Standard Deviation

Expert replies

Akansha: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 56; Joined: Wed Sep 01, 2010 10:04 amFollowed by: 20 members; Thanked: 1 times

by Akansha » Sat May 14, 2011 10:16 pm

A vending machine is designed to dispense 8 ounces of coffee into a cup. After a test that recorded the number of ounces of coffee in each of 1000 cups dispensed by the vending machine, the 12 listed amounts, in ounces , were selected from the data. If the 1000 recorded amounts have a mean of 8.1 ounces and a standard deviation of 0.3 ounce, how many of the 12 listed amounts are within 1.5 standard deviations of the mean?

7.51 8.22 7.86 8.36
8.09 7.83 8.30 8.01
7.73 8.25 7.96 8.53

A.Four
B.Six
C.Nine
D.Ten
E.Eleven

Can anyone help in solving this? The correct answer is E.

Like this post

Source: Beat The GMAT — Problem Solving | Sat May 14, 2011 10:16 pm

GMAT/MBA Expert

Anurag@Gurome: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 3835; Joined: Fri Apr 02, 2010 10:00 pmFollowed by: 523 members; Location: Milpitas, CA; Thanked: 1854 times; GMAT Score:770

by Anurag@Gurome » Mon May 16, 2011 12:43 am

Akansha wrote:A vending machine is designed to dispense 8 ounces of coffee into a cup. After a test that recorded the number of ounces of coffee in each of 1000 cups dispensed by the vending machine, the 12 listed amounts, in ounces , were selected from the data. If the 1000 recorded amounts have a mean of 8.1 ounces and a standard deviation of 0.3 ounce, how many of the 12 listed amounts are within 1.5 standard deviations of the mean?

7.51 8.22 7.86 8.36
8.09 7.83 8.30 8.01
7.73 8.25 7.96 8.53

A.Four
B.Six
C.Nine
D.Ten
E.Eleven

Can anyone help in solving this? The correct answer is E.

Solution:
We can apply standard normal distribution in this problem.
Let x stand for the maximum and minimum values that are 1.5 deviations away from the mean which is 8.1.
Also standard deviation is given as 0.3.
So, +1.5 = (x - 8.1)/0.3 and -1.5 = (x - 8.1)/0.3
Or the maximum and minimum values of x are 8.55 and 7.65.
So, number of values in the list which lie in the range 7.65 - 8.55 is 11, the only exception being 7.51.

The correct answer is (E).

Anurag Mairal, Ph.D., MBA
GMAT Expert, Admissions and Career Guidance
Gurome, Inc.
1-800-566-4043 (USA)

Join Our Facebook Groups
GMAT with Gurome
https://www.facebook.com/groups/272466352793633/
Admissions with Gurome
https://www.facebook.com/groups/461459690536574/
Career Advising with Gurome
https://www.facebook.com/groups/360435787349781/

Like this post

Post new topic Post Reply

• Page 1 of 1

GMAT Course Reviews

559 reviews

1168 reviews

431 reviews

359 reviews

147 reviews

5/5

5 Star (560 Reviews)

"Target Test Prep is the closest to the official version of the GMAT exam, about 99% accuracy in terms of the quality and quantity of information. The course has excellently created singular sets of focused lessons and tests for every possible topic that one could come across in the official GMAT exam."

"The TTP course maximizes the efficiency of the time you spend studying. It will take time and effort but I could almost guarantee that if you complete the course exactly as it is laid out you will get an amazing score. They also have a very responsive team willing to help with any questions you might have."

"TTP has two things that I think no other test prep company offers: A teaching approach that reinforces understanding and an attitude that will give you the mental preparedness needed to succeed on the test. TTP gives you a deep understanding of the concept you need to know while teaching you how to think."

Write a Review