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For which binomial distribution would a poisson approximation be acceptable?

a. n = 60, π = 0.08

1 Answer

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Generally, when n is large, say >=20, and p is small, say <0.05, it would be safe to approximate with a Poisson distribution.

However, the fact that np=4.8 <<10, and n=60 >>20 (I prefer working with 30), can justify approximating with Poisson.

So you see that when n is large, there is more tolerance.

User Shivam Gupta
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