N ATIONAL U NIVERSITY OF S INGAPORE
D EPARTMENT OF S TATISTICS AND DATA S CIENCE
ST2334 P ROBABILITY AND S TATISTICS
S EMESTER II, AY 2024/2025
Tutorial 03
Please work on the questions before attending the tutorial.
Exam Format Questions
1. Multiple choice question: choose the unique correct answer.
Which of the following can define probability distributions?
(a) f (x) = x/14 for x = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4. 1. Sum of f(x) = 1
2. f(i) > 0
(b) f (x) = 3−x2/4 for x = 0, 1, 2.
(c) f (x) = 1/5 for x = 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.
(d) f (x) = 2x+1/50 for x = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
2. Multiple choice question: choose the unique correct answer.
Which of the following figures draws the cumulative distribution function, F(x), (solid blue curve)
for the random variable X, whose probability function is given by
0.1 10 ≤ x ≤ 20
f (x) = .
0 elsewhere
(a)
F(x)
0.1
0 10 20 x
(b)
F(x)
0 10 20 x
(c)
1
F(x)
0 10 20 x
(d)
F(x)
0.5
0 10 20 x
3. Multiple choice question: choose the unique correct answer.
A worker needs to drive to work from his home daily. There is only one route available, on which
there are two speeding cameras working independently. The speeding cameras at each of these
locations operates 50% and 75% of the time respectively. Based on the worker’s driving habit, he
will speed 40% of the time; and whether he will speed at different time points are independent.
What is the probability that the worker will not receive a speeding ticket for each day?
Note: whether the camera is working at any time is also independent with whether a driver is
speeding when s/he drives through that camera.
(a) 0.56
(b) 0.48
(c) 0.36
(d) 0.72
4. Multiple response question: choose all that apply.
Which of the following figures draws the cumulative distribution function, F(x), (solid blue curve)
for some random variable X?
(a)
F(x)
0.1
0 10 20 x
2
(b)
F(x)
0 10 20 x
(c)
F(x)
0 10 20 x
(d)
F(x)
0.5
0 10 20 x
5. True/False.
Let X be a continuous random variable; and let Y be a discrete random variable. It is possible to
find a real number a, such that P(X = a) > P(Y = a).
• TRUE
• FALSE
Analytical Questions
1. A manufacturer of printed circuit boards exposes all finished boards to an online automated veri-
fication test. During one period, 900 boards were completed and 890 passed the test. The test is
not infallible. Of 30 boards intentionally made to have noticeable defects, 25 were detected by the
test.
(a) Approximate P(board passes test|board has defects).
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(b) Give an approximate value for the probability that a manufactured board will have defects.
In order to answer the question, you need information about the conditional probability that
a good board will fail the test. This is important to know but was not available at the time an
answer was required. To proceed, you can assume that this probability is zero.
(c) Approximate the probability that a board has defects given that it passed the automated test.
2. For customers purchasing a full set of tires at a particular tire store, consider the events
A = {tires purchased were made in the United States},
B = {purchaser has tires balanced immediately},
C = {purchaser requests for front-end alignment}.
Assume the following unconditional and conditional probabilities:
P(A) = 0.75, P(B|A) = 0.9, P(B|A′ ) = 0.8, P(C|A ∩ B) = 0.8, P(C|A′ ∩ B) = 0.7.
Compute the following probabilities:
(a) P(A ∩ B ∩C).
(b) P(B).
(c) P(A|B), the probability that the tires purchased were made in the United States, given that the
purchaser has tires balanced immediately.
(d) P(B ∩C).
(e) P(A|B ∩C), the probability that the tires purchased were made in the United States, given that
the purchaser has tires balanced immediately and requests for front-end alignment.
3. Total quality management (TQM) is a management philosophy and system of management tech-
niques to improve product and service quality and worker productivity. TQM involves such tech-
niques as teamwork, empowerment of workers, improved communication with customers, eval-
uation of work processes, and statistical analysis of processes and their output. One hundred
Singapore companies were surveyed and it was found that 30 had implemented TQM. Among
the 100 companies surveyed, 60 reported an increase in sales last year. Of those 60, 20 had
implemented TQM. Suppose one of the 100 surveyed companies is to be selected randomly for
additional analysis.
(a) What is the probability that a firm that implemented TQM is selected? That a firm whose
sales increased is selected?
(b) Are the two events {TQM implemented} and {Sales increased} independent or dependent?
Explain.
(c) Suppose that among the 60 firms reporting sales increases, there were only 18 TQM-implementers
(instead of 20). Now are the events {TQM implemented} and {Sales increased} independent
or dependent? Explain.
4. A company uses three different assembly lines, A1 , A2 , and A3 , to manufacture a particular com-
ponent. Of those manufactured by line A1 , 5% need rework to remedy a defect, whereas 8% of
A2 ’s components need rework, and 10% of A3 ’s components need rework. Suppose that 50% of
all components are produced by line A1 , while 30% are produced by line A2 , and 20% come from
line A3 . If a randomly selected component needs rework, what is the probability that it came
(a) from line A1 ?
(b) from line A2 ?
(c) from line A3 ?
Answers for Some of the Analytical Questions
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1. (a) 5/30; (b) 0.013; (c) 0.00225. 3. (a) 0.3; 0.6. (b) A ̸⊥ B; (c) A ⊥ B.
2. (a) 0.54; (b) 0.875; (c) 0.7714; (d) 0.68; (e) 0.7941. 4. (a) 0.3623; (b) 0.3478; (c) 0.2899.
