MAT 152

Lesson 12
Prof. Jeremiah N. Junatas
 Lesson 12
Lesson Title: Computing Probabilities under Standard Normal Curve
Lesson objectives:
1. Compute probabilities and percentage areas under standard
normal table.
2. Solve problems that involves probabilities under normal curve.
Lesson 12 – Standard Normal Curve
Characteristics of a Standard Normal Curve/Distribution
1. All normal distributions are symmetric and have bell-shaped density curves
with a single peak.

peak
x-axis

tail tail

*The tails of the curve will never touch the x-axis as they are asymptotic to the
horizontal line.
Lesson 12 – Standard Normal Curve

2. The standard normal distribution is normal distribution with a

mean of 0 and standard deviation of 1.

- mean
- standard deviation

σ=1
Lesson 12 – Standard Normal Curve

3. The normal distribution has

 mean = median = mode
 symmetry about the centre
 50% of values less than the mean and 50% greater than the mean
Lesson 12 – Standard Normal Curve
4. The normal distribution is a continuous probability distribution with the
following implications:
The total area under the normal curve is equal to 1. This indicates the
maximum possible probability value is 1.

That is, 0.5 + 0.5 = 1.

Lesson 12 – Standard Normal Curve
5. The area under the normal curve constitutes probability.
 For example (1), the area under z = 1.09 is 0.8621 (based on standard normal
probability table). Hence, the probability is 0.8621 or 86.21%
Lesson 12 – Areas Under Normal Curve
The area under z = 1.09 is 0.8621.

0.8621
Lesson 12 – Areas Under Normal Curve

Example 2: If z = 2.00, what is the value of the shaded area and hence, the
probability?
 Based on the table of values, the area to the left of z = 2 is 0.9772.
 The area to the right of z =2 therefore is 0.0228. The probability then is
2.28%.

Take note that the

whole curve is 1.0 – 0.9772 = 0.0228
equal 1. 0.9772
Lesson 12 – Areas Under Normal Curve
Example 3: Examine the shaded area of the curve in the table. What does it mean
in relation to the values in the table?
Reckoning the areas starts from the z score to the left of the curve.
Take for example z = -3.12. What is the area?

Hence, Area at z = -3.12 = 0.0009

-3.12
 Lesson 12 – Areas Under Normal Curve
Example 4: How about the area between z = – 1.8 and z = – 2.97?
Remember that the reckoning of areas is from specified z score to the left. In this case the
areas of the given z-scores overlapped (shaded in blue).
Lesson 12 – Areas Under Normal Curve
The area under z = – 1.8 is 0.0359 and the area under z = – 2.97 is 0.0015.
Hence, the are between the given z scores is (0.0359 – 0.0015 =) 0.0344.

0.0359
0.0344
0.0015
Standardization
6. A normal distribution can be “standardized.”

Converting x-values into z-scores using the following formula:

or Where:
– normal value
and - means of sample and population,
respectively
and – standard deviations of sample and
population , respectively
Standardization
Example: The following are scores of 5 students who took certain screening test.
Jerry, 134 Jay-R, 172 Gemark, 160
Rosie, 145 Kier, 150
If the mean score was with standard deviation of , what can be said with their z-scores?
Solution: Convert each score to z-score.

Jerry, 134 Jay-r, 172 Gemark, 160 Kier, 150 Rosie, 145
Standardization

It can be gleaned from their z-scores that

 Jay-r’s and Gemark’s z-scores are positive and hence, are located to the right of mean in
normal curve.
 Jerry’s and Rosie’s z-scores are negative and hence, are located to the left of the mean in the
normal curve.
 Kier’s z-score is on the mean (0).
 (See the normal curve on the next slide)
Standardization

Rosie’s z-score Jay-r’s z-score

Gemark’s z-score

Jerry’s z-score Kier’s z-score

Working Normal Curve Problems
Example 1: A pizza parlor franchise specifies that the average amount of cheese on a large
pizza should be 8 oz and the standard deviation only 0.5 oz. An inspector picks out a large
pizza at random in one of the pizza parlors and finds that it is made with 6.9 oz of cheese.
Assume that the amount of cheese on a pizza follows a normal distribution. If the amount of
cheese is below the mean by more than three standard deviations, the parlor will be in
danger of losing its franchise. How many standard deviations from the mean is 6.9 oz? Is the
pizza parlor in danger of losing its franchise?
Solution: We need to convert 6.9 oz to standard z score.
Given: ; ;

Therefore, the amount of cheese on the selected pizza is only 2.20 standard
deviations below the mean. The parlor will not lose its franchise based on this sample.
Working Normal Curve Problems
Example 2: A random variable has normal distribution with the mean of 400
and a standard deviation of 90. What are the probabilities that this random
variable will take on a value
a. less than 500? b. greater than 300?
c. between 390 and 490?
Solution:
Given: ;
a. . Convert to z-score using .
Working Normal Curve Problems
Then ? From the table of values, the area less than (or to the left of z = 1.11) is equal to
0.8665. And .
Hence, the probability that the random variable x will take on a value less than 500 is
0.8665 or 86.65%.

0.8665

b. . Convert to z-score.
Working Normal Curve Problems
From the table of values, the area to the left of z = - 1.11 is 0.1335.
Then the area to the right of z = - 1.11 is (1 – 0.1335) .
Hence, the probability that the random variable x will take on a value
greater than 300 is 0.8665 or 86.65%.

0.8665
0.1335
Working Normal Curve Problems

Area to the left of z = - 0.11 is 0.4562. Area to the left of z = 1.00 is 0.8413.

Hence, the probability that the random variable will take on a value between 390 and
490 is 0.3851 or 38.51%.

0.8413

0.4562
0.3851
 END

THANK YOU!