JOODY S. CATACUTAN.

BSA-3A
ACTIVITY 1: STAT APP

1. Identify the properties of a normal distribution.

A normal distribution, sometimes called the bell curve, is a distribution that occurs naturally in many
situations. It also known as called Gaussian Distribution, after the German mathematician Carl Gauss
who first described it.
Properties of a normal distribution
 The normal distribution is bell-shaped.
 The mean, mode and median are all equal and are located at the center of the distribution.
 The normal distribution is unimodal.
 The normal distribution curve is symmetric at the center (i.e. around the mean, μ).
 The normal distribution is continuous.
 The normal curve is asymptotic (it never touches the x-axis.)
 The total area under the part of a normal distribution curve is 1.00 or 100%.
 The area under the part of a normal curve that lies within 1 standard deviation of the mean is 68%;
within 2 standard deviations, about 95%; and 3 standard deviations, about 99.7%.

2. How to identify distributions as symmetric or skewed?

A symmetric distribution is one where the left and right hand sides of the distribution are roughly equally
balanced around the mean. A skewed distribution can be skewed right (positively skewed) which mean is
typically greater than the median. Also notice that the tail of the distribution on the right hand (positive)
side is longer than on the left hand side. A distribution that is skewed left has exactly the opposite
characteristics of one that is skewed right.

3. How to look for the area under the standard distribution, given various z values?
To find the area under the standard distribution, we used the formula below.

x−μ
z=
σ

 X = individual value
 μ = mean
 σ = standard deviation

4. How to look for probabilities for a normally distributed variable by transforming it into standard
normal variable?

 Transform raw data. Usually, the raw data are not in the form of z-scores. They need to be
transformed into z-scores, using the transformation equation presented above (See #3.)
 Find probability. Once the data have been transformed into z-scores, you can use standard
normal distribution tables, online calculators or handheld graphing calculators to find
probabilities associated with the z-scores.

5. How to look for a specific data values for given percentages, using the standard normal distributions?

 In order to compute percentages under a normal standard distributions, you need to

standardize every given value.

6. How to use the central limit theorem to solve problems involving sample means for large samples?
STEP 1: Identify the parts of the problem. Your question would state:
 The mean (average or µ)
 The standard deviation (σ )
 The population size
 Sample size (n)
 x a number associated with “greater than”
STEP 2: Draw a graph. Label the center with the mean. Shade the area roughly above x .
STEP 3: Use the following formula to find the z-score. Plug-in the numbers from step 1.
 x −μ
z=
σ /√ n
STEP 4: Look up the z-score you calculated in step 3 in the z-table.
STEP 5: Subtract your z-score from 0.5
STEP 6: Convert the decimal in step 5 to a percentage.

7. How to use the normal approximation to compute probabilities for a binomial variable?
Historically, being able to compute binomial probabilities was one of the most important applications of
the central limit theorem. To compute the normal approximation to the binomial distribution, you must
meet the conditions for a binomial distribution:
 There are certain number n of independent trials
 The outcomes of any trial are success or failure
 Each trial has the same probability of a success p.
The binomial can be approximated by the normal distribution with the mean µ = np and standard
deviation σ =√ npq . Remember that q=1-p. In order to get the best approximation, add 0.5 to x or
subtract 0.5 from x (use x+0.5 or x-0.5).