BAMAT207-Probability and Statistics

Tutorial sheet-1
Module 2: Probability Distributions
Easy
1) The mean of a normal distribution is 10 and the standard deviation is 3.
Determine the normal distribution.
(𝑥−10)2
Ans: 1 exp (− )
3√2𝜋 18

2) A continuous uniform distribution has mean 5 and variance 4. Determine

the uniform distribution.
Ans: X∼U(2,8)

3) The mean of a geometric distribution is 4. Determine the geometric

distribution.
Ans: X ~ Geometric (1/4)

4) The mean of an exponential distribution is 2. Determine the exponential

distribution.
Ans: X ~ Exponential (λ = 1/2)

5) A gamma distribution has mean 6 and variance 12. Determine the gamma
distribution.
Ans: X ~ Gamma (3,2)

6) A Weibull distribution has shape parameter 𝑘 = 2 and mean equal to √𝜋.

Determine the Weibull distribution.
Ans: X ~ Weibull (k = 2, λ = 2)

7) The mean of a negative binomial distribution is 10 and the variance is 20.

Determine the negative binomial distribution.
Ans: X ~ NB (r = 10, p = 1/2)
 8) If X has uniform distribution in (−3, 3), find P(|X − 2| < 2).
Ans: ½

9) Fit a Bernoulli distribution.

Outcome(x) 0 1
Frequency(f) 18 42
Ans: X ~ Bernoulli (0.7)
10) Fit a uniform distribution.
Class interval 0-2 2-4 4-6 6-8 8-10
Frequency 8 12 20 12 8
Ans: X ~ U (0, 10)
Medium
1) Fit a Geometric distribution.
x 1 2 3 4 5
f 32 18 10 6 4
Ans: X ~ Geometric (p = 0.4)
2) Fit a Exponential distribution.
Class interval 0-1 1-2 2-3 3-4 4-5
frequency 25 18 12 7 3
Ans: X ~ Exponential (λ = 0.8)

3) Fit a Gamma distribution.

Class interval 0-2 2-4 4-6 6-8
Frequency 6 14 20 10
Ans: X ~ Gamma (α = 4, β = 1)
4) The mean and variance of a binomial distribution are 4 and 4/3
respectively.
Find P(X ≥ 1), if n = 6.
Ans: 728/729

5) If the probability that an applicant for a driver's licence will pass the road
test on any given trial is 0.8, what is the probability that he will finally pass
the test (a) on the fourth trial and (b) in fewer than 4 trials?
Ans: (a)0.0064, (b)0.9984

6) Fit a Poisson distribution for the following distribution and hence find the
expected frequencies.
 x 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
f 314 335 204 86 29 9 3
Ans: 301, 362, 217, 87, 26, 6,1
7) A set of 6 similar coins are tossed 640 times with the following results:
Number of heads 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Frequency 7 64 140 210 132 75 12
Calculate the binomial frequencies on the assumption that the coins are
symmetrical.
Ans: 10, 60, 150, 200, 150, 60, 10
8) A new computer virus attacks a folder consisting of 200 files. Each file
gets damaged with probability 0.2 independently of other files. What is
the probability that fewer than 50 files get damaged?
Ans: 0.9535
9) Fit a normal distribution for the given data.
x 20 22 24 26 28 30
f 4 10 22 28 12 4
Ans: X ~ N (26, 4)
10) Lifetime of computer memory chips have gamma distribution with
expectation 𝜇 = 12 years and standard deviation 𝜎 = 4 years. What is
the probability that such clip has a lifetime between 8 and 10 years?
Ans: 0.185
11) Consecutive Trading Days
The probability that a particular stock rises on a trading day is
0 .55. If the stock is traded for 12 days, find the probability that it
rises on:
(a) exactly 5 days
(b) at most 4 days

Answer:
(a) P(X=5) = C(12,5)(0.55)^5(0.45)^7
(b) P(X ≤ 4) = Σ C(12,x)(0.55)^x(0.45)^(12−x), x=0 to 4
12) Risk Assessment Problem

A trader believes that a stock has a 40% chance of loss on any given day.
Over 15 trading days, find the probability that:
(a) the stock incurs losses on exactly 6 days
(b) the stock incurs losses on more than 8 days

Answer:
(a) P(X=6) = C(15,6)(0.4)^6(0.6)^9
(b) P(X > 8) = 1 − P(X ≤ 8)

13) Bonus – High Difficulty

A fund manager predicts that a particular stock will outperform the market
with probability 0.65 on any given day.
If the stock is observed over 20 trading days, find the probability that it
outperforms the market on:
(a) exactly 12 days
(b) between 10 and 15 days (inclusive)

Answer:
(a) P(X=12) = C(20,12)(0.65)^12(0.35)^8
(b) P(10 ≤ X ≤ 15) = Σ C(20,x)(0.65)^x(0.35)^(20−x), x=10 to 15
Hard
1) Fit a normal distribution to the following distribution and hence find the
theoretical frequencies:
class 60- 65- 70-75 75- 80- 85- 90- 95- Total
65 70 80 85 90 95 100
f 3 21 150 335 326 135 26 4 1000
Ans: 3, 31, 148, 322, 319, 144, 30, 3

2) In a recent production, 5% of certain electronic components are defective.

We need to find 12 non-defective components for our 12 new computers.
Components are tested until 12 non-defective ones are found. What is the
probability that more than 15 components will have to be tested?
Ans: 0.0055

3) Compilation of a computer program consists of 3 blocks that are

processed sequentially, one after another. Each block takes Exponential
time with the mean of 5 minutes, independently of other blocks.
a) Compute the expectation and variance of the total compilation time.
b) Compute the probability for the entire program to be compiled in less
than 12 minutes.
Ans: a) 75 (𝑚𝑖𝑛)2 b) 0.4303
4) Fit a Weibull distribution.
Class interval 0-5 5-10 10-15 15-20
Frequency 5 15 18 12
Ans: X ~ Weibull (k = 2, λ = 10)

5) The life length X of an electronic component follows an exponential

distribution. There are 2 processes by which the component may be
manufactured. The expected life length of the component is 100 h if
process I is used to manufacture, while it is 150 h if process II is used. The
cost of manufacturing a single component by process I is Rs 10, while it is
Rs 20 for process II. Moreover if the component lasts less than the
guaranteed life of 200 h, a loss of Rs. 50 is to be borne by the manufacturer.
Which process is advantageous to the manufacturer?
Ans: process I is advantageous to the manufacturer.

6) Each of the 6 tubes of a radio set has a life length (in years) which may be
considered as a RV that follows a Weibull distribution with parameters α =
25 and β = 2. If these tubes function independently of one another, what is
 the probability that no tube will have to be replaced during the first 2
months of service?
Ans: 0.0155

7) A and B shoot independently until each has hit his own target. The
probabilities of their hitting the target at each shot are 3/5 and 2/7
respectively. Find the probability that B will require more shots than A.
Ans: 6/31

8) Fit a Negative Binomial distribution.

x 0 1 2 3 4
f 6 14 20 12 8
Ans: X ~ NB (r = 5, p = 0.5)

9) A taxi cab company has 12 Ambassadors and 8 Fiats. If 5 of these taxi cabs
are in the workshop for repairs and an ambassador is as likely to be in for
repairs as a Fiat, what is the probability that
(i) 3 of them are Ambassadors and 2 are Fiats,
(ii) at least 3 of them are Ambassadors and
(iii) all the 5 are of the same make?

Ans: i) 385/969 ii)682/969 iii)53/969

10) It is known that the probability of an item produced by a certain

machine will be defective is 0.05. If the produced items are sent to the
market in packets of 20, find the number of packets containing at least,
exactly and at most 2 defective items in a consignment of 1000 packets
using binomial distribution.
Ans: 925

11) High Difficulty – Stock Market Application

The probability that a particular stock gives profit on exactly 2 days

out of 5 trading days is 0.2048.
Find:
(a) the probability that the stock gives profit on any given day
 (b) the probability that the stock gives profit on at least 3 days

Answer:
(a) C(5,2)p²(1−p)³ = 0.2048 ⇒ p = 0.2
(b) P(X ≥ 3) = P(3) + P(4) + P(5)

12)

It is observed that the probability of no accident case arriving in an hour is

0.1353.

(a) Find the average number of accident cases per hour.

(b)Find the probability that exactly 2 accident cases arrive in an hour.

(c) Find the probability that at least one accident case arrives in an hour.

Answer:
(a) λ =2
(b)P(X=2) = 0.2707
(c) P(X ≥1) = 0.8647