Probability in Action: the Red Traffic Light

John A. Shanks University of Otago
Journal of Statistics Education Volume 15, Number 1 (2007),

Abstract

Emphasis on problem solving in mathematics has gained considerable attention in recent years. While statistics teaching has always been problem driven, the same cannot be said for the teaching of probability where discrete examples involving coins and playing cards are often the norm. This article describes an application of simple probability distributions to a practical problem involving a car’s approach to a red traffic light, and draws on the ideas of density functions, expected value and conditional distributions. It provides a valuable exercise in applying theory in a practical context.

Keywords: Distributions; Modelling; Optimization; Problem solving.

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