In the textile industry, a manufacturer is interested in the number of blemishes or flaws occurring in each 100 feet of material. The probability distribution that has the greatest chance of applying to this situation is the
A)normal distribution
B)binomial distribution
C)Poisson distribution
D)uniform distribution

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The Poisson distribution is appropriate for situations where the number of occurrences of an event is rare, random, and independent of the time since the last event. In the textile industry, the occurrence of blemishes would likely meet these criteria, as it would be rare for a high number of blemishes to occur in 100 feet of material, the occurrence would be random, and the number of blemishes in one section of material would be independent of the number in the previous or subsequent sections. The normal distribution assumes a continuous variable with a bell-shaped curve, which would not be appropriate for counting discrete events like blemishes. The binomial distribution assumes a fixed number of trials with a binary outcome (success/failure) for each trial, which would not be appropriate for the continuous counting of blemishes. The uniform distribution assumes an equal probability of occurrence across a continuous range, which would not likely apply to the discrete occurrence of blemishes.

In the Textile Industry, a Manufacturer Is Interested in the Number