The distribution of actual weight of tomato soup in a 16 ounce can is thought to be bell-shaped with a mean equal to 16 ounces, and a standard deviation equal to 0.25 ounces. Based on this information, between what two values could we expect 95% of all cans to weigh?
A) 15.75 to 16.25 ounces
B) 15.50 to 16.50 ounces
C) 15.25 to 16.75 ounces
D) 15 to 17 ounces
E) 15 to 16 ounces

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

According to the empirical rule (or 68-95-99.7 rule) for a bell-shaped distribution, approximately 95% of the data falls within two standard deviations of the mean. Given a mean of 16 ounces and a standard deviation of 0.25 ounces, two standard deviations from the mean would be 16 ± 2(0.25) = 16 ± 0.5, which gives us the range from 15.5 to 16.5 ounces.

The Distribution of Actual Weight of Tomato Soup in a 16