Z Score and Area

The value of z scores is that they will allow us to

find areas under a normal curve using only areas
under a standard normal curve, which can be read
from a Table B-1.
Z Score and Area
 Z Score and Area

Two important facts about the Standard

Normal Curve
1. The area under any normal curve is divided into
two equal halves at the mean. Each of the
halves has area 0.500.
2. The area between z! = 0 and a positive z score
is the same as the area between z! = 0 and the
negative of that z score.
 Z Score and Area

Find the area under the standard normal

distribution
1. Between z! = 1.55 and z! = 2.25
2. Between z! = − 0.60 and z! = − 1.35
3. Between z! = 1.50 and z! = − 1.75
4. To the right of !z = 1.70
5. To the right of !z = − 0.95
6. To the left of !z = − 2.20
7. To the left of !z = 1.95
 Applications of Normal
Distribution

1. Use the normal distribution to find percentages

2. Use the normal distribution to find probabilities
3. Use the normal distribution to find the percent
ranks
4. Recognise data that are approximately normally
distributed
 Applications of Normal
Distribution

1. If weight of Oreos in a package are normally

distributed with mean 518 grams and standard
deviation 4 grams, find the percentage of
packages that will weight less than 510 grams.
 Applications of Normal
Distribution
Solution Step 4. Interpret the
Step 1. Draw the figure and
area. In this case, an
represent the area area of 0.023 tells us
Step 2. Find the z-score for data that only 2.3% of
value 510. packages will have
Step 3. Find the shaded area using
the Table B-1.
weights less than 510
The shaded area is the area of the left grams.
half (0.5) minus the area between
z=0 and z=-2. The area between
z=0 and z=-2 is 0.477
Area= 0.5 -0.477 = 0.023
 Probability and Area under a
Normal Distribution

The area under a normal distribution between two

data values is the probability that a randomly
selected data value is between those two
values.
 Probability and Area under a
Normal Distribution

Example: Based on data in an EPA study released

in 2016 the average American generates 1,606
pounds of garbage per year. Let’s estimate that
the number of pounds generated per person is
approximately normally distributed with standard
deviation 200 pounds. Find the probability that a
randomly selected person generates a) between
1,250 and 2,050 pounds of garbage per year;
b) more than 2,050 pounds of garbage per year.
 Probability and Area under a
Normal Distribution

Solution (a)

Step 1. Draw the figure and represent the area.

Step 2. Find the z-score for the two given weights

1250 − 1606
1,250 pounds: z! = = − 1.78
200
2,050 − 1,606
2,050 pounds: z! = = 2.22
200
 Probability and Area under a
Normal Distribution

Solution
Step 3. Find the shaded area. Using Table B-1
The area between z=0 and z=2.22 is about 0.487, and
the area between z=0 and z=-1.78 is about 0.462.
so the shaded area is between 0.487 +0.462 =0.949

!
 Probability and Area under a
Normal Distribution

Solution
Step 4. Interpret the area.

This tells is that if a person is selected at random,

the probability that he or she generates between
1,250 and 2,050 pounds of garbage per year is
0.949.
 Probability and Area under a
Normal Distribution

Solution (b)

The desired area is the area between z=0 and

z=2.22 subtracted from the area of the entire
right half (0.5). 0.5
! − 0.4868 = 0.0132
The probability that a randomly selected person
generated more than 2,050 pounds of garbage
per year is 0.0132.
Finding Number in a Sample and
Percentile Rank
The American Automobile Association reports that
the average time it takes to respond to an
emergency call is 25 minutes. If the response time
is approximately normally distributed and the
standard deviation is 4.5 minutes:
A) If 80 calls are randomly selected,
approximately how many will have response times
less than 17 minutes?
B) In what percentile is a response time of 30
minutes?
Finding Number in a Sample and
Percentile Rank
Solution: (A)

Step 1. Draw the figure and represent the area

Step 2. Find the z value for 17

value − mean 17 − 25
z! = = = 1.78
standarddeviation 4.5
Finding Number in a Sample and
Percentile Rank
Solution:

Step 3. Find the shaded area.

Using the Table B-1, the area between z=0 and

z=-1.78 is approximately 0.4625. The shaded area
is the difference of the entire left half (0.5) and
0.462

Area: 0.5-0.462=0.0375
Finding Number in a Sample and
Percentile Rank
Solution:

Step 4. Interpret the area. An area of 0.038 tells

us that 3.75% calls will have a response time of
less than 17 minutes. Multiple the percentage by
the number of calls in our sample:

3.75% of 80 calls = !(0.0375)(80) = 3.04

About 3 calls in 80 will have response time less
than 17 minutes.
Finding Number in a Sample and
Percentile Rank
Solution: (B)

Step 1. Draw a figure and represent the area.

Remember that to find the percentile, we are
interested in the percentage of times that are less
than 30 minutes.

Step 2. Find the z score for a response time of 30

minutes.
30 − 25
!z = = 1.11
4.5
Finding Number in a Sample and
Percentile Rank
Solution: (B)

Step 3. Find the shaded area. The area to the left

of z=1.11 is the area of the left half (0.5) plus the
area between z=0 and z=1.11 (about 0.366)

Area= 0.5+0.3665=0.8665
Finding Number in a Sample and
Percentile Rank
Solution: (B)

Step 4. Interpret the area. An area of 0.8665

means that 86.65% of calls will get a response
time of less than 30 minutes, so the time of 30
minutes is in the 87th percentile.
Identifying Normally Distributed
Data
A random sample of 25 entrees served by a
college cafeteria is tested to find the number of
calories per serving, with the data in the list below.

845 460 620 752 683

1,088 785 575 580 755
720 650 512 945 672
526 1,050 725 822 740
773 812 880 911 910
Identifying Normally Distributed
Data
A) Draw a histogram for the data using seven
classes. Do the data appear to be normally
distributed?

B) Find the mean and standard deviation for the

data.

C) What percentage of randomly selected entrees

from this cafeteria has more than 700 calories?
Identifying Normally Distributed
Data
Solution
A) The lowest number of
calories is 460 and the
highest is 1088, a range of
of about 700 calories. A
good choice of classes
here is simply using the
number of hundreds:
400-499, 500-599, and so
on.
 Identifying Normally Distributed
Data
The histogram doesn’t look exactly like a normal
curve, but it’s close enough that it would be
reasonable to guess that the data are approximately
normally distributed.

B) !x = 751.6 and !s = 160.7

C) We are to find the area to the right of 700.

It tells us that there’s 62.6% chance that an entree

chosen at random has more than 700 calories.
 Exercises
1. A blood pressure test was given to 450 women
ages 20 to 36. It showed that their mean systolic
blood pressure was 119.4 mmHg, with a standard
deviation of 13.2 mmHG.
A) Determine the z-score, to the nearest
hundredth, for a woman who had a systolic blood
pressure reading of 110.5 mmHg.
B) The z-score for one woman was 2.15. what
was her systolic blood pressure reading?
 Exercises
2. Which of the following fitness scores is the
highest relative score?
A) a score of 42 on a test with a mean of 31 and
a standard deviation of 6.5.
B) A score of 1140 on a test with a mean of 1080
and a standard deviation of 68.2
C) A score of 4710 on a test with a mean of
3960 and a standard deviation of 560.4
 Exercises
3. A survey of 1000 Manila gas stations found that
the price charges for a liter of regular gas be
closely approximated by a normal distribution with
a mean of Php 3.10 and standard deviation of
Php0.18. How many of the stations charge
A) between Php 2.74 and Php 3.46 for a liter of
regular gas?
B) less than Php 3.28 for a liter of regular gas?
C) more than Php 3.46 for a liter of regular gas?
 Exercises
4. A vegetable distributor knows that during the month
of August, the weights of its tomatoes are normally
distributed with a mean of 0.61 pounds and a standard
deviation of 0.15 pounds.
A) what percent of the tomatoes weigh less than
0.76 pounds?
B) In a shipment of 6000 tomatoes, how many
tomatoes can be expected to weigh more than 0.31
pounds?
C) In a shipment of 4500 tomatoes, how many
tomatoes can be expected to weight from 0.31 pounds
to 0.91 pounds?
 Exercises
5. A soda machine dispenses soda into 12-ounce
cups. Tests show that the actual amount of soda
dispensed is normally distributed, with a mean of
11.5 oz and a standard deviation of 0.2 oz.
A) what percent of cups will receive less than
11.25 oz of soda?
B) what percent of cups will receive between
11.2 oz and 11.55 oz of soda?
C) if a cup is chosen at random, what is the
probability that the machine will overflow the cup?
 Exercises
6. The amount of time customers spend waiting in
line at a grocery store is normally distributed, with
a mean of 2.5 min and standard deviation of 0.75
min. Find the probability that the time a customer
spends waiting is A) less than 3 min. B) less than
1 min.