Continuous Probability Distributions
Discrete and Continuous Distributions
A Discrete distribution is A Continuous distribution
based on random variables usually results from
which can assume only measuring something.
clearly separated values.
Discrete distributions studied Continuous distributions
include: include:
o Binomial o Uniform
o Poisson o Normal
o Hypergeometric o Others
The Normal Probability Distribution
Is bell-shaped and has a single peak at the center of the
distribution.
Is symmetrical about the mean.
Is asymptotic. That is the curve gets closer and closer to the
X-axis but never actually touches it.
Has its mean, , to determine its location and its standard
deviation, , to determine its dispersion.
r a l i t r u i o n : = 0 , = 1
Characteristics of a Normal Distribution
0 . 4
Normal curve
is symmetrical
0 . 3
Theoretically,
0 . 2
curve extends
to infinity
f ( x
0 . 1
. 0
- 5
a
Mean, median, and
x
mode are equal
The Standard Normal Probability Distribution
The standard normal distribution is a normal distribution with
a mean of 0 and a standard deviation of 1.
It is also called the z distribution.
A z-value is the distance between a selected value, designated
X, and the population mean m, divided by the population
standard deviation, s. The formula is:
X
z
Areas Under the Normal Curve
About 68 percent of the area
under the normal curve is
within one standard
deviation of the mean.
m + 1s
About 95 percent is within two standard deviations of the
mean.
m + 2s
Practically all is within three standard deviations of the
mean.
m + 3s