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A car from the economy fleet is chosen at random - Leaving Cert Mathematics - Question 4 - 2015

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A car from the economy fleet is chosen at random. Find the probability that the tyres on this car will last for at least 40 000 km. Twenty cars from the economy fle... show full transcript

Worked Solution & Example Answer:A car from the economy fleet is chosen at random - Leaving Cert Mathematics - Question 4 - 2015

Step 1

a) A car from the economy fleet is chosen at random. Find the probability that the tyres on this car will last for at least 40 000 km.

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Answer

To find the probability that the tyres last for at least 40 000 km, we first calculate the z-score using the formula:

z=Xμσz = \frac{X - \mu}{\sigma}
Where:

  • X=40000X = 40000 (the value we are interested in)
  • μ=45000\mu = 45000 (mean lifespan of the tyres)
  • σ=8000\sigma = 8000 (standard deviation)

Substituting in the values:

z=40000450008000=0.625z = \frac{40000 - 45000}{8000} = -0.625

Next, we look up the z-score of -0.625 in the standard normal distribution table, which gives us:

P(Z0.625)=0.2659855P(Z \leq -0.625) = 0.2659855

Thus, the probability that the tyres last at least 40 000 km is:

10.2659855=0.73401450.7341 - 0.2659855 = 0.7340145 \approx 0.734

Therefore, the probability is 0.7340.734.

Step 2

b) Twenty cars from the economy fleet are chosen at random. Find the probability that the tyres on at least eighteen of these cars will last for 40 000 km.

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Answer

This part requires using the binomial distribution, where the success probability p=0.734p = 0.734 (probability from part (a)). We set up the following:

Using the binomial probability formula: P(X=k)=(nk)pk(1p)nkP(X = k) = {n \choose k} p^k (1 - p)^{n - k}

Where:

  • n=20n = 20 (total cars)
  • kk is the number of successes (cars lasting at least 40,000 km)

Calculating for:

  • P(20 successes)=(2020)(0.734)20(0.266)0=0.0021P(20 \text{ successes}) = {20 \choose 20} (0.734)^{20} (0.266)^{0} = 0.0021
  • P(19 successes)=(2019)(0.734)19(0.266)1=0.0149P(19 \text{ successes}) = {20 \choose 19} (0.734)^{19} (0.266)^{1} = 0.0149
  • P(18 successes)=(2018)(0.734)18(0.266)2=0.0514P(18 \text{ successes}) = {20 \choose 18} (0.734)^{18} (0.266)^{2} = 0.0514

Now, adding these probabilities together: P(at least 18 successes)=0.0021+0.0149+0.0514=0.0684P(\text{at least } 18 \text{ successes}) = 0.0021 + 0.0149 + 0.0514 = 0.0684(approximately).

Therefore, the probability that at least 18 out of 20 cars will last for 40,000 km is approximately 0.06840.0684.

Step 3

e) Test, at the 5% level of significance, the hypothesis that the mean lifespan of SafeRun tyres is the same as the mean of Everthread tyres.

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Answer

For this hypothesis test, we set the null hypothesis as:
H0:μ=45000H_0: \mu = 45000
Against the alternative hypothesis:
Ha:μ45000H_a: \mu \neq 45000

We have a sample mean of x=43850x = 43850 km, sample size n=25n = 25, and the population standard deviation σ=8000\sigma = 8000 km, so we calculate the z-score as:

z=xμσ/n=43850450008000/25=11501600=0.71875z = \frac{x - \mu}{\sigma / \sqrt{n}} = \frac{43850 - 45000}{8000 / \sqrt{25}} = \frac{-1150}{1600} = -0.71875

The critical z-value for a two-tailed test at the 5% level of significance is approximately ±1.96\pm 1.96.

Since 1.96<0.71875<1.96-1.96 < -0.71875 < 1.96, we fail to reject the null hypothesis.
Thus, the company cannot conclude that SafeRun tyres have a different lifespan than Everthread tyres.

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