The hypergeometric distribution is a discrete probability distribution that describes the probability of \(k\) successes in \(n\) draws, without replacement, from a finite population of size \(N\) that contains exactly \(K\) successes.
The probability mass function of the hypergeometric distribution is given by:
\[P(X = k) = \frac{\binom{K}{k} \binom{N-K}{n-k}}{\binom{N}{n}}\]
Where:
Let's calculate the probability of drawing 3 red marbles out of 5 draws from a bag containing 20 marbles, of which 8 are red.
Here, \(N = 20\), \(K = 8\), \(n = 5\), and \(k = 3\)
\[P(X = 3) = \frac{\binom{8}{3} \binom{12}{2}}{\binom{20}{5}} = \frac{56 \cdot 66}{15504} \approx 0.2378\]
This diagram represents our example. The large circle represents the total population of 20 marbles, with the blue section showing the 8 red marbles. The smaller circle represents our sample of 5 draws, with the green section showing the 3 successful draws of red marbles.
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