The Precision Scientific Instrument Company manufactures thermometers that are supposed to give readings of 0degreesC at the freezing point of water. Tests on a large sample of these thermometers reveal that at the freezing point of water, some give readings below 0degreesC (denoted by negative numbers) and some give readings above 0degreesC (denoted by positive numbers). Assume that the mean reading is 0degreesC and the standard deviation of the readings is 1.00degreesC. Also assume that the frequency distribution of errors closely resembles the normal distribution. A thermometer is randomly selected and tested. A quality control analyst wants to examine thermometers that give readings in the bottom 4%. Find the temperature reading that separates the bottom 4% from the others. Round to two decimal places. Find P40, the 40th percentile.a)-0.57 degrees B) 0.57degrees C) 0.25 degrees D) -0.25 degreesFind Q3, the third quartile.a) 0.67 degrees B) 0.82 degrees C) -1.3 degrees D) 0.53 degrees
Accepted Solution
A:
Answer:The value that separates the bottom 4% is -1.75; the 40th percentile is D. -0.25 degrees; Q3 is A. 0.67 degrees.Step-by-step explanation:The bottom 4% has a probability of 4% = 4/100 = 0.04. Using a z-table, we find the value closest to 0.04 in the cells of the chart; this is 0.0401. This corresponds to a z value of -1.75. The formula for a z score is[tex]z=\frac{X-\mu}{\sigma}[/tex]Substituting our values for z, the mean and the standard deviation, we have-1.75 = (X-0)/1X-0 = X, and X/1 = X; this gives us-1.75 = X.The 40th percentile is the value that is greater than 40% of the other data values. This means it has a probability of 0.40. Using a z-table, we find the value closest to 0.40 in the cells of the chart; this is 0.4013. This corresponds to a z value of -0.25.Substituting this into our formula for a z score along with our values for the mean and the standard deviation,-0.25 = (X-0)/1X-0 = X, and X/1 = X; this gives us-0.25 = X.Q3 is the same as the 75th percentile. This means it has a probability of 0.75. Using a z-table, we find the value closest to 0.75 in the cells of the chart; this is 0.7486. This corresponds to a z value of 0.67.Substituting this into our z score formula along with our values for the mean and the standard deviation,0.67 = (X-0)/1 X-0 = X and X/1 = X; this gives us0.67 = X.