Skip to main content
2 of 3
edited title
whuber
  • 333.7k
  • 63
  • 792
  • 1.3k

How to find a probability of a sample without replacement?

In a group of 5 students, 2 are males and 3 are females. Two students are randomly selected (without replacement). Let X be the number of males in the two selected students. (a) Find the (probability) distribution of X (i.e., list all possible values of X and their corresponding probabilities). (b) Find the expected value of X, and the standard deviation of X.

let n = 2 = number of trials P = 2/5 = probability of success Q = 3/5 = probability of failure k = number of success

For a) I used the equation nCkP^kQ^(n-k), and got P(X=0)= 0.36 P(X=1)= 0.48 P(X=2)= 0.16

but the solution key tells me that P(X=0)= 0.3 P(X=1)= 0.6 P(X=2)= 0.1

And for b) E(X)= np = 0.8 SD = sqrt(npq) = 0.48

but the solution key tells me that E(X) = 0.8 SD = 0.6

And now i'm confused... I'm not sure if I should approach this question using the binomial probability or is it completely unrelated to binomial distribution. Please give me a hint on how to approach this question, thank you.

PiCubed
  • 103
  • 1
  • 3