 0.93

I will win $8 on average, over the long run of this game. But I have to spend $10 to buy
a ticket, so I am actually losing $2 on average, over the long run of this game.
73.

x P (X ) x ⋅ P (X )
0 0.3 0 i 0.3 = 0

1 0.2 1 i 0.2 = 0.2

2 0.1 2 i 0.1 = 0.2

3 0.4 3 i 0.4 = 1.2

Total 1.6

(a) P (X = 2) = 0.1
(b) μ = E (x) = 0 ⋅ 0.3 + 1 ⋅ 0.2 + 2 ⋅ 0.1 + 3 ⋅ 0.4 = 1.6
74.

(a) I am ultimately interested in $$$ - duh:)

(b) X = amount of money won for one roll of the die

(c) x = $10, $5, or -$6

(d)

x $10 $5 -$6

1 2 3
P (X )
6 6 6

(e)

Your expected winnings are $0.33.

(f) I will take the deal. Over the long run I will win $$$. Woo-hoo!

BTW - NO game of chance (blackjack, roulette, craps, etc.) is set up for you to win in
the long run. Every game favors the casino.
75.

(a)

Software Company
x $5,000,000 $1,000,000 -$1,000,000
P (X ) 0.1 0.3 0.6

Hardware Company
x $3,000,000 $1,000,000 -$1,000,000
P (X ) 0.2 0.4 0.4

Biotech Firm
x $6,000,000 $0 -$1,000,000
P (X ) 0.1 0.7 0.2

(b) The expected values are -

Software Company: $200,000

Hardware Company: $600,000
Biotech Firm: $400,000

(c) The safest investment is the biotech rm as 80% of the time you pro t or break even.

(d) The riskiest investment is the software company as only 40% of the time you pro t or
break even.

(e) The investment with the highest expected return is the hardware company.
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76.

x P (X ) x ⋅ P (X )
0 0.1 0
1 0.2 0.2
2 0.3 0.6
3 0.2 0.6
4 0.1 0.4
5 0.05 0.25
6 (or more) 0.05 0.3
Total 2.35

(a) P (X = 3) = 0.20
(b) The expected value represents the average number of children married adults in the
US have.

(c) μ = E (x) = 0 ⋅ 0.1 + 1 ⋅ 0.2 + 2 ⋅ 0.3 + 3 ⋅ 0.2 + 4 ⋅ 0.1 + 5 ⋅ 0.05 + 6 ⋅ 0.05 = 2.35 children

(d)

P (2 ≤ X ≤ 3) = P (X = 2) + P (X = 3)
= 0.3 + 0.2 = 0.5

P (4 ≤ X ≤ 6) = P (X = 4) + P (X = 5) + P (X = 6)
= 0.1 + 0.05 + 0.05 = 0.2

It is more likely that a married adult will have 2 - 3 children.

77.

x P (X )

3 0.05

4 0.4

5 0.3

6 0.15

7 0.1

On average, it takes about 4.85 years to earn a B.S.

80.

(a)

x 30 60 70 100

1 8 1 4
P (X )
14 14 14 14

1 8 1 4
μ = 30 ⋅ + 60 ⋅ + 70 ⋅ + 100 ⋅ = 70 students
14 14 14 14
(b) To me, this is the same question as asked in (a). If you think this is asking a different
question, let me know.

(c) Again, same question as (a).

(d) σ = 20.702 students

81.

x $0 $5 $25 $100

9,690 250 50 10
P (X )
10,000 10,000 10,000 10,000

9,690 250 50 10
μ = $0 ⋅ + $5 ⋅ + $25 ⋅ + $100 ⋅ = $0.35
10,000 10,000 10,000 10,000
A fair price to break even is 35 cents.
83. X = the number of patients who actually have the u when they claim they have it

The problem didn’t ask for a pdf and I wouldn’t write out a table for this usually because
the table is a beast. But I want to do it here just to try to connect the idea between a
‘table’ problem and a ‘binomial’ problem. You could make a table for any binomial
variable, but we have formulas that make the problems faster to solve.

x 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

P (X ) 0.36 0.38 0.19 0.06 0.01 0.002 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

84.

1. Fixed number of trials ✓ n = 25

2. “Success” = patient actually has the u
3. Independent trials ✓
4. p = 0.04

⇒ X ∼ B (25, 0.04)

85.

P (X ≥ 4) = 1 − P (X ≤ 3)
= 1 − binomcdf (25, 0.04, 3)
= 0.017

86. μ = 25 ⋅ 0.04 = 1 patient

87. x P (X )

(a) X = the number of DVD rentals per customer 0 0.03

1 0.50

= 3) = 1 − (0.03 + 0.50 + 0.24 + 0.07 + 0.04) = 0.12

2 0.24
(b) P (X
3 0.12
4 0.07
(c) P (X ≥ 4) = P (X = 4) + P (X = 5) = 0.07 + 0.04 = 0.11
5 0.04

(d) P (X ≤ 2) = P (X = 0) + P (X = 1) + P (X = 2) = 0.03 + 0.50 + 0.24 = 0.77

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88.

(a) X = number of students who will attend Tet festivities this year

(b) x = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

(c) X ∼ B (12, 0.18)

(d) μ = E (x) = np = 12 ⋅ 0.18 = 2.16 students
(e) P (X ≤ 4) = binomcdf (12, 0.18, 4) = 0.951
(f) P (X > 2) = P (X ≥ 3) = 1 − P (X ≤ 2) = 1 − binomcdf (12, 0.18, 2) = 0.370
89.

(d)

X ∼ B (12, 0.3694)

μ = E (x) = np = 12 ⋅ 0.3694 = 4.433 games won in a month

90.

(a)

P (X = 6) = binompdf (12, 0.3694, 6) = 0.148

91.

(c)

P (X ≥ 5) = 1 − P (X ≤ 4) = 1 − binomcdf (12, 0.3694, 4) = 0.473

95.

(a) X = number of colleges offering online courses, i.e. distance learning courses

(b) x = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13

(c) X ∼ B (13, 0.96)

(d) μ = E (x) = np = 13 ⋅ 0.96 = 12.48 institutions offering online courses

(e) P (X ≤ 10) = binomcdf (13, 0.96, 10) = 0.014

(f) P (X = 12) = binompdf (13, 0.96, 12) = 0.319, P (X = 13) = binompdf (13, 0.96, 13) = 0.588

It is more likely that 13 universities will offer online courses.

96.

(a) X = number of graduating students who attend their graduation

(b) x = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22

(c) X ∼ B (22, 0.85)

(d) μ = E (x) = np = 22 ⋅ 0.85 = 18.7 grad students attending graduation

(e)

P (X = 17 OR 18) = P (X = 17) + P (X = 18)

= binompdf (22, 0.85, 17) + binompdf (22, 0.85, 18)
= 0.324
(f) P (X = 22) = binompdf (22, 0.85, 22) = 0.028

Yes, I would be surprised if all 22 students attended graduation as there is only a 3%

chance of this occurring.
98.

(a) X = number of seniors who participated in after-school sports all four years of high
school

(b) x = 0, 1, 2, ..., 58, 59, 60

(c) X ∼ B (60, 0.08)

(d) μ = E (x) = np = 60 ⋅ 0.08 = 4.8 students

(e) P (X = 0) = binompdf (60, 0.08, 0) = 0.007

Yes, I would be surprised if no seniors participated in sports all 4 year of high school as
there is only a 0.7% chance of this occurring.

(f) P (X = 4) = binompdf (60, 0.08, 4) = 0.187,

P (X = 5) = binompdf (60, 0.08, 5) = 0.182

It is more likely that 4 of the seniors participated in after-school sports all four years of
high school, but only slightly more likely that 4 of the seniors participating all four years.

99.

(a) X = the number of audits a person with that income has in a 20 year period

(b) x = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 , 19 , 20

(c) X ∼ B (20, 0.02)

(d) μ = E (x) = np = 20 ⋅ 0.02 = 0.4 audits
(e) P (X = 0) = binompdf (20, 0.02, 0) = 0.668
(f) P (X > 2) = 1 − P (X ≤ 2) = 1 − binomcdf (20, 0.02, 2) = 0.007
100.

(a) X = number of California residents who have adequate earthquake supplies

(b) x = 0, 1, 2, ..., 11

(c) X ∼ B (11, 0.30)

(d) P (X ≥ 8) = 1 − P (X ≤ 7) = 1 − binomcdf (11, 0.30, 7) = 0.004
(e) P (X = 0) = binompdf (11, 0.30, 0) = 0.02,
P (X = 11) = binompdf (11, 0.30, 11) = 0.000002

It is more likely that none of the residents surveyed will have adequate earthquake
supplies.

(f) μ = E (x) = np = 11 ⋅ 0.30 = 3.3 CA residents