191k views
4 votes
Students randomly receive 1 of 4 versions (A, B, C, D) of a math test. What is the probability that at least 3 of the 5 students tested will get version A of the test? Express your answer as a percent, and round it to the nearest tenth. Show your work, or there will be no credits.

a. 8.8%
b. 1.6%
c. 10.64%
d. 74.7%

User Streak
by
7.5k points

1 Answer

5 votes

Final answer:

The probability that at least 3 out of 5 students will get version A of the test is approximately 34.0%.

Step-by-step explanation:

To find the probability that at least 3 out of 5 students will get version A of the test, we can use the binomial probability formula. Let's consider the opposite scenario where less than 3 students get version A. The probability of a student getting version A is 1/4. So the probability of a student not getting version A is 1 - 1/4 = 3/4.

To find the probability of less than 3 students getting version A, we can calculate:

P(X < 3) = P(X = 0) + P(X = 1) + P(X = 2)

where X follows a binomial distribution with n = 5 (number of students) and p = 1/4 (probability of getting version A).

Using the binomial probability formula, the probability of getting exactly x successes in n trials is:

P(X = x) = (nCx)(p^x)((1 - p)^(n - x))

where nCx is the number of combinations of n items taken x at a time.

Calculating the probabilities for X = 0, 1, and 2, we get:

P(X = 0) = (5C0)((1/4)^0)((3/4)^(5 - 0)) = 1(1)(1) = 1

P(X = 1) = (5C1)((1/4)^1)((3/4)^(5 - 1)) = 5(1/4)(81/256) = 405/1024

P(X = 2) = (5C2)((1/4)^2)((3/4)^(5 - 2)) = 10(1/16)(27/64) = 270/1024

Adding up these probabilities:

P(X < 3) = 1 + 405/1024 + 270/1024 = 675/1024

Finally, to find the probability that at least 3 out of 5 students will get version A:

P(X >= 3) = 1 - P(X < 3) = 1 - 675/1024 = 349/1024 ≈ 34.0%

User Computingfreak
by
8.0k points