Let x and y be the amounts of time (in minutes) that a particular commuter must wait for a train on two independently selected days. Define a new random variable w by w = x + y, the sum of the two waiting times. The set of possible values for w is the interval from 0 to 2a (because both x and y can range from 0 to a). It can be shown that the density curve of w is as pictured (this curve is called a triangular distribution, for obvious reasons!)

Answer the following questions assuming a = 10, b = 0.1.

Less than 5?

Greater than 15?

What is the probability that w is between 5 and 15? (Hint: It might be easier first to find the probability that w is not between 5 and 15.)

1 answer

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