The t- Distribution

t-distribution
◉ is bell-shaped and unimodal, just like the standard normal curve.
◉ is symmetric about 𝒕 = 𝟎.
◉ its variance is greater than 1, this makes it wider and flatter in
the middle
◉ has more area in its tails than that of the standard normal curve.
◉ its shape depends on the sample size 𝒏
as sample size increases, t-distribution gets closer to the standard normal distribution
◉ t-statistic is used when 𝒏 < 𝟑𝟎, otherwise, we use the z-
statistic
 t-distribution
𝑥−𝜇
𝒕= 𝑠
𝑛
The number of 𝒅𝒇 is equal to the number of the remaining values in
a data set that are free to vary after one or more values have been
deducted. In the use of the 𝒕-distribution, one value is deducted.

𝒅𝒇 = 𝑛 − 1
EXAMPLE
A student researcher wants to determine
whether the mean score in Mathematics of the 25
students in Grade 11 - Excellence is significantly
different from the school mean of 89. The mean
and the standard deviation of the scores of the
students are 95 and 15, respectively. Assume
95% confidence level.
EXAMPLE
Edzel and Romil suspect that the data they collected
for research study do not represent the target population.
Here are the data they collected.
16 27 34
20 29 30
22 30 37
25 30 42
26 32 35
The population mean is 27. Assuming normality in the target
population, are their suspicion correct? Use 90% confidence
level.
Identifying Percentiles Using
the t-Distribution Table
EXAMPLE
The graph of a distribution with df=15 is shown below

−𝑡1 𝑡1
-4 -3 -2 -1 00 1 2 3 4

a. If the shaded area on the right is 0.05, what is the area to

the left of 𝑡1 ?
b. What does 𝑡1 represent?
c. Find the value of 𝑡1 .
EXAMPLE
The graph of a distribution with df=18 is shown below

−𝑡1 𝑡1

a. If the shaded area on the right is 0.01, what is the area to

-4 -3 -2 -1 00 1 2 3 4

the left of 𝑡1 ?
b. What does 𝑡1 represent?
c. Find the value of 𝑡1 .