Final answer:
To find the z-scores that bound the middle 96% of the area under the standard normal curve, use the TI-84 Plus calculator or other appropriate commands. The lower z-score is -2.05 and the upper z-score is 1.75. Therefore, the z-scores that bound the middle 96% of the area under the standard normal curve are -2.05 and 1.75.
Step-by-step explanation:
To find the z-scores that bound the middle 96% of the area under the standard normal curve, we can use the TI-84 Plus calculator or other appropriate commands on calculators/computers. The first step is to find the z-score that corresponds to the area to the left of 0.02 (since 96% corresponds to 0.02 on each tail of the curve). Using the invNorm(0.02, 0, 1) command, we get a z-score of approximately -2.05. So, the lower z-score is -2.05.
To find the upper z-score, we subtract the lower z-score from 0 (the total area under the curve) and then subtract 0.02 (from each tail). This gives us an area of 0.96, which corresponds to the z-score. Using the invNorm(0.96, 0, 1) command, we get a z-score of approximately 1.75. So, the upper z-score is 1.75.
Therefore, the z-scores that bound the middle 96% of the area under the standard normal curve are -2.05 and 1.75, in ascending order and rounded to two decimal places.