Discussion:
Q: For a recent period of 100 years, there were 93 major earthquakes (at leat 6.0 on the Richter scale) in the world (based on data from the World Almanac and Book of facts). Assuming that the Poisson distribution is a suitable model, find the mean number of major earthquakes per year, then find the probability that the number of earthquakes in a randomly selected year is:
a=0
b=1
c=2
d=3
e=4
f=5
g=6
h=7
Here are the actual results:
47 years (0 major earthquakes)
31 years (1 major earthquakes)
13 years (2 major earthquakes)
5 years (3 major earthquakes)
2 years (4 major earthquakes)
0 years (5 major earthquakes)
1 year (6 major earthquakes)
1 year (7 major earthquakes)
Compare the actual results to those expected from the Poisson probabilities. Explain, how you do the comparison. Does the Poisson distribution serve as a good device for predicting the actual results?