Calculating Probabilities Based on a Saint Index survey, assume that when adults are asked to identify the most unpopular projects for their hometown, 54% include WalMart among their choices. Suppose we want to find the probability that when five adults are randomly selected, exactly two of them include WalMart. What is wrong with using the multiplication rule to find the probability of getting two adults who include WalMart followed by three people who do not include WalMart, as in this calculation: (0.54)(0.54)(0.46)(0.46)(0.46)?
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Textbook Solutions for Elementary Statistics
Question
Geometric Distribution If a procedure meets all the conditions of a binomial distribution except that the number of trials is not fixed, then the geometric distribution can be used. The probability of getting the first success on the xth trial is given by P ( x ) = p ( 1 p ) x 1 , where p is the probability of success on any one trial. Subjects are randomly selected for the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control. Find the probability that the first subject to be a universal blood donor (with group O and type Rh blood) is the fifth person selected. The probability that someone is a universal donor is 0.06.
Solution
The first step in solving 5-3 problem number 45 trying to solve the problem we have to refer to the textbook question: Geometric Distribution If a procedure meets all the conditions of a binomial distribution except that the number of trials is not fixed, then the geometric distribution can be used. The probability of getting the first success on the xth trial is given by P ( x ) = p ( 1 p ) x 1 , where p is the probability of success on any one trial. Subjects are randomly selected for the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control. Find the probability that the first subject to be a universal blood donor (with group O and type Rh blood) is the fifth person selected. The probability that someone is a universal donor is 0.06.
From the textbook chapter Binomial Probability Distributions you will find a few key concepts needed to solve this.
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