Normal Distribution

Normal Distribution
• The normal distribution is the most important
continuous probability distribution in the area of
statistics.
• Its graph, which is a bell-shaped curve, is called
the normal curve.

• Classified by 2 parameters: Mean (m) and

standard deviation (s). These represent
location and spread
Properties of the Normal Curve

1. It is symmetric about the mean.

2. The normal curve approaches the horizontal

axis asymptotically as it proceeds in either
direction away from the mean.

3. The total area under the curve and above the

horizontal axis is equal to 1.
Areas Under the Normal Curve

• The area under a normal curve is dependent

upon the mean and the standard deviation.

• To find the required area under the normal

curve, we need to transform all observations of
the variable x to a new set of observations of a
normal random variable z with mean zero and
variance.
Areas Under the Normal Curve

This transformation can be done by using z-score:

where:
 
z –score = distance of an observed value from the
mean per one standard deviation
x = value of observed item
= mean
s = standard deviation
Example 1
Given: = 50 and s = 10.

Find the area under the normal curve.

a. between 45 and 62
b. between 60 and 70
c. to the left of 42
d. to the right of 47
Example 2
The heights of 1000 students are normally
distributed with a mean of 174.5 centimeters and
a standard deviation of 6.9 centimeters.
Assuming that the heights are recorded to the
nearest half of a centimeter, how many of these
students would you expect to have heights:

a. less than 160 centimeters

b. between 171.5 and 182 centimeters
c. greater than 188 centimeters
Practice Exercises:
1. A random variable has a normal distribution with the
mean of 80 and standard deviation of 4.8. What are the
probabilities that this random variable will take on
value:
a. less than 87.2
b. greater than 76.4
c. between 81.2 and 86.0
2. The IQ of 300 students in a certain high school is
approximately normally distributed with a mean of
100 and a standard deviation of 15.
d. What is the probability that a randomly selected
student will have an IQ of 115 and above?
e. How many students have an IQ between 85 and 120?