Lecture 5 Normal Distributions

Normal Distributions
 Many continuous variables have distributions
that are bell-shaped and are called
approximately normally distributed
variables.
 The theoretical curve, called the bell curve or
the Gaussian distribution, can be used to
study many variables that are not normally
distributed but are approximately normal.

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Normal Distributions
The mathematical equation for the normal
distribution is:
 ( X   )2 (2 2 )
e
y
 2
where
e  2.718
  3.14
  population mean
  population standard deviation
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Normal Distributions
 The shape and position of the normal
distribution curve depend on two parameters,
the mean and the standard deviation.
 Each normally distributed variable has its own
normal distribution curve, which depends on the
values of the variable’s mean and standard
deviation.

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Normal Distributions

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Normal Distribution Properties
 The normal distribution curve is bell-shaped.
 The mean, median, and mode are equal and
located at the center of the distribution.
 The normal distribution curve is unimodal (i.e.,
it has only one mode).
 The curve is symmetrical 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.

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Normal Distribution Properties
 The curve is continuous—i.e., there are no
gaps or holes. For each value of X, there is a
corresponding value of Y.
 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.

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Normal Distribution Properties
 The total area under the normal distribution
curve is equal to 1.00 or 100%.
 The area under the normal curve that lies within
 one standard deviation of the mean is
approximately 0.68 (68%).
 two standard deviations of the mean is
approximately 0.95 (95%).
 three standard deviations of the mean is
approximately 0.997 ( 99.7%).

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Normal Distribution Properties

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Standard Normal Distribution
 Since each normally distributed variable has its
own mean and standard deviation, the shape
and location of these curves will vary. In
practical applications, one would have to have
a table of areas under the curve for each
variable. To simplify this, statisticians use the
standard normal distribution.
 The standard normal distribution is a normal
distribution with a mean of 0 and a standard
deviation of 1.

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z value (Standard Value)
The z value is the number of standard deviations
that a particular X value is away from the mean.
The formula for finding the z value is:

value  mean
z
standard deviation
X 
z


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Area under the Standard Normal
Distribution Curve
1. To the left of any z value:
Look up the z value in the table and use the
area given.

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Area under the Standard Normal
Distribution Curve
2. To the right of any z value:
Look up the z value and subtract the area
from 1.

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Area under the Standard Normal
Distribution Curve
3. Between two z values:
Look up both z values and subtract the
corresponding areas.

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Example: Area under the Curve
Find the area to the left of z = 2.06.

The value in the -2.0 row and the 0.06 column of

Table E (of textbook) is 0.0197. The area is
0.9803.
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Example: Area under the Curve
Find the area to the right of z = –1.19.

The value in the –1.1 row and the .09 column of

Table E is 0.1170. The area is 1 – 0.1170 =
0.8830.
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Example: Area under the Curve
Find the area between z = +1.68 and z = –1.37.

The values for z = +1.68 is 0.9535 and for

z = –1.37 is 0.0853. The area is 0.9535 – 0.0853
= 0.8682.
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Example: Probability
a. Find the probability: P(0 < z < 2.32)

The values for z = 2.32 is 0.9898 and for z = 0 is

0.5000. The probability is 0.9898 – 0.5000 =
0.4898.
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Example: Probability
Find the z value such that the area under the
standard normal distribution curve between 0 and
the z value is 0.2123.

Add 0.5000 to 0.2123 to get the cumulative area

of 0.7123. Then look for that value inside Table
E.
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Example: Summer Spending
A survey found that women spend on average $146.21 on
beauty products during the summer months.

Assume the standard deviation is $29.44.

Find the percentage of women who spend less than

$160.00. Assume the variable is normally distributed.

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Example: Summer Spending
Step 1: Draw the normal distribution curve.

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Example: Summer Spending
Step 2: Find the z value corresponding to $160.00.
X   160.00  146.21
z   0.47
 29.44
Step 3: Find the area to the left of z = 0.47.

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Example: Summer Spending
Step 2: Find the z value corresponding to $160.00.
X   160.00  146.21
z   0.47
 29.44
Step 3: Find the area to the left of z = 0.47.

Table E gives us an area of .6808.

68% of women spend less than $160.
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Example: Newspaper Recycling
Each month, an American household generates an
average of 28 pounds of newspaper for garbage or
recycling. Assume the standard deviation is 2 pounds. If a
household is selected at random, find the probability of its
generating between 27 and 31 pounds per month.
Assume the variable is approximately normally distributed.

Step 1: Draw the normal distribution curve.

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Example: Newspaper Recycling
Step 2: Find z values corresponding to 27 and 31.
27  28 31  28
z  0.5 z  1.5
2 2
Step 3: Find the area between z = -0.5 and z = 1.5.

Table E gives us an area of 0.9332 – 0.3085 =

0.6247. The probability is 62%.
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Example: Coffee Consumption
Americans consume an average of 1.64 cups of coffee per
day. Assume the variable is approximately normally
distributed with a standard deviation of 0.24 cup.

If 500 individuals are selected, approximately how many

will drink less than 1 cup of coffee per day?

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Example: Coffee Consumption
Step 1: Draw the normal distribution curve.

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Example 6-8: Coffee Consumption
Step 2: Find the z value for 1.
1  1.64
z  2.67
0.24
Step 3: Find the area to the left of z = –2.67. It is 0.0038.

Step 4: To find how many people drank less than 1 cup

of coffee, multiply the sample size 500 by 0.0038
to get 1.9.

Since we are asking about people, round the

answer to 2 people. Hence, approximately 2
people will drink less than 1 cup of coffee a day.

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Example: Police Academy
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.

Step 1: Draw the normal distribution curve.

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Example: Police Academy
Step 2: Subtract 1 – 0.1000 to find area to the left, 0.9000.
Look for the closest value to that in Table E.

Step 3: Find X.
X    z  200  1.28  20   225.60
The cutoff, the lowest possible score to qualify, is 226.
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Example: Systolic Blood Pressure
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.

Step 1: Draw the normal distribution curve.

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Example: Systolic Blood Pressure

Area to the left of the positive z: 0.5000 + 0.3000 = 0.8000.

Using Table E, z  0.84. X = 120 + 0.84(8) = 126.72

Area to the left of the negative z: 0.5000 – 0.3000 = 0.2000.

Using Table E, z  –0.84. X = 120 – 0.84(8) = 113.28

The middle 60% of readings are between 113 and 127.

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Normal Distributions
 A normally shaped or bell-shaped distribution is
only one of many shapes that a distribution can
assume; however, it is very important since
many statistical methods require that the
distribution of values (shown in subsequent
chapters) be normally or approximately
normally shaped.
 There are a number of ways statisticians check
for normality. We will focus on three of them.

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Checking for Normality
 Histogram
 Pearson’s Index PI of Skewness
 Outliers
 Other Tests
 Normal Quantile Plot
 Chi-Square Goodness-of-Fit Test
 Kolmogorov-Smikirov Test
 Lilliefors Test

Bluman Chapter 6 34
Example: Technology Inventories
A survey of 18 high-technology firms showed the number of
days’ inventory they had on hand. Determine if the data are
approximately normally distributed.
5 29 34 44 45 63 68 74 74
81 88 91 97 98 113 118 151 158

Method 1: Construct a Histogram.

The histogram is approximately bell-shaped.

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Example: Technology Inventories
Method 2: Check for Skewness.
X  79.5, MD  77.5, s  40.5
3( X  MD ) 3  79.5  77.5 
PI    0.148
s 40.5
The PI is not greater than 1 or less than –1, so it can be
concluded that the distribution is not significantly skewed.

Method 3: Check for Outliers.

Five-Number Summary: 5 - 45 - 77.5 - 98 - 158
Q1 – 1.5(IQR) = 45 – 1.5(53) = –34.5
Q3 + 1.5(IQR) = 98 + 1.5(53) = 177.5
No data below –34.5 or above 177.5, so no outliers.

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Example: Technology Inventories
A survey of 18 high-technology firms showed the number of
days’ inventory they had on hand. Determine if the data are
approximately normally distributed.
5 29 34 44 45 63 68 74 74
81 88 91 97 98 113 118 151 158

Conclusion:
 The histogram is approximately bell-shaped.
 The data are not significantly skewed.
 There are no outliers.

Thus, it can be concluded that the distribution is

approximately normally distributed.

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The Central Limit Theorem

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The Central Limit Theorem

In addition to knowing how individual data values

vary about the mean for a population, statisticians
are interested in knowing how the means of
samples of the same size taken from the same
population vary about the population mean.

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Bean Machine

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Bean Machine
 Sum of Bernoulli
random variables

 Approximate normal
distribution

 Central limit theorem

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Distribution of Sample Means
 A sampling distribution of sample means is
a distribution obtained by using the means
computed from random samples of a specific
size taken from a population.
 Sampling error is the difference between the
sample measure and the corresponding
population measure due to the fact that the
sample is not a perfect representation of the
population.

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Properties of the Distribution of
Sample Means
 The mean of the sample means will be the
same as the population mean.
 The standard deviation of the sample means
will be smaller than the standard deviation of
the population, and will be equal to the
population standard deviation divided by the
square root of the sample size.

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The Central Limit Theorem
 As the sample size n increases, the shape of
the distribution of the sample means taken with
replacement from a population with mean  and
standard deviation  will approach a normal
distribution.
 The mean of the sample means equals the
population mean.  X   .
 The standard deviation of the sample means is
called the standard error of the mean.
 X   n.

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The Central Limit Theorem
 The central limit theorem can be used to
answer questions about sample means in the
same manner that the normal distribution can
be used to answer questions about individual
values.
 A new formula must be used for the z values:
X  X X 
z 
X  n

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Example: Hours of Television
A. C. Neilsen reported that children between the ages of 2
and 5 watch an average of 25 hours of television per week.
Assume the variable is normally distributed and the
standard deviation is 3 hours. If 20 children between the
ages of 2 and 5 are randomly selected, find the probability
that the mean of the number of hours they watch television
will be greater than 26.3 hours.

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Example 6-13: Hours of Television

Since we are calculating probability for a sample mean, we need

the Central Limit Theorem formula

X  26.3  25
z   1.94
 n 3 20

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Example 6-13: Hours of Television

Since we are calculating probability for a sample mean, we need

the Central Limit Theorem formula

X  26.3  25
z   1.94
 n 3 20
The area is 1.0000 – 0.9738 = 0.0262. The probability of
obtaining a sample mean larger than 26.3 hours is 2.62%.

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Example: Vehicle Age
The average age of a vehicle registered in the United
States is 8 years, or 96 months. Assume the standard
deviation is 16 months. If a random sample of 36 vehicles
is selected, find the probability that the mean of their age is
between 90 and 100 months.

Since the sample is 30 or larger, the normality assumption

is not necessary.

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Example: Vehicle Age

90  96 100  96
z  2.25 z  1.50
16 36 16 36
Table E gives us areas 0.9332 and 0.0122, respectively.
The desired area is 0.9332 – 0.0122 = 0.9210.
The probability of obtaining a sample mean between 90 and 100
months is 92.1%.

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Example: Meat Consumption
The average number of pounds of meat that a person
consumes per year is 218.4 pounds. Assume that the
standard deviation is 25 pounds and the distribution is
approximately normal.
a. Find the probability that a person selected at random
consumes less than 224 pounds per year.

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Example: Meat Consumption

X   224  218.4
z   0.22
 25
The area to the left of z = 0.22 is 0.5871. Hence, the
probability of selecting an individual who consumes less
than 224 pounds of meat per year is 0.5871, or 58.71%.

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Example: Meat Consumption
The average number of pounds of meat that a person
consumes per year is 218.4 pounds. Assume that the
standard deviation is 25 pounds.
b. If a sample of 40 individuals is selected, find the
probability the sample mean will be less than 224
pounds per year.

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Example: Meat Consumption

X  224  218.4
z   1.42
 n 25 40
The area to the left of z = 1.42 is 0.9222. Hence, the
probability that the mean of a sample of 40 individuals is
less than 224 pounds per year is 0.9222, or 92.22%.

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Finite Population Correction Factor
 The formula for standard error of the mean is
accurate when the samples are drawn with
replacement or are drawn without replacement
from a very large or infinite population.
 A correction factor is necessary for computing
the standard error of the mean for samples
drawn without replacement from a finite
population.

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Finite Population Correction Factor
 The correction factor is computed using the
following formula:
N n
N 1
where N is the population size and n is the
sample size.
 The standard error of the mean must be
multiplied by the correction factor to adjust it for
large samples taken from a small population.

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Finite Population Correction Factor
 N n

n N 1

 The standard error for the mean must be

adjusted when it is included in the formula for
calculating the z values.
X 
 N n

n N 1

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The Normal Approximation to the Binomial Distribution

A normal distribution is often used to solve

problems that involve the binomial distribution
since when n is large (say, 100), the calculations
are too difficult to do by hand using the binomial
distribution.

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The Normal Approximation to the
Binomial Distribution
 The normal approximation to the binomial is
appropriate when np > 5 and nq > 5 .
 In addition, a correction for continuity may be
used in the normal approximation to the
binomial.
 The continuity correction means that for any
specific value of X, say 8, the boundaries of X
in the binomial distribution (in this case, 7.5 to
8.5) must be used.

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The Normal Approximation to the
Binomial Distribution
Binomial Normal
When finding: Use:
P(X = a) P(a – 0.5 < X < a + 0.5)
P(X  a) P(X > a – 0.5)
P(X > a) P(X > a + 0.5)
P(X  a) P(X < a + 0.5)
P(X < a) P(X < a – 0.5)
For all cases,   np,   npq , np  5, nq  5
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Example: Reading While Driving
A magazine reported that 6% of American drivers read the
newspaper while driving. If 300 drivers are selected at
random, find the probability that exactly 25 say they read
the newspaper while driving.
Here, p = 0.06, q = 0.94, and n = 300.
Step 1: Check to see whether a normal approximation can
be used.
np = (300)(0.06) = 18 and nq = (300)(0.94) = 282
Since np  5 and nq  5, we can use the normal distribution.
Step 2: Find the mean and standard deviation.
µ = np = (300)(0.06) = 18
  npq  300  0.06  0.94   4.11
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Example: Reading While Driving
Step 3: Write in probability notation. P(X = 25)
Step 4: Rewrite using the continuity correction factor.
P(24.5 < X < 25.5)
Step 5: Find the corresponding z values.
24.5  18 25.5  18
z  1.58, z   1.82
4.11 4.11
Step 6: Find the solution
The area between the two z values is
0.9656 – 0.9429 = 0.0227, or 2.27%.

Hence, the probability that exactly 25 people read the

newspaper while driving is 2.27%. (Exact value is
2.26%)
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Example: Widowed Bowlers
Of the members of a bowling league, 10% are widowed. If
200 bowling league members are selected at random, find
the probability that 10 or more will be widowed.
Here, p = 0.10, q = 0.90, and n = 200.
Step 1: Check to see whether a normal approximation can
be used.
np = (200)(0.10) = 20 and nq = (200)(0.90) = 180
Since np  5 and nq  5, we can use the normal distribution.
Step 2: Find the mean and standard deviation.
µ = np = (200)(0.06) = 20
  npq  200  0.10  0.90   4.24

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Example: Widowed Bowlers
Step 3: Write in probability notation. P(X  10)
Step 4: Rewrite using the continuity correction factor.
P(X > 9.5)
Step 5: Find the corresponding z values.
9.5  20
z  2.48
4.24
Step 6: Find the solution
The area to the right of the z value is
1.0000 – 0.0066 = 0.9934, or 99.34%.

The probability of 10 or more widowed people in a random

sample of 200 bowling league members is 99.34%. (Exact
value is 99.65%)
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