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A university found that \(20 \%\) of its students withdraw without completing the introductory statistics course. Assume that 20 students registered for the course. a. Compute the probability that two or fewer will withdraw. b. Compute the probability that exactly four will withdraw. c. Compute the probability that more than three will withdraw. d. Compute the expected number of withdrawals.

Short Answer

Expert verified
a. 0.2061; b. 0.2182; c. 0.5885; d. 4

Step by step solution

01

Define the random variable

Let \( X \) represent the number of students who withdraw from the course. Since each student has a \(20\%\) chance of withdrawing, we can model this situation as a binomial distribution where the number of trials \( n = 20 \), and the probability of success \( p = 0.2 \).
02

Formula for Binomial Distribution Probability

The probability of \( X = x \) successes in a binomial distribution is given by the formula: \[P(X = x) = \binom{n}{x} p^x (1-p)^{n-x}\]where \( \binom{n}{x} \) is the binomial coefficient.
03

Compute Probability for Part a

Part a requires calculating the probability that two or fewer students will withdraw: \[P(X \leq 2) = P(X = 0) + P(X = 1) + P(X = 2)\]Compute each probability using the binomial formula:\[P(X = 0) = \binom{20}{0} (0.2)^0 (0.8)^{20} = 0.0115\]\[P(X = 1) = \binom{20}{1} (0.2)^1 (0.8)^{19} = 0.0577\]\[P(X = 2) = \binom{20}{2} (0.2)^2 (0.8)^{18} = 0.1369\]Thus,\[P(X \leq 2) = 0.0115 + 0.0577 + 0.1369 = 0.2061\]
04

Compute Probability for Part b

For exactly four students withdrawing, use the binomial formula:\[P(X = 4) = \binom{20}{4} (0.2)^4 (0.8)^{16} = 0.2182\]
05

Compute Probability for Part c

To find the probability that more than three students withdraw, compute:\[P(X > 3) = 1 - P(X \leq 3)\]We already have \( P(X \leq 2) \), so calculate:\[P(X = 3) = \binom{20}{3} (0.2)^3 (0.8)^{17} = 0.2054\]Then,\[P(X \leq 3) = P(X \leq 2) + P(X = 3) = 0.2061 + 0.2054 = 0.4115\]Thus,\[P(X > 3) = 1 - 0.4115 = 0.5885\]
06

Compute Expected Number of Withdrawals

The expected number of withdrawals in a binomial distribution is given by:\[E(X) = n \cdot p = 20 \cdot 0.2 = 4\]

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Key Concepts

These are the key concepts you need to understand to accurately answer the question.

Probability Theory
Probability theory is a branch of mathematics concerned with the analysis of random phenomena. Some events in life don't occur with certainty. Instead, they occur with certain probabilities. Probability is the measure of the likelihood that an event will occur.

For the situation with students withdrawing from a statistics course, this scenario is best modeled using the binomial distribution. This particular distribution is used when there are fixed numbers of trials, and each trial has only two possible outcomes: 'success' or 'failure'. For this exercise, suppose a 'success' means a student withdraws. Each student, therefore, has a fixed probability of 20% of withdrawing.
  • The number of trials is fixed, in this case, 20 students.
  • Each trial (each student) is independent of the others.
  • The probability of success (a student withdrawing) remains constant, defined here as 0.2 or 20%.
In our case, we look at different probabilities for numbers of students withdrawing, like none, two, four, etc., which are solved by applying the binomial probability formula.
Statistics Education
Statistics education helps students understand data analysis, probability, and the principles guiding decisions made under uncertainty. This binomial distribution exercise is a part of statistics education, providing practical understanding through real-world scenarios.

When students deal with this problem, they gain exposure to essential concepts in statistics such as:
  • Probability Calculations: Learning to compute probabilities, for example, the likelihood of zero, two, or four students withdrawing from the course.
  • Interpreting Results: Making sense of calculated probabilities in the context of real-world situations. For instance, understanding that a 20% chance per student over many trials implies some will withdraw.
  • Critical Thinking: Deciding what meaningful conclusions can be drawn from the analysis, such as how many students the course might expect to lose week to week.
Statistics education equips students with the skill to turn data into insightful interpretations, using established mathematical frameworks like the one conveyed by the binomial distribution.
Expected Value
The expected value is a concept from probability theory that gives us a measure of the average or central tendency of random variables. It's like predicting the long-term average outcome if we repeat the process many times.

In the context of our university students' scenario, the expected number of students withdrawing from the course can be calculated using the binomial distribution's expected value formula:
  • Formula: The expected value is computed as \(E(X) = n \cdot p\).
  • Application: In this exercise, with \(n = 20\) (the 20 students) and \(p = 0.2\) (20% withdrawal rate), the expected number of students withdrawing is 4.
  • Interpretation: This means that, on average, we expect 4 out of the 20 students to withdraw from the course each time this situation occurs.
Understanding the expected value helps in planning and resource allocation, providing a predictive figure for likely outcomes.

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