252 Chapter 6 THE BINOMIAL PROBABILITY DISTRIBUTION AND RELATED TOPICS Around 196 B.c., Egyptian priests inscribed a decree on a granite slab affirming the rule of 13-year- old Ptolemy V. The proclamation was in Egyptian hieroglyphics with a translation in a form of ancient Greek. By 1799, the meaning of Egyptian hieroglyphics had been lost for many centuries. However, Napoleon's troops discovered the granite slab (Rosetta Stone). Linguists then used the Rosetta Stone and their knowledge of ancient Greek to unlock the meaning of the Egyptian hieroglyphics. Linguistic experts say that because of industrialization and globalization, by the year 2100 as many as 90% of the world's languages may be extinct. To help preserve some of these languages for future generations, 1000 translations of the first three chapters of Genesis have been inscribed in tiny VIEWPOINT The Rosetta Project EAt onto 3-inch nickel disks and encased in hardened glass balls that are expected to last at least 1000 years. Why Genesis? Because it is the most translated text in the world. The Rosetta Project is sending the disks to libraries and universities all over the world. It is very difficult to send information mo the future. However, if in the vear 2500 linguists are using the "Rosetta Disks" to unlock the meaning of a lost language, you may be sure they will use statistical methods of cryptanalysis (see dulded Exercise 2). To find out more about the Rosetta Project, visit the web site for the project. 1. | Statistical Literacy Which of the following are continuous variables, and which are discrete? SECTION 6.1 PROBLEMS (a) Number of traffic fatalities per year in the state of Florida (b) Distance a golf ball travels after being hit with a driver (c) Time required to drive from home to college on any given day (d) Number of ships in Pearl Harbor on any given day (e) Your weight before breakfast each morning 2. | Statistical Literacy Which of the following are continuous variables, and which are discrete? (a) Speed of an airplane (b) Age of a college professor chosen at random (c) Number of books in the college bookstore (d) Weight of a football player chosen at random (e) Number of lightning strikes in Rocky Mountain National Park on a given day faU HeT noitudineld 3. | Statistical Literacy Consider each distribution. Determine if it is a valid probability distribution or not, and explain your answer. baed noiedntab nodaiveb bl (a) 2mol (b) х 2 P(x) |0.25 0.60 0.15 P(x) 0.25 0.60 0.20 boo lday dong 2alder mobnu 4. | Statistical Literacy At State College all classes start on the hour, with the earliest start time at 7 A.M. and the latest at 8 P.M. A random sample of fresh- men showed the percentages preferring the listed start times. Start Time 7 or 8 A.M. 9,10, or 11 A.M. 12 or 1 P.M. ding % preferring 1 P.M. or later After 5 P.M. 10% 35% Can this information be used to make a discrete probability distribution? 28% 25% 15% Explain.