MAT 152: Mathematics in the Modern World

Module #14 Student Activity Sheet

Name: ________________________________ __ Class number: _______

Section: ____________ Schedule: _______________ Date: ________________

Lesson title: Computing Probabilities Under Standard Materials:

Normal Curve SAS

Learning Targets: References:

At the end of the module, students will be able to: Elementary Statistics b Altares, P. et al,
1. Compute probabilities and percentage areas under the (2005)
standard normal table. Basic Statistics with Probability by
2. Solve problems that involve probabilities under a Mercado-Del Rosario, a. (2005)
normal curve. www.stattrek.com

A. LESSON PREVIEW/ REVIEW

Introduction

The normal distribution is a probability function that describes how the values of a variable are
distributed. It is a symmetric distribution where most of the observations cluster around the central peak and
the probabilities for values further away from the mean taper off equally in both directions. For practical
purposes, the normal distribution is good enough to represent the distribution of continuous variables like height,
weight, blood pressure, food intake, and many more. In this module, you will learn to compute probabilities and
percentage areas under a standard normal table, shade the area under the normal curve, and solve problems
that involve probabilities under a normal curve.

B. MAIN LESSON

Content Notes

Directions: In this activity, you need to read and underline or highlight keywords for you to keep in mind some
essential terms/ words used in the content notes.

The normal curve is asymptomatic to the x-axis

in both directions. An asymptote is a curve that gets closer
to the x-axis but never touches or crosses it. The total
area under the normal distribution curve is equal to 1.00
or 100%.

Normal Curve

The standard normal distribution has a mean of 0 and a standard deviation of 1. The area under the
normal distribution corresponds to a probability. The normal curve has the mean of 0 located at the center and
the data are spread to a maximum of four standard deviations on both sides.

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 MAT 152: Mathematics in the Modern World
Module #14 Student Activity Sheet

Name: ________________________________ __ Class number: _______

Section: ____________ Schedule: _______________ Date: ________________

Every normal curve (regardless of its mean or standard deviation) conforms to the following "rule".
• About 68% of the area under the curve falls within 1 standard deviation of the mean.
• About 95% of the area under the curve falls within 2 standard deviations of the mean.
• About 99.7% of the area under the curve falls within 3 standard deviations of the mean.
Collectively, these points are known as the empirical rule or the 68-95-99.7 rule. Clearly, given a
normal distribution, most outcomes will be within 3 standard deviations of the mean.

All normally distributed variables can be transformed into the standard normally distributed variable
using the formula. The number of standard deviations from the mean is also called the “standard score” or
“z-score”.
𝒙−𝝁
𝒛= 𝝈

Where; 𝒛 is the standard score

𝝁 is the mean
𝝈 is the standard deviation

The standard score z can be translated into a probability by reading the value of the area in the
normal distribution table.

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 MAT 152: Mathematics in the Modern World
Module #14 Student Activity Sheet

Name: ________________________________ __ Class number: _______

Section: ____________ Schedule: _______________ Date: ________________

To read the area in the normal distribution table, use the first column labeled “z” to represent the unit
and tenths value and the value in the first row as the hundredths value.

Example:

z = 0.19

z = 0.17 is 0.5763

Steps in Calculating Probabilities under Normal Curve

• Translate the problem into one of the following: (𝑧 < 𝑎), (𝑧 > 𝑎) 𝑜𝑟 (𝑎 < 𝑧 < 𝑏).
• Draw a picture of the normal curve. Shade in the area of the given probability P on the picture. This
will help you to visualize the problem.
• Standardize a (and/or b) to a z-score using the z-formula if it is not yet standardized.
• Look up the z-score on the Z-table and find its corresponding probability.

Example:
Case 1. P ( z < a )
Determine the area under the standard normal curve to the left of z = –1.06

Answer:
• Since it is a negative sign, use the negative z-distribution table
and find the area in that table.
• 0.1446 is the area under the standard normal curve to the left
of z = -1.06.
• Can be written as P (z < –1.06) = 0.1446
• Draw a normal curve and plot the z-score to -1.06
• After you plot the point, shade the normal curve from the point
to the left.

Thus, the shaded part is 0.1446 or 14.46%. -1.06

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 MAT 152: Mathematics in the Modern World
Module #14 Student Activity Sheet

Name: ________________________________ __ Class number: _______

Section: ____________ Schedule: _______________ Date: ________________

Case 2. P ( z > a )
Determine the area under the standard normal curve to the right of z = 0.71

Answer:
• Since it is a positive sign, use the positive z-distribution table
and find the area in that table.
• 0.7611 is the area under the standard normal curve to the
right of z = 0.71.
• Can be written as P (z > 0.71) = 0.7611
• Draw a normal curve and plot the z-score to 0.71
• After you plot the point, shade the normal curve from the
point to the right.
• The total area of the curve is 1, then 0 to 0.71, then to solve:
P(z > x ) = 1 – P (z > x ) = 1 – 0.7611 = 0.2389
0.71
Thus, the shaded part is 0.2389 or 23.89%.

Case 3. P ( a < z < b )

Determine the area under the standard curve between z = 0.08 and z = 1.96.

Example:
• The area to the left of z = 0.08 is 0.5319 and the area to the
left of z = 1.96 is 0.9750.
• The required area is the difference between the bigger area
and the smaller area.
P (a < z < b) = 0.9750 – 0.5319 = 0.4431

Thus, the area between 0.08 and 1.96 is 0.4431 or 44.31%.

0.08 1.96

Note:
Percentage of Area under the Normal Curve means you have to multiple the area value by 100.

This document is the property of PHINMA EDUCATION

 MAT 152: Mathematics in the Modern World
Module #14 Student Activity Sheet

Name: ________________________________ __ Class number: _______

Section: ____________ Schedule: _______________ Date: ________________

Example for Problem Solving:

Read and understand the first problem then proceed to answer the second problem by applying the same
process standardizing the z-score and solving for the area under the normal curve.

Sir Jerome has 184 students in his college mathematics lecture class. The scores on the midterm
exam are normally distributed with a mean of 72.3 and a standard deviation of 8.9. How many students in the
class can be expected to receive a score between 82 and 90?

Solution:
The given are N = 184;  = 72.3; 𝝈 = 8.9; between 82 and 90

The values are not of standard z-score form, thus, you need to standardize them. Use the formula to
standardize the z-score.
𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒−𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒−𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛
𝑧𝑎 = 𝑧𝑏 =
𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑑𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑑𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛
𝑥−𝜇 𝑥−𝜇
𝑧𝑎 = 𝑧𝑏 =
𝜎 𝜎
82−72.3 90−72.3
= 8.9
= 8.9
9.7 17.7
= =
8.9 8.9
𝒛𝒂 = 𝟏. 𝟎𝟗 𝒛𝒃 = 𝟏. 𝟗𝟗
Area = 0.8621 Area = 0.9767

Solve for the area:

P (a < z < b) = P (0.8621 < z < 0.9767)
= 0.9767 – 0.8621
= 0.1146

Now, to solve for the number of students;

n = area x N
= 0.1146 x 184
n = 21.09
n = 21

This document is the property of PHINMA EDUCATION

 MAT 152: Mathematics in the Modern World
Module #14 Student Activity Sheet

Name: ________________________________ __ Class number: _______

Section: ____________ Schedule: _______________ Date: ________________

Check for Understanding

PART A. Determine the area and shade the curve. Show complete solutions.

1. the left of z = 2.15.

Answer:

2. to the right of z = – 1.37.

Answer:

3. between z = –2.11 and z = –1.14.

Answer:

4. outside of z = 0.25 and z = 2.03

Answer:

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 MAT 152: Mathematics in the Modern World
Module #14 Student Activity Sheet

Name: ________________________________ __ Class number: _______

Section: ____________ Schedule: _______________ Date: ________________

PART B. Solve the given problem (show your solution)

1. The average age of bank managers is 40 years. Assume the variable is normally distributed. If the
standard deviation is 5 years, find the probability that the age of a randomly selected bank manager will
be in the range between 35 and 46 years old.
2. The average Pag-ibig salary loan for RFS Pharmacy Inc. employees is 23,000. If the debt is normally
distributed with a standard deviation of 2,500, find the probability that the employee owes less than
8,500.

PART C. Underline the correct word (in the parenthesis) to complete the sentence.
1. The standard normal distribution is specified by a mean of ( 0, 1 ) and a standard deviation of ( 0, 1 ).
2. If two values of a normal random variable from the same distribution correspond to the same z score,
then these values must be ( negative, positive, equal ).
3. A ( negative, positive ) z-score always corresponds to a value of the normal random variable that is less
than the mean of the random variable.
4. When normal scores are transformed into z-scores, the resulting z-scores will have a mean of ( 0, 1 ).
5. For a normal random variable, the probability of observing a value less than or equal to its mean is ( 0,
0.5, 1 ).

C. LESSON WRAP-UP

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What does it mean to be normally distributed?

A normal distribution of data is one in which the majority of data points are relatively similar, meaning
they occur within a small range of values with fewer outliers on the high and low ends of the data range.

2. Why is it important to assume a normal distribution?

The normal distribution is important because of the Central limit theorem. In simple terms, if you have
many independent variables that may be generated by all kinds of distributions, assuming that nothing too crazy
happens, the aggregate of those variables will tend toward a normal distribution.

3. Can a normal distribution be skewed?

For example, the normal distribution is a symmetric distribution with no skew. The tails are exactly the
same. ... Left-skewed distributions are also called negatively-skewed distributions. That's because there is a
long tail in the negative direction on the number line.

This document is the property of PHINMA EDUCATION

 MAT 152: Mathematics in the Modern World
Module #14 Student Activity Sheet

Name: ________________________________ __ Class number: _______

Section: ____________ Schedule: _______________ Date: ________________

Thinking about Learning

This time, let’s end the module activities by answering the following questions about your learning experience.

What felt confusing about what you learned today? Why?

What motivated you to finish the lesson today?

Answer Key

PART A.

PART B.
1. The probability that a randomly selected bank manager is between 35 and 46 years old is 0.7262 or
72.62%
2. The probability that the employee owes less than 18,500 in Pag-ibig salary loan is 0.0359 or 3.59%
PART C.
1. mean of 0 and sd of 1 4. 0
2. equal 5. 1
3. negative

This document is the property of PHINMA EDUCATION

 MAT 152: Mathematics in the Modern World
Module #14 Student Activity Sheet

Name: ________________________________ __ Class number: _______

Section: ____________ Schedule: _______________ Date: ________________

This document is the property of PHINMA EDUCATION

 MAT 152: Mathematics in the Modern World
Module #14 Student Activity Sheet

Name: ________________________________ __ Class number: _______

Section: ____________ Schedule: _______________ Date: ________________

This document is the property of PHINMA EDUCATION