Final answer:
To find the proportion of trees with a diameter less than 9 inches in a forest area, calculate the z-score for 9 inches using the mean and standard deviation of the tree diameters. We can find that the proportion of trees having a diameter less than 9 inches is approximately 0.3264.
Step-by-step explanation:
To find the proportion of trees having a diameter less than 9 inches, we need to find the area under the normal distribution curve that corresponds to values less than 9 inches. We can use the standard normal distribution table or a statistical calculator to find the z-score for 9 inches, which represents the number of standard deviations away from the mean. The formula for calculating the z-score is:
z = (x - mean) / standard deviation
Plugging in the values, we get:
z = (9 - 10) / 2.2 = -0.4545
Using the standard normal distribution table or a calculator, we can find that the proportion of trees having a diameter less than 9 inches is approximately 0.3264.