Suppose the light bulbs in a factory burn out at a rate of 50 bulbs per month. Which of the following distributions would you use to figure out the probability that the next two light bulbs will burn out 2 days apart?
A) uniform distribution
B) hypergeometric distribution
C) exponential distribution
D) Poisson distribution

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The exponential distribution is used to model the time between events that occur continuously and independently at a constant average rate, such as the time between light bulbs burning out. The Poisson distribution is also a possibility, but it assumes that the rate of events is constant over time, which may not be the case if the factory is changing its light bulbs or has periods of high usage. The uniform and hypergeometric distributions are not applicable to this scenario.

Suppose the Light Bulbs in a Factory Burn Out at a Rate