The Atlas Body Building Company (ABC) sells “starter sets” of barbells that consist of one bar, two 20-pound weights, and four 5-pound weights. The bars weigh an average of 10 pounds with a standard deviation of 0.25 pounds. The weights average the specified amounts, but the standard deviations are 0.2 pounds for the 20-pounders and 0.1 pounds for the 5-pounders. We can assume that all the weights are normally distributed.
a) ABC ships these starter sets to customers in two boxes: The bar goes in one box and the six weights go in another. What’s the probability that the total weight in that second box exceeds 60.5 pounds? Define your variables clearly and state any assumptions you make.
b) It costs ABC $0.40 per pound to ship the box containing the weights. Because it’s an odd-shaped package, though, shipping the bar costs $0.50 a pound plus a $6.00 surcharge. Find the mean and standard deviation of the company’s total cost for shipping a starter set.
c) Suppose a customer puts a 20-pound weight at one end of the bar and the four 5-pound weights at the other end. Although he expects the two ends to weigh the same, they might differ slightly. What’s the probability the difference is more than a quarter of a pound?