Math 362 - Computer Lab #4 - Fall 2002

Introduction to Probability Theory

Computer Lab 4: More on Random Variables


Solve the word problems below and use the computer to check your answers either by simulation and/or with the Calc -> Probability Distributions function.

  1. (From A First Course in Probability by Sheldon Ross, Prentice Hall, 2002) Two balls are chosen randomly from an urn containing 8 white, 4 black and 2 orange balls. Suppose that we win $2 for each black ball selected and we lose $1 for each white ball selected. Let X denote our winnings. What are the possible values of X and what are the probabilities associated with each value?









  2. (From A First Course in Probability by Sheldon Ross, Prentice Hall, 2002) Two fair dice are rolled. Let X equal the product of the 2 dice. Compute Pr (X = i) for i = 1, 2, ...










  3. (From A First Course in Probability by Sheldon Ross, Prentice Hall, 2002) Let X represent the difference between the number of heads and the number of tails when a coin is tossed 3 times. What are the possible values of X and what are the corresponding probabilities?















  4. (From An Introduction to Mathematical Statistics and its Applications by R.J. Larsen & M.L. Marx, Prentice Hall, 2001) An urn contains five chips, numbered 1 through 5. Two are drawn without replacement. Tabulate the p.m.f. for X, the larger of the two.










  5. (From An Introduction to Mathematical Statistics and its Applications by R.J. Larsen & M.L. Marx, Prentice Hall, 2001) An urn contains four chips, numbered 1 through 4, where the probability associated with a chip is proportional to its magnitude. Find and graph the c.d.f. corresponding to the number showing on the chip drawn at random.











The macro Loop.MTB illustrates how the results of a simulation (here the sampling without replacement of 2 numbers from Column C1) may be stored in a single column (here C3) when an exec is run more than once. You may try and modify this file at your convenience.
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