Table of contents
- 1. Intro to Stats and Collecting Data24m
- 2. Describing Data with Tables and Graphs1h 55m
- 3. Describing Data Numerically53m
- 4. Probability1h 29m
- 5. Binomial Distribution & Discrete Random Variables1h 16m
- 6. Normal Distribution and Continuous Random Variables58m
- 7. Sampling Distributions & Confidence Intervals: Mean1h 3m
- 8. Sampling Distributions & Confidence Intervals: Proportion1h 5m
- 9. Hypothesis Testing for One Sample1h 1m
- 10. Hypothesis Testing for Two Samples2h 8m
- 11. Correlation48m
6. Normal Distribution and Continuous Random Variables
Probabilities & Z-Scores w/ Graphing Calculator
Problem 6.CRE.1e
Textbook Question
In Exercises 1 and 2, use the following wait times (minutes) at 10:00 AM for the Tower of Terror ride at Disney World (from Data Set 33 “Disney World Wait Times†in Appendix B).
35 35 20 50 95 75 45 50 30 35 30 30
e. Convert the longest wait time to a z score.
f. Based on the result from part (e), is the longest wait time significantly high?

1
Step 1: Identify the longest wait time in the data set. The data set is: 35, 35, 20, 50, 95, 75, 45, 50, 30, 35, 30, 30. The longest wait time is 95 minutes.
Step 2: Calculate the mean (μ) of the data set. To do this, sum all the wait times and divide by the total number of data points. Use the formula: <math xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML'><mi>μ</mi>=<mfrac><mrow><mo>∑</mo><mi>x</mi></mrow><mi>n</mi></mfrac></math>, where ∑x is the sum of the data points and n is the number of data points.
Step 3: Calculate the standard deviation (σ) of the data set. Use the formula: <math xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML'><mi>σ</mi>=<msqrt><mfrac><mrow><mo>∑</mo><msup><mo>(</mo><mi>x</mi>−<mi>μ</mi><mo>)</mo><mn>2</mn></msup></mrow><mi>n</mi></mfrac></msqrt></math>, where x represents each data point, μ is the mean, and n is the number of data points.
Step 4: Convert the longest wait time (95 minutes) to a z-score using the formula: <math xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML'><mi>z</mi>=<mfrac><mrow><mi>x</mi>−<mi>μ</mi></mrow><mi>σ</mi></mfrac></math>, where x is the data point (95 minutes), μ is the mean, and σ is the standard deviation.
Step 5: Determine if the z-score indicates that the longest wait time is significantly high. A z-score is typically considered significantly high if it is greater than 2. Interpret the z-score value to answer part (f).

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Key Concepts
Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.
Z-Score
A Z-score is a statistical measurement that describes a value's relationship to the mean of a group of values. It indicates how many standard deviations an element is from the mean. A positive Z-score means the value is above the mean, while a negative Z-score indicates it is below. This concept is crucial for determining how unusual or typical a particular data point is within a dataset.
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Standard Deviation
Standard deviation is a measure of the amount of variation or dispersion in a set of values. A low standard deviation means that the values tend to be close to the mean, while a high standard deviation indicates that the values are spread out over a wider range. Understanding standard deviation is essential for calculating Z-scores and assessing the significance of data points in relation to the overall dataset.
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Significance in Statistics
In statistics, significance refers to the likelihood that a result or relationship is caused by something other than mere random chance. A common threshold for significance is a p-value of less than 0.05. In the context of the longest wait time, determining if it is significantly high involves comparing its Z-score to critical values that indicate whether it falls within a typical range or is an outlier.
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