MHB Empirical rule calculator command

  • Thread starter Thread starter aprilryan
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Calculator
AI Thread Summary
The discussion centers on using the TI-83 calculator to apply the empirical rule, which states that for a normal distribution, approximately 68% of data falls within one standard deviation of the mean. The user inquires whether to use the binompdf or normalcdf command for a specific problem related to this rule. The empirical rule is detailed, explaining that 68% of data falls within one standard deviation, 95% within two, and 99.7% within three. An example with IQ scores illustrates how to calculate these ranges using the mean and standard deviation. The conversation also includes a light-hearted exchange about music preferences.
aprilryan
Messages
20
Reaction score
0
I just had a quick question. One problem says, "about 68% of the data will fall between what values?" Will I use the binompdf or normalcdf command on the TI-83 calculator? I can't remember.

Thanks!
 
Mathematics news on Phys.org
The empirical rule states that for a normal distribution, nearly all of the data will fall within three standard deviations of the mean. The empirical rule can be broken down into three parts:

  • 68% of data falls within the first standard deviation from the mean.
  • 95% fall within two standard deviations.
  • 99.7% fall within three standard deviations.
The rule is also called the 68-95-99 7 Rule or the Three Sigma Rule.

When applying the Empirical Rule to a data set the following conditions are true:

  • Approximately 68% of the data falls within one standard deviation of the mean (or between the mean – one times the standard deviation, and the mean + 1 times the standard deviation). In mathematical notation, this is represented as: $\mu\pm\sigma$
  • Approximately 95% of the data falls within two standard deviations of the mean (or between the mean – 2 times the standard deviation, and the mean + 2 times the standard deviation). The mathematical notation for this is: $\mu\pm2\sigma$
  • Approximately 99.7% of the data falls within three standard deviations of the mean (or between the mean – three times the standard deviation and the mean + three times the standard deviation). The following notation is used to represent this fact: $\mu\pm3\sigma$
 
  • Like
Likes Greg Bernhardt
Basically I subtract the mean 95-2 and also add 95+2 to get between 75 and 112 right? It's much clearer now thanks! Love the profile pic by the way!
 
aprilryan said:
Basically I subtract the mean 95-2 and also add 95+2 to get between 75 and 112 right? It's much clearer now thanks! Love the profile pic by the way!

If you know the mean and the standard deviation, then the empirical rule can be used to say how much of the data will fall within certain ranges. For example, human IQ scores (which are normally distributed) have a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15. Using the empirical rule, we can then say:

  • 68% of IQ scores are in the range 85-115. (100 ± 1·15)
  • 95% of IQ scores are in the range 70-130. (100 ± 2·15)
  • 99.7% of IQ scores are in the range 55-145. (100 ± 3·15)

Oh, and yes...I've been an avid fan of Rush since I was in elementary school...got my first album in 1976. (Rock)
 
I haven't listened to Rush in a long time. Will give them a listen! A math helper who likes Rush is always a plus! Thanks again!
 
Seemingly by some mathematical coincidence, a hexagon of sides 2,2,7,7, 11, and 11 can be inscribed in a circle of radius 7. The other day I saw a math problem on line, which they said came from a Polish Olympiad, where you compute the length x of the 3rd side which is the same as the radius, so that the sides of length 2,x, and 11 are inscribed on the arc of a semi-circle. The law of cosines applied twice gives the answer for x of exactly 7, but the arithmetic is so complex that the...
Thread 'Imaginary Pythagoras'
I posted this in the Lame Math thread, but it's got me thinking. Is there any validity to this? Or is it really just a mathematical trick? Naively, I see that i2 + plus 12 does equal zero2. But does this have a meaning? I know one can treat the imaginary number line as just another axis like the reals, but does that mean this does represent a triangle in the complex plane with a hypotenuse of length zero? Ibix offered a rendering of the diagram using what I assume is matrix* notation...
Fermat's Last Theorem has long been one of the most famous mathematical problems, and is now one of the most famous theorems. It simply states that the equation $$ a^n+b^n=c^n $$ has no solutions with positive integers if ##n>2.## It was named after Pierre de Fermat (1607-1665). The problem itself stems from the book Arithmetica by Diophantus of Alexandria. It gained popularity because Fermat noted in his copy "Cubum autem in duos cubos, aut quadratoquadratum in duos quadratoquadratos, et...
Back
Top