STUDY GUIDE

STATISTICS & PROBABILITY | UNIT 4

Standard Scores and the Normal Curve

Table of Contents

Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 3
Test Your Prerequisite Skills ........................................................................................................ 4
Objectives ...................................................................................................................................... 5
Lesson 1: Conversion of Normal Random Variable to Standard Random Variable
- Warm Up! ........................................................................................................................... 6
- Learn about It! ................................................................................................................... 7
- Let’s Practice! ..................................................................................................................... 7
- Check Your Understanding! ............................................................................................ 14
Lesson 2: Regions under the Normal Curve
- Warm Up! ......................................................................................................................... 17
- Learn about It! ................................................................................................................. 18
- Let’s Practice! ................................................................................................................... 24
- Check Your Understanding! ............................................................................................ 28
Lesson 3: Probabilities and Percentiles
- Warm Up! ......................................................................................................................... 30
- Learn about It! ................................................................................................................. 30
- Let’s Practice! ................................................................................................................... 31
- Check Your Understanding! ............................................................................................ 37
Lesson 4: Solving Problems Involving the Normal Curve
- Warm Up! ......................................................................................................................... 39
- Learn about It! ................................................................................................................. 40
- Let’s Practice! ................................................................................................................... 40
- Check Your Understanding! ............................................................................................ 45
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Challenge Yourself! ..................................................................................................................... 47

Performance Task ....................................................................................................................... 49
Wrap-up ....................................................................................................................................... 50
Key to Let’s Practice! .................................................................................................................... 50
References ................................................................................................................................... 51

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GRADE 11/12| STATISTICS & PROBABILITY

UNIT 4

Standard Scores and the Normal Curve

Overhearing the conversation of two students as shown
below, how would you interpret the situation?

If you are going to interpret a situation like this, you will

need to be able to compare things. You will need to
present the comparisons in a way that will aid you in
decision-making. Understanding the situation can be
made possible by using the standard score and the
normal curve in statistics.

Although most natural phenomena can be modeled using normal distributions, the
ensuing calculations are often tedious and prone to human error. To find a way around
this difficulty, any normal distribution can be converted to one that is easier to handle,
using only algebraic manipulation of the mean and the standard deviation. Once this is
done, we can then describe the probability of any event more easily. Thus, we have the
standard normal distribution and the z-scores.

A standard score, more commonly known as a z-score, is a very useful statistical model
because it allows us to determine the probability of a score occurring within our normal
distribution and enables us to compare two scores that are from different normal
distributions.

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Test Your Prerequisite Skills

• Converting decimal to percent and vice versa

• Finding the distance between two points
• Finding the mean

Before you get started, answer the following items on a separate sheet of paper. This will
help you assess your prior knowledge and practice some skills that you will need in
studying the lessons in this unit. Show your complete solution.

1. Convert the given decimal to percent or percent to decimal.

a. 99.5%
b. 10.03%
c. 0.00145
d. 0.95
e. 0.0031

2. Find the distance between two points in the number line.

a.

b.

c.

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d.

e.

3. Find the mean of the given set of values.

a. {36, 41}
b. {24, 28, 30}
c. {56, 63, 59, 48}
d. {45, 37, 64, 52, 55}
e. {98, 87, 90, 94, 88, 93}

Objectives

At the end of this unit, you should be able to

• convert a normal random variable to a standard normal variable and vice versa;
• identify regions under the normal curve that correspond to different standard
normal values;
• calculate probabilities and percentiles using the standard normal table; and
• solve problems involving normal curve.

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Lesson 1: Conversion of Normal Random Variable to

Standard Random Variable

Warm Up!

Find Your Height!

Materials Needed: length measuring instrument, calculator/computer

Instructions:
1. This activity will be done by groups of 10 members.
2. The members of each group will form a line according to their height.
3. Measure the height of each member and record the result in the table provided
below.
4. Compute the mean or the average height of the group.
5. Compute the standard deviation of the group.
6. Subtract the mean from the height of each member. Then divide the difference
by the standard deviation obtained in step 5. (You may round your answer to
two decimal places.)
7. Your teacher will check your data, so make sure to record all the results to a
similar table below.

Standard Height Difference

Average
Student Height Deviation from the Mean over
Height
(SD) SD

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Learn about It!

It would be difficult to calculate the probabilities of a normal random variable if the values
are taken as they are. It would take a lot of work involving calculus, but to bypass these
procedures, we may use a standard normal variable.

In the previous unit, we defined a standard normal distribution as a normal distribution

with a mean of 0 and a standard deviation of 1, or 𝑁(0, 1). If 𝑋 ~ 𝑁(𝜇, 𝜎), then the random
variable 𝑍 is standardized when

𝑋−𝜇
𝑍=
𝜎

where 𝑋 is the given raw score, 𝜇 is the population mean, and 𝜎 is the population standard
deviation. In this case, we can say that 𝑍 ~ 𝑁(0, 1).

Once 𝑋 is standardized, we can calculate the probabilities of random variables involving

different means and standard deviations. 𝑍 gives us the number of standard deviations a
variable 𝑋 is away from the mean of the distribution.

In the Warm Up! activity, the results obtained in the table is the standardized value or the
𝑍-score.

Let’s Practice!

Example 1: What is the 𝑍-score of 40 in a math test when the mean is 58 with a standard
deviation of 9?

Solution: Substitute the given data in the formula.

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𝑋−𝜇
𝑍=
𝜎
40 − 58
𝑍=
9
𝑍 = −2

Thus, the 𝑍-score of 40 is −2.

Try It Yourself!

Find the 𝑍-score of 35 with a mean of 47 and a standard deviation of 8.

Example 2: The 𝑍-score of a certain student in a physics test was found to be −1.6. The
test has a mean score of 86 with a standard deviation of 12. What was the
student’s actual test score in physics?

Solution: Since the actual score is missing. It means that we need to solve for 𝑋.

Substituting the given values into the formula and then simplifying it will give
us the required score.

𝑋−𝜇
𝑍=
𝜎
𝑋 − 86
−1.5 =
12
𝑋 − 86
(12) − 1.5 = (12)
12
18 = 𝑋 − 86
𝑋 = 86 + 18
𝑋 = 104

Therefore, the student’s score on the test was 104.

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Try It Yourself!

Find the student’s score in a biology test when the 𝑍-score is 0.98. The mean of the
test was 88 with a standard deviation of 9.5.

Example 3: Below are the scores of a group of 10 students in a 50-item mathematics

test.
46, 38, 42, 47, 35, 30, 42, 43, 45, 43

Find the 𝑍-score of each score.

Solution: To find the 𝑍-score, we must find first the average and the standard deviation
of the group.

To find the average score, add all the scores and divide the sum by 10.

Thus, we have

46 + 38 + 42 + 47 + 35 + 30 + 42 + 43 + 45 + 43
𝜇=
10
𝜇 = 41.1 ≈ 41

To find the standard deviation, use the following formula:

Σ(𝑋 − 𝜇)2
𝜎=√
𝑁

where
𝜎 = standard deviation
𝑋 = individual score
𝜇 = mean
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Calculating the standard deviation of the given scores, we have

252.9
𝜎=√
10
𝜎≈5

Finally, to find the 𝑍-score of each score in the test, we will use the formula

𝑋−𝜇
𝑍=
𝜎

a. 𝑍-score of 46:

46 − 41
𝑍=
5
𝑍=1

The same formula for 𝑍-scores will be used to find the corresponding 𝑍-score
for the remaining test scores.

b. 𝑍-score of 38 is −0.6
c. 𝑍-score of 42 is 0.2
d. 𝑍-score of 47 is 1.2
e. 𝑍-score of 35 is −1.2
f. 𝑍-score of 30 is −2.2
g. 𝑍-score of 43 is 0.4
h. 𝑍-score of 45 is 0.8

Try It Yourself!

Find the 𝑍-score of 89 in a population of scores: 85, 91, 90, 88, 84, 83, 92, 87, 86
and 89.
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Real-World Problems

Example 4: Suppose a student’s grade in his final examination

in math is 86 out of 100, and the mean grade of
the whole class is 75 with a standard deviation of
7. On the other hand, his grade in English final
exam is 65 out of 80, and the mean grade of the
whole class is 60 with a standard deviation of 5. In
which exam did he do better?

Solution: To standardize scores, we need to use the formula:

𝑋−𝜇
𝑍=
𝜎

For Math, the standard score is equal to:

86 − 75
𝑍=
7
𝑍 = 1.57

For English, the standard score is equal to:

65 − 60
𝑍=
5
𝑍=1

𝑍-scores denotes the number of standard deviations a raw score is away

from the mean. Since the student’s score in Math is farther away from the
mean than the score for English, the student did better in his Math final
exam.

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Example 5: Professor Fontanilla is grading a test. The students’

results, out of 100 points, are listed as follows:

35, 40, 36, 24, 54, 22, 45, 41, 23,47

Most students did not get as much as 50 out of 100, and

everyone will fail if the scores will be left as is. The test must have been
difficult for the students, so Professor Fontanilla decided to standardize all
the scores and fail only those students whose scores are one standard
deviation below the mean. Find the number of students who failed in the
said examination.

Solution: It stated in the problem that Professor Fontanilla decided to fail only those
students whose scores are one standard deviation below the mean. It implies
that we need to solve for the minimum score corresponding to that
deviation.

Solve first for the mean.

35 + 40 + 36 + 24 + 54 + 22 + 45 + 41 + 23 + 47
𝜇=
10
367
𝜇= = 36.7
10

Use then the formula for standard deviation.

Σ(𝑋 − 𝜇)2
𝜎=√
𝑁

1072.1
𝜎=√
10
𝜎 = √107.21
𝜎 = 10.35
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Finally, using the formula below, we can find the 𝑍-scores for each student’s
raw score.

𝑋−𝜇
𝑍=
𝜎

Thus, the 𝑍-scores of the students’ raw score can be found in the table below.

Raw Score 𝒁-score

35 −0.16

40 0.32

36 −0.07

24 −1.23

54 1.67

22 −1.42

45 0.8

41 0.42

23 −1.32

47 1

There are three students whose scores fall one standard deviation below the
mean. These students have the following scores.
• 24 (𝑍 = −1.23)
• 22(𝑍 = −1.42)
• 23 (𝑍 = −1.32)

Only these three students will have a failing mark.

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Try It Yourself!

A set of Mathematics exam scores has a mean of 68 and a

standard deviation of 8. A set of English exam scores has a
mean of 75 and a standard deviation of 10. For which exam
would a score of 78 have a higher standing?

Check Your Understanding!

1. Find the 𝑍-score of the given raw scores in a Math test when the mean score is 36
with a standard deviation of 8.
a. 26
b. 39
c. 42
d. 32
e. 37

2. Analyze and solve the following questions.

a. Scores on a Literature test have an average of 80 with a standard deviation of
6. What is the 𝑍-score of a student who earned a 74 on the test?

b. On an Intelligence Quotient test with a mean score of 100 and a standard

deviation of 15, Patrick scored 85. What is Patrick's 𝑍-score?

c. IQ scores have a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 16. Albert Einstein
reportedly had an IQ of 160. Arnav Sharma, a 12-year old boy gained a score
of 162.

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i. Convert Einstein’s IQ score and Sharma’s score to their corresponding

𝑍-scores.
ii. What is the difference between the 𝑍-score of Einstein and 𝑍-score of
Sharma?
iii. How many standard deviations are Einstein’s and Sharma’s 𝑍-scores?

d. Three students take the National Achievement Test. Which among the
following is the highest relative score?
i. A score of 68 on a test with a mean of 76 and a standard deviation of
16
ii. A score of 80 on a test with a mean of 96 and a standard deviation of
18
iii. A score of 48 on a test with a mean of 55 and a standard deviation of
15

e. The temperature is recorded at 50 different points in Luzon in October. The

average temperature is 26 ℃ with standard deviation of 12°. What is the 𝑍-
score for a temperature of 20°?

f. The 𝑍-scores of four students on an algebra test are given. If the mean of the
test was 82 and the standard deviation was 8, find each students test grade.
i. Elena’s 𝑍-score is −1.4
ii. Regina’s 𝑍-score is 1.5
iii. Ronnie’s 𝑍-score is 1
iv. Mario’s 𝑍-score is −2.5

g. The distribution of achievement scores of Mathematics in Grade 11 for 2

years has been roughly normal with a mean score of 28 and a standard
deviation of 14. English scores have been roughly normal with a mean score
of 34 and a standard deviation of 18. Carina gets a 25 in Mathematics and
35 in English. On which test did Carina do better?

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h. The following set of data represents the shoe size of randomly selected male
students:

13, 11.5, 9, 10.5, 13, 11, 10.5, 12.5, 13, 9, 9, 8, 10

Find the 𝑍-scores of sizes 10 and 12.5.

i. The average grade for the Physics exam was 75 and the standard deviation
was 8. Sophia was told by the instructor that she got 1.5 standard deviation
below the mean. What was Sophia’s score in the exam?

j. The results of a teacher’s test in a 60-item quiz are as follows:

35, 40, 36, 24, 54, 22, 45, 41, 23,47

How many students got a positive standard deviation?

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Lesson 2: Regions under the Normal Curve

Warm Up!

Add the Odd Way!

Materials Needed: pen and paper

Instructions:
1. This activity should be done by pairs.
2. The table below is called Addition in Modulo 12.
3. Add a number in the first column and a number in the first row. The intersection
of the two numbers is the sum of the two numbers.

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Complete the table of sum.

Second
First Addend
Addend Sum
(first column)
(first row)
6 3

8 9

5 11

10 11

8 8

9 12

5 10

7 8

9 9

12 12

4. Compare your result with your partner.

Learn about It!

The Warm Up! activity serves as a practice on using a table in finding the probability or
areas under the normal curve where you have to find the intersection of values of a
column and the values of a row.

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This is the normal curve of a standard normal distribution. Note that its center is above
the mean, which is zero, and its standard deviation is equal to 1.

Recall that 68% of the area of a normal distribution is within one standard deviation of the
mean. This also means that in a standard normal distribution, the probability of getting a
𝑍-score between 𝑍 = −1 and 𝑍 = 1 is approximately 0.68.

Approximately 95.4% of the area of a normal distribution is within two standard

deviations of the mean. This means that in a standard normal distribution, the probability
of getting a 𝑍-score between 𝑍 = −2 and 𝑍 = 2 is about 0.954.

Notice that almost all values (99.7%) fall within three standard deviations of the mean.

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Region Under the Curve

In general, when we speak of a region under the curve, we are in fact interested in the
area of that region and we can associate it further with probability, proportion, or
percentage.

Here are some tables of areas under the normal curve from its left end to the given
𝑍-score. To use these tables, look for the first digits of the given 𝑍-score in the first column
of the appropriate table, then look for the succeeding digits after the decimal point in the
first row.

The intersection of the columns and rows that contain the digits of the 𝑍-score is the cell
that has the total area from the left end of the normal curve to the given 𝑍-score. Note
that this is also the cumulative frequency of the standard normal distribution at that
𝑍-score.

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These tables are very useful when solving for probabilities involving standard normal
distributions.

To interpret this table, let us take 𝑍 = −1.23 as an example.

A 𝑍-score of −1.23 corresponds to a value of 0.1093.

This means that the area to the left of 𝑍 = −1.23 is equal to 0.1093 or 10.93% of the total
area.

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Let’s Practice!

Example 1: What is the area under the curve of a 𝑍-score of 1.35?

Solution:

Looking at the table of 𝑍-scores, the area of 1.35 is 0.9115 or 91.15% of the
total area.

Try It Yourself!

What is the area under the curve of a 𝑍-score of −1.35?

Example 2: Find the area under the normal curve between 𝑍-scores of −1.51 and 1.51.

Solution: We need to get the area between the lower limit and the upper limit.

a. Using the table, the area of 𝑍-score −1.51 is 0.0655 or 6.55%.

b. The area of 𝑍-score 1.51 is 0.9345 or 93.45%.

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To get the area covered by the given limits, we need to subtract the upper
area limit by the lower area limit.

Thus, the area between 𝑍-scores of −1.51 and 1.51 is equal to

93.45% − 6.55% = 86.9%

Try It Yourself!

Find the area under the normal curve between 𝑍-scores of −2.06 and 1.91.

Example 3: A distribution has a mean of 40 and a standard deviation of 5. Sixty-eight

percent of the distribution can be found between what two numbers?

Solution: Recall that 68% of the distribution is from one standard deviation to the left
of the mean and one standard deviation to the right. Since one standard
deviation is 5, it means that the area is between 35 and 45.

Try It Yourself!

A distribution has a mean of 70 and a standard deviation of 8. Ninety-five percent of

the distribution can be found between what two numbers?

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Real-World Problems

Example 4: A group of Grade 11 students took a test in Mathematics

and the final grades have a mean of 70 and a standard
deviation of 10. If we can approximate the distribution of
these grades by a normal distribution, what percent of
the total number of students scored higher than 80?

Solution: The given raw score, standard deviation, and mean are listed as follows.

• 𝑋 = 80
• 𝜎 = 10
• 𝜇 = 70

Substitute all these values in formula for getting the 𝑍-score.

𝑋−𝜇
𝑍=
𝜎
80 − 70
𝑍=
10
𝑍=1

Using the table, the area to the left of 𝑍 = 1 is 0.8413 or 84.13%. Since we
want to get the percentage of the students who scored higher than 80 or
𝑍 = 1, we need to consider the area to the right of 𝑍 = 1.

To get this area, we subtract 84.13%. from 100%. Thus, the percentage of
students who scored higher than 80 is equal to 100% − 84.13% or 15.87%.

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Example 5: The annual salaries of employees in a certain company are

approximateley normally distributed with a mean of ₱180 000
and a standard deviation of ₱20 000. What percentage of the
employees earn less than ₱150 000?

Solution: The given raw score, standard deviation, and mean are listed as follows.

• 𝑋 = 150 000
• 𝜎 = 20 000
• 𝜇 = 180 000

Substitute all these values in formula for getting the 𝑍-score.

𝑋−𝜇
𝑍=
𝜎
150 000 − 180 000
𝑍=
20 000
𝑍 = −1.5

From the 𝑍-table, the 𝑍-score of −1.5 has an area of 0.0668 or 6.68%. Thus,
the percentage of employees who earn less than ₱150 000 is 6.68%.

Try It Yourself!

Mr. Gonzales analyzed the result of his midterm examination and

found out that the normal distribution of test scores has a mean of
38 score and a standard deviation of 6. What percent of the
students has a score between 30 and 45?

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Check Your Understanding!

1. Find the area under the normal curve with the following 𝑍-scores:
a. −0.56
b. 1.07
c. −2.53
d. 2.05
e. −1.5

2. Find the area under the normal curve between 𝑍-scores of:
a. −1.82 and 2.68
b. −0.57 and −1.42
c. −0.89 and 1.2
d. 1.06 and 2.87
e. −2.57 and 2.57

3. The mean weight of 200 Grade 11 students is 52 kg and the standard deviation is
3 kg. Assuming that the weight is normally distributed, determine how many
students weigh:
a. between 50 kg and 60 kg
b. more than 60 kg
c. less than 50 kg
d. exactly 50 kg
e. 64 kg or less

4. The shelf life of a particular bakery product is assumed to be a normally

distributed with a mean of 15 days and a standard deviation of 3 days.
a. About what percent of the products last between 9 and 15 days?
b. About what percent of the products last between 12 and 15 days?
c. About what percent of the products last 6 days or less?
d. About what percent of the products last 10 or more days? 28
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5. A normal distribution has a mean of 40 and a standard deviation of 12.

Approximately 95% of the distribution can be found between what two numbers?

6. Ninety-five percent of the height of Grade 11 students are between 1.42 meters
and 1.83 meters. Assuming this data is normally distributed, what are the mean
height and standard deviation?

7. A normal distribution has a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 20. Thirty-
five percent of the area is below what number?

8. A candy packaging company packs candies as 400 g. Upon sampling of candy

packs, the mean weight is 410 g with a standard deviation of 5 g. Assuming that
the data gathered is normally distributed, what percentage of packs are
overweight?

9. Suppose the current monthly salary of all teachers in the Philippines follows a
normal distribution with a mean of ₱30 000 and a standard deviation of ₱5 000.
What percentage of the population receives below ₱25 000?

10. The speeds of cars in TPLEX have a mean speed of 80 km/h with a standard
deviation of 5 km/h. What percentage of cars averaged less than 75 km/h?

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Lesson 3: Probabilities and Percentiles

Warm Up!

Where Do I Stand?

Materials Needed: pen and paper

Instructions:
1. This activity should be done individually.
2. Recall the Warm Up! activity in Lesson 1 about
the height of at least ten people.
3. Plot the height of all your classmates from 58
inches to 78 inches.
4. How many classmates have heights less than
yours? What percent of the heights in the class have heights less than yours?

Learn about It!

The Warm Up! activity above is an example of finding your percentile in the distribution of
heights in your class. Using percentiles, we can understand how the standardized normal
distribution works.

The following mathematical notations will be used in various solutions with regards to the
normal curve.

• 𝑃(𝑍 ≤ 𝑘) = 𝐹(𝑘)

Look at the 𝑧-score table for the corresponding value of 𝑘.

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• 𝑃(𝑍 ≥ 𝑘) = 1 − 𝐹(𝑘)

The probability can be obtained by subtracting the corresponding value of 𝑘 from 1.

• 𝑃(𝑚 ≤ 𝑍 ≤ 𝑘) = 𝐹(𝑘) − 𝐹(𝑚)

Subtract the corresponding value of 𝑚 from the corresponding value of 𝑘.

Let’s Practice!

Example 1: 𝑋 is a normally distributed variable with a mean of 20 and a standard

deviation of 5. Find the 𝑃(𝑋 ≤ 27).

Solution:

Step 1: Standardize the normally distributed data.

27 − 20
𝑍=
5
𝑍 = 1.4

Step 2: Look at the 𝑧-score table to find 𝑃(𝑋 ≤ 27).

𝑃(𝑍 ≤ 𝑘) = 𝐹(𝑘)
𝑃(𝑍 ≤ 1.4) = 0.9192

Try It Yourself!

𝑋 is a normally distributed variable with a mean of 65 and a standard deviation of 8.

Find the 𝑃(𝑋 ≤ 59).

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Example 2: Find 𝑃(𝑋 ≥ 18) and 𝑃(12 ≤ 𝑋 ≤ 29) in Example 1.

Solution:
a. 𝑃(𝑋 ≥ 18)

Step 1: Standardize the normally distributed data.

18 − 20
𝑍= = −0.4
5

Step 2: Look at the 𝑧-score table to find 𝑃(𝑋 ≥ 18).

𝑃(𝑍 ≥ 𝑘) = 1 − 𝐹(𝑘)
𝑃(𝑍 ≥ −0.4) = 1 − 0.3446
𝑃(𝑍 ≥ −0.4) = 0.6554

Thus, 𝑃(𝑋 ≥ 18) = 0.6554.

b. 𝑃(12 ≤ 𝑋 ≤ 29)

Step 1: Standardize the normally distributed data.

12 − 20
𝑍12 = = −1.6
5
29 − 20
𝑍29 = = 1.8
5

Step 2: Look at the 𝑧-score table to find 𝑃(12 ≤ 𝑋 ≤ 29).

𝑃(𝑚 ≤ 𝑍 ≤ 𝑘) = 𝐹(𝑘) − 𝐹(𝑚)

𝑃(−1.6 ≤ 𝑍 ≤ 1.8) = 0.9641 − 0.0548
𝑃(−1.6 ≤ 𝑍 ≤ 1.8) = 0.9093

Therefore, 𝑃(12 ≤ 𝑋 ≤ 29) = 0.9093.

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Try It Yourself!

𝑋 is a normally distributed variable with a mean of 50 and a standard deviation of 8.

Find 𝑃(𝑋 ≥ 60) and 𝑃(30 ≤ 𝑋 ≤ 70).

Example 3: 𝑋 is a normally distributed variable with mean 𝜇 = 30 and standard

deviation 𝜎 = 4. Find the values of the following probabilities.

a. 𝑃(𝑋 ≤ 35)
b. 𝑃(𝑋 ≥ 25)
c. 𝑃(20 ≤ 𝑋 ≤ 40)

Solution:
a. 𝑃(𝑋 ≤ 35)

Step 1: Standardize the normally distributed data.

35 − 30
𝑍= = 1.25
4

Step 2: Look at the 𝑧-score table to find 𝑃(𝑋 ≤ 35) .

𝑃(𝑍 ≤ 𝑘) = 𝐹(𝑘)
𝑃(𝑍 ≤ 1.25) = 0.8944

b. 𝑃(𝑋 ≥ 25)

Step 1: Standardize the normally distributed data.

25 − 30
𝑍= = −1.25
4
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 STUDY GUIDE

Step 2: Look at the 𝑧-score table to find 𝑃(𝑋 ≥ 25) .

𝑃(𝑍 ≥ 𝑘) = 1 − 𝐹(𝑘)
𝑃(𝑍 ≥ −1.25) = 1 − 0.1056 = 0.8944

c. 𝑃(20 ≤ 𝑋 ≤ 40)

Step 1: Standardize the normally distributed data.

20 − 30
𝑍20 = = −2.5
4
40 − 30
𝑍40 = = 2.5
4

Step 2: Look at the 𝑧-score table to find 𝑃(20 ≤ 𝑋 ≤ 40).

𝑃(𝑚 ≤ 𝑍 ≤ 𝑘) = 𝐹(𝑘) − 𝐹(𝑚)

𝑃(−2.5 ≤ 𝑍 ≤ 2.5) = 0.9938 − 0.0062
𝑃(−2.5 ≤ 𝑍 ≤ 2.5) = 0.9876

Thus, 𝑃(𝑋 ≤ 35) = 0.8944, 𝑃(𝑋 ≥ 25) − 0.8944 as well, and

𝑃(20 ≤ 𝑋 ≤ 40) = 0.9876.

Try It Yourself!

𝑋 is a normally distributed variable with mean 𝜇 = 82 and standard deviation

𝜎 = 12. Find the following probabilities:
a. 𝑃(𝑋 ≤ 75)
b. 𝑃(𝑋 ≥ 60)
c. 𝑃(70 ≤ 𝑋 ≤ 90)

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 STUDY GUIDE

Real-World Problems

Example 4: In a “largest pumpkin” contest, the radii of the

pumpkins have a normal distribution with a mean of
6 inches and a standard deviation of 1.5 inches.
Suppose you want to know what length marks the
bottom 20% of all pumpkin radii in the contest. What
percentile are you looking for?

Solution: Being at the bottom 20% means that you have a “less than” probability that is
equal to 20%, and you are at the 20th percentile for 𝑋. Looking at the 𝑍-score
table, the closest probability to 0.20 is 0.2005, which falls under 𝑍 = −0.84.
This means that the 20th percentile for 𝑍 is −0.84. Thus, a pumpkin whose
radius is 1.5 inches standard deviations below the mean marks the bottom
20% of all pumpkin radii in the contest. But what exactly is this radius?

𝑋−𝜇
Manipulating the formula 𝑍 = gives us 𝑋 = 𝑍𝜎 + 𝜇.
𝜎

In this case,

𝑋 = (−0.84)(1.5) + 6
𝑋 = 4.74

Thus, 4.74 inches marks the lowest 20% of pumpkin radii. Twenty percent of
all pumpkins in the contest have radii smaller than 4.74 inches.

Example 5: Final exams are typically approximately normally

distributed with a mean of 70 and a standard deviation of
15. Your teacher says that the top 10% of the class will
receive a grade of 95; the next 20%, 90; the next 35%, 88;
the next 30%, 85; and the bottom 5%, 80.
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 STUDY GUIDE

a. What average must you exceed to obtain 95?

b. What average must you exceed to receive a grade better than 85?

Solution:
a. To obtain a grade of 95, you have to be included in the top 10% of the
class. Since you are at the 10th percentile, 90% of the class is below this.
The closest probability to 0.9 is 0.1003, which is at 𝑍 = 1.28. We use the
formula 𝑋 = 𝑍𝜎 + 𝜇 to obtain the raw score.

𝑋 = 𝑍𝜎 + 𝜇
𝑋 = (1.28)(15) + 70
𝑋 = 89.2

Therefore, to obtain a grade of 95, you must exceed a score of 89.2.

b. To exceed a grade of 85, you must be above 30% of the class. Since this
probability involves 70% to the left of the total percentage of the class, we
will look at the table for the 𝑧-score of 0.7, which is 0.52. We use the
formula 𝑋 = 𝑍𝜎 + 𝜇 to obtain the raw score.

𝑋 = 𝑍𝜎 + 𝜇
𝑋 = (0.52)(15) + 70
𝑋 = 77.8

Therefore, to get a grade better than 85, you need to exceed a score of 77.8.

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STUDY GUIDE

Try It Yourself!

The length of life of an instrument produced by a machine

has a normal distribution with a mean of 36 months and
standard deviation of 5 months. Find the probability that an
instrument produced by this machine will last:

a. less than 24 months

b. between 30 and 40 months

Check Your Understanding!

1. Write TRUE if the statement is correct, and FALSE if otherwise.

a. In a normal distribution, 11.5% of scores are greater than 𝑍 = 1.2.
b. The percentile rank for the mean is 50% for any normal distribution.
c. A 𝑍-score represents the number of standard deviations above or below the
mean.
d. In a normal distribution, any percentile less than the 50th corresponds to a
negative 𝑍 score.
e. A standard normal distribution has a mean of 1 and a standard deviation of 1.

2. Analyze and solve the following questions.

a. 𝑋 is a normally distributed variable with a mean of 50 and a standard deviation
of 7. Find the following:
i. 𝑃(𝑋 ≤ 45)
ii. 𝑃(𝑋 ≥ 60)
iii. 𝑃(30 ≤ 𝑋 ≤ 70)
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STUDY GUIDE

b. A particular type of 4th grade Achievement Test provides overall scores that are
normally distributed with a mean of 32 and a standard deviation of 8.
i. What is the probability that a randomly selected student earns a score of
at least 25?
ii. What is the probability that a randomly selected student earns a score
between 30 and 40?
iii. The school head will give incentive to the top 3%. What will be the
minimum score required to be given the incentive?

c. The weights of ripe watermelons grown at Mang Jose’s farm follows a normally
distribution with a standard deviation of 0.5 kilos. Find the mean weight of
Mang Juan’s ripe watermelons if only 3% weigh less than 3 kilos.

d. On a math test, the mean score is 83 and the standard deviation of 6. What is
the 90th percentile score?

e. What is the probability of a student scoring between 85% to 90% on a test if the
mean score is 80% and the standard deviation is 5%?

f. The bottom 20% of the students fail the midterm examination. The mean score
of the test was 28 and the standard deviation was 9. What was the passing
score?

g. The top 30% of examinees passed the recent test. What is the lower cut-off
score for the test if the mean is 78 with a standard deviation of 16?

h. A tire company produces tires that has an average duration of 40 000 kilometers
with a standard deviation of 1 500 kilometers. Assuming that the duration
follows a normal distribution, then what percentage of the tires last at least
45 000 kilometers?

i. In a Speech class, students have to talk spontaneously. A certain 6th grade class
has an average of 100 words per minute with a standard deviation of 8 words. 38
STUDY GUIDE

i. What is the probability of a student in that class talking less than 80

words per minute?
ii. What is the probability of a student in that class talking more than 105
words per minute?
iii. What is the probability of the student in that class talking between 85 and
95 words per minute?

j. On the final exam in Statistics, a professor always gives a grade of 1.0 to

students whose scores are between 85 to 90. If the result of the test follows a
normal distribution with a mean of 86 and a standard deviation of 8, what
proportion of the students get a grade of 1.0?

Lesson 4: Solving Problems Involving the Normal Curve

Warm Up!

Squares, Squares!

Materials Needed: pen and paper

Instructions:
1. This activity should be done individually.
2. Count the number of squares in the given figure.
3. Record the results of all those who guessed.

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 STUDY GUIDE

4. Determine what percent of the class answered correctly.

5. Determine what percent of the class guessed less than the correct number but
close to it.

Learn about It!

In the previous lessons, we learned to solve some problems involving 𝑧-scores,

probabilities, and percentiles. The activity in Warm Up! allowed you to recall these
concepts. In this lesson, we will focus more on different complex problems involving
standard scores and the normal curve.

Let’s Practice!

Example 1: Suppose 𝑋 is the blood sugar level in

milligram per deciliter (mg/dL) of a randomly
selected adult after eating six apples. Assume
that 𝑋 ~ 𝑁(150,20). What is the probability
that a randomly selected adult will have a
blood sugar level less than 125 mg/dL after
eating six apples?

Solution: It is given that 𝑋 is normally distributed with 𝜇 = 150 and 𝜎 = 20. To find the
probability, we need to standardize 𝑋 first.

𝑋−𝜇
𝑍=
𝜎
125 − 150
𝑍=
20
𝑍 = −1.25

Look at the 𝑧-score table to find 𝑃(𝑍 < −1.25). 40

 STUDY GUIDE

𝑃(𝑍 < −1.25) = 0.1056

Note that the process of solving for probabilities remains the same whether
strict (“less than”,“greater than”) or non-strict (“less than or equal to,” “greater
than or equal to”) inequalities are involved.

Try It Yourself!

In a geriatric ward of a certain hospital, the average diastolic

blood pressure of patients between 60-80 years old is 100 with
a standard deviation of 5. If the data gathered has a normal
distribution, what is the probability that when a patient is picked
at random, his or her diastolic pressure is more than 110?

Example 2: The lifespan of a computer mouse produced by a company has

a normal distribution with a mean of 12 months and a
standard deviation of 2 months. Find the probability that a
computer mouse produced by this company will last:
a. less than 6 months
b. between 8 and 14 months

Solution: Let us interpret this problem in terms of probabilities.

a. less than 6 months: 𝑃(𝑋 < 6)
b. between 8 and 14 months: 𝑃(8 < 𝑋 < 14)

The next step is to standardize the given distribution using 𝜇 = 12 months

and 𝜎 = 2 months.

a. less than 6 months

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STUDY GUIDE

𝑋−𝜇
𝑍=
𝜎
6 − 12
𝑍=
2
𝑍 = −3

Next, check the 𝑍-score table for the corresponding probabilities.

𝑃(𝑍 < −3) = 0.0013

The probability that a computer mouse produced by the company will last
less than 6 months is 0.13%.

b. between 8 and 14 months

𝑋−𝜇
𝑍8 =
𝜎
8 − 12
𝑍8 =
2
𝑍8 = −2

𝑋−𝜇
𝑍14 =
𝜎
14 − 12
𝑍14 =
2
𝑍14 =1

Next, check the 𝑍-score table for the corresponding probabilities.

𝑃(−2 < 𝑍 < 1) = 0.8413 − 0.0228

𝑃(−2 < 𝑍 < 1) = 0.8185

The probability that a computer mouse produced by the company will last
between 8 and 14 months is 81.85%.
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 STUDY GUIDE

Try It Yourself!

The lifespan of a cellphone is published to be of the average of

10 years with a standard deviation of 2 years. If the lifespan
follows a normal distribution, what is the probability that the
same brand of cellphone will last less than 6 years?

Example 3: The mean weight of a pouch of candies

manufactured by Normal Candy Company is
240 grams, with a standard deviation of 4 grams.
What is the probability that a pouch fresh from
production weighs

a. 240 to 248 g?
b. more than 238 g?
c. less than 230 g?

Solution:
a. 𝑃(240 ≤ 𝑋 ≤ 248)

Standardize the normally distributed data, then check the 𝑍-score table for
the corresponding probabilities.

240 − 240
𝑍240 =
4
0
𝑍240 =
4
𝑍240 =0

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STUDY GUIDE

248 − 240
𝑍248 =
4
8
𝑍248 =
4
𝑍248 =2

𝑃(0 ≤ 𝑍 ≤ 2) = 0.9772 − 0.5 = 0.4772

The probability that a pouch fresh from production weighs 240 to 248 grams
is 0.4772.

b. 𝑃(𝑋 > 238)

Standardize the normally distributed data, then check the 𝑍-score table for
the corresponding probabilities.

238 − 240
𝑍=
4
−2
𝑍= = −0.5
4

𝑃(𝑍 > −0.5) = 1 − 0.3085

𝑃(𝑍 > −0.5) = 0.6915

The probability that a pouch fresh from production weighs more than 238
grams is 0.6915.

c. 𝑃(𝑋 < 230)

Standardize the normally distributed data, then check the 𝑍-score table for
the corresponding probabilities.

230 − 240
𝑍=
4
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STUDY GUIDE

−10
𝑍= = −2.5
4

𝑃(𝑍 < −2.5) = 0.0062

The probability that a pouch fresh from production weighs less than 230
grams is 0.6915.

Try It Yourself!

A local hotdog manufacturer packs hotdog at the

average of 500 g pouch. Quality assurance found 20 g
standard deviation from a sampling made. What is the
probability that in the next sampling, the pack will be
30 g overweight? (Assume that the data have normal
distribution.)

Check Your Understanding!

1. A radar unit used to measure the speed of cars on a highway follows a normally
distribution with a mean of 75 kph and a standard deviation of 15 kph. What is
the probability that a car chosen at random is traveling at a speed greater than
85 kph?

2. The mean afternoon temperature in Quezon City for the month of April is 37 °𝐶
and the standard deviation is 2 °𝐶. Assuming these data are normally
distributed, how many days in April would you expect the afternoon
temperature to be between 39 °𝐶 and 42 °𝐶?

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STUDY GUIDE

3. The average number of calories in a bar is 250 and has a standard deviation of
15. The number of calories per bar is approximately normally distributed. What
percent of candy bars contain between 220 and 260 calories?

4. The length of useful life of a fluorescent tube used inside the house is normally
distributed. The useful life has a mean of 1600 hours and a standard deviation
of 80 hours. Determine the probability that the tube chosen at random will last
between 1620 and 1700 hours.

5. Patrick is in the 90th percentile for his height. Common Grade 11 male students
have an average height of 66 inches with a standard deviation of 2 inches. How
tall is he?

6. In a field, the heights of palay follows a normally distribution with a mean of

4.6 feet and a standard deviation of 2 inches. What is the probability that the
height of the palay will be more than 5 feet?

7. The weight of men’s basketball team follows a normal distribution with a mean
of 65 kilos and a standard deviation of 3 kilos. Find the corresponding percentile
and 𝑥-value for a player that has a 𝑧-score of – 2.1.

8. Assume that IQ scores follows a normally distribution with a mean of 100 and
standard deviation of 15. What is the probability that a randomly selected
person has an IQ score between 105 and 125?

9. Rina Rose earned a score of 42 on a national Mathematics achievement test.

The mean test score was 32 with a standard deviation of 16. What proportion of
students had a higher score than Rina Rose? (Assume that test scores follows a
normally distribution.)

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STUDY GUIDE

10. If the time a student stays in a classroom follows the normal distribution with a
mean of 7 hours and a standard deviation of 0.5 hours, what is the probability
that he stays in a classroom for less than 6 hours?

Challenge Yourself!

1. Entry to a certain university is determined by a national test. The scores on this test
follows a normal distribution with a mean of 185 and a standard deviation of 30.
Ronnie wants to be admitted to this university and he knows that he must score
better than at least 70% of the students who took the test. Ronnie took the test and
scores 205. Will he be admitted to this university? Justify your solution.

2. Complete the following table which shows Theresa’s marks in the quarterly
examinations.

Standard
Subject Score Mean 𝒛-score
deviation
English 78 80 9

Mathematics 67 75 14

History 85 84 7

Biology 80 85 10

Economics 91 88 6

Arts 84 87 8

a. In which subject did she perform best?

b. In which subject was her relative performance the worst?

3. Lisa is a swimmer while Liz is a runner. They will both compete at the inter-school
meet this weekend, along with 4 other athletes in each of their respective events.47
STUDY GUIDE

Lisa thinks she is a better athlete than Liz is. Is there evidence for her claim? (Note:
We are assuming that sprint times and long-jump distances follows a normal
distribution.)

The swim times in seconds are as follows:

Athlete Lisa Swimmer 2 Swimmer 3 Swimmer 4 Swimmer 5

Time (sec) 15 17 14 19 16

The running time in seconds are as follows:

Athlete Liz Runner 2 Runner 3 Runner r 4 Runner 5

Time (sec) 23 24 20 21 19

4. Cathy scored 55 in an English test for which the mean score was 50 and the
standard deviation was 6. She scored 64 in a Mathematics test for which the mean
score was 59 and the standard deviation 9. If the scores have a normal distribution,
in which subject did she perform better? What mark would Cathy have had to score
in Mathematics for his performance to be equivalent to that for English?

5. Compare the curves shown. Which statement is correct?

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 STUDY GUIDE

a. 𝑋 has a larger mean and larger standard deviation than 𝑌.

b. 𝑋 has a larger mean and smaller standard deviation than 𝑌.
c. 𝑋 has a smaller mean and larger standard deviation than 𝑌.
d. 𝑋 has a smaller mean and smaller standard deviation than 𝑌.

Performance Task

You are tasked by the Mathematics Head to get all the raw scores of Grade 11 in the Third
Periodic Exam. Assume a role of a statistician and get the top 5% of the group to be given
an incentive. You will get the mean of the group as well as the standard deviation. You
need to write a report listing the names of the students included in the top 5% to be given
the incentive and submit to the head not later than a week after the date of assignment.

Performance Task Rubric

Criteria Below Needs Successful Exemplary

Expectation Improvement Performance Performance
(0–49%) (50–74%) (75–99%) (99+%)
Completeness Gathered less Gathered 80- Gathered 90- Gathered
of data than 80% of 89% of the 99% of the 100% of the
gathered the results of results of results of results of
Grade 11 all Grade 11 all Grade 11 all Grade 11 all
Third Third Third Third
Quarterly Quarterly Test Quarterly Test Quarterly
Test in Math. in Math. in Math. Test in Math.
Accuracy of The formula There are two There is one All formulas
formula and and the computations computation and
computation computations for mean, for mean, computations
were standard standard for mean,
incorrect. deviation or deviation or standard
percentile percentile deviation and
which are which is percentile are
49
STUDY GUIDE

incorrect. incorrect. correct.

Submission of The proposal The proposal The proposal The proposal

report is submitted is submitted is submitted is submitted
more than 4 3-4 days late. 1-2 days late. on time.
days late.

Wrap-up

Key to Let’s Practice!

Lesson 1
1. −1.5
2. 97
3. 2.87
4. Math

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Lesson 2
1. 0.0885
2. 0.9522
3. 54 and 86
4. 0.7872

Lesson 3
1. 0.2266
2. a) 0.1056, b) 0.9876
3. a) 0.2810, b) 0.9664, c) 0.5899
4. a) 0.0082, b) 0.6730

Lesson 4:
1. 0.9772
2. 0.0228
3. 0.0668

References

Math is Fun. “Standard Normal Distribution”. Accessed September 16, 2018.

https://www.mathsisfun.com/data/standard-normal-distribution.html

OUP. “The Normal Distribution”. Accessed September 17, 2018.

https://www.oup.com.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0030/58278/Insight_Maths_General_
12_HSC_2_ch6_Normal_distribution.pdf

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