C o n t i n u o u s P r o bab i l i t y D i s t r i b u t i o n s

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a student loan is selected at random. Find the fol-
lowing probabilities.
a. The loan is greater than $30,000.
b. The loan is less than $22,500.
c. The loan falls between $20,000 and $32,000.

8.48 The Tesla Model S 85D is an electric car that the

manufacturer claims can travel 270 miles on a single
charge. However, the actual distance depends on a
number of factors including speed and whether the
car is driven in the city or on highways. Suppose
that the distance is a normally distributed random
variable with a mean of 200 miles and a standard
deviation of 20 miles. An owner of this model
intends to travel to a nearby city and return on the
same charge. If the total distance is 210 miles, what
is the probability that car makes it without running
out of power?

8.39 X is normally distributed with mean 250 and stan-

dard deviation 40. What value of X does only the
top 15% exceed?
8.40 X is normally distributed with mean 1,000 and
standard deviation 250. What is the probability that
X lies between 800 and 1, 100? 8.50 Economists frequently make use of quintiles (i.e.,
8.41 X is normally distributed with mean 50 and stan- the 20th, 40th, 60th, and 80th percentiles) particu-
dard deviation 8. What value of X is such that only larly when discussing incomes. Suppose that in a
8% of values are below it? large city household incomes are normally distrib-
uted with a mean of $50,000 and a standard devia-
8.42 The long-distance calls made by the employees of tion of $10,000. An economist wishes to identify the
a company are normally distributed with a mean of quintiles. Unfortunately, he did not pass his statis-
6.3 minutes and a standard deviation of 2.2 minutes. tics course. Help him by providing the quintiles.
Find the probability that a call
a. lasts between 5 and 10 minutes. 8.51 The top-selling Red and Voss tire is rated 70,000
b. lasts more than 7 minutes. miles, which means nothing. In fact, the distance
c. lasts less than 4 minutes. the tires can run until they wear out is a normally
distributed random variable with a mean of 82,000
miles and a standard deviation of 6,400 miles.
a. What is the probability that a tire wears out
before 70,000 miles?
8.44 The lifetimes of lightbulbs that are advertised to
b. What is the probability that a tire lasts more
last for 5,000 hours are normally distributed with
than 100,000 miles?
a mean of 5,100 hours and a standard deviation of
200 hours. What is the probability that a bulb lasts 8.52 The heights of 2-year-old children are normally dis-
longer than the advertised figure? tributed with a mean of 32 inches and a standard devi-
ation of 1.5 inches. Pediatricians regularly measure
the heights of toddlers to determine whether there is
a problem. There may be a problem when a child is
in the top or bottom 5% of heights. Determine the
8.46 SAT scores are normally distributed with a mean heights of 2-year-old children that could be a problem.
of 1,000 and a standard deviation of 300. Find the
quartiles.
8.47 According to a PEW Research Center survey,
the mean student loan at graduation is $25,000.
Suppose that student loans are normally distributed
with a standard deviation of $5,000. A graduate with
 observed that its batteries last for an average of
26 hours when used in a toy racing car. The amount
of time is normally distributed with a standard devi-
ation of 2.5 hours.
a. What is the probability that the battery lasts
between 24 and 28 hours?
b. What is the probability that the battery lasts lon-
ger than 28 hours?
8.56 The amount of time devoted to studying statistics each c. What is the probability that the battery lasts less
week by students who achieve a grade of A in the course than 24 hours?
is a normally distributed random variable with a mean
of 7.5 hours and a standard deviation of 2.1 hours. 8.62 Because of the relatively high interest rates, most
a. What proportion of A students study for more consumers attempt to pay off their credit card bills
than 10 hours per week? promptly. However, this is not always possible. An
b. Find the probability that an A student spends analysis of the amount of interest paid monthly by
between 7 and 9 hours studying. a bank’s Visa cardholders reveals that the amount
c. What proportion of A students spend fewer than is normally distributed with a mean of $27 and a
3 hours studying? standard deviation of $7.
d. What is the amount of time below which only a. What proportion of the bank’s Visa cardholders
5% of all A students spend studying? pay more than $30 in interest?
b. What proportion of the bank’s Visa cardholders
8.57 The number of pages printed before replacing the pay more than $40 in interest?
cartridge in a laser printer is normally distributed c. What proportion of the bank’s Visa cardholders
with a mean of 11,500 pages and a standard deviation pay less than $15 in interest?
of 800 pages. A new cartridge has just been installed. d. What interest payment is exceeded by only 20%
a. What is the probability that the printer produces of the bank’s Visa cardholders?
more than 12,000 pages before this cartridge
must be replaced? 8.63 It is said that sufferers of a cold virus experience
b. What is the probability that the printer produces symptoms for 7 days. However, the amount of time
fewer than 10,000 pages? is actually a normally distributed random variable
whose mean is 7.5 days and whose standard devia-
tion is 1.2 days.
a. What proportion of cold sufferers experience
fewer than 4 days of symptoms?
b. What proportion of cold sufferers experience
symptoms for between 7 and 10 days?

8.59 The mean monthly income of graduates of pro- 8.64 How much money does a typical family of four
fessional and Ph.D. degrees is $6,000 according spend at a McDonald’s restaurant per visit? The
to a recent PEW Research Center survey. If these amount is a normally distributed random variable
incomes are normally distributed with a standard with a mean of $16.40 and a standard deviation of
deviation of $1,200, $2.75.
a. What proportion of incomes is greater than a. Find the probability that a family of four spends
$4,900? less than $10.
b. Calculate the proportion of incomes that fall b. What is the amount below which only 10% of
between $3,800 and $5,700. families of four spend at McDonald’s?
c. Calculate the proportion of incomes that are less 8.65 The final marks in a statistics course are normally
than $6,500. distributed with a mean of 70 and a standard devia-
8.60 A golfer playing a new course encounters a hole that tion of 10. The professor must convert all marks to
requires a drive of 145 yards to successfully clear a letter grades. She decides that she wants 10% A’s,
pond. She knows that her drives are normally distrib- 30% B’s, 40% C’s, 15% D’s, and 5% F’s. Determine
uted with a mean of 155 yards and a standard devia- the cutoffs for each letter grade.
tion of 9 yards. What is the probability that after her
drive her golf ball will be at the bottom of the pond?
8.61 Battery manufacturers compete on the basis of
the amount of time their products last in cameras
and toys. A manufacturer of alkaline batteries has