5.04a Linear combinations: E(aX+bY), Var(aX+bY)

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CAIE S2 2014 November Q4
10 marks Standard +0.8
4 The masses, in grams, of tomatoes of type \(A\) and type \(B\) have the distributions \(\mathrm { N } \left( 125,30 ^ { 2 } \right)\) and \(\mathrm { N } \left( 130,32 ^ { 2 } \right)\) respectively.
  1. Find the probability that the total mass of 4 randomly chosen tomatoes of type \(A\) and 6 randomly chosen tomatoes of type \(B\) is less than 1.5 kg .
  2. Find the probability that a randomly chosen tomato of type \(A\) has a mass that is at least \(90 \%\) of the mass of a randomly chosen tomato of type \(B\).
CAIE S2 2015 November Q6
9 marks Standard +0.3
6 The weights, in kilograms, of men and women have the distributions \(\mathrm { N } \left( 78,7 ^ { 2 } \right)\) and \(\mathrm { N } \left( 66,5 ^ { 2 } \right)\) respectively.
  1. The maximum load that a certain cable car can carry safely is 1200 kg . If 9 randomly chosen men and 7 randomly chosen women enter the cable car, find the probability that the cable car can operate safely.
  2. Find the probability that a randomly chosen woman weighs more than a randomly chosen man.
CAIE S2 2015 November Q7
9 marks Standard +0.3
7 The diameter, in cm, of pistons made in a certain factory is denoted by \(X\), where \(X\) is normally distributed with mean \(\mu\) and variance \(\sigma ^ { 2 }\). The diameters of a random sample of 100 pistons were measured, with the following results. $$n = 100 \quad \Sigma x = 208.7 \quad \Sigma x ^ { 2 } = 435.57$$
  1. Calculate unbiased estimates of \(\mu\) and \(\sigma ^ { 2 }\). The pistons are designed to fit into cylinders. The internal diameter, in cm , of the cylinders is denoted by \(Y\), where \(Y\) has an independent normal distribution with mean 2.12 and variance 0.000144 . A piston will not fit into a cylinder if \(Y - X < 0.01\).
  2. Using your answers to part (i), find the probability that a randomly chosen piston will not fit into a randomly chosen cylinder.
CAIE S2 2016 November Q4
7 marks Standard +0.3
4 Each week a farmer sells \(X\) litres of milk and \(Y \mathrm {~kg}\) of cheese, where \(X\) and \(Y\) have the independent distributions \(\mathrm { N } \left( 1520,53 ^ { 2 } \right)\) and \(\mathrm { N } \left( 175,12 ^ { 2 } \right)\) respectively.
  1. Find the mean and standard deviation of the total amount of milk that the farmer sells in 4 randomly chosen weeks. During a year when milk prices are low, the farmer makes a loss of 2 cents per litre on milk and makes a profit of 21 cents per kg on cheese, so the farmer's overall weekly profit is \(( 21 Y - 2 X )\) cents.
  2. Find the probability that, in a randomly chosen week, the farmer's overall profit is positive.
CAIE S2 2016 November Q3
5 marks Standard +0.3
3 A men's triathlon consists of three parts: swimming, cycling and running. Competitors' times, in minutes, for the three parts can be modelled by three independent normal variables with means 34.0, 87.1 and 56.9, and standard deviations 3.2, 4.1 and 3.8, respectively. For each competitor, the total of his three times is called the race time. Find the probability that the mean race time of a random sample of 15 competitors is less than 175 minutes.
CAIE Further Paper 4 2024 June Q4
9 marks Standard +0.8
4 The random variable \(X\) has probability generating function \(\mathrm { G } _ { X } ( t )\) given by $$\mathrm { G } _ { X } ( t ) = \operatorname { ct } ( 1 + t ) ^ { 5 }$$ where \(c\) is a constant.
  1. Find the value of \(c\).
  2. Find the value of \(\mathrm { E } ( X )\). \includegraphics[max width=\textwidth, alt={}, center]{b5ff998a-fcb6-4a1b-ae86-ec66b0dccc3c-06_2718_33_141_2014} The random variable \(Y\) is the sum of two independent values of \(X\).
  3. Write down the probability generating function of \(Y\) and hence find \(\operatorname { Var } ( Y )\).
  4. Find \(\mathrm { P } ( Y = 5 )\).
CAIE Further Paper 4 2021 November Q5
9 marks Standard +0.3
5 The random variable \(X\) is such that \(\mathrm { P } ( \mathrm { X } = \mathrm { r } ) = \mathrm { kr } ^ { 2 }\) for \(r = 1,2,3,4\), where \(k\) is a constant.
  1. Find the value of \(k\).
  2. Find the probability generating function \(\mathrm { G } _ { X } ( \mathrm { t } )\) of \(X\).
    The random variable \(Y\) has probability generating function \(\mathrm { G } _ { Y } ( \mathrm { t } ) = \frac { 1 } { 4 } + \frac { 1 } { 2 } \mathrm { t } + \frac { 1 } { 4 } \mathrm { t } ^ { 2 }\).
    The random variable \(Z\) is the sum of \(X\) and \(Y\).
  3. Assuming that \(X\) and \(Y\) are independent, find the probability generating function \(\mathrm { G } _ { \mathrm { Z } } ( \mathrm { t } )\) of \(Z\) as a polynomial in \(t\).
  4. Given that \(\mathrm { E } ( \mathrm { Z } ) = \frac { 13 } { 3 }\), use \(\mathrm { G } _ { \mathrm { Z } } ( \mathrm { t } )\) to find \(\operatorname { Var } ( \mathrm { Z } )\).
CAIE Further Paper 4 2022 November Q4
8 marks Standard +0.3
4 Jason has three biased coins. For each coin the probability of obtaining a head when it is thrown is \(\frac { 2 } { 3 }\). Jason throws all three coins. The number of heads obtained is denoted by \(X\).
  1. Find the probability generating function \(\mathrm { G } _ { \mathrm { X } } ( \mathrm { t } )\) of \(X\).
    Jason also has two unbiased coins. He throws all five coins. The number of heads obtained from the two unbiased coins is denoted by \(Y\). It is given that \(G _ { Y } ( t ) = \frac { 1 } { 4 } + \frac { 1 } { 2 } t + \frac { 1 } { 4 } t ^ { 2 }\). The random variable \(Z\) is the total number of heads obtained when Jason throws all five coins.
  2. Find the probability generating function of \(Z\), expressing your answer as a polynomial.
  3. Find \(\mathrm { E } ( \mathrm { Z } )\).
CAIE Further Paper 4 2022 November Q5
9 marks Standard +0.8
5 A 6 -sided dice, \(A\), with faces numbered \(1,2,3,4,5,6\) is biased so that the probability of throwing a 6 is \(\frac { 1 } { 4 }\). The random variable \(X\) is the number of 6s obtained when dice \(A\) is thrown twice.
  1. Find the probability generating function of \(X\).
    A second dice, \(B\), with faces numbered \(1,2,3,4,5,6\) is unbiased. The random variable \(Y\) is the number of 6s obtained when dice \(B\) is thrown twice. The random variable \(Z\) is the total number of 6s obtained when both dice are thrown twice.
  2. Find the probability generating function of \(Z\), expressing your answer as a polynomial.
  3. Find \(\operatorname { Var } ( Z )\).
  4. Use the probability generating function of \(Z\) to find the most probable value of \(Z\).
CAIE Further Paper 4 2023 November Q3
10 marks Challenging +1.2
3 Toby has a bag which contains 6 red marbles and 3 green marbles. He randomly chooses 3 marbles from the bag, without replacement. The random variable \(X\) is the number of red marbles that Toby obtains.
  1. Find the probability generating function of \(X\).
    Ling also has a bag which contains 6 red marbles and 3 green marbles. He randomly chooses 2 marbles from his bag, without replacement. The random variable \(Y\) is the number of red marbles that Ling obtains. It is given that the probability generating function of \(Y\) is \(\frac { 1 } { 12 } \left( 1 + 6 t + 5 t ^ { 2 } \right)\). The random variable \(Z\) is the total number of red marbles that Toby and Ling obtain.
  2. Find the probability generating function of \(Z\), expressing your answer as a polynomial in \(t\).
  3. Use the probability generating function of \(Z\) to find \(\operatorname { Var } ( Z )\).
OCR S2 2006 June Q3
8 marks Standard +0.3
3 The continuous random variable \(T\) has mean \(\mu\) and standard deviation \(\sigma\). It is known that \(\mathrm { P } ( T < 140 ) = 0.01\) and \(\mathrm { P } ( T < 300 ) = 0.8\).
  1. Assuming that \(T\) is normally distributed, calculate the values of \(\mu\) and \(\sigma\). In fact, \(T\) represents the time, in minutes, taken by a randomly chosen runner in a public marathon, in which about \(10 \%\) of runners took longer than 400 minutes.
  2. State with a reason whether the mean of \(T\) would be higher than, equal to, or lower than the value calculated in part (i).
OCR S2 2014 June Q1
5 marks Moderate -0.8
1 The random variable \(F\) has the distribution \(B ( 50,0.7 )\). Use a suitable approximation to find \(\mathbf { P } \boldsymbol { ( } \mathbf { F > } \mathbf { 4 0 } \boldsymbol { ) }\). [5]
OCR S2 2014 June Q2
7 marks Standard +0.3
2 The events organiser of a school sends out invitations to \(\mathbf { 1 5 0 }\) people to attend its prize day. From past experience the organiser knows that the number of those who will come to the prize day can be modelled by the distribution \(\mathbf { B } ( \mathbf { 1 5 0 } , \mathbf { 0 . 9 8 } )\).
[0pt]
  1. Explain why this distribution cannot be well approximated by either a normal or a Poisson distribution. [3]
    [0pt]
  2. By considering the number of those who do not attend, use a suitable approximation to find the probability that fewer than 146 people attend. [4]
OCR S2 Specimen Q3
6 marks Moderate -0.3
3 Sixty people each make two throws with a fair six-sided die.
  1. State the probability of one particular person obtaining two sixes.
  2. Using a suitable approximation, calculate the probability that at least four of the sixty obtain two sixes.
OCR S3 2006 January Q4
11 marks Standard +0.3
4 A multi-storey car park has two entrances and one exit. During a morning period the numbers of cars using the two entrances are independent Poisson variables with means 2.3 and 3.2 per minute. The number leaving is an independent Poisson variable with mean 1.8 per minute. For a randomly chosen 10-minute period the total number of cars that enter and the number of cars that leave are denoted by the random variables \(X\) and \(Y\) respectively.
  1. Use a suitable approximation to calculate \(\mathrm { P } ( X \geqslant 40 )\).
  2. Calculate \(\mathrm { E } ( X - Y )\) and \(\operatorname { Var } ( X - Y )\).
  3. State, giving a reason, whether \(X - Y\) has a Poisson distribution.
OCR S3 2008 January Q1
6 marks Standard +0.3
1 A blueberry farmer increased the amount of water sprayed over his berries to see what effect this had on their weight. The farmer weighed each of a random sample of 80 berries of the previous season's crop and each of a random sample of 100 berries of the new crop. The results are summarised in the following table, in which \(\bar { x }\) denotes the sample mean weight in grams, and \(s ^ { 2 }\) denotes an unbiased estimate of the relevant population variance.
Sample size\(\bar { x }\)\(s ^ { 2 }\)
Previous season's crop \(( P )\)801.240.00356
New crop \(( N )\)1001.360.00340
  1. Calculate an estimate of \(\operatorname { Var } \left( \bar { X } _ { N } - \bar { X } _ { P } \right)\).
  2. Calculate a \(95 \%\) confidence interval for the difference in population mean weights.
  3. Give a reason why it is unnecessary to use a \(t\)-distribution in calculating the confidence interval.
OCR S3 2011 January Q2
5 marks Standard +0.3
2 In a Year 8 internal examination in a large school the Geography marks, \(G\), and Mathematics marks, \(M\), had means and standard deviations as follows.
MeanStandard deviation
\(G\)36.426.87
\(M\)42.6510.25
Assuming that \(G\) and \(M\) have independent normal distributions, find the probability that a randomly chosen Geography candidate scores at least 10 marks more than a randomly chosen Mathematics candidate. Do not use a continuity correction.
OCR S3 2006 June Q7
12 marks Challenging +1.2
7 A queue of cars has built up at a set of traffic lights which are at red. When the lights turn green, the time for the first car to start to move has a normal distribution with mean 2.2 s and standard deviation 0.75 s . This time is the reaction time for the first car. For each subsequent car the reaction time is the time taken for it to start to move after the car in front starts to move. These reaction times have identical normal distributions with mean 1.8 s and standard deviation 0.70 s . It may be assumed that all reaction times are independent.
  1. Calculate the probability that the reaction time for the second car in the queue is less than half of the reaction time for the first car.
  2. Calculate the probability that the fifth car in the queue starts to move less than 10 seconds after the lights turn green.
  3. State where, in part (i), independence is required.
OCR S3 2007 June Q2
7 marks Moderate -0.3
2 Two brands of car battery, 'Invincible' and 'Excelsior', have lifetimes which are normally distributed. Invincible batteries have a mean lifetime of 5 years with standard deviation 0.7 years. Excelsior batteries have a mean lifetime of 4.5 years with standard deviation 0.5 years. Random samples of 20 Invincible batteries and 25 Excelsior batteries are selected and the sample mean lifetimes are \(\bar { X } _ { I }\) years and \(\bar { X } _ { E }\) years respectively.
  1. State the distributions of \(\bar { X } _ { I }\) and \(\bar { X } _ { E }\).
  2. Calculate \(\mathrm { P } \left( \bar { X } _ { I } - \bar { X } _ { E } \geqslant 1 \right)\).
OCR S3 2011 June Q1
7 marks Moderate -0.8
1 The random variables \(X\) and \(Y\) are independent with \(X \sim \operatorname { Po } ( 5 )\) and \(Y \sim \operatorname { Po } ( 4 )\). \(S\) denotes the sum of 2 observations of \(X\) and 3 observations of \(Y\).
  1. Find \(\mathrm { E } ( S )\) and \(\operatorname { Var } ( S )\).
  2. The random variable \(T\) is defined by \(\frac { 1 } { 2 } X - \frac { 1 } { 4 } Y\). Show that \(\mathrm { E } ( T ) = \operatorname { Var } ( T )\).
  3. State which of \(S\) and \(T\) (if either) does not have a Poisson distribution, giving a reason for your answer.
OCR S3 Specimen Q2
7 marks Standard +0.3
2 Boxes of matches contain 50 matches. Full boxes have mean mass 20.0 grams and standard deviation 0.4 grams. Empty boxes have mean mass 12.5 grams and standard deviation 0.2 grams. Stating any assumptions that you need to make, calculate the mean and standard deviation of the mass of a match. [7]
OCR MEI S3 2007 January Q3
18 marks Standard +0.3
3 Bill and Ben run their own gardening company. At regular intervals throughout the summer they come to work on my garden, mowing the lawns, hoeing the flower beds and pruning the bushes. From past experience it is known that the times, in minutes, spent on these tasks can be modelled by independent Normally distributed random variables as follows.
MeanStandard deviation
Mowing444.8
Hoeing322.6
Pruning213.7
  1. Find the probability that, on a randomly chosen visit, it takes less than 50 minutes to mow the lawns.
  2. Find the probability that, on a randomly chosen visit, the total time for hoeing and pruning is less than 50 minutes.
  3. If Bill mows the lawns while Ben does the hoeing and pruning, find the probability that, on a randomly chosen visit, Ben finishes first. Bill and Ben do my gardening twice a month and send me an invoice at the end of the month.
  4. Write down the mean and variance of the total time (in minutes) they spend on mowing, hoeing and pruning per month.
  5. The company charges for the total time spent at 15 pence per minute. There is also a fixed charge of \(\pounds 10\) per month. Find the probability that the total charge for a month does not exceed \(\pounds 40\).
OCR MEI S3 2006 June Q2
18 marks Standard +0.3
2 A bus route runs from the centre of town A through the town's urban area to a point B on its boundary and then through the country to a small town C . Because of traffic congestion and general road conditions, delays occur on both the urban and the country sections. All delays may be considered independent. The scheduled time for the journey from A to B is 24 minutes. In fact, journey times over this section are given by the Normally distributed random variable \(X\) with mean 26 minutes and standard deviation 3 minutes. The scheduled time for the journey from B to C is 18 minutes. In fact, journey times over this section are given by the Normally distributed random variable \(Y\) with mean 15 minutes and standard deviation 2 minutes. Journey times on the two sections of route may be considered independent. The timetable published to the public does not show details of times at intermediate points; thus, if a bus is running early, it merely continues on its journey and is not required to wait.
  1. Find the probability that a journey from A to B is completed in less than the scheduled time of 24 minutes.
  2. Find the probability that a journey from A to C is completed in less than the scheduled time of 42 minutes.
  3. It is proposed to introduce a system of bus lanes in the urban area. It is believed that this would mean that the journey time from A to B would be given by the random variable \(0.85 X\). Assuming this to be the case, find the probability that a journey from A to B would be completed in less than the currently scheduled time of 24 minutes.
  4. An alternative proposal is to introduce an express service. This would leave out some bus stops on both sections of the route and its overall journey time from A to C would be given by the random variable \(0.9 X + 0.8 Y\). The scheduled time from A to C is to be given as a whole number of minutes. Find the least possible scheduled time such that, with probability 0.75 , buses would complete the journey on time or early.
  5. A programme of minor road improvements is undertaken on the country section. After their completion, it is thought that the random variable giving the journey time from B to C is still Normally distributed with standard deviation 2 minutes. A random sample of 15 journeys is found to have a sample mean journey time from B to C of 13.4 minutes. Provide a two-sided \(95 \%\) confidence interval for the population mean journey time from B to C .
OCR MEI S3 2007 June Q2
18 marks Standard +0.3
2 The operator of a section of motorway toll road records its weekly takings according to the types of vehicles using the motorway. For purposes of charging, there are three types of vehicle: cars, coaches, lorries. The weekly takings (in thousands of pounds) for each type are assumed to be Normally distributed. These distributions are independent of each other and are summarised in the table.
Vehicle typeMeanStandard deviation
Cars60.25.2
Coaches33.96.3
Lorries52.44.9
  1. Find the probability that the weekly takings for coaches are less than \(\pounds 40000\).
  2. Find the probability that the weekly takings for lorries exceed the weekly takings for cars.
  3. Find the probability that over a 4 -week period the total takings for cars exceed \(\pounds 225000\). What assumption must be made about the four weeks?
  4. Each week the operator allocates part of the takings for repairs. This is determined for each type of vehicle according to estimates of the long-term damage caused. It is calculated as follows: \(5 \%\) of takings for cars, \(10 \%\) for coaches and \(20 \%\) for lorries. Find the probability that in any given week the total amount allocated for repairs will exceed \(\pounds 20000\).
OCR S4 2007 June Q3
7 marks Standard +0.3
3 The discrete random variables \(X\) and \(Y\) have the joint probability distribution given in the following table.
\(X\)
\cline { 2 - 5 } \multicolumn{1}{l}{}- 101
10.240.220.04
20.260.180.06
  1. Show that \(\operatorname { Cov } ( X , Y ) = 0\).
  2. Find the conditional distribution of \(X\) given that \(Y = 2\).