Binomial probabilities
Find the chance of getting exactly a certain number of successes in a fixed number of tries.
Use the binomial model when you repeat the same yes-or-no trial a fixed number of times, and each trial has the same chance of success. Think of flipping a coin or checking whether products pass a test.
The example: flip a fair coin 10 times. What is the chance of exactly 3 heads? It is 0.1171875 (about 11.7 percent).
Classic Graphing 84
Start on the main screen: Press 2nd then mode (QUIT) to get back to the home screen. Pressing clear on a menu also backs out of it.
Open the DISTR menu (2nd then vars) and pick binompdf( with the alpha key and A.
2ndDISTRvarsalphaAmathFill in trials 10, probability 0.5 and x value 3. Press down after each.
10▼0.5▼3▼Select Paste, then press enter to calculate.
enterenter
You should seebinompdf(10,0.5,3) .1171875
binomcdf( (option B) adds up every outcome from 0 successes to x.
Classic Graphing 84 key reference · Classic Graphing 84 manual
Natural Scientific 991
Start on the main screen: Press MENU, then 1 (Calculate) to return to the main calculation screen. AC clears the line you are on.
Open the Distribution mode and choose Binomial PD.
MENU74Answer the prompts: x 3, N 10, p 0.5. Press = after each.
3=10=0.5=
You should seeBinomial PD p=0.1171875
Natural Scientific 991 key reference · Natural Scientific 991 manual
Natural Color Graphing
Start on the main screen: Press MENU then 1 to open Run-Matrix, the main calculation screen. Press EXIT to back out of a bar or screen, and SHIFT then EXIT (QUIT) to return to the app start.
Open the Stat mode, then DIST (F5), then BINM (F5), and choose Bpd (F1).
MENU2F5F5F1Fill in x 3, Numtrial 10, p 0.5, pressing EXE after each. Press EXE once more to run it.
3EXE10EXE0.5EXEEXE
You should seeBinomial P.D p=0.1171875
Natural Color Graphing key reference · Natural Color Graphing manual
Classic CAS
Start on the main screen: Press home to open the Home menu (Calculator, Graphs, Settings, and more). Choose Calculator, or press esc to go back to the calculation page.
Type binomPdf( by hand, then the trials, the success chance and the count.
binompdf(10,0.5,3)Press enter.
enter
You should seebinompdf(10,0.5,3) 0.117188
Tips
- PDF means "exactly this many". CDF means "this many or fewer". For "at least", subtract a CDF from 1.
- The tries must be independent: one result must not change the chance of the next.
Related guides
- Poisson probabilitiesFind the chance of a certain number of events in a fixed time or space, given their average rate.
- Find a probability on a normal curveWork out the chance that a normally distributed value lands between two numbers.
- Count arrangements and selections (nPr and nCr)Count how many ways to arrange or choose items from a group.