Math Problem Statement
The minimum temperature for requiring further medical tests should be
°F if we want only 5.0% of healthy people
to exceed it.
(Round to two decimal places as needed.)
Solution
To determine the minimum temperature that only 5.0% of healthy people exceed, we need to assume that body temperatures follow a normal distribution. Let’s denote the mean and standard deviation of healthy body temperatures as and , respectively. Then we are looking for the temperature, , such that the proportion of healthy individuals exceeding this temperature is 5%.
Steps:
-
For a normal distribution, the threshold that leaves 5% of the population in the upper tail corresponds to a -score of approximately (since 95% lies below it, and 5% is above it).
-
The relationship between the temperature , the mean , the standard deviation , and the -score is:
-
We need the values of and for healthy body temperatures to solve this equation. A typical estimate for normal body temperature is and the standard deviation (although this can vary).
Now, using these values:
So, the minimum temperature for requiring further medical tests should be approximately 99.75°F.
Do you want more details or have any questions?
Here are five related questions:
- What is the z-score and how is it used in this context?
- What if the mean body temperature or the standard deviation changes?
- Can you explain how the normal distribution relates to real-world measurements like temperature?
- How does the 5% threshold apply to other medical screenings?
- What would be the corresponding Celsius temperature for this threshold?
Tip: When using normal distribution, the area under the curve helps you understand the proportion of data within certain ranges of standard deviation.
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Math Problem Analysis
Mathematical Concepts
Normal Distribution
z-Score
Percentiles
Formulas
T = μ + z * σ
Theorems
Properties of the Normal Distribution
Suitable Grade Level
Grades 10-12
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