Chapter 05 - Discrete Random Variables

CHAPTER 5Discrete Random Variables

5.1

A random variable is a variable that assumes numerical values determined by the outcome of
an experiment.
LO1

5.2

The values of a discrete random variable can be counted, or listed; the values of a continuous
random variable cannot be counted, or listed.
LO1

5.3

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.

Discrete
Discrete
Continuous
Discrete
Discrete
Continuous
Continuous

LO1
5.4

The probability distribution of a discrete random variable is a table, graph, or formula that
gives the probability associated with each possible value that the random variable can assume.
LO2

5.5

The probability of each possible outcome is > 0, and the sum of the probabilities of all possible
outcomes is 1.
LO2

5.6

The mean is the sum of each possible value of x multiplied by the probability of that value of
x. This represents the mean expected value of x.
The standard deviation is the square root of the probability weighted sum of the squared
deviations from the mean.
LO2

5.7

The standard deviation measures the spread of the population of the random variable.
LO2

5-1

Chapter 05 - Discrete Random Variables

5.8

a.

Valid

b.

1
Not valid; p 2 1

c.

Not valid;

p( x ) . 9

all x

d.

Valid

LO2

x = 0(.2) + 1(.8) = .8

5.9 a.

x2 = (0 .8)2(.2) + (1 .8)2(.8) = .16

x = .16 0.4
LO2
b.

xp( x) 0(. 25) 1(. 45) 2(.2) 3(.1) 1.15

all x

x 2 (0 1.15) 2 (.25) (1 1.15) 2 (.45) (2 1.15) 2 (.2) (3 1.15) 2 (.1) .8275

x .8275 .9097
c.

x 2(.1) 0(.3) 2(.4) 5(.2) 1.6

x 2 (2 1.6) 2 (.1) (0 1.6) 2 (.3) (2 1.6) 2 (.4) (5 1.6) 2 (.2) 4.44
x 4.44 2.1071
Since the probabilities sum to 1.00, ux is the mean of all possible observed values of x.

LO2

5-2

Chapter 05 - Discrete Random Variables

5.10

a.

x
p(x)

b.

x
p(x)

c.

x
p(x)

4
9
0
1
8
0
1
16

4
9
1
3
8
1
1
4

1
9
2
3
8
2
3
8

4
9

1
9

1
8
3
1
4

4
1
16

LO2

5.11

a.

4
9

x 0 1 2 .667
x2 0 . 6 1 . 6 2 . 6 .444
4
9

4
9

2 1

x .444 .667
[ x 2 x ] [. 667 2(.667)] [. 667, 2.001] contains at least 3
4 of the
observed values of x.
[ x 3 x ] [.667 3(. 667)] [1. 334, 2.668] contains at least 89 of the

observed values of x.
b.

See the methods outlined in part a.

x 1. 5
2x . 75
x . 866
[ x 2 x ] [.232, 3.232]
[ x 3 x ] [1. 098, 4. 098]

5-3

Chapter 05 - Discrete Random Variables

c.

See the methods outlined in part (a).

x 2
2x 1
x 1
[ x 2 x ] [0, 4]
[ x 3 x ] [1, 5]

LO2
5.12

a.

b.

p(x)

1
15

2
15

1
5

4
15

1
3

p(x) 0 for each value of x.

1 2 1 4 1 1
p( x ) 15
15 5 15 3

all x

c.

1 2 1 4 1
2 3 4 5 3.667
15 15 5 15 3

x 1

d.

x2 1 3. 6
2

1
21
5 3. 6 1.556
15

3

x 1.556 1.2474
LO2
5.13

a.

Graph not included in this manual.

b.

x (40, 000)(. 25) (10, 000)(. 7) (70, 000)(.05) $500

If numerous oil wells were dug, the average profit would be $500.

LO2
5.14

a.

x (300)(. 2) (600)(. 6) (900)(. 2) $600

x (300 600) 2 (.2) (600 600) 2 (.6) (900 600) 2 (.2) $189.74

b.

x 2 x contains at least 3 of the observed values of x.

4
x 2 x =[600 2(189.74)] = [220.52, 979.48]
x 3 x contains at least 8 of the observed values of x.
9

5-4

Chapter 05 - Discrete Random Variables

x 3 x =[600 3(189.74)] = [30.78, 1169.22]

c.

d.

e.

Most risk: 3, least risk: 1

Investment 1: x 3 x 540, 660
Investment 2: x 3 x 30, 1170
Investment 3: x 3 x 300, 1500
600
Investment A: V
6000 .1
190
Investment B: V
600 .317
Investment B carries the greater risk.

20 . 033
Investment 1: V 600
Investment 2: V 190
600 . 317
Investment 3: V 300
600 . 500

Most risk: 3
Least risk: 1
The results are the same because all s = $600.
LO2
5.15

a.

$400

$49,600

p(x)

.995

.005

b.

x 400(.995) 49, 600(. 005) $150

c.

x(.995) + (x 50,000)(.005) = 1,000

x 250 = 1,000
x = $1,250

LO2
5.16

a.

b.

c.

A 40(. 50) 15(.25) (20)(.25) $18. 75 million

B 140(.20) 15(. 50) ( 35)(.30) $25 million

2A ( 40 18.75)2 (.5) (15 18. 75)2 (.25) (20 18. 75)2 (. 25) 604.6875
A 604.6875 24.59
2B (140 25)2 (. 2) (15 25)2 (. 5) (35 25)2 (. 3) 3775
B 3775 61.44

V A A 24.59
18. 75 1. 31
A

V B B 61.2544 2. 46
B

5-5

Chapter 05 - Discrete Random Variables

d.

e.

A, smaller standard deviation and coefficient of variation.

f.

Explanations will vary.

LO2
5.17

Be sure to account for the cost of the ticket.

x 19,990(

1
2
5
50
4942
) 2,990(
) 390(
) 10(
) 10(
) $4.20
5000
5000
5000
5000
5000

LO2
5.18

a.

A 13%, A 2. 828%
B 15%, B 2.828%
C 15%, C 2.828%

b.

A B 14%, A B 2. 828%

c.

A C 14%, A C .632%

d.

No; higher than A

e.

A + C, A + C; lower

f.

A+C

LO2
5.19

a. x

p(x) .1099

.0879

.3077

.2967

.1978

b. x 1(.1099) 2(.0879) 5(.1978) 3.38

5.20

LO2

n identical trials

each trial a success or failure

probability of success constant for each trial

trials are independent

LO3

5-6

Chapter 05 - Discrete Random Variables

5.21

Values of x are the different possible numbers of successes in n trials.

LO3

5.22

If the probability of a event occurring based on an assumption is very small and the event is
actually observed, the assumption is considered false.
LO3

5.23

MTB > pdf;

SUBC> binom 5 .3.
BINOMIAL WITH N =
5
P = 0.300000
K
P( X = K)
0
0.1681
1
0.3601
2
0.3087
3
0.1323
4
0.0284
5
0.0024
MTB > cdf;
SUBC> binom 5 .3.
BINOMIAL WITH N =
5
P = 0.300000
K
P( X LESS OR = K)
0
0.1681
1
0.5282
2
0.8369
3
0.9692
4
0.9976
5
1.0000

a.

5!
(.3) x (.7) 5 x
x!(5 x )!
x = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

b.

p(0) = .1681, p(1) = .3601, p(2) = .3087, p(3) = .1323, p(4) = .0284, p(5) = .0024

c.

P(x = 3) = .1323

d.

P(x 3) = .9692

e.

P(x < 3 ) = P(x 2) = .8369

f.

P(x 4) = 1 P(x 3) = 1 .9692 = .0308

g.

P(x > 2) = 1 P(x 2) = 1 .8369 = .1631

p( x )

5-7

Chapter 05 - Discrete Random Variables

h.

x x p( x ) 0(.1681) 1(.3601) 2(.3087) 3(.1323) 4(.0284) 5(.0024) 1.5

All x

x np 5(.3) 1.5

x2 ( x x ) 2 p( x)
All x

(0 1.5) 2 (.1681) (1 1.5) 2 (.3601) (2 1.5) 2 (.3087)

(3 1.5) 2 (.1323) (4 1.5) 2 (.0284) (5 1.5) 2 (.0024)
= 1.05

x2 npq 5(.3)(.7) 1.05

x x2 1.05 1.024695
x npq 5(.3)(.7) 1.024695
i.

[ x 2 x ] [1.5 2(1.024695)] [.54939, 3.54939]

P(.54939 x 3.54939) = P(x 3) = .9692

LO3
5.24

a.
b.

p ( x)

6!
(.3) x (.7) 6 x
x!(6 x)!

(1) P(x = 5) = .0102

(2) P(x 3) = 1 P(x 2) = 1 .7443 = .2557
(3) P(x 2) = .7443
(4) P(x 1) = 1 P(x = 0) = 1 .1176 = .8824

LO3
5.25

a.

p ( x)

15!
(.9) x (.1)15 x
x!(15 x )!

b.

(1) P(x 13) = .4509

(2) P(x > 10) = 1 P(x 10) = 1 .0127 = .9873
(3) P(x 14) = 1 P(x 13) = 1 .4509 = .5491
(4) P(9 x 12) = .0019 + .0105 + .0428 + .1285 = .1837
(5) P(x 9) = .0022

c.

No, if the claim is true, then P(x 9) is very small.

LO3
5.26

a.

P(x = 0) = .7857

b.

P(x 1) = 1 P(x = 0) = 1 .7857 = .2143

c.

P(x 3) = .7857 + .1905 + .0221 + .0016 = .9999

5-8

Chapter 05 - Discrete Random Variables

d.

P(x 2) = 1 P(x 1) = 1 .9762 = .0238

e.

No, the probability of this result is small if the claim is true.

LO3
5.27

a.

4!
(.5) x (.5) 4 x
x!(4 x )!
Compute the pdf and cdf in MINITAB using n = 4 and p = .5.
(1) P(x = 0) = .0625
(2) P(x > 2) = 1 P(x 2) = 1 .6875 = .3125
p( x )

b.

Compute the pdf and cdf in MINITAB using n = 20 and p = .50

(1) P(x 9) = .4119
(2) P(x > 11) = 1 P(x 11) = 1 .7483 = .2517
(3) P(x < 5) = .0059

c.

No, if the claim is true, then the probability of fewer than 5 is very small (.0059).

LO3
5.28

a.

x np 6(.3) 1.8, x2 npq 6(.3)(.7) 1.26, x 1.26 1.1225

[ x 2 x ] [.445, 4.045], P(x 4) = .9891

b.

x 15(.9) 13.5, x2 15(.9)(.1) 1.35, x 1.35 1.1619

[ x 2 x ] [11.1762,15.8238], P(x 12) = .9444

c.

x 24(.01) .24, x2 24(.01)(.99) .2376, x .2376 .4874

[ x 2 x ] [. 7348, 1. 2148], P(x 1) = .9761

LO3
5.29

a.

1
Binomial with n = 25, p 60,000 .00001 6
P(x = 0) = .9996
P(x 1) = 1 P(x = 0) = .0004

b.

Binomial with n = 25, p

1
.0285714
35

P(x = 0) = .4845
P(x 1) = 1 .4845 = .5155
c.

1
35

5-9

Chapter 05 - Discrete Random Variables

d.

P ( 0)

25!
( p ) 0 ( q ) 25 0 .999
0! (25 0)!

25! 0 25
p q .999
25!
q 25 .999
q = (.999)1/25
q = .999959981
p = 1 .999959981 = .000040019
LO3
5.30

The different possible number of times an event occurs in an interval of time or space.
LO4

5.31

The probability of an events occurrence is the same for any two time intervals of equal length.
Whether the event occurs in a time interval is independent of whether the event occurs in any
other nonoverlapping interval.
LO4

5.32

MTB > pdf;

SUBC> pois 2.
POISSON WITH MEAN = 2.000
K
P( X = K)
0
0.1353
1
0.2707
2
0.2707
3
0.1804
4
0.0902
5
0.0361
6
0.0120
7
0.0034
8
0.0009
9
0.0002
10
0.0000
MTB > cdf;
SUBC> pois

2.

POISSON WITH MEAN = 2.000

K
P( X LESS OR = K)
0
0.1353
1
0.4060
2
0.6767
3
0.8571
4
0.9473

5-10

Chapter 05 - Discrete Random Variables

5
6
7
8
9

a.
b.

p( x)

0.9834
0.9955
0.9989
0.9998
1.0000

e 2 (2) x
for x = 0, 1, 2, 3,
x!

p(x)

.1353

.2707

.2707

.1804

.0902

.0361

.0120

.0034

.0009

c.

Graph not included in this manual.

d.

P(x = 2) = .2707

e.

P(x 4) = .9473

f.

P(x < 4) = P(x 3) = .8571

g.

P(x 1) = 1 P(x = 0) = 1 .1353 = .8647

P(x > 2) = 1 P(x 2) = 1 .6767 = .3233

h.

P(1 x 4) = P(x 4) P(x = 0) = .9473 .1353 = .8120

i.

P(2 < x < 5) = P(x = 3) + P(x = 4) = .1804 + .0902 = .2706

j.

P(2 x < 6) = P(x = 2) + P(x = 3) + P(x = 4) + P(x = 5) = .5774

LO4
5.33

a.

x 2, x2 2, x 2 1.414

b.

[ x 2 x ] [2 2(1.414)] [.828, 4.828]

P(.828 x 4.828) = P(x 4) = .9473
[ x 3 x ] [2 3(1.414)] [2.242, 6.242]
P(2.424 x 6.242) = P(x 6) = .9954

LO4
5.34

Compute the pdf and cdf in MINITAB with = 7. Output not shown.
a.

P(x = 10) = .0710

b.

P(x 10) = .9015

c.

P(x > 10) = 1 P(x 10) = 1 .9015 = .0985

5-11

Chapter 05 - Discrete Random Variables

LO4
5.35

a.

Compute the cdf in MINITAB with = 4; P(x 5) = .7851

b.

Use the results from part (a); P(x > 5) = 1 P(x 5) = 1 .7851 = .2149

c.

Compute the cdf in MINITAB with = 8; P(x 5) = .1912

d.

Compute the cdf in MINITAB with = 6; P(x > 12) = 1 P(x 12) = 1 .9912 = .0088

LO4
5.36

Compute the pdf in MINITAB with = 3.

a.

P(x = 0) = .0498

b.

Perhaps not; if the agencys claim is true, the probability of no patrol cars is quite small.

c.

[ P( x 1)] 4 (.1494) 4 .000498

LO4
5.37

Compute the cdf in MINITAB with = 1.8.

a.

P(x 10) = 1 P(x 9) = 1 1.000 = 0; Approximately zero

b.

The hospitals rate of comas is unusually high.

LO4
5.38

= np = 200(.005) = 1; compute the cdf in MINITAB with = 1.

a.

P(x 4) = 1 P(x 3) = 1 .9810 = .0190

b.

Probably not; the probability of 4 or more defectives is small if the claim is true.

LO4
5.39

N represents the number of items in the population.

n represents the number of items sampled.
r represents the number of successes in the population.
LO5

5.40

The binomial can be used to approximate the hypergeometric when the size of the population
is at least 20 times larger than the sample size. In this situation the probability of success stays
approximately the same throughout the experiment.
LO5

5-12

Chapter 05 - Discrete Random Variables

5.41

a.

P(x=0) = 0

b.

P(x=1) = 0.071429

c.

P(x=2) = 0.428571

d.

P(x=3) = 0.428571

e.

P(x=4) = 0.071429

f.

P(x 2) = P(2) + P(3) + P(4) = 0.928571

g.

P(x < 3) = P(x=0) + P(x=1) + P(x=2) = 0.5

h.

P(x > 1) = 1 P(x=1) = 0.928471

LO5

5.42

a.
b.

= 3(4/10) = 1.2, 2 = 3(4/10)(1 4/10)(10 3)/(10 1) = 0.56, = sqrt(0.56) = 0.748.

LO5
5.43

a.

P(x 2) = P(2) + P(3) = 0.127273

b.

P(x 1) = P(0) + P(1) = 0.872727

LO5
5.44

P(3) = 0.7
LO5

From the binomial tables with n=15 and p=0.9 this is

5.45

approximately equal to 0.5491.

LO3, LO5
5.46

a.

x
p(x)

b.

c.

x
p(x)
x

0
4
9

1
4
9

2
1
9

.16

.48

.36

5-13

Chapter 05 - Discrete Random Variables

p(x)

.12

.56

.32

5-14

Chapter 05 - Discrete Random Variables

LO2
5.47

0
4
9

1
4
9

2
1
9

.49

.42

.09

.54

.42

.04

a.

p(x)
x
p(x)

b.

x
p(x)

c.

LO2
5.48

a.

1
9

4
9

4
9

x 0 1 2
2

2
3
2

2 4
3 9

2 4
3 9

2 1
3 9

x 0 1 2
b.

x 1.2, x .693

c.

x 1.2, x 0.632

d.

4.39 b & c

e.

4.39 b

LO2
5.49

p ( x)

a.

b.

(x 3)2
for x = 2, 1, 0, 1, 2
55

p(x)

. 45

.290

.163

. 072

. 018

p(x) 0 for each value of x.

p( x ) 1

all x

c.

x p( x) 1.091

all x

d.

2x

( x x )2 p( x) 1.065

all x

x 1. 032

5-15

2
3

Chapter 05 - Discrete Random Variables

LO2

5-16

Chapter 05 - Discrete Random Variables

5.50

a.

30,000

15,000

.6

.4

p(x)

x 30, 000(. 6) 15, 000(. 4) $12, 000

b.

At least $6,000

LO2
5.51

a.

Graph not included in this manual.

b.

x p( x) 50, 000(.1) 130, 000(.05) 87, 000

all x

c.

75%

d.

[ x 2 x ] [87, 000 2(20,273)] [46, 454, 127, 546]; 95%

LO2
5.52

a.

Binomial, n = 8, p = .8

b.

P(x 3) = .0104

c.

No; if the claim is true, the probability of 3 or fewer being relieved is very small.

LO3
5.53

a.

Binomial, n = 5, p = .8
P(x 4) = 1 P(x 3) = 1 .2627 = .7373

b.

Binomial, n = 25, p = .8
(1) P(x 15) = .0173
(2) P(x > 20) = 1 P(x 20) = 1 .5793 = .4207
(3) P(20 x 24) = P(x 24) P(x 19) = .9962 .3833 = .6129
(4) P(x = 24) = .0236

c.

No; if the claim is true, the probability that 15 or fewer are not satisfied is only .0173.

LO3
5.54

Poisson Distribution with = 3

e 3 3 0
.0498
0!

a.

Px 0

b.

P(x 8) = .9962

c.

1 P(x 8) = .0038

5-17

Chapter 05 - Discrete Random Variables

d.

Poisson with = 6
P(x 10) = .9574

e.

Poisson with = 9
P(x 5) = .1157

LO4
5.55

e 1.5 (1.5 0 )
.2231
0!

a.

P( x 0)

b.

P(x < 4) = P(x 3) = .9344

c.

Poisson with = 6
P(x 12) = .9912

d.

Poisson with = 6
P(x = 0) = .0025

LO4
5.56

Binomial, n = 4, p = .85
P (x 1) = 1 P(x <1) = 1 .0005 = .9995
LO3

5.57

Binomial, n = 20, p = .90

P(x 13) = .0024
Dont believe the claim
LO3

5.58

P(x 17) = .3232

Not much evidence against it.
LO3

5-18

Chapter 05 - Discrete Random Variables

5.59

Poisson Distribution with = 8

P(x 17) = 1 P(x <17) = 1 P(x 16) = 1 .9963 = .0037
Mean number of failures has increased.
LO4

5.60

Poisson Distribution with = 10

P(x 4) = .0293
Claim is probably not true.
LO4

5.61

P(x 8) = .3328
Not much evidence against the claim.
LO4

5-19