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RBS_5
May13-04, 12:28 PM
I am having a problem with one of my Probability homework questions.

A goalkeepr expects to save one penalty out of every three. Calculate the probability that he :

1- Saves one penalty out of the next three,

2- Fails to save any of the next three penalties,

3- Saves two out of the next three penalties.

Help. :smile:

ShawnD
May13-04, 04:52 PM
A goalkeepr expects to save one penalty out of every three. Calculate the probability that he :

1- Saves one penalty out of the next three,

2- Fails to save any of the next three penalties,

3- Saves two out of the next three penalties.


IIRC, the method was
probability = (probability of yes)^(# of yes) * (probability of no)^(# of no)

For 1 it would be

(\frac{1}{3})^1 * (\frac{2}{3})^2

= 0.148


I could be wrong though.

cookiemonster
May13-04, 05:05 PM
Shawn's close, but you forgot to consider the order. That is indeed the probability that he will make one save and two misses, but he could do that in 3 different ways, i.e. make the save on the first or the second or the third.

What you're looking for is

\binom{n}{m}p^m(1-p)^{n-m}

if p is the probability of success, n is the number of tries, and m is the number of successes.

cookiemonster

RBS_5
May14-04, 02:40 AM
Thanks , that was a big help.