Low‑density lipoprotein, or LDL, is the main source of cholesterol buildup and blockage in the arteries. This is why LDL is known as "bad cholesterol." LDL is measured in milligrams per deciliter of blood, or mg/dL. In a population of adults at risk for cardiovascular problems, the distribution of LDL levels is normal, with a mean of 123 mg/dL and a standard deviation of 41 mg/dL. If an individual's LDL is at least 1 standard deviation or more above the mean, he or she will be monitored carefully by a doctor. What percentage of individuals from this population will have LDL levels 1 or more standard deviations above the mean? Use the 68–95–99.7% rule.
Continuous Probability Distributions
Probability distributions are of two types, which are continuous probability distributions and discrete probability distributions. A continuous probability distribution contains an infinite number of values. For example, if time is infinite: you could count from 0 to a trillion seconds, billion seconds, so on indefinitely. A discrete probability distribution consists of only a countable set of possible values.
Normal Distribution
Suppose we had to design a bathroom weighing scale, how would we decide what should be the range of the weighing machine? Would we take the highest recorded human weight in history and use that as the upper limit for our weighing scale? This may not be a great idea as the sensitivity of the scale would get reduced if the range is too large. At the same time, if we keep the upper limit too low, it may not be usable for a large percentage of the population!
Low‑density lipoprotein, or LDL, is the main source of cholesterol buildup and blockage in the arteries. This is why LDL is known as "bad cholesterol." LDL is measured in milligrams per deciliter of blood, or mg/dL. In a population of adults at risk for cardiovascular problems, the distribution of LDL levels is normal, with a mean of 123 mg/dL and a standard deviation of 41 mg/dL. If an individual's LDL is at least 1 standard deviation or more above the mean, he or she will be monitored carefully by a doctor. What percentage of individuals from this population will have LDL levels 1 or more standard deviations above the mean? Use the 68–95–99.7% rule.
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