Unit 7 Discussion Forum

The normal distribution is a widely-applied statistical distribution with distinctive characteristics.

According to Illowsky et al. (2022), the main characteristics of the normal distribution are:

1. Symmetry: The normal Distribution is symmetric, perfectly balanced around its mean.
2. Bell-shaped curve: The shape of the normal distribution resembles a bell curve. It is
characterized by a single peak at the mean and tapers off symmetrically in both
directions.
3. Mean and standard deviation: The normal Distribution is defined by two parameters: the
mean (μ) and the standard deviation (σ).
4. Empirical rule: The normal Distribution follows the empirical rule, also known as the 68-
95-99 rule. According to this rule, approximately 68% of the data falls within one
standard deviation of the mean, about 95% falls within two standard deviations, and
around 99% falls within three standard deviations.

Z-scores are standardized scores that allow us to make comparisons between different data sets
that may have different means and standard deviations. Z-scores also serve as test statistics when
conducting many of the usual tests of hypothesis such as the Z test for equality of means.
For a standard normal distribution with a mean µ=0 and a standard deviation σ=1, we can
calculate Z-score for an SAT Math score of 600 as follows:
Z = (X - μ) / σ Z = (600 - 700) / 150 Z = -0.67
Interpreting this Z-score, we can say that an SAT Math score of 600 is 0.67 standard deviations
below the mean.
To find intervals that capture different percentages of SAT Math scores for a normal distribution
with a mean µ=700 and a standard deviation σ=150:

 To capture 68% of SAT Math scores:

o We use empirical rule which tells us that approximately 68% of values fall within
±1 standard deviation from the mean.
o Therefore, we can calculate [a,b] as follows:
 a = µ - σ = 700 - 150 = 550
 b = µ + σ = 700 + 150 = 850
o So, [a,b] that captures 68% of SAT Math scores is [550,850].
 To capture 95% of SAT Math scores:
o We use empirical rule which tells us that approximately 95% of values fall within
±2 standard deviations from the mean.
o Therefore, we can calculate [a,b] as follows:
 a = µ - 2σ = 700 - (2*150) = 400
 b = µ + 2σ = 700 + (2*150) = 1000
o So, [a,b] that captures 95% of SAT Math scores is [400,1000].
 To capture 99.7% of SAT Math scores:
 o We use empirical rule which tells us that approximately 99.7% of values fall
within ±3 standard deviations from the mean.
o Therefore, we can calculate [a,b] as follows:
 a = µ - 3σ = 700 - (3*150) = 250
 b = µ + 3σ = 700 + (3*150) = 1150
o So, [a,b] that captures 99.7% of SAT Math scores is [250,1150].

Reference
Problem No 114. Illowsky, B., Dean, S., Birmajer, D., Blount, B., Boyd, S., Einsohn, M., Helmreich,
Kenyon, L., Lee, S., & Taub, J. (2022). Introductory
statistics. openstax. https://openstax.org/books/introductory-statistics/pages/2-bringing-it-together-
homework .