LESSON: T-DISTRIBUTION AND PERCENTILES USING THE T-TABLE

The t-distribution (also called Student’s t-distribution) is a family of

distributions that look almost identical to the normal distribution curve, only a bit
shorter and stouter. The t-distribution is used instead of the normal distribution when you
have small samples.

The larger the sample size, the more the t distribution

looks like the normal distribution. In fact, for sample sizes larger than 20 (e.g. more
degrees of freedom), the distribution is almost exactly like the normal distribution.

The concept of the degrees of freedom is used in the t-distribution. The

degrees of freedom, denoted by df, are the numbers of values that are free to vary
after a sample statistic has been computed.

o Like the normal distribution, the t-distribution has a smooth shape.

o Like the normal distribution, the t-distribution is symmetric. If you think about folding
it in half at the mean, each side will be the same.

o Like a standard normal distribution (or z-distribution), the t-distribution has a mean of
zero.

o The normal distribution assumes that the population standard deviation is known.
The t-distribution does not make this assumption.

o The t-distribution is defined by the degrees of freedom. These are related to the sample
size. the degrees of freedom are equal to one less than the sample size, df = n-1.

o The t-distribution is most useful for small sample sizes, when the population standard
deviation is not known, or both.

o As the sample size increases, the t-distribution becomes more like a normal
distribution.
How to Use the t-table

The t-table is a table of t-values of the t-distribution. The entries of the top-most row are
levels of significance denoted by 𝛼 while the entries of the left-most column are degrees of
freedom, denoted by v, (Greek-letter nu) or simply df and inside the body of the table are
the t-values. The student’s t-distribution was created by William T. Gosset, an Irish
Brewery worker.

Example:

Look at the t-value of 𝛼 = 0.01 having 14 degrees of freedom.

Run your finger to the column under 𝛼 = 0.01 until you come across the
row where 14 degrees of freedom is located. The table entry of 2.624 is the t-value
when 𝛼 = 0.01 and df = 14, that is, t(0.01, 14) = 2.624.

Illustrative example:
1. Identify the t-value whose number of samples n = 7 and has an area (𝛼) equal to 0.05.

2. Find the t-value whose degree of freedom is 20 and has 𝛼 = 0.01.

Solution:
1. To identify the t-value, identify first the degree of freedom using the formula
df= n-1 where n is the sample size.
df = n-1
df = 7-1
df = 6
Locate the t-value on the t-table using the degree of freedom and the area (𝛼)
TABLE OF THE STUDENT’S T- DISTRIBUTION
How to find the Percentiles of the t-Distribution
When you want to find percentiles for a t-distribution, you can use the t-table. A percentile
is a number on a statistical distribution who is less-than the probability in the given
percentage.

EXAMPLE
Identify the t-value of the following percentiles given the number of samples.
a. 95th percentile, N= 30
b. 90th percentile, N=20

SOLUTION
a. The 95th percentile is the number where 95% of the values lie below it and 5% lie above
it, so you want the right-tail area to be 0.05. Move across the row, find the column for 0.05,
and then locate the t-value using n=30 or
df = 29.
b. The 90th percentile is the number where 90% of the values lie below it and 10% lie above
it, so you want the right-tail area to be 0.01. Move across the row, find the column for 0.05,
and then locate the t-value using n=20 or df = 19.
ACTIVITY 1:

Complete the table below by identifying the degree of freedom, right-tailed area and the t-
value for each percentile and the sample size.

ACTIVITY 2: Supply the Missing Piece!

Find the missing value. Use the t-distribution Table.

1. Given: 90𝑡ℎ 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑒, 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑠𝑖𝑧𝑒 𝑛 = 10

Find the following:
a) 𝛼
b) t – value
c) df

2. Given: t-value = 2.492

Find the following:
a) sample size n
b) df
c) 𝛼
d) Percentile