An analytical chemist wanted to use electrolysis to determine the number of moles of cupric ions in a given volume of solution. The solution was partitioned into n = 30 portions of .2 milliliter each, and each of the portions was tested. The average number of moles of cupric ions for the n = 30 portions was found to be .17 mole; the standard deviation was .01 mole.
a. Describe the distribution of the measurements for the n = 30 portions of the solution using Tchebysheff's Theorem.
b. Describe the distribution of the measurements for the n = 30 portions of the solution using the Empirical Rule. (Do you expect the Empirical Rule to be suitable for describing these data?)
c. Suppose the chemist had used only n = 4 portions of the solution for the experiment and obtained the readings .15, .19, .17, and .15. Would the Empirical Rule be suitable for describing the n = 4 measurements? Why?