UNDERSTANDING

NORMAL DISTRIBUTION
1. Given that 𝑋~𝑁(18, 6), evaluate
(a) 𝑃(17.2 < 𝑋 ≤ 21.7) [ Ans: 0.563 ] (d) 𝑃(𝑋 ≤ 18) [ Ans: 0.5 ]
(b) 𝑃(𝑋 < 21.3) [ Ans: 0.911 ] (e) 𝑃(𝑋 ≥ 19.5) [ Ans: 0.270 ]
(c) 𝑃(𝑋 ≤ 19.5) [ Ans: 0.730 ] (f) 𝑃(𝑋 < 16.5) [ Ans: 0.270 ]

2. Given that 𝑋~𝑁(35, 42 ), find 𝑘

(a) 𝑃(𝑋 < 𝑘) = 0.5 [ Ans: 𝑘 = 35 ]
(b) 𝑃(𝑋 ≤ 𝑘) = 0.38 [ Ans: 𝑘 = 33.8 ]
(c) 𝑃(𝑋 > 𝑘) = 0.38 [ Ans: 𝑘 = 36.2 ]
(d) 𝑃(−𝑘 < 𝑋 − 35 < 𝑘) = 0.57 [ Ans: 𝑘 = 3.16 ]
(e) 𝑃(𝑘 ≤ 𝑋 < 42) = 0.55 [ Ans: 𝑘 = 34.1 ]
(f) 𝑃(𝑋 ≤ 𝑘) > 0.2 [ Ans: 𝑘 > 31.6 ]
(g) 𝑃(𝑋 > 𝑘) > 0.3 [ Ans: 𝑘 < 37.1 ]

Linear Combinations
3. Given 𝑋~𝑁(62, 121) and 𝑌~𝑁(49, 81), evaluate
(a) 𝑃(𝑋 + 2 < 60) [ Ans: 0.358 ]
(b) 𝑃(|3𝑋 − 4𝑌 + 5| > 30) [ Ans: 0.541 ]

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UNDERSTANDING

4. Admed and Brian live in the same house. Admed always walks to school and Brian
always cycles to school. The times taken to travel to school may be assumed to be
independent and normally distributed. The mean and the standard deviation for these
times are shown in the table below.
Mean (minutes) Standard Deviation (minutes)
Ahmed Walking 30 3
Brian Cycling 12 2
(a) Find the probability that on a particular day Ahmed takes more than 35 minutes to
walk to school.
(b) Brian cycles to school on five successive mornings. Find the probability that the total
time taken is less than 70 minutes.
(c) Find the probability that, on a particular day, the time taken by Ahmed to walk to
school is more than twice the time taken by Brian to cycle to school.
[ Ans: (a) 0.0478 (b) 0.987 (c) 0.885 ]

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UNDERSTANDING

5. The length, in cm, of a rectangular tile is a normal variable with mean 19.8 and standard
deviation 0.1. The breadth, in cm, is an independent normal variable with mean 9.8 and
standard deviation 0.1.
(a) Find the probability that the sum of the length of five randomly chosen tile exceeds
99.4 cm. [5]
(b) Find the probability that the breadth of a randomly chosen tile is less than one half of
the length. [5]
[ A-Levels 1988 (part) ]
[ Ans: (a) 0.0368; (b) 0.814 ]

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UNDERSTANDING

6. Chickens and turkeys are sold by weight. The masses, in kg, of chickens and turkeys are
modelled as having independent normal distributions with means and standard
deviations as shown in the table.
Mean mass Standard Deviation
Chickens 2.2 0.5
Turkeys 10.5 2.1
Chickens are sold at $3 per kg and turkeys at $5 per kg.
(a) Find the probability that the total weight of 2 turkeys is more than the total weight of 9
chickens. [3]
(b) Find the probability that the total selling price of a randomly chosen chicken and a
randomly chosen turkey is more than $62. [4]
(c) Find the probability that both a randomly chosen chicken has a selling price
exceeding $7 and a randomly chosen turkey has a selling price exceeding $55. [3]
(d) Explain why the answer to part (b) is greater than the answer to part (c). [1]
[ A-Levels 2007 (modified) ]
[ Ans: (a) 0.641; (b) 0.392; (c) 0.160 (d) explain ]

(d) (Note: $7 + $55 = $62)

For (iii) there are more
restrictions to the situation
because other than the total
selling price being equal to $62,
the individual price must also be
more than $7 for the chicken and
$55 of the turkey. Whereas for
(ii) the only restriction is for the
total selling price to exceed $62,
regardless of the individual
prices.

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UNDERSTANDING

Standardization
7. Given that 𝑋~𝑁(12, 0.9), evaluate 𝑃(3.5 ≤ 𝑋 ≤ 10.7), then evaluate once more by first
transforming it into Standard Normal Distribution.
[ Ans: 0.0853 ]
𝑃(3.5 ≤ 𝑋 ≤ 10.7)
= 0.0853

Alternatively
𝑃(3.5 ≤ 𝑋 ≤ 10.7)
3.5 − 12 𝑋 − 12 10.7 − 12
= 𝑃( ≤ ≤ )
√0.9 √0.9 √0.9
3.5 − 12 10.7 − 12
= 𝑃( ≤𝑍≤ )
√0.9 √0.9
= 𝑃(−8.9598 ≤ 𝑍 ≤ −1.3703)
= 0.0853

8. Karl have been chosen to represent his country in the Olympic discus throw. In the past
year, 80% of Karl’s throws have been longer than 56.52 m. If the distance of his throws
could be modelled as a normal distribution with a mean of 59.39, find the standard
deviation of his throws, correct to two decimal places.
[ Ans: 3.41 ]

9. At Euler College, the distance travelled by students to attend their school is modelled by
a normal distribution with mean 𝜇 km and standard deviation 𝜎 km. If 10% of students
travel more than 8 km and 5% of students travel less than 2 km, find the value of 𝜇 and
of 𝜎.
[ Ans: 𝜇 = 5.37 km, 𝜎 = 2.05 km ]

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UNDERSTANDING

10. The random variable 𝑋 has the distribution 𝑁(50, 82 ). Given that 𝑋1 and 𝑋2 are two
independent observations of 𝑋, find
(i) 𝑃(𝑋1 + 𝑋2 > 120), [2]
(ii) 𝑃(𝑋1 > 𝑋2 + 15). [3]
The random variable 𝑌 is related to 𝑋 by the formula 𝑌 = 𝑎𝑋 + 𝑏, where 𝑎 and 𝑏 are
constants with 𝑎 > 0. Given that 𝑃(𝑌 < 74) = 𝑃(𝑌 > 146) = 0.0668, find the values of
𝐸(𝑌) and 𝑉𝑎𝑟(𝑌), and hence find the values of 𝑎 and 𝑏. [7]
[ A-Levels 2008 ]
[ Ans: (i) 0.0385, (ii) 0.0924; 𝐸(𝑌) = 110, 𝑉ar(𝑌) = 576, 𝑎 = 3, 𝑏 = −40 ]

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