BIOL 2300 Name____________________

Elementary Biostatistics, Homework 2, page 1

Due:Tuesday, June 11, 2019 (first 30 min of class!)

Directions: Write a report of your answers on separate sheets of paper, taking care to
prepare a legible and organized report. Put your name on your report. STAPLE ALL
PAGES TOGETHER. Answer questions in order and underline or draw a box around
any final numerical answers. Show your work for all answers. Full credit will not be
given to answers without work, and partial credit may be given when work is shown.
Write any written answers or explanations clearly, and be as neat as possible.

1. You will need the same dataset used for problem 3 in homework 1 (the dataset obtained
from the yahoo website with your ticker code). Use Excel to calculate the average and
standard deviation of the close data column. Assume that these two numbers represent the
population (=parametric) mean and population standard deviation, respectively, for the
variable length (in cm) in a population of a species of fish. Attach a printout of the data
to your homework and write down the ticker code on it.

a. Calculate the probability of sampling at random a fish that is smaller in size

than the value you would obtain by subtracting half the standard deviation
from the average [x will be equal to: μ – (σ/2)]

b. Calculate the probability of sampling at random a fish that is greater in size

than the value you would obtain by adding half the standard deviation from
the average [x = μ + (σ/2)]

c. Calculate the probability of sampling at random a fish that has a size between
the two values [x = μ – (σ/2), x = μ + (σ/2)] used in parts “a” and “b,”
respectively

d. Calculate the 25th and 75th percentiles of fish size for the population using the
normal distribution table.

e. Imagine that 5 individuals are sampled at random from this fish population.
Calculate the probability that the average calculated will be less than the
value: μ – (σ/3)

NOTE: Assume the variable is normally distributed and use bell-shaped curve
diagrams to shade the areas that correspond with the answers to questions “a”
through “d”
BIOL 2300 Name____________________
Elementary Biostatistics, Homework 2, page 2

2. Write the last two digits of your 1000 student ID number with a decimal point in
between these two digits:____

Assume that this number is the average number of squirrels you come across when you
walk from the Life Science Building (LS) to the Engineering Research Building (ERB).
Tomorrow you plan to walk from LS to ERB and you wonder what it the probability of
observing at most three squirrels. Assume that squirrels are randomly distributed and that
each squirrel is an independent observation.

NOTE: if your last two digits happen to be both 0, use 4.2 as the average number of
squirrels encountered.

3. Write the last digit of your 1000 student ID number: __

You know that in a specific population of rainbow trout 15% of the individuals carry
intestinal parasites. Assume you obtain a random sample of 9 individuals from this
population:

a. Calculate the probability that __ (last digit of your ID number) carry intestinal
parasites.

b. Calculate the probability that at least two individuals carry intestinal parasites.

NOTE: you can still calculate “a” if your last digit is “0.”