AQA S2 2016 June — Question 3

Exam BoardAQA
ModuleS2 (Statistics 2)
Year2016
SessionJune
TopicDiscrete Probability Distributions
TypeDirect probability from given distribution

3 Members of a library may borrow up to 6 books. Past experience has shown that the number of books borrowed, \(X\), follows the distribution shown in the table.
\(\boldsymbol { x }\)0123456
\(\mathbf { P } ( \boldsymbol { X } = \boldsymbol { x } )\)00.190.260.200.130.070.15
  1. Find the probability that a member borrows more than 3 books.
  2. Assume that the numbers of books borrowed by two particular members are independent. Find the probability that one of these members borrows more than 3 books and the other borrows fewer than 3 books.
  3. Show that the mean of \(X\) is 3.08, and calculate the variance of \(X\).
  4. One of the library staff notices that the values of the mean and the variance of \(X\) are similar and suggests that a Poisson distribution could be used to model \(X\). Without further calculations, give two reasons why a Poisson distribution would not be suitable to model \(X\).
  5. The library introduces a fee of 10 pence for each book borrowed. Assuming that the probabilities do not change, calculate:
    1. the mean amount that will be paid by a member;
    2. the standard deviation of the amount that will be paid by a member.