October 1, 2025
Special Instructions:
1. Write at least three research questions that your group would like to answer on your chosen
topic. Make at least one question is answerable by inferential statistics.
2. Bring a copy the areas under normal curve table.
STANDARD SCORE or Z SCORE
The standard score is the position of a particular value of X has relative to the mean, measured in
standard devia
The Z score formula:
Z = (value of X – mean )/st. dev. = ( X -X ) / S
Find the standard score for (a) 92 and (b) 72 with respect to a sample of exam grades that has a mean
score of 74.92 and a standard deviation of 14.20.
Solution :
a) X=92, X =74.92, s =14.2
Z= (92 – 74.92 ) / 14.20 = 1.20
b) X = 72, X = 74.92, s = 14.20
Z = (72 – 74.92 ) / 14.20 = - 0.21
This means that the score of 92 is approximately one and one-fifth standard deviation above the mean,
while the score 72 is approximately one-fifth below the mean.
Note: 1. Typically the calculated value of z is rounded to the nearest hundredth.
2. Z – score typically range in value from approximately -3.00 to +3.00
The Empirical Rule and Testing for Normality
The empirical rule states that if a variable is normally distributed, then: within one standard deviation
from the mean there will be approximately 68% of the data: within two standard deviations of the mean
there will be approximately 95% of the data: and within three standard deviations of the mean there will
be approximately 99.7% of the data. This rule applies specifically to a normal (bell shaped) distribution.
Chebyshev’s Theorem
In the event that the data do not display an approximately normal distribution, Chebyshev’s theorem
gives us information about how much of the data will fall within intervals centered at the mean for all
distributions. It states that the proportion of any distribution that lies within k standard deviations of the
mean is at least 1 – 1/ K, where k is any positive number greater than 1. This theorem says that within
two standard deviations of the mean (k=2) you will always find 75% ( that is, 75% or more) of the data.
NORMAL PROBABILITY DISTRIBUTION
The normal probability distribution is considered the single most important probability
distribution. An unlimited number of continuous random variables have either a normal or
approximately normal distribution.
NORMAL PROBABILITY FUNCTION
F(x = ---------------------- for all real number X
When the graph of all such points is drawn, the normal bell shape curve will appear. Note that each
different pair of values for the mean, and standard deviation will result in a different normal probability
function.
THE STANDARD NORMAL DISTRIBUTION
There are an unlimited number of normal probability distributions, but fortunately they are all related to
one distribution: the STANDARD NORMAL DISTRIBUTION. The standard normal distribution is the
normal distribution of the standard variable z ( called the standard score or z-score).
Properties of the Standard normal Distribution:
1. The total area under the normal curve is equal to 1.
2. The distribution is mounded and symmetrical: it extend indefinitely in both directions,
approaching but never touching the horizontal axis.
3. The distribution has a mean of zero and a standard deviation of one.
4. The mean divides the area in half---- 0.5000 on each side.
5. Nearly all the area is between z =- 3.00 and z = +3.00.
STUDENT ACTIVITY
Answer sheet will be collected on Monday next week.
1. Read the steps in finding area under the standard normal curve and answer the following:
a. Find the area to the left of z = -1.52,
b. Find the area to the right of z = +1.52, and
c. Find the area between z = -1.52 and z = 1.52.
2. Read the procedure to find two z scores that bound an area and answer the following:
a. Find the two z scores that bound the middle 95% area under standard normal curve.
b. Find two z scores that bound the middle 99% area under normal curve.