11.

The Normal distributions

The Practice of Statistics in the Life Sciences

Second Edition

2012 W.H. Freeman and Company

Objectives (PSLS Chapter 11)

The Normal distributions

Normal distributions

The 68-95-99.7 rule

The standard Normal distribution

Using the standard Normal table (Table B)

Inverse Normal calculations

Normal quantile plots

Normal distributions
Normalor Gaussiandistributions are a family of symmetrical, bellshaped density curves defined by a mean (mu) and a standard
deviation (sigma): N(,).

1
f ( x) =
e
2

1 x

Inflection point

Inflection point

x
Normal curves are used to model many biological variables. They
can describe a population distribution or a probability distribution .

A family of density curves

Here means are the same ( = 15)
while standard deviations are
different ( = 2, 4, and 6).

10

12

14

16

18

20

22

24

26

28

30

Here means are different

( = 10, 15, and 20) while standard
deviations are the same ( = 3)

10

12

14

16

18

20

22

24

26

28

30

18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2

Height (inches)

Guinea pigs survival times

after inoculation of a pathogen are
clearly not a good candidate for a
Normal model!

72 or more

71

70

69

68

67

66

65

64

63

62

61

60

59

58

57

56

under 56

Percent

Human heights, by
gender, can be modeled
quite accurately by a
Normal distribution.

The 689599.7 rule for any N(,)

All normal curves N(,) share the same properties:

About 68% of all observations are

within 1 standard deviation
() of the mean ().

About 95% of all observations are

within 2 of the mean .

Almost all (99.7%) observations

are within 3 of the mean.

Number of times from the center

To obtain any other area under a Normal curve, use either technology
or Table B.

World Health Organization definitions of osteoporosis

based on standardized bone density levels
Normal

Bone density is within 1 standard deviation (z > 1)

of the young adult mean or above.

Low bone
mass

Bone density is 1 to 2.5 standard deviation below

the young adult mean (z between 2.5 and 1).

Osteoporosis

Bone density is 2.5 standard deviation or more

below the young adult mean (z 2.5).

What percent of young adults

have osteoporosis or osteopenia?

Population of
young adults
N(0,1)

z
Standardized bone density (no units)

Young adults N(0,1)

Women 70-79 N(-2,1)

Women aged 70 to 79 are

NOT young adults. The mean
bone density in this age is
-4

-2

Standardized bone density (no units)

about 2 on the standard

scale for young adults.

What is the probability that a randomly chosen woman in her 70s has
osteoporosis or osteopenia (< 1 on the standard scale)?

The standard Normal distribution

We can standardize data by computing a z-score:

z=

(x )

If x has the N(,) distribution, then z has the N(0,1) distribution.

N(64.5, 2.5)

N(0,1)

=>

Standardized height (no units)

Standardizing: z-scores
A z-score measures the number of standard deviations that a data
value x is from the mean .

z=

(x )

When x is 1 standard deviation larger

than the mean, then z = 1.

for x = + , z =

+
= =1

When x is 2 standard deviations larger

than the mean, then z = 2.

for x = + 2 , z =

+ 2 2
=
=2

When x is larger than the mean, z is positive.

When x is smaller than the mean, z is negative.

Womens heights follow the N(64.5,2.5)

N(, ) =
N(64.5, 2.5)

distribution. What percent of women are

shorter than 67 inches tall (thats 56)?

Area= ???
Area = ???

mean = 64.5"
standard deviation = 2.5"
height x = 67"

= 64.5 x = 67
z=0

z=1

We calculate z, the standardized value of x:

z=

(x )

, z=

(67 64.5) 2.5

=
= 1 => 1 stand. dev. from mean
2.5
2.5

Given the 68-95-99.7 rule, the percent of women shorter than 67 should be,
approximately, .68 + half of (1 .68) = .84, or 84%. The probability of
randomly selecting a woman shorter than 67 is also ~84%.

Using Table B
Table B gives the area under the standard Normal curve to the left of any z-value.

.0062 is the
area under
N(0,1) left
of z = 2.50

.0060 is the area

under N(0,1) left
of z = 2.51

0.0052 is the area

under N(0,1) left
of z = 2.56
()

For z = 1.00, the area

under the curve to the
left of z is 0.8413.

N(, ) = N(64.5, 2.5)

84.13% of women are shorter than 67.

Area 0.84
Area 0.16

Therefore, 15.87% of women are taller than

67" (5'6").
= 64.5

x = 67
z=1

Tips on using Table B

Because of the curves symmetry,
there are two ways of finding the
Area = 0.9901

area under N(0,1) curve to the

right of a z-value.
Area = 0.0099

z = -2.33

area right of z = area left of z

area right of z =

area left of z

Using Table B to find a middle area

To calculate the area between two z-values, first get the area under
N(0,1) to the left for each z-value from Table B.
Then subtract the
smaller area from the
larger area.
Dont subtract the z-values!!!
Normal curves are not square!

area between z1 and z2 =

area left of z1 area left of z2
The area under N(0,1) for a single value of z is zero

The blood cholesterol levels of men aged 55 to 64 are approximately Normal with
mean 222 mg/dl and standard deviation 37 mg/dl.
What percent of middle-age men have high cholesterol (> 240 mg/dl)?
What percent have elevated cholesterol (between 200 and 240 mg/dl)?

area
left

area
right

0.49

69%

31%

200 -0.59

28%

72%

x
240

37

111

148

185

222

259

296

333

Inverse Normal calculations

You may also seek the range of values that correspond to a given
proportion/ area under the curve.
For that, use technology or use Table B backward:

first find the desired

area/ proportion in the
body of the table,

then read the

corresponding z-value
from the left column
and top row.
For a left area of 1.25 % (0.0125),
the z-value is 2.24

The lengths of pregnancies, when malnourished mothers are given vitamins and
better food, is approximately N(266, 15). How long are the 75% longest pregnancies
in this population?
We know , , and the area
under the curve; we want x.
Table B gives the area left of z
look for the lower 25%.

upper 75%

We find z 0.67

z=

(x )

221

x = + ( z * )

236

251

266

281

296

Gestation time (days)

x = 266 + (0.67 *15)

The 75% longest pregnancies in this

x = 255.95 256

population are about 256 days or longer.

311

Normal quantile plots

One way to assess if a data set has an approximately Normal
distribution is to plot the data on a Normal quantile plot.
The data points are ranked and the percentile ranks are converted to zscores. The z-scores are then used for the horizontal axis and the actual
data values are used for the vertical axis. Use technology to obtain Normal
quantile plots.

If the data have approximately a Normal distribution, the Normal

quantile plot will have roughly a straight-line pattern.

Roughly normal

Right skewed

(~ straight-line pattern)

(most of the data points are short

survival times, while a few are
longer survival times)