IB Style Questions – Statistical Applications

Normal Distribution

Question Score Out of Comment

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Question 1
The sizes of adult codfish caught in the North Atlantic are normally distributed with a
mean of 12 kg and a standard deviation of 2.5 kg.

(a) Calculate the probability that a randomly selected codfish is less than 10 kg.

(b) (i) Calculate the probability that a randomly selected codfish is greater than 15
kg.

(ii) Find the expected number of codfish that are greater than 15 kg in a catch
of 2000 codfish.

Working……

(a) ____________________

(b) (i)____________________

(ii)____________________

(6 marks)

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Question 2
The weights of pandas are normally distributed with a mean of 160 kg and a standard
deviation of 15 kg.

(a) Show this information on the diagram below.

(b) Write down the probability that a randomly selected panda is greater than 160 kg.

(c) Write down the probability that a randomly selected panda is less than 130 kg.

(d) The probability that a particular panda is less than x kg is 0.2. Find the value of x.

Working……

(b) ____________________

(c) ____________________

(d) ____________________

(6 marks)

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Question 3

The number of raisins in a box of Raisin Puffs is normally distributed with a mean of
341 and a standard deviation of 32.

(a) Find the probability that a randomly selected box of Raisin Puffs contains
between 300 and 400 raisins.

(b) Given that Gioia eats 300 boxes of Raisin Puffs in her lifetime, find the expected
number of boxes containing more than 375 raisins.

The probability there are more than y raisins in a box of Raisin Puffs is 0.15.

(c) Find y.

Working……

(a) ____________________

(b) ____________________

(c) ____________________

(6 marks)

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Question 4
The heights of adult giraffes are normally distributed with a mean of 5.2 m and a
standard deviation of 0.45 m.

(a) On the diagram below, shade the region representing the probability that a
randomly chosen giraffe has a height above 4.3 m.

(b) Calculate the probability that a giraffe chosen at random is less than 5 m tall.

There are 2500 giraffes in Etosha National Park.

(c) Calculate an estimate for the number of giraffes greater than 6 m tall.

Working……

(b) ____________________

(c) ____________________

(6 marks)

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Question 5
The IQs of IB students are normally distributed with a mean of 110 and a standard
deviation of 15.

(a) Write down the probability that a randomly chosen student has an IQ within 2
standard deviations of the mean.

(b) Write down the probability that a randomly selected IB student has an IQ greater
than 125.

(c) Calculate the probability that a randomly selected IB student has an IQ between
100 and 120.

A particular province has 1200 students taking the IB.

(d) Calculate an estimate for the number of students with an IQ greater than 100.

Working……

(a) ____________________

(b) ____________________

(c) ____________________

(d) ____________________

(6 marks)

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Question 6
A factory would like to produce a particular type of part for vehicles such that only
2.5% of parts are greater than 52 mm long and 2.5% of parts are less than 50 mm
long. The weights of the parts are normally distributed.

(a) Write down the mean required for this part.

(b) Write down the standard deviation required for this part.

(c) Calculate the probability that a randomly selected part is between 49.5 mm and
51 mm long.

The factory would like to produce 100,000 of these parts. Parts greater than 52.5
mm in length will have to be discarded.

(d) Calculate the expected number of discarded parts.

Working……

(a) ____________________

(b) ____________________

(c) ____________________

(6 marks)
(d) ____________________

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Question 7
The waiting times at the Department of Motor Vehicles are normally distributed with
a mean of 25 minutes and a standard deviation of 3 minutes.

(a) Shade the region representing the probability of a randomly selected person
having a waiting time between 19 and 28 minutes.

(b) Calculate the probability that a randomly selected person has to wait more than
30 minutes.

(c) The probability that a particular person waits more t minutes is 0.1. Find the value
of t.

Working……

(b) ____________________

(c) ____________________

(6 marks)

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Question 8
The weights of newborn babies are normally distributed with a mean of about 3.4kg
and a standard deviation of 1.2kg. Newborn babies’ weights are classified as
extremely low, low, normal, and high as shown in the table below.

Size Weight (kg)

Extremely Low Weight < 1
Low 1 ≤ Weight < 2.5
Normal 2.5 ≤ Weight < 4.2
High Weight ≥ 4.2

(a) Draw a diagram and shade the region representing the probability that a baby
chosen at random, has an extremely low birth weight.

(b) (i) Find the probability that a newly born baby, chosen at random, is born with
an extremely low birth weight.

(ii) If there are 3.9 million births in the US each year, approximately how many
are born with an extremely low birth weight?

(iii) Write your answer from part (ii) in the form a × 10k where 1 ≤ a < 10 and
k .

(c) There is a 0.9 probability that a baby is born with a weight greater than w kg.

(i) Find w.

(ii) Bruce estimated that 90% of babies are born greater than 1.5 kg. What
is the percent error of Bruce’s estimate of 1.5kg?

(12 marks)

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Question 9
The lifespan of hamsters is normally distributed with a mean of 30 months and a
standard deviation of 7 months.

(a) Sketch a diagram of the distribution of the lifespan of hamsters.

(b) Calculate the probability of a randomly selected hamster having a lifespan of

more than 4 years.

The probability of a particular hamster having a lifespan of less than z months is 0.2.

(c) Find z.

The lifespan of gerbils is normally distributed with a mean of 5.5 years and a
standard deviation of 1.2 years.

(d) (i) Calculate the probability of a randomly selected gerbil having a lifespan
between 5 and 7 years.

(ii) If there are 800,000 gerbils as pets in Europe, estimate the number of
gerbils that life between 5 and 7 years?

Simon got a gerbil and a hamster for his 10 th birthday. The probabilities associated
with each pet are independent.

(e) Calculate the probability both pets live at least 4 years.

(13 marks)

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Question 10
The weights of fully-grown tomatoes are normally distributed with a mean of 115
grams and a standard deviation of 9 grams. Tomato weights are classified as small,
medium, large, and extra large as shown in the table below.

Size Weight (g)

Small Weight < 100
Medium 100 ≤ Weight < 130
Large 130 ≤ Weight < 140
Extra Large Weight ≥ 140

(a) Find the probability of a randomly chosen tomato being classified as small.

The probability of a randomly selected tomato being less than w grams is 0.4.

(b) Find w.

(c) (i) Find the probability that randomly chosen tomato is extra large.

(ii) A farm produces 250,000,000 tomatoes per year. Calculate an estimate for
the number of extra large tomatoes.

(iii) All extra large tomatoes are exported to China for 0.06 US dollars per
tomato. Estimate the total US dollar cost of the extra large tomatoes.

(iv) 1 US dollar is equivalent to 6.340 Chinese Yuan. Convert the cost of the
extra large tomatoes into Chinese Yuan.

(11 marks)

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