MEI Statistics 2 The normal distribution
Section 2: Approximating distributions
Exercise
1. The results of an intelligence test may be approximated by a Normal distribution with
mean 100 and standard deviation 15. What percentage of the candidates will score
(i) less than 120;
(ii) at least 110;
(iii) between 85 and 105 inclusive.
2. Use a Normal approximation for the binomial distribution X ~ B(100, 0.3) to calculate
(i) P(X > 34);
(ii) P(X 32);
(iii) P(25 < X 36)
3. Use a Normal approximation for the Poisson distribution X ~ Poisson(20) to calculate
(i) P(X 17);
(ii) P(X < 25);
(iii) P(12 X < 18)
4. A fair tetrahedral die with faces numbered 1, 2, 3 and 4 is thrown 500 times. What is the
probability that there will be more than 130 fours?
5. In a multiple-choice test consisting of 80 questions, there are three possible answers given
for each question, one of which is correct and the other two are wrong. The pass mark is
35 correct answers. If I choose each answer randomly what is the probability that I will
pass?
6. If the probability that a new-born baby is a boy is 0.52, what is the probability that there
will be fewer boys than girls in 500 births?
7. Customers arrive at a busy supermarket at an average of 2 per minute. What is the
probability that more than 100 customers arrive in a one-hour period?
8. The number of misprints on a page has a Poisson distribution with mean 3.5. Calculate
the probability that there are exactly 40 misprints in a twelve page booklet
(i) using the Poisson formula directly;
(ii) using a Normal approximation to the Poisson distribution.
9. A manufacturer of a particular electronic component finds that on average 4% of the
components are defective.
(i) Estimate the probability that there are more than 25 defective components in a batch
of 500;
(ii) In a batch of 400 components the probability that the number of defectives is in the
interval [16 – k, 16 + k] is greater than 0.8. What is the smallest value for the whole
number k?
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MEI S2 Normal distribution 2 Exercise
10. (i) State the precise conditions under which the Normal distribution can be used
as an approximation to the binomial distribution.
(ii) It is estimated that about 30% of adults smoke. What is the probability that
(a) in a random group of 120 adults more than 40% of them are smokers;
(b) in a random group of 200 people fewer than a quarter of them smoke?
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