Final grades for all of the sections of the data analysis class (WCOB 1033) for the spring semester are normally distributed with a mean (µ) of 75 and a standard deviation (σ) of 13. What is the approximate cutoff value for the top 5% of all the grades?

Respuesta :

Answer:

The cutoff value for the top 5% of all the grades is 96.385.

Step-by-step explanation:

Problems of normally distributed samples are solved using the z-score formula.

In a set with mean [tex]\mu[/tex] and standard deviation [tex]\sigma[/tex], the zscore 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 pvalue, we get the probability that the value of the measure is greater than X.

In this problem, we have that:

[tex]\mu = 75, \sigma = 13[/tex]

What is the approximate cutoff value for the top 5% of all the grades?

This is the value of X when Z has a pvalue of 0.95. So it is X when Z = 1.645.

So

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

[tex]1.645 = \frac{X - 75}{13}[/tex]

[tex]X - 75 = 13*1.645[/tex]

[tex]X = 96.385[/tex]

The cutoff value for the top 5% of all the grades is 96.385.

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