KC1
02-18-2006, 11:15 AM
I am having trouble coming up with the right answer for the following problem:
Elevator Design: Womens heights are normally distributed with a mean of 143 lbs and a standard deviation of 29 lbs, and men's weights are normally distributed with a mean of 172 lbs and a standard deviation of 29 lbs. You need to design an elevator for the westport shopping center, and it must safely carry 16 people. Assuming a worst case scenario of 16 male passengers, find the maximum total allowable weight if we want a .975 probability that this maximum will not be exceeded when 16 males are randomly selected.
Men: mean of 172, standard deviation 29, probability .975 = 1.96 z from the chart.
I used the formula to find x: 172 + (1.96 x 29) = 228.84 x 16 = 3661 lbs
The book came up with 2979 lbs
What am I doing wrong??
Thank you
KC1
Elevator Design: Womens heights are normally distributed with a mean of 143 lbs and a standard deviation of 29 lbs, and men's weights are normally distributed with a mean of 172 lbs and a standard deviation of 29 lbs. You need to design an elevator for the westport shopping center, and it must safely carry 16 people. Assuming a worst case scenario of 16 male passengers, find the maximum total allowable weight if we want a .975 probability that this maximum will not be exceeded when 16 males are randomly selected.
Men: mean of 172, standard deviation 29, probability .975 = 1.96 z from the chart.
I used the formula to find x: 172 + (1.96 x 29) = 228.84 x 16 = 3661 lbs
The book came up with 2979 lbs
What am I doing wrong??
Thank you
KC1