Probability of defective machines question

Click For Summary

Homework Help Overview

The problem involves calculating probabilities related to defective items produced by three machines (A, B, and C) in a factory. The machines contribute different proportions to the total production and have varying rates of defects.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Mathematical reasoning

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • The original poster attempts to calculate the probability of selecting a defective item and questions the method for part (b). Some participants suggest using Bayes' theorem to approach the problem, while others propose a numerical method by imagining a sample size to simplify calculations.

Discussion Status

Participants are exploring different methods to solve the problem, with some providing mathematical formulations and others suggesting practical approaches. There is no explicit consensus on a single method, but various strategies are being discussed.

Contextual Notes

The original poster has indicated uncertainty in their approach and has not provided specific equations or methods for part (b). The discussion includes attempts to clarify the problem setup and assumptions regarding the production rates and defect rates.

zhfs
Messages
10
Reaction score
0
[solved]probability question

Homework Statement



Three machines A, B, and C produce 50%, 30% and 20% respectively of the total
number of items at a factory. Each produces a number of defective: 3%, 4% and 5%
respectively.
(a) If an item produced by one of these machines is selected, find the probability that
it is defective.
(b) Now suppose that a manufactured item is selected at random and is found to be
defective. Find the probability that this item was produced by machine A.

Homework Equations



N/A

The Attempt at a Solution



is part (a)
Pr = (3%+4%+5%)/(50%*30%*20%)?

and no idea on part b

thanks a lot!
 
Last edited:
Physics news on Phys.org
Use Bayes' theorem.

Let D be the event that a selected item is defective

Let A, B, and C be the events that that an item is produced by machine A, B, and C respectively

P(D) = P(D\cap A) + P(D \cap B) +P(D \cap C)

= P(D|A)P(A) + P(D|B)P(B) + P(D|C)P(C)

P(A|D) = \frac {P(A \cap D)}{P(D)}

= \frac {P(D|A)P(A)}{P(D|A)P(A) + P(D|B)P(B) + P(D|C)P(C)}
 
How I would do it: Imagine that 1000 of the items are produced. Then 50% of 1000= 500 come from machine A, 30% of 1000= 300 from machine B, and 20% of 1000= 200 from machine C.

Of the 500 from machine A, 3% of 500= 15 are defective, 4% of 300= 12 are from machine B, and 2% of 200= 4 are from machine C.

A total of 15+ 12+ 4= 41 defective items are produced of a total of 1000 items. With that information (a) is easy.

Of a total of 41 defective items, 15 of them were from A. With that information, (b) is easy.
 
thank you guys!
 

Similar threads

Replies
4
Views
3K
  • · Replies 7 ·
Replies
7
Views
5K
Replies
3
Views
1K
  • · Replies 12 ·
Replies
12
Views
2K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
2K
Replies
2
Views
3K
Replies
3
Views
3K
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
3K
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
4K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
6K