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VCE 12 Methods 2023

9.06 Calculations with the normal distribution

Worksheet
Empirical rule with z-scores
1

If Dave scores 96 in a test that has a mean score of 128 and a standard deviation of 16, what is his z-score?

2

Frank finishes a fun run in 156 minutes. If the mean time taken to finish the race is 120 minutes and the standard deviation is 12 minutes, what is his z-score?

3

For each of the following examples, find x, the test score each student received:

a

Iain's z-score in a test is 1, the mean mark is 62\% and standard deviation is 3\%.

b

Rochelle's z-score in a test is - 3, the mean mark is 80\% and standard deviation is 4\%.

4

A general ability test has a mean score of 100 and a standard deviation of 15.

a

Paul received a score of 102 in the test, find his z-score correct to two decimal places.

b

Georgia had a z-score of 3.13, find her score in the test, correct to the nearest integer.

5

Dylan scored 90\% with a z-score of 2 in English, and 78\% with a z-score of 4 in Mathematics.

In which subject was his performance better, relative to the rest of his class?

6

Jenny scored 81\% with a z score of - 2 in English, and 72\% with a z-score of - 4 in Mathematics. In which subject was her performance better, relative to the rest of the class?

7

Ray scored 12.49 in his test, in which the mean was 7.9 and the standard deviation was 1.7.

Gwen scored 30.56 in her test, in which the mean was 20.2 and the standard deviation was 2.8.

a

Find Ray's z-score.

b

Find Gwen's z-score.

c

Which of the two had a better performance relative to the other students in their classes?

8

Marge scored 43 in her Mathematics exam, in which the mean score was 49 and the standard deviation was 5. She also scored 92.2 in her Philosophy exam, in which the mean score was 98 and the standard deviation was 2.

a

Find Marge’s z-score in Mathematics.

b

Find Marge’s z-score in Philosophy.

c

Which exam did Marge do better in relative to the rest of her class?

9

Find the area under the curve, to four decimal places, for each part of the standardised normal curves described below:

a
To the left of z = 1.45
b
To the right of z = 1.58
c
To the left of z = - 1.23
d
To the right of z = - 1.17
e
Between z = 1.52 and z = 1.87
f
Between 1.10 and 1.60 standard deviations above the mean.
10

Calculate the percentage of standardised data, to two decimal places, that is:

a
Greater than z = - 1.51
b
Between z = - 1.14 and z = 2.37
11

Calculate the probability, to four decimal places, that a z-score is:

a
Either at most - 1.08 or greater than 2.07
b
Greater than - 0.63 and at most 1.44
c
At most 1.60 given that it is greater than - 0.69
d
At most 1.03 given that it is less than 2.58
Calculations with the standard and general normal distributions
12

Using your calculator, find the value of k to four decimal places for the following probabilities:

a
The probability of a z-score being at most k is equal to 0.8031 in the standard normal distribution.
b
The probability of a z-score being greater than k is equal to 0.7934 in the standard normal distribution.
c
The probability of a z-score being at most k is equal to 0.218 in the standard normal distribution.
d
The probability of a z-score being greater than k is equal to 0.1562 in the standard normal distribution.
e

The probability of a z-score being greater than - k and at most k is equal to 0.6123 in the standard normal distribution.

f

The probability of a z-score being greater than - 2.11 and at most k is equal to 0.8273 in the standard normal distribution.

13

If X \sim N \left(20, 5^2 \right), use your calculator to find the value of k in the following parts:

a

P \left(X \lt k \right) = 0.65

b

P \left(X \gt k \right) = 0.45

c

P \left(k \lt X \lt 27 \right) = 0.89

d

P \left(21 \lt X \lt k \right) = 0.4

14

Languages and Mathematics are very different disciplines, and so to compare results in the two subjects, the standard deviation is used. The mean and standard deviation of exam results in each subject are given in the table:

MeanStd. Deviation
Languages607
Mathematics678
a

A student receives a mark of 81 in Languages. How many standard deviations away from the mean is this mark?

b

What mark in Mathematics would be equivalent to a mark of 81 in Languages?

c

A student receives a mark of 86.2 in Mathematics. How many standard deviations away from the mean is this mark? Round your answer to one decimal place.

d

What mark in Languages would be equivalent to a mark of 86.2 in Mathematics? Round your answer to one decimal place.

Quantiles and percentiles
15

For the standard normal variable X \sim N \left(0, 1\right), use a CAS to determine the following values to three decimal places:

a

The 0.7 quantile

b

The 65th percentile

c

The lowest score in the top 20 percent

16

Consider the graph of a standard normal distribution showing the 68-95-99.7 rule:

a

Which value is the closest to the 0.5 quantile?

b

Which value is the closest to the 0.84 quantile?

c

Which value is the closest to the 16th percentile?

17

Consider a normal distribution defined by X \sim N \left(50, 25\right). Use the 68-95-99.7 rule to answer the following questions:

a

Which value is equivalent to the 0.16 quantile?

b

Which value is equivalent to the 0.025 quantile?

c

Which value is equivalent to the 97.5th percentile?

18

The heights of a certain species of fully grown plants are thought to be normally distributed with a mean of 40 cm and a standard deviation of 1 cm. Use the 68-95-99.7 rule to answer the following questions:

a

What is the height of the shortest plant in the 84th percentile?

b

What is the height of the shortest plant in the 0.0015 quantile?

19

For a normal variable defined by X \sim N \left(100, 100\right), use a CAS to determine the following values to three decimal places:

a

The 0.2 quantile

b

The 90th percentile

c

The lowest score that is greater than the bottom 30 percent

20

If X \sim N \left(30, 4^2 \right), calculate:

a

The 0.5 quantile

b

The 0.83 quantile

c

The 35th percentile

21

A random variable is normally distributed such that X \sim N \left(50, 25\right).

a

Calculate the standard score if X = 58.

b

Using a CAS calculator or otherwise, calculate the z-score for the 0.35 quantile.

c

Hence, find the X value for the 0.35 quantile.

22

Mensa is an organisation that only accepts members who score in the 98th percentile or above in an IQ test. Explain what a person has to do to get into Mensa.

Unknown mean or standard deviation
23

If Maximilian scores 57.6, with a z score of 2, in a test that has a standard deviation of 5.8, what was the mean score?

24

If Han scores 43.2, with a z score of -3, in a test that has a standard deviation of 5.6, what was the mean score?

25

If Luke scores 68, for a z score of - 3, in a test that has a mean score of 93.5, what was the standard deviation of the test scores?

26

If Saoirse scores 32.5, for a z score of - 4, in a test that has a mean score of 58.5, what was the standard deviation of the test scores?

27

If X \sim N \left( \mu, 100 \right), use your calculator to find \mu if P \left( \mu \leq X \leq 20 \right) = 0.3013. Round your answer to two decimal places.

28

If X \sim N \left( \mu, 100 \right), use your calculator to find \mu if P \left( \mu \leq X \leq 30 \right) = 0.419. Round your answer to two decimal places.

29

If X \sim N \left( \mu, \sigma^2 \right), use your calculator to find \mu and \sigma if P \left(X \lt 70 \right) = 0.1817 and P \left (X \lt 80 \right) = 0.9655. Round your answers to two decimal places.

30

If X \sim N \left( \mu, \sigma^2 \right), use your calculator to find \mu and \sigma if P \left(X \lt 12 \right) = 0.2859 and P \left (X \lt 18 \right) = 0.8677. Round your answer to two decimal places.

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Outcomes

U34.AoS4.3

continuous random variables: - construction of probability density functions from non-negative functions of a real variable - specification of probability distributions for continuous random variables using probability density functions - calculation and interpretation of mean, 𝜇, variance, 𝜎^2, and standard deviation of a continuous random variable and their use - standard normal distribution, N(0, 1), and transformed normal distributions, N(𝜇, 𝜎^2), as examples of a probability distribution for a continuous random variable - effect of variation in the value(s) of defining parameters on the graph of a given probability density function for a continuous random variable - calculation of probabilities for intervals defined in terms of a random variable, including conditional probability (the cumulative distribution function may be used but is not required)

U34.AoS4.4

statistical inference, including definition and distribution of sample proportions, simulations and confidence intervals: - distinction between a population parameter and a sample statistic and the use of the sample statistic to estimate the population parameter - simulation of random sampling, for a variety of values of 𝑝 and a range of sample sizes, to illustrate the distribution of 𝑃^ and variations in confidence intervals between samples - concept of the sample proportion as a random variable whose value varies between samples, where 𝑋 is a binomial random variable which is associated with the number of items that have a particular characteristic and 𝑛 is the sample size - approximate normality of the distribution of P^ for large samples and, for such a situation, the mean 𝑝 (the population proportion) and standard deviation - determination and interpretation of, from a large sample, an approximate confidence interval for a population proportion where 𝑧 is the appropriate quantile for the standard normal distribution, in particular the 95% confidence interval as an example of such an interval where 𝑧 ≈ 1.96 (the term standard error may be used but is not required).

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