FOUNDATION IN ARTS

PMTH 003
PROBABILITY
ASSIGNMENT
2009
1. A class of 32 students with 10 boys decides to elect a class
executive council which will oversee the daily running of the
class and the issuing of duties. It is decided that the executive
should consist of 7 students and that the selection process to be
random.
a! "ow many di#erent executive councils can be selected
from the class if there is no restriction placed on the
gender of the council members$
b! "ow many di#erent executive councils can be selected if
two of the classmates are on the student council and it is
decided that they cannot be both on the executive
committee$
2. %he &eturning '(cer for an election of the Allied wor)ers *nion
has summerised the positions vacant and nominations from each
if the three member group of the union.
+anagement Apprentices
'(cer
,osition vacant - 2
3
.ominations 1/ 20
1
2rom the table it can be seen that 20 apprentices nominated for
the two positions available to apprentices on the 11 person
committee.
a! "ow many di#erent committees can be selected$
b! %wo of the apprentices are sisters. "ow many di#erent
ways can the committee of 11 be elected if the two sisters
be on the committee together$
3. 3hen a train stops at a suburban railway station4 12 passengers
get o#. 'f these 12 passengers4 1 are males. %here is only one
taxi4 which can only ta)e 5 people4 waiting at the station.
Ignoring the seating order when in the taxi4 6nd
i! how many di#erent selection of 5 people can enter the
taxi$
ii! "ow many selection of 2 males and 2 females can enter
the taxi$
'f the 12 people4 3 are a family 2 males and 1 female!4 there
are 2 females couples and the rest are people on their own. %he
family cannot be separated and neither can each couple.
iii! how many di#erent selection of 5 people can now enter the
taxi$
iv! 3hen passenger are in the taxi4 in how many di#erent
ways can they be arranged$
5. A test for detecting cancer which appears promising has been
developed. It was found that /07 of the cancer patients in a
large hospital react positively to the test4 where as only 57 of
those not having cancer did so. If 37 of patients in the hospital
have cancer4 what is the probability that a patient pic)ed at
random will react to the test. 3hat is the probability that a
patient pic)ed at random who react positively will have cancer$
1. A group of 100 musicians are attending a party. 8etween them
they can play four instruments.
.one of the twenty drummers can play any other instruments
%en musicians can each play 3 instruments.
"alf of the non9drummers can play the violin.
:ixty of the musicians can play the guitar and twenty can play
the ;ute.
%en of the ;autist can play the violin
:eventy of the musicians can play only one instrument
%wenty 6ve guitarists can play the violin
<isplay this information in a =enn <iagram4 indicating on your
diagram how many musicians fall into each category.
-. A sporting club has 12 committee members of whom - are
>uniors and - are seniors. A subcommittee of 1 is to be chosen to
attend a conference later in the year. 2ind the number of
di#erent sub9committee which contain
a! 2 >uniors ? 3 seniors
b! 5 >unior and 1 senior
c! At most 2 >uniors
d! a ma>ority of >uniors if there must be at least one senior on
the committee
7. %he /0 passengers on a luxury cruise were @uestions as to which
of tennis4 s@uash and badminton they played. It was found that 20
played badminton4 -7 played tennis4 27 played s@uash4 2 played
all three4 0 played badminton and tennis but not s@uash4 and all
s@uash players played tennis.
"ow many playedA
a! none of the three given sports$
b! exactly one of the three given sports$
c! exactly two of the three given sports$
d! s@uash4 but not badminton$
0. "ow many ways can / people 1 males and 5 females! be seated
in a row if
i! there is no restriction$
ii! there must be one male between two females$
iii! two of the females Alice and 8etty!4 refuse to sit next to
each other$
iv! Alice and 8etty will be seated together$
/. A telephone has ten buttons numbered from 0 to / inclusive.
Assume repetition of numbers is possible.
a! If a telephone number has 7 digits how many telephone
numbers are possible$
2rom all 7 digits numbers how many
b! begin with 0$
c! begin with 0 and end with 1$
d! are odd numbers$
e! have the number 0 at either the front or the bac) but not
both$
f! have the number / at either front or bac) or both$
g! begin with either a 7 or /$
h! have the number 1 only once$
10. In a television ratings survey involving four television stations4 a
polling organiBation decides to interview 200 persons. %hey are
classi6ed in the following table according to whether they were
reached on the 6rst4 second or a later call of the interviewer and
according to their preference for television station A4 84 C or <.
,refers
%.=.

station
Interviewed on
A 8 C <
1
st
call
2
nd
call
3
rd
or later call
25
7
2
30
10
3
10
20
5
20
1
1
*se the appropriate relative fre@uencies to
i! 6nd the conditional probability with which station C was
preferred among those reached on the 6rst callD
ii! 6nd the probability with which station 8 was preferred
among all those interviewedD
iii! 6nd the probability with which an interviewee was reached
on the 6rst call among those preferring station AD
iv! 6nd the probability with which three or more calls were
re@uired among all those interviewed.
11. A and 8 are two events such that ,A! E .5 and ,AF8! E .7. 2ind
the value of ,8! if
a! A and 8 are mutually exclusive.
b! A and 8 are independent.
3hat is the value of ,AG8! in each case$
12. A box contains 2 8lue4 3 &ed and one 3hite ball. A ball is drawn
from the box and then a second ball is drawn without
replacement.
a! Hist the sample space of this experiment.
b! 2ind the following probabilitiesA
i! both balls are red4
ii! the balls are of a di#erent colour4
iii! the balls are not both white4
iv! red ball is not drawn.
13. :tatistics for two drugs Aman 1 and Aman 2 are gathered.
It is found that 37 of people have and adverse reaction to
Aman 14 /17 of people do not have an adverse reaction to
Aman 2 while 0.27 of people react adversely to both Aman 1
and Aman 2.
a! 3hat percentage of people can ta)e either drug without
fear of an adverse reaction$
b! 'f those people who have and adverse reaction to Aman 14
what percentage of have an adverse reaction to Aman 2$
c! If a person is chosen at random4 what is the probability
that the person will not react adversely to Aman 1 given
that they reacted favourably to Aman 2$
15. A company is investigating the relationship between physical
6tness and e(ciency in the wor)place. %hey found that 207 of
the wor)ers are 6t. If a wor)er is 6t there is a 737 chance their
e(ciency will increase over time. If a wor)er is un6t there is a
227 chance their e(ciency will increase over time. <etermine
the probability a wor)er
a! is 6t and the wor)erIs e(ciency increased over time.
b! is not 6t and wor)erIs e(ciency increased over time4
c! increased e(ciency over time4
If a wor)er is )nown to improve e(ciency over time4 determine
the probability the wor)er is
d! 6t e! un6t.
11. A subcontractor is )nown to two 6rms A and 8. 8oth of these
6rms have submitted a tender for a ma>or contract. 'ne of these
6rms will get the contract. %he probability that 6rm A gets the
contract is 0.1-. A 6rm A gets the contract the subcontractor has
a 317 chance of obtaining wor). If 6rm 8 gets the contract4 there
is a 1-7 chance the subcontractor will obtain wor). <etermine
the probability that
a! 6rm 8 gets the contract. b! the subcontractor
obtains wor).
1-. :pace shuttles use '9rings to contain the burning fuel in the
combustion chamber. :pace shuttle Avenger uses three '9rings4
'
1
4 '
2
and '
3
. 2or a successful launch there should be no fuel
lea)age and for that '
1
has to function and at least one of '
2
and
'
3
must function. Assuming that the '9rings behave
independently of one another and that each '9ring has a 0./
probability of wor)ing4 calculate the following probabilities.
i! there is a fuel lea)age.
ii! '
2
functions and the launch is successful.
iii! launching is successful given that '
3
fails.
iv! '
3
fails given that the launch is successful.
17. 100 students were each as)ed if they had watched %=4 listened
to the radio or played a tape the previous evening. -1 students
had watched %=4 70 had listened to the radio4 50 had played a
tape and 20 had done all three. 21 had watched %= and listened
to the radio but not played a tape. 10 had listened to the radio
and played a tape but not watched %=. 1 had only played a tape.
i! Illustrate these results in a =enn diagram.
2or this group of students calculate the probability that a
randomly chosen student had
ii! not listened to the radio4
iii! not listened to the radio nor watched %=4
iv! watched %= and listened to the radio4
v! listened to the radio or had played a tape4
vi! played a tape given that they had listened to the radio.
10. 'n the following =enn diagrams4 shade the indicated regions.
i!
C B A
ii!
C B) (A
8
C
A
8
C
A
iii!
C) B ( A
1/. In a group of 03 Jear 12 students4 5/ study Applicable
+athematics4 57 study ,hysics and 3- study Chemistry. %hirteen
students study ,hysics and Chemistry but not Applicable
+athematics. %wenty students study Applicable +athematics and
Chemistry4 whilst 2- study Applicable +athematics and ,hysics.
Kxactly two out of the three sub>ects are studied by 51 students.
a! <raw a =enn diagram to represent the above information4
indicating clearly on your diagram how many students are
in each category.
b! 2or a student chosen from these Jear 12 students4
calculate the probability that the student studies
i! all three sub>ects4
ii! none of the three sub>ects4
iii! ,hysics4 given that the student studies Applicable
+athematics4
8
C
A
iv! Applicable +athematics4 given that the student
studies both ,hysics and Chemistry.
20. :hade the indicated areas on the following =enn diagrams.
i! & : %!
ii! T S R
&
:
T
&
T
iii! & :! : %!
21. In a company with 151 sta#4 120 of the sta# have a des)top
computer on their o(ce des)4 50 have a laptop computer and 33
have a des)top computer at home provided by the company. :ix
of the sta# have all three types of computing set up4 whilst 07
have only one type. 2ourteen of the sta# have both a laptop and
a home computer but no des)top computer on their o(ce des).
All sta# who have a laptop computer have a des)top computer
either at home or at wor).
Construct a =enn diagram to display clearly how many sta# are
provided with what types! of computing setup.
:
&
:
T
22. 8y examining the probabilities given in the =enn diagram below4
determine whether or not events A and 8 are independent.
A 8
0.3 0.2
0.3
23. If 8 is an event with ,8! L 04 show that for any event A
, AM8! E 1 N ,AM8!.
25. Oym4 Chris and Hee want to travel together into the bus station in
town. %hree bus routes pass along their road and4 whatever the
time of day4 they will catch the 6rst bus that comes along. At
any given time the probability that bus A comes 6rst is 0.-4 the
probability that bus 8 comes 6rst is 0.2 and the probability that
bus C comes 6rst is 0.2. All three buses terminate at the same
bus station halfway into town.
If Oym4 Chris and Hee catch bus A they will always catch bus < for
the remaining >ourney to town. If they catch bus 84 the
probability that bus < will be 6rst is 0.5 and the probability that
bus K will be 6rst is 0.-. If they catch bus C4 the probability that
bus < comes 6rst is 0.34 the probability that bus K comes 6rst is
0.2 and the probability that bus 2 comes 6rst is 0.1.
a! <isplay the above information in a tree diagram. Include
the probabilities for routes A<4 8< etc.
b! 'f the possible routes that the three can travel4 which is
the least probable$
c! Piven that the three catch bus <4 what is the probability
that they caught bus C for the 6rst stage of the >ourney$
d! 3hat is the probability that on their >ourney into town the
three will catch bus 8 or bus < but not both$
21. A group of students were surveyed as to the type of sports that
they li)ed watching out of football4 cric)et and rugby. %he
following responses were obtainedA
-17 li)ed watching footballD
517 li)ed watching cric)etD
307 li)ed watching rugbyD
217 li)ed watching all three sportsD
1-7 li)ed watching exactly two sportsD
the number of students who li)ed watching cric)et and
football but not rugby was twice the number of students
who li)ed watching cric)et and rugby but not footballD
17 li)ed watching only rugby.
a! <raw a =enn diagram to represent the above information.
b! If a student is chosen at random from those surveyed4
what is the probability that this student li)es watching
i! cric)et and rugby4
ii! cric)et and rugby but not football4
iii! football4 given that sGhe li)es rugby4
iv! none of these sports$
c! If there were 20 students who li)ed watching football and
rugby but not cric)et4 how many students were surveyed in
total$
2-. Consider two events A and 8 such that ,AG8! E 0.04 ,8GA! E
0.1 and ,A8! E 0.01.
a! Calculate ,A8!.
b! :how that A and 8 are not independent.
27. A boo)shelf has 3 di#erent dictionaries4 1 di#erent volumes of an
encyclopedia and 3 di#erent novels. "ow many di#erent ways
can these be arranged if
i! there are no restrictions4
ii! the dictionaries have to be together4
iii! the dictionaries have to be together and the volumes of
the encyclopedia have to be together4
iv! the dictionaries have to be together or the volumes of the
encyclopedia have to be together$
20. <riving along a particular road4 Hee has to pass through four sets
of tra(c lights.
%he probability that Hee has to stop at the 6rst set of lights
is 0.5.
If Hee had to stop at the 6rst set of lights4 the probability of
having to stop at the second set of lights is 0.-4 otherwise
the probability of having to stop is 0.1
If Hee had to stop at both the 6rst and second set of lights4
then the probability of having to stop at the third set of
lights is 0.-1. If Hee only had to stop at the 6rst set of
lights4 the probability of having to stop at the third set of
lights is 0.114 otherwise the probability of having to stop is
0.51.
If Hee had to stop at two out of the 6rst three sets of lights4
then the probability of having to stop at the fourth set of
lights is 0.74 otherwise the probability of having to stop is
0.5.
<etermine the probability that Hee has to stop at two out of the
four sets of lights.
2/. A group of 100 musicians are attending a party. 8etween them
they can play four instruments.
.one of the twenty drummers can play any other instrument.
%en musicians can each play three instruments.
"alf of the non9drummers can play the violin.
:ixty musicians can play the guitar and twenty can play the ;ute.
%en of the ;autists can play the violin.
:eventy of the musicians can only play one instrument.
%wenty 6ve guitarists can play the violin.
a! <isplay this information in a =enn diagram4 indicating
clearly on your diagram how many musicians fall into each
category.
b! %wo people4 at random4 leave the party. Calculate the
probability that
i! neither is drummer4
ii! at least one of them can play the violin.
30. %here are 100 students in a language class4 all of whom spea) at least
one of the languages4 Knglish4 2rench and Perman. In addition4 the
following facts are )nownA
10 spea) 2rench only 1/ spea) at least Knglish and
2rench
12 spea) Perman 11 spea) at least Knglish and Perman
11 spea) only one language 21 spea) at least 2rench and
Perman
a! <raw a =enn diagram to represent the above information.
b! :uppose 5 of the students who only spo)e 2rench and 3 of the
students who only spo)e Knglish learnt to spea) Perman. .ow4
how many students
i! spea) all of the three languages4
ii! spea) 2rench and Perman4 but not Knglish4
iii! spea) Perman only4
iv! spea) exactly two languages$
31. A pathology service performs blood tests to detect the presence of a certain type of virs
called !irs ". #or $% of blood samples &ith !irs "' the test sggests its absence'
&hile for 1(% of samples &ithot the virs the test sggests its presence. #rom past data'
it is )no&n that 3(% of all samples received have the virs. Sppose that one of the fresh
samples is ta)en at random and tested for !irs ".
Calclate the probability that the sample
(a) tests positive'
(b) contains !irs "' given that the test is positive'
(c) tests positive or has the virs in it.
3*. A retail otlet commissioned a research team to srvey local residents to find the nmber
of homes that se brand A+s &ashing machine' fridge and oven. ,f the *(( homes
srveyed' *- sed all three appliances' $- sed the fridge and oven' -* sed the &ashing
machine and oven' and *- sed none of the three. #rthermore' it &as fond that e.actly
half of the srveyed homes sed brand A+s fridge' and e.actly half sed the &ashing
machine. The probability of a srveyed home sing both the fridge and &ashing machine
&as 1/$.
,f the srveyed homes' find0
(i) the nmber that sed brand A+s oven only.
(ii) the nmber that sed e.actly one of brand A+s three appliances.
(iii) the nmber that sed e.actly t&o of brand A+s three appliances.
(iv) the probability of a home sing brand A+s fridge and oven bt not the &ashing
machine.
Three of the srveyed homes are selected at random.
(v) 1hat is the probability that all three homes se brand A+s fridge2
33. The car registration nmber plates in a contry are re3ired to have e.actly si.
characters' three letters of the alphabet follo&ed by three digits sch as
4o& many different nmber plates are possible if there are0
(i) no frther restrictions2
(ii) no repetitions of either letters or digits2
(iii) three consective letters in alphabetical order follo&ed by three consective digits
in descending order' as in the sample registration plate sho&n2
*=3 -15
3-. The follo&ing data from the Astralian Brea of Statistics gives the nmber of nights' in
thosands' spent by international visitors to Astralia in 1555 by State (first si. entries in
table ) or Territory.
6S1 !ic 7ld SA 1A Tas 6T ACT
3833- *(-5- *-5*8 -$-* 1*3-5 195- 3(-- *191
#or a randomly chosen international visitor night in 1555' calclate the
probability that it &as
i. spent in 1A
ii. spent in one of the Territories (6T and ACT)
iii. not spent in 6S1 nor 7ld.
3$. :im has three favorite C;s 0 <' 7 and R. 4e al&ays plays t&o of them &hilst
completing his home&or) each night. There is a $(% chance that he &ill pt C; < on
first each evening and a *(% chance that he &ill pt C; R on first. At anytime there is a
9(% chance that he &ill follo& C; < by C; 7' a -(% chance that he &ill follo& C; 7
by C; < and a =(% chance that he &ill follo& C; R by C; <. :im never plays the same
C; t&ice.
a. ;isplay the above information in a tree diagram' indicating clearly the
probabilities for playing each C; and the probabilities for each possible order for
playing the C;s
b. 1hat is the probability that :im &ill not play C; 7 2
39. a. Complete the table belo& to sho& the nmber of stdent concillors at
City Commnity College.

>ale #emale Total
?ear 1* 9 1(
?ear 11 $ 8
Total
b. Calclate the probability that a randomly selected stdent concillor
i. is a female
ii. is in ?ear 1* given that the concillor is male.
c. Three stdent concillors are selected at random. #ind the probability that this
selection incldes at least one male from ?ear 1* and at least one female from
?ear 1*.
3=. T&o events' A and B' in a sample space are sch that
<(A) @ (.=' <(B) @ (.- and B) (A < @ (.1 Aor <(A B)B @ (.1C.
(a) #ind <(A B) .

(b) Are the t&o events A and B independent2 Dstify yor ans&er.

38. A health centre is open 1ednesday and #riday evenings and dring the day on Satrday
and Snday. The !enn diagram belo& represents the nmber of patrons sing the centre
in one particlar &ee).
(a) 4o& many patrons sed the health centre in the particlar &ee)2

(b) ;ring this particlar &ee)' &hat &as the probability that a randomly
chosen patron sed the health centre
(i) every time the centre &as open'
(ii) only once'
(iii) on 1ednesday and #riday only'
(iv) on #riday and one other time2

35. En a certain year' >rs Chan taght Calcls in one school and Applicable >athematics in
another school. At the end of the year she smmarised the percentage mar)s (ronded to
nearest &hole nmber) obtained by the stdents in the t&o classes. This is given in the
fre3ency table belo&.
% mar) range Calcls Applicable
(F15 1 *
*(F35 3 *
-(F$5 3 $
9(F=5 5 11
8(F55 $ =
Ef a stdent from one of these classes is pic)ed at random' &hat is the probability that the
stdent
(a) received a mar) greater than or e3al to 9('

(b) &as in the Applicable >athematics class'
(c) &as in the Calcls class and received a mar) 8('

(d) &as in the Calcls class' if the stdent had received a mar) bet&een 9( and =5
inclsive2

-(. 4ealth athorities are dealing &ith a certain disease in a large commnity. A costFeffective
bt not entirely reliable screening test is devised to chec) the poplation for disease. Et is
estimated that 8% of the poplation have the disease.
The tree diagram belo& sho&s some of the associated probabilities (in bo.es).
(a)
Complete the tree diagram by &riting the appropriate probabilities in the seven empty
bo.es.
6ote0 bo.es are for vales/ans&ers only and are not part of the diagram.
(b) Ef a person tests positive' &hat is the probability that he/ she has the disease2
A more e.pensive (and accrate) test is sed to retest all those &ho tested positive on the first
test. This test is accrate 5$% of the time (regardless of &hether the person does or does not have
the disease).
(c) 1hat is the probability that a person &ho tests positive on both tests has the disease2
(.(98
(.138
-1. The follo&ing tree diagram represents the probability of Chris
selecting t&o of his favorite si. shirts to &ear for the &ee)end. Some of
the associated probabilities are given.
shirt ; (.- (.(8
(.* shirt G (.3 (.(9
shirt A shirt #
(.3 (.(9
shirt B
shirt ;
shirt C
shirt G (.-*
shirt # (.*8
(a) #ill in the missing vales (in the bo.es provided) on the tree diagram.
(b) #or a randomly chosen &ee)end' calclate the follo&ing probabilities0
i. Chris chooses shirt #'
ii. Chris chooses shirt A given that he also chooses shirt #'
iii. Chris chooses shirt ; given that he does not choose shirt B.
-*. A grop of male and female adlts is srveyed abot their favorite game.
The reslts of this srvey are smmariHed in the !enn diagram belo&.
Infortnately' some of the data is nreadable de to a smdge on the data
collection sheet.
S B
*- .
*(
*-
-
1* >
>0 male
B0 li)es badminton
S0 li)es s3ash
a. Sppose that there are 1(( adlts in the grop srveyed. Calclate the probability
that a randomly chosen adlt from this grop
i. li)es badminton and is female
ii. is female or li)es badminton
ii. does not li)e s3ash given that the adlt is female
b. A second grop of adlts is also srveyed. The data collection sheet also has a
smdge on it and the !enn diagram above also smmarises the data. Sppose that
for this second grop the events being female and li)es badminton are
independent events. Sho&ing all yor &or)ing' calclate ho& many adlts are in
this second grop.