Chapter 13 Discrete probability distributions test questions

Student name:
1 State whether each random variable is numeric or categorical. If it is numeric, state
whether it is discrete or continuous.
a The temperature of the coldest day in the Arctic.
b The number of teenagers watching a soccer match.
c The height of a random person that walks into a classroom.
d The religion of a random student at Sydney University.
2 Which of the following are probability distributions
a
x 1 2 3 4
P( X=x) 1 3 4 6
7 7 14 21

b
x 1 2 3 4
P( X=x) 0.15 0.45 0.25 0.15

c
x 1 2 3 4
P( X=x) 1 2 3 8
6 6 16 24

3 Give three reasons why the following table is not a valid probability distribution.
x 1 2 3 4
P( X=x) -0.1 0.25 0.62 12.4

4 Copy and complete each table to find the expected value E(X) of the distribution.
a
x 1 2 3 4 Sum
p(x ) 0.15 0.25 0.35 0.25
xp( x)

© Cambridge University Press 2019 1

 b
x -3 -1 3 7 Sum
p(x ) 0.5 0.1 0.05 0.35
xp( x)

5 When Jack first visited the Thai Pin Restaurant, he read the menu and assigned each
meal a probability indicating how likely he was to order it in the future – this was
determined by how much the meal interested him. The fish cost $22.5 and he rated it
4 3
, the steak cost $34 and he rated it , the vegetarian meal cost $20 and he rated it
10 10
1 5
, the lamb costs $31 and he rated it .
20 20
a What was Jack’s expected cost in buying a meal at the restaurant?
b This is now Jack’s favourite restaurant, and he visits it once a week (52 times a
year).
What is the expected cost to Jack over the next 2 years, assuming his interest ratings
do not change and the prices remain constant?
6 Copy and complete the probability distribution tables below to calculate Var(X) using
the definitionVar ( X )=E ( ( X −μ )2). Also write downσ .

a
x 1 2 3 4 Sum
p(x ) 0.15 0.20 0.35 0.30
xp( x)
( x−μ )2 -
( x−μ )2 p (x)

b
x 1 3 5 7 Sum
p(x ) 0.26 0.31 0.29 0.14
xp( x)
( x−μ )2 -
( x−μ )2 p (x)

© Cambridge University Press 2019 2

7 Now use the alternative formula Var ( X )=E ( X 2 )−μ 2 for the variance for the distribution
of the previous question. Copy and complete the tables, then calculate the variance.
a
x 1 2 3 4 Sum
p(x ) 0.22 0.43 0.17 0.18
xp( x)
2
x p(x )

b
x 1 3 5 7 Sum
p(x ) 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.3
xp( x)
2
x p(x )

8 Calculate the mean, the variance and the standard deviation of each probability
distribution.
a
x 0 1 2 3 4
p(x ) 0.12 0.17 0.26 0.13 0.39

b
x 0 1 2 3 4
p(x ) 0.75 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.1

9 Explain briefly the meaning and significance of the expected value of a probability
distribution.
10 Explain briefly the meaning and significance of the variance and standard deviation of a
probability distribution.

© Cambridge University Press 2019 3

11 For the random variable X, it is known that E(X) = 5 and Var(X) = 3.
a Write down E(2X), Var(2X) and σ for the new distribution 2X.
b Write down E(X - 3), Var(X - 3) and σ for the new distribution X −3.
c Write down E(3X + 1), Var(3X + 1) and σ for the new distribution 3X – 1.
12 a The sample space for a certain random variable is X is {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}. The probability
distribution is known to be uniform. Write down the probability table for this
distribution and find the expected value μ and the standard deviationσ .
b Use random numbers to simulate this experiment. First decide how you will obtain
the random numbers, how you will use them and how many simulations your
sample will have. Then draw up a relative frequency table and calculate the sample
mean x and the sample standard deviation s.

© Cambridge University Press 2019 4

Chapter 13 Probability distributions test answers
1 a numeric, continuous b numeric, discrete
c numeric, continuous d categorical
2 a No b Yes c No
3 The probabilities are not all positive, do not sum to 1 and do not all have a
probability less than 1.
4 a
x 1 2 3 4 Sum
p(x ) 0.15 0.25 0.35 0.25 1
xp( x) 0.15 0.5 1.05 1 2.7

b
x -3 -1 3 7 Sum
p(x ) 0.5 0.1 0.05 0.35 1
xp( x) -1.5 -0.1 0.15 2.45 1

5 a $27.95 b $2906.8
6 a σ =1.03
x 1 2 3 4 Sum
p(x ) 0.15 0.20 0.35 0.30 1
xp( x) 0.15 0.4 1.05 1.2 2.8

( x−μ )2 3.24 0.64 0.04 1.44 5.36

( x−μ )2 p (x) 0.49 0.13 0.01 0.43 1.06

© Cambridge University Press 2019 5

b σ =2.01
x 1 3 5 7 Sum
p(x ) 0.26 0.31 0.29 0.14 1
xp( x) 0.26 0.93 1.45 0.98 3.62

( x−μ )2 6.86 0.38 1.90 11.42 20.58

( x−μ )2 p (x) 1.78 0.12 0.55 1.60 4.06

7 a Variance ¿ 1.01
x 1 2 3 4 Sum
p(x ) 0.22 0.43 0.17 0.18 1
xp( x) 0.22 0.86 0.51 0.72 2.31
2
x p( x ) 0.22 1.72 1.53 2.88 6.35

b Variance = 4.96
x 1 3 5 7 Sum
p(x ) 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.3 1
xp( x) 0.2 0.9 1 2.1 4.2
2
x p( x ) 0.2 2.7 5 14.7 22.60

8 a Mean = 2.64, Variance = 1.65, Standard deviation = 1.28

b Mean = 0.7, Variance = 1.81, Standard deviation = 1.35
9 Expected value is a measure of central tendency – it measures the centre of the data
set. It may also be thought of as a weighted mean (weighted by the probabilities of
the distribution). If the experiment is carried out experimentally a large number of
times we would expect that the average of the outcomes would approach the
expected value.

© Cambridge University Press 2019 6

10 The standard deviation is the square root of the variance. Both mean and standard
deviation measure the spread of the data, which means that a distribution with a
larger standard deviation is more spread out than a distribution with a smaller
standard deviation. Both are zero if the distribution only takes one value – that is if
it is not spread out at all. If the distribution is stretched (multiplied) by a constant k
the standard deviation also increased by a factor k.
11 a 10, 12, 2 √ 3 b 2, 3, √ 3 c 16, 27, 3√ 3
12 a
x 1 2 3 4 5
p(x) 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2
E(X) = 3, Var(X) = 2, σ =1.41
b Answers will vary

© Cambridge University Press 2019 7