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Ch. 4 - Probability
Triola - Elementary Statistics 14th Edition
Triola14th EditionElementary StatisticsISBN: 9780137366446Not the one you use?Change textbook
Chapter 4, Problem 4.2.13b

In Exercises 9–20, use the data in the following table, which lists survey results from high school drivers at least 16 years of age (based on data from “Texting While Driving and Other Risky Motor Vehicle Behaviors Among U.S. High School Students,” by O’Malley, Shults, and Eaton, Pediatrics, Vol. 131, No. 6). Assume that subjects are randomly selected from those included in the table. Hint: Be very careful to read the question correctly.
Survey table: High school drivers texting and drinking behavior. Texted while driving: Yes-731, No-3054. No texting: Yes-156, No-4564.
Drinking and Driving If two of the high school drivers are randomly selected, find the probability that they both drove when drinking alcohol.
b. Assume that the selections are made without replacement. Are the events independent?

Verified step by step guidance
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Step 1: Calculate the total number of high school drivers surveyed. Add all the values in the table: 731 + 3054 + 156 + 4564.
Step 2: Determine the total number of drivers who drove when drinking alcohol. Add the values in the 'Yes' column: 731 + 156.
Step 3: Calculate the probability of selecting one driver who drove when drinking alcohol. Divide the total number of drivers who drove when drinking alcohol by the total number of drivers surveyed.
Step 4: For the second selection (without replacement), calculate the probability of selecting another driver who drove when drinking alcohol. Subtract 1 from the total number of drivers who drove when drinking alcohol and divide by the new total number of drivers surveyed (subtract 1 from the total).
Step 5: Multiply the probabilities from Step 3 and Step 4 to find the probability that both drivers drove when drinking alcohol. This is the multiplication rule for dependent events.

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Key Concepts

Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.

Probability

Probability is a measure of the likelihood that an event will occur, expressed as a number between 0 and 1. In this context, it involves calculating the chance that both selected high school drivers drove after consuming alcohol. This requires understanding how to use the total number of drivers and the specific counts of those who drove while drinking to find the desired probability.
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Introduction to Probability

Dependent and Independent Events

Events are considered independent if the occurrence of one does not affect the occurrence of the other. In this scenario, when selecting two drivers without replacement, the outcome of the first selection influences the second, making the events dependent. Understanding this distinction is crucial for accurately determining the probability of both drivers having driven after drinking.
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Probability of Multiple Independent Events

Conditional Probability

Conditional probability refers to the probability of an event occurring given that another event has already occurred. In this case, it involves calculating the probability that the second driver also drove after drinking, given that the first driver did. This concept is essential for understanding how the selections impact each other in the context of the problem.
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Introduction to Probability
Related Practice
Textbook Question

High Fives


b. If n mathletes shake hands with each other exactly once, what is the total number of handshakes?


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Textbook Question

Alarm Clock Life Hack Each of us must sometimes wake up early for something really important, such as a final exam, job interview, or an early flight. (Professional golfer Jim Furyk was disqualified from a tournament when his cellphone lost power and he overslept.) Assume that a battery-powered alarm clock has a 0.005 probability of failure, a smartphone alarm clock has a 0.052 probability of failure, and an electric alarm clock has a 0.001 probability of failure.


b. If you use a battery-powered alarm clock and a smartphone alarm clock, what is the probability that they both fail? What is the probability that both of them do not fail?

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Textbook Question

Denomination Effect

In Exercises 13–16, use the data in the following table. In an experiment to study the effects of using four quarters versus a \$1 bill, some college students were given four quarters and others were given a \$1 bill, and they could either keep the money or spend it on gum. The results are summarized in the table (based on data from “The Denomination Effect,” by Priya Raghubir and Joydeep Srivastava, Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 36).



Denomination Effect


a. Find the probability of randomly selecting a student who spent the money, given that the student was given a \$1 bill.


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Textbook Question

In Exercises 9–20, use the data in the following table, which lists survey results from high school drivers at least 16 years of age (based on data from “Texting While Driving and Other Risky Motor Vehicle Behaviors Among U.S. High School Students,” by O’Malley, Shults, and Eaton, Pediatrics, Vol. 131, No. 6). Assume that subjects are randomly selected from those included in the table. Hint: Be very careful to read the question correctly.

Texting While Driving If two of the high school drivers are randomly selected, find the probability that they both texted while driving.

a. Assume that the selections are made with replacement. Are the events independent?

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Textbook Question

In Exercises 29 and 30, find the probabilities and indicate when the “5% guideline for cumbersome calculations” is used.



Medical Helicopters In a study of helicopter usage and patient survival, results were obtained from 47,637 patients transported by helicopter and 111,874 patients transported by ground (based on data from “Association Between Helicopter vs Ground Emergency Medical Services and Survival for Adults with Major Trauma,” by Galvagno et al., Journal of the American Medical Association, Vol. 307, No. 15).


b. If 5 of the subjects in the study are randomly selected without replacement, what is the probability that all of them were transported by helicopter?

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Textbook Question

In Exercises 21–24, use these results from the “1-Panel-THC” test for marijuana use, which is provided by the company Drug Test Success: Among 143 subjects with positive test results, there are 24 false positive (incorrect) results; among 157 negative results, there are 3 false negative (incorrect) results. (Hint: Construct a table similar to Table 4-1.)



Testing for Marijuana Use


b. How many of the subjects had a true negative result?

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