Explore Westonci.ca, the premier Q&A site that helps you find precise answers to your questions, no matter the topic. Join our Q&A platform to get precise answers from experts in diverse fields and enhance your understanding. Join our platform to connect with experts ready to provide precise answers to your questions in different areas.

Suppose 35.45% of small businesses experience cash flow problems in their first 5 years. A consultant takes a random sample of 530 businesses that have been opened for 5 years or less. What is the probability that between 34.2% and 39.03% of the businesses have experienced cash flow problems?
1) 0.6838
2) 20.3738
3) 0.3162
4) - 11.6695
5) 1.2313

Sagot :

Answer:

1) 0.6838

Step-by-step explanation:

To solve this question, we need to understand the normal probability distribution and the central limit theorem.

Normal Probability Distribution

Problems of normal distributions can be solved using the z-score formula.

In a set with mean [tex]\mu[/tex] and standard deviation [tex]\sigma[/tex], the z-score of a measure X is given by:

[tex]Z = \frac{X - \mu}{\sigma}[/tex]

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 p-value, we get the probability that the value of the measure is greater than X.

Central Limit Theorem

The Central Limit Theorem establishes that, for a normally distributed random variable X, with mean [tex]\mu[/tex] and standard deviation [tex]\sigma[/tex], the sampling distribution of the sample means with size n can be approximated to a normal distribution with mean [tex]\mu[/tex] and standard deviation [tex]s = \frac{\sigma}{\sqrt{n}}[/tex].

For a skewed variable, the Central Limit Theorem can also be applied, as long as n is at least 30.

For a proportion p in a sample of size n, the sampling distribution of the sample proportion will be approximately normal with mean [tex]\mu = p[/tex] and standard deviation [tex]s = \sqrt{\frac{p(1-p)}{n}}[/tex]

35.45% of small businesses experience cash flow problems in their first 5 years.

This means that [tex]p = 0.3545[/tex]

Sample of 530 businesses

This means that [tex]n = 530[/tex]

Mean and standard deviation:

[tex]\mu = p = 0.3545[/tex]

[tex]s = \sqrt{\frac{p(1-p)}{n}} = \sqrt{\frac{0.3545(1-0.3545)}{530}} = 0.0208[/tex]

What is the probability that between 34.2% and 39.03% of the businesses have experienced cash flow problems?

This is the p-value of Z when X = 0.3903 subtracted by the p-value of Z when X = 0.342.

X = 0.3903

[tex]Z = \frac{X - \mu}{\sigma}[/tex]

By the Central Limit Theorem

[tex]Z = \frac{X - \mu}{s}[/tex]

[tex]Z = \frac{0.3903 - 0.3545}{0.0208}[/tex]

[tex]Z = 1.72[/tex]

[tex]Z = 1.72[/tex] has a p-value of 0.9573

X = 0.342

[tex]Z = \frac{X - \mu}{s}[/tex]

[tex]Z = \frac{0.342 - 0.3545}{0.0208}[/tex]

[tex]Z = -0.6[/tex]

[tex]Z = -0.6[/tex] has a p-value of 0.27425

0.9573 - 0.2743 = 0.683

With a little bit of rounding, 0.6838, so option 1) is the answer.