Passengers died when a water taxi sank in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. Men are typically heavier than women and children, so when loading a water taxi, assume a worst-case scenario in which all passengers are men. Assume that weights of men are normally distributed with a mean of 182.9 lb and a standard deviation of 40.8 lb (based on Data Set 1 in Appendix B). The water taxi that sank had a stated capacity of 25 passengers, and the boat was rated for a load limit of 3500 lb.
a. Given that the water taxi that sank was rated for a load limit of 3500 lb, what is the mean weight of the passengers if the boat is filled to the stated capacity of 25 passengers?
b. If the water taxi is filled with 25 randomly selected men, what is the probability that their mean weight exceeds the value from part (a)?
c. After the water taxi sank, the weight assumptions were revised so that the new capacity became 20 passengers. If the water taxi is filled with 20 randomly selected men, what is the probability that their mean weight exceeds 175 lb, which is the maximum mean weight that does not cause the total load to exceed 3500 lb?
d. Is the new capacity of 20 passengers safe?