SOLUTION: 1. If a person bought 1 share of Google stock within the last year, what is the probability that the stock on that day closed at less than the mean for that year? I understand t

Algebra ->  Probability-and-statistics -> SOLUTION: 1. If a person bought 1 share of Google stock within the last year, what is the probability that the stock on that day closed at less than the mean for that year? I understand t      Log On


   



Question 977939: 1. If a person bought 1 share of Google stock within the last year, what is the probability that the stock on that day closed at less than the mean for that year?
I understand the bell curve and i know the answer is .5 or 50%, just not sure how people are getting there.

Found 2 solutions by Boreal, Fombitz:
Answer by Boreal(15235) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
It is like a coin toss. I could argue that if you knew the price of the stock and where it had been traded, you would have a much better chance of knowing what the probability is.
But if I have no idea of the historical price of Google stock and a buy a share, the probability of its closing less than the mean is 50% assuming a normal distribution. I would prefer the median, which would definitely make it 50%.

Answer by Fombitz(32388) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
Look at the possible outcomes.
There are two of them.
1. The share price is greater than or equal to the mean.
2. The share price is less than the mean.
There are only two choices.
So the probability that it was less than (which is one of the outcomes).
P=1%2F2
.
.
.
You could also argue that there are 3 possible outcomes.
1. Greater than the mean.
2. Less than the mean.
3. Exactly equal to the mean.
Then you could say,
P=1%2F3