ENGR 200: Probability and Random Variables for Engineers

Fall 2021
Instructors: Lerzan Örmeci and Sinem Çöleri
TAs: S. Kazmi, M. Gürel, N. Khan, H.Güven , A. Mozaffari Tazehkand
Homework 9
Assigned: Dec. 8, 2021

Exercise 1. Continues Random Variables

A filling station is supplied with gasoline once a week. If its weekly volume of sales in
thousands of gallons is a random variable with probability density function:
(
5(1 − x4 ), if 0 < x < 1.
f (x) = (1)
0, otherwise.

What must the capacity of the tank be so that the probability of the supply being exhausted
in a given week is 0.01?

Exercise 2. Continues Random Variables

The loose minute hand of a clock is spun hard. The coordinates (x, y) of the point where
the tip of the hand comes to rest is noted. Z is defined as the sgn function of the product
of x and y, where sgn(t) is 1 if t > 0, 0 if t = 0, and -1 if t < 0.
(a) Find and plot the CDF of the random variable X.

(b) Does the CDF change if the clock hand has a propensity to stop at 3, 6, 9, and 12
o’clock?

Exercise 3. Gaussian Random Variables

Two batteries are being considered for use in a certain watch. The lifetime of battery 1 is
modeled by a Gaussian random variable with mean 30,000 hours and standard deviation
5000 hours.(The probability of negative lifetime is negligible.) The lifetime of battery 2 is
also a Gaussian random variable but with mean 32,000 hours and standard deviation 1000
hours. Which battery is preferred if the target lifetime of the watch is 30,000 hours? 34,000
hours?

Exercise 4. Exponential Random Variables

The number of years a radio functions is exponentially distributed with parameter λ = 81 . If
Jones buys a used radio, what is the probability that it will be working after an additional
8 years?

Exercise 5. Expectation of Random Variables

(a) A fire station is to be located along a road of length A, {A < ∞}. If fires occur
at points uniformly chosen on (0,A), where should the station be located so as to
minimize the expected distance from the fire? That is, choose a so as to minimize
E[|X − a|] when X is uniformly distributed over (0, A).
(b) Now, suppose that the road is of infinite length-stretching from point 0 outward to ∞.
If the distance of a fire from point 0 is exponentially distributed with rate λ, where
should the fire station now be located? That is, we want to minimize E[|X − a|],where
X is now exponential with rate λ.
Exercise 6. Mean and Variance of Continues Random Variables
Let X be a random variable that takes on values between 0 and a. That is:

P {0 ≤ X ≤ a} = 1

Show that:
a2
V ar(X) ≤
4
HINT: One approach is to first argue that:

E[X 2 ] ≤ cE[X]

Exercise 7. Joint Random Variables

A point (X, Y ) is selected at random inside a triangle defined by{(x, y) : 0 ≤ y ≤ x ≤ 1}.
Assume the point is equally likely to fall anywhere in the triangle.
(a) Find the joint CDF of X and Y .

(b) Find the marginal CDF of X and of Y .

(c) Find the probabilities of the following events in terms of the joint CDF:
1 3
A = {X ≤ , Y ≤ }
2 4
1 3 1 3
B={ ≤X≤ , ≤Y ≤ }
4 4 4 4