6-8 Mean and Standard Deviation of Binomial Random Variable

SWBAT: Find the mean and standard deviation of a binomial random variable
Lesson 6-8
Do Now:​
A pharmaceutical lab claims that a drug it produces causes serious side effects in 20 out of every ​
1000 people on average. To check his claim, a hospital administers the drive to 15 randomly ​
selected patients and finds that 3 suffer from side effects. If the lab’s claims are correct, what is ​
the probability of the hospital obtaining the results it did? ​
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Mean and Standard Deviation of a Binomial Random Variable
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If a count X has the binomial distribution with number of trials n and probability of
success p, the mean and standard deviation of X are
​​ = ​ ​
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 ​ ​ = ​ √ 
​ ( − )
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SWBAT: Find the mean and standard deviation of a binomial random variable
Lesson 6-8
Example:
Mr. Bullard’s AP Statistics class did an activity to determine whether or not you can taste a ​
difference between tap water and bottled water. There are 21 students in the class. If we ​
assume that the students in his class cannot tell tap water from bottled water, then each one is ​
basically guessing, with a 1/3 chance of being correct. Let X = the number of students who ​
correctly identify the cup containing the different type of water. ​
(a) Explain why X is a binomial random variable. ​
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(b) Find the mean and standard deviation of X. Interpret each value in context. ​
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(c) Of the 21 students in the class, 13 made correct identifications. Are you convinced that ​
Mr. Bullard’s students can tell bottled water from tap water? Justify your answer. ​
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SWBAT: Find the mean and standard deviation of a binomial random variable
Lesson 6-8
You Try/Lesson Practice!!
1. Engineers define reliability as the probability that an item will perform its function under ​
specific conditions for a specific period of time. A certain model of aircraft engine is designed so ​
that each engine has probability 0.999 of performing properly for an hour of flight. C ompany ​
engineers test an SRS of 350 engines of this model. Let X = the number that operate for an hour ​
without failure. ​
(a) Explain why X is a binomial random variable. ​
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(b) Find the mean and standard deviation of X. Interpret each value in context. ​
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(c) Two engines failed the test. Are you convinced that this model of engine is less reliable than ​
it’s supposed to be? C ompute P(X ≤ 348) and use the result to justify your answer. ​
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SWBAT: Find the mean and standard deviation of a binomial random variable
Lesson 6-8
2. To introduce her class to binomial distributions, Mrs. Desai gives a 10-item, multiple-choice ​
quiz. The catch is, students must simply guess an answer (A through E) for each ​
question. Mrs. Desai uses her computer’s random number generator to produce the answer ​
key, so that each possible answer has an equal chance to be chosen. Patti is one of the students ​
in this class. Let X = the number of Patti’s correct guesses. ​
(a) Find ​ ​​ . Interpret this value in context. ​
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(b) Find ​ ​ ​ . Interpret this value in context. ​
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(c) What’s the probability that the number of Patti’s correct guesses is more than 2 standard ​
deviations above the mean? Show your method. ​
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SWBAT: Find the mean and standard deviation of a binomial random variable
Lesson 6-8
3. When an opinion poll calls residential telephone numbers at random, only 20% of the calls ​
reach a live person. You watch the random digit dialing machine make 15 calls. Let X = the ​
number of calls that reach a live person. ​
(a) Find and interpret ​ ​​. ​
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(b) Find and interpret ​ ​ ​ . ​
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4. A federal report finds that lie detector tests given to truthful persons have probability about ​
0.2 of suggesting that the person is deceptive. A company asks 12 job applicants about thefts ​
from previous employers, using a lie detector to assess their truthfulness. Suppose that all 12 ​
answer truthfully. Let X= the number of people who the lie detector says are being deceptive. ​
(a) Find and interpret ​ ​​. ​
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(b) Find and interpret ​ ​ ​ .