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A-LevelMathematicsProbability and statistics9709/63 · May/June 2022 · Q59 Marks

The number of clients who arrive at an information desk has a Poisson distribution with mean 2.2 per 5-minute period.

  1. (a)Find the probability that, in a randomly chosen 15-minute period, exactly 6 clients arrive at the desk.[3]
  2. (b)If more than 4 clients arrive during a 5-minute period, they cannot all be served. Find the probability that, during a randomly chosen 5-minute period, not all the clients who arrive at the desk can be served.[2]
  3. (c)Use a suitable approximating distribution to find the probability that, during a randomly chosen 1-hour period, fewer than 20 clients arrive at the desk.[4]

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (May/June 2022). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

  1. [B1] λ = 6.6
  2. [M1] e^-6.6 x 6.6^6 / 6!
  3. [A1] 0.156 (3 s.f.)
  4. [M1] 1 – e^-2.2(1 + 2.2 + 2.2^2/2! + 2.2^3/3! + 2.2^4/4!)
  5. [A1] 0.0725 (3 s.f.)
  6. [B1] N(26.4, 26.4)
  7. [M1] (19.5-'26.4') / √'26.4' [= -1.343]
  8. [M1] Φ('-1.343') = 1 – Φ('1.343')
  9. [A1] 0.0897 or 0.0896 (3 s.f.)

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About this question

Topic
Probability and statistics, A-Level Mathematics (syllabus 9709). Structured question, 9 marks.
Source
A-Level Mathematics, May/June 2022 Paper 6 Variant 3, question 5.

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