Discrete random variables

DISCRETE PROBABILITY

1. Let X be a discrete random variable with the following probability

distribution. Find P(X ≥ 3).

X 1 2 3 4 5

P(X) 0.35 0.25 0.20 0.15 ?

2. Let B be a discrete random variable with the following probability

distribution. Find μB and σB.

B 0 5 10 15

P(B) 1/5 1/5 2/5 1/5

3. The table shows the distribution of size of households in the U.S. for
2016. Suppose we select a household of size at least 2 at random. What is
the probability that this household has a size of at least 4?

Size of household 1 2 3 4 5 6 7+

P(size) 0.281 0.340 ? 0.129 0.060 0.023 0.013

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 4. A standard deck of cards is shuffled, and two cards are selected
without replacement. Let R be the number of red cards selected. Construct
a probability distribution for R.

5. A local restaurant features a wheel we can spin before paying the bill.
The wheel is split into 8 equal size pieces. One of the sections gives us a
$10 discount on the bill, two sections give a $5 discount, three sections give
a $2 discount, and the rest of the sections give no discount. Find the
expected value for the discount given by the wheel.

6. John stops at the local gas station and decides to buy lottery tickets.
Each ticket has a 20 % chance of being a winner. He will buy a lottery ticket
and check to see if it’s a winner. If it’s a winner, he’ll collect his money and
be done. If it’s not a winner, he’ll buy another. He’ll repeat this until he gets
a winning ticket. But if he hasn’t won by his fifth ticket, he won’t buy any
more tickets. Let L be the number of lottery tickets John will buy, then find
E(L).

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TRANSFORMING RANDOM VARIABLES

1. We use the formula

∘ 9∘
F= C + 32
5

to convert from Celsius to Fahrenheit. August is the hottest month in

Hawaii with a mean temperature of 27∘C. What is the mean temperature in
Hawaii in ∘F.

2. Let Z be a random variable with σZ2 = 49. Let W = (1/2)Z − 10. Find σW.

3. The students in each 8th period classroom were asked to donate

money for a school fundraiser, and the class that raised the most money
was awarded a pizza party. The school secretary recorded the amount
raised by each class and made a five-number summary for the data.

Min Q1 Median Q3 Max

4.50 15.25 22.00 38.75 95.50

If a donor commits to matching equally the students’ donations, create a

new five-number summary of the total amount raised, including the
donor’s contribution.

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 4. The number of items sold at a concession stand is normally
distributed with μ = 323 and σ = 30. The average price per item sold is $1.25.
Different student clubs volunteer to work the concession stand throughout
the year and get to keep half of their sales to go towards their club’s
activities. What is the probability that a club will get to keep more than
$220 in sales?

5. The average length of a full-term new born baby is 20 inches with

variance 0.81 inches. What are the mean and standard deviation of the
length of a full-term new born, expressed in centimeters? Use
1 in = 2.54 cm.

6. The weights of full-term new born babies are normally distributed with
μ = 120 ounces and σ = 20 ounces. Describe the shape, center, and spread
for the weights of full-term new born babies as measured in pounds. Use
1 pound = 16 ounces.

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COMBINATIONS OF RANDOM VARIABLES

1. X and Y are independent random variables with E(X ) = 48, E(Y ) = 54,
SD(X ) = 3 and SD(Y ) = 5. Find E(X − Y ) and SD(X − Y ).

2. A and B are independent random variables with E(A) = 6.5, E(B) = 4.4,
SD(A) = 1.6, and SD(B) = 2.1. Find E(4A + 2B) and SD(4A + 2B).

3. The time it takes students to complete multiple choice questions on an

AP Statistics Exam has a mean of 55 seconds with a standard deviation of
12 seconds. If the exam consists of 40 multiple choice questions, find the
mean total time to finish the exam. Then find the standard deviation in the
total time. What assumption must be made?

4. Let M represent the height of a male over 21 years of age and let W
represent the height of a female over 21 years of age. Let D represent the
difference between their heights (D = M − W). Let E(M ) = 70 inches, σM = 2.8
inches, E(W ) = 64.5 inches and σW = 2.4 inches.

What is the mean and standard deviation of the difference between the
two heights?

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 5. The Ironman is a challenge in which a competitor swims 2.4 miles,
then bikes 112 miles, and finally runs 26.2 miles. Suppose the times for each
of the legs are normally distributed with the given means and standard
deviations.

Swim: μS = 76 minutes and σS = 18 minutes

Bike: μB = 385 minutes and σB = 32 minutes

Run: μR = 294 minutes and σR = 25 minutes

What percent of the competitors finish the Ironman in under 710 minutes?

6. We buy a scratch-off lottery ticket for $1 at the local gas station. If we

get three hearts in a row on the scratch-off, the state will pay us $500. Let
X be the amount the state pays us and let X have the following probability
distribution.

X $0 $500

P(X) 0.999 0.001

Suppose we buy one of these scratch-off tickets every day for a week (7
days). Find the expected value and standard deviation of our total
winnings.

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PERMUTATIONS AND COMBINATIONS

1. Calculate the binomial coefficient.

(7)
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2. Calculate 10 P3.

3. How much greater is 5P2 than 5C2?

4. The high school girls’ basketball team has 8 players, 5 of whom are
seniors. They need to figure out which senior will be captain and which
senior will be co-captain. To make it fair, they choose two players out of a
hat. The first drawn will be captain and the second will be co-captain. How
many different captain/co-captain pairs are possible?

5. How many different ways can the letters in the word “SUCCESS” be
rearranged?

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 6. Mrs. B’s kindergarten class has 14 students and Mr. G’s kindergarten
class has 16 students. Three students will be selected at random from each
of these classrooms to ride on a float in the school parade coming up next
week. How many different groups of 6 can be chosen to ride the float?

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BINOMIAL RANDOM VARIABLES

1. We toss a fair coin 15 times and record the number of tails. Is this
experiment modeled by a binomial random variable? If it isn’t, explain why.
If it is, determine its parameters n and p and express the binomial random
variable as X ∼ B(n, p).

2. We randomly select students from our school until we find a student

in the school band. Assume there are 900 students in the school and 80
participate in the school band. Is this experiment modeled by a binomial
random variable? If it isn’t, explain why. If it is, determine its parameters n
and p and express the binomial random variable as X ∼ B(n, p).

3. Let X ∼ B(n, p) be a binomial random variable with n = 12 and p = 0.08.

Find P(X = 4).

4. Let Y be the number of times we roll a 1 on a fair 6-sided die if we do

10 trials. Fill in the following probability distribution for Y, rounding each
probability to 4 decimal places.

Y 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

P(Y)

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 5. For each binomial random variable, determine whether the shape of
the probability distribution will be skewed right, skewed left, or
symmetrical.

1. X ∼ B(n, p) with n = 10 and p = 0.15

2. Y ∼ B(n, p) with n = 10 and p = 0.75

3. Z ∼ B(n, p) with n = 10 and p = 0.50

6. Suppose an environmental biologist is studying juvenile sunfish

mortality. He finds that only 30 % of juvenile sunfish survive in a certain
lake. Out of 8 randomly selected juvenile sunfish, what is the probability
that exactly 3 will survive?

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POISSON DISTRIBUTIONS

1. A student is able to solve 10 practice problems per hour, on average.

Find the probability that she can solve 12 in the next hour.

2. A student is able to solve 6 practice problems per hour, on average.

Find the probability that she can solve at least 4 in the next hour.

3. A student is able to solve 5 practice problems per hour, on average.

Find the probability that she solves at most 3 in the next hour.

4. A baker is able to bake 50 loaves of bread per day, on average. Find

the probability that he can bake 60 on Friday.

5. A baker is able to bake 10 cakes per hour, on average. Find the

probability that he can bake more than 5 in the next hour.

6. A baker is able to frost 2 cakes per hour, on average. Find the

probability that he frosts fewer than 5 cakes in the next hour.

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“AT LEAST” AND “AT MOST,” AND MEAN, VARIANCE, AND STANDARD
DEVIATION

1. Assume X is a binomial random variable. Let X ∼ B(n, p) with n = 15 and

p = 0.45. Find P(X > 7).

2. According to a 2017-2018 survey, 68 % of U.S. households own a pet.

Suppose we select 12 households at random. What is the probability that
fewer than 8 of them own a pet?

3. According to a 2017-2018 survey, 68 % of U.S. households own a pet.

Suppose 200 households are selected at random. Find the expected value
and standard deviation for the number of households that own a pet.

4. 3 % of runners in the Boston Marathon do not finish. Suppose we

select a SRS of 140 Boston Marathon runners. How many do we expect to
finish the race?

5. We roll a fair die 6 times. What is the probability we’ll observe an even
number in at most 3 of the rolls?

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 6. We roll two fair 6-sided die 10 times and observe the sum. What is the
probability of rolling a sum of 7 on at least six of the rolls?

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BERNOULLI RANDOM VARIABLES

1. A game at the local county fair involves spinning a circular spinner

that’s divided into 8 congruent sections, only two of which are “winners.”
We buy 5 spins for $3.00. If we land on “winner” on any of our 5 spins, we
get to choose a stuffed animal. Is this an example of Bernoulli trials?

2. A game at the local county fair involves spinning a circular spinner

that’s divided into 8 congruent sections, only two of which are “winners.”
We buy 5 spins for $3.00. If we land on “winner” on any of our 5 spins, we
get to choose a stuffed animal. Find the mean and standard deviation for
each trial.

3. A game at the local county fair involves spinning a circular spinner

that’s divided into 8 congruent sections, only two of which are “winners.”
We buy 5 spins for $3.00. If we land on “winner” on any of our 5 spins, we
get to choose a stuffed animal. Find the mean and standard deviation for
the number of winners expected in a set of 5 spins.

4. A game at the local county fair involves spinning a circular spinner

that’s divided into 8 congruent sections, only two of which are “winners.”
We buy 5 spins for $3.00. If we land on “winner” on any of our 5 spins, we

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get to choose a stuffed animal. Find the probability of observing no
winners in a set of 5 spins.

5. A game at the local county fair involves spinning a circular spinner

that’s divided into 8 congruent sections, only two of which are “winners.”
We buy 5 spins for $3.00. If we land on “winner” on any of our 5 spins, we
get to choose a stuffed animal. What is the probability of observing at
least 1 winner in a set of 5 spins?

6. Our goal is to learn about the percentage of students with high ACT
scores. We randomly select high school seniors and record their highest
ACT score. Explain why these aren’t Bernoulli trials. Then design a way to
conduct the experiment differently so that they can be considered
Bernoulli trials.

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GEOMETRIC RANDOM VARIABLES

1. We toss a coin until we get “tails.” Does this experiment represent a

geometric random variable? If it doesn’t, explain why. If it does, determine
its parameter p and express the variable as X ∼ Geom(p).

2. We randomly select students from our school until we find a student

in the school band. Assume there are 900 students in the school and 80
participate in the school band. Does this experiment represent a
geometric random variable? If it doesn’t, explain why. If it does, determine
its parameter p and express the variable as X ∼ Geom(p).

3. Let X ∼ Geom(p) with p = 0.25. Find P(X = 5).

4. Suppose we roll a 6-sided fair die until we observe a 2. What is the

probability that a 2 will be observed within the first 5 trials?

5. Suppose we roll a 6-sided fair die until we observe a 2. What is the

probability that a 2 won’t be observed until at least the 6th trial?

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 6. According to a 2017-2018 survey, 68 % of U.S. households own a pet.
Suppose we start randomly surveying households and asking whether
they are pet owners. How many do we expect we will need to survey to
find our first household that owns a pet?

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