CHAPTER 2.
LESSON 1: THE NORMAL DISTRIBUTION
To give us a deeper understanding of the concept of the normal distribution, let us learn more about its
properties. The following are the properties that can be observed from the graph of a normal distribution, also
known as Gaussian distribution.
1. The graph is a continuous curve and has a domain of −∞ < 𝑋 < +∞
2. The graph is asymptotic to the x-axis. The value of the variable gets closer and closer but will never be
equal to 0.
o As the x gets larger and larger in the positive direction, the tail of the curve approaches but will
never touch the horizontal axis. The same thing when the x gets larger and larger in the negative
direction.
3. The highest point on the curve occurs at x = µ (mean).
o The mean (µ) indicates the highest peak of the curve and is found at the center.
o Take note that the mean is denoted by this symbol µ and the standard deviation is denoted by this
symbol
o The median and mode of the distribution are also found at the center of the graph. This indicates
that in a normal distribution, the mean, median and mode
are equal.
4. The curve is symmetrical about the mean.
o This means that the curve will have balanced proportions
when cut in halves and the area under the curve to the right
of mean (50%) is equal to the area under the curve to the
left of the mean (50%).
5. The total area in the normal distribution under the curve is equal to 1
o Since the mean divides the curve into halves, 50% of the area is to the right and 50% to its left
having a total of 100% or 1.
6. In general, the graph of a normal distribution is a bell-shaped curve with two inflection points, one on the
left and another on the right. Inflection points are the points that mark the change in the curve’s concavity.
o Inflection point is the point at which a change in the
direction of curve at mean minus standard deviation and
mean plus standard deviation.
o Note that each inflection point of the normal curve is one
standard deviation away from the mean.
7. Every normal curve corresponds to the “empirical rule” (also
called the 68 - 95 - 99.7% rule):
68.3%
about 68.3% of the area under the curve falls within 1 standard
deviation of the mean
95.4%
about 95.4% of the area under the curve falls within 2 standard
deviations of the mean.
CHAPTER II-LESSON 1: THE NORMAL DISTRIBUTION | JGV’24
99.7%
about 99.7% of the area under the curve falls within 3 standard
deviations of the mean.
EXAMPLE.
A continuous random variable X is normally distributed with a mean of 45 and standard deviation of 6.
Illustrate a normal curve and find the probability of the following:
CHAPTER II-LESSON 1: THE NORMAL DISTRIBUTION | JGV’24
EXERCISE 1.
Directions: Read the following statements carefully. Write ND if the statement describes a characteristic
of a normal distribution, and NND if it does not describe a characteristic of a normal distribution. Write
your answers on a separate sheet of paper.
1. The curve of the distribution is bell-shaped. ND
2. In a normal distribution, the mean, median and mode are of equal values. ND
3. The normal curve gradually gets closer and closer to 0 on one side. NND
4. The curve is symmetrical about the mean. ND
5. The distance between the two inflection points of the normal curve is equal to the value of the mean.
NND
6. A normal distribution has a mean that is also equal to the standard deviation. NND
7. The two parameters of the normal distribution are the mean and the standard deviation. ND
8. The normal curve can be described as asymptotic. ND
9. Two standard deviations away from the left and right of the mean is equal to 68.3%. NND
10. The area under the curve bounded by the x-axis is equal to 1. ND
CHAPTER II-LESSON 1: THE NORMAL DISTRIBUTION | JGV’24
