EXAMPLES ON LINEAR COMBINATIONS OF NORMAL VARIABLES

1 The random variable X has the distribution N(3.2, 1.22). The sum of 60 independent
observations of X is denoted by S. Find P(S > 200). [0.195]

2 The volume of liquid in cans of cola is normally distributed with mean 330 millilitres and
standard deviation 5.2 millilitres. The volume of liquid in bottles of tonic water is normally
distributed with mean 500 millilitres and standard deviation 7.1 millilitres.
(i) Find the probability that 3 randomly chosen cans of cola contain less liquid than 2
randomly chosen bottles of tonic water. [0.771]

3 The lengths of red pencils are normally distributed with mean 6.5 cm and standard deviation
0.23 cm.
(i) Two red pencils are chosen at random. Find the probability that their total length is
greater than 12.5 cm. [0.938]

4 Weights of garden tables are normally distributed with mean 36 kg and standard deviation
1.6 kg.
Weights of garden chairs are normally distributed with mean 7.3 kg and standard deviation
0.4 kg.
Find the probability that the total weight of 2 randomly chosen tables is more than the total
weight of 10 randomly chosen chairs. [0.350]

5 When Sunil travels from his home in England to visit his relatives in India, his journey is in
four stages. The times, in hours, for the stages have independent normal distributions as
follows.
Bus from home to the airport: N(3.75, 1.45)
Waiting in the airport: N(3.1, 0.785)
Flight from England to India: N(11, 1.3)
Car in India to relatives: N(3.2, 0.81)
(i) Find the probability that the flight time is shorter than the total time for the other three
stages. [0.324]
(ii) Find the probability that, for 6 journeys to India, the mean time waiting in the airport is
less than 4 hours. [0.994]

6 A certain make of washing machine has a wash-time with mean 56.9 minutes and standard
deviation 4.8 minutes. A certain make of tumble dryer has a drying-time with mean 61.1
minutes and standard deviation 6.3 minutes. Both times are normally distributed and are
independent of each other. Find the probability that a randomly chosen wash-time differs by
more than 3 minutes from a randomly chosen drying-time. [0.742]