UNIT 2: Normal Distribution

Lesson 2.1: Properties of Normal Distribution and Areas under the Normal Curve

A normal distribution is a distribution of a continuous random variable whose graph is a bell-shaped curve
called normal curve. The appearance of the bell-shaped curve still depends on two values, the mean µ and
the standard deviation σ of the distribution.

The figures above show some examples of normal curve with different means and standard deviations.
Figure (a) shows a normal curve with a minimal standard deviation, (b) with a large standard deviation, and
(c) with a medium standard deviation. Though they may seem to be very different, they share common
properties.

A normal distribution has the following properties:

 Its curve is bell-shaped.
 Its curve is symmetric about the y-axis.
 The mean, median, and mode coincide at the center of the distribution.
 The distribution is unimodal.
 Its curve is asymptotic with respect to the x-axis.
 The total area under its curve is 1.

Standard Normal Distribution

Since the appearance of the normal curve depends on the distribution’s mean and standard deviation, there
must be infinitely many different normal curves. In order to make use of its properties, statisticians came up
with a way of transforming every normal curve to what we call a standard normal distribution/curve.

A standard normal distribution is a normal distribution with mean of 0 and a standard deviation of 1.
Basically, any normal distribution could be transformed into this type.

The figure on the right illustrates a standard normal distribution. The values at the horizontal axis are the
values of the random variable Z, the transformed values of the random variable X. The values of Z are
computed using the formula:

x−µ
z=
σ

where µ = mean
σ = standard deviation
Finding the Areas under the Normal Curve
The most important part of the normal curve is the area under it bounded by some values. Basically, some
knowledge of integral calculus is required to solve for the areas bounded by some values, lines, or curves.
However, a table (Z-table) was developed to make the calculations easier. (See table in separate sheet.)

Example 1:
Find the area below z = -1.

Solution:
a. Locate the -1 on the leftmost column of the
Z-table.
b. On the topmost row, locate .00, since -1 has
no decimal part.
c. The value corresponding to the intersection
0.15866 is the area below z = -1.

Example 2:
Find the area above z = -1.

Solution:
Since the area below z = -1 is 0.15866 (based on
Example 1) and the total area under the normal
curve is 1, the area above z = -1 is computed as:
1 - 0.15866 = 0.84134

Example 3:
Find the area between z = 1.25 and z = 0.35.

Solution:
a. Locate, 1.2 on the leftmost column and .05
on the topmost row. Their intersection is .
89435.
b. Locate 0.3 on the leftmost column, and 0.5
on the topmost row. Their intersection is .
63683.
c. To get the are between them, subtract as follows: 0.89435 – 0.63683 = 0.25752.

Practice Exercise
Determine the area below the ff: Determine the area above the ff: Determine the area of the region:
1. z = 2 6. z = 3 11. -1 < z < 1
2. z = 3.1 7. z = -2.5 12. -2 < z < 2

3. z = -1.5 8. z= 1.25 13. -1.5 < z < 2.5

4. z = 2.14 9. z = -0.15 14. 0.18 < z < 3.2

5. z = -2.15 10. z = 3.13 15. -3.01 < z < 1.65

Lesson 2.2 Applications of Normal Distribution
x−µ
Any normal distribution can be transformed to standard normal distribution by the formula: z=
σ
Each of the values obtained using the given formulas is called a z-score. Basically, z-scores are not only
applicable for normal distributions, but in essence, for any type of distribution. This is sometimes called
standard score.

Z-score or standard score tells how many standard deviations a value is away from the mean. A negative
z-score tells that the value is below the mean, while a positive z-score tells that the value is above the mean.
A z-score is unitless, thus, even valued of different units could be compared relative to their groups.

Examples:
The scores of students in the midyear examination for Mathematics has a mean of 32 and a
standard deviation of 5. Find the z-scores corresponding to each of the following:
a. 37 b. 22 c. 33 d. 28

Answers:

a. z=
x−µ
σ
= 37−32
5
5
= =1
5
c. z=
x−µ
σ
= 33−32
5
1
= =0.2
5

b. z=
x−µ
σ
= 22−32
5
=
−10
5
=−2 d. z=
x−µ
σ
= 28−32
5
=
−4
5
=−0.8

Applications of Normal Distribution

The concepts of normal distribution are usually seen in business, economics, medicine, engineering,
education, psychology and basically in all disciplines. In order to use the concepts of normal distribution,
each of the values of a given data are assumed to be transformed to standard scores. From this, a table (z-
table) is used to determine the fraction of values that lie below or above a given value, or between two
values. Also, values that bound a given fraction of the data can be determined by the same table.

Example 1:
The scores of a group of students in a standardized test are normally distributed with a mean of 60
and a standard deviation of 8. Answer the following:
a. How many percent of the students got below 72?
b. What part of the group scored between 58 and 76?
c. If there were 250 students who took the test, about how many students scored higher than 64?

Answers:
x−µ
a. z=
σ
= 72−60
8
12
= =1.5
8
Referring to the z-table, the area below z = 1.5 is 0.93319. Therefore, about 93.32% of the group got
below 72.
x−µ 58−60 −2 x−µ 76−60 16
b. z=
σ
= 8
=
8
=−0.25 z=
σ
= 8
= =2
8
 Using the z-table, the area below z = -0.25 is 0.40129, while the area below z = 2 is 0.97725. The area
between z = -0.25 and z = 2 is 0.97725 – 0.40129 = 0.57596. Thus, about 57.60% of the group got a
score between 58 and 76.
x−µ
c. z=
σ
= 64−60
8
4
= =0.5
8
The area below z = 0.5 is 0.69146, so the area above this is 1 - 0.69146 = 0.30854. Since there were 250
students who took the test, about (200) x (0.30854) = 61.708 or 62 students got a score higher than 64.

Example 2:
A highly selective university only admits the top 5% of the total examinees in their entrance exam.
The results of this year’s entrance exam follow a normal distribution with a mean of 285 and a standard
deviation of 12. What is the least score of an examinee who can be admitted to the university?

Answer:
Look at the body of the z-table to find a value of 0.95, this means that 0.05 or 5% are above this.
From the table, the value 0.95053 corresponds to 1.65 (intersection of 1.6 and 0.05). The score above 1.65 is:
x−µ
z=
σ
x−285
1.65=
12
( 1.65 ) ( 12 )=x−285

x=304.8∨305

Example 3:
The weight of adults in Barangay Liwayway approaches a normal distribution with a mean of 52.9 kg
and standard deviation of 7.2 kg. If an adult is chosen at random from Barangay Liwayway, what is the
probability that this weight is above 48.5 kg?

Answer:
x−µ 48.5−52.9
z=
σ
= 7.2
= -0.61
Looking at the z-table, the area below z = -0.61 is 0.27093. Therefore, the area above it is 1 –
0.27093 = 0.72907. Hence, the probability that the randomly selected adult weights above 48.5 kg is
72.91%.

Practice Exercises:
1. The average length of adult rabbit is 30 cm with standard deviation of 4 cm. If their lengths are normally
distributed,
a. how many percent of adult rabbits are shorter than 28 cm?
b. how many percent of adult rabbits exceed 40 cm in length?
c. if a rabbit is randomly chosen, what is the probability that its length is between 21 cm and 35
cm?

2. The IQs of 600 student applicants in a university are normally distributed with a mean of 115 and
standard deviation of 12.
a. What percent of the applicants have IQs less than 118?
b. How many of these student applicants have IQ between 109 and 124?
c. If the college requires at least an IQ of 95, how many of these students will be admitted?
d. If only the top 10% applicants in terms of IQ will be admitted, what is the least IQ a student must
have in order to be admitted to the university?