CAIE S2 2006 November — Question 5

Exam BoardCAIE
ModuleS2 (Statistics 2)
Year2006
SessionNovember
TopicLinear combinations of normal random variables
TypeComparison involving sums or multiples

5 Climbing ropes produced by a manufacturer have breaking strengths which are normally distributed with mean 160 kg and standard deviation 11.3 kg . A group of climbers have weights which are normally distributed with mean 66.3 kg and standard deviation 7.1 kg .
  1. Find the probability that a rope chosen randomly will break under the combined weight of 2 climbers chosen randomly. Each climber carries, in a rucksack, equipment amounting to half his own weight.
  2. Find the mean and variance of the combined weight of a climber and his rucksack.
  3. Find the probability that the combined weight of a climber and his rucksack is greater than 87 kg .