Homework: Normal Distribution

1. Some smaller colleges and liberal arts schools make students take a comprehensive
graduation exam in their major before they can graduate and receive their degree. Lets say
that the entire population of students taking the exam in health sciences is 7,000. The scores
on this exam are normally distributed, the mean is 75, and the standard deviation is 12.
a. Below is a blank normal distribution curve. Label the x-axis with the appropriate
values for a standard normal curve. Beneath those labels, write their raw score
equivalents for this data set. (2 points)

b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.

Please make sure to show your work and any formulas for the following:
What percentage of those tested received a score lower than 63? (2 points)
How many of those 7,000 students received a score lower than 63? (1 point)
What percentage of those tested received a score between a 57 and a 93? (3 points)
How many of those 7,000 students scored between a 57 and a 93? (1 point)
A persons z-score for the exam is 1.28. What is that persons raw score (x)?
A persons z-score for the exam is -.84. What is that persons raw score (x)?
What is the probability of a randomly chosen student having a score that was more
than 2.5 standard deviation units in either direction from the mean? (2 points)

2. Jack and Jill are twins. Jack goes to Boston University, and Jill goes to Northeastern
University. Both Jack and Jill are enrolled in a statistics course at their respective
universities. Jack gets a 53 on his exam (scores normally distributed, = 58, = 10). Jill
also gets a 53 on her exam (scores normally distributed, = 50, = 7).
a. Without actually calculating the answer, who can brag to the parents about being
smarter? How do you know? (2 points)
b. Below is a blank normal distribution curve. Label the x-axis with the appropriate
values for a standard normal curve. Beneath those labels, write the raw score
equivalents for Jacks class and the raw score equivalents for Jills class. (3 points)

c. Now formally calculate the answer to a) to verify that you are correct in your
conclusions. Make sure to show your work. (3 points)
d. Whose class is more variable, Jacks or Jills? How do you know? (2 points)
3. A score that is 12 points above the mean corresponds to a z-score of 2. What is the standard
deviation for this population? (2 points)
4. The birth weight of healthy, full-term infants born in the U.S. is approximately normally
distributed with a mean of 3,500 grams and a standard deviation of 500 grams. You friend
from high school just had a baby and claims that he weighed 4,750 grams. Do you believe
your friend? Explain your reasoning. (3 points)
5. Most states now require primary and secondary school students to take some form of
standardized testing. Some schools even require this yearly. Lets say that Massachusetts
really cares about math scores. The people who work in the education department want to
compare reading scores for those in the fourth grade ( = 25, = 5) to those in the ninth
grade ( = 30, = 10). Lets assume that the scores are normally distributed.
a. What is the modal reading test score for fourth graders? (1 point)
b. What is the median reading test score for ninth graders? (1 point)
c. What percentage of fourth graders score better than the average ninth grader? (Hint:
drawing pictures like those used in previous problems might be useful.) Make sure to
show your work. (3 points)
d. What percentage of ninth graders score worse than the average fourth grader? (Hint:
drawing pictures like those used in previous problems might be useful.) Make sure to
show your work. (3 points)