THE NORMAL DISTRIBUTION

This is a continuous probability distribution that describes data clustered (spread)

Summary:

(a) A r∙v X which is normally distributed with mean µ and variance σ 2 is written

as X ∼ N(µ , σ 2 ).

(b) The graph of a normal distribution is a curve with two major properties:

(i) The curve is bell−shaped and symmetrical about the mean µ = 0 as shown.

0 z
(ii) The total area under the curve is 1.

(c) Normal probabilities are obtained as follows:

(i) Specify the desired probability in terms of X.

X−μ
(ii) Transform the X−values into Z−values using Z = .
σ
(iii) Draw the normal curve with the desired area shaded.

(iv) Find the desired area under the normal curve using a normal table.

(c) The values in the cumulative normal table are the areas between zero and the

Z−score.
p

0 zp z

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 The table gives P(0 < Z < Z p ) = P( shaded area) = P

By symmetry,

(i) P(Z < Z p ) = 0∙5 + P

(ii) P(Z > Z p ) = 0∙5 − P

(iii) P(Z < −Z p ) = P(Z > Zp )

(iv) P(Z > −Z p ) = P(Z < Zp )

(v) P(−Z p < Z < Z p ) = 2P(0 < Z < Z p )

NOTE:

(i) This table can be used in reverse to find the Z−value corresponding to a given

probability.

∴ The normal score X = µ + Zσ

(ii) Sometimes the Z−value can be obtained using the table for critical points.

However this table is not available for all possible values of P.

(iii) The symmetrical limits of the normal score X = µ ± Zσ

EXAMPLES:

1. The lifetimes of electric bulbs are normally distributed with mean 200 hours

and standard deviation 12 hours.

(a) Find the probability that the lifetime of a bulb selected at random will be:

(i) less than 225 hours.

(ii) greater than 215 hours.

(iii) atmost 179 hours.

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 (iv) between 185 hours and 212 hours.

(v) between 209 hours and 229 hours.

(b) Find the:

(i) percentage of bulbs whose lifetimes exceeds 189 hours.

(ii) number of bulbs in a packet of 145 bulbs whose lifetimes is less than

214 hours.

(iii) percentage of bulbs not acceptable for sale, if the acceptable lifetime for

sale lies between 191 hours and 230 hours.

(iv) lifetime exceeded by 65% of the bulbs.

(v) limits within which the central 75% of the bulb lives lie.

(vi) range within which the middle 95% of the bulb lives lie.

(vii) interquartile range for the lifetime of the bulbs.

[Ans: a(i) 0⋅9813 (ii) 0⋅1056 (iii) 0⋅0401 (iv) 0⋅7734 (v) 0⋅7357 (vi) 0⋅2187

(b)(i) 82⋅04 (ii) 128 (iii) 23⋅28 (iv) 195⋅368

(v) Lower limit = 186⋅188 , Upper limit = 213⋅812

(vi) Range = [179⋅48, 223⋅52 ] (vii) 16⋅176 ]

2. The marks of students in a test are normally distributed such that 5% of them

scored above 85 marks and 10% scored below 25 marks. Find the:

(i) mean and standard deviation of the student’s marks.

(ii) probability that a student selected at random scored between 43 and

75 marks.

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 (iii) pass mark of the test, if 15% got failure grades.

(iv) lowest mark for a distinction, if 12⋅8% got distinction.

(v) number of students who sat the test, if 45 of them scored more than

66 marks.

(vi) range within which the middle 90% of the students marks lie.

(vii) interquartile range of the students marks.

[Ans: (i) 51⋅2795, 20⋅4988 (ii) 0⋅5331 (iii) 30⋅7807 (iv) 74⋅5661 (v) 191

(vi) Range = [17⋅5590, 85⋅0000 ] (vii) 27⋅6324 ]

3. The marks of 250 students in a test for which the pass mark is 41 are normally

distributed. 221 students scored below 69 marks, while 62 students scored

between 52 and 69 marks. Find the:

(i) mean and standard deviation of the student’s marks.

(ii) number of students who passed the test.

(iii) probability that a student selected at random failed the test.

(iv) number of more students who will pass, if the pass mark is lowered by 3.

[Ans: (i) 45⋅1, 20 (ii) 146 (iii) 0⋅4188 (iv) 15 ]

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4. The lifetimes of electrical bulbs are normally distributed with mean 800 hours

and standard deviation 80 hours. The producer guarantees to replace bulbs

which last for less than 660 hours.

(i) Find the percentage of bulbs to be replaced under the guarantee

(ii) The producer is only willing to replace a maximum of 1% of the

bulbs. Find the lifetime of the bulbs required to be guaranteed.

(iii) If the guaranteed lifetime remain at 660 hours but the standard

deviation is changed to 70 hours, find the mean lifetime so that only

1% are replaced under the guarantee.

[Ans: (i) 4⋅01 (ii) 613⋅92 (iii) 822⋅82 ]

5. The lengths of metal rods P and Q are normally distributed with type P having

an average length of 40cm and a standard deviation of 2cm. Type Q has a mean

length of 30cm and a standard deviation of 5cm.

(a) Find the percentage of metal rods of type:

(i) P that have a length of more than 43cm.

(ii) Q that have a length of more than 25⋅8cm.

(b) Find the symmetrical limits about the mean within which 97% of the lengths

of metal rod P lies.

[Ans: a(i) 6⋅68 (ii) 79⋅95 (b) Lower limit = 35⋅66 , Upper limit = 44⋅34 ]

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6. The length of type A rod is normally distributed with mean 15cm and

standard deviation 0⋅1cm. The length of another type B rod is also normally

distributed with mean 20cm and standard deviation 0⋅16cm. For type A rod to

be acceptable, its length must be between 14⋅8cm and 15⋅2cm and for type B

rod, the length must be between 19⋅8cm and 20⋅2cm.

(i) Find the proportion of each type of rod with acceptable length.

(ii) One rod of type A and another of type B are chosen at random. Find the

probability that they are within acceptable limits.

(iii) Find the probability that only one of them is of acceptable length.

[Ans: (i) 95⋅44% for type A, 78⋅88% for type B (ii) 0⋅7528 (iii) 0⋅2375 ]

7. The lifetimes of dry cells is normally distributed with mean 160 hours and

standard deviation 30 hours.

(a) Calculate the:

(i) percentage of dry cells whose lifetimes lie between 150hours and 180 hours.

(ii) symmetrical limits about the mean, within which 75% of the dry cell lives

lie.

(b) If a radio takes four of these dry cells and requires all of them to be

working, find the probability that the radio will run for at least 135 hours.

[Ans: (a) (i) 37⋅8 (ii) Lower limit = 125⋅5 , Upper limit = 194⋅5 (b) 0⋅405 ]

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8. The marks of students in a test are normally distributed with mean 60 and

standard deviation 8. If 6 students are selected at random, find the probability

that at least 2 students scored below 55 marks.

[Ans: 0⋅5036 ]

9. The volume of a soft drink bottled by a certain company is normally distributed

with mean 60mls and standard deviation 5mls. Determine the probability that in

a sample of 8 bottles at least two bottles contain less than 53⋅8mls.

[Ans: 0⋅2095 ]

10. The number of words per page in a bible are normally distributed with mean

800 and standard deviation 50. If 3 pages are chosen at random, find the

probability that none of them has between 830 and 845 words.

[Ans: 0⋅7531 ]

EER

1. A r∙v X is normally distributed with mean 12 and variance 5. Find P(X < 13).

[Ans: 0⋅6725]

2. Given that X∼N( 12 , 9), find: (i) P(X > 15) (ii) P(X < 8⋅4)

[Ans: (i) 0⋅1587 (ii) 0⋅1151 ]

3. Given that X∼N( 70 , 25), find the:

(i) limits within which the central 80% of the distribution lies.

(ii) interquartile range of the distribution.

[Ans: (i) Lower limit = 63⋅59 , Upper limit = 76⋅41 (ii) 6⋅74 ]

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4. Given that X∼N( 20 , 16), find the value of h for which P(X > h) = 0⋅95.

[Ans: 13⋅42 ]

5. Given that X∼N( µ , σ2), find the value of λ such that P(|X − µ |< λσ) = 0⋅9.

[Ans: 1⋅645 ]

6. Given that X∼N( µ , 6⋅25) and that P(X > 4⋅2) = 0⋅67, find the value of µ.

[Ans: 5⋅3 ]

7. Given that X∼N( µ , σ2), P(X < 7⋅4) = 0⋅7995 and P(X > 4⋅2) = 0⋅67, find:

(i) the values of µ and σ.

(ii) P(X > 3⋅45)

[Ans: (i) 5⋅3, 2⋅5 (ii) 0⋅7704 ]

8. A normally distributed r⋅v X is such that P(X < 11) = 0⋅758 and

P(X > 9) = 0⋅9192. Find P(X > 10)

[Ans: 0⋅6368 ]

9. A r∙v X is normally distributed with mean µ and standard deviation σ. Given

(iii) value of h such that P( X < h) = 0 ⋅ 25.

[Ans: (i) 45⋅1 , 20 (ii) 0⋅5812 (iii) 31⋅62 ]

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10. If X∼N( µ ,16) and P(X < 15) = 0⋅1056, find:

(i) the value of µ

(ii) P(X > 20)

[Ans: (i) 20 (ii) 0⋅5 (iii) 0⋅9198 ]

11. The quartiles of a normal distribution are known to be 11 and 19. Find the
mean and standard deviation of the distribution.

[Ans: 15 , 5⋅9320 ]

12. The weights of bars of soap produced by a factory are normally distributed with

mean 600g and standard deviation 5g. The acceptable weight for sale is between

594g and 606g. Find the percentage of soap not acceptable for sale.

[Ans: 23⋅02 ]
13. The weights of bags of cement are normally distributed with mean 50kg and

standard deviation 2⋅5kg. Find the:

(i) probability that the weight of a selected bag lies between 51⋅5kg and 53kg.

(ii) percentage of bags whose weights exceed 54kg.

(iii) number of bags weighing below 45⋅75kg in a stock of 500 bags .

(iv) probability that the weight of a bag selected at random deviates from the

mean by more than 2kg.

[Ans: (i) 0⋅1592 (ii) 94⋅52 (iii) 23 (iv) 0⋅4238 ]

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14. The weights of 400 books are normally distributed with mean 50g and standard

deviation 2g. Find:

(i) how many books weigh less than 52⋅48g.

(ii) the probability that the weight of a selected book lies between 45g and 55g.

(iii) the weight at which 5% of the books were rejected for being underweight.

[Ans: (i) 357 (ii) 0⋅9876 (iii) 46⋅71g ]

15. The weights of students are normally distributed with mean 54kg. If 33% of

the students have weights greater than 56⋅2kg, find the:

(i) standard deviation of the student’s weights.

(ii) probability that the weight of a selected student lies within 2kg of the

mean.

(iii) number of students in the class, if 30 of them have weights greater than

57⋅37kg.

(iv) weight exceeded by 70% of the students.

(v) interquartile range of the student’s weights

[Ans: (i) 5 (ii) 0⋅3108 (iii) 120 (iv) 51⋅38 (ii) 6⋅74 ]

16. The marks of students in a test are normally distributed. 88% of the students

scored below 57 marks, while 15% of them scored between 48 and 57 marks.

Find the mean and standard deviation of the student’s marks.

[Ans: 38⋅183, 16⋅014 ]

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17. The marks of 60 students in a test for which the pass mark is 40 are normally

distributed. 9 students scored below 20 marks, while 3 students scored more

than 70 marks. Find the:

(i) mean and standard deviation of the student’s marks.

(ii) probability that a student selected at random passed the test.

(iii) number of more students who will pass, if the pass mark is lowered by 4.

[Ans: (i) 39⋅3212, 18⋅6498 (ii) 0⋅4856 (iii) 6 ]

18. The weights of 800 students are normally distributed with mean 54⋅5kg and

standard deviation 6⋅8kg. Find the:

(i) probability that a student picked at random weighs below 52⋅8kg

(ii) number of students whose weights exceed 65kg

(iii) range within which the middle 56% of the students weights lie

[Ans: (i) 0⋅4013 (ii) 43 (iii) [49⋅2504, 59⋅7496 ] ]

19. The times for lessons are normally distributed with mean 40 minutes and

standard deviation 8 minutes.

(i) Find the probability that the lesson time differs from the mean time by less

than 10 minutes.

(ii) If 5% of the lessons take longer than T minutes, find T.

(iii) If 5 lessons were conducted, find the probability that at least 4 lessons took

more than 25 minutes.

[Ans: (i) 0⋅7888 (ii) 53⋅16 (ii) 0⋅9914 ]

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20. The weights of metal rods produced by a factory are normally distributed with

mean 500g and standard deviation 20g. 2% of the rods are rejected as

underweight and 1% are rejected as overweight.

(i) Find the range of values within which the acceptable weights lie.

(ii) If 3 of the rods a chosen at random, find the probability that one rod is

underweight, one is overweight and the other is acceptable.

[Ans: (i) [458⋅92 , 546⋅52] (ii) 0⋅001164 ]

21. The volume of a soft drink bottled by a certain company is normally distributed

with mean 300mls and standard deviation 2mls. Find the probability that in

a sample of 10 bottles at least two bottles contain less than 297⋅4mls.

[Ans: 0⋅2515 ]

22. The volume of bottled beer is normally distributed with mean 500mls and

standard deviation 8mls. The volume of bottled soda is also normally

distributed with mean 300mls and standard deviation 5mls. For a bottled

beer to be acceptable, its volume must exceed 490mls and for a bottled

soda the volume must lie between 304mls and 310mls.

(i) Find the proportion of each type of drink that is of acceptable volume.

(ii) One bottle of each type of drink is chosen at random. Find the

probability that they are within acceptable limits.

(iii) Find the probability that only one of them is of acceptable volume.

[Ans: (i) 89⋅44 , 18⋅91 (ii) 0⋅1691 (iii) 0⋅7452 ]

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23. Tea is sold in packets of 226g. The weights of the packets are normally

distributed with mean 230g and standard deviation 1⋅5g.

(a) Find the proportion of packets that are rejected as underweight.

(b) If only 0⋅1% of the packets are to be rejected as underweight, calculate to

what value should the:

(i) mean weight be adjusted without altering the standard deviation.

(ii) standard deviation be adjusted without altering the mean weight.

[Ans: (a) 0⋅38% (b) (i) 230⋅635 (ii) 1⋅2945 ]

24. The lengths of metal rods produced by a factory are normally distributed with

mean 243cm and standard deviation [Link] rods are rejected if their lengths

are below 238cm or above 250cm.

(a) Find the proportion of rods that are:

(i) rejected as oversize.

(ii) accepted

(b) If only 5% of the rods are to be rejected as undersize, find:

(i) to what value should the mean length be adjusted without altering the

standard deviation.

(ii) the proportion of rods that are now rejected as oversize.

[Ans: (a) (i) 4⋅01% (ii) 85⋅43% (b) (i) 244⋅58 (ii) 8⋅77% ]

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25. The lengths of metal rods produced by a factory are normally distributed.

2% of the rods are rejected as undersize and 5% are rejected as oversize.

The rods are rejected if their lengths are below 6⋅32cm or above 7⋅52cm.

(i) Find the mean and standard deviation of the lengths of the rods.

(ii) If 10 of the rods are chosen at random, find the probability that exactly 3 of

them are rejected as oversize.

(iii) If 3 of the rods a chosen at random, find the probability that one rod is

undersize, one is oversize and the other is acceptable.

[Ans: (i) 6⋅99 , 0⋅324 (ii) 0⋅0105 (iii) 0⋅00558 ]

26. The weights of students are normally distributed. Find the percentage of

students whose weights differ from the mean by:

(i) more than half of the standard deviation

(ii) less than three quarters of the standard deviation

[Ans: (i) 61⋅7 (ii) 54⋅7 ]

27. The heights of students are normally distributed with mean µ and standard

deviation σ. Find the percentage of students whose heights are:

(i) within the range µ ± 2σ

(ii) outside the range µ ± 1⋅2σ

(iii) greater than µ − 1⋅5σ

[Ans: (i) 95⋅4 (ii) 23⋅0 (iii) 93⋅3 ]

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28. The weights of 10,000 bags of salt are normally distributed. Given that

668 bags are lighter than 130kg, while 228 bags are heavier than 200kg,

Find the:

(i) mean and standard deviation of the distribution

(ii) percentage of bags whose weights lie between 150kg and 180kg.

[Ans: (i) 160, 20 (ii) 53⋅28 ]

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