The mean length of one-year-old spotted flounder, in millimeters, is 132 with standard deviation of 20, and the mean length of two-year-old spotted flounder is 161 with a standard deviation of 25 . The distribution of flounder lengths is approximately bell-shaped.

A) Anna caught a one-year-old flounder that was 145 millimeters in length. What is the -score for this length? Round the answers to at least two decimal places.

B) (b) Luis caught a two-year-old flounder that was 195 millimeters in length. What is the -score for this length? Round the answers to at least two decimal places.

C) Joe caught a one-year-old flounder whose length had a -score of 1.4. How long was this fish? Round the answer to at least one decimal place.

D) Terry caught a two-year-old flounder whose length had a -score of -0.4 . How long was this fish? Round the answer to at least one decimal place.

1 answer

To solve these problems, we will use the formula for calculating the z-score:

\[ z = \frac{(X - \mu)}{\sigma} \]

where:

  • \( z \) is the z-score,
  • \( X \) is the value in question,
  • \( \mu \) is the mean of the distribution, and
  • \( \sigma \) is the standard deviation.

A)

For Anna's one-year-old flounder:

  • Mean (\( \mu \)) = 132 mm
  • Standard Deviation (\( \sigma \)) = 20 mm
  • Length caught (\( X \)) = 145 mm

Calculating the z-score:

\[ z = \frac{(145 - 132)}{20} = \frac{13}{20} = 0.65 \]

Answer A: The z-score for Anna's flounder is 0.65.


B)

For Luis's two-year-old flounder:

  • Mean (\( \mu \)) = 161 mm
  • Standard Deviation (\( \sigma \)) = 25 mm
  • Length caught (\( X \)) = 195 mm

Calculating the z-score:

\[ z = \frac{(195 - 161)}{25} = \frac{34}{25} = 1.36 \]

Answer B: The z-score for Luis's flounder is 1.36.


C)

For Joe's one-year-old flounder with a z-score of 1.4: We need to find the length \( X \):

Given:

  • Mean (\( \mu \)) = 132 mm
  • Standard Deviation (\( \sigma \)) = 20 mm
  • \( z = 1.4 \)

Using the z-score formula rearranged to solve for \( X \):

\[ X = z \cdot \sigma + \mu \]

Substituting in the values:

\[ X = (1.4 \cdot 20) + 132 = 28 + 132 = 160 \]

Answer C: Joe's flounder was 160.0 mm long.


D)

For Terry's two-year-old flounder with a z-score of -0.4: Again, we need to find the length \( X \):

Given:

  • Mean (\( \mu \)) = 161 mm
  • Standard Deviation (\( \sigma \)) = 25 mm
  • \( z = -0.4 \)

Using the z-score formula rearranged to solve for \( X \):

\[ X = z \cdot \sigma + \mu \]

Substituting in the values:

\[ X = (-0.4 \cdot 25) + 161 = -10 + 161 = 151 \]

Answer D: Terry's flounder was 151.0 mm long.