In coastal towns in the Pacific Rim region, there is a serious risk of flooding by tsunamis (large waves caused by the vibrations of earthquakes or eruptions). Tsunamis travel quickly and are often very destructive. Therefore, warning systems with sirens have been installed so people can evacuate to higher ground in time. When the system is tested, individual sirens sometimes fail. The sirens operate independently of one another (i.e. the failure of one siren does not change the probability that any other

siren fails). Suppose that you live on the coast and two sirens can be heard from youa. If the system is activated, and there is a 3% chance of any siren failing, what is the probability that two sirens will fail? (Check your decimals J )

Question

In coastal towns in the Pacific Rim region, there is a serious risk of flooding by tsunamis (large waves caused by the vibrations of earthquakes or eruptions). Tsunamis travel quickly and are often very destructive. Therefore, warning systems with sirens have been installed so people can evacuate to higher ground in time. When the system is tested, individual sirens sometimes fail. The sirens operate independently of one another (i.e. the failure of one siren does not change the probability that any other

siren fails). Suppose that you live on the coast and two sirens can be heard from youa. If the system is activated, and there is a 3% chance of any siren failing, what is the probability that two sirens will fail? (Check your decimals J )

anonymous · Answer

|dw:1349045303041:dw|
Therefore, the probability for either one of them failing should be:
.97*.03+.03*.03 = .0891, or 8.91%

anonymous · Answer

thanks

anonymous · Answer

oh, whoops, I didn't read your question carefully....
It should be just .03*.03 = .00009