Math Problem Statement
A certain virus affects 0.8% of the population. A test used to detect the virus in a person is positive 85% of the time if the person has the virus (true positive) and 12% of the time if the person does not have the virus (false postive). Fill out the remainder of the following table and use it to answer the two questions below. Infected Not Infected Total Positive Test Negative Test Total 800 99,200 100,000 a) Find the probability that a person has the virus given that they have tested positive. Round your answer to the nearest tenth of a percent and do not include a percent sign. P(Infected | Positive Test)= % b) Find the probability that a person does not have the virus given that they test negative. Round your answer to the nearest tenth of a percent and do not include a percent sign. P(Not Infected | Negative Test) = %
Solution
Let's solve the problem using the given data and Bayes' Theorem.
Step 1: Organize the data
We are given that the total population is 100,000 people:
- 800 are infected (0.8% of the population)
- 99,200 are not infected (the remaining population)
We also have:
- The test has an 85% true positive rate (P(Positive Test | Infected) = 0.85)
- The test has a 12% false positive rate (P(Positive Test | Not Infected) = 0.12)
Now, let's fill out the contingency table.
Step 2: Calculate the number of people in each category
a) Positive Test:
- For infected individuals, 85% will test positive. So:
- For not infected individuals, 12% will test positive. So:
Total number of positive tests:
b) Negative Test:
- For infected individuals, 15% will test negative (since 100% - 85% = 15%). So:
- For not infected individuals, 88% will test negative (since 100% - 12% = 88%). So:
Total number of negative tests:
Step 3: Complete the table
Infected | Not Infected | Total | |
---|---|---|---|
Positive Test | 680 | 11,904 | 12,584 |
Negative Test | 120 | 87,296 | 87,416 |
Total | 800 | 99,200 | 100,000 |
Step 4: Calculate the required probabilities
a) Probability that a person has the virus given that they have tested positive:
This is , and we use the formula: Substitute the values:
Rounding to the nearest tenth of a percent:
b) Probability that a person does not have the virus given that they test negative:
This is , and we use the formula: Substitute the values:
Rounding to the nearest tenth of a percent:
Final Answers:
Would you like further details or have any questions about the process?
Here are some related questions to explore:
- How does changing the false positive rate affect the results?
- How does the prevalence of the virus in the population affect the probabilities?
- What would happen if the test had a 100% accuracy for infected individuals?
- How would the results change if only 0.5% of the population were infected?
- What are the implications of the false positive rate in large-scale testing?
Tip: The accuracy of a test depends not only on its sensitivity (true positive rate) but also on the prevalence of the condition in the population and the false positive rate.
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Math Problem Analysis
Mathematical Concepts
Probability
Bayes' Theorem
Conditional Probability
Formulas
P(Infected | Positive Test) = P(Infected and Positive Test) / P(Positive Test)
P(Not Infected | Negative Test) = P(Not Infected and Negative Test) / P(Negative Test)
Theorems
Bayes' Theorem
Suitable Grade Level
Grades 11-12
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