Question

According to the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 7000 to 8000 people each year in the United States are bitten by a venomous snake, and about 20% of those bites are fatal. Suppose we select a random sample of 240 people who have been bitten by a venomous snake this year in the US and consider the proportion that did not survive. What is the probability that a randomly selected person from this sample did not survive the snake bite?

a) 0.2
b) 0.25
c) 0.3
d) 0.35

Answer 1

The probability that a randomly selected person from a sample of 240 people bitten by a venomous snake did not survive is 0.2 or 20%, based on the CDC's estimate that about 20% of venomous snake bites are fatal.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question asks about the probability that a randomly selected person from a sample of 240 people bitten by a venomous snake did not survive. According to the information provided, about 20% of venomous snake bites are fatal. Therefore, if we have a sample of 240 people, the expected number of fatalities due to snake bites would be 20% of 240, which is 48 people.

To find the probability that a randomly selected person from this sample did not survive, we would use the proportion of fatalities to the total number of people bitten. Since 48 out of 240 people are expected to not survive, the probability (P) is calculated as follows:

P(fatality) = Number of fatalities / Total number of people bitten
P(fatality) = 48 / 240
P(fatality) = 0.20

Therefore, the answer is (a) 0.2, which represents a 20% chance that a randomly selected individual from this sample did not survive the snake bite.