NORMAL DISTRIBUTION,

LINEAR COMBINATION OF
NORMAL VARIABLES, AND
SAMPLING AND ESTIMATION
2024 STATISTICS TESTS

MR SHARE +263784089807 [Mutare]

August 20, 2024

 Mr SHARE +263784089807

NORMAL DISTRIBUTIONS
Exam Type Questions

1. The probability that New Year’s Day is on a Saturday in a randomly

chosen year is 17 .

(a) 15 years are chosen randomly. Find the probability that at least
3 of these years have New Year’s Day on a Saturday. [4]
(b) 56 years are chosen randomly. Use a suitable approximation to
find the probability that more than 7 of these years have New
Year’s Day on a Saturday. [5]

2. In a certain country the time taken for a common infection to clear up

is normally distributed with mean µ days and standard deviation 2.6
days. 25% of these infections clear up in less than 7 days.

(a) Find the value of µ. [4]

In another country the standard deviation of the time taken for

the infection to clear up is the same as in part (a), but the mean
is 6.5 days. The time taken is normally distributed.

(b) Find the probability that, in a randomly chosen case from this
country, the infection takes longer than 6.2 days to clear up. [3]

3. 65% of all watches sold by a shop have a digital display and 35% have
analog display.

(a) Find the probability that, out of the next 12 customers who buy
a watch, fewer than 10 choose one with a digital display. [4]
(b) Use a suitable approximation to find the probability that, out of
the next 120 customers who buy a watch, fewer than 70 choose
one with a digital display. [5]

4. In a normal distribution, 69% of the distribution is less than 28 and

90% is less than 35. Find the mean and standard deviation of the
distribution. [6]

5. (a) State two conditions which must be satisfied for a situation to be

modelled by a binomial distribution. [2]

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 Mr SHARE +263784089807

In a certain village 28% of all cars are made by Ford.

(b) 14 cars are chosen randomly in the village. Find the probability
that fewer than 4 of these cars are made by Ford. [4]
(c) A random sample of 50 cars in the village is taken. Estimate,
using a normal approximation, the probability that more than 18
cars are made by Ford. [4]

6. The weights, X grams, of bars of soap are normally distributed with

mean 125 grams and standard deviation 4.2 grams.

(a) Find the probability that a randomly chosen bar of soap weighs
more than 128 grams. [3]
(b) Find the value of k such that P (k < X < 128) = 0.7465. [4]
(c) Five bars of soap are chosen at random. Find the probability that
more than two of the bars each weigh more than 128 grams. [4]

7. The random variable X, is the length of time in minutes that Jannon

takes to mend a bicycle puncture. X has a normal distribution with
mean µ and variance σ 2 . It is given that P (X > 30.0) = 0.1480 and
P (X > 20.9) = 0.6228. Find µ and σ. [5]

8. The random variable X is normally distributed with mean µ and stan-

dard deviation σ.

(a) Given that 5σ = 3µ, find P (X < 2µ). [3]

(b) With a different relationship between µ and σ, it is given that
P (X < 31 µ) = 0.8524. Express µ in terms of σ. [3]

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 Mr SHARE +263784089807

LINEAR COMBINATION OF NORMAL

VARIABLES
Exam Type Questions

9. The thickness of two types of textbooks A and B are normally dis-

tributed with parameters as shown in the table below.

MEAN VARIANCE
A 2.0 0.73
B 4.9 1.92

Find the probability that,

(a) the combined thickness of four randomly chosen type A textbook

is greater than the combined thickness of two randomly chosen
type B textbooks. [5]
(b) a randomly chosen type A textbook is less than half as thick as a
randomly chosen type B textbook. [4]

10. The distance the Zotoc car can travel on 20 litres of fuel is normally
distributed with mean 320 km and standard deviation 21.6 km. The
distance the Ganmor can travel on 20 litres of fuel is normally dis-
tributed with mean 350 km and standard deviation 7.5 km. Both cars
are filled with 20 litres of fuel and are driven towards a place 367 km
away.

(a) For each car, find the probability that it runs out of fuel before it
has travelled 367 km. [3]
(b) The probability that a Zotoc car can travel at least (320 + d) km
on 20 litres of fuel is 0.409. Find the value of d. [4]

11. Nails produced by a machine have lengths that are normally distributed.
Given that 2% of the nails are longer than 10.4 cm and 95% of the nails
have lengths between 10.3 cm and 10.4 cm, find the mean and standard
deviation of the distribution, giving your answers correct to 4 decimal
places. [7]

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 Mr SHARE +263784089807

12. In order to do a Master’s degree in Mathematics, undergraduate stu-

dents in Zimbabwe must demonstrate their competence in Mathematics
by scoring at least 70 out of a possible total of 100 on a Mathematics
achievement test. From published results, it is known that the mean
score of this test is 78 and the standard deviation is 7.5. Assume that
the test scores are approximately normally distributed, calculate the
percentage of all undergraduate students in Zimbabwe who score,

(a) at least 70. [4]

(b) below 60. [2]

13. The thickness of two types of textbooks A and B are normally dis-
tributed with parameters as shown in the table below.

MEAN VARIANCE
A 2.0 0.73
B 4.9 1.92

Find the probability that,

(a) the combined thickness of four randomly chosen type A textbooks

is greater than the combined thickness of two randomly chosen
type B textbooks. [5]
(b) a randomly chosen type A textbook is less than half as thick as a
randomly chosen type B textbook. [4]

14. A factory produces two types of nuts and bolts with masses distributed
normally with parameters as shown in the table below.

Mean Variance
Type A Nut 5g 0.2g
Bolt 20.5g 0.2g

Mean Variance
Type B Nut 4.7g 0.2g
Bolt 20g 0.2g

Given that each bolt is fitted with two nuts, find the probability that
the total mass of type A is greater than the total mass of type B. [6]

15. The random variables, R and S, are both normally distributed. Given
that R ∼ N (54, 36) and S ∼ N (48, 25).

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 Mr SHARE +263784089807

(a) Find,
i. the values of r and s such that,

P (R ≤ r) = P (S ≥ s) = 0.484,

[7]
ii. P (R ≥ S). [2]
(b) Six independent observations of R are taken.
Find the probability that the sum of the six observation is less
than 300. [5]
16. A random sample of size 36 is taken with replacement from the normal
population: 1;1;1;3;4;5;6;6;6;7
Find the probability that a sample taken at random will have a mean
greater than 3.8 but less than 4.5. [5]
17. The masses of avocados from a particular tree are normally distributed
with mean 0.8 kg and variance (0.1)2 . Pawpaws from a certain tree have
masses which are normally distributed with mean 1.2 kg and variance
(0.2)2 .
(a) Find the probability that a randomly chosen avocado weighs less
than half the mass of a pawpaw. [4]
(b) Avocados are sold at $1.50 per kg and pawpaws at $0.50 per kg.

Find the probability that the total cost of 5 randomly chosen

avocados and 3 randomly chosen pawpaws is more than $8.00. [5]
18. The masses, in grams, of the contents and packaging of a randomly
chosen packet of powdered milk of brand M maybe taken to have a
Normal distribution with mean and standard deviation given in the
table.

Mean Standard deviation

Contents 500 8
Packaging 20 2

(a) Find the probability that,

i. a randomly chosen packet of brand M has a total mass ex-
ceeding 525 grams. [4]
ii. the total weight of the contents of three randomly chosen
packets of brand M exceeds 1515 grams. [5]

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 Mr SHARE +263784089807

(b) The masses of the contents of a randomly chosen packet of brand

N may be taken to have a normal distribution with mean 405
grams and standard deviation of 6 grams.

Find the probability that the contents of five randomly chosen

packets of brand N weigh more than the contents of four ran-
domly chosen packets of brand M. [5]

19. The mass, m g, of a randomly chosen key-holder is known to follow a

normal distribution with mean 20 g and standard deviation of 4 g. The
mass, M grams of a randomly chosen key is known to follow a normal
distribution with mean 12 g and variance 9 grams.

(a) Find the probability that the combined mass of,

i. 2 randomly chosen key-holder and 3 randomly chosen keys is
greater than 78 g. [4]
ii. 3 key-holders are greater than the combined mass of
6 keys. [4]
(b) Determine the probability that a randomly chosen key-holder is
more than twice the mass of a randomly chosen key. [5]

20. The life, in months, of a randomly chosen light bulb is normally dis-
tributed with mean 2 and standard deviation 0.4.

(a) Show that the probability of a randomly chosen light bulb has a
life span of less than one month is 0.0062. [3]
(b) A retailer buys 10 randomly chosen bulbs. Find the probability
that at least 4 have a life span each exceeding 2 months. [4]

21. X and Y are continuous random variables having independent normal

distributions. The means of X and Y are 10 and 12 respectively, and
their standard deviations are 2 and 3 respectively.

Find,

(a) P (Y < X), [5]

(b) P (4X + 5Y < 90), [4]
1
(c) the value of x such that P (X1 + X2 > x) = 4
where X1 and X2
are independent observation of X. [5]

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 Mr SHARE +263784089807

22. The probability that a seed grown under specific conditions will germi-
nate and produce a plant is 0.8. The minimum number of seeds, n, are
to be planted under three conditions to ensure a probability of at least
0.9 that 60 or more seeds will germinate and produce a plant.

(a) Using a suitable approximation show that,

n2 − 149.2n + 5531.6 ≥ 0

. [4]
(b) i. Solve the inequality in part (a). [3]
ii. Hence or otherwise find the minimum value of n, the number
of seeds to be planted. [2]

23. A random variable X is normally distributed with mean 15 and stan-

dard deviation 6.

If a random sample of 40 is chosen and found to have a mean X̄ find,

(a) P (X̄ > 16), [4]

(b) the sample size n such that P (X̄ > 15.5) = 0.05. [5]

24. A manufacturer of vehicles sells two types of vehicles, heavy and light
vehicles. The cost of each type of vehicle in thousands of dollars are
shown in the table below.

Mean cost Standard deviation

Light 252 2
Heavy 1012 5

(a) A vehicle of each type is selected at random. Find the probability

that the heavy vehicle costs less than 4 times the light vehicle. [5]
(b) One heavy and four light vehicles are selected at random. Find
the probability that the cost of a heavy vehicle is less than the
total cost of four light vehicles. [5]

25. (a) If a large number of samples, size, n are taken from a population
which follows a normal distribution with mean 70 and standard
deviation 5. Find n if the probability that the sample mean ex-
ceeds 68 is 0.9254. [4]

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 Mr SHARE +263784089807

(b) A random number of 100 adults in Muzarabani drank 7100 ml of

water in one week with a standard deviation of 400 ml.

Calculate the 95% confidence interval for the mean weekly con-
sumption of water will lie. [3]

26. The mass of professional soccer players are normally distributed with
mean of 66 kg and a standard deviation, σ.

(a) Given that 10% of the players have masses which exceed 72 kg,
find the value of σ correct to 3 significant figures. [3]
(b) Show that the probability that the mass of a randomly chosen
professional soccer player is at most 63 kg is 0.2608. [2]
(c) Eleven professional soccer players are randomly selected for a par-
ticular soccer match. Find the probability that at least 3 of them
weigh at most 63 kg. [4]

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 Mr SHARE +263784089807

SAMPLING AND ESTIMATION

Exam Type Questions
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