AMS 311 Solved Problems from Ward and Gundlach, Sections 18 to 20
Prof. Rispoli
Section 18
18.1 a. This is Poisson because we are given a rate per unit time (and only see the events when
people apply for marriage licenses). = 280/day or 0.9722 per 5 minutes
𝑒 −280 (280300 )
b. P(300) = = 0.0115.
300!
c. There are 24 hours per day, so for the next hour, we expect 280/24 = 11.6667 licenses.
d. 𝝈 = √11.6667 = 3.4157.
𝑒 −11.6667(11.666710 ) 𝑒 −11.6667 (11.666711 ) 𝑒 −11.6667 (11.666712 )
e. P( 10 ≤ X ≤ 12) = + + =
10! 11! 12!
0.2727.
f. (𝟐𝟒
𝟏𝟐
) (0.2727)12 (1-0.2727)12 = 0.1002. This is Binomial because we now have a fixed (24 hours),
and a constant probability of between 10 and 12 licenses (inclusive) per hour.
18.2 a. X {0,1,2,3,…}. This is Poisson because we are given a rate per unit time (= 6.85 people
killed per day, on average) and only see the events (left-handed people killed).
𝑒 −6.85 (6.857 )
b. P(X = 7) = = 0.14876.
7!
c. Over the next week, we expect 7(6.85) = 47.95 left-handed people to be killed using right-handed
machinery.
d. = √6.85 = 2.617.
e. = 0.9917.
f. This is a Geometric random variable (we are looking for the first day with more than two left-
handed people killed using right-handed equipment). P(X > 3) = (1 -0.9917)3.
Section 19
19.1 a. A success is getting cookies (you want two bags); a failure is chips or pretzels.
b. X is the number of cookies you get. X {0,1,2,3}.
c. This is Hypergeometric because we have either successes (desirable outcomes) or failures and are
interested in the number of successes; we are sampling without replacement from a relatively small
population. N= 18, M = 5, n = 3.
(52)(13
1)
d. P(X = 2) = = 0.1593.
(18
3)
(52)(13
1) (50)(13 5 13
3 )+(1)( 2 )
e. P(X ≤ 1)= = = 0.8284.
(18
3) (18
3)
f. = E(X) 3(5)/18 = 5/6 = 0.8333.
g. 0.7287.
h. E(pretzels) = 3(7)/18 = 1.1667.
i. E(chips) = 3(6)/18 = 1.
(10 10
1 )( 1 )
19.9 P(one of each) = = 0.5263.
(20
2)
(30 20
3 )( 1 )
19.11 a. P(three waters) = = 0.3526
(50
4)
b. E(X) = 4(30)/50 = 2.4
Section 20
20.1 a. You are only selecting one candy and each color is equally likely. = 1/5.
b. p = 1/5
c. X is the number assigned to the color you picked. X {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}.
d. p(not purple) = 1 – 1/5 = 4/5.
e and f below
