Statistical Symbols

size:
center:
mean
median
proportion

Population - parameter

Sample - statistic

mu
pi
(p in text)

x x bar
M or ~
x x tilde
p
in text)
(p

2 sigma squared
sigma

s2 s squared = (x - x )2/(n - 1)
s

n/a
n/a

n/a

IQR = Q3 - Q1

rho
1 beta 1
0 beta naught

n/a

spread:
variance
standard deviation
range
interquartile range
relative standing:
z score = (x - mean)/sd
the # of sds from the mean
for bivariate data:
correlation coefficient
slope
intercept

These are fixed numbers,

usually unknown.

b1
b0
These vary from sample to sample.
We use them to estimate the
population parameters.

Standard Normal Distribution Notation: Z ~ N(0,12) Z, a random variable, is distributed normally with
mean, = 0, variance, 2 = 12, and standard deviation, = 1.
Non-Standard Normal Distribution: X ~ N(x,x2) X, a random variable, is distributed normally with
mean, , variance, 2, and standard deviation, .
Sampling Distribution of the Sample Mean from a Normal Population: X n ~ N(x, x2/n) X n, a
random variable calculated from a sample of size n, is distributed normally with mean, X = x (the mean
of the parent population), variance, X = x2/n and standard deviation, X = x/ n .
2

(1 )
) pn, a random variable, is
n
(1 )
(1 )
distributed normally with mean, p = , variance, p 2 =
and standard deviation, p =
.
n
n
Sampling Distribution of the Sample Proportion: pn ~ N(,