MTL108: Tutorial Sheet 2

1. Do the following functions defined distribution functions: (a) F (x) = 1 − e−x , x ≥ 0 and 0 if x < 0.
(b) F (x) = 0 if x ≤ 1 and 1 − x−1 if x > 1.

2. Let X be a discrete random variable with pmf given by:

x −2 −1 0 1 2
p(x) 1/15 /15 3/15 4/15 5/15

(a) Let Y = X 2 . Find the pmf of Y .

(b) Find the value the cdf of X at −1/2, 3/4, 7/8, 1, 3/2, 5.
(c) Find the value the cdf of Y at −1/2, 3/4, 7/8, 1, 3/2, 5.

3. If X has a distribution function 


 0 x<1


 1/3 1≤x<4
F (x) = 1/2 4≤x<6



 5/6 6 ≤ x < 10

1 x ≥ 10.
Find P (2 < x ≤ 6), P (X ≥ 3), and P (X = 4). Find the corresponding density function.
(x + 1) −x/α
4. Does the function fα (x) = e if x > 0, and zero otherwise, where α > 0 define a PDF? Find the
α(α + 1)
corresponding DF.

5. A filling station is supplied with gasoline once a week. If its {

weekly volume of sales in thousands of gallons is
5(1 − x)4 0 < x < 1
a random variable with probability density function f (x) =
0 otherwise.
What capacity of the tank be needed so that the probability of the supply’s being exhausted in a given week
is 0.01?
{
1 − (9/x2 ) x > 3
6. The distribution function of a random variable X is given as F (x) =
0 elsewhere.
Find P (X ≤ 5) and P (X > 8).

7. Find the distribution function of the random X whose pdf is given by



 x/2 0<x≤1

1/2 1<x≤2
f (x) =

 (3 − x)/2 2<x<3

0 elsewhere.

Also sketch the graph of pdf and cdf.

8. On the ballot for election to the supervisory committee of a university-wide group are three students from
the College of Engineering, 4 students from the LAW college, and 3 students from the Life Sciences College.
If the top three vote-getters will end up on the committee, find the joint distribution of the number X of
engineering students and Y law students on the committee. Are the random counts X and Y independent?

9. Suppose X and Y are random variables with P (X = 1) = P (X = −1) = 1/2, P (Y = 1) = P (Y = −1) = 1/2.
Let P (X = 1&Y = 1) = β. Determine the joint distribution of X and Y . For what value(s) of β are X and
Y independent?

10. Suppose X and Y are random variables with the following joint pmf. Are X and Y independent?

Y ↓ /X → 1 2 3
1 1/18 1/9 1/6
2 1/9 1/6 1/18
3 1/6 1/18 1/9
11. Let X and Y be two continuous random variables with joint pdf f (x, y) = cx2 y(1 + y), 0 ≤ x ≤ 3, 0 ≤ y ≤ 3.
(a) Find the probability P (1 ≤ X ≤ 2, 0 ≤ Y ≤ 1).
(b) Determine the joint cdf of X and Y for x and y between 0 and 3.
(c) Find marginal cdf FX (x) for x between 0 and 3.
(d) Are X and Y independent?

12. Let the joint density function of two random variables X and Y be given by

 x(1 + 3y 2 )
f (x, y) = 0 < x < 2, 0 < y < 1
 0 4
elsewhere

Evaluate P ( 14 < Y < 1

2 | X = 13 ). Are X and Y independent random variables?

13. Continuous random variables X and Y have a joint distribution with density function f (x, y) = (3/2)(2−2x−y)
in the region bounded by x = 0, y = 0, y = 2 − 2x . Find the marginal density function of X for 0 < x < 1.
π (π )
14. Continuous random variables X and Y have a joint probability density function f (x, y) = sin y exp(−x)
 2 2
for 0 < x < ∞, 0 < y < 1. Find the conditional probability P (X > 1  Y = 0.5).

15. A certain Institute conducts two aptitude tests, one in science and other in humanities, both to be taken by all
aspirant students. Let X and Y are respectively be the proportion of correct answers that a student gets on
the tests in the two subjects. The joint probability distribution of these two random variables is approximated
by a joint probability density function
{
(2/5)(2x + 3y) 0 < x < 1, 0 < y < 1
f (x, y) =
0 otherwise

(i) What is the probability that a student will get less than 0.40 on both tests? (ii) What is the probability
that a student gets more than 0.8 in science test and less than 0.5 in humanity test?