A company that sells annuities must base the annual payout on the probability distribution of the length of life of the participants in the plan. Suppose the probability distribution of the lifetimes of the participants is approximately a normal distribution with a mean of 68 years and a standard deviation of 3.5 years. What proportion of the plan recipients die before they reach the standard retirement age of 65?

starting with:    

5 + x - 12 = 2x - 7   

5 + x - 12 - x = 2x - 7 - x (subtract x from both sides)   

5 - 12 = x - 7 (combine and cancel x's from both sides)   

5 - 12 + 7 = x - 7 + 7 (add 7 to both sides)   

0 = x (add numbers together on both sides)       

so in order for the equation to be true, x must be 0.   

trying x = -0.5   

5 + x - 12 = 2x - 7 (original equation)   

5 + -0.5 - 12 = 2(-0.5) - 7 (plug in value of x)   

5 + -0.5 - 12 = -1 - 7 (did multiplication)   

-7.5 = -8 (did addition on both sides)       

since -7.5 is obviously not equal to -8, the value of -0.5 for x is wrong.   

trying x = 0   

5 + x - 12 = 2x - 7 (original equation)   

5 + 0 - 12 = 2(0) - 7 (plug in value of x)   

5 + 0 - 12 = 0 - 7 (did multiplication)   

-7 = -7 (did addition on both sides)       

since -7 equals -7, that demonstrates that the value of 0 for x is correct.   

trying x = 1   

5 + x - 12 = 2x - 7 (original equation)   

5 + 1 - 12 = 2(1) - 7 (plug in value of x)   

5 + 1 - 12 = 2 - 7 (did multiplication)   

-6 = -5 (did addition on both sides)       

since -6 is obviously not equal to -5, the value of 1 for x is wrong.

answer: what are the following choices