Normal Distribution of Statistics and Probability and Basic Calculus: Continuity of

Functions

1) Problem: Our section took a test in Physics and the final grades have a mean of 70 and a
standard deviation of 10. If we can approximate the distribution of these grades by a
normal distribution, what percent of the students
a) scored higher than 80?
b) should pass the test (grades≥60)?
c) should fail the test (grades<60)?

SOLUTION:

a) For x = 80, z = 1
Area to the right (higher than) z = 1 is equal to 0.1586 = 15.87% scored more that 80.
b) For x = 60, z = -1
Area to the right of z = -1 is equal to 0.8413 = 84.13% should pass the test.
c)100% - 84.13% = 15.87% should fail the test.

2. Problem: The annual allowance is approximately normally distributed with a mean of

P50,000 and a standard deviation of P20,000.
a) What percent of my mother’s money is P40,000?
b) What percent of my father’s money is between P45,000 and P65,000?
c) What percent of my savings is P70,000?

SOLUTION:

a) For x = 40000, z = -0.5

Area to the left (less than) of z = -0.5 is equal to 0.3085 = 30.85% earn less than P40,000.
b) For x = 45000 , z = -0.25 and for x = 65000, z = 0.75
Area between z = -0.25 and z = 0.75 is equal to 0.3720 = 37.20 earned between P45,000 and
P65,000.
c)For x = 70000, z = 1
Area to the right (higher) of z = 1 is equal to 0.1586 = 15.86% earn more than P70,000.
3) Most graduates in my siblings school require applicants for admission to take the Graduate
Management Admission Council’s GMAT examination. Scores on the GMAT are roughly
normally distributed with a mean of 527 and a standard deviation of 112. What is the probability
of an individual scoring above 500 on the GMAT?

How high must my siblings and his friend's individual score be on the GMAT in order to score in
the highest 5%?

4) Me and my friend are watching the Final Games between Ceres-La Salle and Malaysia Soccer
Team on YouTube. Unfortunately, our internet connection suddenly became choppy and we
missed what happened at 4:00. So, we just decided to make a prediction bet for the ball’s
position? Easy. Since I am good with solving normal distribution and continuity functions I just
grab the neighboring instants (3:59 and 4:01) and predict the ball to be somewhere in-between.
And... It works! Real- world objects don’t teleport; they move through intermediate positions
along their path from A to B. So my prediction is “At 4:00, the ball was between its position at
3:59 and 4:01”. Not bad. With a slow-motion camera, we might even say “At 4:00, the ball was
between its positions at 3:59.999 and 4:00.001”. I won the bet! And my prediction is exactly
accurate. Why?

➢ The predictions agree at increasing zoom levels. Imagine the 3:59-4:01 range was
9.9-10.1 meters, but after zooming into 3:59.999-4:00.001, the range widened to 9-
12 meters. Zooming would narrow our estimate, not even the zoom level needs to
be accurate (imagine seeing the game every 5 minutes), but to feel confident, there
must be some beginning where the following zooms only strengthen our range
estimate.
➢ The before-and-after agree. Visualize at 3:59 the ball was at 10 meters, rolling right,
and at 4:01 it was 50 meters, rolling left. What happened? We had a sudden jump
(a camera change?) and now we can’t pin down the ball’s position. Which one had
the ball at 4:00? This doubt breaks our ability to make a confident prediction.
With these requirements in place, we might say “At 4:00, the ball was at 10 meters.
This estimate is confirmed by our initial zoom (3:59-4:01, which estimates 9.9 to 10.1
meters) and the following one (3:59.999-4:00.001, which estimates 9.999 to 10.001
meters)”.

When x is close to 2, then the function 3x – 1 is close to 5. Thus, the limit as x

approaches 2 of 3x – 1 is 5.
We write limx →2

(3x − 1) = 3 (2) − 1 = 6 − 1 = 5.
The mathematical idea of “limits” is somewhat
similar to the idea of “tolerance” as used by engineers,
architects, businessmen and others. The concept of the
the limit of a function is similar to the ideas of tolerance.
We say that limx →c

f(x) = L, where the values of f(x) within any given tolerance range

about L by requiring x to be within a corresponding tolerance range about a.

However, in the function f(x) = x

2 + 6x + 8 which is factorable by

(x + 4)(x + 2). Then, limx →3

x
2 + 6x + 8 is
limx →3
(x + 4)(x + 2) = (3 + 4)(3 + 2) = (7)(5) = 35

Here’s how I formulate the problem:

Is continuous at x = 2? At x = -1?
Solution: First check if the function is defined at x = 2.
Then, check the one-sided limits,
Since the one-sided limits agree, the limit exists. Since the limit is equal to the function value,
the function is continuous at x = 2.
Checking if the function is defined at x = -1,

The function is not continuous at x = -1 because it is not defined there. Checking the one-sided
limits:

Since the limit exists, this is a point discontinuity at x = -1.