Exercise 1A

2 6
8   1   2 
1 a P( X= 2)
=  ×  × 
 2  3   3 
= 0.273 (to 3 s.f.)

5 3
8  1   2 
b P( X= 5)=   ×   ×  
5  3   3 
= 0.0683 (to 3 s.f.)

c P( X 1) =
P( X =+
1) P( X =
0)
7 8
 1  2   2 
= 8   +  
 3  3   3 
7
2 8 2
=    + 
3 3 3
7
 2  10
=   ×
3 3
= 0.195 (to 3 s.f.)

5 10
15   2   1 
2 a P(T= 5)=   ×   ×   = 0.00670 (to 3 s.f.)
 5   3 3

10 5
15   2   1 
b P(T =
10) =      = 0.214 (to 3 s.f.)
× ×
10   3   3 

3 12 4 11
15   2   1  15   2   1 
c P(3T 4) = P(T =3) + P(T =4) = ×
      × + ×
      ×
 3   3 3 4   3  3
= 0.00025367... + 0.00152206...
= 0.00178 (to 3 s.f.)

3 a X = ‘number of defective bolts in a sample of 20’

X ~ B(20, 0.01)
= n 20,
= p 0.01
Assume bolts are defective independently of one another.

b X = ‘number of times wait or stop through 6 sets of lights’

X ~ B(6, 0.52)
=n 6,= p 0.52
Assume the lights operate independently and the time the lights are on/off is constant.

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3 c X = ‘number of aces in Stephanie's next 30 serves’
X ~ B(30, 1 )
8
= n 30,
= p 1
8
Assume serving an ace occurs independently and the probability of an ace is constant.

4 a X = ‘number of people in class of 14 who are Rh–’

X ~ B(14, 0.15) is a reasonable model if we assume that being Rh– is independent from pupil
to pupil, so no siblings.

b This is not binomial since the number of trials or tosses is not known and fixed. The probability of
a head at each toss is constant ( p = 0.5) but there is no value for n.

c Assuming, reasonably, that the colours of the cars are independent,

X = ‘number of red cars out of 15’
X ~ B(15, 0.12)

5 a Let X = ‘number of balloons that do not burst’

P(=
X 20)= (0.95) 20
= 0.358 (3 s.f.)

b Let Y = ‘number of balloons that do burst’

 20 
P(Y= 2)=   (0.95)18 (0.05) 2
2
= 0.189 (to 3 s.f.)

6 a There are two possible outcomes of each trial: faulty or not faulty. There are a fixed number trials,
10, and fixed probability of success: 0.08. Assuming each member in the sample is independent, a
suitable model is X ~ B(10, 0.08).

10  10!
b P(X = 4) =   (0.08) 4 (0.92)6 = (0.08) 4 (0.92)6 = 0.00522 (to 3 s.f.)
4 4!6!

7 a Assumptions are that there is a fixed sample size, that there are only two outcomes for the genetic
marker (present or not present), and that there is a fixed probability of people having the marker.

b X ~ B(50, 0.04)
 50  50!
P(X = 6) =   (0.04)6 (0.96) 44 = (0.04)6 (0.96) 44 = 0.0108 (to 3 s.f.)
 6 6!44!

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8 a We are assuming that each roll of the dice is independent. A suitable model is X ~ B(15, 0.3).

b X ~ B(15, 0.3)
15  15!
P(X = 4) =   (0.3) 4 (0.7)11 = (0.3) 4 (0.7)11 = 0.219 (to 3 s.f.)
4
  4!11!

c P(X  2) = P(X = 0) + P(X = 1) + P(X = 2)

15  15 
= (0.7)15 +   (0.3)1 (0.7)14 +   (0.3) 2 (0.7)13
1 2
15! 15!
= (0.7)15 + (0.3)1 (0.7)14 + (0.3) 2 (0.7)13
1!14! 2!13!
= 0.127 (to 3 s.f.)

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Exercise 1B
1 X ~ B(9, 0.2)

a P( X 4) = 0.9804 (tables)

b P( X < 3) =
P( X 2) = 0.7382 (tables)

c P( X 2) = 1 − P( X 1) = 0.5638 (tables)

1 − 0.4362 =

d P( X= 1)= P( X 1) − P( X =0) =0.4362 − 0.1342 =0.3020 (tables)

2 X ~ B(20, 0.35)

a P( X 10) = 0.9468 (tables)

b P( X > 6) =
1 − P( X 6) = 0.5834 (tables)
1 − 0.4166 =

c P( X= 5)= P( X 5) − P( X 4) = 0.2454 − 0.1182 = 0.1272 (tables)

d P(2X 7) = P( X 7) − P( X 1) = 0.6010 − 0.0021 = 0.5989 (tables)

3 a Using the binomial cumulative function on a calculator where x = 19, n = 40 and p = 0.47,
P(X < 20) = P(X  19) = 0.5888

b Using the binomial cumulative function on a calculator where x = 16, n = 40 and p = 0.47,
P(X > 16) = 1 − P(X  16) = 0.7662

c Using the binomial cumulative function on a calculator where x = 10 and 15, n = 40 and p = 0.47,
P(11  X  15) = P(X  15) − P(X  10) = 0.1478 − 0.0036 = 0.1442

d Using the binomial cumulative function on a calculator where x = 10 and 16, n = 40 and p = 0.47,
P(10 < X < 17) = P(X  16) − P(X  10) = 0.2338 − 0.0036 = 0.2302

4 a Using the binomial cumulative function on a calculator where x = 20, n = 37 and p = 0.65,
P(X > 20) = 1 − P(X  20) = 0.8882

b Using the binomial cumulative function on a calculator where x = 26, n = 37 and p = 0.65,
P(X  26) = 0.7992

c Using the binomial cumulative function on a calculator where x = 19 and 14, n = 37 and p = 0.65,
P(15  X < 20) = P(X  19) − P(X  14) = 0.06061 − 0.00068 = 0.05993

5 X = ‘number of heads’
X ~ B(8, 0.5) (coins are fair so p = 0.5)

a P( X= 0) 8
= (0.5)= 0.0039 (tables)

1 − 0.0352 =
b P( X 2) = 1 − P( X 1) = 0.9648 (tables)

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 1 − 0.6367 =
5 c P( X 5) = 1 − P( X 4) = 0.3633 (tables)

6 X = ‘number of plants with blue flowers on tray of 15’

X = 4) P( X 4) − P( X 3) = 0.6865 − 0.4613 = 0.2252 (tables)

a P(=

b P( X 3) = 0.4613 (tables)

c P(3
= X 6) P( X 6) − P( X 2) = 0.9434 − 0.2361 = 0.7073 (tables)

7 X ~ B(50, 0.40)

a P( X 13) = 0.0280
P( X 14) = 0.0540 (tables)
∴k = 13

b P( X 27) = 0.9840
⇒ P( X > 27)= 0.0160 > 0.01
P( X 28) = 0.9924
⇒ P( X > 28)= 0.0076 < 0.01
∴r = 28

8 X ~ B(40, 0.10)

a P( X== 0) 0.0148 < 0.02

P(=X 1) 0.0805 > 0.02 (tables)
P( X <=1) 0.0148 < 0.02
1
∴k =

b P( X 8) = 0.9845 (tables)

⇒ P( X >= 8) 0.0155 > 0.01
P( X 9) = 0.9949
⇒ P( X >= 9) 0.0051 < 0.01
∴r = 9

c P(kX r ) = P( X r ) − P( X k − 1)
= P( X 9) − P( X = 0)
= 0.9949 − 0.0148
= 0.9801

9 a A suitable distribution is X ~ B (10, 0.30). Assumptions: There are two possible outcomes of each
trial, listen or don’t listen. There is a fixed number of trials, 10, and fixed probability of success,
0.3. Each resident in the sample is assumed to listen independently.

b P( X 5) =
1 − P( X 4) = 0.1503 (tables)
1 − 0.8497 =

c P( X 6) = 0.9894 so P( X ≥ 7) =1 − 0.9894 =0.0106 > 0.01

P( X 7) = 0.9984 so P( X ≥ 8) =1 − 0.9984 =0.0016 < 0.01 (tables)
Therefore s = 8 is the smallest such value.
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10 X = ‘number of defects in 50 components’
X ~ B(50, 0.05)

a P(=
X < 2) P(
= X 1) 0.2794 (tables)

b P( X > 5) =
1 − P( X 5) = 0.0378 (tables)
1 − 0.9622 =

c Seek smallest d such that P( X > d ) < 0.05

P( X =
4) 0.8964 so P( X >= 4) 0.1036 > 0.05
P( X =
5) 0.9622 so P( X >=
5) 0.0378 < 0.05
∴d = 5

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Exercise 1C
1 a

2 a
So n = 8

c The answer can be found from the binomial cumulative distribution function tables in the textbook
or by using a calculator.

5 (1)
( 2)
2.88
( 2) ÷ (1) gives: (1 − p ) = = 0.6 ⇒ p = 0.4
4.8
4.8
From (1): np = 4.8 ⇒ n = = 12
0.4

6 a Let X be the number of heads obtained in 20 spins, so

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6 b

7 a Let Y be the number of times in 10 attempts that the salesman gets a reply.

ii

b Let X be the number of times in n attempts that the salesman gets a reply.

i Require that
So n = 120

ii

8 a Let X be the number of biscuits in a box of 48 that are broken.

b Let Y be the number of boxes out of 120 that contain at least 2 broken biscuits.

9 a

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10 a Let X be the number of sixes in 5 throws of the dice.
From the data:

= x =
∑ fx 163 × 0 + 208 ×1 + 98 × 2 + 28 × 3 +=3× 4
1
∑f 163208 + 98 + 28 + 3

c Using , the expected frequencies can be found using the formula

5 
expected frequency for x sixes =500 × P( X =x) =500 ×   ( 0.2 ) ( 0.8 )
x 5− x

 x

Number of sixes 0 1 2 3 4 5
Expected frequency 164 205 102 26 3 0

The data are very similar to the expected results from the proposed binomial model.

d Using the model, , which exactly matches the observed variance of

the data. This further supports the suitability of the binomial model.

Challenge
a

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Chapter Review 1
 30  30!
1 a P(X = 20) =   (0.73) 20 (0.27)10 = (0.73) 20 (0.27)10 = 0.114 (to 3 s.f.)
20
  20!10!

b Using the binomial cumulative function on a calculator where x = 13, n = 30 and p = 0.73,
P(X  13) = 0.000580 (to 3 s.f.)

c Using the binomial cumulative function on a calculator where x = 11 and 25, n = 30 and p = 0.73,
P(11 < X  25) = P(X  25) − P(X  11) = 0.937302995 − 0.000033512 = 0.937 (to 3 s.f.)

2 a Sequence is: H H H H H T
5
 2  1 32
Probability =   × = or 0.0439 (to 3 s.f.)
 3  3 729

b Let X = ‘number of tails in the first 8 tosses’, then

2 6
8  1   2 
P( X = 2) =      = 0.273 (to 3 s.f.)
 2 3   3 

3 X = ‘number of patients waiting more than 1

2 hour’
X ~ B(12, 0.3)

a P( X=
= 0) (0.7)
= 12
0.01384... = 0.0138 (to 3 s.f.)

b P( X > 2) =
1 − P( X 2) =
1 − 0.2528 =
0.7472 =
0.747 (to 3 d.p.)

4 a i There are n independent trials.

ii n is a fixed number.
iii The outcome of each trial is a success or a failure.
iv The probability of success at each trial is constant.
v The outcome of any trial is independent of any other trial.

b X = ‘number of successes’
X ~ B(10, 0.05)
P( X 2) =1 − P( X 1) = 0.0861 (to 3 s.f.)
1 − 0.9139 =

c Yn = ‘number of successes in n houses’

Yn ~ B(n, 0.05)
Looking for smallest n such that P(Yn1) > 0.99 or, equivalently, P(Yn =
0) < 0.01.
P(Y=
n 0)
= 0.95n < 0.01
So n = 90 using logarithms.

5 X = ‘number of correctly answered questions’ and X ~ B(10, 0.5)

a P( X ==
10) = (0.5)10 0.00097656...
= 0.000977 (to 3 s.f.)

b P( X 8) =
1 − P( X 7) = 0.0547 (to 3 s.f. using tables)
1 − 0.9453 =

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6
x 1 2 3 4 5 6
P(X = x) p p p p 2p p

7 p =1 ⇒ p =17

a Sequence is: 5 5 5 5 5 5
5
5 2
Probability:     = 0.0531 (to 3 s.f.)
7 7

b Y = ‘number of 5s in 8 throws’
Y ~ B(8, 72 )
3 5
8 2   5 
P=
(Y = 3)   =   0.24285
= 0.243 (to 3 s.f.)
 3  7   7 

7 X = ‘number of green chairs in sample of 10’

a X ~ B(10, 0.15)

b P( X 5) =
1 − P( X 4) = 0.0099 (tables)
1 − 0.9901 =

c P( X = 2) = P( X 2) − P( X 1) = 0.8202 − 0.5443 = 0.2759 (tables)

8 X = ‘number of yellow beads in a sample of 20’ and assume X ~ B(20, 0.45)

a P(=
X < 12) P(
= X 11) 0.8692 (tables)

b P( X = 12)= P( X 12) − P( X 11) = 0.9420 − 0.8692= 0.0728 (tables)

9 a P(X  10) = 1 − P(X  9) = 1 − 0.1275 = 0.8725 (tables)

12 
b P(X  10 in 7 out of 12 sets) =   (0.8725)7 (0.1275)5
7
= 0.0103 (to 3 s.f.)

c Let Y = ‘number of sets out of 12 that she hits the bullseye with at least 50% of her arrows’, then
Y ~ B(12, 0.8725)
Using the binomial cumulative function on a calculator where x = 5, n = 12 and p = 0.8725,
P(Y < 6) = P(Y  5) = 0.0002407

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10 Let X be the number of damaged seeds that will grow.
X ~ B(20, 0.075)

)
P ( X= 2= C2 ( 0.075 ) ( 0.925 )
20 2 18
a i
= 0.2626…
= 0.263 (3 s.f.)

a ii P ( X > 4 ) =−
1 P ( X ≤ 4)
= 1 − 0.9858...
= 0.0142 (3 s.f.)

b X ~ B(80, 0.075)
E(X) = 80 × 0.075
=6
Var(X) = 80 × 0.075 × 0.925
= 5.55

11 a Let X be the number of misdirected calls in a sample of 10 consecutive calls. Assuming independence
between calls, X ~ B(10, 0.02)
P( X > 1) =1 − P( X 1)
10  10 
= 1 −   (0.02)1 (0.98)9 −   (0.98)10
1 0
= 0.0162 (4 d.p.)

b Let Y be the number of misdirected calls in a sample of 500 calls. Again assuming independence between
calls, X ~ B(10, 0.02)
E(Y ) =500 × 0.02 =10 and Var(Y ) =500 × 0.02 × 0.98 =9.8

12 a Let X be the number of people with the disease in a random sample of 10 people.
So X ~ B(10, 0.025)
10 
=   (0.025) 2 (0.975)=
P( X= 2) 8
0.0230 (4 d.p.)
2
 

b Let Y be the number of people with the disease in a random sample of 120 people.
So Y ~ B(120, 0.025)
E(Y ) = 120 × 0.025 = 3 and Var(Y ) = 120 × 0.025 × 0.975 = 2.925

13 If X ~ B(6, 0.25) then P(X ≥ 3) = 0.169 > 0.1

If X ~ B(8, 0.25) then P(X ≥ 4) = 0.114 > 0.1
If X ~ B(10, 0.25) then P(X ≥ 5) = 0.078 > 0.1
So n = 5.

Challenge

Y ~ B(18, 0.25)
P(Y  11) = 1 − P(Y  10) = 1 − 0.9988 = 0.0012 (tables)

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