Math Problem Statement

For males in a certain town, the systolic blood pressure is normally distributed with a mean of 135 and a standard deviation of 8. What is the probability that a randomly selected male's systolic blood pressure will be between 116 and 120, to the nearest thousandth?

Solution

To find the probability that a randomly selected male's systolic blood pressure (denoted as XX) is between 116 and 120, we can use the Z-score formula for a normal distribution.

The formula for the Z-score is:

Z=XμσZ = \frac{X - \mu}{\sigma}

Where:

  • XX is the value of interest,
  • μ=135\mu = 135 is the mean,
  • σ=8\sigma = 8 is the standard deviation.

Step 1: Calculate the Z-scores for 116 and 120.

  1. For X=116X = 116:

Z1=1161358=198=2.375Z_1 = \frac{116 - 135}{8} = \frac{-19}{8} = -2.375

  1. For X=120X = 120:

Z2=1201358=158=1.875Z_2 = \frac{120 - 135}{8} = \frac{-15}{8} = -1.875

Step 2: Use the Z-scores to find the corresponding probabilities from the standard normal distribution table.

  • For Z1=2.375Z_1 = -2.375, the cumulative probability (from standard normal tables) is approximately 0.0087.
  • For Z2=1.875Z_2 = -1.875, the cumulative probability is approximately 0.0304.

Step 3: Find the probability between 116 and 120.

The probability is the difference between the cumulative probabilities for Z2Z_2 and Z1Z_1:

P(116<X<120)=P(Z2)P(Z1)=0.03040.0087=0.0217P(116 < X < 120) = P(Z_2) - P(Z_1) = 0.0304 - 0.0087 = 0.0217

Thus, the probability that a randomly selected male's systolic blood pressure is between 116 and 120 is 0.022, to the nearest thousandth.


Would you like more details on this? Here are 5 related questions for practice:

  1. What is the probability that a male's systolic blood pressure will be less than 120?
  2. What is the probability that a male's systolic blood pressure will be greater than 140?
  3. How would the probability change if the mean systolic blood pressure were 130 instead of 135?
  4. What systolic blood pressure value corresponds to the 90th percentile of this distribution?
  5. What is the probability that a male's systolic blood pressure will be between 120 and 140?

Tip: When using Z-scores, always check if your values align with the standard normal table, as small errors in reading tables can lead to incorrect probabilities.

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Math Problem Analysis

Mathematical Concepts

Statistics
Probability
Normal Distribution
Z-scores

Formulas

Z = (X - μ) / σ

Theorems

Standard Normal Distribution

Suitable Grade Level

Grades 10-12