Suppose the probability of a car accident taking place anywhere on a stretch of a 20- mile highway is the same. Which of the following distributions would you use to figure out the probability that a car accident will occur somewhere between the 5-mile and 15-mile posts of the highway?
A) hypergeometric distribution
B) uniform distribution
C) Poisson distribution
D) exponential distribution

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The uniform distribution is used when all outcomes have an equal probability of occurring. In this case, the probability of a car accident occurring at any point on the 20-mile highway is the same, and so we can use the uniform distribution to calculate the probability of an accident occurring between the 5-mile and 15-mile posts. The other distributions listed are not appropriate for this scenario.

Suppose the Probability of a Car Accident Taking Place Anywhere