Interpreting Normal Quantile Plots Which of the following normal quantile plots appear to represent data from a population having a normal distribution? Explain.


a.

Aircraft Seat Width Engineers want to design seats in commercial aircraft so that they are wide enough to fit 99% of all adults. (Accommodating 100% of adults would require very wide seats that would be much too expensive.) Assume adults have hip widths that are normally distributed with a mean of 14.3 in. and a standard deviation of 0.9 in. (based on data from Applied Ergonomics). Find P99. That is, find the hip width for adults that separates the smallest 99% from the largest 1%.

Durations of Pregnancies The lengths of pregnancies are normally distributed with a mean of 268 days and a standard deviation of 15 days.

a. In a letter to “Dear Abby,” a wife claimed to have given birth 308 days after a brief visit from her husband, who was working in another country. Find the probability of a pregnancy lasting 308 days or longer. What does the result suggest?

Water Taxi Safety When a water taxi sank in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, an investigation revealed that the safe passenger load for the water taxi was 3500 lb. It was also noted that the mean weight of a passenger was assumed to be 140 lb. Assume a “worst-case” scenario in which all of the passengers are adult men. Assume that weights of men are normally distributed with a mean of 188.6 lb and a standard deviation of 38.9 lb (based on Data Set 1 “Body Data” in Appendix B).

a. If one man is randomly selected, find the probability that he weighs less than 174 lb (the new value suggested by the National Transportation and Safety Board).

Water Taxi Safety When a water taxi sank in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, an investigation revealed that the safe passenger load for the water taxi was 3500 lb. It was also noted that the mean weight of a passenger was assumed to be 140 lb. Assume a “worst-case” scenario in which all of the passengers are adult men. Assume that weights of men are normally distributed with a mean of 188.6 lb and a standard deviation of 38.9 lb (based on Data Set 1 “Body Data” in Appendix B).

c. With a load limit of 3500 lb, how many male passengers are allowed if we assume the updated mean weight of 188.6 lb?

Curving Test Scores A professor gives a test and the scores are normally distributed with a mean of 60 and a standard deviation of 12. She plans to curve the scores.

a. If she curves by adding 15 to each grade, what is the new mean and standard deviation?

Curving Test Scores A professor gives a test and the scores are normally distributed with a mean of 60 and a standard deviation of 12. She plans to curve the scores.

c. If the grades are curved so that grades of B are given to scores above the bottom 70% and below the top 10%, find the numerical limits for a grade of B.

Outliers For the purposes of constructing modified boxplots as described in Section 3-3, outliers are defined as data values that are above Q3 by an amount greater than 1.5 x IQR or below Q1 by an amount greater than 1.5 x IQR, where IQR is the interquartile range. Using this definition of outliers, find the probability that when a value is randomly selected from a normal distribution, it is an outlier.

Ergonomics. Exercises 9–16 involve applications to ergonomics, as described in the Chapter Problem.

Water Taxi Safety Passengers died when a water taxi sank in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. Men are typically heavier than women and children, so when loading a water taxi, assume a worst-case scenario in which all passengers are men. Assume that weights of men are normally distributed with a mean of 189 lb and a standard deviation of 39 lb (based on Data Set 1 “Body Data” in Appendix B). The water taxi that sank had a stated capacity of 25 passengers, and the boat was rated for a load limit of 3500 lb.

d. Is the new capacity of 20 passengers safe?