PROJECT IN

ELEMENTARY
STATISTICS AND
PROBABILITY
 Normal Distribution
1. Most graduate schools of business require applicants for admission to take the Graduate
Management Admission Council’s GMAT examination. Scores on the GMAT are
roughly normally distributed with a Mean of 527 and a standard deviation of 112. What is
the probability of an individual scoring above 500 on the GMAT?

2. The average number of acres burned by forest and range fires in a large New Mexico
county is 4,300 acres Per year, with a standard deviation of 750 acres. The distribution of
the number of acres burned is normal. What is the probability that between 2,500 and
4,200 acres will be burned in any given year?

The Z on the Standard Score

A. Find the z-score that has 11.9% of the distribution’s area to its left.
 B. Find the z-score that has 63.7% of the distribution’s area to its right.

Solutions:
The percentages are equivalent to the following areas under the normal curve

11.9%=0.11963.7%=0.637

A. We want to find the z-value that leaves an Area of 0.119 under it. We locate this number
in the body of a Table of Areas Under the Normal Curve and the z-value is obtained from
the first Column and row that linearly coincide with this Number.

The corresponding z-value is

Z=-1.1+0.08= -1.18

In the following figure, we have an explanatory Diagram.

B. Since the area is on the right, we use the complement 10.637 = 0.363
And similarly, find the z-value that leaves an area Of 0.363 under it.

The closest value is z -0.3+ 0.05 = -0.35

Normality
1.Suppose we want to create a probability histogram for the discrete random variable X that
represents the number of heads in four tosses of a coin. Let’s say the coin is balanced, and each
toss is independent of all the other tosses.
We know the random variable X can take on the values of 0, 1, 2, 3, or 4. For X to take on the
value of 0, no heads would show up, meaning four tails would show up. Let’s call this TTTT.
For X to take on the value of 1, we could have four different scenarios: HTTT, THTT, TTHT, or
TTTH. For X to take on a value of 2, we have six scenarios: HHTT, HTHT, HTTH, THHT,
THTH, or TTHH. For X to take on 3, we have: HHHT, HHTH, HTHH, or THHH. And finally,
for X to take on 4, we only have one scenario: HHHH.
There are sixteen different possibilities when tossing a coin four times. The probability of each
outcome is equal to
1/16=0.0625
The probability of each of the random variables is as follows:
P(x=0)= 1/16= 0.0625
P(x=1)= 4/16= 0.25
P(x=2) = 6/16= 0.375
P(x=3)= 4/16= 0.25
P(x=4)= 1/16 = 0.0625

Probability Histogram: This probability histogram shows the probabilities that 0, 1, 2, 3, or 4

heads will show up on four tosses of a fair coin.
The above example of a probability histogram is an example of one that is normal. How can we
tell? The most obvious way is to look at the histogram itself. If the graph is approximately bell-
shaped and symmetric about the mean, you can usually assume normality.

2.Your dataset has 11 values.

22 24 25 28 29 31 35 37 41 53 64
The median is the value exactly in the middle of your dataset when all values are ordered from
low to high. Since you have 11 values, the median is the 6th value. The median value is 31.
The Q1 is the value in the middle of the first half of your dataset, excluding the median. The first
quartile value is 25.
22 24 25 28 29
Your Q3 value is in the middle of the second half of your dataset, excluding the median. The
third quartile value is 41.
35 37 41 53 64
IQR = Q3 – Q1
Q1 = 26
Q3 = 41
IQR = 41 – 26= 15

Upper fence = Q3 + (1.5 * IQR)

Upper fence = 41 + (1.5 * 15)
= 41 + 22.5= 63.5

Lower fence = Q1 – (1.5 * IQR)

Lower fence = 26 – (1.5 * IQR)
= 26 – 22.5= 3.5

Upper fence = 63.5

Lower fence = 3.5
22 24 25 28 29 31 35 37 41 53 64
Outlier:64
Since there is an outlier, the data is not normally distributed.

Central Limit Theorem

1. An unknown distribution has a mean of 90 and a standard deviation of 15. Samples of
size n = 25 are drawn randomly from the population. Find the probability that the sample
mean is between 85 and 92.

2. The length of time, in hours, it takes an “over 40” group of people to play one soccer
match is normally distributed with a mean of 2 hours and a standard deviation of 0.5
hours. A sample of size n = 50 is drawn randomly from the population. Find the
probability that the sample mean is between 1.8 hours and 2.3 hours.
 Normal Approximation to the Binomial Distribution
1. Assume that 6% of American drivers text while driving. If 300 drivers are selected at
random, find the probability that exactly 25 say they text while driving.

2. In one of Mendel’s famous hybridization experiments, he expected that among 580

offspring peas, 25% would be yellow, but he actually got 152 yellow peas. Assuming that
Mendel’s rate of 25% is correct, find P(exactly 152 yellow peas).
References:
https://www.slideshare.net/mmirfattah/normal-as-approximation-to-binomial
https://www.webassign.net/question_assets/idcollabstat2/Chapter7.pdf
https://www.stat.colostate.edu/inmem/gumina/st201/recitation8/downloads/Normal
%20Probabilites%20Practice.pdf
https://www.coursesidekick.com/statistics/study-guides/boundless-statistics/normal-
approximation-for-probability-histograms
https://www.scribbr.com/statistics/outliers/