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Ch. 6 - Normal Probability Distributions
Triola - Elementary Statistics 14th Edition
Triola14th EditionElementary StatisticsISBN: 9780137366446Not the one you use?Change textbook
All textbooksTriola 14th EditionCh. 6 - Normal Probability DistributionsProblem 6.R.5b
Chapter 6, Problem 6.R.5b

Birth Weights Based on Data Set 6 “Births” in Appendix B, birth weights of girls are normally distributed with a mean of 3037.1 g and a standard deviation of 706.3 g.


b. What is the value of the median?

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1
Recognize that the problem involves a normal distribution, which is symmetric about its mean.
Understand that for a normal distribution, the mean, median, and mode are all equal because of the symmetry of the distribution.
Identify the given mean of the distribution, which is 3037.1 g.
Conclude that since the mean and median are the same for a normal distribution, the median is also 3037.1 g.
State that no further calculations are needed because the median is directly equal to the mean in this case.

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Key Concepts

Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.

Normal Distribution

Normal distribution is a probability distribution that is symmetric about the mean, indicating that data near the mean are more frequent in occurrence than data far from the mean. In a normal distribution, the mean, median, and mode are all equal, which simplifies the analysis of data sets that follow this pattern.
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Mean and Median

The mean is the average of a data set, calculated by summing all values and dividing by the number of values. The median, on the other hand, is the middle value when the data set is ordered. In a normal distribution, the mean and median are the same, making it straightforward to determine the median when the mean is known.
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Standard Deviation

Standard deviation is a measure of the amount of variation or dispersion in a set of values. A low standard deviation indicates that the values tend to be close to the mean, while a high standard deviation indicates that the values are spread out over a wider range. In the context of normal distribution, it helps to understand the spread of birth weights around the mean.
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Related Practice
Textbook Question

In Exercises 8 and 9, assume that women have standing eye heights that are normally distributed with a mean of 59.7 in. and a standard deviation of 2.5 in. (based on anthropometric survey data from Gordon, Churchill, et al.).

a. If an eye recognition security system is positioned at a height that is uncomfortable for women with standing eye heights less than 54 in., what percentage of women will find that height uncomfortable?

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Textbook Question

Bone Density Test A bone mineral density test is used to identify a bone disease. The result of a bone density test is commonly measured as a z score, and the population of z scores is normally distributed with a mean of 0 and a standard deviation of 1.

e. If the mean bone density test score is found for 9 randomly selected subjects, find the probability that the mean is greater than 0.23.

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Textbook Question

Arm Circumferences Arm circumferences of adult men are normally distributed with a mean of 33.64 cm and a standard deviation of 4.14 cm (based on Data Set 1 “Body Data” in Appendix B). A sample of 25 men is randomly selected and the mean of the arm circumferences is obtained.

b. What is the mean of all such sample means?

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Textbook Question

Mensa Membership in Mensa requires a score in the top 2% on a standard intelligence test. The Wechsler IQ test is designed for a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15, and scores are normally distributed.


c. If 4 subjects take the Wechsler IQ test and they have a mean of 131 but the individual scores are lost, can we conclude that all 4 of them have scores of at least 131?

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Textbook Question

In Exercises 8 and 9, assume that women have standing eye heights that are normally distributed with a mean of 59.7 in. and a standard deviation of 2.5 in. (based on anthropometric survey data from Gordon, Churchill, et al.).


Significance Instead of using 0.05 for identifying significant values, use the criteria that a value x is significantly high if P(x or greater) ≤ 0.01 and a value is significantly low if P(x or less) ≤ 0.01. Find the standing eye heights of women that separate significant values from those that are not significant. Using these criteria, is a woman’s standing eye height of 67 in. significantly high?

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Textbook Question

Birth Weights Based on Data Set 6 “Births” in Appendix B, birth weights of girls are normally distributed with a mean of 3037.1 g and a standard deviation of 706.3 g.


c. What is the value of the mode?

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