MATH& 146

Lesson 18
Section 2.6
Probabilities Using
the Normal Distribution

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Areas Between Two Bounds
For a normal distribution, N(,), the area
(probability) between two bounds is
P(a < X < b) = normalcdf(a, b, , )

a b 2
 Example 1
Suppose X ~ N( = 100, = 16). Find the
probability that a random variable X is between 80
and 90.

3
 Example 2
Suppose X ~ N( = 100, = 10). Find

a) P(90 < X < 110)

b) P(15 < X < 70)

4
 Areas to the Left
If X ~ N(, ), then P(X < b) = normalcdf(BIG, b, , )

This gives the area to the left of the bound at b. BIG is

used to represent some arbitrary large number, since
the calculator does not have an infinity button.

b 5
 Example 3
Suppose X ~ N( = 50, = 4). Find the probability
that a random variable X is less than 48.6.

6
 Example 4
a) Suppose X ~ N( = 40, = 16). Find
P(X < 35).

b) Suppose X ~ N( = 40, = 2). Find P(X < 35).

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 Areas to the Right
If X ~ N(, ), then P(X > a) = normalcdf(a, BIG, , )

This gives the area to the right of the bound at a.

a 8
 Example 5
Suppose X ~ N(225,46). Find the probability that a
random variable X is at least 300.

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 Example 6
Find the following probabilities. Assume
Z ~ N( = 0, = 1).

a) P(Z > 1.4)

b) P(Z < 0.6)
c) P( |Z| > 0.5)

10
 Percentiles
So far we have discussed how to find the
probability that you will randomly select an object
with a value that is within a certain range.
Sometimes, though, we wish to turn this around.
We are given a probability and we want to find the
boundary value that corresponds to that
probability.
In these situations, we would use percentiles and
the invNorm command.

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 Percentiles
Percentiles are the values of the variable that
divide a set of ranked data into 100 more or less
equal subsets.

The kth percentile, Pk, is a value such that at most

k% of the data are smaller in value than Pk, and at
most (100 k)% of the data are larger.

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 invNorm(area,,)
The command invNorm computes the percentile for a
given boundary under the normal distribution curve
specified by and .

Area = Area to the left

Boundary = Percentile 13
 Example 7
The final exam scores in a statistics class were
normally distributed with a mean of 63 and a standard
deviation of 5.

a) Find the 90th percentile (that is, find the score k that
has 90% of the scores below k and 10% of the
scores above k).
b) Find the 70th percentile (that is, find the score k
such that 70% of scores are below k and 30% of
the scores are above k).

14
 The Middle k%
Many statistical questions (e.g. confidence
intervals) involve finding the values that bound "the
middle k%."
These are the percentiles that enclose k% of the
data, with the remaining values split evenly above
and below the middle.

k%

Pa Pb
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 Example 8
Which percentiles make up the bounds for

a) the middle 60%?

b) the middle 90%?

c) the middle 80%?

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 Example 9
Suppose X ~ N( = 300, = 55).

a) Find the bounds for the middle 60%.

b) Find the bounds for the middle 90%.

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 Example 10
Cholesterol levels in men 18 to 24 years of age are
normally distributed with a mean of 178 and a
standard deviation of 41.

a) In what percentile is a man with a cholesterol

level of 190?
b) What cholesterol level corresponds to the 90th
percentile, the level at which the treatment may
be necessary?

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 Example 11
a) What z-scores bound the middle 90%?
b) What z-scores bound the middle 95%?
c) What z-scores bound the middle 99%?

Note: Assume Z ~ N(0,1). Keep these answers

handy. You soon will be using them again.

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