PSY 303 – PSYCHOLOGICAL STATISTICS

CHAPTER 4
NORMAL DISTRIBUTION
Normal Distribution – is a continuous, symmetric, bell-shaped distribution of a variable.

* A normal distribution can be converted into a standard normal distribution by obtaining the z-value.
x−
Standard normal value: z =

z = z value
x = value of any particular observation or measurement
 = mean of the distribution
σ = standard deviation of the distribution

Area of Normal Distribution

Example1. Find the area under the standard normal distribution curve between
z = 0 and z = 1.85
Solution:
Step 1. Draw a figure and represent the area as shown in the figure below

AREA

1 2 3

z=0 z = 1.85

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 PSY 303 – PSYCHOLOGICAL STATISTICS

Since from table A (Standard Normal Distribution Table) gives the area between 0 and any z value
to the right of 0, we only need to look up the z value in the table. Find 1.8 in the left column and 0.05 in
the top row. The value where the column and row meet in the table is the answer, 0.4678.

Therefore, P(0  z  1.85) = 0.4678

P(0  z  1.85) = 46.78%
Example2. Find the area under the standard normal distribution curve between z = 0 and z = -1.15

AREA

-3 -2 -1

z = -1.15 z=0

P(−1.15  z  0) = 0.3749
P(−1.15  z  0) = 37.49%

Example3. Find the area under the standard normal distribution curve
a. to the right of z = 1.15

AREA

1 2 3

z=0 z = 1.15

P(1.15  z ) = 50% − P(0  z  1.15)

Since P(0  z  1.15) = 0.3749 , then
P(1.15  z ) = 0.50 − 0.3749
P(1.15  z ) = 0.1251
P(1.15  z ) = 12.51%

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PSY 303 – PSYCHOLOGICAL STATISTICS

b. between z = 0.75 and z = 1.85

AREA

1 2 3

z = 0 z = 0.75 z = 1.85

P(0.75  z  1.85) = P(0  z  1.85) − P(0  z  0.75)

Since P(0  z  1.85) = 0.4678 and
P(0  z  0.75) = 0.2734 , then
P(0.75  z  1.85) = 0.4678 − 0.2734
P(0.75  z  1.85) = 0.1944
P(0.75  z  1.85) = 19.44%

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Standardized Normal Distribution Table

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PSY 303 – PSYCHOLOGICAL STATISTICS

Application on the Normal Distribution

x−
Formula: z =

where z = z value
x = the value of any particular observation or measurement
µ = population mean
σ = population standard deviation

Example1. The average Pag-ibig salary loan for RFS Pharmacy Inc. Employees is P23,000. If the debt is
normally distributed with a standard deviation of P2,500 find the probability that the employee
owes less than P18,500.

Solution:
Given:  = P 23,000 ,  = P 2,500 , x = P18,500
Draw a figure and represent the area as shown in the figure below

AREA

x = P18,500  = P23,000

z = -1.80 z =0

Find the z value using the formula

x− 18,500 − 23,000 − 4,500
z= , z= =
 2,500 2,500
z = −1.80
Find the appropriate area in the standardized normal distribution table

P( x  P18,500) = P( z  −1.80)
P( x  P18,500) = 50% − P(−1.80  z  0)
Since P (−1.80  z  0) = 0.4641 , then
P( x  P18,500) = 0.50 − 0.4641
P( x  P18,500) = 0.0359
P( x  P18,500) = 3.59%

Hence, the probability that the employee owes less than P18,500 in Pag-ibig salary loan is
3.59%

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PSY 303 – PSYCHOLOGICAL STATISTICS

Example2. The average age of bank managers is 40 years. Assume the variable is normally distributed.
If the standard deviation is 5 years, find the probability that the age of a randomly selected bank
manager will be in the range between 35 and 46 years old.

Solution:
Given:  = 40 x1 = 35
 =5 x2 = 46

Draw a figure and represent the area as shown in the figure below

AREA

x1 = 35  = 40 x2 = 46

z1 = -1.00 z =0 z2 = 1.20

Find the two z values using the formula

x−
z=

x1 −  35 − 40 − 5
z1 = = = = −1.00
 5 5
x2 −  46 − 40 6
z2 = = = = 1.20
 5 5

Find the appropriate area in the standardized normal distribution table

P(35  x  46) = P(−1.00  z  1.20)

P(35  x  46) = P(−1.00  z  0) + P(0  z  1.20)
Since P (−1.00  z  0) = 0.3413 and P (0  z  1.20) = 0.3849, then
P (35  x  46) = 0.3413+ 0.3849
P(35  x  46) = 0.7262
P(35  x  46) = 72.62%

Hence, the probability that a randomly selected bank manager is between 35 and 46 years
old is 72.62%

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PSY 303 – PSYCHOLOGICAL STATISTICS

Sampling Distribution of the Sample Mean

- a distribution using the means computed from all possible random samples of a specific size
taken from a population.
x−
Formula: z = 
n
where z = z value
x = sample mean
µ = population mean
σ = population standard deviation
n = sample

Example. The average cost per household of owning a brand new car is P5,000. Suppose that we
randomly selected 40 households, determine the probability that the sample mean for these 40
households is more than P5,350. Assume the variable is normally distributed and the standard
deviation is P1,230.

Solution:
Given:  = P5,000 n = 40
x = P5,350  = P1,230

Draw a figure and represent the area as shown in the figure below

AREA

P5,000 P5,350
z =0 z = 1.80

Find the z value using the formula

x−
z=

n

5,350 − 5,000 350  40 

z= = = 350 
1,230 1,230 1,230
40 40
z = 1.80

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PSY 303 – PSYCHOLOGICAL STATISTICS

Find the appropriate area in the standardized normal distribution table

P( P5,350  x) = P(1.80  z)

P( P5,350  x) = 50% − P(0  z  1.80)

Since P(0  z  1.80) = 0.4641 , then

P( P5,350  x) = 0.50 − 0.4641

P( P5,350  x) = 0.0359

P( P5,350  x) = 3.59%
We can conclude that the probability of obtaining a sample mean of 40 households which
is more than P5,350 is 3.59%

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PSY 303 – PSYCHOLOGICAL STATISTICS

Normal Approximation to the Binomial Distribution

- The Central Limit Theorem says that as n increases, the binomial distribution with n trials
and probability p of success gets closer and closer to a normal distribution. That is, the
binomial probability of any event gets closer and closer to the normal probability of the same
event. The normal distribution has the same mean and standard deviation as the binomial
distribution.

Formulas:  = np  = npq q =1− p conditions: np  5 and nq  5

Normal Approximation to the Binomial Distribution Table

Binomial Distribution Normal Distribution

1. P(x = a) P(a - 0.5 < x < a + 0.5)
2. P(x ≥ a) P(x > a - 0.5)
3. P(x > a) P(x > a + 0.5)
4. P(x ≤ a) P(x < a + 0.5)
5. P(x < a) P(x < a - 0.5)

Example. LTO reported that 14% of Filipinos drivers have professional drivers license. If 250 drivers
are selected at random, find the probability that exactly 30 Filipinos have professional drivers
license.

Solution:
Given: p = Filipino drivers with professional drivers license
q = Filipino drivers with non-professional drivers license

Here, p = 14% = 0.14 q = 1 − p = 1 − 0.14 = 0.86 n = 250

Step1. Check to see whether a normal distribution can be used.

np = (250)(0.14) = 35 and nq = (250)(0.86) = 215

Since np  5 and nq  5 , the normal approximation can be used

Step2. Compute for the value of  and 

 = np = (250)(0.14) = 35 and  = npq = (250)(0.14)(0.86) = 30.1 = 5.49

Step3. Write the problem in probability notation

P(x = 30) , since we have probability that exactly 30 Filipinos

Step4. Rewrite the problem using the normal approximation to the binomial distribution table.
P(x = a ) use P(a − 0.5  x  a + 0.5) , then
P(x = 30) = P(30 − 0.5  x  30 + 0.5) = P(29.5  x  30.5)

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Show the corresponding area under the normal distribution curve

AREA

29.5 30.5 35
z = - 1.00 z=0
z = -0.82

x−
Step5. Find the corresponding z value using the formula z =

Given: x1 = 29.5 , x2 = 30.5 and  = 5.49

x1 − 
29.5 − 35 − 5.5
z1 = = = = −1.00
 5.49 5.49
x −  30.5 − 35 − 4.5
z2 = 2 = = = −0.82
 5.49 5.49

Step6. Find the solution. Find the appropriate area in the standardized normal distribution table

P(x = 30) = P(29.5  x  30.5)

P(x = 30) = P(−1.00  z  −0.82)
P(x = 30) = P(−1.00  z  0) − P(− 0.82  z  0)
Since P (−1.00  z  0) = 0.3413 and P (−0.82  z  0) = 0.2939 , then
P(x = 30) = 0.3413− 0.2939
P(x = 30) = 0.0474
P(x = 30) = 4.74%

Thus, the probability that exactly 30 Filipinos have professional drivers license is 4.74%

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 PSY 303 – PSYCHOLOGICAL STATISTICS

CHAPTER TEST (Problem Set 4)

Name: ________________________________ Date: _________

Section: _______________________________ Score: ________

1. Find the area under the standard normal distribution curve

a. between z = -2.85 and z = -1.25 b. between z = -1.55 and z = 2.85

2. The average age of a car registered in the LTO is 10 years or 120 months. Assume the standard
deviation is 15 months. If a random sample of 40 cars is selected, find the probability that the mean
of their ages is between 115 and 129 months.

3. A company that produces SSS handkerchiefs was fairly certain that their handkerchiefs brand had a
20% market share. In a market survey involving 3,000 handkerchief buyers, 660 expressed a
preference on their brand. If the 20% figure is correct, find the probability of observing 660 or fewer
customers preferring the SSS brand of handkerchiefs.

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