One classic use of the normal distribution is inspired by a letter to Dear Abbey in which a wife claimed to have given birth 308 days after a brief visit from her husband, who was serving in the Navy. The lengths of pregnancies are normally distributed with a mean of 268 days and a standard deviation of 15 days. Given this information. (i) the probability of a pregnancy lasting 300 days or longer is 0.0166.
(ii. The result suggests that the husband is not the father of the child.
A) (i) and (ii) are correct statements.
B) (i) is a correct statement but not (ii).
C) (ii) is a correct statement but not (i).
D) (i) and (ii) are false statements.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The probability of a pregnancy lasting 300 days or longer is indeed very low, suggesting it's quite rare. Given the mean and standard deviation, this calculation aligns with the properties of the normal distribution. The rarity of such a long pregnancy could raise questions about paternity, making both statements correct.

One Classic Use of the Normal Distribution Is Inspired by a Letter