Q.

An Environmental Impact Assessment committee of size 6 is to be

selected at random from 2 civil engineers and 6 environmental engineers.
Find the probability that 2 civil engineers will be on the committee.
Q. An Environmental Impact Assessment committee of size 6 is to be
selected at random from 2 civil engineers and 6 environmental engineers.
Find the probability that 2 civil engineers will be on the committee.
A. Concerning our problem, civil engineers are indistinguishable, also
environmental engineers are indistinguishable among themselves.
Hence, we understand that we should use “combination” and NOT
permutation. Random variable X : Number of civil engineers on the committee
Random variable x=2

C * 6C4 / 8C6 ≈ 0.54

2 2

C = C(n,r) =
n r
Q. In a group of 15 people, 5 can speak German. If 3 people are selected
at random to be sent on a mission in Germany, what is the probability
that 2 will speak German?
Q. In a group of 15 people, 5 can speak German. If 3 people are selected at
random to be sent on a mission in Germany, what is the probability that 2
will speak German?

A. Similar to the previous question, German speakers are indistinguishable

among themselves, hence we need to use “combination”.
10 cannot speak German, 5 can speak German. The probability that 1
cannot speak German and 2 can speak German is:

C * 10C1 / 15C3 ≈ 0.22

5 2
Alternative solution (long way):
Total (S) = 15 German speaking (G) = 5 Non-German speaking = 10

P(G=2) = P(NGG) + P(GNG) + P(GGN)

Since there is no replacement, total space will be changing!

P(NGG) = 10/15 * 5/14 * 4/13 = 20/273

P(GNG) = 5/15 * 10/14 * 4/13 = 20/273
P(GGN)= 5/15 * 4/14 * 10/13 = 20/273

Hence P(G=2) = 60/273 ≈ 0.22

Q. The table shows the weights of packages Weight (kg) frequency
arriving at a post office during a day. Find the 5 130
sample variance and the sample standard 15 200
25 250
deviation.
35 200
45 150
55 120
Q. The table shows the weights of packages arriving at a post office during
a day. Find the sample variance and sample standard deviation.

A.
Weight (kg) (x) Frequency (f(x)) x*f(x)
5 130 650 Mean of x = x̄ = 30250/1050 ≈ 28.8
15 200 3000
25 250 6250 Sample variance:
35 200 7000
45 150 6750
55 120 6600
Total: 1050 30250

s2 = {(5-28.8)2 + (15-28.8)2 + (25-28.8)2 + (35-28.8)2 + (45-28.8)2 + (55-28.8)2}/(6-1)

Sample variance = s2 ≈ 351.73 Sample standard deviation = s ≈ 18.75

The frequency distribution of these packages would look like this:
300

250

200
Frequency, f(x)

150

100

50

0
5 15 25 35 45 55

Weight of packages (x)

The probability distribution of these packages would look like this:
0.25

0.2
Probability, P(x)

0.15

0.1

0.05

0
5 15 25 35 45 55

Weight of packages (x)

Q. You went to a movie theatre and the movie theatre offers the
following options in every possible combination:
Genre Time Length Country of origin
Horror 2 pm 30 minutes Spain
Action 4 pm 1 hour Japan
6 pm 2 hours Nigeria
8 pm

How many different options do you have for a movie?

Q. You went to a movie theatre and the movie theatre offers the
following options in every possible combination:
Genre Time Length Country of origin
Horror 2 pm 30 minutes Spain
Action 4 pm 1 hour Japan
6 pm 2 hours Nigeria
8 pm

How many different options do you have for a movie?

A. 2 * 4 * 3 * 3 = 72 different options
Q. The probability that a customer watches a movie is P(M) = 0.2; the
probability that a customer buys a popcorn is P(P) = 0.3; and the
probability that a customer watches a movie and buys a popcorn is
P(M∩P) = 0.1.
a) Find the probability that a customer buys popcorn, given that the
customer watches a movie.
b) Are these two events (M and P) independent?
c) If a customer is known to watch a movie, is he/she more likely to
buy popcorn?
Q. The probability that a customer watches a movie is P(M) = 0.2; the
probability that a customer buys a popcorn is P(P) = 0.3; and the
probability that a customer watches a movie and buys a popcorn is
P(M∩P) = 0.1.
a) Find the probability that a customer buys popcorn, given that the
customer watches a movie.
b) Are these two events (M and P) independent?
c) If a customer is known to watch a movie, is he/she more likely to buy
popcorn?
A. a) By using the conditional probability formula:
P(P|M) = P(M∩P)/P(M) = 0.1/0.2 = 0.5

b) P(M)*P(P)= 0.06 ≠ 0.1 = P(M∩P), hence M and P are dependent.

We can see this also from P(P|M) ≠ P(P)
c) Yes, because we found that P(P|M)> P(P)
Q. a) How many different ways can John, Sonia, Gabriel and Luca be
arranged on a circle?

b) How many different ways can John, Sonia, Gabriel and Luca be
arranged in a row?
Q. a) How many different ways can John, Sonia, Gabriel and Luca be
arranged on a circle?
A. n= 4 and this is a permutation problem because we can
differentiate between these people. Permutation of n distinguishable
items on a circle is given by: (n-1)!
So, the answer would be: (4-1)! = 3! = 3*2*1 = 6

b) How many different ways can John, Sonia, Gabriel and Luca be
arranged in a row?
A. Permutation of n distinguishable items in a row is given by: (n)!
So, the answer would be: 4! = 4*3*2*1 = 24
Q. A college plays 12 football games during a season. In how many ways
can the team end the season with 7 wins, 3 losses, and 2 ties?
Q. A college plays 12 football games during a season. In how many ways
can the team end the season with 7 wins, 3 losses, and 2 ties?

A. Wins are indistinguishable among themselves, similarly losses and

ties too… Overall there are 12! ways of arranging the outcomes but
as there are indistinguishable outcomes, the answer becomes: