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Try it

Two thousand students took an exam. The scores on the exam have an approximate normal distribution with a mean μ = 81 points and standard deviation σ = 15 points.

  1. Calculate the first- and third-quartile scores for this exam.
  2. The middle 50% of the exam scores are between what two values?
  1. Q 1 = 25 th percentile = 70.9
    Q 3 = 75 th percentile = 91.9
  2. The middle 50% of the scores are between 70.9 and 91.1.

A citrus farmer who grows mandarin oranges finds that the diameters of mandarin oranges harvested on his farm follow a normal distribution with a mean diameter of 5.85 cm and a standard deviation of 0.24 cm.

a. Find the probability that a randomly selected mandarin orange from this farm has a diameter larger than 6.0 cm. Sketch the graph.

a. 0.2660

This is a normal distribution curve. The peak of the curve coincides with the point 2 on the horizontal axis. The values 1.8 and 2.75 are also labeled on the x-axis. Vertical lines extend from 1.8 and 2.75 to the curve. The area between the lines is shaded.

b. The middle 20% of mandarin oranges from this farm have diameters between ______ and ______.

b.

  • 1 – 0.20 = 0.80
  • The tails of the graph of the normal distribution each have an area of 0.40.
  • Find k1 , the 40 th percentile, and k2 , the 60 th percentile (0.40 + 0.20 = 0.60).
  • k1 = 5.79 cm
  • k2 = 5.91 cm

c. Find the 90 th percentile for the diameters of mandarin oranges, and interpret it in a complete sentence.

c. 6.16: Ninety percent of the diameter of the mandarin oranges is at most 6.15 cm.

Try it

Using the information from [link] , answer the following:

  1. The middle 45% of mandarin oranges from this farm are between ______ and ______.
  2. Find the 16 th percentile and interpret it in a complete sentence.
  1. The middle area = 0.40, so each tail has an area of 0.30.

    1 – 0.40 = 0.60

    The tails of the graph of the normal distribution each have an area of 0.30.

    Find k1 , the 30 th percentile and k2 , the 70 th percentile (0.40 + 0.30 = 0.70).

    k1 = 5.72 cm

    k2 = 5.98 cm

  2. 0.9998

References

“Naegele’s rule.” Wikipedia. Available online at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naegele's_rule (accessed May 14, 2013).

“403: NUMMI.” Chicago Public Media&Ira Glass, 2013. Available online at http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/403/nummi (accessed May 14, 2013).

“Scratch-Off Lottery Ticket Playing Tips.” WinAtTheLottery.com, 2013. Available online at http://www.winatthelottery.com/public/department40.cfm (accessed May 14, 2013).

“Smart Phone Users, By The Numbers.” Visual.ly, 2013. Available online at http://visual.ly/smart-phone-users-numbers (accessed May 14, 2013).

“Facebook Statistics.” Statistics Brain. Available online at http://www.statisticbrain.com/facebook-statistics/(accessed May 14, 2013).

Chapter review

The normal distribution, which is continuous, is the most important of all the probability distributions. Its graph is bell-shaped. This bell-shaped curve is used in almost all disciplines. Since it is a continuous distribution, the total area under the curve is one. The parameters of the normal are the mean µ and the standard deviation σ . A special normal distribution, called the standard normal distribution is the distribution of z -scores. Its mean is zero, and its standard deviation is one.

Formula review

Normal Distribution: X ~ N ( µ , σ ) where µ is the mean and σ is the standard deviation.

Standard Normal Distribution: Z ~ N (0, 1).

Practice

How would you represent the area to the left of one in a probability statement?

P ( x <1)

What is the area to the right of one?

Is P ( x <1) equal to P ( x ≤ 1)? Why?

Yes, because they are the same in a continuous distribution: P ( x = 1) = 0

How would you represent the area to the left of three in a probability statement?

What is the area to the right of three?

1 – P ( x <3) or P ( x >3)

If the area to the left of x in a normal distribution is 0.123, what is the area to the right of x ?

If the area to the right of x in a normal distribution is 0.543, what is the area to the left of x ?

1 – 0.543 = 0.457

Use the following information to answer the next four exercises:

X ~ N (54, 8)

Find the probability that x >56.

Find the probability that x <30.

0.0013

Find the 80 th percentile.

Find the 60 th percentile.

56.03

X ~ N (6, 2)

Find the probability that x is between three and nine.

X ~ N (–3, 4)

Find the probability that x is between one and four.

0.1186

X ~ N (4, 5)

Find the maximum of x in the bottom quartile.

Use the following information to answer the next three exercise: The life of Sunshine CD players is normally distributed with a mean of 4.1 years and a standard deviation of 1.3 years. A CD player is guaranteed for three years. We are interested in the length of time a CD player lasts. Find the probability that a CD player will break down during the guarantee period.

  1. Sketch the situation. Label and scale the axes. Shade the region corresponding to the probability.
    Empty normal distribution curve.
  2. P (0< x <____________) = ___________ (Use zero for the minimum value of x .)
  1. Check student’s solution.
  2. 3, 0.1979

Find the probability that a CD player will last between 2.8 and six years.

  1. Sketch the situation. Label and scale the axes. Shade the region corresponding to the probability.
    Empty normal distribution curve.
  2. P (__________< x <__________) = __________

Find the 70 th percentile of the distribution for the time a CD player lasts.

  1. Sketch the situation. Label and scale the axes. Shade the region corresponding to the lower 70%.
    Empty normal distribution curve.
  2. P ( x < k ) = __________ Therefore, k = _________
  1. Check student’s solution.
  2. 0.70, 4.78 years

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Source:  OpenStax, Statistics i - math1020 - red river college - version 2015 revision a - draft 2015-10-24. OpenStax CNX. Oct 24, 2015 Download for free at http://legacy.cnx.org/content/col11891/1.8
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