Question: Testing for a disease can be made more efficient by combining samples. If the samples from three people are combined and the mixture tests negative,

Testing for a disease can be made more efficient by combining samples. If the samples from three people are combined and the mixture tests negative, then all three samples are negative. On the other hand, one positive sample will always test positive, no matter how many negative samples it is mixed with. Assuming the probability of a single sample testing positive is 0.2, find the probability of a positive result for three samples combined into one mixture. Is the probability low enough so that further testing of the individual samples is rarely necessary? The probability of a positive test result is

Step by Step Solution

There are 3 Steps involved in it

1 Expert Approved Answer
Step: 1 Unlock blur-text-image
Question Has Been Solved by an Expert!

Get step-by-step solutions from verified subject matter experts

Step: 2 Unlock
Step: 3 Unlock

Students Have Also Explored These Related Mathematics Questions!