Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2009/ia/paper-2/12f/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2009 ia Paper 2 12F Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
The law of total probability and the definition of conditional probability give Bayes' theorem:The denominator is positive because .
For the observed cargo, set , , . The binomial likelihood under origin isEqual prior probabilities and Bayes' theorem make the posterior proportional to these likelihoods. The binomial coefficient cancels in the likelihood ratios:Thus and , givingEven the permitted approximation gives log ratios about and , which already show overwhelming posterior preference for B. The exact logarithms are preferable because multiplication by magnifies the approximation error. An observed contamination fraction halfway between two hypothesized rates does not give equal likelihoods: the binomial distribution assigns asymmetric probabilities to those deviations, especially at this large sample size.
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