3.

3 Measures of Distribution Shape, Relative Location, and Detecting Outliers 131

Exercises

Methods
35. Consider a sample with data values of 10, 20, 12, 17, and 16. Compute the z-score for each
of the five observations.
36. Consider a sample with a mean of 500 and a standard deviation of 100. What are the
z-scores for the following data values: 520, 650, 500, 450, and 280?
37. Consider a sample with a mean of 30 and a standard deviation of 5. Use Chebyshev’s
theorem to determine the percentage of the data within each of the following ranges:
a. 20 to 40
b. 15 to 45
c. 22 to 38
d. 18 to 42
e. 12 to 48
38. Suppose the data have a bell-shaped distribution with a mean of 30 and a standard devia-
tion of 5. Use the empirical rule to determine the percentage of data within each of the
following ranges:
a. 20 to 40
b. 15 to 45
c. 25 to 35

Applications
39. The results of a national survey showed that on average, adults sleep 6.9 hours per night.
Suppose that the standard deviation is 1.2 hours.
a. Use Chebyshev’s theorem to calculate the percentage of individuals who sleep
between 4.5 and 9.3 hours.
b. Use Chebyshev’s theorem to calculate the percentage of individuals who sleep
between 3.9 and 9.9 hours.

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 132 Chapter 3 Descriptive Statistics: Numerical Measures

c. Assume that the number of hours of sleep follows a bell-shaped distribution. Use the
empirical rule to calculate the percentage of individuals who sleep between 4.5 and
9.3 hours per day. how does this result compare to the value that you obtained using
Chebyshev’s theorem in part (a)?
40. The energy information Administration reported that the mean retail price per gallon
of regular grade gasoline was $3.43 (energy information Administration, July 2012).
Suppose that the standard deviation was $.10 and that the retail price per gallon has a bell-
shaped distribution.
a. What percentage of regular grade gasoline sold between $3.33 and $3.53 per gallon?
b. What percentage of regular grade gasoline sold between $3.33 and $3.63 per
gallon?
c. What percentage of regular grade gasoline sold for more than $3.63 per gallon?
41. The graduate Management Admission Test (gMAT) is a standardized exam used by many
universities as part of the assessment for admission to graduate study in business. The aver-
age gMAT score is 547 (Magoosh website, January 5, 2015). Assume that gMAT scores
are bell-shaped with a standard deviation of 100.
a. What percentage of gMAT scores are 647 or higher?
b. What percentage of gMAT scores are 747 or higher?
c. What percentage of gMAT scores are between 447 and 547?
d. What percentage of gMAT scores are between 347 and 647?
42. Many families in California are using backyard structures for home offices, art studios, and
hobby areas as well as for additional storage. Suppose that the mean price for a custom-
ized wooden, shingled backyard structure is $3100. Assume that the standard deviation is
$1200.
a. What is the z-score for a backyard structure costing $2300?
b. What is the z-score for a backyard structure costing $4900?
c. interpret the z-scores in parts (a) and (b). Comment on whether either should be
considered an outlier.
d. if the cost for a backyard shed-office combination built in Albany, California, is $13,000,
should this structure be considered an outlier? explain.
43. According to a los angeles times study of more than 1 million medical dispatches from
2007 to 2012, the 911 response time for medical aid varies dramatically across Los
Angeles (la times website, November 2012). Under national standards adopted by the
Los Angeles Fire Department, rescuers are supposed to arrive within six minutes to almost
all medical emergencies. But the times analysis found that in affluent hillside communi-
ties stretching from griffith Park to Pacific Palisades, firefighters failed to hit that mark
nearly 85% of the time.
The following data show the response times, in minutes, for 10 emergency calls in the
griffith Park neighborhood.

11.8 10.3 10.7 10.6 11.5 8.3 10.5 10.9 10.7 11.2

Based on this sample of ten response times, compute the descriptive statistics in parts (a)
and (b) and then answer the questions in parts (c) and (d):
a. Mean, median, and mode
b. Range and standard deviation
c. Should the response time of 8.3 minutes be considered an outlier in comparison to the
other response times?
d. Do the response times indicate that the city is meeting the national standards? Should
the city consider making changes to its response strategies? Would adding more sta-
tions to areas in the city be a practical solution? Discuss.

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 3.4 Five-Number Summaries and Box Plots 133

44. A sample of 10 NCAA college basketball game scores provided the following data.

Winning
Winning Team Points Losing Team Points Margin
Arizona 90 Oregon 66 24
Duke 85 georgetown 66 19
Florida State 75 Wake Forest 70 5
NCAA Kansas 78 Colorado 57 21
Kentucky 71 Notre Dame 63 8
Louisville 65 Tennessee 62 3
Oklahoma State 72 Texas 66 6
Purdue 76 Michigan State 70 6
Stanford 77 Southern Cal 67 10
Wisconsin 76 illinois 56 20

a. Compute the mean and standard deviation for the points scored by the winning team.
b. Assume that the points scored by the winning teams for all NCAA games follow a
bell-shaped distribution. Using the mean and standard deviation found in part (a),
estimate the percentage of all NCAA games in which the winning team scores 84 or
more points. estimate the percentage of NCAA games in which the winning team
scores more than 90 points.
c. Compute the mean and standard deviation for the winning margin. Do the data contain
outliers? explain.
45. the Wall Street Journal reported that Walmart Stores inc. is planning to lay off 2300
employees at its Sam’s Club warehouse unit. Approximately half of the layoffs will be
hourly employees (the Wall Street Journal, January 25–26, 2014). Suppose the follow-
ing data represent the percentage of hourly employees laid off for 15 Sam’s Club stores.

55 56 44 43 44 56 60 62 57 45 36 38 50 69 65
a. Compute the mean and median percentage of hourly employees being laid off at these
stores.
b. Compute the first and third quartiles.
c. Compute the range and interquartile range.
d. Compute the variance and standard deviation.
e. Do the data contain any outliers?
f. Based on the sample data, does it appear that Walmart is meeting its goal for reducing
the number of hourly employees?

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