<< Chapter < Page Chapter >> Page >
This chapter covers additional principles of probability. After completing this chapter students should be able to: find the probability of a binomial experiment; find the probabilities using Bayes' Formula; find the expected value or payoff in a game of chance; find the probabilities using tree diagrams.

Binomial probability

Do the following problems using the binomial probability formula.

A coin is tossed ten times. Find the probability of getting six heads and four tails.

0.2051

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

A family has three children. Find the probability of having one boy and two girls.

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

What is the probability of getting three aces(ones) if a die is rolled five times?

0.0322

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

A baseball player has a .250 batting average. What is the probability that he will have three hits in five times at bat?

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

A basketball player has an 80% chance of sinking a basket on a free throw. What is the probability that he will sink at least three baskets in five free throws?

0.9421

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

With a new flu vaccination, 85% of the people in the high risk group can go through the entire winter without contracting the flu. In a group of six people who were vaccinated with this drug, what is the probability that at least four will not get the flu?

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

A transistor manufacturer has known that 5% of the transistors produced are defective. What is the probability that a batch of twenty five will have two defective?

0.2305

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

It has been determined that only 80% of the people wear seat belts. If a police officer stops a car with four people, what is the probability that at least one person will not be wearing a seat belt?

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

What is the probability that a family of five children will have at least three boys?

0.5

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

What is the probability that a toss of four coins will yield at most two heads?

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

A telemarketing executive has determined that for a particular product, 20% of the people contacted will purchase the product. If 10 people are contacted, what is the probability that at most 2 will buy the product?

0.6778

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

To the problem: "Five cards are dealt from a deck of cards, find the probability that three of them are kings," the following incorrect answer was offered by a student.

5C3 1 / 13 3 12 / 13 2 size 12{5C3 left (1/"13" right ) rSup { size 8{3} } left ("12"/"13" right ) rSup { size 8{2} } } {}

What change would you make in the wording of the problem for the given answer to be correct?

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

Bayes' formula

Use both tree diagrams and Bayes' formula to solve the following problems.

Jar I contains five red and three white marbles, and Jar II contains four red and two white marbles. A jar is picked at random and a marble is drawn. Draw a tree diagram below, and find the following probabilities.

  1. P marble is red size 12{P left ("marble is red" right )} {}

  2. P It came from Jar II given that the marble drawn is white size 12{P left ("It came from Jar II given that the marble drawn is white" right )} {}

  3. P Red Jar I size 12{P left ("Red " \lline " Jar I" right )} {}

  1. 0.6458
  2. 0.4706
  3. 0.625

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

In Mr. Symons' class, if a person does his homework most days, his chance of passing the course is 90%. On the other hand, if a person does not do his homework most days his chance of passing the course is only 20%. Mr. Symons claims that 80% of his students do their homework on a regular basis. If a student is chosen at random from Mr. Symons' class, find the following probabilities.

  1. P the student passes the course size 12{P left ("the student passes the course" right )} {}

  2. P the student did homework the student passes the course size 12{P left ("the student did homework " \lline " the student passes the course" right )} {}

  3. P the student passes the course the student did homework size 12{P left ("the student passes the course " \lline " the student did homework" right )} {}

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

Get Jobilize Job Search Mobile App in your pocket Now!

Get it on Google Play Download on the App Store Now




Source:  OpenStax, Applied finite mathematics. OpenStax CNX. Jul 16, 2011 Download for free at http://cnx.org/content/col10613/1.5
Google Play and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google Inc.

Notification Switch

Would you like to follow the 'Applied finite mathematics' conversation and receive update notifications?

Ask