Introduction to Management Science, 11e (Taylor)

Chapter 11 Probability and Statistics

1) Deterministic techniques assume that no uncertainty exists in model parameters.

Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 503
Section Heading: Types of Probability
Keywords: deterministic techniques

2) Probabilistic techniques assume that no uncertainty exists in model parameters.

Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 503
Section Heading: Types of Probability
Keywords: probabilistic techniques

3) Objective probabilities that can be stated prior to the occurrence of an event are classical or a priori.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 503
Section Heading: Types of Probability
Keywords: objective probabilities, classical probabilities

4) Objective probabilities that are stated after the outcomes of an event have been observed are relative
frequencies.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 503
Section Heading: Types of Probability
Keywords: relative frequencies

5) Relative frequency is the more widely used definition of objective probability.

Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 504
Section Heading: Types of Probability
Keywords: relative frequencies

6) Subjective probability is an estimate based on personal belief, experience, or knowledge of a

situation.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 504
Section Heading: Types of Probability
Keywords: subjective probability

7) An experiment is an activity that results in one of several possible outcomes.

Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 505
Section Heading: Fundamentals of Probability
Keywords: experiment

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8) The events in an experiment are mutually exclusive if only one can occur at a time.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 505
Section Heading: Fundamentals of Probability
Keywords: mutually exclusive events

9) In a given experiment, the probabilities of all mutually exclusive events sum to one.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 505
Section Heading: Fundamentals of Probability
Keywords: mutually exclusive events, rules of probability

10) A set of events is collectively exhaustive when it includes all the events that can occur in an
experiment.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 506
Section Heading: Fundamentals of Probability
Keywords: collectively exhaustive events

11) A marginal probability is the probability of a single event occurring.

Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 506
Section Heading: Fundamentals of Probability
Keywords: marginal probability

12) A Venn diagram visually displays mutually exclusive and non-mutually exclusive events.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 506
Section Heading: Fundamentals of Probability
Keywords: Venn diagram

13) A joint probability is the probability that two or more events that are mutually exclusive can occur
simultaneously.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 506
Section Heading: Fundamentals of Probability
Keywords: joint probability

14) A conditional probability is the probability that an event occurs given that another event has already
occurred.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 508
Section Heading: Statistical Independence and Dependence
Keywords: conditional probability

15) Conditional probabilities are shown in Venn diagrams.

Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 506
Section Heading: Fundamentals of Probability
Keywords: conditional probability
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16) Probability trees are used only to compute conditional probabilities.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 509
Section Heading: Statistical Independence and Dependence
Keywords: probability tree, conditional probability

17) A succession of events that does not affect other events is independent.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 508
Section Heading: Statistical Independence and Dependence
Keywords: independence

18) A binomial probability distribution indicates the probability of r successes in n trials.

Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 510
Section Heading: Statistical Independence and Dependence
Keywords: binomial probability distribution
AACSB: Analytic skills

19) A continuous random variable may assume only integer values within a given interval.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 517
Section Heading: The Normal Distribution
Keywords: continuous random variables
AACSB: Analytic skills

20) Seventy-two percent of all observations fall within one standard deviation of the mean if the data is
normally distributed.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 519
Section Heading: The Normal Distribution
Keywords: normal distribution
AACSB: Analytic skills

21) Another name for the mean of a probability distribution is its expected value.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 516
Section Heading: Expected Value
Keywords: expected value
AACSB: Analytic skills

22) The expected value of a discrete random variable is greater than or equal to zero.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 516
Section Heading: Expected Value
Keywords: expected value

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23) The variance of a discrete random variable is always greater than or equal to zero.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 516
Section Heading: Expected Value
Keywords: expected value

24) The expected value of a random variable is computed by multiplying the sum of each possible value
of the variable by the probability of that random variable.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 516
Section Heading: Expected Value
Keywords: expected value
AACSB: Analytic skills

25) The variance of a random variable is computed by multiplying each possible value of the variable by
its probability and summing these products.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 516
Section Heading: Expected Value
Keywords: variance
AACSB: Analytic skills

26) For a typical normally distributed random variable, the standard deviation is equal to the variance.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 518
Section Heading: The Normal Distribution
Keywords: normal distribution

27) A normally distributed random variable has a mean of zero and a standard deviation of one.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 517-518
Section Heading: The Normal Distribution
Keywords: normal distribution

28) The standard normal distribution has a mean of one and a standard deviation of zero.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 519
Section Heading: The Normal Distribution
Keywords: standard normal distribution

29) The area under the normal curve represents probability.

Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 518
Section Heading: The Normal Distribution
Keywords: norm distrib, probability calculations with normal distribution

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30) There is just as great a chance of a normally distributed random variable being over one standard
deviation above the mean as there is being one standard deviation below the mean.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 518
Section Heading: The Normal Distribution
Keywords: norm distrib, probability calculations with normal distribution
AACSB: Analytic skills

31) An inspector correctly identifies defective products 90% of the time. For the next 10 products, the
probability that he makes fewer than two incorrect inspections is 0.736.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 510
Section Heading: Statistical Independence and Dependence
Keywords: binomial distribution
AACSB: Analytic skills

32) In Bayesian analysis, additional information is used to alter the conditional probability of the
occurence of an event.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 514
Section Heading: Statistical Independence and Dependence
Keywords: conditional probability

33) Objective probabilities that can be stated prior to the occurrence of an event are ________.
Answer: classical or a priori
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 503
Section Heading: Types of Probability
Keywords: probabilistic techniques, objective/classical probabilities

34) ________ probability is an estimate based on a personal belief, experience, and knowledge of a
situation.
Answer: Subjective
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 504
Section Heading: Types of Probability
Keywords: subjective probability

35) The events in an experiment are ________ if only one can occur at a time.
Answer: mutually exclusive
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 505
Section Heading: Fundamentals of Probability
Keywords: mutually exclusive events

36) The term for including all possible events that can occur in an experiment is ________.
Answer: collectively exhaustive
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 506
Section Heading: Fundamentals of Probability
Keywords: collectively exhaustive

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37) The cumulative probability for all six outcomes of tossing a fair die should end with the value
________.
Answer: 1.00
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 508
Section Heading: Fundamentals of Probability
Keywords: cumulative probability distribution
AACSB: Analytic skills

38) The fact that the first toss of a coin has no effect on the outcome of the second toss of the coin
suggests that these events are ________.
Answer: independent
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 508
Section Heading: Fundamentals of Probability
Keywords: independent events

39) The collectively exhaustive set of events for flipping a coin is ________.
Answer: heads, tails (and possibly landing on its side)
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 506
Section Heading: Fundamentals of Probability
Keywords: collectively exhaustive

40) A ________ organizes numerical data to describe the events of an experiment.

Answer: frequency distribution
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 505
Section Heading: Fundamentals of Probability
Keywords: frequency distribution

41) A Venn diagram depicting two circles that do not overlap or touch in any way represents events that
are ________.
Answer: mutually exclusive
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 506
Section Heading: Fundamentals of Probability
Keywords: mutually exclusive events

42) A ________ is the probability of occurence of a single event.

Answer: marginal probability
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 506
Section Heading: Fundamentals of Probability
Keywords: marginal probability

43) ________ can enable one to improve marginal probabilities of the occurrence of an event by
gathering additional information.
Answer: Bayesian analysis
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 514
Section Heading: Fundamentals of Probability
Keywords: Bayesian analysis

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44) A succession of events that do not affect each other are ________.
Answer: independent
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 508
Section Heading: Statistical Independence and Dependence
Keywords: independence

45) A ________ probability is the probability that an event will occur given that another event has
already occurred.
Answer: conditional
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 508
Section Heading: Statistical Independence and Dependence
Keywords: conditional probability

46) In a binomial distribution process, there are ________ possible outcomes.

Answer: two
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 510
Section Heading: Statistical Independence and Dependence
Keywords: binomial distribution

47) One of the properties of the ________ distribution is that the probability of success remains constant
over time.
Answer: binomial
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 510
Section Heading: Statistical Independence and Dependence
Keywords: binomial distribution

48) Altered marginal probability of an event based on additional information is a ________ probability.
Answer: posterior
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 514
Section Heading: Statistical Independence and Dependence
Keywords: Bayesian analysis, posterior probability

49) The ________ of a random variable is computed by multiplying each possible value of the variable
by its probability and summing these products.
Answer: expected value
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 516
Section Heading: Expected Value
Keywords: random variables, expected value

50) If events A and B are independent, then P(AB) = ________.

Answer: P(A) ∗ P(B)
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 508
Section Heading: Statistical Independence and Dependence
Keywords: probabilistic techniques, objective/classical probabilities
AACSB: Analytic skills

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51) If events A and B are independent, then P(A|B) = ________.
Answer: P(A)
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 509
Section Heading: Statistical Independence and Dependence
Keywords: probabilistic techniques, objective/classical probabilities
AACSB: Analytic skills

52) If two events A and B are not mutually exclusive, then P(A or B) = ________.
Answer: P(A) + P(B) - P(AB)
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 508
Section Heading: Fundamentals of Probability
Keywords: probabilistic techniques, objective/classical probabilities
AACSB: Analytic skills

53) ________ is a measure of dispersion of random variable values about the expected value.
Answer: Variance
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 516
Section Heading: Expected Value
Keywords: random variables, variance

54) A continuous random variable can take on a(n) ________ number of values within a given interval.
Answer: infinite
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 517
Section Heading: The Normal Distribution
Keywords: continuous random variables

55) The ________ test is a statistical test to see if an observed data fit a particular probability
distribution.
Answer: chi-square
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 523
Section Heading: The Normal Distribution
Keywords: chi-square test

56) The ________ normal distribution has a mean of 0 and a standard deviation of 1.
Answer: standard
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 519
Section Heading: The Normal Distribution
Keywords: standard normal distribution
AACSB: Analytic skills

57) Almost all of the data from a normal distribution fall within ________ standard deviations of the
mean.
Answer: ±3
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 519
Section Heading: The Normal Distribution
Keywords: standard normal distribution

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58) The expected value of the standard normal distribution is equal to ________.
Answer: 0
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 519
Section Heading: The Normal Distribution
Keywords: expected value, standard normal distribution

59) The standard deviation of the standard normal distribution is equal to ________.
Answer: 1
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 519
Section Heading: The Normal Distribution
Keywords: expected value, standard normal distribution

Jim is considering pursuing an MS in Information Systems degree. He has applied to two different
universities. The acceptance rate for applicants with similar qualifications is 20% for University X and
45% for University Y.

60) What is the probability that Jim will be accepted at both universities?
Answer: 0.09
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 508
Section Heading: Statistical Independence and Dependence
Keywords: multiplication of probabilities
AACSB: Analytic skills

61) What is the probability that Jim will not be accepted at either university?
Answer: 0.44 = (.55) × (.80)
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 495
Section Heading: Statistical Independence and Dependence
Keywords: multiplication of probabilities
AACSB: Analytic skills

62) What is the probability that Jim will be accepted by at least one of the two universities?
Answer: 0.56 = 1 - [(.55) × (.80)]
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 506
Section Heading: Fundamentals of Probability
Keywords: multiplication of probabilities
AACSB: Analytic skills

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Employees of a local company are classified according to gender and job type. The following table
summarizes the number of people in each job category.

Male (M)Female (F)

Job
Administrative (AD) 110 10
Salaried staff (SS) 30 50
Hourly staff (HS) 60 40

63) If an employee is selected at random, what is the probability that the employee is male?
Answer: .667 = 200/300
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 505
Section Heading: Fundamentals of Probability
Keywords: marginal probability
AACSB: Analytic skills

64) If an employee is selected at random, what is the probability that the employee is male and salaried
staff?
Answer: .10 = 30/300
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 505
Section Heading: Fundamentals of Probability
Keywords: joint probability
AACSB: Analytic skills

65) If an employee is selected at random, what is the probability that the employee is female given that
the employee is a salaried staff member?
Answer: .625 = 50/80
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 508
Section Heading: Statistical Independence and Dependence
Keywords: conditional probability
AACSB: Analytic skills

66) If an employee is selected at random, what is the probability that the employee is female or works as
a member of the administration
Answer: .70 = 100/300 + 120/300 -10/300
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 506
Section Heading: Fundamentals of Probability
Keywords: not mutually exclusive events, addition rule
AACSB: Analytic skills

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The Dean's Office keeps tracks of student complaints received each week. The probability distribution
for complaints can be represented as a table as shown below. The random variable xi represents the
number of complaints, and p(xi) is the probability of receiving xi complaints.

0 1 2 3 4 5 6
p( ) .10 .15 .18 .20 .20 .10 .07

67) What is the probability that they receive less than 3 complaints in a week?
Answer: 0.43
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 505
Section Heading: Fundamentals of Probability
Keywords: probability distribution
AACSB: Analytic skills

68) What is the average number of complaints received per week?

Answer: 2.83
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 516
Section Heading: Expected Value
Keywords: expected value, probability distribution
AACSB: Analytic skills

69) A fair die is rolled nine times. What is the probability that an odd number (1, 3, or 5) will occur less
than 3 times?
Answer: 0.0899
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 510
Section Heading: The Binomial Distribution
Keywords: binomial distribution
AACSB: Analytic skills

70) A fair die is rolled 8 times. What is the probability that an even number (2, 4, or 6) will occur
between 2 and 4 times?
Answer: 0.6016
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 510
Section Heading: The Binomial Distribution
Keywords: binomial distribution
AACSB: Analytic skills

A company markets educational software products, and is ready to place three new products on the
market. Past experience has shown that for this particular software, the chance of "success" is 80%.
Assume that the probability of success is independent for each product.

71) Find the probability that exactly 1 of the 3 products is successful.

Answer: (3)(.8)(.2)(.2) = .096
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 510
Section Heading: The Binomial Distribution
Keywords: binomial distribution
AACSB: Analytic skills

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72) Find the probability that none of the 3 products is successful.
Answer: (1)(.2)(.2)(.2) = .008
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 510
Section Heading: The Binomial Distribution
Keywords: binomial distribution
AACSB: Analytic skills

73) If X has the following probability distribution

X 1 2 3 4
P(X) .1 .5 .2 .2

Compute the expected value of X.

Answer: 2.5 EV = (1)(.1) + (2)(.5) + (3)(.2) + (4)(.2) = 2.5
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 516
Section Heading: Expected Value
Keywords: expected value
AACSB: Analytic skills

74) Assume X has the following probability distribution :

X 1 2 3 4
P(X) .1 .5 .2 .2

Compute the standard deviation of X.

Answer: .9219
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 517
Section Heading: Expected Value
Keywords: standard deviation
AACSB: Analytic skills

75) If x is normally distributed with a mean of 10 and a standard deviation of 3, then P(x ≤ 6) is equal to
P( Z ≤ _____)?
Answer: -4/3
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 519
Section Heading: The Normal Distribution
Keywords: normal distribution
AACSB: Analytic skills

76) For a standard normal distribution, what is the probability that z is greater than 1.75?
Answer: 0.0401
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 520
Section Heading: The Normal Distribution
Keywords: normal distribution
AACSB: Analytic skills

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Two psychology majors, in two different sections of Clinical Psychology, were comparing test scores.
The following gives the students' scores, class mean, and standard deviation for each section:

Section 1 Section 2
Student score 84 75
Mean 75 60
Standard deviation 7 8

77) What is the z-score of the student from section 1 and what is the probability that a student in section
1 will score higher than 84?
Answer: 1.286 and .0985
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 520
Section Heading: The Normal Distribution
Keywords: normal distribution
AACSB: Analytic skills

78) What is the z-score of the student from section 2 and what is the probability that a student in section
2 will score higher than 75?
Answer: 1.875 and .0301
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 520
Section Heading: The Normal Distribution
Keywords: norm distrib, probability calculations with normal distribution
AACSB: Analytic skills

79) Which student scored better compared to the rest of their section?
Answer: section 2 student because their z-score is higher
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 520
Section Heading: The Normal Distribution
Keywords: mean, standard deviation
AACSB: Analytic skills

80) The weight of a loaf of bread is normally distributed with a mean of 22 oz and a standard deviation
of 0.5 oz. What is the probability that a loaf is larger than 21 oz?
Answer: 0.9772
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 520
Section Heading: The Normal Distribution
Keywords: norm distrib, probability calculations with normal distribution
AACSB: Analytic skills

81) The weight of a loaf of bread is normally distributed with a mean of 22 oz and a standard deviation
of 0.5 oz. What is the probability that a loaf of bread is larger than 23 oz?
Answer: 0.0228
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 520
Section Heading: The Normal Distribution
Keywords: norm distrib, probability calculations with normal distribution
AACSB: Analytic skills

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82) The weight of a loaf of bread is normally distributed with a mean of 22 oz and a standard deviation
of 0.5 oz. What is the probability that a loaf is less than 24 oz?
Answer: 1
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 520
Section Heading: The Normal Distribution
Keywords: norm distrib, probability calculations with normal distribution
AACSB: Analytic skills

83) The weight of a loaf of bread is normally distributed with a mean of 22 oz and a standard deviation
of 0.5 oz. What is the probability that a loaf is between 20.75 and 23.25 oz?
Answer: 0.9876
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 521
Section Heading: The Normal Distribution
Keywords: norm distrib, probability calculations with normal distribution
AACSB: Analytic skills

84) The weight of a loaf of bread is normally distributed with a mean of 22 oz and a standard deviation
of 0.5 oz. What is the probability that a loaf is between 21.75 and 22.25 oz?
Answer: 0.3830
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 521
Section Heading: The Normal Distribution
Keywords: norm distrib, probability calculations with normal distribution
AACSB: Analytic skills

85) The weight of a loaf of bread is normally distributed with a mean of 22 oz and a standard deviation
of 0.5 oz. What is the probability that a loaf is more than 24 oz?
Answer: 0
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 519
Section Heading: The Normal Distribution
Keywords: norm distrib, probability calculations with normal distribution
AACSB: Analytic skills

86) The weight of a loaf of bread is normally distributed with a mean of 22 oz and a standard deviation
of 0.5 oz. What is the probability that a loaf is more than 22.25 oz?
Answer: 0.3085
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 519
Section Heading: The Normal Distribution
Keywords: norm distrib, probability calculations with normal distribution
AACSB: Analytic skills

87) A life insurance company wants to estimate its annual payouts. Assume that the probability
distribution of the lifetimes of the participants is approximately a normal distribution with a mean of 68
years and a standard deviation of 4 years. What proportion of the plan recipients would receive
payments beyond age 75?
Answer: 0.0401
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 519
Section Heading: The Normal Distribution
Keywords: normal distribution
AACSB: Analytic skills

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88) A life insurance company wants to estimate its annual payouts. Assume that the probability
distribution of the lifetimes of the participants is approximately a normal distribution with a mean of 68
years and a standard deviation of 4 years. What proportion of the participants die before they reach the
age of 65?
Answer: 0.2266
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 519
Section Heading: The Normal Distribution
Keywords: normal distribution
AACSB: Analytic skills

89) A life insurance company wants to estimate its annual payouts. Assume that the probability
distribution of the lifetimes of the participants is approximately a normal distribution with a mean of 68
years and a standard deviation of 4 years. By what age have 80% of the plan participants passed away?
Answer: 71.36 years old
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 521
Section Heading: The Normal Distribution
Keywords: normal distribution
AACSB: Analytic skills

90) For the normal distribution, the mean plus and minus 1.96 standard deviations will include what
percent of the observations?
Answer: 95%
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 521
Section Heading: The Normal Distribution
Keywords: normal distribution
AACSB: Analytic skills

91) What is the area under the normal curve for Z ≥ 1.79?
Answer: 0.0367
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 521
Section Heading: The Normal Distribution
Keywords: normal distribution
AACSB: Analytic skills

92) A study of a company's practice regarding the payment of invoices revealed that on the average an
invoice was paid 20 days after it was received. The standard deviation equaled 5 days. Assuming that
the distribution is normal, what percent of the invoices is paid within 15 days of receipt?
Answer: 15.87%
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 519
Section Heading: The Normal Distribution
Keywords: normal distribution
AACSB: Analytic skills

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93) The owner of a seafood market determined that the average weight for a crab is 1.6 pounds with a
standard deviation of 0.4 pound. Assuming the weights of the crabs are normally distributed, what is the
probability that a randomly selected crab will weigh more than 2.2 pounds?
Answer: 0.0668
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 519
Section Heading: The Normal Distribution
Keywords: norm distrib, probability calculations with normal distribution
AACSB: Analytic skills

94) The owner of a seafood market determined that the average weight for a crab is 1.6 pounds with a
standard deviation of 0.4 pound. Assuming the weights of crabs are normally distributed, what is the
probability that a randomly selected crab will weigh between 1 and 2 pounds?
Answer: 0.7745
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 519
Section Heading: The Normal Distribution
Keywords: norm distrib, probability calculations with normal distribution
AACSB: Analytic skills

95) The owner of a seafood market determined that the average weight for a crab is 1.6 pounds with a
standard deviation of 0.4 pound. Assuming the weights of crabs are normally distributed, the probability
that a randomly selected crab will weigh less than 1.2 pounds is ________.
Answer: 0.1587
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 519
Section Heading: The Normal Distribution
Keywords: norm distrib, probability calculations with normal distribution
AACSB: Analytic skills

96) A research scientist has observed the monkeys of the Nandi Hills outside of Bangalore for the last
twenty years, carefully cataloging their preferences for a number of food items. An unsuspecting tourist
leaves his can of soda unattended. Describe the type of probability the research scientist can assign to
the likelihood that the soda will become the monkey's next meal. Then contrast this type of probability
with the other of the two basic types.
Answer: The two types of probability are objective and subjective. Objective probabilities can be stated
prior to the occurrence of an event and since the scientist has observed these monkeys for twenty years,
there are relative frequency probabilities associated with common items such as a can of soda. The other
type of probability is subjective, which is an estimate based on personal belief. Since the scientist is
experienced, this would not be an appropriate characterization of the event. We could assume the tourist
is unfamiliar with the behavior of these monkeys, thus the tourist's estimate would most likely be
subjective (unless the tourist was a primate research scientist on holiday).
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 503-504
Section Heading: Types of Probability
Keywords: objective probabilities, classical probabilities
AACSB: Analytic skills

97) What are the differences between deterministic and probabilistic techniques?
Answer: Deterministic techniques assume that no uncertainty exists in the model parameters.
Probabilistic techniques include uncertainty and assume that there can be more than one solution.
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 503-504
Section Heading: Types of Probability
Keywords: deterministic techniques
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Horatio Oscar Vineeth Lane (HOV Lane for short) records his commute times for a period of one month
and assigned them to five different categories as shown in the table.

Commute Length Number of Observations

commute time <10 minutes 1
10 ≤ commute time < 20 minutes 2
20 ≤ commute time < 30 minutes 4
30 ≤ commute time < 40 minutes 9
40 ≤ commute time < 50 minutes 4

98) What is the likelihood that the commute will take 30 minutes or longer?
Answer: 13/20 = 65%
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 508
Section Heading: Fundamentals of Probability
Keywords: cumulative probability distribution
AACSB: Analytic skills

99) What is the cumulative probability for the three shortest commute categories?
Answer: (1+2+4)/20 = 0.35
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 508
Section Heading: Fundamentals of Probability
Keywords: cumulative probability distribution
AACSB: Analytic skills

100) What is the average commute time for HOV Lane?

Answer: Taking the midpoints of each observation as the value of the random variable, we get
.05∗5 + .1∗15 + .2∗25 + .45∗35 + .2∗45 = 31.5 minutes
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 516
Section Heading: Expected Value
Keywords: expected value
AACSB: Analytic skills

101) Assume that X is a normally distributed random variable with a mean of 50 and a standard
deviation of 2. Find the probability that X is between 48 and 55.
Answer: 0.8351
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 519
Section Heading: The Normal Distribution
Keywords: norm distrib, probability calculations with normal distribution
AACSB: Analytic skills

102) A paint manufacturer's production process is normally distributed with a mean of 100,000 gallons
and a standard deviation of 10,000 gallons. Management wants to create an incentive bonus for the
production crew when the daily production exceeds the 94th percentile of the distribution. At what level
of production should management pay the incentive bonus?
Answer: z = 1.56, so the incentive level is 115,600 gallons.
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 521
Section Heading: The Normal Distribution
Keywords: normal distribution
AACSB: Analytic skills

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Copyright © 2013 Pearson Higher Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall
An online sweepstakes has the following payoffs and probabilities. Each person is limited to one entry.

103) The probability that someone wins any money is ________.

Answer: 0.1166
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 508
Section Heading: Fundamentals of Probability
Keywords: probability distribution
AACSB: Analytic skills

104) The probability of winning at least $1000 is ________.

Answer: 0.0006
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 506
Section Heading: Fundamentals of Probability
Keywords: probability distribution
AACSB: Analytic skills

105) ________ techniques assume that no uncertainty exists in model parameters.

A) Probability
B) Probabilistic
C) Deterministic
D) Distribution
Answer: C
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 503
Section Heading: Types of Probability
Keywords: deterministic methods

106) ________ probability is an estimate based on personal belief, experience, or knowledge of a

situation.
A) Binomial
B) Subjective
C) Marginal
D) Joint
Answer: B
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 504
Section Heading: Types of Probability
Keywords: subjective probability

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107) Objective probabilities that can be stated prior to the occurrence of an event are
A) deterministic or probabilistic.
B) subjective or objective.
C) classical or a priori.
D) relative or subjective.
Answer: C
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 503
Section Heading: Types of Probability
Keywords: classical (or a priori) probability

108) The events in an experiment are ________ if only one can occur at a time.
A) mutually exclusive
B) non-mutually exclusive
C) mutually inclusive
D) independent
Answer: A
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 505
Section Heading: Fundamentals of Probability
Keywords: mutually exclusive events

109) In a given experiment the probabilities of mutually exclusive events sum to:
A) 0
B) 0.5
C) 1
D) This cannot be answered without knowing the probability values of the events.
Answer: C
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 505
Section Heading: Fundamentals of Probability
Keywords: mutually exclusive events

110) A ________ probability is the probability of a single event occurring.

A) subjective
B) binomial
C) marginal
D) joint
Answer: C
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 506
Section Heading: Fundamentals of Probability
Keywords: marginal probability

111) A frequency distribution is an organization of ________ data about the events in an experiment.
A) quantitative
B) integer
C) qualitative
D) unknown
Answer: A
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 505
Section Heading: Fundamentals of Probability
Keywords: frequency distribution

19
Copyright © 2013 Pearson Higher Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall
112) Jim is considering pursuing an MS in Information Systems degree. He has applied to two different
universities. The acceptance rate for applicants with similar qualifications is 20% for University X and
45% for University Y. What is the probability that Jim will be accepted at both universities?
A) .65
B) .25
C) .20
D) .09
Answer: D
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 505
Section Heading: Fundamentals of Probability
Keywords: multiplication of probabilities
AACSB: Analytic skills

113) Jim is considering pursuing an MS in Information Systems degree. He has applied to two different
universities. The acceptance rate for applicants with similar qualifications is 20% for University X and
45% for University Y. What is the probability that Jim will not be accepted at either university?
A) .30
B) .36
C) .44
D) .56
Answer: C
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 506
Section Heading: Fundamentals of Probability
Keywords: multiplication of probabilities
AACSB: Analytic skills

114) Employees of a local company are classified according to gender and job type. The following table
summarizes the number of people in each job category.

Male (M)Female (F)

Job
Administrative (AD) 110 10
Salaried staff (SS) 30 50
Hourly staff (HS) 60 40

If an employee is selected at random, what is the probability that the employee is female or works as a
member of the administration?
A) .17
B) .67
C) .70
D) .73
Answer: C
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 508
Section Heading: Fundamentals of Probability
Keywords: not mutually exclusive events, addition rule
AACSB: Analytic skills

20
Copyright © 2013 Pearson Higher Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall
115) A ________ probability distribution indicates the probability of r successes in n trials.
A) joint
B) subjective
C) marginal
D) binomial
Answer: D
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 510
Section Heading: Statistical Independence and Dependence
Keywords: binomial probability distribution

116) The probability of independent events occurring in succession is computed by ________ the
probabilities of each event.
A) multiplying
B) adding
C) subtracting
D) dividing
Answer: A
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 508
Section Heading: Statistical Independence and Dependence
Keywords: independent events

117) A ________ probability is the probability that an event will occur given that another event has
already occurred.
A) subjective
B) objective
C) conditional
D) binomial
Answer: C
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 508
Section Heading: Statistical Independence and Dependence
Keywords: conditional probability

118) In Bayesian analysis, additional information is used to alter the ________ probability of the
occurrence of an event.
A) marginal
B) conditional
C) binomial
D) revised
Answer: A
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 514
Section Heading: Statistical Independence and Dependence
Keywords: marginal probability

21
Copyright © 2013 Pearson Higher Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall
119) Employees of a local company are classified according to gender and job type. The following table
summarizes the number of people in each job category.

Male (M)Female (F)

Job
Administrative (AD) 110 10
Salaried staff (SS) 30 50
Hourly staff (HS) 60 40

If an employee is selected at random, what is the probability that the employee is female given that the
employee is a salaried staff member?
A) .50
B) .60
C) .625
D) .70
Answer: C
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 510
Section Heading: Statistical Independence and Dependence
Keywords: conditional probability
AACSB: Analytic skills

120) A ________ probability is the altered marginal probability of an event based on additional
information.
A) posterior
B) joint
C) marginal
D) conditional
Answer: A
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 514
Section Heading: Statistical Independence and Dependence
Keywords: posterior (revised) probability

121) Mutually exclusive events are

A) events with identical probabilities.
B) events that have no outcomes in common.
C) events that have no effect on each other.
D) events that are represented in a Venn diagram by two overlapping circles.
Answer: B
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 505
Section Heading: Fundamentals of Probability
Keywords: mutually exclusive events

22
Copyright © 2013 Pearson Higher Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall
122) Bayesian analysis involves a(n) ________ probability.
A) a priori
B) posterior
C) joint
D) relative frequency
Answer: B
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 514
Section Heading: Statistical Independence and Dependence
Keywords: Bayesian analysis

123) In a ________ distribution, for each of n trials, the event always has the same probability of
occurring.
A) binomial
B) joint
C) frequency
D) standard
Answer: A
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 510
Section Heading: Statistical Independence and Dependence
Keywords: binomial distribution

124) Experiments with repeated independent trials will be described by the binomial distribution if
A) each trial result influences the next.
B) each trial has exactly two outcomes whose probabilities do not change.
C) the trials are continuous.
D) the time between trials is constant.
Answer: B
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 510
Section Heading: Statistical Independence and Dependence
Keywords: binomial distribution

125) In a binomial distribution, for each of n trials, the event

A) time between trials is constant.
B) always has the same probability of occurring.
C) result of the first trial influence the next trial.
D) trials are continuous.
Answer: B
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 510
Section Heading: Statistical Independence and Dependence
Keywords: binomial distribution

23
Copyright © 2013 Pearson Higher Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall
126) A fair die is rolled nine times. What is the probability that an odd number (1, 3, or 5) will occur
less than 3 times?
A) .0899
B) .2544
C) .7456
D) .9101
Answer: A
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 510
Section Heading: Statistical Independence and Dependence
Keywords: binomial distribution
AACSB: Analytic skills

127) A fair die is rolled 8 times. What is the probability that an even number (2, 4, or 6) will occur
between 2 and 4 times?
A) .2188
B) .4922
C) .6016
D) .8204
Answer: C
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 510
Section Heading: Statistical Independence and Dependence
Keywords: binomial distribution
AACSB: Analytic skills

128) A company markets educational software products and is ready to place three new products on the
market. Past experience has shown that for this particular software, the chance of "success" is 80%.
Assume that the probability of success is independent for each product. What is the probability that
exactly 1 of the 3 products is successful?
A) 0.80
B) 0.032
C) 0.24
D) 0.096
Answer: D
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 510
Section Heading: Statistical Independence and Dependence
Keywords: binomial distribution
AACSB: Analytic skills

129) ________ is a measure of the dispersion of random variable values about the expected value or
mean.
A) Standard deviation
B) Sample mean
C) Population mean
D) Expected value
Answer: A
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 515
Section Heading: Expected Value
Keywords: variance, standard deviation

24
Copyright © 2013 Pearson Higher Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall
130) An automotive center keeps tracks of customer complaints received each week. The probability
distribution for complaints can be represented as the table shown below. The random variable xi
represents the number of complaints, and p(xi) is the probability of receiving xi complaints.

0 1 2 3 4 5 6
p( ) .10 .15 .18 .20 .20 .10 .07

What is the average number of complaints received per week?

A) 2.12
B) 3.32
C) 4.12
D) 2.83
Answer: D
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 516
Section Heading: Expected Value
Keywords: expected value
AACSB: Analytic skills

131) The expected value of the standard normal distribution is equal to:
A) 0
B) 1
C) 1.5
D) 2
Answer: A
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 519
Section Heading: The Normal Distribution
Keywords: expected value

132) The area under the normal curve represents probability, and the total area under the curve sums to:
A) 0
B) 0.5
C) 1
D) 2
Answer: C
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 517
Section Heading: The Normal Distribution
Keywords: normal distribution

133) The ________ and variance are derived from a subset of the population data and are used to make
inferences about the population.
A) population variance
B) population standard deviation
C) population mean
D) sample mean
Answer: D
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 511
Section Heading: The Normal Distribution
Keywords: mean and variance

25
Copyright © 2013 Pearson Higher Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall
134) Under the normal curve, the area between z = 1 and z = -2 includes approximately ________ of the
values.
A) 98%
B) 95%
C) 85%
D) 82%
Answer: D
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 520
Section Heading: The Normal Distribution
Keywords: normal distribution
AACSB: Analytic skills

135) For the normal distribution, the mean plus and minus 1.96 standard deviations will include what
percent of the observations?
A) 84%
B) 90%
C) 95%
D) 97%
Answer: C
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 520
Section Heading: The Normal Distribution
Keywords: normal distribution
AACSB: Analytic skills

136) The weight of a jar of jelly is normally distributed with a mean of 16 oz and a standard deviation of
0.02 oz. What is the probability that a jar of jelly contains less than 16 oz?
A) .1915
B) .3085
C) .5000
D) .7257
Answer: C
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 520
Section Heading: The Normal Distribution
Keywords: norm distrib, probability calculations with normal distribution
AACSB: Analytic skills

137) The weight of a jar of jelly is normally distributed with a mean of 16 oz and a standard deviation of
0.02 oz. What is the probability that a jar of jelly contains more than 16.03 oz?
A) .0668
B) .1587
C) .4332
D) .9332
Answer: A
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 519
Section Heading: The Normal Distribution
Keywords: norm distrib, probability calculations with normal distribution
AACSB: Analytic skills

26
Copyright © 2013 Pearson Higher Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall
138) Under the normal curve, the area between z = 2 and z = -2 includes ________ of the values.
A) 98%
B) 96%
C) 95%
D) 93%
Answer: C
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 519
Section Heading: The Normal Distribution
Keywords: normal distribution
AACSB: Analytic skills

139) The metropolitan airport commission is considering the establishment of limitations on noise
pollution around a local airport. At the present time, the noise level per jet takeoff in one neighborhood
near the airport is approximately normally distributed with a mean of 100 decibels and a standard
deviation of 3 decibels. What is the probability that a randomly selected jet will generate a noise level
of more than 105 decibels?
A) 0.0228
B) 0.0475
C) 0.0485
D) 0.0500
Answer: B
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 520
Section Heading: The Normal Distribution
Keywords: normal distribution
AACSB: Analytic skills

140) For some positive value of Z, the probability that a standard normal variable is between 0 and Z is
0.2910. The value of Z is:
A) 0.17
B) 0.81
C) 1.25
D) 1.65
Answer: B
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 520
Section Heading: The Normal Distribution
Keywords: normal distribution
AACSB: Analytic skills

141) For some value of Z, the probability that a standard normal variable is below Z is 0.3783. The value
of Z is:
A) -0.81
B) -0.31
C) 0.82
D) 1.55
Answer: B
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 519
Section Heading: The Normal Distribution
Keywords: standard normal distribution
AACSB: Analytic skills

27
Copyright © 2013 Pearson Higher Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall
142) For some positive value of Z, the probability that a standard normal variable is between 0 and Z is
0.3554. The value of Z is:
A) 0.31
B) 0.36
C) 0.95
D) 1.06
Answer: D
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 519
Section Heading: The Normal Distribution
Keywords: norm distrib, probability calculations with normal distribution
AACSB: Analytic skills

143) If we know that the length of time it takes a college student to find a parking spot in the library
parking lot follows a normal distribution with a mean of 3.5 minutes and a standard deviation of 1
minute, find the probability that a randomly selected college student will find a parking spot in the
library parking lot in less than 3 minutes.
A) 0.3551
B) 0.3085
C) 0.2674
D) 0.1915
Answer: B
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 520
Section Heading: The Normal Distribution
Keywords: normal distribution
AACSB: Analytic skills

144) Assume that it takes a college student an average of 5 minutes to find a parking spot in the main
parking lot. Assume also that this time is normally distributed with a standard deviation of 2 minutes.
Find the probability that a randomly selected college student will take between 2 and 6 minutes to find a
parking spot in the main parking lot.
A) 0.1950
B) 0.4772
C) 0.4332
D) 0.6247
Answer: D
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 520
Section Heading: The Normal Distribution
Keywords: norm distrib, probability calculations with normal distribution
AACSB: Analytic skills

28
Copyright © 2013 Pearson Higher Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall
145) Assume that it takes a college student an average of 5 minutes to find a parking spot in the main
parking lot. Assume also that this time is normally distributed with a standard deviation of 2 minutes.
What time is exceeded by approximately 75% of the college students when trying to find a parking spot
in the main parking lot?
A) 3.65 minutes
B) 5.75 minutes
C) 6.36 minutes
D) 9.21 minutes
Answer: A
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 519
Section Heading: The Normal Distribution
Keywords: normal distribution
AACSB: Analytic skills

146) The owner of a seafood market determined that the average weight for a crab is 1.6 pounds with a
standard deviation of 0.4 pound. What weight is exceeded by 2% of all of the crabs? (Assume the
weights are normally distributed.)
A) 0.78 pounds
B) 1.82 pounds
C) 2.42 pounds
D) 4.36 pounds
Answer: C
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 520
Section Heading: The Normal Distribution
Keywords: norm distrib, probability calculations with normal distribution
AACSB: Analytic skills

147) A professor would like to assign grades such that 5% of students receive As. If the exam average
is 62 with a standard deviation of 13, what grade should be the cutoff for an A? (Round your answer.)
A) 80
B) 83
C) 90
D) 93
Answer: B
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 520
Section Heading: The Normal Distribution
Keywords: norm distrib, probability calculations with normal distribution
AACSB: Analytic skills

148) A professor would like to assign grades such that 7% of students receive Fs. If the exam average is
62 with a standard deviation of 13, what grade should be the cutoff for an F? (Round your answer.)
A) 43
B) 49
C) 50
D) 55
Answer: A
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 519
Section Heading: The Normal Distribution
Keywords: norm distrib, probability calculations with normal distribution
AACSB: Analytic skills
29
Copyright © 2013 Pearson Higher Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall
Horatio Oscar Vineeth Lane (HOV Lane for short) records his commute times for a period of one month
and assigned them to five different categories as shown in the table.

Commute Length Number of Observations

commute time <10 minutes 1
10 ≤ commute time < 20 minutes 2
20 ≤ commute time < 30 minutes 4
30 ≤ commute time < 40 minutes 9
40 ≤ commute time < 50 minutes 4

149) What is the duration of Mr. Lane's expected commute?

A) 31.5 minutes
B) 27.25 minutes
C) 25.5 minutes
D) 33.75 minutes
Answer: A
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 516
Section Heading: Expected Value
Keywords: expected value
AACSB: Analytic skills

150) What is the probability that Mr. Lane makes it home in under thirty minutes?
A) .15
B) .35
C) .20
D) .55
Answer: B
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 507-508
Section Heading: Fundamentals of Probability
Keywords: cumulative probability distribution
AACSB: Analytic skills

151) What kind of probability is demonstrated if Mr. Lane is asked to predict the duration of his next
commute?
A) subjective probability
B) conjecture probability
C) objective probability
D) reflexive probability
Answer: C
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 503
Section Heading: Types of Probability
Keywords: objective probabilities, classical probabilities

30
Copyright © 2013 Pearson Higher Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall
152) Which of these events are mutually exclusive?
A) The duration of Mr. Lane's commute is less than expected; Mr. Lane's commute is between twenty
and thirty minutes.
B) Mr. Lane's commute is longer than 30 minutes; Mr. Lane's commute is longer than 40 minutes.
C) Mr Lanes commute is between ten and forty minutes; Mr. Lane's commute is between twenty and
thirty minutes.
D) Mr. Lane's commute takes less than ten minutes; Mr Lane's commute exceeds his expected commute.
Answer: D
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 506
Section Heading: Fundamentals of Probability
Keywords: mutually exclusive events

31
Copyright © 2013 Pearson Higher Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall