BIOSTATISTICS

Measures of Dispersion
Probability
Normal Distribution

1
MEASURES OF DISPERSION

2
 Definition
• Measures of dispersion are descriptive
statistics that describe how similar a set of
scores are to each other
– The more similar the scores are to each other, the
lower the measure of dispersion will be
– The less similar the scores are to each other, the
higher the measure of dispersion will be
– In general, the more spread out a distribution is,
the larger the measure of dispersion will be

3
 Measures of Dispersion
• Which of the
distributions of scores
has the larger 125
100
dispersion? 75
50
25
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

125

100

75

50

25

0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

4
 Measures of Dispersion
• Which of the
distributions of scores
has the larger 125
100
dispersion? 75
50
25

The upper distribution 0

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

has more dispersion

because the scores are 125

100

more spread out 75

50
That is, they are less similar to 25

each other 0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

5
 Measures of Dispersion
• Measures of dispersion include:
– The range
– The Semi-Interquartile range (SIR)
– Variance.
– Standard deviation
– Coefficient of Variation.

6
 Measures of Dispersion: The Range

The range is defined as the difference between the largest score in

the set of data and the smallest score in the set of data, XL – XS

Example:
What is the range of the following data:
4 8 1 6 6 2 9 3 6 9

Solution
• The largest score (XL) is 9; the smallest score (XS) is 1; the range is
XL - XS = 9 - 1 = 8
Range: 1 - 9 (specify minimum and maximum values)

7
 When To Use the Range
• The range is used to summarize quantitative data.

• The range is rarely used in scientific work as it is fairly insensitive

– It depends on only two scores in the set of data, XL and XS
– Two very different sets of data can have the same range:
1 1 1 1 9 vs 1 3 5 7 9

8
Measures of Dispersion: Semi-Interquartile Range
• The semi-interquartile range (or SIR) is defined as the
difference of the first and third quartiles divided by two
– The first quartile is the 25th percentile
– The third quartile is the 75th percentile

• SIR = (Q3 - Q1) / 2

– The SIR is often used with skewed data as it is
insensitive to the extreme scores

9
 Example: SIR

Find the range and Semi-Interquartile range for

the following data:

2 4 6 8 10 12 14 20 30 60

10
 SIR Example
• 25 % of the scores are 2
below 5 4
 5 = 25th %tile
– 5 is the first quartile 6
• 25 % of the scores are
8
above 25 10
– 25 is the third quartile
12
14
• SIR = (Q3 - Q1) / 2 = (25 -
20
5) / 2 = 10  25 = 75th %tile
30
60
11
 Example: Inter-quartile range cont.

Class interval Frequency

(f)
1-3 10
4-6 14
7-9 10
10-12 6
13-15 5
16-18 5
Total 50

12
 Calculation of the Inter-quartile range for
grouped data
Class interval Frequency Cumulative
(f) frequency
1-3 10 10
4-6 14 24
7-9 10 34
10-12 6 40
13-15 5 45
16-18 5 50
Total 50

13
• 1st quartile (or 25th percentile):
= L + (n/4 - cf)
3.5 + (12.5 – 10) x 3
14
= 3.5 + 0.535
= 4.04 years
• 3rd quartile: L + (3n/4 - cf) w
f
= 9.5 + (37.5 – 34) x 3
6
= 9.5 + 1.75
= 11.25 years
SIR = ½ (11.25 - 4.04)
= 3.61

14
Measures of Dispersion: Variance

15
 Variance
• Variance is defined as the average of the
square deviations. The population variance is:

 X   2

2 
N

16
 What Does the Variance Formula
Mean?
• First, it says to subtract the mean from each of
the scores
– This difference is called a deviate or a deviation
score
– The deviate tells us how far a given score is from
the typical, or average, score
– Thus, the deviate is a measure of dispersion for a
given score

17
 What Does the Variance Formula
Mean?

• Why can’t we simply take the average of

the deviates? That is, why isn’t variance
defined as:
 X   
 2

N
This is not the formula
for variance!

18
 What Does the Variance Formula Mean?

• One of the definitions of the mean was that it always made the sum of the
scores minus the mean equal to 0
• Thus, the average of the deviates must be 0 since the sum of the deviates
must equal 0
• To avoid this problem, square the deviate score prior to averaging them
– Squaring the deviate score makes all the squared scores positive.
• Variance is the mean of the squared deviation scores
• The larger the variance is, the more the scores deviate, on average, away
from the mean
• The smaller the variance is, the less the scores deviate, on average, from
the mean

19
 Standard Deviation

• When the deviate scores are squared in variance, their unit of measure is
squared as well
– E.g. If people’s weights are measured in kilograms, then the variance of
the weights would be expressed in kilograms2 (or squared kilograms)
• Since squared units of measure are often awkward to deal with, the square
root of variance is often used instead
– The standard deviation is the square root of variance.
• Standard deviation = variance
• Variance = standard deviation2

20
 Computational Formula

• When calculating variance, it is often easier to use a

computational formula which is algebraically equivalent to
the definitional formula:

 X
2

X    
2

2
X
  N 
2

N N
2 is the population variance, X is a score,  is the population mean, and
N is the number of scores
21
 Computational Formula Example

X X2 X- (X-)2

9 81 2 4
8 64 1 1
6 36 -1 1
5 25 -2 4
8 64 1 1
6 36 -1 1
 = 42  = 306 =0  = 12

22
 Computational Formula Example

 X
2

X 
 X 
2 2

 N
 
2

2

N N
2
12
306  42 
 6 6
6 2
306  294

6
12

6
2

23
 Variance of a Sample

• Because the sample mean is not a perfect estimate of the

population mean, the formula for the variance of a sample

 
is slightly different from the formula for the variance of a
population:


2

2

X  X
s N 1
s2 is the sample variance, X is a score, X is the sample mean, and N is
the number of scores
24
 Variance of a Sample
– Is the mean of the squared deviations of the mean
from the observed values.

Formula: σ² = Σ { x - population mean)²

N
S² = Σ { x - sample mean)²
n - 1
Where, σ² - population variance
N - population size.
S² - sample variance
n - sample size

25
No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Salary 15 18 16 14 15 15 12 17 90 95
(in $)
Mean: $ 30.7K

26
 Example Cont.
Amount (in $) X - mean (x – 30.7)²

15 - 15.7 246.46
18 - 12.7 161.29
16 - 14.7 216.09
14 - 16.7 278.89
15 - 15.7 246.46
15 - 15.7 246.46
12 - 18.7 349.69
17 - 13.7 187.69
90 59.3 3,516.49
95 64.3 4,134.49
Total 9,584.01
27
Variance, s²: 9,584.09
10 - 1
= 1064.9

28
 Alternative formulae: Variance
Amount X²

15 225
18 324
16 256
14 196
15 225

15 225
12 144
17 289
90 8100
95 9025
307 19,009

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• Variance, s²: Σ(x²) - (Σx)² /n
n
= 19,009 - (307)² / 10
10 – 1
= 19,009 - 9,424.9
9
= 1,064.9

30
 Example for Grouped Data (Cont.)

Class interval Freq. Mid-point

(years) (f) (m) (m) x (f) f(m – mean)²
1-3 10 2 20 336.4
4-6 14 5 70 109.8
7-9 10 8 80 0.4
10-12 6 11 66 61.44
13-15 5 14 70 192.2
16-18 5 17 85 423.2
Total 50 391 1,123.44

31
Mean: 391 / 50
= 7.82 years
Variance: 22.93 years²

32
 Standard deviation
• Is the positive square root of the variance.
• The standard deviation is used more frequently than the variance.
– Standard deviation has same units of measurement as the mean.
• The mean and the standard deviation of the set of data can be used to
summarize the characteristics of the entire distribution of values.
» Mean ± SD
Example of workers’ salary:
• Variance for workers’ salary: 9,584.09
10 - 1
= 1064.9 $²
• Standard deviation: 32.63 $
• Mean: 30.7 $

Can be presented as: Mean ± SD: - $ ( 30.7 ± 32.63 )

33
 Example Cont.
Class interval Freq. Mid-point
(f) (m) (m) x (f) f(m – mean)²
1-3 10 2 20 336.4
4-6 14 5 70 109.8
7-9 10 8 80 0.4
10-12 6 11 66 61.44
13-15 5 14 70 192.2
16-18 5 17 85 423.2
Total 50 391 1,123.44

34
• Standard deviation = √ (variance)
= √{∑ f(m – mean)²} / (n – 1)
= √ {1,123.44 ÷ (50 – 1)}
= 4.79 years.

35
 Coefficient of variation

• It relates the standard deviation of a set of values to its mean.

• It is the ratio of standard deviation (s) to the mean multiplied
by 100.
• It is a measure of relative variability.
• It is a dimensionless number.
cv = s x 100%
mean

36
 Cholesterol level Forced Heart rates
(mg/ 100 ml) expiratory volume beats per
(liters) min.
Mean 198.8 2.95 140.9
Standard 43.9 0.62 35.5
deviation
CV 22.1 21.0 25.2

37
PROBABILITY

38
Why Learn Probability?

39
 Why Learn Probability?
• Nothing in life is certain. In everything we do, we gauge the
chances of successful outcomes.
• A probability provides a quantitative description of the
chances or likelihoods associated with various outcomes
• It provides a bridge between descriptive and inferential
statistics

Probability

Population Sample
Statistics
40
 Why Learn Probability?

• Nothing in life is certain. In everything we do, we gauge the

chances of successful outcomes.
• A probability provides a quantitative description of the
chances or likelihoods associated with various outcomes
• It provides a bridge between descriptive and inferential
statistics

41
 Basic Concepts
• An experiment is the process by which an observation (or
measurement) is obtained.
• An event is an outcome of an experiment, usually denoted by a
capital letter.
– The basic element to which probability is applied
– When an experiment is performed, a particular event either
happens, or it doesn’t!

42
 Experiments and Events

• Experiment: Toss a die

– A: observe an odd number
– B: observe a number greater than 2

43
Basic Concepts

44
 Basic Concepts

• Two events are mutually exclusive if, when one event occurs, the
other cannot, and vice versa.
• Which of the following two sets of events are mutually exclusive ?

•Experiment: Toss a die

–A: observe an odd number
–B: observe a number greater than 2
–C: observe a 6
–D: observe a 3

45
 Basic Concepts
• An event that cannot be decomposed is called a simple event.
• Denoted by E with a subscript.
• Each simple event will be assigned a probability, measuring
“how often” it occurs.
• The set of all simple events of an experiment is called the
sample space, S.

46
 Example
• The die toss:
• Simple events: Sample space:
1 E1
2
S ={E1, E2, E3, E4, E5, E6}
E2
S
3 E3 •E1 •E3
4 E4 •E5
5
E5 •E2 •E4 •E6
6 E6
47
 Basic Concepts
• An event is a collection of one or more simple
events.
S
•E1 •E3
•The die toss: A •E5
–A: an odd number B
–B: a number > 2 •E2 •E4 •E6

A ={E1, E3, E5}

B ={E3, E4, E5, E6}
48
 The Probability
of an Event
• The probability of an event A measures “how
often” A will occur. We write P(A).
• Suppose that an experiment is performed n
times. The relative frequency for an event A is

Number of times A occurs f


n n
• If we let n get infinitely large,
f
P ( A)  lim
n n
49
 The Probability
of an Event
• P(A) must be between 0 and 1.
– If event A can never occur, P(A) = 0. If event A always
occurs when the experiment is performed, P(A) =1.
• The sum of the probabilities for all simple events in S equals
1.

• The probability of an event A is found by adding the

probabilities of all the simple events contained in A.

50
 Using Simple Events

• The probability of an event A is equal to the sum of the

probabilities of the simple events contained in A
• If the simple events in an experiment are equally likely, you
can calculate

nA number of simple events in A

P( A)  
N total number of simple events

51
 Example 1

Toss a fair coin twice. What is the probability of

observing at least one head?
1st Coin 2nd Coin Ei P(Ei)

H HH 1/4
H P(at least 1 head)
1/4
T HT
1/4
= P(E1) + P(E2) + P(E3)
H TH 1/4 = 1/4 + 1/4 + 1/4 = 3/4
T
T TT

52
 Example 2
The sample space of throwing a pair of dice is

53
 2ND ROLL
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 (1,1) (1,2) (1,3) (1,4) (1,5) (1,6)
F 2 (2,1) (2,2) (2,3) (2,4) (2,5) (2,6)
I
R 3 (3,1) (3,2) (3,3) (3,4) (3,5) (3,6)
S 4 (4,1) (4,2) (4,3) (4,4) (4,5) (4,6)
T
5 (5,1) (5,2) (5,3) (5,4) (5,5) (5,6)
6 (6,1) (6,2) (6,3) (6,4) (6,5) (6,6)

54
Consider the following events:
A - Dice add to 3.
B - Dice add to 6.
C - 1st die show 1
D - 2nd die show 1
Determine probabilities associated with the four
events.

55
 Example 3
Event Simple events Probability

Dice add to 3 (1,2),(2,1) 2/36

Dice add to 6 (1,5),(2,4),(3,3), 5/36
(4,2),(5,1)
1st die show 1 (1,1),(1,2),(1,3), 6/36
(1,4),(1,5),(1,6)
2nd die show 1 (1,1),(2,1),(3,1), 6/36
(4,1),(5,1),(6,1)
56
 Event Relations
We can combine events to make other events using logical
operations: and, or and not.

The union of two events, A and B, is the event that either A

or B or both occur when the experiment is performed. We
write
A B

A B A B

57
 2ND ROLL
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 (1,1) (1,2) (1,3) (1,4) (1,5) (1,6)
F 2 (2,1) (2,2) (2,3) (2,4) (2,5) (2,6)
I
R 3 (3,1) (3,2) (3,3) (3,4) (3,5) (3,6)
S 4 (4,1) (4,2) (4,3) (4,4) (4,5) (4,6)
T
5 (5,1) (5,2) (5,3) (5,4) (5,5) (5,6)
6 (6,1) (6,2) (6,3) (6,4) (6,5) (6,6)

58
Consider the following events:
A - Dice add to 3.
B - Dice add to 6.
C - 1st die show 1
D - 2nd die show 1
Determine probabilities associated with the four
events.

59
 Example 3
Event Simple events Probability

Dice add to 3 (1,2),(2,1) 2/36

Dice add to 6 (1,5),(2,4),(3,3), 5/36
(4,2),(5,1)
1st die show 1 (1,1),(1,2),(1,3), 6/36
(1,4),(1,5),(1,6)
2nd die show 1 (1,1),(2,1),(3,1), 6/36
(4,1),(5,1),(6,1)
60
 Event Relations
The union of two events, A and B, is the event that
either A or B or both occur when the experiment is
performed. We write
A B

A B A B

61
 Event Relations
The intersection of two events, A and B, is
the event that both A and B occur when the
experiment is performed. We write A B.
S

A B A B

• If two events A and B are mutually

exclusive, then P(A B) = 0.
62
 Venn Diagrams

P (A and B)

P (A) P (B) P (A) P (B)

Events that are Events that are not

mutually exclusive mutually exclusive
P (A or B) = P (A) + P (B) P (A or B) = P (A) + P (B)
– P (A and B)
Figure 2.1 Figure 2.2
63
 Example
Select a student from the classroom and
record his/her hair color and gender.
– A: student has black hair
– B: student is female
– C: student is male Mutually exclusive; B = C
C

What is the relationship between events B and C?

•AC: Student does not have black hair
•BC: Student is both male and female = 
•BC: Student is either male and female = all students = S
64
 Calculating Probabilities for Unions
and Complements
• There are special rules that will allow you to
calculate probabilities for composite events.
• The Additive Rule for Unions:
• For any two events, A and B, the probability of
their union, P(A B), is

P( A  B)  P( A)  P( B)  P( A  B) A B

65
 Example: Additive Rule
Example: Suppose that there were 120
students in the classroom, and that they
could be classified as follows:
A: black hair Black Not Black
P(A) = 50/120 Male 20 40
B: female Female 30 30
P(B) = 60/120
P(AB) = P(A) + P(B) – P(AB)
= 50/120 + 60/120 - 30/120
= 80/120 = 2/3 Check: P(AB)
= (20 + 30 + 30)/120 66
 Example: Two Dice

A: red die show 1

B: green die show 1

P(AB) = P(A) + P(B) – P(AB)

67
 Example 3
Event Simple events Probability

1st die show 1 (1,1),(1,2),(1,3), 6/36

(1,4),(1,5),(1,6)
2nd die show 1 (1,1),(2,1),(3,1), 6/36
(4,1),(5,1),(6,1)

68
 Example: Two Dice

A: red die show 1

B: green die show 1

P(AB) = P(A) + P(B) – P(AB)

= 6/36 + 6/36 – 1/36
= 11/36
69
 A Special Case
When two events A and B are
mutually exclusive, P(AB) = 0
and P(AB) = P(A) + P(B).
A: male with black hair Black Not Black
P(A) = 20/120 Male 20 40
B: female with black hair Female 30 30
P(B) = 30/120
A and B are mutually P(AB) = P(A) + P(B)
= 20/120 + 30/120
exclusive, so that
= 50/120
70
 Example: Two Dice

A: dice add to 3
B: dice add to 6

A and B are mutually P(AB) = P(A) + P(B)

= 2/36 + 5/36
exclusive, so that
= 7/36
71
 2ND ROLL
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 (1,1) (1,2) (1,3) (1,4) (1,5) (1,6)
F 2 (2,1) (2,2) (2,3) (2,4) (2,5) (2,6)
I
R 3 (3,1) (3,2) (3,3) (3,4) (3,5) (3,6)
S 4 (4,1) (4,2) (4,3) (4,4) (4,5) (4,6)
T
5 (5,1) (5,2) (5,3) (5,4) (5,5) (5,6)
6 (6,1) (6,2) (6,3) (6,4) (6,5) (6,6)

72
 Calculating Probabilities AC
A
for Complements
• We know that for any event A:
– P(A AC) = 0
• Since either A or AC must occur,
P(A AC) =1
• so that P(A AC) = P(A)+ P(AC) = 1

P(AC) = 1 – P(A)

73
 Example
Select a student at random
from the classroom. Define:
A: male Black Not Black
P(A) = 60/120 Male 20 40
B: female Female 30 30
P(B) = ?

A and B are P(B) = 1- P(A)

complementary, so = 1- 60/120 = 60/120
that
74
 Calculating Probabilities for
Intersections
In the previous example, we found P(A  B)
directly from the table. Sometimes this is
impractical or impossible. The rule for calculating
P(A  B) depends on the idea of independent
and dependent events.
Two events, A and B, are said to be
independent if the occurrence or
nonoccurrence of one of the events does
not change the probability of the
occurrence of the other event.
75
 Conditional Probabilities
The probability that A occurs, given
that event B has occurred is called
the conditional probability of A
given B and is defined as
P( A  B)
P( A | B)  if P( B)  0
P( B)

“given”

76
 Example 1
Toss a fair coin twice. Define
– A: head on second toss
– B: head on first toss
P(A|B) = ½
HH
1/4 P(A|not B) = ½
1/4
HT
1/4
P(A) does not A and B are
TH 1/4
change, whether independent!
TT B happens or
not…
77
 Example 3: Two Dice
Toss a pair of fair dice. Define
– A: red die show 1
– B: green die show 1

P(A|B) = P(A and B)/P(B)

=1/36/1/6=1/6=P(A)

P(A) does not

change, whether A and B are
B happens or independent!
not… 78
 Example 3: Two Dice
Toss a pair of fair dice. Define
– A: add to 3
– B: add to 6

P(A|B) = P(A and B)/P(B)

=0/36/5/6=0

P(A) does change A and B are dependent!

when B happens In fact, when B happens,
A can’t
79
 Defining Independence
• We can redefine independence in terms of
conditional probabilities:
Two events A and B are independent if and
only if
P(A|B) = P(A) or P(B|A) = P(B)
Otherwise, they are dependent.
• Once you’ve decided whether or not two
events are independent, you can use the
following rule to calculate their
intersection. 80
 The Multiplicative Rule for
Intersections
• For any two events, A and B, the probability that
both A and B occur is
P(A B) = P(A) P(B given that A occurred)
= P(A)P(B|A)

• If the events A and B are independent,

then the probability that both A and B
occur is
P(A B) = P(A) P(B)

81
 Random Variables
• A quantitative variable x is a random variable if the value that it
assumes, corresponding to the outcome of an experiment is a
chance or random event.
• Random variables can be discrete or continuous.

82
 Example
Toss a fair coin three times and
define x = number of heads.
x
HHH x p(x)
3
1/8 P(x = 0) = 1/8 0 1/8
HHT 2
1/8 P(x = 1) = 3/8 1 3/8
2
HTH 1/8 P(x = 2) = 3/8
2 2 3/8
THH
1/8 P(x = 3) = 1/8
1/8
1 3 1/8
HTT 1
1/8
1 Probability Histogram
1/8
THT for x
0
1/8
TTH

TTT
83
 Example
Toss two dice and define
x = sum of two dice. x p(x)

2 1/36
3 2/36
4 3/36
5 4/36
6 5/36
7 6/36
8 5/36
9 4/36
10 3/36
11 2/36
12 1/3684
 Probability Distributions
Probability distributions can be used to describe the population.
– Shape: Symmetric, skewed, mound-shaped…
– Outliers: unusual or unlikely measurements
– Center and spread: mean and standard deviation. A
population mean is called  and a population standard
deviation is called .

85
 THE BINOMIAL DISTRIBUTION
• Many business experiments can be characterized by the
Bernoulli process
• The Bernoulli process is described by the binomial probability
distribution
1. Each trial has only two possible outcomes
2. The probability stays the same from one trial to the next
3. The trials are statistically independent
4. The number of trials is a positive integer
• The binomial distribution is used to find the probability of a
specific number of successes out of n trials

86
 The Binomial Distribution
The binomial distribution is used to find the
probability of a specific number of successes out of n
trials
We need to know
n = number of trials
p = the probability of success on any single trial

We let
r = number of successes
q = 1 – p = the probability of a failure

87
 The Binomial Distribution

The binomial formula is

n!
Probability of r successes in n trials  p r q n r
r! ( n  r )!

The symbol ! means factorial, and

n! = n(n – 1)(n – 2)…(1)
For example
4! = (4)(3)(2)(1) = 24
By definition
1! = 1 and 0! = 1
88
 The Binomial Distribution
NUMBER OF 5!
HEADS (r) Probability = (0.5)r(0.5)5 – r
r!(5 – r)!

0 0.03125 = 5! (0.5)0(0.5)5 – 0
0!(5 – 0)!
1 0.15625 = 5! (0.5)1(0.5)5 – 1
1!(5 – 1)!
2 0.31250 = 5! (0.5)2(0.5)5 – 2
2!(5 – 2)!
3 0.31250 = 5! (0.5)3(0.5)5 – 3
3!(5 – 3)!
4 0.15625 = 5! (0.5)4(0.5)5 – 4
4!(5 – 4)!
5 0.03125 = 5! (0.5)5(0.5)5 – 5
5!(5 – 5)!

Table 2.7
89
 Solving Problems with the Binomial Formula

We want to find the probability of 4 heads in 5 tosses

n = 5, r = 4, p = 0.5, and q = 1 – 0.5 = 0.5

Thus
5!
P  ( 4 successes in 5 trials)  0.5 40.55  4
4! (5  4)!
5( 4)(3)(2)(1)
 (0.0625)(0.5)  0.15625
4(3)(2)(1)(1! )

Or about 16%

90
 The Normal Distribution

The normal distribution is the most popular and

useful continuous probability distribution
– The formula for the probability density
function is rather complex
 ( x   )2
1
f (X )  e 2 2
 2

 The normal distribution is specified completely

when we know the mean, µ, and the standard
deviation, 
91
 The Normal Distribution

| | |

40 µ = 50 60

Smaller µ, same 

| | |

µ = 40 50 60

Larger µ, same 

| | |

40 50 µ = 60
Figure 2.8
92
 The Normal Distribution

Same µ, smaller 

Same µ, larger 

µ
Figure 2.9
93
 The Normal Distribution

16% 68% 16%

–1 +1
a µ b

2.3% 95.4% 2.3%

–2 +2
a µ b

0.15% 99.7% 0.15%

–3 +3
a µ b
Figure 2.10
94
 The Normal Distribution

Properties of the Normal Distribution

1. It is symmetrical and bell-shaped .
2. The area under the curve is 1.
3. The three measures of location are identical.
4. It is determined by two parameters, the mean and
standard deviation.
5. One can estimate proportion of observations that lie
between mean and multiples of standard deviation:
• 68% - (±1)
• 95.4% (±2)
• 99.7% (±3)
) 95
 The Normal Distribution

If IQs in the population were normally distributed

with µ = 100 and  = 15, then
1. 68% of the population would have IQs between 85
and 115 points (±1)
2. 95.4% of the people have IQs between 70 and 130
(±2)
3. 99.7% of the population have IQs in the range from 55
to 145 points (±3)
4. Only 16% of the people have IQs greater than 115
points (from the first graph, the area to the right of
+1)
96
 Using the Standard Normal Table
Step 1
Convert the normal distribution into a standard normal
distribution
 A standard normal distribution has a mean of 0 and
a standard deviation of 1
 The new standard random variable is Z

X 
Z

where
X = value of the random variable we want to measure
µ = mean of the distribution
 = standard deviation of the distribution
Z = number of standard deviations from X to the mean, µ 97
 Using the Standard Normal Table
For example, µ = 100,  = 15, and we want to find the
probability that X is less than 130
X  130  100
Z 
 15
30
  2 std dev µ = 100
15 P(X < 130)  = 15

| | | | | | |
X = IQ
55 70 85 100 115 130 145

X 
| | | | | | | Z
–3 –2 –1 0 1 2 3 
Figure 2.11
98
 Using the Standard Normal Table
Step 2
Look up the probability from a table of normal curve areas
 Use Appendix A or Table 2.9 (portion below)
 The column on the left has Z values
 The row at the top has second decimal places for the
Z values

AREA UNDER THE NORMAL CURVE

Z 0.00 0.01 0.02 0.03
P(X < 130)
1.8 0.96407 0.96485 0.96562 0.96638
1.9 0.97128 0.97193 0.97257 0.97320
= (Z < 2.00)
2.0 0.97725 0.97784 0.97831 0.97882 = 97.7%
2.1 0.98214 0.98257 0.98300 0.98341
2.2 0.98610 0.98645 0.98679 0.98713

Table 2.9 99
Standard Normal Table

100
 Problems:
1. Suppose the average length of stay in a chronic disease hospital of
a certain type of patients is 60 days with a standard of 15. If it is
reasonable to assume an approximately normal distribution of
lengths of stay.
Find the probability that a randomly selected patient from this
group will have a length of hospital stay:
• Greater than 50 days.
• Less than 30 days.
• Between 30 and 60 days.
• Greater than 90 days.
• Greater than 30 days.

101
2. A study of blood pressure of school children gave a distribution of
systolic blood pressures (SBP) close to the Normal Distribution with
mean and standard deviation equal to 105.8 mm Hg. and 13.4 mm.
Hg., respectively.
• What proportion of children would be expected to have SBP greater
than 120 mm. Hg.?
• What proportion of children would be expected to have SBP less
than 120 mm. Hg.?
• What proportion of children would be expected to have SBP
between 100 mm. Hg. and 120 mm. Hg.?

102
103