5. Normal Distributions and Standard (z) Scores Flashcards
Normal Curve
A theoretical curve noted for its symmetrical bell-shaped form.
z Score
A unit-free, standardized score that indicates how many standard deviations a score is above or below the mean of its distribution.
How do you obtain a z score?
z = (X - µ) / σ
Express any origina score as a deviation from its mean (by subtracting its mean) and then split this deviation into standard deviation units (by dividing by its standard deviation).
Express the following score as a z score:
Margaret’s IQ of 135, given a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15
-35/15 = 2.33
Express the following score as a z score:
a score of 470 on the SAT math test, given a mean of 500 and a standard deviation of 100
-30/100 = -0.30
Express the following score as a z score:
a daily production of 2100 loaves of bread by a bakery, given a mean of 2180 and a standard deviation of 50
80/50 = 1.60
Express the following score as a z score:
Sam’s height of 69 inches, given a mean of 69 and a standard deviation of 3
0/3 = 0.00
Express the following score as a z score:
a thermometer-reading error if -3 degrees, given a mean of 0 and a standard deviation of 2 degrees
-3/2 = -1.50
Standard Normal Curve
The tabled normal curve for Z scores, with a mean of 0 and a standard deviation of 1.
Give the 4 steps to find proportions for one score.
- Sketch a normal curve and shade in the target area.
- Plan your solution according to the normal table.
- Convert X to z.
- Find the target area.
Assume that GRE scores approximate a normal curve with a mean of 500 and a standard deviation of 100.
Find the proportion that corresponds to less than 400.
1) Sketch a normal curve and shade in the target area.
2) Plan solutions for the target areas (in terms of columns B, C, B’, or C’ of the standard normal table, as well as the fact that the proportion for either the entier upper half or lower half always equals .5000).
3) Converto to z scores and find the proportion that corresponds to the target area.
Column C’
z = (X - µ) / σ
z = (400 - 500) / 100 = -1
Proportion : .1587
Assume that GRE scores approximate a normal curve with a mean of 500 and a standard deviation of 100.
Find the proportion that corresponds to more than 650.
1) Sketch a normal curve and shade in the target area.
2) Plan solutions for the target areas (in terms of columns B, C, B’, or C’ of the standard normal table, as well as the fact that the proportion for either the entier upper half or lower half always equals .5000).
3) Converto to z scores and find the proportion that corresponds to the target area.
Column C
z = (X - µ) / σ
z = (650 - 500) / 100 = 1,5
Proportion : .0668
Assume that GRE scores approximate a normal curve with a mean of 500 and a standard deviation of 100.
Find the proportion that corresponds to less than 700.
1) Sketch a normal curve and shade in the target area.
2) Plan solutions for the target areas (in terms of columns B, C, B’, or C’ of the standard normal table, as well as the fact that the proportion for either the entier upper half or lower half always equals .5000).
3) Converto to z scores and find the proportion that corresponds to the target area.
Column B + 0.5000
z = (X - µ) / σ
z = (700 - 500) / 100 = 2
Proportion : 0.5000 + 0.4472 = 0.9772
Assume that, when not interrupted artificially, the gestation periods for human fetuses approximate a normal curve with a mean of 270 days (9 months) and a standard deviation of 15 days. What proportion of gestation periods will be between 245 and 255 days?
- Sketch a normal curve and shade in the targe area.
- Plan your solution according to the normal table. The basic idea is to identify the target area with the difference between two overlapping areas whose values can be read from column C’.
Subtract the smaller area (<245) from the larger area (<255). - Convert X to z by expressing 255 (z = -1.00) and 245 (z = -1.67).
z = (X - µ) / σ - Find the target area.
- 1.00 => .1587
- 1.67 => .0475 - 1587 - 0.0475 = 0.1112
Assume that SAT math scores approximate a normal curve with a mean of 500 and a standard deviation of 100.
Find the proportion of scores that are more than 570.
C
z = 0.70
0.2420