In: Statistics and Probability
12 cases of a disease are found over an area of 50 square miles.
(what type of distribution is this, i.e. Poisson, Gaussian, etc.)
We use Poisson distribution for calculating the probability of events that occur in some specified interval of time or space when the average rate of occurrence is constant.
It was given that 12 cases of a disease are found over an area of 50 square miles. (a constant average rate of occurrence)
Therefore the number of cases of that disease in some square mile area follows a Poisson distribution
Let X be the number of cases of a disease found within an 8 square mile area
12 cases of a disease are found over an area of 50 square miles.
==> 1.92 cases of a disease are found per 8 square miles (constant average rate, )
where x = 0,1,2,..... and = 1.92
Therefore the probability of finding 4 cases within an 8 square mile area is 0.083
The average number of cases within the 8 square mile area = = 1.92