Statistics and

Probability
Quarter 3 – Module 21:
Illustrating the t-Distribution
 What I Know

Read and analyze each item carefully. Choose the letter of the best answer. Write the
chosen letter on a separate sheet of paper.

1. In the absence of the population variance and/or if the sample size is small,
which sampling distribution is being used?
a. chi distribution
b. p-distribution
c. t-distribution
d. z-distribution

2. Who developed the t-distribution in 1908?

a. William S. Gosset
b. Wilhem G. Student
c. Ronald A. Fisher
d. a student from Gosset Academy

3. When do we say that the sample size is sufficiently large?

a. When it is greater than or equal to 10.
b. When it is greater than or equal to 20.
c. When it is greater than or equal to 30.
d. When it is greater than or equal to 40.

4. In Student’s t-distribution, if the sample size is 25, what is the degree of

freedom?
a. 5
b. 24
c. 25
d. 26

5. How does t distribution differ from a normal distribution?

a. The t-distribution has a thicker tail.
b. The t-distribution has a higher peak.
c. The t-distribution is centered at 0.
d. The t-distribution is symmetric in the middle.

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 6. When do you use t-distribution instead of normal distribution?
a. When the sample size is less than 30.
b. If the sample standard deviation is unknown
c. If the population standard deviation is known
d. When the sample size is greater than or equal to 30

𝑥𝑥−𝜇𝜇
7. In the estimation of a parameter using the t statistic 𝑠𝑠 , why did we replace
� 𝑛𝑛
√
the population standard deviation, 𝜎𝜎 by the sample standard deviation, s?
a. because the given sample size is small
b. because 𝜎𝜎 and s differ by a very small amount
c. because 𝜎𝜎 is unknown and s is a good estimator of 𝜎𝜎
d. because 𝜎𝜎 is equal to s when we are estimating parameters

8. The t-distribution curve has thicker tails than the normal curve. What does it
imply?
a. The normal distribution has a greater mean than the t-distribution.
b. The t-distribution has lesser variability than the normal distribution.
c. The t-distribution has a greater chance for extreme values than the
normal distribution.
d. Estimation of the parameter using the z-distribution is more accurate
than using the t-distribution.

For numbers 9 to 11,

The CEO of Flying Fire Corporation claims that an average Flying Fire light bulb lasts
300 days. A researcher randomly selects 15 bulbs for testing. The sampled bulbs last
an average of 290 days, with a standard deviation of 50 days.

9. Identify the population mean.

a. 300 days
b. 290 days
c. 50 days
d. 15 bulbs

10. What is the number of degrees of freedom?

a. 299
b. 289
c. 49
d. 14

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 𝑣𝑣
11. Compute for the variance of the t distribution using the formula, where 𝑣𝑣 is
𝑣𝑣−2
the number of degrees of freedom.
a. 1.17
b. 1.10
c. 1.04
d. 1.01

12. Which property of t-distribution is also a property of normal distribution?

a. In t-distribution, the variance is always greater than 1.
b. In t-distribution, the standard deviation is always greater than 1.
c. The tails of the t-distribution curve are asymptotic to the horizontal axis.
d. The shape of the t-distribution curve depends on the degrees of freedom.

13. Which of the following statements is NOT true about the t-distribution?
a. The variance of the t-distribution is equal to 1.
b. The t-distribution has thicker tails than the normal distribution.
c. As the degrees of freedom increase, the t distribution tends to normal
distribution.
d. The exact shape of the t-distribution depends on the number of degrees
of freedom.

14. Which of the following probability distribution curves has the lowest peak?
a. the standard normal distribution
b. a t-distribution with 20 degrees of freedom
c. a t-distribution with 15 degrees of freedom
d. a t-distribution with 10 degrees of freedom

15. Which of the following probability distribution curves has the thickest tails?
a. the standard normal distribution
b. a t-distribution with 21 degrees of freedom
c. a t-distribution with 19 degrees of freedom
d. a t-distribution with 20 degrees of freedom

How do you find this pre-test? Did you encounter both familiar and unfamiliar
terms? Kindly compare your answer in the Answer Key on the last part of this module

If you obtain 100% or a perfect score, skip the module and immediately move to the
next module. But if you missed a point, please proceed with the module as it will
enrich your knowledge in t-distribution.

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 Lesson
Illustrating the
1 t-Distribution
This module is about the t-distribution (Student’s t-distribution) and its properties.
Information about the t-distribution will help you in solving for the interval estimates
of a population when the population variance is unknown. This module will illustrate
the t-distribution and discuss its uses. After completing this module, you are
expected to illustrate the t-distribution, enumerate its properties, and state its
similarities and/ or differences with the z- distribution. It is assumed that you
already learned the topic about the normal distribution before proceeding in this
module.

What’s In

Let us review your lesson on the properties of z-distribution. Write “YES” if the
statement is true about the z-distribution and “NO” if it’s not. Then check your
answer by going back to the previous module on z-distribution.

__________1. The z-distribution is a normal distribution with a mean of 0 and

standard deviation of 1.
__________2. The normal curve is bell-shaped.
__________3. The tails of the normal curve approach the vertical axis but never touch
it.
__________4. The mean is always greater than either the median or the mode.
__________5. The curve is symmetrical about its center.
__________6. The total area under the normal curve is always less than 1.
__________7. The mean, median and mode coincide at the center.
__________8. The width of the normal curve depends on the standard deviation of
the distribution.
__________9. Almost 99.7% of the distribution falls within three standard deviations
from the mean.
__________10. The left tail of the normal curve is flatter than its right tail.

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 What’s New

ACTIVITY 1. “To z or not to z, that is the question”

In everything you do, your decision matters. And in every decision you make, you
must be responsible for its consequences or outcomes. In the illustration below, fill
in the missing boxes with “to z” if you think a z-table is required in the distribution
and “not to z” if not.

1
Is the sample size
less than 30?

YES NO

_____________ ____________

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 2 Is there a given population
standard deviation?

YES NO

_____________ ____________

Answer the following questions.

1. How did you find the activity?

2. Was it hard for you to fill in each box?
3. Based on the activity, when do you use the z-distribution? When not to use it?
4. If the sample size is less than 30 and the population standard deviation is
unknown, what do you use instead of the z-distribution?

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 What is It

According to the Central Limit Theorem, the sampling distribution of a statistic (like
a sample mean, 𝑥𝑥̅ ) will follow a normal distribution, as long as the sample size (𝑛𝑛) is
sufficiently large. Therefore, when we know the standard deviation of the population,
we can compute a z-score and use the normal distribution to evaluate probabilities
with the sample mean.

But sample sizes are sometimes small, and often we do not know the standard
deviation of the population. When either of these problems occurs, the solution is to
use a different distribution.

Student’s t-distribution
The Student’s t-distribution is a probability distribution that is used to estimate
population parameters when the sample size is small (𝑖𝑖. 𝑒𝑒. 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 < 30) and/or
when the population variance is unknown. 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”. He worked at a brewery and was interested in the problems of small
samples, for example, the chemical properties of barley. In the problem he analyzed,
the sample size might be as low as three.

Suppose you are about to draw a random sample of n observations from a normally
distributed population, you previously learned that,

𝑥𝑥 − 𝜇𝜇
𝑧𝑧 = 𝜎𝜎
� 𝑛𝑛
√
where 𝑧𝑧 is the z-score, 𝑥𝑥 is the sample mean, 𝜇𝜇 is the population mean, 𝜎𝜎 is the
population standard deviation and 𝑛𝑛 is the sample size, have the standard normal
distribution. (Note that if we are standardizing a single observation, the value of n is
𝑥𝑥−𝜇𝜇
1). Hence, the formula becomes 𝑧𝑧 = . You can use this concept to construct a
𝜎𝜎
confidence interval for the population mean, 𝜇𝜇. But in practice, you encounter a
problem: you don’t know the value of the population standard deviation, σ. The
standard deviation σ for the entire population is a parameter and you don’t typically
know its value, so you can not use that in your formula. If that happens, instead of
using the “population” standard deviation, σ; use “sample” standard deviation s to
𝑥𝑥−𝜇𝜇 𝑥𝑥−𝜇𝜇
estimate it. Instead of 𝜎𝜎 , you may use 𝑠𝑠 where s is your sample standard
� 𝑛𝑛 � 𝑛𝑛
√ √
deviation.

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You must take note of the change in the formula. The quantity standard deviation
(σ) is constant whose value is unknown. Therefore, we use sample standard deviation
s which is a statistic that has a sampling distribution and whose value varies from
𝑥𝑥−𝜇𝜇
sample to sample. Consequently, the quantity 𝑠𝑠 will no longer have the standard
� 𝑛𝑛
√
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

𝑥𝑥 − 𝜇𝜇
𝑡𝑡 = 𝑠𝑠
� 𝑛𝑛
√
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.
𝑥𝑥−𝜇𝜇
What does the t-distribution look like? If you look at the statistic 𝑠𝑠 , it looks like
� 𝑛𝑛
√
a z-statistic that has a standard normal distribution except that you replace the
population standard deviation, 𝜎𝜎, by the sample standard deviation s. You are
estimating a parameter with a statistic, so there is a greater variability. Hence, your
t-distribution is going to look like the normal distribution except with greater
variance.

You have here a plot of standard normal distribution in black and t-distributions
with 3, 5, 20, and 30 degrees of freedom in red, green, violet, and blue respectively.
You can see that both the z-distribution and t-distributions are symmetric about 0
and bell-shaped. But the t-distributions have heavier tails (more area in the tails)
and lower peaks.

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The exact shape of the t-distribution depends on the degrees of freedom. The figure
above tells you that as the degrees of freedom increase, the t-distribution tends
toward the standard normal distribution. At 30 degrees of freedom, the blue curve
might look very close to the normal curve. But if you look very closely, you would see
that the t-distribution still has slightly heavier tails and slightly lower peak. But if
you let those degrees of freedom continue to increase, the t-distribution is going to
get closer and closer to the standard normal distribution.

Properties of t-distribution

The t-distribution has the following properties:

1. The t-distribution is symmetrical about 0. That means if you draw a segment

from the peak of the curve down to the 0 mark on the horizontal axis, the
curve is divided into two equal parts or areas. The t-scores on the horizontal
axis will be divided also with half of the t-scores being positive and half
negative.

2. The t-distribution is bell-shaped like the normal distribution but has heavier
tails. That means it is more prone to producing values that fall far from the
mean. The tails are asymptotic to the horizontal axis. (Each tail approaches
the horizontal axis but never touches it.)

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3. The mean, median, and mode of the t-distribution are all equal to zero.

𝑣𝑣
4. The variance is always greater than 1. It is equal to where 𝑣𝑣 is the
𝑣𝑣−2
number of degrees of freedom. As the number of degrees of freedom
increases and approaches infinity, the variance approaches 1. Using the
10 10
formula, if the number of degrees of freedom is 10, the variance is = = 1.25
10−2 8

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.

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6. The standard deviation of the t-distribution varies with the sample size. It is always
greater than 1. Unlike the normal distribution, which has a standard deviation of
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.

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 What’s More

ACTIVITY 2. “Oh, Is That for Real?”

Most of us hate fake news, fake information, and even fake friends. We need to
develop our ability to distinguish what is real from what is not. Write “REAL” if the
statement is true about the t-distribution and “FAKE” if it’s not.

_________1. The t-distribution is used to estimate population parameters when the

sample size is small and/or the population variance is unknown.

_________2. The mean, median and mode are all equal to zero.

_________3. The variance is equal to 1.

_________4. The t-distribution curve is bell-shaped.

_________5. The standard deviation is always greater than 1.

_________6. Half of the total area under the t-distribution curve is equal to 1.

_________7. The curve is symmetrical about its zero.

_________8. The shape of the t-distribution curve depends on the sample mean.

_________9. The tails of the t-distribution curve approach the horizontal axis
but never touch it.

_________10. As the degrees of freedom increase, the t-distribution curve looks more
and more like the normal distribution.

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 What I Have Learned

Fill in the blank with the correct word or phrase to complete each sentence.

1. The Student’s t-distribution is a probability distribution that is used to estimate

population parameters when the sample size is _____________ and/or when the
_______________________ is unknown.

2. The t-distribution was developed by ___________________ in 1908.

3. Like the normal distribution, the t-distribution is ____________ -shaped

symmetrical about ____________________ and has the total area under its curve
equal to ____________.

4. The t-distribution has tails that are asymptotic to the __________________ axis.

5. The mean, median and mode of t-distribution are equal to __________________.

6. The shape of the t-distribution curve depends on the number of ____________.

7. The t-distribution has _____________ peak and _____________ tails than the
normal curve.

8. As the degrees of freedom increases, the t-distribution tends to the ___________.

9. The variance and the standard deviation of the t-distribution is always

________________ than 1.

10. To compute for the variance, use the formula ___________________.

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 What I Can Do

Tell whether each of the following statements describes a t-distribution, a normal

distribution, or both.

_________________ 1. The variance is equal to 1.

_________________ 2. The probability distribution curve is bell-shaped.

_________________ 3. The probability distribution curve 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.

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 Assessment

Read and analyze each item carefully. 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
b. p-distribution
c. t-distribution
d. z-distribution

2. The t-distribution was developed by W.S. Gosset in 1908. Why was

it called “Student’s t-distribution”?
a. because it was first introduced to senior high school students
in 1908
b. because he was still a college student when he first introduces
the t-distribution
c. because he used the pen name “Student” when he introduces
his paper about the t distribution
d. because he used the students as samples in his study about
the t-distribution

3. When do we consider that the sample size is small?

a. when it is less than 30
b. when it is between 20 to 40
c. when it is greater than 25 but less than 40
d. when it is only 1% of the total population

4. In Student’s t-distribution, what is the sample size if the degree of freedom

is 25?
a. 5
b. 24
c. 25
d. 26

5. 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.

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 6. When do we use t-distribution instead of normal distribution?
a. If the sample variance is unknown
b. If the population variance is known
c. When the sample size is considered small.
d. When the sample size is sufficiently large.

7. In the estimation of a parameter using the t-distribution, is it possible to

replace the population standard deviation, 𝜎𝜎 by the sample standard
deviation, s?
a. No, because the given sample size is small
b. No, because 𝜎𝜎 and s differ by a significant amount
c. Yes, because 𝜎𝜎 is unknown and s is a good estimator of 𝜎𝜎.
d. Yes, because 𝜎𝜎 is equal to s when we are estimating parameters

8. What will be the effect on the t distribution curve when we replace 𝜎𝜎 by s?

a. The t-distribution curve will become bell-shaped.
b. The t-distribution curve will be symmetrical to zero.
c. The t-distribution curve will be the same as the normal curve.
d. The t-distribution curve will have a lower peak and thicker tails.

For numbers 9 to 11,

The principal of Mapayapa Integrated National High School claimed that the average
salary of their teachers is ₱24, 000 per month. A random sample of 15 teachers in
the school has a mean of ₱23, 220, and a standard deviation of ₱400.

9. Identify the population mean.

a. ₱24,000
b. ₱23,220
c. ₱400
d. 15

10. Identify the sample mean.

a. ₱24,000
b. ₱23,220
c. ₱400
d. 15

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11. In testing the principal’s claim, can we use the t-distribution?
a. Yes, because the population standard deviation is unknown,
and the sample size is small.
b. Yes, because the sample standard deviation is small, and
variance is unknown.
c. No, because the population standard deviation is greater than
the sample standard deviation.
d. No, because the sample size is too small for the given sample
standard deviation.

12. Which property of t-distribution is NOT a property of normal distribution?

a. The t-distribution curve is bell-shaped.
b. The t-distribution curve is symmetrical about zero.
c. In t distribution, the variance is always greater than 1.
d. The total area under the t distribution curve equal to 1.

13. The following statements talk about the t-distribution EXCEP __________
a. The standard deviation of the t-distribution is equal to 1.
b. The t-distribution has thicker tails than the normal
distribution.
c. The exact shape of a t-distribution depends on the degrees of
freedom.
d. As the degrees of freedom increase, the t-distribution tends to
normal distribution.

14. Which of the following probability distribution curves has the lowest peak?
a. the standard normal distribution
b. a t-distribution with 5 degrees of freedom
c. a t-distribution with 7 degrees of freedom
d. a t-distribution with 9 degrees of freedom

15. Which of the following probability distribution curves has the thickest
tails?
a. a t-distribution with 25 degrees of freedom
b. a t-distribution with 23 degrees of freedom
c. a t-distribution with 21 degrees of freedom
d. a t-distribution with 19 degrees of freedom

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 Additional Activities

Make a Venn diagram showing the comparison of the t-distribution and normal
distribution. List down the characteristics or properties of the two distributions on
the spaces provided.

t-distribution has Normal distribution

these characteristics has these
Both distributions characteristics
have these
__________________ characteristics ___________________

__________________ ___________________ ___________________

__________________ ___________________ ___________________

__________________ ___________________ __________________

___________________ ___________________ __________________

___________________ _________________ ____________________

___________________ _____________ __________________

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