This Exam P sample reference tests Mutually Exclusive Events. This problem fills one cell of a two-by-two event partition from its row and column totals. The known intersection forces P(A and D)=0.20, exhausting all of D and leaving P(B and D)=0.00, so choice A.
These notes identify the calculation error associated with each wrong letter when that error is reproducible.
BThe value 0.05 comes from subtracting the two marginals P(B)-P(D)=0.25-0.20. Marginal probabilities cannot be subtracted to obtain their intersection.
CThe value 0.20 is the entire D column total. Since A-and-D already has probability 0.20, none of that column remains for B-and-D.
DThe value 0.25 is the entire B row total. It ignores the D restriction and also exceeds the D marginal, whereas an intersection cannot exceed either marginal.
EThe value 0.45 is impossible because P(B and D) cannot exceed min(P(B),P(D))=min(0.25,0.20)=0.20.
Original practice · fully worked
Original variant: recover a route-specific timeout rate
A routing controller sends files through paths R, S, and T with probabilities 0.25, 0.35, and 0.40. The conditional timeout probabilities on paths R and S are 0.10 and 0.30, respectively. The overall timeout probability is 0.28. Calculate the conditional timeout probability on path T.
A 0.150
B 0.280
C 0.350
D 0.375
E 0.400
Variant answer in brief
Paths R and S contribute timeout probabilities 0.025 and 0.105. The remaining joint weight for path T is 0.28-0.025-0.105=0.150, and dividing by T's routing share 0.40 gives 0.375 and choice D.
Setup
Setup
Let Q denote a timeout. Multiply each known route share by its conditional timeout probability.
Pr(R∩Q)=0.25(0.10)=0.025
Pr(S∩Q)=0.35(0.30)=0.105
Model
Model
The three routes are mutually exclusive and exhaustive, so their timeout contributions add to the overall timeout probability.
Pr(Q)=Pr(R∩Q)+Pr(S∩Q)+Pr(T∩Q)
Compute
Compute
Recover path T's joint timeout weight, then divide by the probability of using path T.
Pr(T∩Q)=0.280−0.025−0.105=0.150
Pr(Q∣T)=0.400.150=0.375
Answer
Answer
The timeout probability conditional on path T is 0.375.
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