Final answer:
For a continuous distribution, the probability of a specific value is zero. Instead, probabilities are computed over intervals. For sums or averages, we use the central limit theorem for calculations involving normal distributions.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student's question about the probability of a specific blood chloride concentration falls within the realm of statistics, a branch of mathematics. To find the probability that a continuous random variable, such as chloride concentration, equals a specific value, we apply the concept of probability density function.
However, for any continuous distribution, the probability that the variable takes an exact value is actually zero because there are an infinite number of possible values it could take on. Instead, probability is calculated over a range of values. In practical terms, we often compute the probability that a value falls within a certain interval around the point of interest.
When dealing with the sum of values, as in the cholesterol test scenario provided in the exercise information, we can use the central limit theorem to deduce that the sum or average of the samples will approximate a normal distribution given a sufficiently large sample size.
We can then use the mean and standard deviation of the sampling distribution to compute various probabilities regarding the sum of the test results.