SOLUTION: Hi, I don't know if any of you answer statistics questions, but you really helped this struggling old lady get through algebra last year so I thought I would give you a try. (Y

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Question 405417: Hi,
I don't know if any of you answer statistics questions, but you really helped this struggling old lady get through algebra last year so I thought I would give you a try. (Yes, I'm struggling with Stats just as much.)
My question reads: A fisherman arrives at his favorite fishing spot. From past experience he knows that the number of fish he catches per hour follows a Poisson distribution at .5/hr. What’s the probability that will catch at least 3 in four hrs.
Here's my take: If he catches .5 in one hour, that makes the lambda .5/1? Multiplied by the time (4 hours) gives me 2. So I believe my 2 calculator numbers are 2 and 3. If I'm doing the keystrokes correctly, I come up with a .184 probability.
Am I even in the ballpark?
Thanks so much for ANY help you can give me!
Answer by robertb(5830) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
It depends on the parameter alpha that you use.
The probability mass function for the Poisson distribution is p%28x%29+=+e%5E%28-alpha%29%2A%28alpha%5Ex%2Fx%21%29. The parameter alpha+=+2 is correct.
The probability of catching 0, or 1, or 2 fish is . Hence the probability of catching at least 3 fish is , to 6 decimal places.