Math Problem Statement
A quiz consists of 21 multiple choice questions, each with 4 answer choices. If a student guesses on each question, what is the probability that he/she will answer at least 7 questions correctly?
Solution
To solve this problem, we can model the situation using the binomial distribution. The reason we use this model is that each question is a Bernoulli trial (there are only two possible outcomes: correct or incorrect), and the probability of getting a correct answer is constant across all trials.
Parameters of the binomial distribution:
- (the total number of questions),
- (the probability of answering a question correctly),
- (the probability of answering a question incorrectly),
- represents the number of correct answers, which follows a binomial distribution: .
We are asked to find the probability that the student answers at least 7 questions correctly. In other words, we need to compute:
We can calculate using the binomial cumulative distribution function (CDF). This will give the probability of answering 6 or fewer questions correctly. The complement will then give the probability of answering at least 7 questions correctly.
Let me calculate this for you.The probability that the student will answer at least 7 questions correctly by guessing is approximately 0.2564, or 25.64%.
Would you like more details or have any questions about this solution?
Here are five related questions for further exploration:
- What is the probability of answering exactly 7 questions correctly?
- What is the expected number of correct answers if a student guesses on all 21 questions?
- How does the probability change if each question has 5 answer choices instead of 4?
- What is the probability of answering at least 10 questions correctly?
- How would the probability change if the student can eliminate one wrong answer in each question?
Tip: When dealing with binomial probability problems, the cumulative distribution function (CDF) is often a key tool for solving "at least" or "at most" type questions.
Ask a new question for Free
By Image
Drop file here or Click Here to upload
Math Problem Analysis
Mathematical Concepts
Binomial Distribution
Probability
Formulas
P(X ≥ k) = 1 - P(X ≤ k-1)
P(X = k) = C(n, k) * p^k * (1-p)^(n-k)
Binomial Cumulative Distribution Function (CDF)
Theorems
Bernoulli Trials
Binomial Theorem
Suitable Grade Level
Grades 10-12
Related Recommendation
Probability of Getting More Than 4 Correct Answers on a Multiple Choice Quiz
Binomial Distribution: Probability of Correct Answers on a 10-Question Multiple Choice Quiz
Probability of Guessing 8 Correct Answers in a 25-Question Multiple Choice Test
Probability of Guessing 17 or More Correct Answers on a 20-Question Multiple-Choice Exam
Probability of 2 or Fewer Correct Answers in a Quiz with 8 Questions and 3 Choices