A telecommunications engineer monitors the reliability of a satellite link. Under specific atmospheric conditions, the probability of a data packet being lost during transmission is 0.15.
State two assumptions required to model the number of packets lost in a sequence of n n\,n transmissions using a binomial distribution.
Using this model, find the probability that exactly 4 packets are lost in a random sequence of 18 transmissions.
Calculate the mean and the variance of the number of packets lost in a sequence of 160 transmissions.
A link is classified as 'unstable' if more than 30 packets are lost in a sequence of 160 transmissions.
Using a suitable approximation, find the probability that the link will be classified as 'unstable'.
Practise Edexcel A Level Maths Approximating a Binomial Distribution with exam-style questions for A Level Maths. 68 questions, matched to the Edexcel A Level Maths (9MA0) specification and written in Paper 1, Paper 2 and Paper 3 style. Every question includes a full worked solution and mark scheme, so you can see where marks are awarded rather than just whether you got the answer right.
