Explanation
This is a Poisson distribution problem where:
- Average calls per hour = 2
- Time period = 8 hours
- Expected calls in 8 hours (λ) = 2 × 8 = 16
- We want P(X = 20)
The Poisson probability formula is:
P(X=k)=k!e−λλk
Where:
- λ = 16 (expected number of calls)
- k = 20 (desired number of calls)
Calculating:
P(X=20)=20!e−16⋅1620
Using the Poisson distribution:
- e⁻¹⁶ ≈ 1.125 × 10⁻⁷
- 16²⁰ ≈ 1.208 × 10²⁴
- 20! = 2,432,902,008,176,640,000
P(X=20)≈2.433×1018(1.125×10−7)×(1.208×1024)≈0.0559
Converting to percentage: 0.0559 × 100% = 5.59%
This matches option A, which is the correct answer.