6.

3 AREA UNDER ANY

NORMAL CURVE
Chapter 6:
Normal Curves and Sampling Distributions

Page
276

Normal Distribution Areas

In many applied situations, the original

normal curve is not the standard normal
curve.
How to Work with Normal Distributions

To find areas and probabilities for a random

variable x that follows a normal distribution with
a mean and standard deviation , convert x
values to z values using the formula
Then use Table 5 (or calculator) to find
corresponding areas and probabilities.

Example 7 Normal Distribution

Probability

Page
277

Let x have a normal distribution with =

10 and
= 2. Find the probability that an x
value selected at random from this
distribution is between 11 and 14. In
symbols, find P(11 x 14).

Solution Normal Distribution Probability

=10, =2

P(11 x 14) = P(0.50 z 2.00)

= Normalcdf(.5,2)
= .2857874702
.2858

Using the Calculator

(without converting to z scores)
Normalcdf (lower bound, upper bound, ,
)
-E99 and E99 are used for left tail and right
tail bounds

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279

Inverse Normal Distribution

The inverse normal probability

distribution is used when we need to
find z or x values that correspond to a
given area under the curve.

When using Table 5:

Locate the area in the body of the table

If an exact area is not in the table, use the nearest

area rather than using between values.
The area you use will depend on which case you
have

Different Cases of Inverse Normal

Distributions

Left Tail Case:

A
Use the shaded area, A
Right Tail Case:
Use 1 A (non shaded area)
Center Case:
Use the left tail

1A

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279

Using the Calculator

To find x:

Hit 2nd VARS, choose 3:invNorm

Enter area, , ) ENTER

To find z:

Hit 2nd VARS, choose 3:invNorm

Enter area) ENTER
Note: The area you use depends on which
case you have!

Page
279

Example 8 Find x, Given Probability

Magic Video Games, Inc., sells an expensive video

games package. Because the package is so
expensive, the company wants to advertise an
impressive guarantee for the life expectancy of its
computer control system. The guarantee policy will
refund the full purchase price if the computer fails
during the guarantee period. The research
department has done tests that show that the mean
life for the computer is 30 months, with standard
deviation of 4 months. The computer life is normally
distributed. How long can the guarantee period be if
management does not want to refund the purchase
price on more than 7% of the Magic Video packages?

Solution Find x, Given Probability

= 30months, = 4 months, area = 7% =
invNorm(.0700,30,4) =
24.09683589
24.09 months

7% of the Computers Have a Lifetime Less

Than
the GuaranteeFigure
Period6-26

Interpretation The company

can guarantee the Magic
Video Games package for x =
24 months. For this guarantee
period, they expect to refund
the purchase price of no more
than 7% of the video games
packages.

Example 9 Find z

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281

Find the z value such that 90% of the

area under the standard normal curve
lies between z and z.
.05

.90

invNorm(.05) = -1.644853626
z = 1.65

How to Determine Whether Data

Have a Normal Distribution

Page
283

If you are not told in some why that a

data set is normal or approximately
normal, then you need to determine this
The following guidelines represent useful
devices for determining whether or not
data follow a normal distribution.
1.

2.

Histogram: should be roughly bellshaped

Outliers: there should not be more than 1

Example 10 Assessing
Normality

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283

Consider the following data, which are

rounded to the nearest integer.

Example 10 Assessing
Normality
a.

Look at the histogram and box-and-whisker plot

generated by Minitab in Figure 6-30 and comment
about normality of the data from these indicators.
Histogram and Box-and-Whisker Plot
Figure 6-30

Solution:
Note that the histogram is approximately normal. The
box-and whisker plot shows just one outlier. Both of
these graphs indicate normality.

Assignment

Page 286
#1 3, 4a, 5, 11, 13,15, 19, 23, 27, 29