EE 3150, Probability for Electrical and Computer Engineering, Fall 2015

Midterm 2, Nov. 6, 2015

Overview
The exam consists of two problems for 100 points. The points for each
part of each problem are given in the brackets - you should spend your
50 minutes accordingly
Testmanship
Full credit will be given only to fully justified answers.
Giving the steps along the way to the answer will not only earn full
credit but also maximize the partial credit should you stumble or get
stuck. If you get stuck, attempt to neatly define your approach to the
problem and why you are stuck.
If part of a problem depends on a previous part that you are unable to
solve, explain the methods for doing the current part, and if possible,
give the answer in terms of the quantities of the previous part that
you are unable to obtain.
Start each problem on a new page. Not only will this facilitate grading, but also make it easier for you to jump back and forth between
problems.
If you get to the end of the problem and realize that your answer must
be wrong, be sure to write this must be wrong because ... so that I
will know you recognized such a fact.
Academic dishonesty will be dealt harshly - the minimum penalty
will be an F for the course.

1. It can take up to four days to get your computer repaired. The probability of the number of days D it takes to repair has the following
probability distribution: PD (d) = 0.2, 0.5, 0.2, 0.1, for d = 1, 2, 3, 4,
respectively. The cost C for the service varies according to D, i.e.
C(d) = 80, 70, 40, 30, for d = 1, 2, 3, 4, respectively. Answer the following questions:
(a) (15 pts) Plot the cumulative distribution function (CDF) of D,
FD (x), and mark the critical values on your graph. Use the graph
to find out PD (d > 2).
(b) (15 pts) What is the expected waiting time D = E [D]?
(c) (15 pts) Provide the probability mass function (PMF) of the random variable C, PC (c), and draw its CDF FC (x), accordingly.
(d) (15 pts) What is the mean value of C, i.e. C = E [C].
2. There are two prizes to give out to those people who toss a coin 4
times in a row, and get consecutive 4 Heads. More specifically, in
each day, there is one person randomly selected who tosses the coin 4
times, and if he/she gets 4 Heads, he/she walks away with one of
the two prizes on that day; otherwise, the prizes remain unclaimed.
The experiment comes to an end when all two prizes are claimed.
Assume each toss of the coin is independent of each other. Let q = 0.4
denote the probability of seeing H after tossing the coin. Answer
the following questions:
(a) (10 pts) What is the probability for a person to win a prize?
(b) (10 pts) What is the probability of completion of the experiment
after 4 days?
(c) (10 pts) What is the probability that the experiment takes at
least 4 days to finish?
(d) (10 pts) Compute the average of the number of plays to complete
the experiment.