Answer core probability and statistics questions

Quick Overview

This question evaluates core probability and statistical inference competencies—covering Bayesian reasoning, regression controls and confounding, the Central Limit Theorem, distribution moments, t-statistics, and effect size/MDE—relevant to quantitative data analysis and hypothesis testing for a Data Scientist role in the Statistics & Math domain.

Answer core probability and statistics questions

Company: Netflix

Role: Data Scientist

Category: Statistics & Math

Difficulty: medium

Interview Round: Onsite

Answer the following interview-style probability/statistics questions. Provide formulas and short explanations. 1) **Bayes’ rule:** State Bayes’ rule. Given a disease prevalence \(P(D)=1\%\), a test sensitivity \(P(+\mid D)=0.99\), and false positive rate \(P(+\mid \neg D)=0.05\), compute \(P(D\mid +)\). 2) **Controls in regression:** In an observational setting, why might adding control variables change the estimated coefficient on a variable of interest? When can adding controls introduce bias? 3) **CLT:** State the Central Limit Theorem and its practical implication for the sampling distribution of the sample mean. 4) **Uniform distribution moments:** If \(X\sim \mathrm{Unif}(a,b)\), compute \(E[X]\) and \(\mathrm{Var}(X)\). 5) **Hypothesis test / t-stat:** For testing \(H_0: \mu=\mu_0\) with sample mean \(\bar x\), sample standard deviation \(s\), and sample size \(n\), write the one-sample t-statistic. 6) **Effect size vs MDE:** Define effect size and Minimum Detectable Effect (MDE). How do power, variance, sample size, and alpha affect MDE?

Quick Answer: This question evaluates core probability and statistical inference competencies—covering Bayesian reasoning, regression controls and confounding, the Central Limit Theorem, distribution moments, t-statistics, and effect size/MDE—relevant to quantitative data analysis and hypothesis testing for a Data Scientist role in the Statistics & Math domain.

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Mar 5, 2026, 12:00 AM
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Answer the following interview-style probability/statistics questions. Provide formulas and short explanations.

  1. Bayes’ rule: State Bayes’ rule. Given a disease prevalence P(D)=1%P(D)=1\% , a test sensitivity P(+D)=0.99P(+\mid D)=0.99 , and false positive rate P(+¬D)=0.05P(+\mid \neg D)=0.05 , compute P(D+)P(D\mid +) .
  2. Controls in regression: In an observational setting, why might adding control variables change the estimated coefficient on a variable of interest? When can adding controls introduce bias?
  3. CLT: State the Central Limit Theorem and its practical implication for the sampling distribution of the sample mean.
  4. Uniform distribution moments: If XUnif(a,b)X\sim \mathrm{Unif}(a,b) , compute E[X]E[X] and Var(X)\mathrm{Var}(X) .
  5. Hypothesis test / t-stat: For testing H0:μ=μ0H_0: \mu=\mu_0 with sample mean xˉ\bar x , sample standard deviation ss , and sample size nn , write the one-sample t-statistic.
  6. Effect size vs MDE: Define effect size and Minimum Detectable Effect (MDE). How do power, variance, sample size, and alpha affect MDE?
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