
Minitab® – Finding Binomial Probabilities using Minitab
Let’s walk through how to calculate the probability of 1 out of 3 crimes being solved in the FBI Crime Survey example.
Recall in that example, \(n=3\), \(p=0.2\).
Using Minitab, calculate \(P(X=1)\):
- From the Minitab menu select Calc > Probability Distributions > Binomial
- A dialog box (below) will appear. Enter 3 into the Number of Trials box and 0.2 into the Event Probability box.
- Choose Probability .
- Choose the Input Constant Box and enter 1.
- Choose OK .
The result should be the same probability of 0.384 we found by hand.
Suppose we want to find \(P(X\le 2)\). We can use Minitab to find this cumulative probability.
- From the Minitab menu select Calc > Probability Distributions > Binomial
- Enter in 3 and 0.2 as above.
- Choose Cumulative Probability .
- Choose Input Constant and enter 2.
- Choose OK .
The result should be \(P(X\le 2)=0.992\).
Note! While using Minitab is quicker, you may be expected to compute these probabilities by hand on assignments.