According to the college registrar’s office, 40% of students enrolled in an introductory statistics class this semester are freshmen, 25% are sophomores, 15% are juniors, and 20% are seniors. You want to determine the probability that in a random sample of five students enrolled in introductory statistics this semester, exactly two are freshmen.
(a) Describe a trial. Can we model a trial as having only two outcomes? If so, what is success? What is failure? What is the probability of success?
(b) We are sampling without replacement. If only 30 students are enrolled in introductory statistics this semester, is it appropriate to model 5 trials as independent, with the same probability of success on each trial? Explain. What other probability distribution would be more appropriate in this setting?