Problems Illustrating IB Math Concepts

TOPIC 6 – Statistics and Probability

6.1 Population, Sample, Random Sample and Frequency Distributions of Discrete and Continuous
Data
6.1.1
Discrete vs. Continuous Data
Label each as discrete, or continuous.
1) The number of children in a family living in South Carolina.
2) The volume of water in a swimming pool.
3) The height of a mountain in the Alps.
4) The number of baseballs used during a Braves game.
5) The temperature of the fish tank at Riverbanks Zoo

Answers: 1) discrete, 2) continuous, 3) continuous, 4) discrete, 5) continuous

6.1.2
Distribution of a Variable
1) What are 2 parts of the distribution of a variable?

2) Give an example of a distribution of a variable.

Answers: 1) Values the variable can take on and how often each value occurs,
2) see instructor

6.1.3
Populations Known and Unknown
Identify the variable and the implied population (2 points)
1) The state of South Carolina wants to determine the average cost of gas. A random sample
of 198 gas stations was surveyed.
a) Variable
b) Implied population

2) Describe the difference between a known and unknown population

Answer: 1) a) average cost of gas,

b) state of South Carolina
2) see instructor
 6.1.4
Representative Samples
1) What does EDA stand for and what does it mean?

2) Define influential statistics.

Answers: 1) Exploratory Data Analysis – summarizes data based on the whole population,
2) Process of collecting data from a sample and drawing conclusions about the
population.

6.1.5
The Simple Random Sample
1) What is a SRS?

2) Why is an SRS important in data collection?

Answers: 1) Simple Random sample,

2) Because every outcome in equally likely, biases are reduced.

6.2 Presentation of data

6.2.1
Histograms in the GDC (w/outlier)
1)To determine their lifetimes, 90 randomly selected batteries were tested.
The following frequency distribution was obtained. The data values are in hours.
Construct a histogram.
Class Limits Frequency
64-74 10
75-85 30
86-96 7
97-107 19
108-118 29
119-129 6

2)The following frequency distribution shows the ages of the state congressmen.
Construct a relative histogram.
Age Frequency
46-52 8
53-59 12
60-66 10
67-73 7
74-80 2

Answers: See Instructor

 6.2.2
Symmetric vs. Skewed distribution
1) When the mean is smaller the median and the mode is lager still, what is the shape of
the distribution?

2) How are the above (from 6.2.1) Histograms shaped?

Answers: 1) Skewed left,

2) see instructor

6.2.3
Box-and-Whisker Plots in the GDC
1) Construct a modified box plot using the following data:
72, 84, 85, 86, 88, 89, 92, 97, 100, 101, 103

2) Construct a box plot using the following data:

19 27 16 23 38 33
20 16 23 36 38 27
22 23 24 16 32 38
3139 35 34 39 26
Answers: see instructor

6.3 Central Tendency and Dispersion

6.3.1
Mean and Standard Deviation
1)Shown below is a frequency distribution for the rise in tides at 30 selected locations in
the United States. Calculate the Mean and Standard Deviation

Rise in Tides Frequency

12.5 - 27.5 6
27.5 - 42.5 3
42.5 - 57.5 5
57.5 - 72.5 8
72.5 - 87.5 6
87.5 - 102.5 2

2) Calculate the mean and standard deviation

9, 11, 12, 13, 13, 17, 19, 21, 21, 25, 27, 30, 33, 35

Answers: 1) mean=55.5 standard deviation=23.79,

2) mean =20.29 standard deviation = 8.73
6.3.2
Median and Quartiles in the GDC
1) Shown below is a frequency distribution for the rise in tides at 30 selected locations in the
United States. Calculate the Median and Quartiles

Rise in Tides Frequency

12.5 - 27.5 6
27.5 - 42.5 3
42.5 - 57.5 5
57.5 - 72.5 8
72.5 - 87.5 6
87.5 - 102.5 2

2) Calculate the Median and Quartiles

9, 11, 12, 13, 13, 17, 19, 21, 21, 25, 27, 30, 33, 35

Answers: 1) median=65 Q1=35 Q3=80

2) median =20 Q1=13 Q3=27

6.3.3
Estimating Population Mean with a Sample Mean
1) What does it mean that x-bar is a random variable?

2) The mean of the sample means is the mean of _______________.

Answers: 1) x-bar is the mean of a sample and since the samples are randomly selected the
resulting mean is also random,
2) the population
6.4 Frequency tables, Treatment of both continuous and discrete data; Grouped
data: mid-interval values, interval width, upper and lower interval boundaries, mean,
median, mode; Cumulative frequency; cumulative frequency graphs; use to find median,
quartiles, percentiles.
1) The number of hours students in a particular class study per night is given in the
frequency table.

Hours of Study Number of Students

0 2
1 5
2 4
3 3
4 4
5 2
6 1

(a) Find the mean, median, mode, standard deviation and variance.
(b) Find the range, lower quartile and the interquartile range.

Answer: In IB Math SL it is expected that these values are found in the GDC. As the data is
given in a frequency table, that is, the number of students gives how often the data
value occurs, then the data (hours of study) must be typed into L1 and the frequencies
into L2. You do this by pressing STAT and under EDIT you will see the list areas
ready for data. If data is already entered and you wish to clear the list, move the
cursor to the top of the lists on L1 and L2, press CLEAR and then arrow down. The
list will be clear. Now enter the data in L1 and the frequencies in L2, press 2nd (yellow
key) QUIT to go to the home screen, press STAT, move right to CALC, enter on 1-
VAR STATS to place the command on the home screen, press 2nd “1” for L1 , comma
above the number “7”, press 2nd “2” for L2. Now press enter and you will see all the
values you need. You will need to arrow down to see all the values.

Mean x = 2.57 , σ x = 1.68 , Q1 = 1 , median Q2 = 2 , Q3 = 4

Mode is the “most frequent” data and can be seen in the table. Mode = 1
Variance is the square of standard deviation. Var = 2.82
Range is the highest value minus the lowest value. Range = 6 – 0 = 6
Interquartile Range is the difference between the first and third quartiles.
IQR = 4 – 1 = 3.
If you were to make a box & Whisker plot, the IQR is the length of the box. It is the
middle 50% of the data
 2) A sample of 60 widgets were tested to see how long they last. Given the data in
the table below,
(a) find an estimate mean and standard deviation.
(b) Use a cumulative frequency curve to estimate the median, interquartile
range and 80th percentile.

Time Number of Widgets

(hours) (frequency)
0 ≤ t < 10 2
10 ≤ t < 20 5
20 ≤ t < 30 7
30 ≤ t < 40 8
40 ≤ t < 50 10
50 ≤ t < 60 13
60 ≤ t < 70 6
70 ≤ t < 80 5
80 ≤ t < 90 3
90≤ t ≤ 100 1
Total 60
Answer: Since we have continuous data, we cannot know the exact data values in the interval. We
only t=know the frequency of data in each interval. We can estimate the mean and
standard deviation by using mid-interval values: 5, 15, 25, 35, 45, 55, 65, 75, 85, 95.
Enter these values into L1 in the GDC. Then enter the frequencies in L2. Type in “1-VAR
STATS L1,L2” and find x = 47 and s x = 21.2 (we use S instead of σ as the data is
taken form a sample and not a population).
To estimate the median, IQR, and 80th percentile, we need to construct a cumulative
frequency graph on graph paper. First make another column in the table for “cumulative
frequency.” To do this you continue to add frequencies as you go: 2, 7, 14, 22, 32, 45, 51,
56, 59, 60 (the last value is the total number of data). Using a ruler, make a large graph
by plotting the endpoints of each interval at the cumulative frequency point associated
with each data value. The x-axis is labeled as “data” and the y-axis is labeled as
“cumulative frequency.” Connect the points in a smooth S-shaped curve. To estimate the
median, draw a horizontal line (with a ruler) from 30 (middle of 60) on the y-axis to the
S-curve, and then draw a vertical line from that point on the S-curve to the x-axis. Read
the value you find on the x-axis, and this is your estimate for median. For the first
quartile, draw a horizontal line from 15 (quarter of 60) and repeat the process. For the
third quartile draw a horizontal line from 45, and for 80th percentile, draw the horizontal
line from 48 (.8 x 60 = 48). Again, you must use a ruler to obtain accurate estimates.
See Instructor

6.5 The Probability of an Event

6.5.1
Probability Distributions (introduction)
1) Define sample space.
2) Define event.

Answers: 1) all possible outcomes,

2) 1 or more outcomes of interest
 6.5.2
Tree diagrams and Equally Likely Outcomes
Draw a tree diagram for the following:
1) The numbers 1, 2, 3 and 4 are placed in a box. A number is selected and not replaced.
A second number is then selected.

2) Draw a tree diagram to show all possible outcomes when a coin is flipped 4 times.

Answers: See Instructor

6.5.3
Probability of an Event
1)If a die is rolled one time, what is the probability of getting a number smaller than 5?

2)A box contains 9 red marbles, 8 green marbles, and 4 white marbles. If a marble
is selected at random, what is the probability that it is not green?

Answers: 1) 2/3,
2) 13/21

6.6 The Probability of Combined Events

6.6.1
Complementary Events and the Addition Rule
1)A single card is drawn from a deck. What is the probability of selecting a spade or
a three?

2).In a recent study, the following data were obtained in response to the question,
"Have you smoked cigarettes in the last week"?
Yes No
Sophomores 25 100
Juniors 30 115
Seniors 40 115
If a person is selected at random, what is the probability that the person answers "no"
or is a senior?

Answers: 1) 4/13,
2) 74/85
6.6.2
Venn Diagrams and the Addition Rule
Draw a Venn Diagram for these examples
1) A single card is drawn from a deck. What is the probability of selecting a spade
or a three?

2) Out of 100 students at the school, 25 take French, 40 take Spanish, and 15 take German.
Of these 5 take both French and Spanish, 3 take both Spanish and German, and 2 take
German and French, 1 student takes all 3 languages. What is the probability that the
student takes German or both Spanish and French?

Answers: see instructor

6.6.3
Combined events, the formula P ( A ∪ B ) = P ( A) + P ( B ) − P ( A ∩ B ) ; P ( A ∩ B ) = 0 for
mutually exclusive events. Use of P ( A ∪ B ) = P ( A) + P ( B ) for mutually exclusive events;
P( A ∩ B)
Conditional probability; P ( A / B ) = ; Independent events;
P( B)
P ( A / B ) = P ( A) = P ( A / B ′) ; Use of P ( A ∩ B ) = P ( A) P ( B ) for independent events.
1) When drawing cards from a standard deck,

(a) Are the events “red card” and “face card” Mutually exclusive? Explain your answer.

(b) Are the events “red card” and “face card” independent? Use mathematical evidence to
explain your answer in words.

(c) Are the events “jack” and “face card” independent? Use mathematical evidence to
explain your answer in words

Answers:
(a) The term “mutually exclusive” means that two or more things cannot happen at the same
time, that is, there is no intersection: p ( AB ) = 0 . Thus, “red” and “face” are NOT
mutually exclusive because there are some cards that are red face cards.
1
(b) The probability of a card being red in a deck is . If I know the card is a face card,
2
however, then there are only 12 cards in the sample space and the probability of a card
6 1
being red is = . Since p (red ) = p (red / face) , the events are independent. That
12 2
is, knowledge of the card being a face card did NOT change the probability of drawing a
red card.
1 4 1
(c) p ( jack ) = and p( jack / face ) = = . Since knowing the card is a face card
13 12 3
changes the probability of drawing a jack, the events are NOT independent:
 2) P(D) = 0.2 P(M) = 0.5

(a) If D and M are NOT independent events, and P(D|M) = 0.1, find
(i) P(DM)
(ii) P(D u M)
(iii) P(M|D)
(iv) Are events D and M mutually exclusive? Why or why not?
(v) How do you know mathematically that D and M are NOT independent?

(b) If D and M are independent events, find:

(i) P(DM)
(ii) P(D u M)
(iii) P(D|M)

(c) Given that D and M are mutually exclusive, find P(D u M).

Answers: (ai) p ( DM ) = p ( MD ) = p ( M ) ⋅ p ( D / M ) = 0.5(0.1) = 0.05

(aii) p ( D ∪ M ) = P ( D ) + P ( M ) − P ( DM ) = 0.2 + 0.5 − 0.05 = 0.65
p ( MD ) 0.05
(aiii) p(M / D) = = = 0.25
p( D) 0 .2
(aiv) not mutually exclusive since p ( DM ) ≠ 0
(av) p ( D ) = 0.2, p ( D / M ) = 0.1 . NOT Independent since p ( D ) ≠ p ( D / M )
(bi) since independent, p ( DM ) = P ( D ) ⋅ P ( M ) = 0.2(0.5) = 0.1
(bii) p ( D ∪ M ) = P ( D ) + P ( M ) − P ( DM ) = 0.2 + 0.5 − 0.1 = 0.6
(biii) since independent, p ( D / M ) = P ( D ) = 0.2
(c) Since mutually exclusive, p ( DM ) = 0 , thus
p ( D ∪ M ) = P ( D ) + P ( M ) = 0 .2 + 0 .5 = 0 .7

3) Answer the questions below from this table of information, and write your answers as
fractions.

B C P Total
M 14 7 3 24
F 11 10 15 36
Total 25 17 18 60

(a) Find p(B)

(b) p (BF )
(c) p ( B or F )
(d) p( B / F )
(e) p( F / C )
(f) Are the events “B” and “F” independent? Why or why not?
 25 11
Answers: (a) p( B) = (b) p (BF ) =
60 60
(c) the “or” is inclusive, that is, one or the other or both, so use the addition rule
25 + 36 − 11 5
p ( B ∪ F ) = P ( B ) + P ( F ) − P ( BF ) = =
60 6
p ( BF ) n( BF ) 11
(d) p( B / F ) = = =
p( F ) n( F ) 36
n( FC ) 10
(e) p( F / C ) = =
n(C ) 17
(f) Since p ( B ) ≠ p ( B / F ) , they are NOT independent.

4) A bag contains 2 red balls, 3 blue balls and 4 green balls. Two balls are chosen at random from
the bag without replacement. Find the probability of choosing one green ball and one red ball.

Answer: There are two ways this can happen. You can draw green first and red second, or red first and
green second.
42 24 2
p (GR ) or p ( RG ) =  +   =
98 98 9

6.7 Conditional Probability and Independence

6.7.1
Multiplying Probabilities, Concept of Independence
1) Define Independence and its importance in multiplying probabilities.

2) True or False_______ Drawing a card from a deck and getting an ace and then drawing another
card is an example of independent events.

Answers: 1) Events are independent if the probability it’s unchanged by the other. When events are
independent we are able to multiply the probabilities with no alteration,
2) False

6.7.2
Multiplying Probabilities without Replacement
1) In a box of thirty AAA batteries, there are three defective batteries. Two batteries are randomly
selected and tested. What is the probability that both are defective, if the first one is not replaced
after being tested?

2) Three cards are drawn one at a time from a deck and not replaced. What is the probability of
getting 3 spades?

Answers: 1) 1/145,
2) 11/850
 6.7.3
Independent Events
1) If a coin is tossed 5 times, what is the probability it will land on heads all 5 times?

2) If 32% of the families surveyed had a cat, what is the probability that all three of the next families
surveyed have a cat?

Answers: 1) 1/32,
2) 0.032768

6.7.4
P( A ∩ B)
Conditional probability; The definition P ( A / B ) =
P( B)
94% of ball bearings made by a particular company have no errors. In order to find the 6% that do have
errors a machine carefully checks each bearing. Still, the machine makes mistakes because 9% of the
bearings with errors pass inspection and 3% of bearings without errors fail inspection.
(a) Represent this situation in a tree diagram.
(b) What percent of the bearings pass inspection?
(c) If a bearing passes inspection, what is the probability it has an error.

Answers: (a) to create a tree diagram, consider two levels of action. Either there are errors or
no errors, and then the bearing passes or fails.
p
E
f

p
E’
f

(b) p ( pass ) = p ( EP ) + p ( E ′P ) = 0.06(0.09) + 0.94(0.97) = 0.9172

p ( EP ) 0.06(0.09)
(c) p ( E / pass ) = = = 0.00589
p ( pass ) 0.9172

6.8 Use of Venn diagrams, tree diagrams and tables of outcomes to solve problems.
Given p ( AB ′) = 0.2 , p ( A) = 0.5 , and p ( A ∪ B ) = 0.9 , find p ( B / A′) .
Also Consider #6.7.4 above, where the tree diagram in part (a) is helpful for part (b)

Answer: Often it is helpful to draw diagrams to represent the situation given before applying a
formula or rushing to an answer. The problem above (#6.7.4) uses a tree diagram, which
helps in part (b) in considering two paths to “passing” inspection. This next problem
illustrates how a Venn diagram may be useful.

Since p ( AB ′) = 0.2 and p ( A) = 0.5 , then p ( AB ) = 0.3.

As p ( A ∪ B ) = 0.9 , then p ( BA′) = 0.4 . Thus,
p ( BA′) 0.4
p ( B / A′) = = = 0 .8
p ( A′) 0 .5
The Venn diagram helps to see values quickly without messy multiplication formulae.
6.9 Discrete Random Variables and Expected Value
6.9.1
Discrete Random Variables
1) Construct a probability distribution for the data and draw a graph for the distribution. The
probabilities that a patient will have 0, 1, 2, or 3 medical tests performed on entering the hospital are
6/15, 5/15, 3/15, and 1/15 respectively.

2) Construct a probability distribution and draw a graph for the distribution of a family with 3
children. Let x represent the number of boys.

Answers: see instructor

6.9.2
Weighted Mean and Expected Value
1) In a survey of third-grade students, the following distribution was obtained for the number of “best
friends” each had.

Number of Students Number of best friends

8 1
6 2
5 3
3 0
Find the average number of best friends for the class. Use the weighted mean.

2) A lottery offers one $1000 prize, one $500 prize, and five $100 prizes. One thousand tickets are
sold at $3 each. Find the expectation if a person buys 1 ticket.

Answers: 1) 1.6,
2) -$1.00

6.9.3
Expected value (mean) E(x) for discrete data; Applications of expectation
A card is drawn at random from a standard deck. If it is a face card, you win $1.50. If it is an ace, you
win $20. Otherwise you lose $2. It costs $1 to play the game.
(a) What is the expected value of the game?
(b) Is it a fair game? Why or why not?
(c) Find the payoff of drawing an ace that would make a fair game.
12 4 36
Answers: (a) (1.50) + (20) − (2) = 0.50 . Since you pay $1, your expected value is
52 52 52
a loss of 50 cents (this of course is a gain for the casino of 50 cents on average per play).

(b) The game is NOT fair as a fair game has an expected value of 0, which means no
side has an advantage in the long run (which doesn’t make for good casino business).

12 4 36
(c) To make fair, set (1.50) + x − (2) = 0 to obtain x = 13.50 .
52 52 52
 2) In a game a player rolls a biased tetrahedral (four-faced) die. The probability of each
possible score is shown. Find the value of x, and then find the mean value.

Score 1 2 3 4
Probability 1/6 1/3 1/12 x

1 1 1 5
Answer: The sum of all probabilities must equal to 1, so + + + x =1 ⇒ x = . To
6 3 12 12
find the mean, sum the probabilities times the values:
1 1 1 5 25
∑ xp(x) = 1 6  + 2 3  + 3 12  + 4 12  = 12 .

x+3
3) Given that the distribution of a discrete random variable is given by f ( x) = ,
15
where x = 1, 2, or 3 ,

(a) find p ( X = 2)
(b) find the expected value of the distribution.

Answers: Check that it is a proper probability distribution function by finding the probabilities of
all the values and see if they add to one.

1
(a) p ( X = 2) = f ( 2) =
3
 4   5   6  32
(b) E ( X ) = 1  + 2  + 3  =
 15   15   15  15

6.10 The Binomial Distribution

6.10.1
Binomial Probability Model
1) It was found that 60% of American victims of healthcare fraud are senior citizens. If 10 victims
are randomly selected, find the probability that exactly 3 are senior citizens.

2) A beauty operator estimates that 20% of her customers want a permanent on any given week.
What is the probability that out of her next 15 customers at most 4 will want a permanent?

Answers: 1) 0.425,
2) 0.8358

6.10.2
Binomial Probability in the GDC
1) Determine the probability using the GDC. Of those mountain climbers who attempted Mt.
McKinley (Denali), only 65% reach the summit. In a random sample of 16 mountain climbers
who are going to attempt Mt. McKinley, what is the probability that exactly 10 reach the summit?

2) Determine the probability using the GDC. A coach found that about 12% of all hockey games
end in overtime. If a season consists of 50 games, what is the probability that at least one ends in
overtime?
 Answers: 1) 0.1982,
2) 0.9983

6.10.3
Mean and Standard Deviation of Binomial Probability
1) Find the mean, variance, and standard deviation for n = 120 and p = 0.35 when all the
requirements of the binomial distribution are met.

2) The foreman at a large plant estimates that defective parts are produced about 1% of the time. If
the plant produces 25,000 parts in a week, what are the mean, variance and standard deviation for
the number of defective parts?

Answers: 1) mean = 42, variance = 27.3, standard deviation = 5.22,

2) mean = 250, variance = 247.5, standard deviation = 15.73

6.10.4
Binomial distribution. Mean of the binomial distribution.
1) six cars are in a parking lot on a cold day. Suppose the probability that a car does not start
is 0.12. Find the probability that
(a) exactly 4 of the cars start.
(b) all of the cars start.
(c) at least one of the cars start.

6
Answers: (a) There are   = 15 ways of choosing 4 cars from 6. This is a binomial situation
4
 
as there are two complementary outcomes (start or not start), and each car starts
independently of the others. Thus, the probability that 4 of 6 starts is given by
6
 (.88)4 (.12 )2 = 0.130 .
 4
6
The probability that all start is given by  (.88) (.12 ) = 0.88 6 = 0.464 .
6 0
(b)
 6
(c) Consider that the concepts of “at least one” and “none” are complementary ideas.
Thus, we can apply the complement principle that p ( A) + P ( A′) = 1 . Thus, the
probability that at least one starts is given by
1 − p (none start ) = 1 − .12 6 = 0.999997014 ≈ 1 .

2) X is a binomial random variable, where the number of trials is 7 and the probability of
success of each trial is p . Find the value of p if P ( X = 4) = 0.15 .

Answer: Given that this is binomial, we can set up and solve the equation
7 4
  p (1 − p )3 = 0.15 , which is equivalent to
 4
35 p 4 (1 − p ) − 0.15 = 0 . Now graph this function in the GDC,
2

setting your window domain from -1 to 1. Finding all three zeroes

gives answers p = 0.356, p = 0.770, p = −0.220 . However,
as all probabilities are in 0 ≤ p ≤ 1 , we discard the negative value.
See Instructor
 3) A coin is biases so that when it is tossed the probability of obtaining heads is 3/4. The coin is
tossed 5000 times. Let X be the number of heads obtained. Find the mean of X.

3
Answer: mean of a binomial distribution is given by np = 5000  = 3750 .
4

6.11 The Normal Distribution

6.11.1
Normal Distributions (characteristics)
1) List the characteristics of the normal distribution.

2) What is the area to the right or left of z=0?

Answers: 1) symmetrical, does not touch x-axis, mean=median=mode at the center,

unimodal, area under the curve is 1,
2) 0.5

6.11.2
Normal Distributions in the GDC
1) Find the area using the GDC to the left of z = 0.98

2) Find the area using the GDC between z = -1.12 and z = 2.01

Answers: 1) 0.83656,
2) 0.84643

6.11.3
Standard Normal Distributions
1) Using the standard normal distribution, what is P(-1.11 < z < 0.87)?

2) Using the standard normal distribution, what is P(z > 1.17)?

Answers: 1) 0.6743,
2) 0.1210

6.11.4
Standardized Values (Z-scores)
1) The average hourly wage of workers at a fast food restaurant is $6.25 with a standard deviation of
$0.23. Assume the distribution is normally distributed. What is the standardized score for the
worker earns more than $6.55 per hour?

2) In a recent study of appliances, a manufacturer found that for 75 irons, the average lifetime was
10 months. The standard deviation was 3 months. What is the standardized score for the sample
of less than 9 months? Assume the variable is normally distributed.

Answers: 1) 1.30,
2) -0.333
 6.11.5
More on Standard Normal Distributions
1) A recent study found that the average life expectancy of a person living in Africa is 57 years with
a standard deviation of 7.5 years. If a person in Africa is selected at random, what is the
probability that the person will dies before 65 years?

2) At a large department store, the average number of years of service is 9.5 with a standard
deviation of 2.7 years. If an employee is picked at random, what is the probability that the
employee has worked for the company between 8 and 12 years?

Answers: 1) 0.8577,
2) 0.5361

6.11.6
Further Examples on Normal Distributions
1) The mean weight of 10 year-old girls in America is 80 pounds; the standard deviation is 6
pounds. If a sample of 30 girls is selected, what is the probability that the mean of the sample is
more than 82 pounds?

2) Americans spend an average of 13.9 minutes in the shower. If the standard deviation of the
variable is 3.2 minutes and the variable is normally distributed, find the probability that the mean
time of a sample of 15 Americans who shower will be at least 12 minutes.

Answers: 1) 0.0336,
2) 0.9893

6.11.7
Going in Reverse
1) At Northwest Nursing School, the average score a student makes on an entrance exam is 147
points with a standard deviation 14 points. If the nursing school can only accept the top 10% of
the applicants, what is the cutoff score a student must make to be admitted to this school?

2) A new hockey franchise is planning to begin league play in the 2001 season. They want to price
their tickets in the middle 72% range. If the average price of a ticket is $20 with a standard
deviation of $3.75, what are the minimum and maximum prices that this franchise should charge?

Answer: 1) 164.92,
2) $15.95-$24.05