Set 6 – Continuous Random Variables

FORMULAS:

Uniform distribution:

𝑏−𝑎
𝑃(𝑎 < 𝑥 < 𝑏) =
𝑑 −𝑐

Normal distribution:

𝑥−𝜇
𝑍=
𝜎
where
𝜇 − mean value
𝜎 − standard deviation

Exponential distribution:
𝑃(𝑥 ≥ 𝑎) = 𝑒 −𝑎/𝜃
where
𝜃 − mean value
Problem 1.
Arrivals of customers at a checkout counter follow a uniform distribution. It is known that, during a given
30-minute period, one customer arrived at the counter. Find the probability that the customer arrived
during the last 5 minutes of the 30-minute period.

Problem 2.
A “discrete” uniform distribution was the subject of an article published in the Journal of Probability (Vol.
2014). The random variable of interest was the number of days x in a month that a secondary school student
attends a language class. Assume that x can be approximated by a uniform probability distribution with
range 0 to 20 days. Is it likely that a randomly selected student will attend 2 or fewer days in the month?

Problem 3.
Social network densities. Social networks involve interactions (connections) between members of the
network. Sociologists define network density as the ratio of actual network connections to the number of
10
possible one-to-one connections. For example, a network with 10 members has ( ) = 45 total possible
2
connections. If that network has only 5 connections, the network density is 5/45 =0.111. Sociologists at the
University of Michigan assumed that the density x of a social network would follow a uniform distribution
between 0 and 1 (Social Networks, 2010). What is the probability that the randomly selected network has
a density higher than 0.7?

Problem 4.
Upon studying low bids for shipping contracts, a microcomputer manufacturing company finds that intra-
state contracts have low bids that are uniformly distributed between 20 and 25, in units of thousands of
dollars. Find the probability that the low bids on the next intra-state shipping contract is:
a) below 22,000$;
b) more than 24,000$.

Problem 5.
The cycle time for trucks hauling concrete to a highway construction site is uniformly distributed over the
interval 50 to 70 minutes. What is the probability that the cycle exceeds 65 minutes if it is known that the
cycle has already exceeded 55 minutes?

Problem 6.
The number of defective circuit boards coming off a soldering machine follows a uniform distribution.
During a specific eight-hour day, one defective circuit board was found.
a) Find the probability that it was produced during the first hour of operation during the day.
b) Find the probability that it was produced during the last hour of operation during the day.
c) Given that no defective circuit boards were produced during the first four hours of operation, find
the probability that the defective board was manufactured during the fifth hour.

Problem 7.
Compute the following probabilities for the standardized normal distribution:
a) 𝑃(𝑍 > 2) e) 𝑃(𝑍 ≥ 1.73)
b) 𝑃(−2 ≤ 𝑍 ≤ 2) f) 𝑃(𝑍 ≤ −1.73)
c) 𝑃(0 ≤ 𝑍 ≤ 1.73) g) 𝑃(𝑍 ≥ −1.73)
d) 𝑃(−1.73 ≤ 𝑍 ≤ 0) h) 𝑃(−0.5 ≤ 𝑋 ≤ 1.55)

Problem 8.
800 students participated in a final exam. The average score was 72.5 points (out of 100), whereas standard
deviation was 8.2 points. Assuming that the scores are normally distributed, how many students got
between 55 and 90 points?

Problem 9.
The head of a theatre knows that the number of spectators follows normal distribution with the average
attendance of 322 spectators and standard deviation of 20.5. If the breakeven attendance is 240, then how
often should the head get ready for a loss?
Problem 10.
Refer to the Journal of Marketing Research (Dec. 2011) study of whether you are more likely to choose a
vice product (e.g., a candy bar) when your arm is flexed (as when carrying a shopping basket) than when
your arm is extended (as when pushing a shopping cart). The study measured choice scores (on a scale of
0 to 100, where higher scores indicate a greater preference for vice options) for consumers shopping under
each of the two conditions. The average choice score for consumers with a flexed arm was 59, while the
average for consumers with an extended arm was 43. For both conditions, assume that the standard
deviation of the choice scores is 5. Also assume that both distributions are approximately normal.
a) In the flexed arm condition, what is the probability that a consumer has a choice score of 60 or
greater?
b) In the extended arm condition, what is the probability that a consumer has a choice score of 60 or
greater?

Problem 11.
A corporation employs 10,000 employees whose job experience – measured by years at work – is normally
distributed with the mean value of 10 and variance of 16 years. A certain vacancy calls for at least 20-year
job experience. What is the expected number of employees that can possibly take this vacancy?

Problem 12.
IQ of 4000 employees of a certain company is normally distributed with expected value of 105 and standard
deviation of 15. A certain vacancy calls for IQ of at least 100. However, those with IQ above 115 are
supposed to get bored with that job too soon, so that such employees must be excluded. What is the
expected number of employees that can possibly take this vacancy?

Problem 13.
Average time of accomplishing a certain type of work A is 75 minutes and standard deviation of 15 minutes,
whereas average time of accomplishing another type of work B is 100 minutes and standard deviation of
10 minutes. The time of accomplishing both types of work is normally distributed.
a) How often can it happen that the accomplishment of work A will take longer than the average
accomplishment of work B?
b) How often can it happen that the accomplishment of work B will take shorter than the average
accomplishment of work A?

Problem 14.
A machining operation produces bearings with diameters that are normally distributed with mean 3.0005
cm and standard deviation of 0.0010 cm. Specifications require the bearings diameters to lie in the interval
3 cm ± 0.0020 cm. Those outside the interval are considered scrap and must be re-machined. There are
1,000,000 bearings in stock. How many of them should be considered scrap?

Problem 15.
The weekly amount of money spent on maintenance and repairs by a company was observed over a long
period, to be approximately normally distributed with mean of $400 and standard deviation $20. How
much should be budgeted for weekly repairs and maintenance to provide that the probability the budget
amount will be exceeded in a given week is only 0.1?

Problem 16.
A company that manufactures and bottles apple juice uses a machine that automatically fills 16-ounce
bottles. There is some variation, however, in the amounts of liquid dispensed into the bottles that are filled.
The amount dispensed has been observed to be approximately normally distributed with mean 16 ounces
and standard deviation 1 ounce. Determine the proportion of bottles that will have more than 17 ounces
dispensed in them.

Problem 17.
The operator of a pumping station has observed that demand for water during early afternoon hours has
an approximately exponential distribution with mean 100 cfs (cubic feet per second).
a) Find the probability that the demand will exceed 200 cfs during the early afternoon on a randomly
selected day.
b) What water-pumping capacity should the station maintain during early afternoons so that the
probability that demand will exceed capacity on a randomly selected day is only 0.01?
Problem 18.
Historical evidence indicates that times between fatal accidents on scheduled American domestic
passenger flights have an approximately exponential distribution. Assume that the mean time between
accidents is 44 days. If one of the accidents occurred on July 1 of a randomly selected year in the study
period, what is the probability that another accident occurred that same month?