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Human body temperatures have a mean of 98.20° F and a standard deviation of 0.62° F. If a student is found to have a temperature of 99.5° F, find the z score and assess whether this temperature should be considered unusual.

a. -2 : 1 not unusual
b. 2 : 1 not unusual
c. -2 : 1 unusual
d. 2 : 1 unusual

1 Answer

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Final answer:

To find the z score for a temperature of 99.5°F with a mean of 98.20°F and a standard deviation of 0.62°F, we use the formula z = (X - mean) / standard deviation. The z score is then compared to a standard level of significance to determine if the temperature is unusual. In this case, the z score of 2.10 indicates that the temperature of 99.5°F should be considered unusual.

Step-by-step explanation:

To find the z score, we can use the formula:
z = (X - mean) / standard deviation
where X is the value we want to find the z score for. In this case, X = 99.5°F, mean = 98.20°F, and standard deviation = 0.62°F. Plugging these values into the formula:
z = (99.5 - 98.20) / 0.62
z = 2.10

To assess whether this temperature should be considered unusual, we can compare the z score to a standard level of significance. A commonly used level of significance is z = 2 or -2. If the z score is greater than 2 or less than -2, then the temperature can be considered unusual. In this case, the z score is 2.10, which is greater than 2. Therefore, the temperature of 99.5°F should be considered unusual.

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