labview fundamentals test question

[ABM26]

Hi,

I have attached a question from LV fundamentals test. Can't figure out the reasoning if the answer should  be A or B. Any help appreciated?

Thanks,

ABM 

[dan_u]

Well technically it could be A, but it's quite unlikely that 26 samples of random numbers 0..10 are all in the range 0..5, so it's very likely the correct answer is B.

[ABM26]

Thanks!.... They should have given one more option -A&B

[jyang72211]

Nono.  The answer is B.  The option A is incorrect. 

Keep in mind that there are 25 points on graph.  If the answer is A, there must be at least at one point with a value greater than 5 on the graph, since the possible outcome range from 0-10.  The probabilty of getting a 6, 7, 8, 9, aor 10 is 5/11.  That is a probability of about 50%.   

In another word, you have a about 50% chance to get a value in the range of 6-10 for each point and you have 25 points.  It is impossible to not get any values between 6-10 on a graph with 25 points. 

If you flip a coin 10 times, is it possible to not get a tail?  We can think about it this way.

Yik

[Dennis_Knutson]

Yes, it is very possible to flip a coin 10 times and not get a tail. Each time you flip, the odds are 50/50 and the odds do not change when you flip again.

[jyang72211]

Hi Denise,

I beg to differ.  The probability of getting 10 tails in a row is 0.5^10, which is equal to .000977. 

I am not sure can you say that it is very possible to get 10 tails in a row if the pobabilty is less than 0.1%.

Yik

[ABM26]

This means one of out of 1000 iteration can give 10 tails...same could be the case for the plot

[Dennis_Knutson · Accepted solution]

Could you at least spell my name correctly?

Saying that the improbability is low is not at all like saying it is impossible. It would be improbable to flip 19 heads in a row but the probability of the next coin toss is still 50/50.

I do agree that the most correct answer is B but like many of the clad questions I have seen, the answer has some doubt and should be rewritten. 

[jyang72211]

Hi Dennis,

Sorry for spelling your name incorrectly.  I didn't mean to do that. 

For multiple choice questions, if an option is true 1 out of 1000 times and another option is true 1 out of 1 time, I would like that it is clear which one is the answer. 

Yik

[RavensFan]

If you ever take the SAT's or other multiple choice tests, you may find that there are a couple of answers that seem to be right, but there is no option for both to be right.  So the answer is the one that is more correct.

Don't overanalyze multipe choice questions.  Just pick the one that seems to be the most correct!