Question

The relative frequency distribution of the number of phobias reported by a hypothetical sample of 500 college students is given as follows. 0–2 .49 3–5 .28 6–8 .11 9–11 .09 12–14 .03

a. What is the probability that a college student expresses fewer than three phobias?
b. What is the probability that a college student has between 3 and 11 phobias?

Answer 1

The probability that a college student expresses fewer than three phobias is 49%. The probability that a student has between 3 and 11 phobias is 48%.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question you've asked involves interpreting a relative frequency distribution to find probabilities related to the number of phobias college students have. Relative frequency distribution is used in statistics to show the frequency of different outcomes in a sample.

a. Probability of fewer than three phobias:

To find the probability that a college student expresses fewer than three phobias, we look at the given interval 0–2 which has a relative frequency of .49. This means the probability is 0.49 or 49% that a student reports between 0 and 2 phobias.

b. Probability of having between 3 and 11 phobias:

For the probability that a college student has between 3 and 11 phobias, we sum the relative frequencies of the intervals 3–5, 6–8, and 9–11. This results in a total probability of 0.28 + 0.11 + 0.09 = 0.48, or 48%.