Question

The Geminids is an annual meteor shower that appears every December. Under a clear, dark sky, an observer of the Geminids would see an average of 20 meteors per 10-minute period (if the meteors’ emanation point were directly overhead).

It’s December and you host a Geminids party on the peak night of the meteor shower. The sky is clear and dark, and the meteors’ emanation point is directly overhead. You and your friends watch the sky for 10 minutes. The probability that you see exactly 20 meteors is 1) .0309 / .0888 / .4409 / .1322 .

The probability that you see more than 16 meteors while watching the night sky for 10 minutes is 2) .4634 / .8435 / .0646 / .7789.

After going inside for a midnight snack, you and your friends go back outdoors for a 25-minute sky-gazing session. The probability that you observe no more than 48 meteors during this sky-gazing session is 3) .5484 / .5751 / .583 / .4249   .

The number of meteor sightings over 20 minutes has an expected value of 4) 7.6 / 40 / 14 / 20  and a standard deviation of 5) 2.76 / 40 / 3.74 / 6.32  .

Answer 1