The shaded area in the following graph indicates the area to the left of x. This area is represented by the probability P(X < x). Normal tables, computers, and calculators provide or calculate the probability P(X < x).
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The area to the right is then P(X > x) = 1 – P(X < x). Remember, P(X < x) = Area to the left of the vertical line through x. P(X < x) = 1 – P(X < x) = Area to the right of the vertical line through x. P(X < x) is the same as P(X ≤ x) and P(X > x) is the same as P(X ≥ x) for continuous distributions.
Probabilities are calculated using technology. There are instructions given as necessary for the TI-83+ and TI-84 calculators.
To calculate the probability, use the probability tables provided in [link] without the use of technology. The tables include instructions for how to use them.
If the area to the left is 0.0228, then the area to the right is 1 – 0.0228 = 0.9772.
If the area to the left of x is 0.012, then what is the area to the right?
The final exam scores in a statistics class were normally distributed with a mean of 63 and a standard deviation of five.* * *
a. Find the probability that a randomly selected student scored more than 65 on the exam.
a. Let X = a score on the final exam. X ~ N(63, 5), where μ = 63 and σ = 5.
Draw a graph.
Then, find P(x > 65).
P(x > 65) = 0.3446
{:}
The probability that any student selected at random scores more than 65 is 0.3446.
Go into 2nd DISTR
. * * *
After pressing 2nd DISTR
, press 2:normalcdf
.
The syntax for the instructions are as follows:
normalcdf(lower value, upper value, mean, standard deviation) For this problem: normalcdf(65,1E99,63,5) = 0.3446. You get 1E99 (= 1099) by pressing 1
, the EE
key (a 2nd key) and then 99
. Or, you can enter 10^99
instead. The number 1099 is way out in the right tail of the normal curve. We are calculating the area between 65 and 1099. In some instances, the lower number of the area might be –1E99 (= –1099). The number –1099 is way out in the left tail of the normal curve.
The TI probability program calculates a z-score and then the probability from the z-score. Before technology, the z-score was looked up in a standard normal probability table (because the math involved is too cumbersome) to find the probability. In this example, a standard normal table with area to the left of the z-score was used. You calculate the z-score and look up the area to the left. The probability is the area to the right.
z =
= 0.4
Area to the left is 0.6554.
P(x > 65) = P(z > 0.4) = 1 – 0.6554 = 0.3446
Find the percentile for a student scoring 65:
*Press 2nd Distr
* * *
*Press 2:normalcdf
( * * *
*Enter lower bound, upper bound, mean, standard deviation followed by ) * * *
*Press ENTER
. * * *
For this Example, the steps are * * *
2nd Distr
* * *
2:normalcdf
(65,1,2nd EE,99,63,5) ENTER
* * *
The probability that a selected student scored more than 65 is 0.3446.
b. Find the probability that a randomly selected student scored less than 85.
b. Draw a graph.
Then find P(x < 85), and shade the graph.
Using a computer or calculator, find P(x < 85) = 1.
normalcdf(0,85,63,5) = 1 (rounds to one)
The probability that one student scores less than 85 is approximately one (or 100%).* * *
c. Find the 90th percentile (that is, find the score k that has 90% of the scores below k and 10% of the scores above k).
c. Find the 90th percentile. For each problem or part of a problem, draw a new graph. Draw the x-axis. Shade the area that corresponds to the 90th percentile.
Let k = the 90th percentile. The variable k is located on the x-axis. P(x < k) is the area to the left of k. The 90th percentile k separates the exam scores into those that are the same or lower than k and those that are the same or higher. Ninety percent of the test scores are the same or lower than k, and ten percent are the same or higher. The variable k is often called a critical value.
k = 69.4
{:}
The 90th percentile is 69.4. This means that 90% of the test scores fall at or below 69.4 and 10% fall at or above. To get this answer on the calculator, follow this step:
invNorm
in 2nd DISTR
. invNorm(area to the left, mean, standard deviation) * * *
For this problem, invNorm(0.90,63,5) = 69.4
d. Find the 70th percentile (that is, find the score k such that 70% of scores are below k and 30% of the scores are above k).
d. Find the 70th percentile.
Draw a new graph and label it appropriately. k = 65.6
The 70th percentile is 65.6. This means that 70% of the test scores fall at or below 65.5 and 30% fall at or above.
invNorm(0.70,63,5) = 65.6
The golf scores for a school team were normally distributed with a mean of 68 and a standard deviation of three.
Find the probability that a randomly selected golfer scored less than 65.
A personal computer is used for office work at home, research, communication, personal finances, education, entertainment, social networking, and a myriad of other things. Suppose that the average number of hours a household personal computer is used for entertainment is two hours per day. Assume the times for entertainment are normally distributed and the standard deviation for the times is half an hour.* * *
a. Find the probability that a household personal computer is used for entertainment between 1.8 and 2.75 hours per day.
a. Let X = the amount of time (in hours) a household personal computer is used for entertainment. X ~ N(2, 0.5) where μ = 2 and σ = 0.5.
Find P(1.8 < x < 2.75).
The probability for which you are looking is the area between x = 1.8 and x = 2.75. P(1.8 < x < 2.75) = 0.5886
{:}
normalcdf(1.8,2.75,2,0.5) = 0.5886
The probability that a household personal computer is used between 1.8 and 2.75 hours per day for entertainment is 0.5886.* * *
b. Find the maximum number of hours per day that the bottom quartile of households uses a personal computer for entertainment.
b. To find the maximum number of hours per day that the bottom quartile of households uses a personal computer for entertainment, find the 25th percentile, k, where P(x < k) = 0.25.
{:}
invNorm(0.25,2,0.5) = 1.66
The maximum number of hours per day that the bottom quartile of households uses a personal computer for entertainment is 1.66 hours.
The golf scores for a school team were normally distributed with a mean of 68 and a standard deviation of three. Find the probability that a golfer scored between 66 and 70.
In the United States the ages 13 to 55+ of smartphone users approximately follow a normal distribution with approximate mean and standard deviation of 36.9 years and 13.9 years, respectively.* * *
a. Determine the probability that a random smartphone user in the age range 13 to 55+ is between 23 and 64.7 years old.
a. normalcdf(23,64.7,36.9,13.9) = 0.8186* * *
b. Determine the probability that a randomly selected smartphone user in the age range 13 to 55+ is at most 50.8 years old.
b. normalcdf(–1099,50.8,36.9,13.9) = 0.8413* * *
c. Find the 80th percentile of this distribution, and interpret it in a complete sentence.
c.
Use the information in [link] to answer the following questions.
In the United States the ages 13 to 55+ of smartphone users approximately follow a normal distribution with approximate mean and standard deviation of 36.9 years and 13.9 years respectively. Using this information, answer the following questions (round answers to one decimal place).* * *
a. Calculate the interquartile range (IQR).
a.
b. Forty percent of the ages that range from 13 to 55+ are at least what age?
b.
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.
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. normalcdf(6,10^99,5.85,0.24) = 0.2660
b. The middle 20% of mandarin oranges from this farm have diameters between ______ and ______.
b.
c. Find the 90th 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 6.16 cm.
Using the information from [link], answer the following:
“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).
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.
Normal Distribution: X ~ N(µ, σ) where µ is the mean and σ is the standard deviation.
Standard Normal Distribution: Z ~ N(0, 1).
Calculator function for probability: normalcdf (lower x value of the area, upper x value of the area, mean, standard deviation)
Calculator function for the kth percentile: k = invNorm (area to the left of k, mean, standard deviation)
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 80th percentile.
Find the 60th 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.
Sketch the situation. Label and scale the axes. Shade the region corresponding to the probability.
P(0 < x < ____________) = ___________ (Use zero for the minimum value of x.)
Find the probability that a CD player will last between 2.8 and six years.
Sketch the situation. Label and scale the axes. Shade the region corresponding to the probability.
P(\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ < x < \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_) = \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
Find the 70th percentile of the distribution for the time a CD player lasts.
Sketch the situation. Label and scale the axes. Shade the region corresponding to the lower 70%.
P(x < k) = __________ Therefore, k = _________
Use the following information to answer the next two exercises: The patient recovery time from a particular surgical procedure is normally distributed with a mean of 5.3 days and a standard deviation of 2.1 days.
What is the probability of spending more than two days in recovery?
The 90th percentile for recovery times is?
c
Use the following information to answer the next three exercises: The length of time it takes to find a parking space at 9 A.M. follows a normal distribution with a mean of five minutes and a standard deviation of two minutes.
Based upon the given information and numerically justified, would you be surprised if it took less than one minute to find a parking space?
Find the probability that it takes at least eight minutes to find a parking space.
d
Seventy percent of the time, it takes more than how many minutes to find a parking space?
According to a study done by De Anza students, the height for Asian adult males is normally distributed with an average of 66 inches and a standard deviation of 2.5 inches. Suppose one Asian adult male is randomly chosen. Let X = height of the individual.
IQ is normally distributed with a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15. Suppose one individual is randomly chosen. Let X = IQ of an individual.
The percent of fat calories that a person in America consumes each day is normally distributed with a mean of about 36 and a standard deviation of 10. Suppose that one individual is randomly chosen. Let X = percent of fat calories.
Suppose that the distance of fly balls hit to the outfield (in baseball) is normally distributed with a mean of 250 feet and a standard deviation of 50 feet.
In China, four-year-olds average three hours a day unsupervised. Most of the unsupervised children live in rural areas, considered safe. Suppose that the standard deviation is 1.5 hours and the amount of time spent alone is normally distributed. We randomly select one Chinese four-year-old living in a rural area. We are interested in the amount of time the child spends alone per day.
In the 1992 presidential election, Alaska’s 40 election districts averaged 1,956.8 votes per district for President Clinton. The standard deviation was 572.3. (There are only 40 election districts in Alaska.) The distribution of the votes per district for President Clinton was bell-shaped. Let X = number of votes for President Clinton for an election district.
Suppose that the duration of a particular type of criminal trial is known to be normally distributed with a mean of 21 days and a standard deviation of seven days.
Terri Vogel, an amateur motorcycle racer, averages 129.71 seconds per 2.5 mile lap (in a seven-lap race) with a standard deviation of 2.28 seconds. The distribution of her race times is normally distributed. We are interested in one of her randomly selected laps.
Thuy Dau, Ngoc Bui, Sam Su, and Lan Voung conducted a survey as to how long customers at Lucky claimed to wait in the checkout line until their turn. Let X = time in line. [link] displays the ordered real data (in minutes):
0.50 | 4.25 | 5 | 6 | 7.25 |
1.75 | 4.25 | 5.25 | 6 | 7.25 |
2 | 4.25 | 5.25 | 6.25 | 7.25 |
2.25 | 4.25 | 5.5 | 6.25 | 7.75 |
2.25 | 4.5 | 5.5 | 6.5 | 8 |
2.5 | 4.75 | 5.5 | 6.5 | 8.25 |
2.75 | 4.75 | 5.75 | 6.5 | 9.5 |
3.25 | 4.75 | 5.75 | 6.75 | 9.5 |
3.75 | 5 | 6 | 6.75 | 9.75 |
3.75 | 5 | 6 | 6.75 | 10.75 |
Suppose that Ricardo and Anita attend different colleges. Ricardo’s GPA is the same as the average GPA at his school. Anita’s GPA is 0.70 standard deviations above her school average. In complete sentences, explain why each of the following statements may be false.
[link] shows a sample of the maximum capacity (maximum number of spectators) of sports stadiums. The table does not include horse-racing or motor-racing stadiums.
40,000 | 40,000 | 45,050 | 45,500 | 46,249 | 48,134 |
49,133 | 50,071 | 50,096 | 50,466 | 50,832 | 51,100 |
51,500 | 51,900 | 52,000 | 52,132 | 52,200 | 52,530 |
52,692 | 53,864 | 54,000 | 55,000 | 55,000 | 55,000 |
55,000 | 55,000 | 55,000 | 55,082 | 57,000 | 58,008 |
59,680 | 60,000 | 60,000 | 60,492 | 60,580 | 62,380 |
62,872 | 64,035 | 65,000 | 65,050 | 65,647 | 66,000 |
66,161 | 67,428 | 68,349 | 68,976 | 69,372 | 70,107 |
70,585 | 71,594 | 72,000 | 72,922 | 73,379 | 74,500 |
75,025 | 76,212 | 78,000 | 80,000 | 80,000 | 82,300 |
s = 10,468
An expert witness for a paternity lawsuit testifies that the length of a pregnancy is normally distributed with a mean of 280 days and a standard deviation of 13 days. An alleged father was out of the country from 240 to 306 days before the birth of the child, so the pregnancy would have been less than 240 days or more than 306 days long if he was the father. The birth was uncomplicated, and the child needed no medical intervention. What is the probability that he was NOT the father? What is the probability that he could be the father? Calculate the z-scores first, and then use those to calculate the probability.
A NUMMI assembly line, which has been operating since 1984, has built an average of 6,000 cars and trucks a week. Generally, 10% of the cars were defective coming off the assembly line. Suppose we draw a random sample of n = 100 cars. Let X represent the number of defective cars in the sample. What can we say about X in regard to the 68-95-99.7 empirical rule (one standard deviation, two standard deviations and three standard deviations from the mean are being referred to)? Assume a normal distribution for the defective cars in the sample.
=
= 3
We flip a coin 100 times (n = 100) and note that it only comes up heads 20% (p = 0.20) of the time. The mean and standard deviation for the number of times the coin lands on heads is µ = 20 and σ = 4 (verify the mean and standard deviation). Solve the following:
A $1 scratch off lotto ticket will be a winner one out of five times. Out of a shipment of n = 190 lotto tickets, find the probability for the lotto tickets that there are
= 0.2; q = 0.8
=
= 5.5136
Facebook provides a variety of statistics on its Web site that detail the growth and popularity of the site.
On average, 28 percent of 18 to 34 year olds check their Facebook profiles before getting out of bed in the morning. Suppose this percentage follows a normal distribution with a standard deviation of five percent.
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