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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.c.3b

Organ Donors USA Today provided information about a survey (conducted for Donate Life America) of 5100 adult Internet users. Of the respondents, 2346 said they are willing to donate organs after death. In this survey, 100 adults were surveyed in each state and the District of Columbia, and results were weighted to account for the different state population sizes.


b. Based on the poll results, what is the probability of randomly selecting an adult who is willing to donate organs after death?

Verified step by step guidance
1
Step 1: Identify the total number of respondents in the survey. According to the problem, the total number of adult Internet users surveyed is 5100.
Step 2: Identify the number of respondents who are willing to donate organs after death. From the problem, this number is given as 2346.
Step 3: Recall the formula for probability. The probability of an event is calculated as the ratio of the number of favorable outcomes to the total number of outcomes. Mathematically, this is expressed as: FavorableTotal.
Step 4: Substitute the values into the formula. Here, the favorable outcomes are the 2346 respondents willing to donate organs, and the total outcomes are the 5100 respondents surveyed. The formula becomes: 23465100.
Step 5: Simplify the fraction to express the probability in its simplest form or as a decimal, if required. This will give the probability of randomly selecting an adult who is willing to donate organs after death.

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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 a particular event will occur, expressed as a number between 0 and 1. In this context, it refers to the chance of randomly selecting an adult who is willing to donate organs. The probability can be calculated by dividing the number of favorable outcomes (adults willing to donate) by the total number of outcomes (total surveyed adults).
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Introduction to Probability

Sample Size

Sample size refers to the number of observations or respondents included in a survey or study. In this case, the sample size is 5100 adult Internet users. A larger sample size generally leads to more reliable results, as it better represents the population and reduces the margin of error in probability estimates.
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Sampling Distribution of Sample Proportion

Weighted Results

Weighted results are adjustments made to survey data to ensure that the sample accurately reflects the population's characteristics. In this survey, results were weighted to account for different state population sizes, which helps to avoid bias and ensures that the findings are representative of the entire adult population in the USA.
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Constructing Confidence Intervals for Proportions Example 2
Related Practice
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


c. What is the probability that a randomly selected subject had a true negative result?

Textbook Question

ATM You want to obtain cash by using an ATM, but it’s dark and you can’t see your card when you insert it. The card must be inserted with the front side up and the printing configured so that the beginning of your name enters first.


c. How many random selections are required to be absolutely sure that the card works because it is inserted correctly?

Textbook Question

Surge Protectors Refer to the accompanying figure showing surge protectors p and q used to protect an expensive television. If there is a surge in the voltage, the surge protector reduces it to a safe level. Assume that each surge protector has a 0.985 probability of working correctly when a voltage surge occurs.


c. Which arrangement should be used for better protection?

Textbook Question

Florida Pick 3 In the Florida Pick 3 lottery, you can place a “straight” bet of \(1 by selecting the exact order of three digits between 0 and 9 inclusive (with repetition allowed), so the probability of winning is 1/1000. If the same three numbers are drawn in the same order, you collect \)500, so your net profit is \$499.


c. Is there much of a difference between the actual odds against winning and the payoff odds?

Textbook Question

In Exercises 21-28, find the probability and answer the questions.


X-Linked Genetic Disease Men have XY (or YX) chromosomes and women have XX chromosomes. X-linked recessive genetic diseases (such as juvenile retinoschisis) occur when there is a defective X chromosome that occurs without a paired X chromosome that is not defective. In the following, represent a defective X chromosome with lowercase x, so a child with the xY or Yx pair of chromosomes will have the disease and a child with XX or XY or YX or xX or Xx will not have the disease. Each parent contributes one of the chromosomes to the child.


c. If a mother has one defective x chromosome and one good X chromosome and the father has good XY chromosomes, what is the probability that a son will inherit the disease?

Textbook Question

Phase I of a Clinical Trial A clinical test on humans of a new drug is normally done in three phases. Phase I is conducted with a relatively small number of healthy volunteers. For example, a phase I test of bexarotene involved only 14 subjects. Assume that we want to treat 14 healthy humans with this new drug and we have 16 suitable volunteers available.


c. If 14 subjects are randomly selected and treated at the same time, what is the probability of selecting the 14 youngest subjects?