AP Statistics: Probability and Random Variables

Multiple-Choice Practice Questions

1.

In the table above, what are P(A and E) and P(C|E)?

(a) 12/125, 28/125
(b) 12/63, 28/60
(c) 12/125, 28/63
(d) 12/125, 28/60
(e) 12/63, 28/63

2.

For the tree diagram pictured above, what is P(B|X)?

(a) 1/4

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(b) 5/17
(c) 2/5
(d) 1/3
(e) 4/5

3. It turns out that 25 seniors at Fashionable High School took both the AP
Statistics exam and the AP Spanish Language exam. The mean score on the
Statistics exam for the 25 seniors was 2.4 with a standard deviation of 0.6, and
the mean score on the Spanish Language exam was 2.65 with a standard
deviation of 0.55. We want to combine the scores into a single score. What are
the correct mean and standard deviation of the combined scores?
(a) 5.05; 1.15
(b) 5.05; 1.07
(c) 5.05; 0.66
(d) 5.05; 0.81
(e) 5.05; you cannot determine the standard deviation from this information.

4. The GPAs (grade point averages) of students who take the AP Statistics
exam are approximately normally distributed with a mean of 3.4 and a standard
deviation of 0.3. Using Table A, what is the probability that a student selected at
random from this group has a GPA lower than 3.0?
(a) 0.0918
(b) 0.4082
(c) 0.9082
(d) -0.0918
(e) 0

5. The 2000 Census identified the ethnic breakdown of the state of California to
be approximately as follows: White: 46%, Latino: 32%, Asian: 11%, Black: 7%,
and Other: 4%. Assuming that these are mutually exclusive categories (this is not
a realistic assumption), what is the probability that a randomly selected person
from the state of California is of Asian or Latino descent?
(a) 46%
(b) 32%
(c) 11%
(d) 43%
(e) 3.5%

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6. The students in problem #4 above were normally distributed with a mean GPA
of 3.4 and a standard deviation of 0.3. In order to qualify for the school honor
society, a student must have a GPA in the top 5% of all GPAs. Accurate to two
decimal places, what is the minimum GPA Norma must have in order to qualify for
the honor society?
(a) 3.95
(b) 3.92
(c) 3.75
(d) 3.85
(e) 3.89

7. The following are the probability distributions for two random

variables, X and Y:

If X and Y are independent, what is P(X = 5 and Y = 4)?

(a)

(b)

(c)

3
(d)

(e)

8. The following table gives the probabilities of various outcomes for a gambling
game.

What is the player’s expected return on a bet of $1?

(a) $0.05
(b) –$0.60
(c) –$0.05
(d) –$0.10
(e) You can’t answer this question since this is not a complete probability
distribution.

9. You own an unusual die. Three faces are marked with the letter “X,” two faces
with the letter “Y,” and one face with the letter “Z.” What is the probability that at
least one of the first two rolls is a “Y”?

(a)

(b)

(c)

4
(d)

(e)

10. You roll two six-sided dice. What is the probability that the sum is 6 given that
one die shows a 4?

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

(e)

Answers

1. The correct answer is (c). There are 12 values in the A and E cell out of the
total of 125. When we are given column E, the total is 63. Of those, 28 are C.

2. The correct answer is (b).

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(This problem is an example of what is known as Bayes’s rule. It’s still conditional
probability, but sort of backwards. That is, rather than being given a path and
finding the probability of going along that path—P(X|B) refers to the probability of
first traveling along B and then along X—we are given the outcome and asked for
the probability of having gone along a certain path to get there—P(B|X) refers to
the probability of having gotten to X by first having traveled along B. You don’t
need to know Bayes’s rule by name for the AP exam, but you may have to solve a
problem like this one.)

3. The correct answer is (e). If you knew that the variables “Score on Statistics
Exam” and “Score on Spanish Language Exam” were independent, then the
standard deviation would be given by

However, you cannot assume that they are independent in this situation. In fact,
they aren’t because we have two scores on the same people. Hence, there is not
enough information.

4. The correct answer is (a).

The calculator answer is normalcdf(-100,3,3.4,0.3) = 0.0912. Note that answer (d)

makes no sense since probability values must be nonnegative (and, of course,
less than or equal to 1).

5. The correct answer is (d). Because ethnic group categories are assumed to
be mutually exclusive, P(Asian or Latino) = P(Asian) + P(Latino) = 32% + 11% =
43%.

6. The correct answer is (e). The situation is as pictured below:

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From Table A, zx = 1.645 (also, invNorm(0.95) = 1.645).

Hence, x = 3.4 + (0.3)(1.645) = 3.89. Norma

would need a minimum GPA of 3.89 in order to qualify for the honor society.

7. The correct answer is (c). P(Y = 4) = . Since

they are independent, P(X = 5 and Y = 4) = P(X = 5). P(Y = 4)

8. The correct answer is (c). The expected value is (–1)(0.6) + (1)(0.25) +

(2)(0.15) = –0.05.

9. The correct answer is (d). P(at least one of the first two rolls is “Y”) = P(the
first roll is “Y”) + P(the second roll is “Y”) – P(both rolls are “Y”)

= .
Alternatively, P(at least one of the first two rolls is “Y”) = 1 – P(neither roll is “Y”) =

1– .

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10. The correct answer is (b). The possible outcomes where one die shows a 4
are highlighted in the table of all possible sums:

There are 11 cells for which one die is a 4 (be careful not to count the 8 twice), 2
of which are 6s.

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