Chapter 6

Normal Distribution

Many of the variables measured in medical tests-blood pressure, triglyceride level, etc. are
approximately normally distributed for the majority of the population. Thus, researchers can find the
mean and standard deviation of these variables. Then, using these two measures along with the z
values, they can find normal intervals for healthy individuals.

Normal distribution is one of the most important probability distribution of a random continuous
variable. It is also called Gaussian distribution. It is an appropriate model for a very large number of
variables.

Properties of the Normal Distribution

 Symmetric shape
 Mean, median, and mode are equal and located at the center of the distribution.
 Unimodal (has one mode)
 It extends to infinity on both sides. Curve never touches the x-axis. It never meets the x-axis,
but gets increasingly closer.
 Total area under curve is 1.
 0.5 of area to each side of the mean.
 Area that lies within 1 standard deviation of the mean is approximately 0.68, within 2 standard
deviations is about 0.95, and within 3 standard deviations is about 0.997

Each normally distributed variable has its own mean and standard deviation, the shape and location of
these curves will vary. In practical applications, then, one would have to have a table of areas under the
curve for each variable. To simplify this situation, statisticians use what is called the standard normal
distribution.

Standard normal distribution or the z-distribution

 Use: to find areas under any normal curve

 Properties:
- Properties of the normal distribution
- Mean is zero
- Standard deviation is 1
 Definition: Z-score is the number of standard deviations a value is away from the mean.
 How to read Z-table:

z-table gives the area between 0 and any z value to the right of 0, one need only look up the z value in
the table. For example to find area corresponding to z-value of 2.34 find 2.3 in the left column and 0.04
in the top tow. The value where the column and row meet in the table is the answer, 0.4904.
How to find area under z-curve

For the solution of problems using the standard normal distribution:

 Draw the z-curve

 Shade the area desired.
 Use the z-table to find area.
Standardization (Changing x to z): To solve problems by using the standard normal distribution, transform the
original variable into a standard normal distribution variable by using the formula:

Z= x - 

Examples of Normal Distribution

1- Find the area between z = 0 and z = -1.75.

Solution

z-table does not give the areas for negative values of z, But since the normal distribution
is symmetric about the mean, the area to the left of the mean (in this case, the
mean is 0) is the same as the area to the right of the mean. Hence one need only look up
the area for z = +1.75, which is 0.4599.

2- Find the area to the right of z = 1.11

The required area is in the tail of the curve. Since z table gives the area between z= 0 and
z = 1.11, first find that area. Then subtract this value from 0.5000, since half of
the area under the curve is to the right of z = O. The area between z = 0 and z = 1.11 is 0.3665,
and the area to the right of z = 1.11 is 0.1335 obtained by subtracting 0.3665 from 0.5000.

Example 7+ .
3-
4-
5- 3- Find the area between z = -2.48 and z = -0.83.

The area between z = 0 and z = -2.48 is 0.4934. The area between z = 0 and z =-0.83 is 0.2969.
Subtracting yields 0.4934 - 0.2969 = 0.1965.

4- Find the area between z = + 1.68 and z = -1.37.

Now, since the two areas are on opposite sides of z = 0, one must find both areas and add them.
The area between z = 0 and z = 1.68 is 0.4535. The area between z = 0 and z = -1.37 is 0.4147.
Hence, the total area between z = -1.37 and z -= +1.68 is 0.4535 + 0.4147 = 0.8682.
5 - Find the area to the left of z = 1.99.

Since z table gives only the area between z = 0 and z = 1.99, one must add 0.5000 to the table
area, since 0.5000 (half) of the total area lies to the left of z = 0. The area between z = 0 and
z = 1.99 is 0.4767, and the total area is 0.4767 + 0.5000 = 0.9767.

6- Find the area to the right of z = +2.43 and to the left of z = -3.01.

The area to the right of 2.43 is 0.5000 - 0.4925 = 0.0075. The area to the left of z = -3.01 is
0.5000 - 0.4987 = 0.0013. The total area, then, is 0.0075 + 0.0013 = 0.0088

7- If the scores for the test have a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15, find the
percentage of scores that will fall below 112.
From the z-table, the area between z = 0 and z = 0.8 is 0.2881. Since the area under the curve to
the left of z = 0 is 0.5000 thus to calculate the desired area add 0.5000 + 0.2881 = 0.7881.
Therefore, 78.81% of the scores fall below 112.

8- The American Automobile Association reports that the average time it takes to respond to
an emergency call is 25 minutes. Assume the variable is approximately normally
distributed and the standard deviation is 4.5 minutes. If 80 calls are randomly selected,
approximately how many will be responded to in less than 15 minutes?
 Find the z value for 15.

The area obtained from z Table is 0.4868, which corresponds to the area between z = 0 and
z = -2.22 (Use +2.22.). Subtract 0.4868 from 0.5000 to get 0.0132. To find how many calls will
be made in less than 15 minutes, multiply the sample size (80) by the area (0.0132) to get 1.056.
Hence, 1.056, or approximately one call will be responded to in under 15 minutes.

9- In order 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. Test scores are normally distributed.

STEP 1- Subtract 0.1000 from 0.5000 to get the area under the normal distribution
between 200 and X ( 0.5000 - 0.1000 = 0.4000).
STEP 2- Find the z value that corresponds to an area of 0.4000 by looking up 0.4000
in the area portion of z-table. If the specific value cannot be found, use the closest value-in this
case 0.3997. The corresponding z value is 1.28. (If the area falls exactly halfway between two
z values, use the average of the two z values. For example, the area 0.4500 falls halfway between
1.64+1.65
0.4495 and 0.4505. In this case z= =1.645 .
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