A Statistics teacher decides to give A's only to students who score in the top 15% on the final exam.
The scores are normally distributed with a mean of 78 and a standard deviation of 7 (this is also the population standard deviation).

To the nearest integer value, what is the lowest score a student could earn and still receive an A? (Please show work)

A. 79

B. 80

C. 82

D. 83

E. 85

Answer :

Answer:

E. 85

Step-by-step explanation:

We have been given that a Statistics teacher decides to give A's only to students who score in the top 15% on the final exam.  The scores are normally distributed with a mean of 78 and a standard deviation of 7 (this is also the population standard deviation).

We will use normal distribution table and z-score formula to solve our given problem.

[tex]z=\frac{x-\mu}{\sigma}[/tex], where,

z= Z-score,

x = Sample score,

[tex]\mu=\text{Mean}\\\sigma=\text{Standard deviation}[/tex]

[tex]z=\frac{x-78}{7}[/tex]

We know that top 15% means 85% and more.

Let us find z-score corresponding to 85% or 0.85 using normal distribution table.

[tex]1.04=\frac{x-78}{7}[/tex]

Let us solve for x.

[tex]1.04*7=\frac{x-78}{7}*7[/tex]

[tex]7.28=x-78[/tex]

[tex]7.28+78=x-78+78[/tex]

[tex]85.28=x[/tex]

[tex]x\approx 85[/tex]

Therefore, the lowest score, a student could earn and still receive an A, is 85 and option E is the correct choice.