Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Educational and Research Institute
PO Belur Math, Howrah, West Bengal 711 202
School of Mathematical Sciences
Department of Computer Science
MSc Computer Science : Batch 2025-27, Semester I, Problem Set I
DA104: Probability and Stochastic Process
Joydeep Mukherjee
Date: 10 Aug 2025
Answer the following questions.
1. A machine dispenses balls that are either red or black or green. Suppose we operate the machine three
successive times and record the color of the balls dispensed, to be denoted by r ,b, and g for the respective
colors.
a) Write an appropriate sample space for this experiment.
b) Consider the events A, B, and C, defined as follows, and express them by means of sample points.
• A = ”all three colors appear”
• B = ”only two colors appear”
• C = “at least two colors appear.”
2. In terms of the events A1 , A2 , A3 in a sample space S and, perhaps, their complements, express the following
events:
a) B0 = { s ∈ S; s belongs to none of A1 , A2, A3}.
b) B2 = { s ∈ S; s belongs to exactly two of A1 , A2 , A3 }.
c) C = { s ∈ S; s belongs to at most two of A1 , A2 , A3 }.
3. For events A and B, find formulas for the probabilities of the following events in terms of the quantities
P (A), P (B), and P (A ∩ B).
a) either A or B or both
b) either A or B or but not both
c) at least one of A or B
d) at most one of A or B
4. Approximately one-third of all human twins are identical (one-egg) and two-thirds are fraternal (two-egg)
twins. Identical twins are necessarily the same sex, with male and female being equally likely. Among
fraternal twins, approximately one-fourth are both female, one-fourth are both male, and half are one male
and one female. Finally, among all U.S. births, approximately 1 in 90 is a twin birth. Define the following
events:
A = { a U.S. birth results in twin females}
B = { a U.S. birth results in identical twins}
C = { a U.S. birth results in twins }
a) State in words, the event A ∩ B ∩ C.
b) Find P (A ∩ B ∩ C).
5. If P (A) = 1
3 and P (B c ) = 4,
1
can A and B be disjoint? Explain.
6. If n distinct balls are placed at random into n cells, find the probability that exactly one cell remains empty.
7. My telephone rings 12 times each week, the calls being randomly distributed among the seven days. What
is the probability that I get at least one call each day?
8. A closet contains n pairs of shoes. If 2r shoes are chosen at random (2r < n), what is the probability that
there will be no matching pair in the sample?
9. In a draft lottery containing the 366 days of the year (including February 29), what is the probability that
the first 180 days drawn (without replacement) are evenly distributed among the 12 months?
10. Verify the following identities for n ≥ 2.
a) Σnk = 0 (−1)k n
k = 0
b) Σnk = 1 k nk = n2n−1
c) Σnk = 1 (−1)k+1 k nk = 0
11. Suppose {1, 2, 3, 4 ..., 100} form a population . A sample of size three will be three members from
population possibly with repitition. Suppose we draw a member from the population, note down its number
and return it. This process is called sampling with replacement. Again, suppose we draw a member from the
population, note down its number and do not return it. This process is called sampling without replacement.
If we select a sample of size three viz. {47, 2, 47 }, then it means that the first and third sample is 47 and
second is 2. Also notice this set is ordered as far as the sampling process is concerned. We can say {2, 47, 47}
is the unordered version of the sample, if we insist on simply listing the elements without considering the
order in which they were picked. In fact we fix a convention that, we list them in ascending order. For more
details you may refer Casella, Berger 1.2.19 − 20. Now answer the following:
a) Suppose that we had a collection of six numbers {1, 2, 7, 8, 14, 20}. What is the probability of drawing,
with replacement, the unordered sample {2, 7, 7, 8, 14, 14}?
b) How many distinct un-ordered samples of size five can be drawn, if they are drawn with replacement?
c) Verify that an unordered sample of size k, from m different numbers repeated k1 , k2 , ..., km times, has
k1 ! k2 !...km ! ordered components, where k1 + k2 + . . . + km = k.
k!
d) Prove that from a population {x1 , x2 , ...xn } the unordered sample {x1 , x2 , ...xn } has the highest
probability of occurrence if the population is sampled with replacement.
12. The sum of two non-negative quantities is equal to 2n. Find the chance that their product is not less than
4 times their greatest product.
3
13. Out of (2n + 1) tickets consecutively numbered three are drawn at random. Find the chance that numbers
on them are in A.P.
14. Let A and B be two events such that P (A) = 3
4 and P (B) = 8.
5
Show that:
a) P (A ∪ B) ≥ 3
4
b) 3
8 ≤ P (A ∩ B) ≤ 5
8
15. Please go through the Basic principles of Principles of Inclusion and Exclusion.
