Binomial vs.

Geometric

Chapter 16
Binomial and Geometric
Distributions
 Binomial vs. Geometric
The Binomial Setting The Geometric Setting
1. Each observation falls into 1. Each observation falls into
one of two categories. one of two categories.
2. The probability of success 2. The probability of success
is the same for each is the same for each
observation. observation.
3. The observations are all 3. The observations are all
independent. independent.
4. There is a fixed number n 4. The variable of interest is the
of observations. number of trials required to
obtain the 1st success.
Notation: B( n, p )
Notation: G (p)
Write the notation for each of the following:
Binomial: According to the M&M’s website the
percent of blue M&M’s in each bag is 24%. You
select a sample of 10 M&Ms (without looking)
from a bag. Let X = the number of blue M&Ms.
B(10, .24)

Geometric: According to the M&M’s website the

percent of brown M&M’s in each bag is 13%.
Select an M&M (without looking) from a bag until
a brown is drawn. Let X = the number of M&Ms
until a brown is drawn.
G(.13)
1. You observe the sex of the next 20 children born at a
local hospital:
a) X is the number of females among them.
Binomial (20,.5)
b) X is the number of children you observe until you see the
first female
Geometric (.5)
2. A couple decides to continue to have children until their
first girl is born; X is the total number of children the
couple has.
Geometric (.5)
3. Bobby draws
3. Neither, cards
since hewithout replacingthe
is not replacing them fromsoa the
cards deck
until he getsare
probabilities an not
ace.independent.
He then reshuffles, and starts
over until he “wins” 10 times. The count X is the total
number of cards he counted until he finished.
4. Alexandra spins a coin 5 times each day for a year:
a) X is the number of coins until she gets the first tail
Geometric (.5)
b) X is the number of tails she observes each day.
Binomial (5,.5)
5. A student studies statistics using computer-assisted
instruction. After the lesson, the computer presents 10
problems. The student solves each problem and enters
her answer. The computer gives additional instruction
between problems if the answer is wrong. The count X
is the number of problems that the student gets right.
Neither, the observations are not independent

6. Sam buys a “Texas 2-Step” lottery ticket every week.

The count X is the number of times in a year that he wins
a prize.
Binomial (52, )
7. Assume that 13% of people are left-handed and we
select 5 people at random. Identify the following as
Binomial or Geometric. Do not solve!
a) The first lefty is the fifth person chose. G
b) There are some lefties among the 5 people. B
c) The first lefty is the second or third person.G
d) There are exactly 3 lefties in the group. B
e) There are at least 3 lefties in the group. B
f) There are no more than 3 lefties in the group. B
g) How many lefties do you expect in this group? B
h) If we keep picking people until we find a lefty, how long
do you expect it will take? G
If X has the binomial distribution with n observations and
probability p of success on each observation, the possible
values of X are 0, 1, 2, ... , n. If k is any one of these
values, then:

Pb
X  kg
G
FnI
Jp b
1  pg k n k

Hk K
When working with probability distributions you must
do two things before you work the problem:
1) Write the notation
2) Define the variable
 Example 1: A fair coin is flipped at the beginning of each
football game to determine which team can opt to receive
or kick the football. If a professional football team plays 10
games in the regular season, what is the probability that:
B(10,.5) X= number of games in which the team decides
whether to kick or receive PbX  kg
G
FnIJpk b1  pgnk
Hk K
a) the team will have their option to kick or receive exactly
4 times? 10 
P  X  4     (.5) 1  .5 
4 6
=.205
 
4
b) the team will have at least 8 options?
10  10  10
P  X  8    (.5) 1  .5   ...    (.5) 1  .5 
8 2 0
=.055
8 10 
c) the team will have at most 3 options?
10  10 
P  X  3    (.5) 1  .5  ...    (.5)3 1  .5  =.1719
0 10 7

0 3
If X is a random variable with a binomial distribution, then

Mean Value (Expected Value):

E ( X )   x  np

Standard Deviation:

 x  np1  p
Example 2: The number of inaccurate gauges (defects) in a group of four is a
binomial random variable. If the probability of a defect is 0.1, then
B(4,.1) X= inaccurate gauges
a) what is the probability that only 1 is defective?
 4 1
P  X  1    (.1) 1  .1
3
=.292
1
 4 2  4 4
           
2 0
b) More than 1? P X 1   (.1) 1 .1 ...   (.1) 1 .1 =.052
 
2  4
c) Determine the probability distribution for the number of inaccurate gauges.
X 0 1 2 3 4
P(x) .656 .292 .0486 .0036 .0001
d) What is the expected number and the standard deviation of inaccurate
gauges?
E ( X )  np  4(.1)  .4 gauges
 x  np(1  p)  4(.1)(.9)  .6 gauges
 Example 3: A certain medical test is known to detect 90%
of the people who are afflicted with disease Y. If 8
people with the disease are administered the test, what
is the probability that the test will show that:
B(8,.9) X= number of people the test shows as having the disease
a) all 8 have the disease?
8
P  X  8    (.9)8 =.43
8
b) at least 3 people have the disease?
 8  8 8 6
P  X  3  1  P( X  2)  1    (.1)  ...    (.9) (.1)  =.99998
2

 0   2 
c) at most 2 have the disease?
P  X  2  1  P( X  3) =2.341x10-5