Chapter 6, Problem 36SE

During early 2012, economic hardship was stretching the limits of France’s welfare system. One indicator of the level of hardship was the increase in the number of people bringing items to a Paris pawnbroker. That number had risen to 658 per day (Bloomberg Businessweek, March 5–March 11, 2012). Assume the number of people bringing items to the pawnshop per day in 2012 is normally distributed with a mean of 658.

1. a. Suppose you learn that on 3% of the days, 610 or fewer people brought items to the pawnshop. What is the standard deviation of the number of people bringing items to the pawnshop per day?
2. b. On any given day, what is the probability that between 600 and 700 people bring items to the pawnshop?
3. c. How many people bring items to the pawnshop on the busiest 3% of days?