Description
A traffic study conducted at one point on an interstate highway shows that vehicle speeds (in mph) are normally distributed with μ = 66.7 and s =5.0. If a vehicle is randomly checked, what is the probability that its speed is between 42.0 and 69.0?
Explanation & Answer
We can find the z-scores associated with each of the values 42 and 69. The z-score is given by:
z = (value - mean)/sd
= (42-66.7)/5 and (69-66.7)/5
= -4.94 and 0.46
Next find P(-4.94<z<0.46)
= P(z<0.46) - P(z<-4.94)
(calculate these directly or use a z-table; remembering that P(-z) = 1-P(z) )
= 0.677 - 0.000
= 0.677