CHAPTER ONE

1. Review of some basic concepts

1.1. Basic concepts: population, sample, parameter, Statistic

Definitions: Statistics is concerned with scientific methods for collecting, organizing,

summarizing, presenting and analyzing data as well as deriving valid conclusions and
making reasonable decisions on the basis of this analysis.
Classifications: Depending on how data can be used statistics is sometimes divided
in to two main areas or branches.

1. Descriptive Statistics:

Is concerned with summary calculations, graphs, charts and tables.

Generally characterizes or describes a set of data elements by graphically displaying
the information or describing its central tendencies and how it is distributed.
In descriptive statistics our objective is to describe a group of data that we have ‘in
hand’ i.e. data that are accessible to us.
We are not interested in other data that we are not gathered.

Example: the following data refers to the number of malaria patients who have been
treated in Dambi Dollo Hospital from 1986 to 1990 E. C. 3645, 4568, 5432, 6751,
7369
If we calculate the average malaria patients from 1986 to 1990 as
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Average = (3645 + 4568 + 5432 + 6751 + 7369) = 5553 then our work belongs to the domain
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of descriptive statistics.
If we say that there was an increase of 724 patients from 1986 to 1990, then again
this belongs to the domain of descriptive statistics.

2. Inferential Statistics: consists of generalizing from samples to populations,

performing estimations and hypothesis tests, determining relationships among
variables, and making predictions. Statistical techniques based on probability theory
are required.

Example 2: Suppose we want to have an idea about the percentage of illiterates in

our country. We take a sample from the population and find the proportion of
illiterates in the sample. This sample proportion with the help of probability enables
us to make some inferences about the population proportion. This study belongs to
inferential statistics.

1.2. Stages in Statistical Investigation

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 Before we deal with statistical investigation, let us see what statistical data mean.
Each and every numerical data can’t be considered as statistical data unless it
possesses the following criteria. These are:

The data must be aggregate of facts

They must be affected to a marked extent by a multiplicity of causes
They must be estimated according to reasonable standards of accuracy
The data must be collected in a systematic manner for predefined purpose
The data should be placed in relation to each other

A statistician should be involved at all the different stages of statistical investigation.

This includes formulating the problem, and then collecting, organizing and classifying,
presenting, analyzing and interpreting of statistical data. Let’s see each stage in detail

II.. Formulating the problem: first research must emanate if there is a problem. At this
stage the investigator must be sure to understand the problem and then formulate it
in statistical term. Clarify the objectives very carefully. Ask as many questions as
necessary because “An approximate answer to the right question is worth a great deal
more than a precise answer to the wrong question.” -The first golden rule of applied
mathematics-

Therefore, the first stage in any statistical investigation should be to:

Get a clear understanding of the physical background to the situation under study;
Clarify the objectives;
Formulate the objective in statistical terms

IIII.. Proper collection of data: in order to draw valid conclusions, it is important ‘good’
data. Data are gathered with aim to meet predetermine objectives. In other words, the
data must provide answers to problems. The data itself form the foundation of
statistical analyses and hence the data must be carefully and accurately collected. In
section 1.6 we will see the methods of data collection.
IIIIII.. Organization and classification of data: in this stage the collected data organized
in a systematic manner. That means the data must be placed in relation to each
other. The classification or sorting out of data is, by itself, a kind of organization of
data.
IIVV.. Presentation of data: The purpose of putting the organized data in graphs, charts
and tables is two-fold. First, it is a visual way to look at the data and see what
happened and make interpretations. Second, it is usually the best way to show the
data to others. Reading lots of numbers in the text puts people to sleep and does little
to convey information.
VV.. Analyses of data: is the process of looking at and summarizing data with the intent
to extract useful information and develop conclusions. Data analysis is closely related
to data mining, but data mining tends to focus on larger data sets, with less emphasis
on making inference, and often uses data that was originally collected for a different

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 purpose. In this stage different types of inferential statistical methods will apply. For
instance, hypothesis testing such as  2 test of association.
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VII.. Interpretation of data: interpretation means drawing valid conclusions from data
which form the basis of decision making. Correct interpretation requires a high degree
of skill and experience.

Note that: Analyses and interpretation of data are the two sides of the same coin.

1.3. Definition of Some Terms

In this section, we will define those terms which will be used most frequently. These
are:
Data: are the values (measurements or observations) that the variables can assume.
Or. Facts or figures from which the conclusion can be drawn
Data set: Facts or figures collected for a particular study. Each value in the data set
is called data value or datum.
Raw Data: Data sheets are where the data are originally recorded. Original data are
called raw data. Data sheets are often hand drawn, but they can also be printouts
from database programs like Microsoft Excel.
Population: The totality of all subjects with certain common characteristics that are
being studied in a specified time and place.
Sample: Is a portion of a population which is selected using some technique of
sampling. Sample must be representative of the population so that it must be selected
by any of the developed technique.
Sampling: Is the process of selecting units (e.g., people, households, organizations)
from a population of interest so that by studying the sample we may fairly generalize
our results back to the population from which they were chosen. There are two types
of sampling techniques namely random sampling technique and non-random
sampling technique.
Sample size: The number of elements or observation to be included in the sample.
Parameter: Any measure computed from the data of a population.
Example: Populations mean ( ) and population standard deviation ( )
Statistic: Any measure computed from the sample.
()
Example: sample mean x , sample standard deviation (S )
Survey: A collection of quantitative information about members of a population when
no special control is exercised over any of the factors influencing the variable of
interest.
Sample survey: A survey that include only a portion of the population.
Census: A collection of information about every member of a population
Sample survey has the following advantages over census
Sample survey saves time and cost Avoid wastage of material
Has great accuracy
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 Variable: A variable is a characteristic or attribute that can assume different values.
Variables whose values are determined by chance are called random variables.
Variables are often specified according to their type and intended use and hence
variable can be classified in to two namely qualitative and quantitative variables.

A quantitative variable is naturally measured as a number for which meaningful

arithmetic operations make sense. Examples: Height, age, crop yield, GPA, salary,
temperature, area, air pollution index (measured in parts per million), etc.
Qualitative variable: Any variable that is not quantitative is qualitative. Qualitative
variables take a value that is one of several possible categories. As naturally
measured, qualitative variables have no numerical meaning. Examples: Hair color,
gender, field of study, marital status, political affiliation, status of disease infection.

Quantitative variables can be classified as discrete and continuous variable.

Discrete variables can assume certain numerical values. That is, there are gaps
between the possible values. Such as 0, 1, 2... It may be countable finite or countable
infinite. For example the number of students in a classroom, number of children a
family. Continuous variable can take any value within a specified interval with a
finite enough measuring device. No gaps between possible values. They are obtained
by measuring. For example, consider the heights of two people no matter how close it
is we can find another person whose height falls somewhere between the two heights
is a continuous variable.

1.4. Review of probability concepts and distributions

• Probability theory is the foundation upon which the logic of inference is built.
• It helps us to cope up with uncertainty.
• In general, probability is the chance of an outcome of an experiment. It is the
measure of how likely an outcome is to occur.
Definitions of some probability terms

1. Experiment: Any process of observation or measurement or any process which

generates well defined outcome.
2. Probability Experiment (Random Experiment): It is an experiment that can be
repeated any number of times under similar conditions, and it is possible to
enumerate the total number of outcomes without predicting an individual outcome.

Example: If a fair coin is tossed three times, it is possible to enumerate all possible
eight sequences of head (H) and tail (T). But it is not possible to predict which
sequence will occ3ur on any occasion.

3. Outcome: The result of a single trial of a random experiment

4. Sample Space(S): Set of all possible outcomes of a probability experiment.

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 Example 1: Sample space of a trial conducted by three tossing of a coin is

S= {HHH, HHT, HTH, HTT, THH, THT, TTH, TTT}

Example 2: Recording the gender of children of two-child families.
S= {bb, bg, gb, gg}. An event B may be: B=“children of both genders.” Then B={bg, gb}.
Sample space can be

Countable (finite or infinite)

Uncountable

5. Event (Sample Point): It is a subset of sample space. It is a statement about one or

more outcomes of a random experiment. It is denoted by capital letter A, B, C - - -.

For example, in the event, that there are exactly two heads in three tossing of a coin,
it would consist of three points HTH, HHT and THH.
Remark: If S (sample space) has n members with two possible outcomes in each trial
then there are exactly 2n subsets or events.

6. Equally Likely Events: Events which have the same chance of occurring.
7. Complement of an Event: the complement of an event A means non- occurrence of
A and is denoted by A' orAc or {A , contains those points of the sample space which don’t
belong to A.
8. Elementary (simple) Event: an event having only a single element or sample point.
9. Mutually Exclusive (Disjoint) Events: Two events which cannot happen at the same
time.
10. Independent Events: Two events are said to be independent if the occurrence of
one does not affect the probability of the other occurring.
11. Dependent Events: Two events are dependent if the first event affects the outcome
or occurrence of the second event in a way the probability is changed.

5.3 Counting Techniques

The number of outcomes of the random experiment or number of cases favorable to an event
can be determined by using mathematical methods (multiplication rule, addition rule,
permutation and combinations) without direct enumeration.
Addition rule
If there are k procedures and the ith procedure may be performed in 𝑛𝑖 ways = 1,2, … 𝑘 , then
the number of ways in which we may perform procedure1 or procedure 2 or …procedure k is
given by 𝑛1 + 𝑛2 +. . . +𝑛𝑘 assuming that no two procedures may be performed together.

Example:
1. Suppose that we are planning a trip and are deciding between bus or train transportation. If
there are 3 bus routes and 2 train routes, how many different routes are available for the trip?
Solution: There are 3 bus and 2 train routes. Thus there 3 + 2 = 5 routes are available for trip.
Multiplication rule

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 In a sequence of n events in which the first one has 𝑘1 possibilities, the second one has 𝑘2 ,
the 3rd one has 𝑘3 and etc, the total possibility of the sequence will be 𝑘1 + 𝑘2 + . . . +𝑘𝑛
Example:
1. An instructor gives a six question multiple choice examinations. There are four possible
responses for each question. How many answer keys can be made?
2. A product is assembled in three stages. At the first stage there are five assembly lines, at the
second stage there are there are 6 assembly lines and at the third stage there are 10 assembly
lines. In how many different ways may the product be routed through the assembly process?
Solution:
1. 𝑛 = 6 𝑘1 = 4 𝑘2 = 4 𝑘3 = 4 𝑘4 = 4 𝑘5 = 4 𝑘6 = 4
Totally 4 𝑥 4𝑥4 𝑥 4 𝑥4 𝑥4 = 4096 𝑎𝑛𝑠𝑤𝑒𝑟 𝑘𝑒𝑦 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑏𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑑𝑒
2. 𝑘1 = 5 𝑘2 = 6 𝑘3 = 10 the product can be routed in an assembly process by
5 𝑥6𝑥10 = 300 𝑤𝑎𝑦𝑠
Permutations
A permutation is an arrangement of n objects in a specific order. The number of arrangement
of n different objects taking all together is given by 𝑛! = 𝑛(𝑛 − 1)(𝑛 − 2) . . . (1)

The number of arrangement of n different objects in a circle is given by (𝑛 − 1)!

Example:
1. Suppose that the photographer want to arrange 4 people in a raw for photographing. By how
many different ways can the arrangement be done?
2. How many different 5 letter permutation can be performed from the letters in the word
DISCOVER?
Solution:
1. The number of arrangement of 4 people in a raw is given by 4! = 4𝑥3𝑥2𝑥1 = 24
2. 𝑛 = 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑙𝑒𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑑 𝐷𝐼𝑆𝐶𝑂𝑉𝐸𝑅 = 8, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑟 = 5
8!
8 p5 = = 6720
(8 − 5)!
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Combination

A selection of distinct objects without regard to order is called a combination. The difference
between a permutation and a combination is that in a combination, the order or arrangement
of the objects is not important; by contrast, order is important in a permutation.

Example: 1. How many different committees of 3 people can be chosen to work on a special
project
From a group of 9 people? 9C3 = 84

I n a club there is 7 women and 5 men. A committee of 3 women and 2 men is to be chosen.
How many different possibilities are there?
Solution:

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 Example:

Exercise
A committee of 5 people must be selected from 5 men and 8 women. By how many ways can
the selection be done if there are at least 3 women in the committee?
Axiomatic Approach:
Let E be a random experiment and S be a sample space associated with E. With each
event A a real number called the probability of A satisfies the following properties
called axioms of probability or postulates of probability.

a) 0  P( A)  1
b) P(S) =1
c) If A and B are mutually exclusive events, the probability that one or the other occur
equals the sum of the two probabilities. i. e. P (AuB) =P (A) +P (B)
d) For any event A , P( A)  0
e) P(φ) = 0
f) For any event A and B ,P(AuB)=P(A)+P(B)-P(AnB)
g) P(A − )= 1 − P(A)

5.5. Conditional Probability and Independence

Conditional Events: If the occurrence of one event has an effect on the next occurrence of the
other event then the two events conditional or dependent events.

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 Conditional Probability
Let A and B be two events such that P(A) 0. Denote by P(B|A) the probability of B given that
A has occurred. Since A is known to have occurred, it becomes the new sample space
replacing the original S .From this we are led to the definition

p(A  B
Or P(A B )= , P (B) 0 or P (A  B) = P (A|B).P(B)
P (B )
The above definition implies that the probability that both A and B occur is equal to the
probability that A occurs times the probability that B occurs given that A has occurred. We
call P the conditional probability of B given A, i.e., the probability that B will occur given that
A has occurred. It is easy to show that conditional probability satisfies the axioms of
probability.
Remark:
1) 0 ≤ 𝑃(𝐵|𝐴) ≤ 1 2) 𝑃(𝑆|𝐴) = 1 and 𝑃(𝐴|𝑆) = 𝑃(𝐴)
3) P(A − / B ) = 1 − P( A / B ) 4) P(B − / A) = 1 − P(B / A)
5)𝑃(𝐵1 ∪ 𝐵2 |𝐴) = 𝑃(𝐵1 |𝐴) + 𝑃(𝐵2 |𝐴) if 𝐵1 and 𝐵2 are mutually exclusive
6) For three events
𝑃(𝐴1 ∩ 𝐴2 ∩ 𝐴3 ) = 𝑃(𝐴1 )𝑃(𝐴2 |𝐴1 )𝑃(𝐴3 |𝐴1 ∩ 𝐴2 )
4) Generalization of multiplication theorem, for events 𝐴1 , 𝐴2 , 𝐴3 , … , 𝐴𝑛 we have
𝑃(𝐴1 ∩ 𝐴2 ∩ … ∩ 𝐴𝑛 ) = 𝑃(𝐴1 )𝑃(𝐴2 |𝐴1 )𝑃(𝐴3 |𝐴1 ∩ 𝐴2 ) … 𝑃(𝐴𝑛 |𝐴1 ∩ 𝐴2 ∩ … ∩ 𝐴𝑛−1 )

Examples

1. The probability that it is Friday and that a student is absent is 0.03. Since there are 5 school
days in a week, the probability that it is Friday is 0.2. What is the probability that a student
is absent given that today is Friday?

Solution:

P( Absent | Friday ) =
P( Friday and Absent) 0.03
= = 0.15
P( Firday) 0.2
2. A jar contains black and white marbles. Two marbles are chosen without replacement. The
probability of selecting a black marble and then a white marble is 0.34, and the
probability of selecting a black marble on the first draw is 0.47. What is the probability of
selecting white marble on the second draw, given that the first marble drawn was black?
Solution:

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 P(White | Black ) =
P( Black and White) 0.34
= = 0.72
P( Black ) 0.47

Probability Distribution
Random variable: - is numerical valued function defined on the sample space. It is a
function that assigns a real number to elements of possible outcomes of random
experiment. Generally a random variables are denoted by capital letters and the value
of the random variables are denoted by small letters
1. Discrete random variables are variables which can assume only a specific number
of values. These are variables that assign countable values like 0, 1, 2…
2. Continuous random variables are variables that can assume all values between
any two give values. It is variables that assume value in certain defined interval.
Probability distribution consists of a value a random variable can assume and the
corresponding probabilities of the values or it is a function that assigns probability for
each element of random variable. Therefore, it is nothing but pair of values of random
variables with their corresponding probabilities.
Probability distribution can be discrete or continues. This classification depends on
the possible value of the random variables, whether it is discrete or continuous.
A) Discrete probability distribution: - is a formula, a table, a graph or other devices
used to specify all possible values of the discrete random variable (R.V) say X along
with their respective probabilities. It is simply a pair of discrete random variable with
its probability.

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 Example: 1. Suppose we toss a coin three times, the sample space is represented as
TTT , TTH , THT , HTT , HHT , HTH , THH , HHH and Suppose X is the number of heads.

A. Assign a value for a random variable.

B. Construct the probability distribution for A

Solution:

A. Once a random variable, say X , is defined as the number of heads, X = 0,1, 2, or3

Number of heads, X 0 1 2 3
Probability PX = x i  1/8 3/8 3/8 1/8

 PX = x  = 8 + 8 + 8 + 8 = 1
1 3 3 1
We can check that i

Two requirements for a discrete probability distribution

1. The sum of the probabilities of all the events in the sample space must equal 1; that
is,  P( X ) = 1
2. The probability of each event in the sample space must be between or equal to 0 and
1. that is, 0  P( X )  1

B) Continuous probability distribution

Definition: It is a pair of values of continuous random variable with corresponding
probability. The non-negative function f(x) is for continuous random variables X is
said to be valid probability density function if it satisfies the following two
requirements

i) f(x)≥0, for all x


ii)  f ( x) = 1
−

6.2 Expectation and Variance of Random Variables

1. Let a discrete random variable X assume the values X1, X2, ….,Xn with the
probabilities P(X1), P(X2), ….,P(Xn) respectively. Then the expected value of X, denoted
as E(X) is defined as:

n
E(X) =X1.P(X1) +X2.P(X2) +…. +Xn.P(Xn =  X i .P( X i )
i =1

2. Let X be a continuous random variable assuming the values in the interval (a, b) such
b b
that  f (x )d (x) =1,then E ( X ) =  X . f ( x)d ( x)
a a

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 Let X is given random variable the expected value of X is its mean i.e. Mean of X=E(X)
3. The variance of X is given by:
Variance of X=Var(x) = E (X 2 ) − ( E ( X )) 2

n
E ( X 2 ) =  X i .P( X i )
2
If X is discrete
i =0
Where
=  X 2 f (x )d ( x) if X is continuous
x

If 𝑋 is a random variable with mean μ, then the variance of x, denoted by 𝑉𝑎𝑟 (𝑥), is
defined by
𝑉𝑎𝑟 (𝑋) = 𝐸 [(𝑋 − 𝜇)2 ]
An alternative formula for 𝑉𝑎𝑟(𝑋) is derived as follows
𝑉𝑎𝑟(𝑋) = 𝐸[ 𝑋 – 𝜇]2 = ∑(𝑋 − 𝜇)2 𝑃(𝑋)

= ∑( 𝑋 2 − 2𝜇𝑋 + 𝜇 2 ) 𝑃(𝑋)
= 𝐸[𝑥2] − 2𝜇 2 + 𝜇 2 = 𝐸(𝑋 2 ) – 𝜇 2 That is,𝑉𝑎𝑟 (𝑋) = 𝐸[𝑋 2 ] – (𝐸[𝑋])2
Example:
What is the expected value and Variance of a random variable X obtained by tossing a
coin three times where X is the number of heads?
Solution: The probability distribution of this experiment becomes
Number of heads, 0 1 2 3
X
Probability PX = x i  1/8 3/8 3/8 1/8
3
E ( x) =  Xi P( X = Xi)
i =0

= 0(1/8) + 1(3/8) + 2(3/8) + 3(1/8)= 0 + 3/8 + 6/8 + 3/8 = 3/2= 1.5

3
E ( x 2 ) =  X 2 i P( X = Xi) = 0(1/8) + 1(3/8) + 4(3/8) + 9(1/8) = 3
i =0

The variance of the random variable X, var(X) = E(X2)-(E(X))2= 0.75

Exercise: Let X be a continuous R.V with distribution
1
 x 0 x2
f ( x) =  2
0, otherwise

Then find a) P (1<x<1.5 b) E(x) c) Var(x)

Solution:

 2 x dx = 4 (1.5 )
1.5
a. P(1  x  1.5) =
1 1 2
− 1 = 0.3125
1

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 ( ) ( ) ( )
2 2
b. E ( X ) =  x 2 dx = 2 3 − 0 = and E X 2 =  x 3 dx = 2 4 − 0 = = 2
1 1 8 1 1 16
0
2 6 6 0
2 8 8
2

c. Var ( X ) = E (X 2 ) − (E ( X )) = 2 −   =0.222
2 8
6

6.2.1 Common Discrete Probability Distributions

1. Binomial Distribution
A binomial experiment is a probability experiment that satisfies the following four
requirements called assumptions of a binomial distribution.

1. The experiment consists of n identical trials.

2. Each trial has only one of the two possible mutually exclusive outcomes, success or a
failure.
3. The probability of a success must remain the same for each trial.
4. The outcomes of each trial must be independent

Definition: The outcomes of the binomial experiment and the corresponding

probability of these outcomes are called Binomial Distribution.
Let p=probability of success q= 1-p = probability of failure on any given trials
Then the probability getting x success in n trials is given by binomial probability
distribution
 n  x n − x
 . p q x = 0,1,2,....n
P ( X = x ) =  x 
0 otherwise

And this can be written as X ~ Bin(n, p)
When using the binomial formula to solve problems, we have to identify three things:

• The number of trials (n)

• The probability of a success on any one trial (P) and
• The number of successes desired (X).

If X is a binomial random variable with parameters n and p then 𝑬(𝑿) = 𝒏𝒑 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒗𝒂𝒓(𝑿) =
𝒏𝒑𝒒
2. Poisson Distribution
A random variable X is said to have a Poisson distribution if its probability
distribution is given by:
  x . − 
 x = 0,1,2.....
P( X = x) =  x! Where  is the average number occurrence of an event
0
 otherwise
in the unit length of interval or distance and x is the number of occurrence in a

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 Poisson process. The Poisson distribution depends only on the average number of
occurrences per unit interval of space.
The Poisson distribution is used as a distribution of rare events, such as:
o Number of misprints. o Hereditary.
o Natural disasters like earth quake. o Arrivals
o Accidents. o Number of misprints per page
The process that gives rise to such events is called Poisson process. If X is a Poisson
random variable with parameters λ then E(x) = λ, var (x)= λ. For Poisson probability
distribution, the expected value and variance are equal.

6.2.2 Common Continuous Probability Distributions

1. Normal Distribution

Every continuous random variable X has a curve associated with it. This curve,
formally known as a probability density function, can be used to obtain probabilities
associated with the random variable. This is accomplished as follows, consider any
two points a and b , where a is less than b . The probability that x assumes any value
that lies between a and b is equal to the area under the curve between a and b . That
is, Pa  x  b = 𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑣𝑒𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑛 a 𝑎𝑛𝑑 b
Since X must assume some value, it follows that the total area under the density
curve must be equal 1. Also, since the area under the graph of the probability density
function between points a and b is the same regardless of whether the end points a
and b themselves are included. That is, Pa  x  b = Pa  x  b

Normal Random Variables

The most important type of random variable is the normal random variable. The
probability density function of a normal random variable X is determined by two
parameters: the expected value and the standard deviation of X . We designate these
values as  and  , respectively.
 = EX  And  = SD( X )
The normal probability density function is a bell-shaped density curve that is
symmetric about the value  ; its variability is measured by  . The larger  is, the
more variability there is in the curve.
Since the probability density function of a normal random variable 𝑋 is symmetric
about its expected value 𝜇; it follows that 𝑋 is equally likely to be on either side of 𝜇.
That is,
𝑃{𝑋 < 𝜇} = 𝑃{𝑋 ≥ 𝜇} = 0.5
Moreover, a random variable X is said to have a normal distribution if its probability
density function is given by

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 x−
2

f (x ) =
1 −1
.e  2
where −   x  , −     ,   0
 2   
 = E (x ) and  2 = var iance(x ) are parameters of the normal distribution.

Properties of Normal Distribution:

• It is bell shaped and is symmetrical about its mean and it is mesokurtic. The
maximum ordinate is at μ=x and is given by

f (x ) =
1
 2

• It is asymptotic to the x-axis, i.e., it extends indefinitely in either direction from the
mean.
• It is a continuous distribution i.e. there is no gaps or holes.
• It is a family of curves, i.e., every unique pair of mean and standard deviation defines
a different normal distribution. Thus, the normal distribution is completely described
by two parameters: mean and standard deviation.
• Total area under the curve sums to 1, i.e., the area of the distribution on each side of

the mean is 0.5   f ( x)d (x ) = 1
−

• It is uni-modal, i.e., values mound up only in the center of the curve.

• Median=Mean=mode =μ and located at the center of the distribution.
• The probability that a random variable will have a value between any two points is
equal to the area under the curve between those points.

Note: To facilitate the use of normal distribution, the following distribution known
as the standard normal distribution was derived by using the transformation
−1 2
X −
 f (z ) = i.e. if X ~ N ( ,  2 ) then Z ~ (0,1)
1 Z
Z= e 2
 2
Properties of the Standard Normal Distribution
Same as a normal distribution, but
• Mean is zero
• Variance is one
• Standard Deviation is one

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 Areas under the standard normal distribution curve have been tabulated in various ways.
The most common ones are the areas between Z=0 and a positive value of Z.
Given a normally distributed random variable X with Mean μ and standard deviation σ
a− X − b− a− b−
P(a  X  b ) = P    = P Z  
        
Example1: Find the area under the normal distribution curve between 𝑍 = 0 and 𝑍 = 2.34
Solution: Draw the area as follows:

0 2.34

Since 𝑍 table gives the area between 0 and any 𝑍 value to the right of 0, one need look up
the 𝑍 value in the table. Find 2.3 in the left column and 0.04 in the top row. The value
where the column and row meet in the table is the answer, 0.4904.
𝒁 0.00 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 …
0.0
0.1
0.2
⋮
2.2
2.3 0.4904
⋮
Example 2: Find
A. 𝑃{𝑍 < 1.5}
B. 𝑃{𝑍 ≥ 0.8}
Solution:
A. Draw the area as follows:

0 0 1.5
0 1.50

= 0.5 + 𝑃{0 < 𝑍 < 1.5}

= 0.5 + 0.4332 = 0.9332
B. Draw the required area as follows:

0 0.8

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 0 0.8 0 0 0.8

= 0.5 − 𝑃{0 < 𝑍 < 0.8}

= 0.5 − 0.2881
= 0.2119
Example 6.17: Find
A. 𝑃{1 < 𝑍 < 2}
B. 𝑃{−1.5 < 𝑍 < 2.5}
Solution:
A. Draw the graph as follows:

0 1 2

0 1 2 0 2 0 1 2

= 𝑃{0 < 𝑍 < 2} − 𝑃{0 < 𝑍 < 1}

= 0.4772 − 0.3159
= 0.1359
B. Draw the graph as follows:

-1.5 0 2.5

-1.50 2.5 -1.50 0 2.5

= 𝑃{−1.5 < 𝑍 < 0} + 𝑃{0 < 𝑍 < 2.5}

Since 𝑃{−1.5 < 𝑍 < 0} = 𝑃{0 < 𝑍 < 1.5} , due to symmetric property of normal distribution
𝑃{−1.5 < 𝑍 < 2.5} = 𝑃{0 < 𝑍 < 1.5} + 𝑃{0 < 𝑍 < 2.5}
= 0.4332 + 0.4938
= 0.9270

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