Independent Module Assessment
Attempt after the practice and labs. Allow90 minutes; a calculator is permitted. Close worked examples, reference code, and answer keys. Write assumptions and derivations, not just numbers. Record assistance and interruptions. This is a local competency check, not a validated percentile ranking.
Each item is worth4 points: one for model/assumptions, two for derivation, one for interpretation or limitation. See assessment rules before starting; open solutions afterward.
- Sampling protocol. Two independent fair coins are flipped. A program selects one position uniformly and reveals H. Find the probability both flips were H. Contrast this with conditioning on "at least one H." (PS1)
- Base rates. A detector sees prevalence=.04,sensitivity=.75,false-positive rate=.02. For10,000 requests, construct the expected count table and compute precision. Explain why precision is not sensitivity. (PS2)
- Stopping. An operation independently fails with probability .1 on each attempt. At most three total attempts are made, stopping on success. Derive expected attempts, failures, backoffs, and eventual success. Explain why a binomial model is wrong. (PS3)
- Finite sampling. Uniformly choose two of five nodes, two of which are faulty. Derive the faulty-count PMF, mean, and variance. Compare to a with-replacement experiment. (PS4)
- Dependence. X,Y have variance4 each and covariance3. Find Var((X+Y)/2). Compare with the independent case; explain why averaging does not always halve variance. (PS5)
- Continuous models. X is uniform on[0,4]. Give its density, P(1<=X<=3), its mean and variance, and its lower99th quantile. Explain why P(X=2)=0. (PS6)
- Inference. For i.i.d. observations with finite mean and positive finite variance, distinguish LLN, Var(mean), and CLT. Explain why k=0 failures in20 trials is not proof p=0, and what repeated-trial confidence coverage means. (PS7)
- Engineering judgment. Averages for small/large requests are A=10/100 ms,B=12/110 ms. A sees10% small requests, B sees90%. Compute raw and50/50 standardized means. Propose a sampling unit and fixed stopping rule for a new comparison, and state two missing facts that block a causal conclusion. (PS8)
Changed-case recheck
After3–7 days, work two previously weak competencies without the key. The reviewer chooses new values and one changed assumption. Examples: change maximum attempts to four; change sampling to replacement; introduce a shared outage; change randomization from requests to sessions. Before computing, identify which earlier formulas still apply. Use transfer prompts if studying alone, labeling the result self-assessed.