Reading Notes: Module 5 STAT 212
Sect. 5.2: This section has some good examples of binomial distributions, and is worth a close
read.
•The derivation of the formula for computing binomial probabilities is given in detail in
the text. It is interesting but not required.
•While it is possible to use the formula and a calculator to compute binomial probabilities,
it is generally easier to use Excel.
•The Module resources has a video clip showing (in the context of an example) how to
use Excel to compute binomial probabilities. (You can ignore the discussion in the text
on using tables to evaluate binomial probabilities.)
Sect. 5.3: The distinction between binomial and Poisson distributions is sometimes a difficult one,
so this section should be read carefully.
•Poisson probabilities are not hard to compute with a calculator and the formula, but it
is still usually easier to use Excel.
•See the Module Resources for an example showing how to use Excel to compute Pois-
son probabilities. (You can ignore the discussion of using tables to determine Poisson
probabilities.)
•The subsection “Beyond the Basics” is interesting but not required.
Sect. 5.4: Conditional probability can be hard to understand, although it is also in ways quite
natural. The examples in this section do a nice job of illustrating the key ideas.
•If you are at a loss of where to start a problem, sometimes the definition of conditional
probability (page 345) can help focus attention in the right place.
•Do not hesitate to use tree diagrams to organize complicated conditional probability
questions. In particular, tree diagrams are easier to use for Bayes’s Rule problems than
the complicated Bayes’s Rule formula.
•See the Module Resources for a video clip showing the solution to a Bayes’s problem.