Section 12.

4
The Normal Distribution
Objectives
1. Recognize characteristics of normal distributions.
2. Understand the 68-95-99.7 Rule.
3. Find scores at a specified number of standard
deviations from the mean.
4. Use the 68-95-99.7 Rule
5. Convert a data item to a z-score.
6. Understand percentiles and quartiles.
7. Solve applied problems involving normal distributions.
8. Use and interpret margins of error.
9. Recognize distributions that are not normal.
12/03/09 Section 12.4 1
 Normal Distribution
• Also called the bell curve or Gaussian distribution.
• Normal distribution is bell shaped and symmetric about a vertical
line through its center.
• Mean, median and mode are all equal and located at the center of
the distribution.

12/03/09 Section 12.4 2

 Normal Distribution continued

The shape of the normal distribution depends on the

mean and the standard deviation. These three graphs
have the same mean but different standard deviations.
As the standard deviation increases, the distribution
becomes more spread out.

12/03/09 Section 12.4 3

Standard Deviation and the 68-95-99.7 Rule
1. Approximately 68% of
the data items fall within
1 standard deviation of
the mean (in both
directions).
2. Approximately 95% of
the data items fall within
2 standard deviations of
the mean.
3. Approximately 99.7% of
the data items fall within
3 standard deviations of
the mean.
12/03/09 Section 12.4 4
 Example 1
Finding Scores at a Specified Standard
Deviation From the Mean
• Male adult heights in North America are approximately
normally distributed with a mean of 70 inches and a
standard deviation of 4 inches. Find the height that is 2
standard deviations above the mean.

• Solution.
• Height = mean + 2∙standard deviation
= 70 + 2∙4 = 70 + 8 = 78

12/03/09 Section 12.4 5

 Example 2
Using the 68-95-99.7 Rule
• Use the distribution of
male adult heights in the
figure to find the percentage
of men in North America with
heights between 66 inches
and 74 inches.
• Solution. Mean – 1∙standard deviation
The 68-95-99.7 Rule states
= 70 - 1∙ 4= 66.
That approximately 68% of
Mean + 1∙standard deviation
the data items fall within 1
= 70 + 1∙ 4 = 74.
standard deviation, 4, of the
68% of males have heights between
mean, 70.
66 and 74 inches.

12/03/09 Section 12.4 6

Computing z-Scores in Normal Distributions.

• Describes how many standard deviations a data item in a

normal distribution lies above or below the mean.
Computing z-scores:

data item - mean

z-score = standard deviation

• Data items above the mean have positive z-scores.

• Data items below the mean have negative z-scores.
• The z-score for the mean is 0.

12/03/09 Section 12.4 7

 Example 3
Computing z-Scores
• The mean weight of newborn • Solution:
infants is 7 pounds and the The mean is 7 and the
standard deviation is 0.8 pound. standard deviation is
The weights of newborn infants
0.8. The z-score
are normally distributed. Find the
written z9, is:
z-score for a weight of 9 pounds.

data item - mean

z9 =
standard deviation
9−7 2
= =
0.8 0.8
= 2.5
12/03/09 Section 12.4 8
 Example 4
Understanding Scores
• Intelligence quotients (IQs) on the Stanford – Binet
intelligence test are normally distributed with a mean of 100
and a standard deviation of 16. What is the IQ
corresponding to a z-score of -1.5?
• Solution:
The negative sign in -1.5 tells us that the IQ is 1½ standard
deviations below the mean.
Score = mean – 1.5 ∙ standard deviation
= 100 – 1.5 (16) = 100 – 24 = 76.
The IQ corresponding to a z-score of -1.5 is 76.

12/03/09 Section 12.4 9

 Percentiles and Quartiles

• Percentiles: If n% of the items

in a distribution are less than a
particular data item, we say that
the data item is in the nth
percentile of the distribution.
• Quartiles: Divide data sets
into four equal parts. The 25th
percentile is the first quartile.
25% of the data fall below the first
quartile. The 50th percentile is
the second quartile. The 75th
percentile is the third quartile.

12/03/09 Section 12.4 10

 A Percentile Interpretation for z-Scores
• Using the z-score and a table, you can find the
percentage of data items that are less than any data item
in a normal distribution.

• In a normal distribution, the mean, median, and mode all

have a corresponding z-score of 0 and are the 50th
percentile. Thus, 50% of the data items are greater than
or equal to the mean, median and mode.

12/03/09 Section 12.4 11

 Example 5
Finding the Percentage of Data Items Less Than a
Given Data Item
• According to the Department of Health and Education,
cholesterol levels are normally distributed. For men
between 18 and 24 years, the mean is 178.2 and the
standard deviation is 40.7. What percentage of men in this
age range have a cholesterol level less than 239.15?

• Solution
Compute the z-score for a 239.15 cholesterol level.
data item - mean 239.15 − 178.1 61.05
z239.15 = = = = 1.5
standard deviation 40.7 40.7
12/03/09 Section 12.4 12
 Example 5 continued

• We must find the percentage of men with a cholesterol

level less than z = 1.5. The table gives this percentage as
a percentile. Finding 1.5 in the z-score column gives a
percentile of 93.32. thus , 93.32% of men between 18
and 24 have a cholesterol level less than 239.15

z-score Percentile
1.4 91.92
1.5 93.32
1.6 94.52

12/03/09 Section 12.4 13

 Finding the Percentage of Data Items Between
Two Given Data Items.

1. Convert each given data item to a z-score.

2. Use the table to find the percentile corresponding to

each z-score in step 1.

3. Subtract the lesser percentile from the greater

percentile and attach a % sign.

12/03/09 Section 12.4 14

 Example 6
• The amount of time that self-employed Americans work
each week is normally distributed with a mean of 44.6 hours
and a standard deviation of 14.4 hours. What percentage of
self-employed individuals in the United States work
between 37.4 and 80.6 hours per week?
Solution:
Step 1. Convert each given data item to a z-score.

data item - mean 37.4 − 44.6 - 7.2

z37.4 = = = = −0.5
standard deviation 14.4 14.4

data item - mean 80.6 − 44.6 36

z80.6 = = = = 2.5
standard deviation 14.4 14.4

12/03/09 Section 12.4 15

 Example 6 continued
Step 2. Use the Table to find the percentile corresponding
to these z-scores.

The percentile corresponding to -0.50 is 30.85.

This means that 30.85 percent of self-employed Americans work

fewer than 37.4 hours per week.

The Table also shows that the percentile that corresponds

to a z-score of 2.5 is 99.38.

That means that 99.38% of self- employed Americans work fewer

than 80.6 hours per week.

12/03/09 Section 12.4 16

 Example 6 continued
Step 3. Subtract the lesser percentile from the greater
percentile and attach a % sign.

99.38 – 30.85 = 68.53.

= 68.53 %

Thus, 68.53% of self-employed

Americans work between
37.4 and 80.6 hours per week.

12/03/09 Section 12.4 17

 Summary of Computing Percentage of Data
Items for Normal Distributions
Description of Percentage Graph Computation of Percentage
Percentage of data Use the table percentile
items less than a given for z = b and add a % sign
data item with z = b
Percentage of data Subtract the table percentile
items greater than a for z = a from 100 and add
given data item with a % sign.
z=a
Percentage of data Subtract the table percentile
items between two for z = a from the table
given data items with percentile for z = b and add
z = a and z = b a % sign.

12/03/09 Section 12.4 18

 Polls and Margins of Error

• Statisticians use properties of the normal distribution to

estimate the probability that a result obtained from a
single sample reflects what is truly happening.

• If n is the sample size, there is a 95% probability that it

lies within 1 of the true population statistic.
n
1
• ± is called the margin of error.
n

12/03/09 Section 12.4 19

 Example 7
Using and Interpreting Margin of Error
In a random sample of 1172 children ages 6 through 14,
17% of the children said getting bossed around is a bad thing
about being a kid.
a. Verify the margin of error.
Solution: The sample size is n = 1172. The margin of error is
1 1
± =± ≈ ±2.9%
n 1172
b. Write a statement about the percentage of children who
feel that getting bossed around is a bad thing about being
a kid.
Solution: There is a 95% probability that the true population
percentage lies between
17% -2.9% = 14.1% and 17% + 2.9% = 19.9%
12/03/09 Section 12.4 20
 Other Kinds of Distributions
• This graph represents
the population distribution
of weekly earnings in the
United States. There is no
upper limit on weekly earnings.
The relatively few people with very high weekly incomes pull
the mean income to a value greater than the median.
• The most frequent income, the mode, occurs towards the low
end of the data items.
• This is called a skewed distribution because a large number of
data items are piled up at one end or the other with a “tail” at
the other end.
• This graph is skewed to the right.

12/03/09 Section 12.4 21