6.

4 Exponential Probability Distribution 291

6.4 Exponential Probability Distribution

The exponential probability distribution may be used for random variables such as
the time between arrivals at a car wash, the time required to load a truck, the distance
between major defects in a highway, and so on. The exponential probability density
function follows.

EXPONENTIAL PROBABILITY DENSITY FUNCTION

1 2x /m
f (x) 5 e for x $ 0 (6.4)
m

where m = expected value or mean

As an example of the exponential distribution, suppose that x represents the loading time
for a truck at the Schips loading dock and follows such a distribution. If the mean, or average,
loading time is 15 minutes (m = 15), the appropriate probability density function for x is
1 2x/15
f (x) 5 e
15

Figure 6.10 is the graph of this probability density function.

Computing Probabilities for the Exponential Distribution

in waiting line
applications, the
exponential distribution is
often used for service time.
As with any continuous probability distribution, the area under the curve corresponding
to an interval provides the probability that the random variable assumes a value in that
interval. In the Schips loading dock example, the probability that loading a truck will take
6 minutes or less, P(x ≤ 6), is defined to be the area under the curve in Figure 6.10 from
x = 0 to x = 6. Similarly, the probability that the loading time will be 18 minutes or less,
P(x ≤ 18), is the area under the curve from x = 0 to x = 18. Note also that the probability
that the loading time will be between 6 minutes and 18 minutes, P(6 ≤ x ≤ 18), is given
by the area under the curve from x = 6 to x = 18.

FIGURE 6.10 EXPONENTIAL DISTRIBUTION FOR ThE SChIPS LOADING

DOCK EXAMPLE

f (x)

.07
P(x # 6)
.05
P(6 # x # 18)
.03

.01
x
0 6 12 18 24 30
Loading Time

Copyright 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
 292 Chapter 6 Continuous Probability Distributions

To compute exponential probabilities such as those just described, we use the follow­
ing formula. It provides the cumulative probability of obtaining a value for the exponential
random variable of less than or equal to some specific value denoted by x0.

EXPONENTIAL DISTRIBUTION: CUMULATIVE PROBABILITIES

P(x # x0) 5 1 2 e2x0 /m (6.5)

For the Schips loading dock example, x = loading time in minutes and m = 15 minutes.
Using equation (6.5),

P(x # x0) 5 1 2 e2x0 /15

hence, the probability that loading a truck will take 6 minutes or less is

P(x # 6) 5 1 2 e26/15 5 .3297

Using equation (6.5), we calculate the probability of loading a truck in 18 minutes or less.

P(x # 18) 5 1 2 e218/15 5 .6988

a property of the
exponential distribution is
that the mean and standard
deviation are equal.
Thus, the probability that loading a truck will take between 6 minutes and 18 minutes
is equal to .6988 − .3297 = .3691. Probabilities for any other interval can be computed
similarly.
In the preceding example, the mean time it takes to load a truck is m = 15 minutes. A
property of the exponential distribution is that the mean of the distribution and the standard
deviation of the distribution are equal. Thus, the standard deviation for the time it takes to
load a truck is s = 15 minutes. The variance is s2 = (15)2 = 225.

Relationship Between the Poisson and Exponential

Distributions
In Section 5.6 we introduced the Poisson distribution as a discrete probability distribution
that is often useful in examining the number of occurrences of an event over a specified
interval of time or space. Recall that the Poisson probability function is
m xe2m
f(x) 5
x!
where
m 5 expected value or mean number of
occurrences over a specified interval

if arrivals follow a Poisson The continuous exponential probability distribution is related to the discrete Poisson dis­
distribution, the time tribution. If the Poisson distribution provides an appropriate description of the number of
between arrivals must occurrences per interval, the exponential distribution provides a description of the length of
follow an exponential
distribution.
the interval between occurrences.
To illustrate this relationship, suppose the number of cars that arrive at a car wash dur­
ing one hour is described by a Poisson probability distribution with a mean of 10 cars per
hour. The Poisson probability function that gives the probability of x arrivals per hour is

10 xe210
f(x) 5
x!

Copyright 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
 6.4 Exponential Probability Distribution 293

Because the average number of arrivals is 10 cars per hour, the average time between cars
arriving is
1 hour
5 .1 hour/car
10 cars
Thus, the corresponding exponential distribution that describes the time between the arriv­
als has a mean of m = .1 hour per car; as a result, the appropriate exponential probability
density function is
1
f(x) 5 e2x/.1 5 10e210x
.1

NOTES AND COMMENTS

As we can see in Figure 6.10, the exponential dis­ exponential distribution gives us a good idea what
tribution is skewed to the right. Indeed, the skew­ a skewed distribution looks like.
ness measure for exponential distributions is 2. The

Exercises

Methods
32. Consider the following exponential probability density function.
1 2x / 8
f (x) 5 e for x $ 0
8
a. Find P(x ≤ 6).
b. Find P(x ≤ 4).
c. Find P(x ≥ 6).
d. Find P(4 ≤ x ≤ 6).
33. Consider the following exponential probability density function.

1 2x / 3
f (x) 5 e for x $ 0
3

a. write the formula for P(x ≤ x0 ).

b. Find P(x ≤ 2).
c. Find P(x ≥ 3).
d. Find P(x ≤ 5).
e. Find P(2 ≤ x ≤ 5).

Applications
34. Battery life between charges for the Motorola Droid Razr Maxx is 20 hours when the
primary use is talk time (the Wall Street Journal, March 7, 2012). The battery life drops to
7 hours when the phone is primarily used for Internet applications over cellular. Assume
that the battery life in both cases follows an exponential distribution.
a. Show the probability density function for battery life for the Droid Razr Maxx phone
when its primary use is talk time.
b. what is the probability that the battery charge for a randomly selected Droid Razr
Maxx phone will last no more than 15 hours when its primary use is talk time?
c. what is the probability that the battery charge for a randomly selected Droid Razr
Maxx phone will last more than 20 hours when its primary use is talk time?

Copyright 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.