The two-way table shows the distribution of book style to genre. Miguel claims that whether the book is paperback (PB) does not affect the likelihood that the book is nonfiction (NF).

\begin{tabular}{|c|c|c|c|}
\cline { 2 - 4 } & Fiction & Nonfiction & Total \\
\hline Paperback & 20 & 60 & 80 \\
\hline Hardcover & 10 & 30 & 40 \\
\hline Total & 30 & 90 & 120 \\
\hline
\end{tabular}

Is Miguel's claim correct?

A. Yes, the two events are independent because [tex]\( P(\text{NF} \mid \text{PB}) = P(\text{NF}) \)[/tex].

B. Yes, the two events are independent because [tex]\( P(\text{PB} \mid \text{NF}) = P(\text{NF}) \)[/tex].

C. No, the two events are not independent because [tex]\( P(\text{PB} \mid \text{NF}) \neq P(\text{PB}) \)[/tex].

D. No, the two events are not independent because [tex]\( P(\text{PB} \mid \text{NF}) \neq P(\text{NF}) \)[/tex].



Answer :

To determine if the events "being a nonfiction book (NF)" and "being a paperback book (PB)" are independent, we need to analyze the probabilities involved and compare conditional probabilities with marginal probabilities.

Let's define the events:
- [tex]\( P(NF) \)[/tex]: Probability that a book is nonfiction.
- [tex]\( P(PB) \)[/tex]: Probability that a book is paperback.
- [tex]\( P(PB \mid NF) \)[/tex]: Probability that a book is paperback given that it is nonfiction.

First, let's calculate the necessary probabilities based on the provided two-way table:
[tex]\[ \begin{tabular}{|c|c|c|c|} \cline { 2 - 4 } & Fiction & Nonfiction & Total \\ \hline Paperback & 20 & 60 & 80 \\ \hline Hardcover & 10 & 30 & 40 \\ \hline Total & 30 & 90 & 120 \\ \hline \end{tabular} \][/tex]

1. Calculate [tex]\( P(NF) \)[/tex]:
[tex]\[ P(NF) = \frac{\text{Number of nonfiction books}}{\text{Total number of books}} = \frac{90}{120} = 0.75 \][/tex]

2. Calculate [tex]\( P(PB) \)[/tex]:
[tex]\[ P(PB) = \frac{\text{Number of paperback books}}{\text{Total number of books}} = \frac{80}{120} = \frac{2}{3} \approx 0.67 \][/tex]

3. Calculate [tex]\( P(PB \mid NF) \)[/tex]:
[tex]\[ P(PB \mid NF) = \frac{\text{Number of paperback nonfiction books}}{\text{Total number of nonfiction books}} = \frac{60}{90} = \frac{2}{3} \approx 0.67 \][/tex]

To check if the events are independent, we compare [tex]\( P(PB \mid NF) \)[/tex] and [tex]\( P(PB) \)[/tex]. If [tex]\( P(PB \mid NF) = P(PB) \)[/tex], then the events are independent.

Given the calculated probabilities:
[tex]\[ P(PB \mid NF) = \frac{2}{3} \approx 0.67 \][/tex]
[tex]\[ P(PB) = \frac{2}{3} \approx 0.67 \][/tex]

Since [tex]\( P(PB \mid NF) = P(PB) \)[/tex], the events "being a nonfiction book (NF)" and "being a paperback book (PB)" are indeed independent.

Hence, Miguel's claim is correct.

Therefore, the correct answer is:
Yes, the two events are independent because [tex]\( P(PB \mid NF) = P(PB) \)[/tex].

Other Questions