probability

Question

In a survey of 26,612 Parade.com visitors, the following question was asked:  How do workers get ahead?  The results of the survey are as follows:  Internal politics - 13,572   Hard work - 7,185   Initiative 4,790  Creativity  1,065 - (a) determine the empirical probability distribution associated with these data.  (b)  What is the probability that a participant in the survey selected a random answered that one gets ahead at work through hard work?

Answer 1

Empirical probability = (Number of outcomes in a given category) / (Total number of all outcomes)  

 

P(Internal politics) = 13572 / 26612 ~ 51%

P(Hard work) = 7185 / 26612 ~ 27% 

P(Initiative) = 4790 / 26612 ~ 18%

P(Creativity) = 1065 / 26612 ~ 4% 

 

If you select a participant in the survey at random then the probability that they answered that one gets ahead through hard work is P(Hard work) = 7185 / 26612 ~ 27%