Answer:
If 24 items are picked at random, 8% of the time their mean life will be less than 5.156 years.
Step-by-step explanation:
To solve this question, we have to understand the normal probability distribution and the central limit theorem.
Normal probability distribution:
Problems of normally distributed samples are solved using the z-score formula.
In a set with mean
and standard deviation
, the zscore of a measure X is given by:
![Z = \frac{X - \mu}{\sigma}](https://tex.z-dn.net/?f=Z%20%3D%20%5Cfrac%7BX%20-%20%5Cmu%7D%7B%5Csigma%7D)
The Z-score measures how many standard deviations the measure is from the mean. After finding the Z-score, we look at the z-score table and find the p-value associated with this z-score. This p-value is the probability that the value of the measure is smaller than X, that is, the percentile of X. Subtracting 1 by the pvalue, we get the probability that the value of the measure is greater than X.
Central limit theorem:
The Central Limit Theorem estabilishes that, for a random variable X, with mean
and standard deviation
, the sample means with size n of at least 30 can be approximated to a normal distribution with mean
and standard deviation ![s = \frac{\sigma}{\sqrt{n}}](https://tex.z-dn.net/?f=s%20%3D%20%5Cfrac%7B%5Csigma%7D%7B%5Csqrt%7Bn%7D%7D)
In this problem, we have that:
![\mu = 5.5, \sigma = 1.2, n = 24, s = \frac{1.2}{\sqrt{24}} = 0.2449](https://tex.z-dn.net/?f=%5Cmu%20%3D%205.5%2C%20%5Csigma%20%3D%201.2%2C%20n%20%3D%2024%2C%20s%20%3D%20%5Cfrac%7B1.2%7D%7B%5Csqrt%7B24%7D%7D%20%3D%200.2449)
If 24 items are picked at random, 8% of the time their mean life will be less than how many years?
This is the value of X when Z has a pvalue of 0.08. So it is X when Z = -1.405.
![Z = \frac{X - \mu}{\sigma}](https://tex.z-dn.net/?f=Z%20%3D%20%5Cfrac%7BX%20-%20%5Cmu%7D%7B%5Csigma%7D)
By the Central Limit Theorem
![Z = \frac{X - \mu}{s}](https://tex.z-dn.net/?f=Z%20%3D%20%5Cfrac%7BX%20-%20%5Cmu%7D%7Bs%7D)
![-1.405 = \frac{X - 5.5}{0.2449}](https://tex.z-dn.net/?f=-1.405%20%3D%20%5Cfrac%7BX%20-%205.5%7D%7B0.2449%7D)
![X - 5.5 = -1.405*0.2449](https://tex.z-dn.net/?f=X%20-%205.5%20%3D%20-1.405%2A0.2449)
![X = 5.156](https://tex.z-dn.net/?f=X%20%3D%205.156)
If 24 items are picked at random, 8% of the time their mean life will be less than 5.156 years.