Normal Distribution

Or Gaussian distribution
• A normal distribution is symmetric. A distribution is symmetric when
the data values are evenly distributed about the mean.
• A distribution that lacks symmetry with respect to a vertical axis is
said to be skewed.
Occur when one tail of the distribution is
longer than the other.
Positive skewness
There are more observations below the mean than
above it
When the mean is greater than the median
Long tail (right)
• Negative skewness
• There are a small number of low observations and a large number of high ones
• When the median is greater than the mean
• Long tail (left)
Definition
• A normal distribution is a continuous, symmetric, bell-shaped
distribution of a variable.
 Normal Distribution

-  a b 
Properties of a Normal Curve
• A normal distribution curve is bell-shaped.
• The mean, median and mode are equal and are located at
the center of the distribution.
• A normal distribution curve is unimodal.
• The curve is symmetric about the mean, which is equivalent
to saying that its shape is the same on both sides of a
vertical line passing through the center.
• The curve never touches the x axis. Theoretically, no matter
how far in either direction the curve extends, it never meets
the x axis – but it gets increasingly closer.
• The total area under a normal distribution curve is equal to
1 or 100%.
• The area under the part of a normal curve that lies within 1
standard deviation of the mean is approximately 0.68 or
68%; within 2 standard deviations, about 0.95 or 95%; and
within 3 standard deviations, about 0.997 or 99.7%.
The standard normal distribution is a
normal distribution with a mean of 0 and a
standard deviation of 1.

__
x x
z 
s
Importance of the z-scores

Raw scores may be composed of large values, but large

Note: Table E gives the area under the normal distribution curve to the
left of any z value given in two decimal places.
Exercises
Find the area:
• to the left of z = -0.75
• To the right of z = 2.01
• Between z =0 and z = 1.77
1. Find the area under the normal curve that lies between the given values of Z.
a. z = 0 and z = 2.37
b. z = 0 and z = -1.94
c. z = -1.85 and z = 1.85
d. z = -2.77 and z = -0.96
2. Determine the area under the normal curve falling to the right (or left) of Z.
a. z = 1.73
b.z = -2.41 and z = 2.41
c. z = -3 and z = 3
d. z = 5
3. What Z scores correspond to the ff. areas under the normal curve?
a. area of .05 to the right of +Z
b. area of .05 to the left of -Z
c. area of .05 beyond  Z
d. area of .90 between  Z
• The area under the standard normal distribution curve can also be
thought of as a probability.
Example: Find the probability of each.

1. P0  z  2.32 
2. Pz  1.65 
3. Pz  1.91
Exercises: Find the area under the
standard normal distribution curve,
Applications of the Normal Distribution
• To solve the application problems, transform the values of the
variable to z values and then find the areas under the standard
normal distribution.
If the heights of male youngsters are normally distributed with a mean of
60 inches and a standard deviation of 10, what percentage of the boys' heights
(in inches) would we expect to be
1. between 45 and 75
2. between 30 and 90
3. less than 50
4. 45 or more
5. 75 or more
• Two hundred eighty incoming freshmen at a certain
college were given IQ test. Assuming that their IQs are
normally distributed with a mean of 100 and standard
deviation of 15, how many freshmen have an IQ of:
• 80 and lower
• 105 and higher
• Between 90 to 105
1. The mean time required to assemble a bicycle is 20.5
minutes and the standard deviation is 2.3 minutes.
Assuming the data are normally distributed, find the
probabilities that the time required to assemble a
bicycle is:
• At least 20 minutes
• At most 19 minutes
• From 18 to 20 minutes
• To qualify for a police academy, candidates must score in the top 10%
on a general abilities test. The test has a mean of 200 and a standard
deviation of 20. Find the lowest possible score to qualify. Assume the
test scores are normally distributed.
For a medical study, a researcher wishes to
select people in the middle 60% of the
population based on blood pressure. If the
mean systolic blood pressure is 120 and the
standard deviation is 8, find the upper and
lower readings that would qualify people to
participate in the study.
• The average number of calories in a 1.5-ounce chocolate bar is
226. Suppose that the distribution of calories is approximately
normal with standard deviation of 11. Find the probability that
a randomly selected chocolate bar will have
1. Between 200 and 220 calories
2. Less than 198 calories
• Full-time Ph.D. Students receive an average of $12,837 per
year. If the average salaries are normally distributed with a
standard deviation of $1500, find these probabilities.
1. The student makes more than $15,000.
2. The student makes between $13,000 and $14,000
The mean time required to assemble a
bicycle is 20.5 minutes and the standard
deviation is 2.3 minutes. Assuming the
data are normally distributed, find the
probabilities that the time required to
assemble a bicycle is:
3. At least 20 minutes
3. At most 19 minutes
4. From 18 to 21 minutes
4. From 17 to 23 minutes
Determining Normality
• Histogram
• Skewness (Pearson coefficient of skewness PC)
• outliers