Refer to the following information on fullterm births in the

Refer to the following information on full-term births in the United States over a given period of time.

Use this information to estimate the probabilities of the following events.

(a) A randomly selected pregnant woman who reaches full term delivers twins. (Give the answer to three significant figures.)


(b) A randomly selected pregnant woman who reaches full term delivers quadruplets. (Give the answer to three significant figures.)


(c) A randomly selected pregnant woman who reaches full term gives birth to more than a single child. (Give the answer to three significant figures.)

Solution

Total number of births = 47,200,000 + 600,000 + 3,000 + 200 = 47803200

P(Single birth) = 47,200,000 / total = 0.9874

P(twins) = 600,000 / total = 0.0126

P(triplets) = 3000 / total = 0.000063

P(quadruplets) = 200 / total = 0.00000418

a. P(twins) = 0.0126

b. P(quadruplets) = 200 / total = 0.00000418

c. P(more than a single child) = P(twins) + P(triplets) + P(quadruplets) = 0.0126