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#1 2007-10-26 13:08:09
- Freddie42
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Probability Help Please
Suppose you are put in a room full of butterflies and you have a net. You find that the number of butterflies that you catch with your net in a one second time interval varies. You also find that you catch 3 in a second about 4 times as often as you catch 5 in a second. What is the expected amount you catch in a second?
#2 2007-10-26 14:38:38
- JaneFairfax
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- Registered: 2007-02-23
- Posts: 6,868
Re: Probability Help Please
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#3 2007-10-27 05:59:32
- mathsyperson
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- Registered: 2005-06-22
- Posts: 4,900
Re: Probability Help Please
If I put my pedantic hat on, I could say that there isn't enough information to answer the question.
For example, it's possible that you have a 0.4 chance of catching 3 butterflies in a second, a 0.1 chance of catching 5 butterflies, and a 0.5 chance of catching 387 butterflies.
That would make the expected amount 195.2. 
Why did the vector cross the road?
It wanted to be normal.
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