STA112, STA114 Practice Exercises Chapter 4

Probability Concepts

1) An approach of assigning probabilities which assumes that all outcomes of the

experiment are equally likely is referred to as the:
a. subjective approach
b. objective approach
c. classical approach
d. relative frequency approach
ANS: C
2) If you roll a balanced die 50 times, you should expect an even number to appear:
a. on every other roll.
b. exactly 50 times out of 100 rolls.
c. 25 times on average, over the long term.
d. All of these choices are true.
ANS: D
3) Which of the following is a requirement of the probabilities assigned to outcome Oi?
a P(Oi)  0 for each i
b. P (Oi)  1 for each i
c. 0  P (Oi)  1 for each i
d. P (Oi) = 1 for each i
ANS: C
4) Of the last 500 customers entering a supermarket, 50 have purchased a wireless phone.
If the relative frequency approach for assigning probabilities is used, the probability that
the next customer will purchase a wireless phone is
a. 0.10
b. 0.90
c. 0.50
d. None of these choices.
ANS: A
5) If two events are mutually exclusive, what is the probability that both occur at the same
time?
a. 0.00
b. 0.50
c. 1.00
d. Cannot be determined from the information given.
ANS: A

1
 6) If the two events are mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive, what is the
probability that one or the other occurs?
a. 0.00
b. 0.50
c. 1.00
d. Cannot be determined from the information given.
ANS: C
7) The collection of all possible events is called
a. an outcome
b. a sample space
c. an event
d. None of these choices.
ANS: B
TRUE/FALSE

8) The relative frequency approach to probability uses long term frequencies, often based
on past data.
ANS: T
9) You think you have a 90% chance of passing your next advanced financial accounting
exam. This is an example of subjective approach to probability.
ANS: T
10) If events A and B cannot occur at the same time, they are called mutually exclusive.
ANS: T
11) If either event A or event B must occur, then A and B are mutually exclusive and
collectively exhaustive events.
ANS: T
12) If P(A) = 0.4 and P(B) = 0.6, then A and B must be mutually exclusive.
ANS: F

2
SHORT ANSWER

13) Abby, Bianca, and Cameron, three candidates for the presidency of a college's student
body, are to address a student forum. The forum's organizer is to select the order in
which the candidates will give their speeches, and must do so in such a way that each
possible order is equally likely to be selected.

a. What is the random experiment?

b. List the outcomes in the sample space.
c. Assign probabilities to the outcomes.
d. What is the probability that Cameron will speak first?
e. What is the probability that Abby will speak before Cameron does?

ANS:

a. The random experiment is to observe the order in which the three candidates give
their speeches.
b. S = {ABC, ACB, BAC, BCA, CAB, CBA}, where A = Abby, B = Bianca, and C = Cameron.
c. The probability assigned to each outcome is 1/6.
d. P(CAB, CBA) = 1/3
e. P(ABC, ACB, BAC) = ½

14) Sales records of an appliance store showed the following number of dishwashers sold weekly for
each of the last 50 weeks.

Number of Number of Weeks

Dishwashers Sold

0 20

1 15

2 10

3 4

4 1

a) Define the random experiment of interest to the store.

ANS: The random experiment consists of observing the number of dishwashers sold in
any given week.
b) List the outcomes in the sample space.
ANS: S = {0, 1, 2, 3, 4}
c) What approach would you use in determining the probabilities for next week's sales?
Assign probabilities to the outcomes.
ANS: The relative frequency approach was use (i.e. empirical probability)

3
 Number of Prob.
Dishwashers
0 0.40
1 0.30
2 0.20
3 0.08
4 0.02

d) What is the probability of selling at least two dishwashers in any given week?
ANS: P{2, 3, 4} = 0.30
e) What is the probability of selling between 1 and 3 (inclusive) dishwashers in any given
week?
ANS: P{1, 2, 3} = 0.58

15) If the outcome of event A is not affected by event B, then events A and B are said to be
a. mutually exclusive
b. independent
c. collectively exhaustive
d. None of these choices.
ANS: B

16) If two events are independent, what is the probability that they both occur?
a. 0
b. 0.50
c. 1.00
d. Cannot be determined from the information given
ANS: D
17) If P(A) = 0.65, P(B) = 0.58, and P(A and B) = 0.76, then P(A or B) is:
a. 1.23
b. 0.47
c. 0.18
d. 0.11
ANS: B
18) If P(A) = 0.35, P(B) = 0.45, and P(A and B) = 0.25, then P(A|B) is:
a. 1.4
b. 1.8
c. 0.714
d. 0.556
ANS: D

4
 19) If A and B are independent events with P(A) = 0.20 and P(B) = 0.60, then P(A|B) is:
a. 0.20
b. 0.60
c. 0.40
d. 0.80
ANS: A
TRUE/FALSE
20) Two or more events are said to be independent when the occurrence of one event has
no effect on the probability that another will occur.
ANS: T
21) The union of events A and B is the event that occurs when either A or B or both occur. It
is denoted as 'A or B'.
ANS: T
22) The conditional probability of event B given event A is denoted by P(A|B).
ANS: F
23) If P(A) = .30, P(B) = .60, and P(A and B) = .20, then P(A|B) = .40.
ANS: F
24) The probability of the intersection is called a joint probability.
ANS: T
25) Two events A and B are independent if P(A and B) = 0.
ANS: F
SHORT ANSWER

26) Suppose 30% of business majors major in accounting. You take a random sample of 3
business majors.
a) What is the chance that they all major in accounting?
ANS: 0.027
b) What is the chance that at least one majors in accounting?
ANS: 0.657
c) What is the chance that exactly one majors in accounting?
ANS: 0.441
d) What is the chance that none of them major in accounting?
ANS: 0.343

5
27) A statistics professor classifies his students according to their grade point average (GPA)
and their class rank. GPA is on a 0.0-4.0 scale, and class rank is defined as the under
class (freshmen and sophomores) and the upper class (juniors and seniors). One student
is selected at random.
GPA
Class Under 2.0 2.0 - 3.0 Over 3.0
Under 0.05 0.25 0.10
Upper 0.10 0.30 0.20

a) If the student selected is in the upper class, what is the probability that her GPA is
between 2.0 and 3.0? ANS: 0.50
b) If the GPA of the student selected is over 3.0, what is the probability that the student is
in the lower class? ANS: 0.333
c) What is the probability that the student is in the upper class? ANS: 0.60
d) What is the probability that the student has GPA over 3.0? ANS: 0.30
e) What is the probability that the student is in the lower class? ANS: 0.40
f) What is the probability that the student is in the lower class and has GPA over 3.0?
ANS:0.10
g) What is the probability that the student is in the upper class and has GPA under 2.0?
ANS: 0.10
h) Are being in the upper class and having a GPA over 3.0 related? Explain.
ANS:
Yes, since the product of the probabilities of the two events is not equal to the joint
probability.
28) An insurance company has collected the following data on the gender and marital status
of 300 customers.
Marital Status

Gender Single Married Divorced

Male 25 125 30

Female 50 50 20

Suppose that a customer is selected at random.

a) Develop the joint probability table.
ANS:

Gender Single Married Divorced

Male .083 .417 .100

Female .167 .167 .067

6
b) Find the probability that the customer selected is a married female.
ANS: 0.167
c) Find the probability that the customer selected is
i. female and single
ii. married if the customer is male.
iii. not single
ANS:
i. 0.167
ii. 0.695
iii. 0.750
29) If P(A) = 0.84, P(B) = 0.76, and P(A or B) = 0.90, then P(A and B) is:
a. 0.06
b. 0.14
c. 0.70
d. 0.83
ANS: C
30) If P(A) = 0.65, P(B) = 0.58, and P(A and B) = 0.76, then P(A or B) is:
a. 1.23
b. 0.47
c. 0.24
d. None of these choices.
ANS: B
31) If the events A and B are independent with P(A) = 0.30 and P(B) = 0.40, then the
probability that both events will occur simultaneously is:
a. 0
b. 0.12
c. 0.70
d. Not enough information to tell.
ANS: B
32) Two events A and B are said to be mutually exclusive if:
a. P(A|B) = 1
b. P(A|B) = P(A)
c. P(A and B) =1
d. P(A and B) = 0
ANS: D

7
33) If A and B are mutually exclusive events, with P(A) = 0.20 and P(B) = 0.30, then the
probability that both events will occur simultaneously is:
a. 0.50
b. 0.06
c. 0
d. None of these choices.
ANS: C
34) If A and B are mutually exclusive events with P(A) = 0.30 and P(B) = 0.40, then P(A or B)
is:
a. 0.10
b. 0.12
c. 0.70
d. None of these choices
ANS: C
35) If A and B are any two events with P(A) = .8 and P(B|Ac) = .7, then P(Ac and B) is
a. 0.56
b. 0.14
c. 1.50
d. None of these choices.
ANS: B

TRUE/FALSE

36) Assume that A and B are independent events with P(A) = 0.30 and P(B) = 0.50. The
probability that both events will occur simultaneously is 0.80.
ANS: F

37) Two events A and B are said to be independent if P(A|B) = P(B).

ANS: F
38) Two events A and B are said to be mutually exclusive if P(A and B) = 1.0.
ANS: F
39) The probability of the union of two mutually exclusive events A and B is 0.
ANS: F
40) Jim and John go to a coffee shop during their lunch break and toss a balanced coin to
see who will pay. The probability that John will pay three days in a row is 0.125.
ANS: T
41) If P(B) = .7 and P(B|A) = .4, then P(A and B) must be .28.
ANS: F

8
SHORT ANSWER

42) Suppose A and B are two independent events for which P(A) = 0.20 and P(B) = 0.60.

a. Find P(A and B).

b. Find P(A or B).
ANS:
a. 0.12
b. 0.68

43) A person can order a new car with a choice of 7 possible colors, with or without air
conditioning, with or without heated seats, with or without anti-lock brakes, with or
without power windows, and with or without a CD player. In how many different ways
can a new car be ordered in terms of these options?
A) 112 B) 224 C) 448 D) 14

44) There are 5 performers who are to present their acts at a variety show. How
many different ways are there to schedule their appearances?
A) 20 B) 5 C) 25 D) 120
45) License plates in a particular state display 3 letters followed by 4 numbers. How
many different license plates can be manufactured? (Repetitions are allowed.)
A) 175,760,000 B) 12 C) 36 D) 260
46) The following Venn diagram is for the six sample points possible when rolling a
fair die. Let A be the event rolling an even number and let B be the event rolling
a number greater than 1. Which of the following events describes the event
rolling a 1?

ANS: BC

9
47) Find the probability that of 25 randomly selected students, at least two share the
same birthday. Round to the nearest thousandth.
ANS:
P (A) = { no two persons have same birthday}
P (AC) = { at least two share the same birthday}
365 days in a year
n(S) = 36525
n(A) = 365, 364, 363,…….

P (A) = 365 P 25 / 36525

P (AC) = 1 ̶ {365 P 25 / 36525}

48) License plates in a particular state display 3 letters followed by 4 numbers. How
many different license plates can be manufactured? (Repetitions are allowed.)
ANS: 175,760,000

49) ) How many different four-letter secret codes can be formed if the first letter must
be an S or a T?
ANS: 35,152
50) A person can order a new car with a choice of 7 possible colors, with or without
air conditioning, with or without heated seats, with or without anti-lock brakes,
with or without power windows, and with or without a CD player. In how many
different ways can a new car be ordered in terms of these options?
ANS: 224

51) A medical salesperson is to visit the various members of the staff at a clinic. He
must see 8 doctors, 6 physicians assistants, 12 nurses, 3 medical technologists,
and 3 receptionists. How many different ways can these people be visited by the
salesperson if the order is not important?
ANS: 5184

52) In a contest in which 9 contestants are entered, in how many ways can the 5
distinct prizes be awarded?
ANS: 15,120

10
53) How many arrangements can be made using 2 letters of the word HYPERBOLAS
if no letter is to be used more than once?
ANS: 90
54) In how many ways can a committee of three men and four women be formed
from a group of 9 men and 9 women?
ANS: 10,584

55) A professor wants to arrange his books on a shelf. He has 30 books and only
space on the shelf for 20 of them. How many different 20-book arrangements can
he make using the 30 books? This is an example of a problem that can be solved
using which method?
A) Permutations B) Combinations

C) Conditional probability D) Randomness

56) Professor Alle Whet teaches French and has a class of 24 students. Part of his
grading system includes an observation of groups of 3 students engaged in a
conversation in French. This is an example of a problem that can be solved using
which method?
A) Combinations B) Permutations
C) Conditional probability D) Randomness
57) A committee consisting of 6 people is to be selected from eight parents and four
teachers. Find the probability of selecting three parents and three teachers.
ANS: 8/33
58) A group consists of 6 men and 5 women. Five people are selected to attend a
conference. In how many ways can 5 people be selected from this group of 11? In
how many ways can 5 men be selected from the 6 men? Find the probability that
the selected group will consist of all men.
ANS: 462; 6; 1/77
59) A box contains 23 widgets, 4 of which are defective. If 4 are sold at random, find
the probability that (a) all are defective (b) none are defective.
ANS: 1/8855; 3876/8855

11
 60) An insurance company has collected the following data on the gender and marital status of 300
customers.
Marital Status
Gender Single Married Divorced
Male 25 125 30
Female 50 50 20

Suppose that a customer is selected at random.

a) Find the probability that the customer selected is female or divorce.
ANS: 0.50

b) Are gender and marital status mutually exclusive? Explain using probabilities.
ANS: No, since P(female and married) = 0.167 ˃ 0. (Any other combination shows
this also)

c) Is marital status independent of gender? Explain using probabilities.

ANS: since P(married given male) = 0.694  P(married) = 0.583. (Any other combination shows
this also.)

12