Chapter 5 Review

Normal
Probability
Distributions
 Properties of Normal
Distributions
A continuous random variable has an infinite
number of possible values that can be represented by an
interval on the number line.

Hours spent studying in a day

0 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24

The time spent

studying can be any
number between 0
and 24.

The probability distribution of a continuous random

variable is called a continuous probability
distribution.
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 Properties of Normal
Distributions
The most important probability distribution in
statistics is the normal distribution.

Normal curve

A normal distribution is a continuous probability

distribution for a random variable, x. The graph of a
normal distribution is called the normal curve.

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 Properties of Normal
Distributions
Properties of a Normal Distribution
1. The mean, median, and mode are equal.
2. The normal curve is bell-shaped and symmetric about
the mean.
3. The total area under the curve is equal to one.
4. The normal curve approaches, but never touches the x-
axis as it extends farther and farther away from the
mean.
5. Between μ − σ and μ + σ (in the center of the curve), the
graph curves downward. The graph curves upward to
the left of μ − σ and to the right of μ + σ. The points at
which the curve changes from curving upward to
curving downward are called the inflection points.
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Questions about the Normal
Curve Characteristics
1. What is the area under the curve equal to?

2. What and where are the inflection points?

3. Is the mean greater than the mode and median.

Explain.

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 Properties of Normal
Distributions
Inflection points

Total area = 1

x
μ − 3σ μ − 2σ μ−σ μ μ+σ μ + 2σ μ + 3σ

If x is a continuous random variable having a normal

distribution with mean μ and standard deviation σ, you
can graph a normal curve with the equation
1
y= e -(xμ- )2 σ2 2
. eπ= 2.178 = 3.14
σ 2π
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 How to draw The Standard
Normal Distribution
The standard normal distribution is a normal
distribution with a mean of 0 and a standard deviation of
1.

The horizontal scale

corresponds to z-scores.

z
−3 −2 −1 0 1 2 3

Any value can be transformed into a z-score by using the

Value - Mean xμ-
formula z = Standard deviation = σ .

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 The Standard Normal
Distribution
If each data value of a normally distributed random
variable x is transformed into a z-score, the result will
be the standard normal distribution.
The area that falls in the interval under
the nonstandard normal curve (the x-
values) is the same as the area under
the standard normal curve (within the
corresponding z-boundaries).

z
−3 −2 −1 0 1 2 3

After the formula is used to transform an x-value into a

z-score, the Standard Normal Table in Appendix B is
used to find the cumulative area under the curve.
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The Standard Normal Table
Properties of the Standard Normal
Distribution
1. The cumulative area is close to 0 for z-scores close to z = −3.49.
2. The cumulative area increases as the z-scores increase.
3. The cumulative area for z = 0 is 0.5000.
4. The cumulative area is close to 1 for z-scores close to z = 3.49

Area is close to 0. Area is close to 1.

z
−3 −2 −1 0 1 2 3
z = −3.49 z = 3.49
z=0
Area is 0.5000.

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The Standard Normal Table
Example:
Find the cumulative area that corresponds to a z-score
of 2.71.
Appendix B: Standard Normal Table
z .00 .01 .02 .03 .04 .05 .06 .07 .08 .09

0.0 .5000 .5040 .5080 .5120 .5160 .5199 .5239 .5279 .5319 .5359

0.1 .5398 .5438 .5478 .5517 .5557 .5596 .5636 .5675 .5714 .5753

0.2 .5793 .5832 .5871 .5910 .5948 .5987 .6026 .6064 .6103 .6141

2.6 .9953 .9955 .9956 .9957 .9959 .9960 .9961 .9962 .9963 .9964

2.7 .9965 .9966 .9967 .9968 .9969 .9970 .9971 .9972 .9973 .9974

2.8 .9974 .9975 .9976 .9977 .9977 .9978 .9979 .9979 .9980 .9981

Find the area by finding 2.7 in the left hand column, and
then moving across the row to the column under 0.01.
The area to the left of z = 2.71 is 0.9966.
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The Standard Normal Table
Example:
Find the cumulative area that corresponds to a z-score
of −0.25.
Appendix B: Standard Normal Table
z .09 .08 .07 .06 .05 .04 .03 .02 .01 .00

−3.4 .0002 .0003 .0003 .0003 .0003 .0003 .0003 .0003 .0003 .0003

−3.3 .0003 .0004 .0004 .0004 .0004 .0004 .0004 .0005 .0005 .0005

−0.3 .3483 .3520 .3557 .3594 .3632 .3669 .3707 .3745 .3783 .3821

−0.2 .3859 .3897 .3936 .3974 .4013 .4052 .4090 .4129 .4168 .4207

−0.1 .4247 .4286 .4325 .4364 .4404 .4443 .4483 .4522 .4562 .4602
−0.0 .4641 .4681 .4724 .4761 .4801 .4840 .4880 .4920 .4960 .5000

Find the area by finding −0.2 in the left hand column, and
then moving across the row to the column under 0.05.
The area to the left of z = −0.25 is 0.4013
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Guidelines for Finding Areas
Finding Areas Under the Standard Normal
Curve
1. Sketch the standard normal curve and shade the
appropriate area under the curve.
2. Find the area by following the directions for each case
shown.
a. To find the area to the left of z, find the area that
corresponds the z in the Standard Normal Table.
2. The area to to
left of z = 1.23
is 0.8907.

z
0 1.23
1. Use the table to find
the area for the z-score.

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Guidelines for Finding Areas
Finding Areas Under the Standard Normal
Curve
b. To find the area to the right of z, use the Standard
Normal Table to find the area that corresponds to z.
Then subtract the area from 1.
2. The area to the 3. Subtract to find the area to
left of z = 1.23 is the right of z = 1.23:
0.8907. 1 − 0.8907 = 0.1093.

z
0 1.23
1. Use the table to find
the area for the z-score.

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Guidelines for Finding Areas
Finding Areas Under the Standard Normal
Curve
c. To find the area between two z-scores, find the area
corresponding to each z-score in the Standard
Normal Table. Then subtract the smaller area from
the larger
2. The area.
area to the 4. Subtract to find the area of
the region between the two
left of z = 1.23
is 0.8907. z-scores:
0.8907 − 0.2266 = 0.6641.
3. The area to the left
of z = −0.75 is
0.2266.

z
−0.75 0 1.23

1. Use the table to find the area for

the z-score.

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Guidelines for Finding Areas
Example:
Find the area under the standard normal
curve to the left of z = −2.33.

Always draw
the curve!

−2.33 0

From the Standard Normal Table, the area is

equal to 0.0099.
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Guidelines for Finding Areas
Example:
Find the area under the standard normal
curve to the right of z = 0.94.
Always draw
the curve!
0.8264
1 − 0.8264 = 0.1736

z
0 0.94

From the Standard Normal Table, the area is equal to

0.1736.

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Guidelines for Finding Areas
Example:
Find the area under the standard normal
curve between z = −1.98 and z = 1.07.
Always draw
0.8577 the curve!

0.0239 0.8577 − 0.0239 = 0.8338

z
−1.98 0 1.07

From the Standard Normal Table, the area is equal to

0.8338.
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By using the z-score formula
Find the z-score then the area under the
curve using your Standard Normal Table
to find the probability.
In a recent year, the ACT scores for the English portion of
the test were normally distributed, with a mean of 24.2
and a standard deviation of 2.7. A high school student
who took the English portion of the ACT is randomly
selected.
1. Find the probability that the student’s ACT score is less
than 19.
 
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2. Find the probability that the student’s ACT
score is between 17 and 26.
 
 
3. Find the probability that the student’s ACT
score is more than 30.

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 Finding z-scores when the
area is known.
3 Find the z-score that corresponds to the
given cumulative area by using your
Standard Normal Table.
 
1. 0.94
 
2. 0.4364
 

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 Find the z-score when the
Percentile is known
Find the z-score that corresponds to the
given percentile.
 
1. P7
 
2. P76

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1. Find the z-score that has 17.9% of the
distribution’s area to its left.
 
2. Find the z-score that has 62.5% of the
distribution’s area to its right.
 

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In a survey of men in the United States (ages 20-
29)
The mean height was 69.9 inches with a standard
deviation of 3.0 inches. First find the z-score by
using the Standard Normal Table, then by
using the formula , solve for the x value.
 
1. What height represents the 90th percentile?
 
2. What height represents the first quartile?

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 Sample mean and standard
deviation
A population has a mean of 10 and a standard
deviation of 2. Find the mean and standard
deviation of a sample distribution with the
following sample size.
 
36. n=100
 
 
 
37. n=250
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 Sample Word Problem
The per capita consumption of coffee by people in
the United states in a recent year was normally
distributed with a mean of 26 gallons and a
standard deviation of 5 gallons. Random samples
of 25 are drawn from this population and the mean
of each sample is determined.
 
1. Find the sample mean.
 
2. Find the standard error of the mean.

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