CHAPTER FIVE

Discrete Distributions

125
 Discrete Distributions
C 1. Variables which take on values only at certain points over a
given interval are called _______.

E A. point variables
Term B. continuous random variables
C. discrete random variables
D. value variables

B 2. A variable that can take on values at any point over a given

interval is called _______.

E A. a point variable
Term B. a continuous random variable
C. a discrete random variable
D. a value variable

83
126 Test Bank
A 3. The number of automobiles sold by a dealership in a day is an
example of _______.

E A. a discrete random variable

Term B. a continuous random variable
C. the binomial distribution
D. the normal distribution

D 4. The amount of time a patient waits in a doctor's office is an

example of _________.

E A. the normal distribution

Term B. the binomial distribution
C. a discrete random variable
D. a continuous random variable

B 5. The volume of liquid in an unopened 12-ounce bottle of beer is

an example of _________.

E A. a discrete random variable

Term B. a continuous random variable
C. the binomial distribution
D. the normal distribution

C 6. The volume of liquid in an unopened 1-gallon can of paint is an

example of _________.

E A. the binomial distribution

Term B. the normal distribution
C. a continuous random variable
D. a discrete random variable

A 7. The number of defective parts in a lot of 25 parts is an example

of _______.

E A. a discrete random variable

Term B. a continuous random variable
C. the Poisson distribution
D. the normal distribution
 Chapter 5:  Discrete Distributions 127
B 8. You are offered an investment opportunity. Its outcomes and
probabilities are presented in the following table.
X P( X )
-$1,000 .40
$0 .20
+$1,000 .40
The mean of this distribution is _____________.

E A. -$400
BCalc B. $0
C. $200
D. $400

D 9. You are offered an investment opportunity. Its outcomes and

probabilities are presented in the following table.
X P( X )
-$1,000 .40
$0 .20
+$1,000 .40
The standard deviation of this distribution is _____________.

M A. -$400
BCalc B. $663
C. $800,000
D. $894

C 10. You are offered an investment opportunity. Its outcomes and

probabilities are presented in the following table.
X P( X )
-$1,000 .40
$0 .20
+$1,000 .40
Which of the following statements is true?

E A. This distribution is skewed to the right.

BApp B. This is a binomial distribution.
C. This distribution is symmetric.
D. This distribution is skewed to the left.
128 Test Bank
C 11. You are offered an investment opportunity. Its outcomes and
probabilities are presented in the following table.
X P( X )
-$1,000 .10
$0 .20
+$1,000 .70
The mean of this distribution is _____________.

E A. -$100
BCalc B. $0
C. $600
D. $700

B 12. You are offered an investment opportunity. Its outcomes and

probabilities are presented in the following table.
X P( X )
-$1,000 .10
$0 .20
+$1,000 .70
The standard deviation of this distribution is _____________.

M A. -$400
BCalc B. $663
C. $800,000
D. $894

D 13. You are offered an investment opportunity. Its outcomes and

probabilities are presented in the following table.
X P( X )
-$1,000 .10
$0 .20
+$1,000 .70
Which of the following statements is true?

E A. This distribution is skewed to the right.

BApp B. This is a binomial distribution.
C. This distribution is symmetric.
D. This distribution is skewed to the left.

C 14. A market research team compiled the following discrete

probability distribution. In this distribution X represents the
number of automobiles owned by a family residing in Starr
County.
 Chapter 5:  Discrete Distributions 129
P(X)
0.10
0.10
0.50
0.30
The mean (average) value of X is _______________.

E A. 1.0
BCalc B. 1.5
C. 2.0
D. 2.5

B 15. A market research team compiled the following discrete

probability distribution. In this distribution X represents the
number of automobiles owned by a family residing in Starr
County.
P(X)
0.10
0.10
0.50
0.30
The standard deviation of X is _______________.

M A. 0.80
BCalc B. 0.89
C. 1.00
D. 2.00
130 Test Bank
D 16. A market research team compiled the following discrete
probability distribution. In this distribution X represents the
number of automobiles owned by a family residing in Starr
County.
P(X)
0.10
0.10
0.50
0.30
Which of the following statements is true?

E A. This distribution is skewed to the right.

BApp B. This is a binomial distribution.
C. This is a normal distribution.
D. This distribution is skewed to the left.

A 17. A market research team compiled the following discrete

probability distribution for families residing in Randolph County.
In this distribution X represents the number of evenings the
family dines outside their home during a week.
P(X)
0.30
0.50
0.10
0.10
The mean (average) value of X is _______________.

E A. 1.0
BCalc B. 1.5
C. 2.0
D. 2.5
 Chapter 5:  Discrete Distributions 131
D 18. A market research team compiled the following discrete
probability distribution for families residing in Randolph County.
In this distribution X represents the number of evenings the
family dines outside their home during a week.
P(X)
0.30
0.50
0.10
0.10
The standard deviation of X is _______________.

M A. 1.00
BCalc B. 2.00
C. 0.80
D. 0.89

A 19. A market research team compiled the following discrete

probability distribution for families residing in Randolph County.
In this distribution X represents the number of evenings the
family dines outside their home during a week.
P(X)
0.30
0.50
0.10
0.10
Which of the following statements is true?

E A. This distribution is skewed to the right.

BApp B. This distribution is skewed to the left.
C. This is a binomial distribution.
D. This is a normal distribution.
132 Test Bank
D 20. The sales manager at Moss Point Metropolitan Motors compiled
the following discrete probability distribution. In this distribution
X represents the number of cars sold per day at her dealership.
P(X)
0.25
0.50
0.25
The mean (average) value of X is ______________.

E A. 0.5
BCalc B. 0
C. 1.5
D. 1.0

A 21. The sales manager at Moss Point Metropolitan Motors compiled

the following discrete probability distribution. In this distribution
X represents the number of cars sold per day at her dealership.
P(X)
0.25
0.50
0.25
The standard deviation of X is ______________.

M A. 0.71
BCalc B. 0.50
C. 3.0
D. 1.0

C 22. The sales manager at Moss Point Metropolitan Motors compiled

the following discrete probability distribution. In this distribution
X represents the number of cars sold per day at her dealership.
P(X)
0.25
0.50
0.25
Which of the following statements is true?

E A. This distribution is skewed to the right.

BApp B. This distribution is skewed to the left.
C. This distribution is symmetric.
D. This is a normal distribution.

C 23. A Bernoulli process has exactly __________ possible outcomes.

 Chapter 5:  Discrete Distributions 133
E A. 8
Term B. 4
C. 2
D. 1

D 24. If X is the number of successes in an independent series of 10

Bernoulli trials, then X has a ______________ distribution.

M A. hypergeometric
Term B. Poisson
C. normal
D. binomial

A 25. If X has a binomial distribution with p < .5, then the distribution
of X is ________.

E A. skewed to the right.

Term B. skewed to the left.
C. symmetric.
D. a normal distribution.

C 26. If X has a binomial distribution with p = .5, then the distribution

of X is ________.

E A. skewed to the right.

Term B. skewed to the left.
C. symmetric.
D. a normal distribution.

B 27. If X has a binomial distribution with p > .5, then the distribution
of X is ________.

E A. skewed to the right.

Term B. skewed to the left.
C. symmetric.
D. a normal distribution.
134 Test Bank
A 28. The following graph is a binomial distribution with n = 6.

0.6000
0.5000
0.4000
0.3000
0.2000
0.1000
0.0000
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
X

This graph reveals that ____________.

M A. p > 0.5
App B. p = 1.0
C. p=0
D. p < 0.5

D 29. The following graph is a binomial distribution with n = 6.

0.6000
0.5000
0.4000
0.3000
0.2000
0.1000
0.0000
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
X

This graph reveals that ____________.

M A. p > 0.5
App B. p = 1.0
C. p=0
D. p < 0.5

B 30. The following graph is a binomial distribution with n = 6.

0.3500
0.3000
0.2500
0.2000
0.1500
0.1000
0.0500
0.0000
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
X
 Chapter 5:  Discrete Distributions 135

This graph reveals that ____________.

M A. p = 0.5
App B. p = 1.0
C. p=0
D. p < 0.5

B 31. Binomial probabilities may be calculated in Excel worksheets by

using the _________ function.

M A. =binprobabilty()
Term B. =binomdist()
C. =binomprob()
D. =probbin()

A 32. Hypergeometric probabilities may be calculated in Excel

worksheets by using the _________ function.

M A. =hypergeomdist()
Term B. =hypergprobabilty()
C. =hypergeoprob()
D. =probhyper()

D 33. Poisson probabilities may be calculated in Excel worksheets by

using the _________ function.

M A. =poissondist()
Term B. =poissonprobabilty()
C. =poissonprob()
D. =poisson()

B 34. Twenty five items are sampled. Each of these has the same
probability of being defective. The probability that exactly 2 of
the 25 are defective could best be found by _______.
136 Test Bank
E A. using the normal distribution
App B. using the binomial distribution
C. using the Poisson distribution
D. using the exponential distribution

A 35. A fair coin is tossed 5 times. What is the probability that exactly
2 heads are observed?

E A. 0.313
Calc B. 0.073
C. 0.400
D. 0.156

C 36. A student randomly guesses the answers to a five question

true/false test. If there is a 50% chance of guessing correctly on
each question, what is the probability that the student misses
exactly 1 question?

M A. 0.200
Calc B. 0.031
C. 0.156
D. 0.073

D 37. A student randomly guesses the answers to a five question

true/false test. If there is a 50% chance of guessing correctly on
each question, what is the probability that the student misses no
questions?

M A. 0.000
Calc B. 0.200
C. 0.500
D. 0.031
 Chapter 5:  Discrete Distributions 137
B 38. Pinky Bauer, Chief Financial Officer of Harrison Haulers, Inc.,
suspects irregularities in the payroll system, and orders an
inspection of a random sample of vouchers issued since January
1, 1993. A sample of ten vouchers is randomly selected, without
replacement, from the population of 2,000 vouchers. Each
voucher in the sample is examined for errors; and X is the
number of sample vouchers with errors. If 20% of the
population of vouchers contain errors, P(X=0) is _______________.

E A. 0.8171
BCalc B. 0.1074
C. 0.8926
D. 0.3020

C 39. Pinky Bauer, Chief Financial Officer of Harrison Haulers, Inc.,

suspects irregularities in the payroll system, and orders an
inspection of a random sample of vouchers issued since January
1, 1993. A sample of ten vouchers is randomly selected, without
replacement, from the population of 2,000 vouchers. Each
voucher in the sample is examined for errors; and X is the
number of sample vouchers with errors. If 20% of the
population of vouchers contain errors, P(X>0) is _______________.

M A. 0.8171
BCalc B. 0.1074
C. 0.8926
D. 0.3020

B 40. Pinky Bauer, Chief Financial Officer of Harrison Haulers, Inc.,

suspects irregularities in the payroll system, and orders an
inspection of a random sample of vouchers issued since January
1, 1993. A sample of ten vouchers is randomly selected, without
replacement, from the population of 2,000 vouchers. Each
voucher in the sample is examined for errors; and X is the
number of sample vouchers with errors. If 20% of the
population of vouchers contain errors, the mean value of X is
_______________.

M A. 400
BCalc B. 2
C. 200
D. 5
138 Test Bank
A 41. Pinky Bauer, Chief Financial Officer of Harrison Haulers, Inc.,
suspects irregularities in the payroll system, and orders an
inspection of a random sample of vouchers issued since January
1, 1993. A sample of ten vouchers is randomly selected, without
replacement, from the population of 2,000 vouchers. Each
voucher in the sample is examined for errors; and X is the
number of sample vouchers with errors. If 20% of the
population of vouchers contain errors, the standard deviation of
X is __________.

M A. 1.26
BCalc B. 1.60
C. 14.14
D. 3.16

C 42. Dorothy Little purchased a mailing list of 2,000 names and

addresses for her mail order business, but after scanning the list
she doubts the authenticity of the list. She randomly selects five
names from the list for validation. If 40% of the names on the
list are not authentic, and X is the number of non-authentic
names in her sample, P(X=0) is ______________.

E A. 0.8154
BCalc B. 0.0467
C. 0.0778
D. 0.4000

A 43. Dorothy Little purchased a mailing list of 2,000 names and

addresses for her mail order business, but after scanning the list
she doubts the authenticity of the list. She randomly selects five
names from the list for validation. If 40% of the names on the
list are not authentic, and X is the number of non-authentic
names in her sample, P(X<2) is ______________.

M A. 0.4370
BCalc B. 0.9853
C. 0.9785
D. 0.2333
 Chapter 5:  Discrete Distributions 139
D 44. Dorothy Little purchased a mailing list of 2,000 names and
addresses for her mail order business, but after scanning the list
she doubts the authenticity of the list. She randomly selects five
names from the list for validation. If 40% of the names on the
list are not authentic, and X is the number of non-authentic
names in her sample, P(X>0) is ______________.

M A. 0.2172
BCalc B. 0.9533
C. 0.1846
D. 0.9222

B 45. Dorothy Little purchased a mailing list of 2,000 names and

addresses for her mail order business, but after scanning the list
she doubts the authenticity of the list. She randomly selects five
names from the list for validation. If 40% of the names on the
list are not authentic, and X is the number on non-authentic
names in her sample, the expected (average) value of X is
______________.

M A. 2.50
BCalc B. 2.00
C. 1.50
D. 1.25

B 46. If X is a binomial random variable with n=8 and p=0.6, the

mean value of X is _____.

M A. 6
Calc B. 4.8
C. 3.2
D. 8

D 47. If X is a binomial random variable with n=8 and p=0.6, the

standard deviation of X is _________.

M A. 4.8
Calc B. 3.2
C. 1.92
D. 1.39
140 Test Bank
C 48. If X is a binomial random variable with n=10 and p=0.4, the
mean of X is _________.

M A. 6
Calc B. 10
C. 4
D. 2.4

B 49. If X is a binomial random variable with n=8 and p=0.2, the

variance of X is ________.

M A. 1.6
Calc B. 1.28
C. 4
D. 0.96

D 50. If X is a binomial random variable with n=8 and p=0.6, what is

the probability that X is equal to 4?

E A. 0.500
Calc B. 0.005
C. 0.124
D. 0.232

B 51. If X is a binomial random with n=8 and p=0.6, what is the

probability that X is equal to 5?

E A. 0.625
Calc B. 0.279
C. 0.209
D. 0.300

A 52. If X is a binomial random with n=8 and p=0.6, what is the

probability that X is less than or equal to 2?

M A. 0.050
Calc B. 0.009
C. 0.041
D. 0.375
 Chapter 5:  Discrete Distributions 141
C 53. If X is a binomial random with n=8 and p=0.6, what is the
probability that X is greater than 2?

M A. 0.124
Calc B. 0.991
C. 0.950
D. 0.011

B 54. If X is a binomial random with n=10 and p=0.4, what is the

probability that X is greater than 2?

M A. 0.167
Calc B. 0.833
C. 0.215
D. 0.800

A 55. If X is a binomial random with n=10 and p=0.4, what is the

probability that X is equal to 3?

E A. 0.215
Calc B. 0.057
C. 0.300
D. 0.120
B 56. If X is a binomial random with n=10 and p=0.4, what is the
probability that X is less than 2?

M A. 0.167
Calc B. 0.046
C. 0.040
D. 0.006

B 57. The Poisson distribution focuses on the number of discrete

occurrences _______.

M A. in "n" trials
Term B. over some interval or continuum
C. in "n" trials where sampling is done without replacement
D. in a Bernoulli trial
142 Test Bank
C 58. The long-run average or mean of a Poisson distribution is usually
referred to as _______.

M A. 
Term B. 
C. 
D. 

A 59. The variance of a Poisson distribution is equal to _______.

M A. 
Term B. /2
C. 2
D. 

D 60. If lambda is 3 occurrences per five minute time interval, the

probability of getting 5 occurrences over a five minute interval is
_______.

M A. 0.0940
Calc B. 0.0417
C. 0.1500
D. 0.1008

C 61. If lambda () is 3 occurrences per five minute time interval, the
probability of getting 2 occurrences over a five minute interval is
_______.

M A. 0.2700
Calc B. 0.0498
C. 0.2240
D. 0.0001
A 62. If lambda () is 4 occurrences per five minute time interval, the
probability of getting 3 occurrences over a five minute interval is
_______.

M A. 0.1954
Calc B. 0.0183
C. 0.2237
D. 0.1680
 Chapter 5:  Discrete Distributions 143
C 63. If lambda () is 5 occurrences per ten minute time interval, the
probability of getting 4 occurrences over a ten minute interval is
_______.

M A. 0.1093
Calc B. 0.0067
C. 0.1755
D. 0.8000

C 64. If lambda () is 5 occurrences per ten minute time interval, then
if we wished to analyze the number of occurrences per hour, we
would use an adjusted lambda of _______.

M A. 5
Calc B. 60
C. 30
D. 10

D 65. If lambda () is 3 occurrences per five minute time interval, then
if we wished to analyze the number of occurrences per hour, we
would use an adjusted lambda of _______.

M A. 60
Calc B. 12
C. 20
D. 36

D 66. On Saturdays, cars arrive at Sami Schmitt's Scrub and Shine Car
Wash at the rate of 6 cars per fifteen minute interval. Using the
Poisson distribution, the probability that five cars will arrive
during the next fifteen minute interval is _____________.

M A. 0.1008
BCalc B. 0.0361
C. 0.1339
D. 0.1606
144 Test Bank
B 67. On Saturdays, cars arrive at Sami Schmitt's Scrub and Shine Car
Wash at the rate of 6 cars per fifteen minute interval. Using the
Poisson distribution, the probability that five cars will arrive
during the next five minute interval is _____________.

H A. 0.1008
BCalc B. 0.0361
C. 0.1339
D. 0.1606
B 68. The hypergeometric distribution is similar to the binomial
distribution except that _______.

E A. sampling is done with replacement in the hypergeometric

Term B. sampling is done without replacement in the hypergeometric
C. X does not represent the number of successes in the
hypergeometric
D. there are more than two possible outcomes in the
hypergeometric

A 69. Suppose a committee of 3 people is to be selected from a group

consisting of 4 men and 5 women. What is the probability that
all three people selected are men?

M A. 0.05
Calc B. 0.33
C. 0.11
D. 0.80

D 70. Suppose a committee of 3 people is to be selected from a group

consisting of 4 men and 5 women. What is the probability that
one man and two women are selected?

M A. 0.15
Calc B. 0.06
C. 0.33
D. 0.48

C 71. Aluminum castings are processed in lots of five each. A sample

of two castings is randomly selected from each lot for inspection.
A particular lot contains one defective casting; and X is the
number of defective castings in the sample. P(X=0) is _______.

M A. 0.2
BCalc B. 0.4
C. 0.6
 Chapter 5:  Discrete Distributions 145
D. 0.8
146 Test Bank
B 72. Aluminum castings are processed in lots of five each. A sample
of two castings is randomly selected from each lot for inspection.
A particular lot contains one defective casting; and X is the
number of defective castings in the sample. P(X=1) is _______.

M A. 0.2
BCalc B. 0.4
C. 0.6
D. 0.8

A 73. Circuit boards for wireless telephones are etched, in an acid

bath, in batches of 100 boards. A sample of seven boards is
randomly selected from each lot for inspection. A particular
batch contains two defective boards; and X is the number of
defective boards in the sample. P(X=1) is _______.

M A. 0.1315
BCalc B. 0.8642
C. 0.0042
D. 0.6134

C 74. Circuit boards for wireless telephones are etched, in an acid

bath, in batches of 100 boards. A sample of seven boards is
randomly selected from each lot for inspection. A particular
batch contains two defective boards; and X is the number of
defective boards in the sample. P(X=2) is _______.

M A. 0.1315
BCalc B. 0.8642
C. 0.0042
D. 0.6134

B 75. Circuit boards for wireless telephones are etched, in an acid

bath, in batches of 100 boards. A sample of seven boards is
randomly selected from each lot for inspection. A particular
batch contains two defective boards; and X is the number of
defective boards in the sample. P(X=0) is _______.

M A. 0.1315
BCalc B. 0.8642
C. 0.0042
D. 0.6134
 Chapter 5:  Discrete Distributions 147
D 76. Ten policyholders file claims with CareFree Insurance. Three of
these claims are fraudulent. Claims manager Earl Evans
randomly selects three of the ten claims for thorough
investigation. If X represents the number of fraudulent claims in
Earl's sample, P(X=0) is _______________.

M A. 0.0083
BCalc B. 0.3430
C. 0.0000
D. 0.2917

A 77. Ten policyholders file claims with CareFree Insurance. Three of

these claims are fraudulent. Claims manager Earl Evans
randomly selects three of the ten claims for thorough
investigation. If X represents the number of fraudulent claims in
Earl's sample, P(X=1) is _______________.

M A. 0.5250
BCalc B. 0.4410
C. 0.3000
D. 0.6957

B 78. If sampling is performed without replacement, the

hypergeometric distribution should be used. However, the
binomial may be used to approximate this if _______.

E A. n > 5%N
Term B. n < 5%N
C. the population size is very small
D. there are more than two possible outcomes of each trial

D 79. One hundred policyholders file claims with CareFree Insurance.

Ten of these claims are fraudulent. Claims manager Earl Evans
randomly selects four of the ten claims for thorough
investigation. If X represents the number of fraudulent claims in
Earl's sample, X has a _______________ distribution.

M A. continuous
BApp B. normal
C. binomial
D. hypergeometric
148 Test Bank
B 80. One hundred policyholders file claims with CareFree Insurance.
Ten of these claims are fraudulent. Claims manager Earl Evans
randomly selects four of the ten claims for thorough
investigation. If X represents the number of fraudulent claims in
Earl's sample, X has a _______________.

H A. normal distribution
BApp B. hypergeometric distribution, but may be approximated by a
binomial
C. binomial distribution, but may be approximated by a normal
D. binomial distribution, but may be approximated by a Poisson

A 81. Using the Poisson tables, find P(X=2) if  =2.3.

E A. 0.2652
Calc B. 0.2700
C. 0.2306
D. 0.2033

D 82. Using the Poisson tables, find P(X=5) if  =2.6.

E A. 0.0804
Calc B. 0.0417
C. 0.1414
D. 0.0735

B 83. Using the Poisson tables, find P(X=5) if  =3.6.

E A. 0.1322
Calc B. 0.1377
C. 0.1912
D. 0.1075

C 84. Using the Poisson tables, find P(X=6) if  = 5.6.

E A. 0.1697
Calc B. 0.1490
C. 0.1584
D. 0.1267
 Chapter 5:  Discrete Distributions 149
A 85. Using the binomial tables, if n=20 and p=.4 find P(X=7).

E A. 0.166
Calc B. 0.180
C. 0.002
D. 0.074

A 86. Using the binomial tables, if n=25 and p=.3 find P(X=7).

E A. 0.171
Calc B. 0.080
C. 0.111
D. 0.024

C 87. Using the binomial tables, if n=15 and p=.8 find P(X=7).

E A. 0.001
Calc B. 0.000
C. 0.003
D. 0.014

B 88. In a binomial distribution, n=12 and p=0.3. What is "q"?

E A. 3.6
Calc B. 0.7
C. 0.3
D. 8.4

A 89. In a binomial distribution, n=10 and p=0.6. What is "q"?

E A. 0.4
Calc B. 0.7
C. 6
D. 4

C 90. In a binomial distribution, n=10 and p=0.6. What is the mean?

E A. 2.4
Calc B. 4
C. 6
D. 5
150 Test Bank
A 91. In a binomial distribution, n=10 and p=0.6. What is the
variance?

M A. 2.4
Calc B. 4
C. 6
D. 0.24

B 92. The Poisson distribution is being used to approximate a binomial

distribution. If n=40 and p=0.06, what value of lambda would
be used?

E A. 0.06
Calc B. 2.4
C. 0.24
D. 24

D 93. The Poisson distribution is being used to approximate a binomial

distribution. If n=60 and p=0.02, what value of lambda would
be used?

E A. 0.02
Calc B. 12
C. 0.12
D. 1.2

C 94. The number of phone calls arriving at a switchboard in a 10

minute time period would best be modeled with the _________.

M A. binomial distribution
BApp B. hypergeometric distribution
C. Poisson distribution
D. hyperbinomial distribution

A 95. The number of defects per 1,000 feet of extruded plastic pipe is
best modeled with the ________________.

M A. Poisson distribution
BApp B. Pascal distribution
C. binomial distribution
D. hypergeometric distribution
 Chapter 5:  Discrete Distributions 151
B 96. The number of defects per square inch of hard disk surface is
best modeled with the ________________.

M A. negative binomial distribution

BApp B. Poisson distribution
C. binomial distribution
D. hypergeometric distribution

B 97. The probability of selecting 2 male employees and 3 female

employees for promotions in a small company would best be
modeled with the _______.

M A. binomial distribution
BApp B. hypergeometric distribution
C. Poisson distribution
D. hyperbinomial distribution

B 98. The probability of selecting 3 defective items and 7 good items

from a warehouse containing 10 defective and 50 good items
would best be modeled with the _______.

M A. binomial distribution
BApp B. hypergeometric distribution
C. Poisson distribution
D. hyperbinomial distribution

A 99. The probability of a student randomly guessing the answers to

25 multiple choice questions is best modeled with the _______.

M A. binomial distribution
App B. hypergeometric distribution
C. Poisson distribution
D. hyperbinomial distribution
A 100. The probability of getting 3 defective items and 7 good items in
a group of 10 items as they come off an assembly line that is
known to produce 3% defective is best modeled with the _______.

M A. binomial distribution
BApp B. hypergeometric distribution
C. Poisson distribution
D. hyperbinomial distribution
152 Test Bank
C 101. The number of people arriving at a bank in a 15 minute time
interval is best modeled using the _____________.

M A. binomial distribution
BApp B. hypergeometric distribution
C. Poisson distribution
D. hyperbinomial distribution
 Chapter 5:  Discrete Distributions 153
102. Alissa Roots has inherited $50,000 from her grandmother, and is
evaluating investment alternatives. One alternative, insured 12-
month certificates of deposit, offers 3% interest with no risk .
Her other alternatives, a growth stock and a mutual fund, are
risky. Their rates of return fluctuate from year to year; there are
no guarantees. Historical performances of these alternatives are
presented in the following probability distributions of annual
rates of return.
Growth Stock Mutual Fund
Return P(Return) Return P(Return)
-10% 0.1 -5% 0.1
0% 0.4 0% 0.3
40% 0.5 15% 0.6
Alissa has no immediate need for cash, but will need $10,000 in
one year for a down payment on a house. The remainder is
available for long-term investments.

Evaluate Alissa's investment alternatives. Explain the relevance

of the mean and the variance of these distributions to Alissa.
What advice would you give her? How (in what amounts or
proportions) should she allocate her inheritance among the
alternatives?
M _________________________________________________________________
BApp _________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
154 Test Bank
103. Duane Morgan, a market researcher at Kitchen Ease, Inc., is
assessing alternative promotional strategies for a new kitchen
wrap product. He is concentrating on two attributes of the
product: (1) its low cost, and (2) its superior biodegradable
characteristics. In test market X, his promotional materials
emphasized low cost, and he emphasized the biodegradable
properties in test market Y. During the test, Duane carefully
monitored repeat purchases by households in each test market.
His findings are summarized in the following probability
distributions, where X is the percent of households in the 'low
cost' test market making repeat purchases, and Y is the percent
of households in the 'biodegradable' test market making repeat
purchases.

X P(X) Y P(Y)
0 .55 0 .05
5 .25 5 .10
10 .10 10 .35
15 .05 15 .35
20 .03 20 .10
25 .02 25 .05

Discuss the managerial and ethical considerations of this

situation. What can Duane conclude from these data? What
other factors may help explain the differences between the two
distributions? What graphic depiction should he choose for his
presentation to the product managers?
M _________________________________________________________________
BApp _________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
 Chapter 5:  Discrete Distributions 155
104. Troy Hodges is preparing the revise the operational plans and
procedures for the regional port. Accordingly, he has collected
data on the number of high-tonnage, dry cargo ships arriving
per day for a period of forty days. (One hundred three ships
arrived during the period.) Analysis of these data will support
formulation of staffing plans for crews to unload and service the
vessels.

Day Arrivals Day Arrivals Day Arrivals Day Arrivals

1 2 11 1 21 2 31 2
2 3 12 5 22 5 32 2
3 4 13 6 23 2 33 2
4 0 14 2 24 6 34 4
5 4 15 1 25 7 35 1
6 1 16 0 26 5 36 0
7 0 17 1 27 3 37 4
8 1 18 0 28 6 38 2
9 1 19 2 29 2 39 3
10 3 20 2 30 2 40 4

Assume that the number of arrivals per day has a Poisson

distribution.

a. What is the value of for the arrival distribution?

b. What is the probability of zero arrivals in any given day?
c. Troy's standard plan should provide a 90% service rate -- it
should include adequate manpower and other resources to
service 90% of the vessels on their arrival date. How many
arrivals per day should Troy's standard plan anticipate?
M
BApp
156 Test Bank
105. Consider the following graphs of two Poisson distributions. One
has= 4, and the other has= 7.
0.20

P(X) 0.15

0.10

0.05

0.00
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
X

0.20

0.15
P(X)

0.10

0.05

0.00
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
X

Describe the distributions and explain why the graphs take the
shape that they do.
M
BApp
Chapter 5:  Discrete Distributions 157