Distributions Questions

Easy (1–10)

1. A fair six-sided die is rolled once. What is the probability that the outcome is even?
2. A coin is tossed once. What is the probability of getting heads?
3. A coin is tossed 10 times. Find the probability of getting exactly 6 heads.
4. A call center receives on average 5 calls per hour. What is the probability they receive 2 calls in
an hour?
5. A person tosses a coin until the first head appears. What is the probability it happens on the 3rd
toss?
6. A bus arrives randomly between 0 and 30 minutes. What is the probability it comes within 10
minutes?
7. Heights of adult men are normally distributed with mean 175 cm and variance 25. What is the
probability a man is taller than 180 cm?
8. The standardized exam scores have mean 0 and variance 1. What is the probability a student
scores less than −1.5?
9. The lifetime of a bulb follows an exponential distribution with mean 1000 hours. Find the
probability it lasts more than 1200 hours.
10.The waiting time until the 3rd customer arrives at a shop follows which distribution?

📌 Medium (11–20)

11.A card is picked at random from a deck of 52 cards. What is the probability it is a heart?
12.A student either passes (with probability 0.7) or fails (with probability 0.3). What is the
variance of the outcome?
13.In a factory, 20% of bulbs are defective. Out of 10 chosen bulbs, find the probability that
exactly 3 are defective.
14.On average, 3 accidents occur on a highway per week. What is the probability of observing 0
accidents this week?
15.A person tosses a biased coin (p=0.4 for heads) until the first head appears. What is the
expected number of tosses?
16.A machine outputs lengths uniformly between 2 and 5 cm. What is the expected length?
17.Exam marks are normally distributed with mean 70 and standard deviation 10. What fraction of
students score above 85?
18.A random variable has mean 0 and variance 1. What is the probability it lies between −2 and 2?
19.The average lifetime of a machine is 5 years. Find the probability it survives more than 7 years.
20.If interarrival times of customers are exponential, what is the distribution of total waiting time
until the 5th customer arrives?

📌 Hard (21–30)
 21.A fair die is rolled twice. What is the probability the maximum outcome is 5?
22.A light bulb has a 0.01 probability of failing on any given day. What is the probability it lasts at
least 100 days?
23.A clinic records on average 10 patients per hour. Find the probability of seeing more than 15
patients in an hour.
24.Out of 200 students, each has a 0.02 chance of being left-handed. Find the probability that
exactly 5 are left-handed.
25.A coin is tossed until the first head occurs. What is the probability that the number of tosses is
odd?
26.A train arrives randomly between 9:00 and 9:30. If you arrive at 9:05, what is the probability
you wait at most 10 minutes?
27.A city’s monthly rainfall follows normal distribution with mean 100 mm and variance 225.
What is the probability rainfall exceeds 120 mm?
28.A computer’s component lifetime is exponentially distributed with parameter λ=0.002. What is
the probability it fails within the first 200 hours?
29.The time until the 4th phone call arrives at a call center is modeled by which distribution?
30.A factory receives on average 4 defective products per day. Find the probability of exactly 7
defects occurring tomorrow.

Solutions :

1. Discrete Uniform on {1,…,6} (a=1, b=6).

2. Bernoulli, p=0.5p=0.5p=0.5 (fair coin).
3. Binomial, n=10, p=0.5n=10,\ p=0.5n=10, p=0.5.
4. Poisson, λ=5\lambda=5λ=5 per hour.
5. Geometric, p=0.5p=0.5p=0.5 (trial count to 1st head).
6. Continuous Uniform, [0,30][0,30][0,30] minutes.
7. Normal, μ=175, σ2=25\mu=175,\ \sigma^2=25μ=175, σ2=25 (σ=5\
sigma=5σ=5).

9. Exponential, mean =1000=1000=1000 ⇒ λ=1/1000\lambda=1/1000λ=1/1000

8. Standard Normal, Z∼N(0,1)Z\sim N(0,1)Z∼N(0,1).

per hour.
10. Gamma, shape k=3k=3k=3, rate λ\lambdaλ (arrival rate unspecified).
11. Bernoulli (heart vs not), p=13/52=1/4p=13/52=1/4p=13/52=1/4.
12. Bernoulli, p=0.7p=0.7p=0.7.
13. Binomial, n=10, p=0.2n=10,\ p=0.2n=10, p=0.2.
14. Poisson, λ=3\lambda=3λ=3 per week.
15. Geometric, p=0.4p=0.4p=0.4.
16. Continuous Uniform, [2,5][2,5][2,5] cm.
17. Normal, μ=70, σ=10\mu=70,\ \sigma=10μ=70, σ=10.
 Exponential, mean =5=5=5 years ⇒ λ=1/5\lambda=1/5λ=1/5 per year.
18. Standard Normal, Z∼N(0,1)Z\sim N(0,1)Z∼N(0,1).
19.
20. Gamma, shape k=5k=5k=5, rate λ\lambdaλ (same as interarrival rate).
21. Discrete Uniform (derived): two fair dice; max’s distribution derived
from uniform on 36 outcomes.
22. Geometric, daily failure p=0.01p=0.01p=0.01 (ask P(X≥100)P(X\ge
100)P(X≥100)).
23. Poisson, λ=10\lambda=10λ=10 per hour.
24. Binomial, n=200, p=0.02n=200,\ p=0.02n=200, p=0.02 (Poisson
approx: λ=4\lambda=4λ=4 if desired).
25. Geometric, p=0.5p=0.5p=0.5 (odd trial event).
26. Continuous Uniform, remaining arrival time [0,25][0,25][0,25]
minutes.
27. Normal, μ=100, σ2=225\mu=100,\ \sigma^2=225μ=100, σ2=225 (σ=15\
sigma=15σ=15).
28. Exponential, λ=0.002\lambda=0.002λ=0.002 per hour.
29. Gamma, shape k=4k=4k=4, rate λ\lambdaλ.
30. Poisson, λ=4\lambda=4λ=4 per day.
All these distributions deal with random events over time or space, but they answer different questions:

 Poisson: “How many events happen in a fixed time?”

 Exponential: “How long until the first event?”
 Gamma: “How long until the kkk-th event?”
 Continuous Uniform: “Any value is equally likely within a range.”

📌 1. Poisson Distribution

 Question it answers:
“How many events happen in a fixed time/space interval?”
 Clue words in exam:
o “number of arrivals per minute/hour/day”
o “calls per hour”
o “accidents per week”
 Nature: Discrete (counts: 0,1,2,3,...)
 Formula (PMF):

P(X=k)=e−λλkk!P(X=k) = \frac{e^{-\lambda} \lambda^k}{k!}P(X=k)=k!e−λλk

  Key Hack: If problem asks “how many?” → Poisson.

📌 2. Exponential Distribution

 Question it answers:
“How long until the first event occurs?”
 Clue words in exam:
o “waiting time”
o “time until first arrival”
o “lifetime of bulb/machine”
 Nature: Continuous (time ≥ 0).
 Formula (PDF):

f(x)=λe−λx,x≥0f(x) = \lambda e^{-\lambda x}, \quad x \geq 0f(x)=λe−λx,x≥0

 Key Hack: If problem asks “how long (until first)?” → Exponential.

📌 3. Gamma Distribution

 Question it answers:
“How long until the kkk-th event?”
 Clue words in exam:
o “waiting time until 3rd (or 5th, etc.) event”
o “sum of multiple lifetimes”
 Nature: Continuous (time ≥ 0).
 Formula (PDF):

f(x)=λkΓ(k)xk−1e−λxf(x) = \frac{\lambda^k}{\Gamma(k)} x^{k-1} e^{-\lambda

x}f(x)=Γ(k)λkxk−1e−λx

 Key Hack:
o If k=1 → Gamma = Exponential.
o If k>1 → Gamma (waiting for kth event).

📌 4. Continuous Uniform
  Question it answers:
“If everything in an interval is equally likely, what’s the chance of landing in a
subinterval?”
 Clue words in exam:
o “random time between a and b”
o “equally likely anywhere between two values”
o “flat distribution”
 Nature: Continuous (values between a and b).
 Formula (PDF):

f(x)=1b−a,a≤x≤bf(x) = \frac{1}{b-a}, \quad a \leq x \leq bf(x)=b−a1,a≤x≤b

 Key Hack: If the problem says “any value equally likely in an interval” →
Uniform.

🚀 Ultra-Crux (Exam Day Hints)

 “How many in fixed time?” → Poisson

 “How long until first?” → Exponential
 “How long until kth?” → Gamma
 “Equally likely between two bounds” → Uniform

👉 Remember:

 Poisson = Count
 Exponential = Wait 1
 Gamma = Wait k
 Uniform = Flat chance

🏆 Beginner-to-Expert Memory Trick

Think of a bus stop analogy 🚍:

 Poisson: “How many buses arrive in the next hour?”

 Exponential: “How long until the first bus?”
 Gamma: “How long until the 3rd bus?”
  Continuous Uniform: “Bus can arrive any time between 9:00–9:30, equally likely.”

Questions
1. On average, 12 emails arrive per hour. What is the probability that exactly 20 arrive in 2 hours?
2. The average rate of accidents at a factory is 2 per week. What is the probability of observing at
most 1 accident in a given week?
3. The average time between earthquakes in a region is 50 years. What is the probability the next
earthquake occurs within 30 years?
4. A bulb’s lifetime follows an exponential distribution with mean 2000 hours. Find the
probability it survives at least 3000 hours.
5. At a bank, customers arrive at a rate of 10 per hour. What is the probability the 5th customer
arrives before 30 minutes?
6. A call center receives 3 calls per minute. What is the probability that the first call arrives after 2
minutes?
7. A web server receives requests at a rate of 100 per second. Find the probability that exactly 250
requests arrive in 2 seconds.
8. A hospital records arrivals of patients at an average of 6 per hour. What is the probability of
more than 10 arrivals in 1 hour?
9. A machine breaks down on average once every 5 days. What is the probability it breaks down
more than once in a day?
10.If events follow a Poisson process with rate 2 per hour, what is the distribution of time until the
4th event?

(Uniform + trick exam wording)

11.A bus arrives randomly between 0 and 40 minutes. What is the probability it arrives between 10
and 15 minutes?
12.A random number is chosen uniformly between −2 and 6. Find the probability it is greater than
3.
13.A train is equally likely to arrive between 9:00 and 9:45. If you arrive at 9:20, what is the
probability you wait at most 5 minutes?
14.A spinner generates a random value uniformly between 0 and 1. What is the variance of the
outcome?
15.A bus arrives randomly between 0 and 1 hour. If you wait 15 minutes, what’s the probability
the bus hasn’t arrived yet?
(Normal + Standard Normal)

16.Exam scores are normally distributed with mean 70 and variance 100. What is the probability a
student scores between 65 and 85?
17.A machine produces rods with lengths normally distributed: mean 50 cm, SD 2 cm. What
proportion are longer than 54 cm?
18.The weight of apples is normal with mean 150 g, SD 10 g. Find the probability an apple weighs
less than 130 g.
19.Heights of women are normally distributed with mean 160 cm, SD 6 cm. What fraction are
taller than 172 cm?
20.If Z∼N(0,1)Z \sim N(0,1)Z∼N(0,1), find P(∣Z∣≤1.96)P(|Z| \leq 1.96)P(∣Z∣≤1.96).

(Binomial / Bernoulli tricks)

21.A die is rolled 12 times. What is the probability of exactly 3 sixes?

22.Out of 400 light bulbs, each has a 0.01 probability of being defective. Find the probability of
exactly 5 defective bulbs.
23.A coin is tossed until the first head appears. What is the probability it takes exactly 7 tosses?
24.A student passes an exam with probability 0.8. If 15 students attempt, what is the probability at
least 12 pass?
25.A basketball player makes a free throw with probability 0.6. In 20 throws, find the probability
of exactly 10 successes.

(Mixed hard conceptual)

26.A taxi stand receives 4 taxis per hour. Find the probability that the waiting time until the 2nd
taxi is more than 30 minutes.
27.A machine has exponential lifetime with mean 100 hours. What is the distribution of total
lifetime of 3 such machines running independently in sequence?
28.A random variable has uniform distribution between 0 and 8. What is the probability it lies
within 1 standard deviation of the mean?
29.The number of phone calls per hour follows Poisson(λ=4). Find the probability that in 2 hours
there are fewer than 3 calls.
30.A company gets on average 2 complaints per day. What is the probability that the time until the
3rd complaint exceeds 2 days?

✅ Answer Key (Distributions + Parameters)

1. Poisson, λ=12×2=24, k=20\lambda=12\times 2=24,\ k=20λ=12×2=24, k=20.

3. Exponential, mean=50 ⇒ λ=1/50, P(X≤30)\lambda=1/50,\ P(X\leq 30)λ=1/50, P(X≤30).
2. Poisson, λ=2, P(X≤1)\lambda=2,\ P(X\leq 1)λ=2, P(X≤1).

4. Exponential, mean=2000 ⇒ λ=1/2000, P(X≥3000)\lambda=1/2000,\ P(X\geq

3000)λ=1/2000, P(X≥3000).
5. Gamma, k=5, λ=10k=5,\ \lambda=10k=5, λ=10 per hr, time ≤ 0.5 hr.
6. Exponential, λ=3, P(X≥2)\lambda=3,\ P(X\geq 2)λ=3, P(X≥2).
7. Poisson, λ=100×2=200, k=250\lambda=100 \times 2=200,\ k=250λ=100×2=200, k=250.

9. Poisson, λ=1/5\lambda=1/5λ=1/5 per day ⇒ expected 0.2 per day, P(X>1).

8. Poisson, λ=6, P(X>10)\lambda=6,\ P(X>10)λ=6, P(X>10).

10.Gamma, k=4, λ=2k=4,\ \lambda=2k=4, λ=2.

11.Continuous Uniform [0,40], P(10≤X≤15)=5/40.
12.Uniform [−2,6], P(X>3)=3/8.
13.Uniform [0,45], conditional: wait ≤5 min.
14.Uniform [0,1], Var = (1−0)²/12=1/12.
15.Uniform [0,60], P(X≥15)=45/60.
16.Normal(70,10), standardize: P(65≤X≤85).
17.Normal(50,2), P(X>54).
18.Normal(150,10), P(X<130).
19.Normal(160,6), P(X>172).
20.Standard Normal, P(|Z|≤1.96)=0.95 approx.
21.Binomial(n=12,p=1/6), k=3.
22.Binomial(n=400,p=0.01), k=5 (Poisson approx λ=4 possible).
23.Geometric(p=0.5), P(X=7)=(0.5)^6×0.5.
24.Binomial(n=15,p=0.8), P(X≥12).
25.Binomial(n=20,p=0.6), P(X=10).
26.Gamma(k=2, λ=4/hr), P(X>0.5).

28.Uniform(0,8): mean=4, SD=8/√12=2.31 ⇒ interval [1.69,6.31], probability length/total=4.62/8.

27.Gamma(k=3, λ=1/100).

29.Poisson, λ=8 (2 hrs), P(X<3).

30.Gamma(k=3, λ=2/day), P(X>2).