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An engineer is going to redesign an ejection seat for an airplane. The seat was originally designed for pilots weighing between 130 lb and 201 lb. The new population of pilots has normally distributed weights with a mean of 158 lb and a standard deviation of 33.9 lb.

If a pilot is randomly selected, find the probability that his weight is between 150 lb and 201 lb.

The probability is approximately ______ (Round to four decimal places as needed.)


Sagot :

To solve this problem, we need to determine the probability that a pilot's weight falls between 150 lb and 201 lb, given that the weights of the pilots are normally distributed with a mean of 158 lb and a standard deviation of 33.9 lb.

Here is a detailed, step-by-step solution:

1. Identify the given values:
- Mean ([tex]\(\mu\)[/tex]) = 158 lb
- Standard deviation ([tex]\(\sigma\)[/tex]) = 33.9 lb
- Lower bound weight = 150 lb
- Upper bound weight = 201 lb

2. Calculate the z-scores for the lower and upper bounds:
The z-score is a measure of how many standard deviations an element is from the mean. The formula for the z-score is:
[tex]\[ z = \frac{(X - \mu)}{\sigma} \][/tex]

Let’s calculate the z-score for the lower bound (150 lb):
[tex]\[ z_{\text{lower}} = \frac{(150 - 158)}{33.9} = \frac{-8}{33.9} \approx -0.236 \][/tex]

Now, calculate the z-score for the upper bound (201 lb):
[tex]\[ z_{\text{upper}} = \frac{(201 - 158)}{33.9} = \frac{43}{33.9} \approx 1.268 \][/tex]

3. Determine the probability for the z-scores using the standard normal distribution:
To find the probability that a pilot's weight is between a lower z-score and an upper z-score, we use the cumulative distribution function (CDF) of the standard normal distribution. The CDF value for a given z-score represents the probability that a standard normal random variable is less than or equal to that z-score.

We need the probabilities associated with the two z-scores:
- Probability corresponding to [tex]\( z_{\text{lower}} = -0.236 \)[/tex]
- Probability corresponding to [tex]\( z_{\text{upper}} = 1.268 \)[/tex]

4. Fetch the standard normal distribution values for these z-scores:
- [tex]\( P(Z \leq -0.236) \approx 0.4072 \)[/tex]
- [tex]\( P(Z \leq 1.268) \approx 0.8982 \)[/tex]

5. Compute the probability that a pilot's weight is between the two bounds:
This is found by subtracting the cumulative probability at the lower z-score from the cumulative probability at the upper z-score.
[tex]\[ P(150 \leq X \leq 201) = P(Z \leq 1.268) - P(Z \leq -0.236) \approx 0.8982 - 0.4072 \approx 0.491 \][/tex]

Thus, the probability that a randomly selected pilot weighs between 150 lb and 201 lb is approximately [tex]\( 0.491 \)[/tex], rounded to four decimal places.