Probability that the total annual profit is not more than 800000

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around calculating the probability that the total annual profit from 2500 insurance contracts does not exceed $800,000. Participants explore the statistical properties of the profit distribution, including the application of the normal distribution and the central limit theorem.

Discussion Character

  • Mathematical reasoning
  • Technical explanation
  • Exploratory

Main Points Raised

  • One participant calculates the probability using a Z-score approach, suggesting that the total profit per contract should not exceed $320.
  • Another participant confirms the independence of the contracts and inquires about the distribution of the total profit, proposing that it follows a normal distribution with parameters $N(2500 \mu, 2500 \sigma^2)$.
  • There is a discussion about whether the central limit theorem is necessary for the calculation, with one participant asserting that it is not needed because the sum of independent normal variables is also normal.
  • Concerns are raised about the correct formulation of the probability expression, particularly regarding the standard deviation and the need for parentheses in the mathematical notation.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree on the normality of the distribution of the total profit but express uncertainty about the specific calculations and formulations. There is no consensus on the final probability value or the necessity of the central limit theorem.

Contextual Notes

Participants highlight potential issues with mathematical notation and the interpretation of variance and standard deviation in the context of the sum of random variables.

mathmari
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Hey!

An insurance office has $2500$ contracts with mean annual profit (per contract) $\mu=330$ and standard deviation $\sigma=540$. Calculate the probability that the total annual profit is not more than $800000$.

I have one the following:

The annual total profit should be not more than $800000$, that means that per contract it shoulebe not more than $\frac{800000}{2500}=320$.

So $$Z=\frac{X-\mu}{\sigma}=\frac{320-330}{540}\approx -1.31 \\ P(Z\leq -1.31)=0.0968$$ Is that the correct probability?
 
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Hey mathmari!

Let $n=2500$ be the number of contracts,
Let $X_i$ be the annual profit of contract $i$.
Let $X=\sum\limits_{i=1}^{n} X_i$ the annual profit.

So we want to know $P(X\not >800k)=P(X\le 800k)$.

We assume that the $X_i$ are independent and have distribution $N(\mu, \sigma^2)$.
Can we tell what the distribution of $X$ is? 🤔
 
Klaas van Aarsen said:
Let $n=2500$ be the number of contracts,
Let $X_i$ be the annual profit of contract $i$.
Let $X=\sum\limits_{i=1}^{n} X_i$ the annual profit.

So we want to know $P(X\not >800k)=P(X\le 800k)$.

We assume that the $X_i$ are independent and have distribution $N(\mu, \sigma^2)$.
Can we tell what the distribution of $X$ is? 🤔

Isn't $X$ also normal with $N(2500 \mu, 2500 \sigma^2)$ ?
 
mathmari said:
Isn't $X$ also normal with $N(2500 \mu, 2500 \sigma^2)$ ?
Yep. (Nod)

Can we calculate $P(X\le 800k)$ now?
I think it comes out slightly different than what you wrote before. 🤔
 
Klaas van Aarsen said:
Yep. (Nod)

Can we calculate $P(X\le 800k)$ now?
I think it comes out slightly different than what you wrote before. 🤔

It is $$P\left (\frac{\sum_{i=1}^{2500}X_i-2500\mu}{2500\sigma}\leq 8000000\right )$$ or not?
 
We have to apply central limit theorem, or not? :unsure:
 
mathmari said:
We have to apply central limit theorem, or not?

No need.
We already know that the sum of independent random variables with identical normal distributions is again a normal distribution.
So we don't need the $n=2500$ to be sufficiently large. 🧐

mathmari said:
It is $$P\left (\frac{\sum_{i=1}^{2500}X_i-2500\mu}{2500\sigma}\leq 8000000\right )$$ or not?

As you wrote before, the variance is $2500\sigma^2$.
So the standard deviation cannot be $2500\sigma$, can it? (Shake)

Btw, we need parentheses in the numerator.
Otherwise we have $\sum_{i=1}^{2500}X_i-2500\mu = (\sum_{i=1}^{2500}X_i)-2500\mu \ne \sum_{i=1}^{2500}(X_i-2500\mu)$. 🧐
 
Last edited:

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