6. Normal Distribution and Continuous Random Variables

Which is larger, the area under the t-distribution with 10 degrees of freedom to the right of t = 2.30 or the area under the standard normal distribution to the right of z = 2.32? Why?

Finding Specified Data Values In Exercises 31–38, answer the questions about the specified normal distribution.

COVID-19 Response Surveyors asked respondents to rate ten key aspects of their government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including preparedness, communication, and material aid. A pandemic response score that ranged from 0 to 100 was calculated. The mean score for U.S. respondents was 50.6 with a standard deviation of 29.0. (Source: PLOS One)

b. What score represents the 61st percentile?

Foot Lengths of Women Assume that foot lengths of adult females are normally distributed with a mean of 246.3 mm and a standard deviation of 12.4 mm (based on Data Set 3 “ANSUR II 2012” in Appendix B).

d. Find the probability that 16 adult females have foot lengths with a mean greater than 250 mm.

In Exercises 25–28, use these parameters (based on Data Set 1 “Body Data” in Appendix B):

Men’s heights are normally distributed with mean 68.6 in. and standard deviation 2.8 in.

Women’s heights are normally distributed with mean 63.7 in. and standard deviation 2.9 in.

Mickey Mouse Disney World requires that people employed as a Mickey Mouse character must have a height between 56 in. and 62 in.

a. Find the percentage of men meeting the height requirement. What does the result suggest about the genders of the people who are employed as Mickey Mouse characters?

Correcting for a Finite Population In a study of babies born with very low birth weights, 275 children were given IQ tests at age 8, and their scores approximated a normal distribution with μ = 95.5 and σ = 16.0 (based on data from “Neurobehavioral Outcomes of School-age Children Born Extremely Low Birth Weight or Very Preterm,” by Anderson et al., Journal of the American Medical Association, Vol. 289, No. 24). Fifty of those children are to be randomly selected without replacement for a follow-up study.

b. Find the probability that the mean IQ score of the follow-up sample is between 95 and 105.

Graphical Analysis In Exercises 11–16, determine whether the graph could represent a variable with a normal distribution. Explain your reasoning. If the graph appears to represent a normal distribution, estimate the mean and standard deviation.

Uniform Distribution A uniform distribution is a continuous probability distribution for a random variable x between two values a and b (a<b), where (a ≤ x ≤ b) and all of the values of x are equally likely to occur. The graph of a uniform distribution is shown below.

The probability density function of a uniform distribution is

on the interval from (x=a) to (x=b). For any value of x less than a or greater than b, y=0 . In Exercises 59 and 60, use this information.

For two values c and d, where a ≤ c < d ≤ b, the probability that x lies between c and d is equal to the area under the curve between c and d, as shown below.

So, the area of the red region equals the probability that x lies between c and d. For a uniform distribution from (a=1) to (b=25) , find the probability that

a. x lies between 2 and 8.

Approximating Binomial Probabilities In Exercises 19–26, determine whether you can use a normal distribution to approximate the binomial distribution. If you can, use the normal distribution to approximate the indicated probabilities and sketch their graphs. If you cannot, explain why and use a binomial distribution to find the indicated probabilities. Identify any unusual events. Explain.

Athletes on Social Issues In a survey of college athletes, 84% said they are willing to speak up and be more active in social issues. You randomly select 25 college athletes. Find the probability that the number who are willing to speak up and be more active in social issues is (a) at least 24