STATISTICS and

PROBABILITY 11
3rd Quarter
Week 8

LEARNING ACTIVITY SHEET

Division of Surigao del Sur
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 Competencies:
-Illustrates t-distribution
Code: M11/12SP-IIIg-2
-Identifies percentiles using the t-table
Code: M11/12SP-IIIg-5

Objectives: At the end of the week, you shall have

a. compared and contrasted normal distribution from t-distribution;
b. determined the percentiles and area under the t-distribution using the t-
table; and
c. reflected on the importance of the t-distribution as applied in solving
real-life situated problems.

Learner’s Tasks

Lesson Overview
As long as the sample size (n) is large enough, the sampling distribution of a
statistic (such as a sample mean,̅𝑥 ) will follow a normal distribution, according to the
Central Limit Theorem. As a result, we can compute a 𝑧-score and use the normal
distribution to compare probabilities with the sample mean when we know the
population's standard deviation. However, sample sizes can be small, and we often
don't know the population's standard deviation. To solve this, we will use a different
distribution.
This learning activity sheet was crafted to introduce the 𝑡-distribution and its
properties. A distribution will be used whenever the sample size is small and if we don’t
know the population’s standard deviation 𝜎. Furthermore, this learning activity sheet
will tackle the idea of degrees of freedom and show you how to identify percentiles
under the 𝑡-distribution using the 𝑡 –table.

Student’s 𝒕-distribution
When the sample size is small (i.e. less than 30) and/or the population variance
is unknown, the Student's 𝑡-distribution is used to estimate population parameters. It was
developed by William Sealy Gosset in 1908. He used the pseudonym or pen name
"Student" when he published his paper which describes the distribution. That is why it is
called “Student’s 𝑡-distribution”.
In the previous lessons, you have learned that
𝑥̅ − 𝜇
𝑧=𝜎
⁄ 𝑛
√
where z is the z – score, 𝒙 ̅ is the sample mean, 𝝁 is the population mean, 𝝈 is the
population standard deviation and n is the sample size, have the standard normal
distribution. But usually, the standard deviation for the entire population 𝝈 is unknown,
so you can’t use that in your formula. If that happens, you could do the next best thing,
instead of using the “population” standard deviation you are going to use your
̅−𝝁
𝒙
“sample” standard deviation s, to estimate it. And instead of 𝑧 = 𝝈 , you are going to
⁄ 𝒏
√

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 ̅−𝝁
𝒙
have 𝑡 = 𝒔 where s is your sample standard deviation. You must take note of the
⁄ 𝒏
√
change in the formula. The quantity 𝝈 is a constant but you don’t know its value, so you
used s which is a statistic and this statistic s has a sampling distribution and its value
̅−𝝁
𝒙
would vary from sample to sample. And so, the quantity 𝑡 = 𝒔 would no longer have
⁄ 𝒏
√
the standard normal distribution. This quantity is labeled as 𝑡 because it has a 𝑡 -
distribution. When you are sampling from a normally distributed population, the quantity
̅−𝝁
𝒙
𝒕= 𝒔
⁄ 𝒏
√
has the 𝑡-distribution with n – 1 degrees of freedom. Note that the number of degrees
of freedom is one less than the sample size. So, if the sample size n is 25, the number of
degrees of freedom is 24. Similarly, at t-distribution having 16 degrees of freedom, the
sample size is 17.

Properties of t-distribution
1. The t-distribution is symmetrical about 0.
That is, if you draw a section from the
curve's peak to the horizontal axis' 0
point, the curve is divided into two equal
sections or areas. On the horizontal axis,
the 𝑡-scores would be split as well, with
half of the 𝑡-scores being positive and
half being negative.

2. The 𝒕-distribution is bell-shaped like the normal distribution but has heavier tails.

That means it's more likely to produce

values that are significantly different from
the mean. To the horizontal line, the tails
are asymptotic.

3. The mean, median, and mode of the 𝒕-distribution are all equal to zero.
𝑣
4. The variance is always greater than 1. It is equal to where v is the number of
𝑣−2
degrees of freedom. As the number of degrees of freedom increases and approaches
infinity, the variance approaches 1.
5. As the degrees of freedom increase, the 𝒕-distribution curve looks more and more
like the normal distribution. With infinite degrees of freedom, 𝑡-distribution is the same
as the normal distribution.
Standard Normal
Distribution 5 df

2 df

1 df

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6. The standard deviation of the 𝒕-distribution varies with the sample size. The standard
deviation of a 𝑡 - distribution is greater than 1 unlike that of a normal distribution which
is equal to 1.
7. The total area under a 𝒕-distribution curve is 1 or 100%.

One can say that the area under the

𝑡-distribution curve represents the
probability or the percentage
associated with specific sets of 𝑡-
values.

Identifying Percentiles Using the 𝒕-table

The probability associated with unique sets of 𝑡-values is also represented by the
region under the 𝑡-distribution curve. That is, provided the 𝑡-value, you can use a table
or program to calculate the region or probability. A 𝑡-value, also known as a 𝑡 -statistic,
indicates how many standard deviations a given score deviates from the mean.
Another feature of the 𝑡-distribution is that its exact form is determined by the
degrees of freedom. Keep in mind that the lower the degree of freedom, the lower the
peak and the thicker the tails become. The tails get flatter and the peak becomes
higher as the degree of freedom increases. That is, the 𝑡-value depends on the number
of degrees of freedom given the region or probability. For example, with the given area
of 0.05 on the right tail of 𝑡-distribution, the 𝑡-value is 2.015 with 5 degrees of freedom.
But with 20 degrees of freedom, the 𝑡-value is equal to 1.725.

Illustrative Example 1

Problem: Find the 95th percentile of a 𝑡-distribution with 6 degrees of freedom.

Solution:

Step 1: Plot in a 𝑡-distribution and draw

what you are looking for. The 95th
percentile is the value of the variable 𝑡
that has an area of 95% or 0.95 to the
left. You don’t need to draw exactly its
location, just have a rough idea where
it is located in the distribution.
And since the area of the entire curve is
1, this implies that the area to the right
of 95th percentile is 0.05.

Step 2: Look for the 𝑡-value with an area

to the right of 0.05 under a t-distribution
with 6 degrees of freedom using the 𝑡-
table (See attached right-tailed 𝑡-
table).
Focus on the 6 degrees of freedom row,
and in the column containing the area
to the right of 0.05. You can see from
the table that the value that you need
is 1.943.

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3. Make a concluding statement.
Hence, the 95th percentile of a 𝑡 -distribution with 6 degrees of freedom is 1.943.

Illustrative Example 2
Problem: Find the 5th percentile of a 𝑡-distribution with 6 degrees of freedom.
Solution:

Step 1: Plot in a t-distribution and draw

what you are looking for. The 5th
percentile is the value of the variable
𝑡 that has an area of 5% or 0.05 to the
left. You don’t need to draw exactly
its location, just have a rough idea
where it is located in the distribution.
And since the area of the entire curve
is 1, this implies that the area to the
right of 5th percentile is 0.95

Step 2. Look for the 𝑡-value with an area to the right of 0.95 under a 𝑡-distribution with 6
degrees of freedom using the 𝑡-table. (See attached right-tailed t-table)

Notice that there is no entry for an area

of 0.95 in the table because it is a right-
tailed 𝑡-table.
Remember that the 𝑡-
distribution is symmetrical about zero.
That is, the distribution's right tail is an
exact mirror image of its left tail. Using
this "symmetry-about-zero" property,
you can easily find the values in the left
tail.(See Illustrative Example 1)

Step 3. Make a concluding statement.

Since the 𝑡-distribution is symmetric about 0, then the 𝑡-value with an area to the
left of 0.05 must be -1.943. So, you will find that the 5th percentile is -1.943.
(Remember: a positive 𝑡 value indicates its location to the right of mean, while a
negative 𝑡 value indicates its location to the left of the mean)

Illustrative Example 3

Problem: What is the area to the right of 2.4 under a 𝑡-distribution with 7 degrees of
freedom?

Solution: Remember how you find 𝑡-values using the given areas under the 𝑡-distribution
curve in the previous example? In this case, though, you'll be doing the opposite
because you'll be given a 𝑡-value and asked to find the region to the right of the 𝑡-
distribution with 7 degrees of freedom.

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Step 1: Plot in a 𝑡-distribution and draw what
you are looking for.

Step 2: Looking back at the table(See

attached right-tailed 𝑡-table), you need to
focus on the 7 degrees of freedom line. You will
observe that the 𝑡-value of 2.4 cannot be found
in this row but you do find these two values
2.365 and 2.517 that surround 2.4. (The 𝑡-value
2.4 is between 2.365 and 2.517)

So, using the table you found that the area to the right of 2.4 under the 𝑡-
distribution with 7 degrees of freedom lies somewhere between 0.02 and 0.025.

Step 3. Make a concluding statements.

Hence, the area to the right of 2.4 under a 𝑡-distribution with 7 degrees of
freedom lies somewhere between 0.02 and 0.025.

Note: If you need an exact value, you'll need software that can quickly calculate the
area under the 𝑡-distribution curve given a 𝑡-value and the number of degrees of
freedom. Using such software, you can determine that the area is 0.02373 to five
decimal places.

Additional Example

What if you needed to use the 𝒕-table to find the area to the left of 2.4?
Since the area under the entire curve is 1, the area to the left of 2.4 is equal to 1
minus the area to the right of 2.4. So, based on the table the area to the left of 2.4 under
the t-distribution with 7 degrees of freedom must lie somewhere between 0.98 and 0.975
(1 – 0.02 = 0.98 and 1 – 0.025 = 0.975). But since you already knew that the area to the
right of 2.4 is 0.02373, you could find the exact area to the left of 2.4 to five decimal
places as 1 minus 0.02373 or 0.97627

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Activity 1 – Distribution Dilemma
Direction: Tell whether each of the following statements describes a 𝒕-distribution, a
normal distribution, or both. Write your answers on a separate sheet of paper.
_______________1. The variance is equal to 1.
_______________2. The probability distribution curve is bell-shaped.
_______________3. The probability distribution curve is symmetrical about zero.
_______________4. The standard deviation is equal to 1.
_______________5. The shape of the distribution curve depends on the degrees of
freedom.
_______________6. It has the total area under its curve equal to 1 or 100%.
_______________7. It has lower peak and heavier tails.
_______________8. Sample size is small and population variance is unknown.
_______________9. It has tails that are asymptotic to the horizontal axis.
_______________10. Its mean, median, and mode are equal to 0.

Activity 2 – Finding percentiles

Direction: Answer the following problems. Write your answers and solutions on a
separate sheet of paper.

1. Find the values of 𝑡 for which the area on the right tail of the 𝑡-distribution is 0.05 and
the number of degrees of freedom is equal to:
a. 15 b. 28 c. 100

2. Find the 99th percentile of the 𝑡-distribution with 18 degrees of freedom.

3. Find the 90th percentile of the 𝑡-distribution if the sample size is 25.

Activity 3 – Look Back and Reflect

Direction: Consider the following questions below. Reflect on the usefulness of the 𝑡 -
distribution in a real-life context. Write your answer on a separate sheet of paper.

1. Do you think that the 𝑡-distribution is a versatile distribution? Explain your answer.

2. Cite some real-life studies where 𝑡-distribution is useful and what makes it important
in such a particular study?

Formative Test

Let us see how far you have learned from our lesson.

Direction: Choose the letter of the best answer. Write the chosen letter on a separate
sheet of paper.

1. It is the probability distribution used when the population variance is unknown

and/or if the sample size is small?
A. chi distribution C. 𝑡 - distribution
B. 𝑝 - distribution D. 𝑧 – distribution

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2. What is the difference between the normal distribution and the t-distribution?
A. The 𝑡 – distribution has a lower peak.
B. The 𝑡 – distribution is centered at 0.
C. The 𝑡 – distribution is symmetric in the middle.
D. The 𝑡 – distribution has tails that asymptotic to the horizontal axis.

3. To what percentile of the 𝑡 -distribution does 1.397 belong if the sample size is 9?
A. 90th B. 95th C. 97th D. 99th

4. What is needed in order to identify a percentile using the 𝑡 - table?

A. degrees of freedom only
B. degrees of freedom and the given percentage
C. degrees of freedom and the area to the left tail of the t-distribution
D. degrees of freedom and the area to the right tail of the t-distribution

5. What is the 95th percentile of the 𝑡 -distribution when the sample size is 23?
A. 1.721 B. 1.717 C. 1.699 D. 1.547

Answer Key

Activity 1 Activity 2

1. normal distribution 1. a. 1.753 b. 1.701 c. 1.660

2. both
3. both 2. 2.552
4. normal distribution 3. 1.318
5. t – distribution
6. both
7. t – distribution
8. t – distribution
9. both
10. both

Activity 3

1. Answers may vary.

Possible Answer: T-tests are more versatile in terms of sample size only compared to
tests that work only on large or only on small samples.

2. Answers may vary.

Possible Answer: Studies on teaching strategies with 20 students as a sample from each
group. The t-distribution will formulate a more accurate estimate of an statistic.

References

Belecina, Rene R., Baccay,Elisa S. and Mateo, Efren B. “Statistics And Probability”.
Manila: Rex Book Store, Inc. (RBSI), 2016.
PIVOT 4A Learner’s Material. Statistics and Probability. First Edition. Department of
Education - Region 4A CALABARZON

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