Answer:
The percentage of regional phone companies whose operating expenses were closer to the mean than the operating expenses of Company A were to the mean is 73%.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Company A's operating expenses were $27.00. This is $2.93 less than the regional mean.
[tex]\Delta E=29.93-27.00=2.93[/tex]
The companies whose operating expenses are closer to the mean are the ones that have expenses $2.93 below or above the mean.
The fraction of companies that are closer to the mean is equal to the proability of having expenses between those two limits:
[tex]z_1=(M-\mu)/\sigma=-2.93/2.65=-1.105\\\\z_2=+1.105[/tex]
[tex]P(|z|\leq1.105)=P(z\leq 1.105)-P(z<-1.105)=0.86542-0.13458=0.73[/tex]