Quarter 4

Lesson 5

Standard Scores
and Normal
Distribution
 Objectives

At the end of this lesson, the learner should be able to

• Define and calculate standard scores (Z-scores) for a

given data set;

• Describe the characteristics of a normal

distribution; and

• Use standard scores and knowledge of normal

distribution to analyze and solve problems related
to real-world scenarios
 Let’s Learn It!

Standard Score (𝒛)

1 The standard score 𝑧 of a given value of 𝑥 from a set of data with mean 𝑥ҧ and the
standard deviation 𝑠 is defined as:

𝑥 − 𝑥ҧ
𝑧=
𝑠

The standard score may be positive, negative, or zero.

1. A positive standard score means that the given value is 𝑧 times the standard
deviation above the mean.
2. A negative standard score means that the given value is 𝑧 times the standard
deviation below the mean.
 Try It!

Example 1: Mary is a member of the philately club. The

mean and the standard deviation of the number of stamps
collected by each member are 400 and 50, respectively. If
Mary has 360 stamps, find her standard score.
 Try It!

Example 2: In a mathematics test, the mean and the

standard deviation of the grades for a whole class were 75
and 15 respectively. If Alan got 82 marks and Leon got 74
marks, find the standard scores of their marks. (Give the
answers correct to 3 significant figures.)
 Let’s Learn It!

Normal Distribution
2 is one of the most common and important distribution in statistics. The graph of a
normal distribution is represented by a normal curve. Each normal curve is defined
by mean 𝑥ҧ and the standard deviation 𝑠 of the distribution.
 Let’s Learn It!

If a set of data follows the normal distribution, we can estimate the percentage falling
between one, two, and three standard deviations about the mean by using the following
results:

ഥ − 𝟑𝒔
𝒙 ഥ − 𝟐𝒔
𝒙 ഥ−𝒔
𝒙 ഥ
𝒙 ഥ+𝒔
𝒙 ഥ + 𝟐𝒔
𝒙 ഥ + 𝟑𝒔
𝒙
Let’s Learn It!

Since the normal curve has reflectional

symmetry about the mean, we have
the following results:
Percentage of
Interval
data
Between 𝑥ҧ − 𝑠 and 𝑥ҧ 34%
Between 𝑥ҧ and 𝑥ҧ + 𝑠 34%
Between 𝑥ҧ − 2𝑠 and 𝑥ҧ 47.5%
Between 𝑥ҧ and 𝑥ҧ + 2𝑠 47.5%
Between 𝑥ҧ − 3𝑠 and 𝑥ҧ 49.85%
Between 𝑥ҧ and 𝑥ҧ + 3𝑠 49.85%
ഥ − 𝟑𝒔
𝒙 ഥ − 𝟐𝒔
𝒙 ഥ−𝒔
𝒙 ഥ
𝒙 ഥ+𝒔
𝒙 ഥ + 𝟐𝒔
𝒙 ഥ + 𝟑𝒔
𝒙 < 𝑥ҧ 50%
> 𝑥ҧ 50%
 Let’s Learn It!

1. About 68% of the data lie within one standard deviation from the mean. That is, the
interval between 𝑥ҧ − 𝑠 and 𝑥ҧ + 𝑠.
2. About 95% of the data lie within one standard deviation from the mean. That is, the
interval between 𝑥ҧ − 2𝑠 and 𝑥ҧ + 2𝑠.
3. About 99.7% of the data lie within one standard deviation from the mean. That is, the
interval between 𝑥ҧ − 3𝑠 and 𝑥ҧ + 3𝑠.
 Try It!

Example 1: The lifetimes of 10 000 light bulbs are measured.

The mean and the standard deviation are 2500 hours and 60
hours respectively. Assume that the lifetimes are normally
distributed.

a. Find (i) the percent, (ii) the number of light bulbs with
lifetimes between 2440 hours and 2560 hours.
b. Find the number of light bulbs with lifetime less than 2560
hours.