Refer to the problem of transporting neutral particles in a nuclear fusion reactor, described in Exercise 3.36.

Question:

Refer to the problem of transporting neutral particles in a nuclear fusion reactor, described in Exercise 3.36. Recall that particles released into a certain type of evacuated duct collide with the inner duct wall and are either scattered (reflected) with probability .16 or absorbed with probability .84 (Nuclear Science and Engineering, May 1986). Suppose 2,000 neutral particles are released into an unknown type of evacuated duct in a nuclear fusion reactor. Of these, 280 are reflected. What is the approximate probability that as few as 280 (i.e., 280 or fewer) of the 2,000 neutral particles would be reflected off the inner duct wall if the reflection probability of the evacuated duct is .16?

Data from Exercise 3.36

Software engineers are working on developing a fully automated fingerprint identification algorithm. Currently, expert examiners are required to identify the person who left the fingerprint. A study published in Psychological Science (August, 2011) tested the accuracy of experts and novices in identifying fingerprints. Participants were presented pairs of fingerprints and asked to judge whether the prints in each pair matched. The pairs were presented under three different conditions: prints from the same individual (match condition), non-matching but similar prints (similar distracter condition), and nonmatching and very dissimilar prints (non-similar distracter condition). The percentages of correct decisions made by the two groups under each of the three conditions are listed in the table.