Testing for a disease can be made more efficient by combining samples. If the samples from two people are combined and the mixtu
re tests negative, then both 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 two samples combined into one mixture. Is the probability low enough so that further testing of the individual samples is rarely necessary?
First you calculate the distance between B and D, A and C. We have the distance between B and D will be: sqrt[(x2-x1)^2+(y2-y1)^2] = 8.5 The distance between A and C will be: 14.14 We have the area of rhombus: 1/2 * 8.5 * 14.14 = 60 square units.
