Explanation:
a) To find the percentage of years with an annual rainfall of less than 44 inches, we need to find the area under the normal distribution curve to the left of 44 inches.
Using a standard normal distribution table or calculator, we can find the z-score:
z = (44 - 40.9) / 5.3 = 0.585
The area to the left of this z-score is approximately 0.72, or 72%.
Therefore, approximately 72% of years will have an annual rainfall of less than 44 inches.
b) To find the percentage of years with an annual rainfall of more than 38 inches, we need to find the area under the normal distribution curve to the right of 38 inches.
Using a standard normal distribution table or calculator, we can find the z-score:
z = (38 - 40.9) / 5.3 = -0.736
The area to the right of this z-score is approximately 0.77, or 77%.
Therefore, approximately 77% of years will have an annual rainfall of more than 38 inches.
c) To find the percentage of years with an annual rainfall between 37 inches and 43 inches, we need to find the area under the normal distribution curve between the z-scores for 37 inches and 43 inches.
Using a standard normal distribution table or calculator, we can find the z-scores:
z1 = (37 - 40.9) / 5.3 = -0.736
z2 = (43 - 40.9) / 5.3 = 0.394
The area between these z-scores is approximately 0.53, or 53%.
Therefore, approximately 53% of years will have an annual rainfall between 37 inches and 43 inches.