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Chapter 2: Modeling Distributions of Data

Section 2.2
Normal Distributions
The Practice of Statistics, 4th edition - For AP*
STARNES, YATES, MOORE
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Chapter 2
Modeling Distributions of Data

 2.1 Describing Location in a Distribution

 2.2 Normal Distributions
+ Section 2.2
Normal Distributions

Learning Objectives
After this section, you should be able to…

 DESCRIBE and APPLY the 68-95-99.7 Rule

 DESCRIBE the standard Normal Distribution
 PERFORM Normal distribution calculations
 ASSESS Normality
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Normal Distributions

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 One particularly important class of density curves are the Normal

Normal Distributions
curves, which describe Normal distributions.
All Normal curves are symmetric, single-peaked, and bell-shaped
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A Specific Normal curve is described by giving its mean µ and



standard deviation σ.

Two Normal curves, showing the mean µ and standard deviation σ.

 Normal Distributions

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

Normal Distributions
Definition:
A Normal distribution is described by a Normal density curve. Any
particular Normal distribution is completely specified by two numbers: its
mean µ and standard deviation σ.
•Themean of a Normal distribution is the center of the symmetric
Normal curve.
•The standard deviation is the distance from the center to the change-
of-curvature points on either side.
•We abbreviate the Normal distribution with mean µ and standard
deviation σ as N(µ,σ).

Normal distributions are good descriptions for some distributions of real data.

Normal distributions are good approximations of the results of many kinds of chance
outcomes.

Many statistical inference procedures are based on Normal distributions.

 The 68-95-99.7 Rule
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Although there are many Normal curves, they all have properties in

Normal Distributions
common.

Definition: The 68-95-99.7 Rule (“The Empirical Rule”)

In the Normal distribution with mean µ and standard deviation σ:
•Approximately 68% of the observations fall within σ of µ.
•Approximately 95% of the observations fall within 2σ of µ.
•Approximately 99.7% of the observations fall within 3σ of µ.
 Example, p. 113

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The distribution of Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) vocabulary scores

Normal Distributions
for 7th grade students in Gary, Indiana, is close to Normal.
Suppose the distribution is N(6.84, 1.55).

a) Sketch the Normal density curve for this distribution.

b) What percent of ITBS vocabulary scores are less than 3.74?

c) What percent of the scores are between 5.29 and 9.94?

 The Standard Normal Distribution

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 All Normal distributions are the same if we measure in units

Normal Distributions
of size σ from the mean µ as center.

Definition:
The standard Normal distribution is the Normal distribution
with mean 0 and standard deviation 1.
If a variable x has any Normal distribution N(µ,σ) with mean µ
and standard deviation σ, then the standardized variable
x -
z

has the standard Normal distribution, N(0,1).


 The Standard Normal Table

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

Normal Distributions
Because all Normal distributions are the same when we
standardize, we can find areas under any Normal curve from
a single table.
Definition: The Standard Normal Table
Table A is a table of areas under the standard Normal curve. The table
entry for each value z is the area under the curve to the left of z.

Suppose we want to find the

proportion of observations from the
standard Normal distribution that are P(z < 0.81) = .7910
less than 0.81.
We can use Table A:
Z .00 .01 .02
0.7 .7580 .7611 .7642
0.8 .7881 .7910 .7939
0.9 .8159 .8186 .8212
 Example, p. 117

Finding Areas Under the Standard Normal Curve

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

Normal Distributions
Find the proportion of observations from the standard Normal distribution that
are between -1.25 and 0.81.

Can you find the same proportion using a different approach?

1 - (0.1056+0.2090) = 1 – 0.3146
= 0.6854
 Normal Distribution Calculations

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

Normal Distributions
How to Solve Problems Involving Normal Distributions

State: Express the problem in terms of the observed variable x.

Plan: Draw a picture of the distribution and shade the area of

interest under the curve.

Do: Perform calculations.

•Standardize x to restate the problem in terms of a standard
Normal variable z.
•Use Table A and the fact that the total area under the curve
is 1 to find the required area under the standard Normal
curve.

Conclude: Write your conclusion in the context of the problem.

 Normal Distribution Calculations

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

Normal Distributions
When Tiger Woods hits his driver, the distance the ball travels can be
described by N(304, 8). What percent of Tiger’s drives travel between 305
and 325 yards?
305 - 304
When x = 305, z =  0.13
8

325 - 304
 When x = 325, z =  2.63
8



Using Table A, we can find the area to the left of z=2.63 and the area to the left of z=0.13.
0.9957 – 0.5517 = 0.4440. About 44% of Tiger’s drives travel between 305 and 325 yards.
 Assessing Normality

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

Normal Distributions
The Normal distributions provide good models for some
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distributions of real data. Many statistical inference procedures

are based on the assumption that the population is
approximately Normally distributed. Consequently, we need a
strategy for assessing Normality.

Plot the data.

•Make a dotplot, stemplot, or histogram and see if the graph is
approximately symmetric and bell-shaped.

Check whether the data follow the 68-95-99.7 rule.

•Count how many observations fall within one, two, and three
standard deviations of the mean and check to see if these
percents are close to the 68%, 95%, and 99.7% targets for a
Normal distribution.
 Normal Probability Plots

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Normal Distributions
Most software packages can construct Normal probability plots.
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These plots are constructed by plotting each observation in a data

set against its corresponding percentile’s z-score.

Interpreting Normal Probability Plots

If the points on a Normal probability plot lie close to a straight line,
the plot indicates that the data are Normal. Systematic deviations from
a straight line indicate a non-Normal distribution. Outliers appear as
points that are far away from the overall pattern of the plot.
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Section 2.2
Normal Distributions

Summary
In this section, we learned that…

 The Normal Distributions are described by a special family of bell-

shaped, symmetric density curves called Normal curves. The mean
µ and standard deviation σ completely specify a Normal distribution
N(µ,σ). The mean is the center of the curve, and σ is the distance
from µ to the change-of-curvature points on either side.
 All Normal distributions obey the 68-95-99.7 Rule, which describes
what percent of observations lie within one, two, and three standard
deviations of the mean.
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Section 2.2
Normal Distributions

Summary
In this section, we learned that…

 All Normal distributions are the same when measurements are

standardized. The standard Normal distribution has mean µ=0
and standard deviation σ=1.
 Table A gives percentiles for the standard Normal curve. By
standardizing, we can use Table A to determine the percentile for a
given z-score or the z-score corresponding to a given percentile in
any Normal distribution.
 To assess Normality for a given set of data, we first observe its
shape. We then check how well the data fits the 68-95-99.7 rule. We
can also construct and interpret a Normal probability plot.
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Looking Ahead…

In the next Chapter…

We’ll learn how to describe relationships between two

quantitative variables

We’ll study
Scatterplots and correlation
Least-squares regression