Past exam of the year 1 of the computer science course of the University of Oxford / 2022 / Discrete mathematics, continuous mathematics and probability resit / 7 / b / iv / Solution

There is no such value of $p$ in the specified interval. Indeed, $\mathbb{P}(Y=1)=p{e}^{-p}>0$, and the joint probability mass function givesThis contradicts independence for every $0<p<0.8$. Equivalently, $(1,2)$ has joint probability zero but the product of its marginal probabilities is $p{e}^{-p}{p}^2/2>0$.

At the suggested value $r=e^{-r}$, the covariance is zero, but the same conditional probability contradiction still applies. This is an explicit example of how uncorrelated Bernoulli and Poisson variables need not be independent. Zero covariance controls one mixed moment, whereas independence requires the entire joint probability mass function to factor.