Direct binomial probability calculation

Questions that directly give n and p and ask for P(X = k), P(X ≤ k), or P(X ≥ k) with no additional context or multi-part scenarios.

31 questions · Moderate -0.6

CAIE FP2 2014 June Q7
Easy -1.8
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CAIE S1 2014 June Q1
Moderate -0.5
1 In a certain country \(12 \%\) of houses have solar heating. 19 houses are chosen at random. Find the probability that fewer than 4 houses have solar heating.
CAIE S1 2007 November Q6
Moderate -0.8
6 On any occasion when a particular gymnast performs a certain routine, the probability that she will perform it correctly is 0.65 , independently of all other occasions.
  1. Find the probability that she will perform the routine correctly on exactly 5 occasions out 7 .
  2. On one day she performs the routine 50 times. Use a suitable approximation to estimate the probability that she will perform the routine correctly on fewer than 29 occasions.
  3. On another day she performs the routine \(n\) times. Find the smallest value of \(n\) for which the expected number of correct performances is at least 8 .
CAIE S1 2014 November Q3
Easy -1.2
3 The number of books read by members of a book club each year has the binomial distribution \(B ( 12,0.7 )\).
  1. State the greatest number of books that could be read by a member of the book club in a particular year and find the probability that a member reads this number of books.
  2. Find the probability that a member reads fewer than 10 books in a particular year.
CAIE S1 2015 November Q1
Moderate -0.8
1 In a certain town, 76\% of cars are fitted with satellite navigation equipment. A random sample of 11 cars from this town is chosen. Find the probability that fewer than 10 of these cars are fitted with this equipment.
CAIE S1 2018 November Q5
Moderate -0.8
5 At the Nonland Business College, all students sit an accountancy examination at the end of their first year of study. On average, \(80 \%\) of the students pass this examination.
  1. A random sample of 9 students who will take this examination is chosen. Find the probability that at most 6 of these students will pass the examination.
  2. A random sample of 200 students who will take this examination is chosen. Use a suitable approximate distribution to find the probability that more than 166 of them will pass the examination.
  3. Justify the use of your approximate distribution in part (ii).
CAIE S1 Specimen Q1
Moderate -0.5
1 In a certain town, 76\% of cars are fitted with satellite navigation equipment. A random sample of 11 cars from this town is chosen. Find the probability that fewer than 10 of these cars are fitted with this equipment.
CAIE S1 2011 November Q6
Moderate -0.8
6 There are a large number of students in Luttley College. \(60 \%\) of the students are boys. Students can choose exactly one of Games, Drama or Music on Friday afternoons. It is found that \(75 \%\) of the boys choose Games, \(10 \%\) of the boys choose Drama and the remainder of the boys choose Music. Of the girls, \(30 \%\) choose Games, \(55 \%\) choose Drama and the remainder choose Music.
  1. 6 boys are chosen at random. Find the probability that fewer than 3 of them choose Music.
  2. 5 Drama students are chosen at random. Find the probability that at least 1 of them is a boy.
  3. In a certain country, the daily minimum temperature, in \({ } ^ { \circ } \mathrm { C }\), in winter has the distribution \(\mathrm { N } ( 8,24 )\). Find the probability that a randomly chosen winter day in this country has a minimum temperature between \(7 ^ { \circ } \mathrm { C }\) and \(12 ^ { \circ } \mathrm { C }\). The daily minimum temperature, in \({ } ^ { \circ } \mathrm { C }\), in another country in winter has a normal distribution with mean \(\mu\) and standard deviation \(2 \mu\).
  4. Find the proportion of winter days on which the minimum temperature is below zero.
  5. 70 winter days are chosen at random. Find how many of these would be expected to have a minimum temperature which is more than three times the mean.
  6. The probability of the minimum temperature being above \(6 ^ { \circ } \mathrm { C }\) on any winter day is 0.0735 . Find the value of \(\mu\).
OCR S1 2005 January Q6
Moderate -0.3
6 Louise and Marie play a series of tennis matches. It is given that, in any match, the probability that Louise wins the first two sets is \(\frac { 3 } { 8 }\).
  1. Find the probability that, in 5 randomly chosen matches, Louise wins the first two sets in exactly 2 of the matches. It is also given that Louise and Marie are equally likely to win the first set.
  2. Show that P (Louise wins the second set, given that she won the first set) \(= \frac { 3 } { 4 }\).
  3. The probability that Marie wins the first two sets is \(\frac { 1 } { 3 }\). Find P(Marie wins the second set, given that she won the first set).
OCR MEI S1 Q4
Moderate -0.3
4 When onion seeds are sown outdoors, on average two-thirds of them germinate. A gardener sows seeds in pairs, in the hope that at least one will germinate.
  1. Assuming that germination of one of the seeds in a pair is independent of germination of the other seed, find the probability that, if a pair of seeds is selected at random,
    (A) both seeds germinate,
    (B) just one seed germinates,
    (C) neither seed germinates.
  2. Explain why the assumption of independence is necessary in order to calculate the above probabilities. Comment on whether the assumption is likely to be valid.
  3. A pair of seeds is sown. Find the expectation and variance of the number of seeds in the pair which germinate.
  4. The gardener plants 200 pairs of seeds. If both seeds in a pair germinate, the gardener destroys one of the two plants so that only one is left to grow. Of the plants that remain after this, only \(85 \%\) successfully grow to form an onion. Find the expected number of onions grown from the 200 pairs of seeds. If the seeds are sown in a greenhouse, the germination rate is higher. The seed manufacturing company claims that the germination rate is \(90 \%\). The gardener suspects that the rate will not be as high as this, and carries out a trial to investigate. 18 randomly selected seeds are sown in the greenhouse and it is found that 14 germinate.
  5. Write down suitable hypotheses and carry out a test at the \(5 \%\) level to determine whether there is any evidence to support the gardener's suspicions.
OCR S1 2012 January Q8
Moderate -0.8
8 On average, half the plants of a particular variety produce red flowers and the rest produce blue flowers.
  1. Ann chooses 8 plants of this variety at random. Find the probability that more than 6 plants produce red flowers.
  2. Karim chooses 22 plants of this variety at random.
    (a) Find the probability that the number of these plants that produce blue flowers is equal to the number that produce red flowers.
    (b) Hence find the probability that the number of these plants that produce blue flowers is greater than the number that produce red flowers.
OCR S1 2014 June Q4
Moderate -0.8
4 Each time Ben attempts to complete a crossword in his daily newspaper, the probability that he succeeds is \(\frac { 2 } { 3 }\). The random variable \(X\) denotes the number of times that Ben succeeds in 9 attempts.
  1. Find
    (a) \(\mathrm { P } ( X = 6 )\),
    (b) \(\mathrm { P } ( X < 6 )\),
    (c) \(\mathrm { E } ( X )\) and \(\operatorname { Var } ( X )\). Ben notes three values, \(X _ { 1 } , X _ { 2 }\) and \(X _ { 3 }\), of \(X\).
  2. State the total number of attempts to complete a crossword that are needed to obtain three values of \(X\). Hence find \(\mathrm { P } \left( X _ { 1 } + X _ { 2 } + X _ { 3 } = 18 \right)\).
OCR MEI S1 2011 June Q2
Easy -1.2
2 I have 5 books, each by a different author. The authors are Austen, Brontë, Clarke, Dickens and Eliot.
  1. If I arrange the books in a random order on my bookshelf, find the probability that the authors are in alphabetical order with Austen on the left.
  2. If I choose two of the books at random, find the probability that I choose the books written by Austen and Brontë.
    \(325 \%\) of the plants of a particular species have red flowers. A random sample of 6 plants is selected.
  3. Find the probability that there are no plants with red flowers in the sample.
  4. If 50 random samples of 6 plants are selected, find the expected number of samples in which there are no plants with red flowers.
OCR S2 2010 June Q2
Moderate -0.8
2 A university has a large number of students, of whom \(35 \%\) are studying science subjects. A sample of 10 students is obtained by listing all the students, giving each a serial number and selecting by using random numbers.
  1. Find the probability that fewer than 3 of the sample are studying science subjects.
  2. It is required that, in selecting the sample, the same student is not selected twice. Explain whether this requirement invalidates your calculation in part (i).
Edexcel AS Paper 2 2019 June Q3
Moderate -0.8
  1. A fair 5 -sided spinner has sides numbered \(1,2,3,4\) and 5
The spinner is spun once and the score of the side it lands on is recorded.
  1. Write down the name of the distribution that can be used to model the score of the side it lands on. The spinner is spun 28 times.
    The random variable \(X\) represents the number of times the spinner lands on 2
    1. Find the probability that the spinner lands on 2 at least 7 times.
    2. Find \(\mathrm { P } ( 4 \leqslant X < 8 )\)
OCR MEI Paper 2 2018 June Q8
Moderate -0.8
8 Every morning before breakfast Laura and Mike play a game of chess. The probability that Laura wins is 0.7 . The outcome of any particular game is independent of the outcome of other games. Calculate the probability that, in the next 20 games,
  1. Laura wins exactly 14 games,
  2. Laura wins at least 14 games.
OCR MEI Paper 2 2021 November Q5
Moderate -0.8
5 It is known that 40\% of people in Britain carry a certain gene.
A random sample of 32 people is collected.
  1. Calculate the probability that exactly 12 people carry the gene.
  2. Calculate the probability that at least 8 people carry the gene, giving your answer correct to \(\mathbf { 3 }\) decimal places.
OCR MEI Paper 2 Specimen Q5
Moderate -0.8
5 In a particular country, \(8 \%\) of the population has blue eyes. A random sample of 20 people is selected from this population.
Find the probability that exactly two of these people have blue eyes.
OCR Further Statistics AS 2018 June Q5
Standard +0.3
5
  1. A team of 9 is chosen at random from a class consisting of 8 boys and 12 girls.
    Find the probability that the team contains no more than 3 girls.
  2. A group of \(n\) people, including Mr and Mrs Laplace, are arranged at random in a line. The probability that Mr and Mrs Laplace are placed next to each other is less than 0.1 . Find the smallest possible value of \(n\).
Edexcel S2 2016 January Q1
Moderate -0.8
  1. The manager of a clothing shop wishes to investigate how satisfied customers are with the quality of service they receive. A database of the shop's customers is used as a sampling frame for this investigation.
    1. Identify one potential problem with this sampling frame.
    Customers are asked to complete a survey about the quality of service they receive. Past information shows that \(35 \%\) of customers complete the survey. A random sample of 20 customers is taken.
  2. Write down a suitable distribution to model the number of customers in this sample that complete the survey.
  3. Find the probability that more than half of the customers in the sample complete the survey.
Edexcel S2 2018 June Q1
Moderate -0.8
  1. A salesman sells insurance to people. Each day he chooses a number of people to contact. The probability that the salesman sells insurance to a person he contacts is 0.05
On Monday he chooses to contact 10 people.
  1. Find the probability that on Monday the salesman sells insurance to
    1. exactly 1 person,
    2. at least 3 people.
  2. Find the number of people he should contact each day in order to sell insurance, on average, to 3 people per day.
  3. Calculate the least number of people he must choose to contact on Friday, so that the probability of selling insurance to at least 1 person on Friday exceeds 0.99
Edexcel S2 2014 June Q4
Standard +0.3
  1. A cadet fires shots at a target at distances ranging from 25 m to 90 m . The probability of hitting the target with a single shot is \(p\). When firing from a distance \(d \mathrm {~m} , p = \frac { 3 } { 200 } ( 90 - d )\). Each shot is fired independently.
The cadet fires 10 shots from a distance of 40 m .
    1. Find the probability that exactly 6 shots hit the target.
    2. Find the probability that at least 8 shots hit the target. The cadet fires 20 shots from a distance of \(x \mathrm {~m}\).
  1. Find, to the nearest integer, the value of \(x\) if the cadet has an \(80 \%\) chance of hitting the target at least once. The cadet fires 100 shots from 25 m .
  2. Using a suitable approximation, estimate the probability that at least 95 of these shots hit the target.
AQA S1 2008 January Q7
Moderate -0.3
7 A travel agency in Tunisia offers customers a 3-day tour into the Sahara desert by either coach or minibus.
  1. The agency accepts bookings from 50 customers for seats on the coach. The probability that a customer, who has booked a seat on the coach, will not turn up to claim the seat is 0.08 , and may be assumed to be independent of the behaviour of other customers. Determine the probability that, of the customers who have booked a seat on the coach:
    1. two or more will not turn up;
    2. three or more will not turn up.
  2. The agency accepts bookings from 15 customers for seats on the minibus. The probability that a customer, who has booked a seat on the minibus, will not turn up to claim the seat is 0.025 , and may be assumed to be independent of the behaviour of other customers. Calculate the probability that, of the customers who have booked a seat on the minibus:
    1. all will turn up;
    2. one or more will not turn up.
  3. The coach has 48 seats and the minibus has 14 seats. If 14 or fewer customers who have booked seats on the minibus turn up, they will be allocated a seat on the minibus. If all 15 customers who have booked seats on the minibus turn up, one will be allocated a seat on the coach. This will leave only 47 seats available for the 50 customers who have booked seats on the coach. Use your results from parts (a) and (b) to calculate the probability that there will be seats available on the coach for all those who turn up having booked such seats.
    (4 marks)
AQA S1 2012 June Q6
Moderate -0.3
6 A bin contains a very large number of paper clips of different colours. The proportion of each colour is shown in the table.
ColourWhiteYellowGreenBlueRedPurple
Proportion0.150.150.200.150.220.13
  1. Packets are filled from the bin. Each filled packet contains exactly 30 paper clips which may be considered to be a random sample. Use binomial distributions to determine the probability that a filled packet contains:
    1. exactly 2 purple paper clips;
    2. a total of more than 10 red or purple paper clips;
    3. at least 5 but at most 10 green paper clips.
  2. Jumbo packets are also filled from the bin. Each filled jumbo packet contains exactly 100 paper clips.
    1. Assuming that the number of paper clips in a jumbo packet may be considered to be a random sample, calculate the mean and the variance of the number of red paper clips in a filled jumbo packet.
    2. It is claimed that the proportion of red paper clips in the bin is greater than 0.22 and that jumbo packets do not contain random samples of paper clips. An analysis of the number of red paper clips in each of a random sample of 50 filled jumbo packets resulted in a mean of 22.1 and a standard deviation of 4.17. Comment, with numerical justification, on each of the two claims.
AQA S1 2014 June Q5
2 marks Moderate -0.3
5 An analysis of the number of vehicles registered by each household within a city resulted in the following information.
Number of vehicles registered012\(\geqslant 3\)
Percentage of households18472510
  1. A random sample of 30 households within the city is selected. Use a binomial distribution with \(n = 30\), together with relevant information from the table in each case, to find the probability that the sample contains:
    1. exactly 3 households with no registered vehicles;
    2. at most 5 households with three or more registered vehicles;
    3. more than 10 households with at least two registered vehicles;
    4. more than 5 households but fewer than 10 households with exactly two registered vehicles.
  2. If a random sample of \(\mathbf { 1 5 0 }\) households within the city were to be selected, estimate the mean and the variance for the number of households in the sample that would have either one or two registered vehicles.
    [0pt] [2 marks]
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