Activity 1 Solutions

1 . A and B are independent events. Which of the following must be true? (4 pts)

a. A and B are mutually exclusive.

b. Ac and Bc are independent.
c. P( A ∩ B) = P( A).P( B)
d. None of the above are true

2. A simple random sample is guaranteed to reflect exactly the population

from which it is drawn. (2 pts)

a. True
b. False

3. Consider two events, A and B, of a sample space such that P(A) = P(B) = 0.7.
a. Is it possible that the two events A and B are mutually exclusive? Why or
why not?( 3 pts )

No. If A and B are mutually exclusive, P(A or B)=P(A)+P(B)=1.4>1 which is not

possible.

b. If the events A and B are independent, what would be the probability that at
least one of the two events will occur, i.e. P(A or B)? (3 pts)

P(A or B)=P(A)+P(B)-P(A∩B)=P(A)+P(B)-P(A)P(B)
=0.7+0.7-0.7*0.7
=0.91

c. Do not assume mutually exclusive or independence. Suppose that the

probability of the event B occurring, given that event A has occurred, is 0.6 .
What is the probability that at least one of the two events will occur, that is
P(A or B)? (4 pts)

P(A∩B)=P(B|A)P(A)=0.7*0.6=0.42.
Then, P(A or B)=P(A)+P(B)-P(A∩B)=0.7+0.7-0.42=0.98.

4. The probability density function of a r.v. X is given by

f(x)= c 10<x<30
0 otherwise

a. What is the value of c? ( 3 pts)

 30 30

∫
10
f ( x)dx = 1 ⇒ c ∫ dx = 1 , c=1/20.
10
b. If X is a continuous random variable, we define the median of a distribution as
a value m such that P(X ≤ m) = ½ and P(X ≥ m) = ½. That is,
m ∞
1
∫−∞ f ( x)dx = m∫ f ( x)dx = 2.
What is the median of the distribution? ( 4 pts)

m
1
20 10∫
dx = 0.5 ⇒ m − 10 = 0.5 * 20, so m=20

c. What is the P(X=12)? ( 2 pts)

0, since X is a continuous r.v.

d. Find the cdf F(x). (4 pts)

F(x)= 0 if x<10
(x-10)/20 if 10<x<30
1 if x>30

5. The cumulative distribution function of a random variable X is given by:

F(x) = 0 x<1

0.5 1≤x<3

1 x≥ 3

a. Determine the probability mass function of X. (4 pts)

f(x)= 0.5, x=1,3
0 o.w.

b. E(2X2)=? ( 4 pts)

E(2X2)=2*12*0.5+2*32*0.5=10

6. Let X and Y be two random variables with joint distribution

f(x,y)= 0.25 , x, y=0,1

0 o.w.

Are X and Y independent? ( 4 pts)

g(x)= ∑ f ( x, y ) =f(x,0)+f(x,1)=0.25+0.25=0.5 for x=0,1

y
 Similarly, h(y)=0.5, y=0,1.
Then f(x,y)=0.25=0.5*0.5 =g(x)h(y) for all (x,y)
So X and Y are independent.

7. A sample of 60 students is taken from a class who took a quiz. In the sample, 18 students
scored 4 points, 15 students score 3points, 11 students scored 2 points, 10 students scored 1
point, and 6 students scored 0.
a. Find the mean of the quiz scores. ( 4 pts)

Mean= 2.483

b. Find the standard deviation of the quiz scores. ( 5 pts)

Variance of quiz scores= 1.814
s.d.=1.347

c. Find the median of the quiz scores. (4 pts )

median=average of 30th and 31st value
=(3+3)/2=3.