Applications/Uses of Normal Curve/Normal Distribution:

There are a number of applications of normal curve in the field of

measurement and evaluation in psychology and education.

These are:
(i) To determine the percentage of cases (in a normal distribution)
within given limits or scores.

(ii) To determine the percentage of cases those are above or below a

given score or reference point.

(iii) To determine the limits of scores which include a given

percentage of cases.

(iv) To determine the percentile rank of a student in his group.

(v) To find out the percentile value of a student’s percentile rank.

(vi) To compare the two distributions in terms of overlapping.

(vii) To determine the relative difficulty of test items, and

(viii) Dividing a group into sub-groups according to certain ability

and assigning the grades.

Table of Areas under the Normal Curve:

How do we use all the above applications of normal curve in
psychological and educational measurement and evaluation. It is
essential first to know about the Table of areas under the normal
curve. Table A gives the fractional parts of the total area under the
normal curve found between the mean and ordinates erected at
various a (sigma) distances from the mean.
The normal probability curve table is generally limited to the area
under unit normal curve with N = 1, σ = 1. In case when the values
of N and σ are different from these, the measurements or scores
should be converted into sigma scores (also referred to as standard
scores or Z scores).

The process is as follows:

Z = X-M/σ or Z = x/σ

In which Z = Standard Score

X = Raw Score

M = Mean of X Scores

σ = Standard Deviation of X Scores.

The table of areas of normal probability curve is then referred to

find out the proportion of area between the mean and the Z value.
Though the total area under N P C. is 1, but for convenience, the
total area under the curve is taken to be 10,000 because of greater
ease with which fractional parts of the total area, may be then
calculated.

The first column of the table, x/σ gives distance in tenths of a

measured off on the base line for the normal curve from the mean
as origin. In the row, the x/σ distance are given to the second place
of the decimal.

To find the number of cases in the normal distribution between the

mean, and the ordinate erected at a distance of la unit from the
mean, we go down the x/σ column until 1.0 is reached and in the
next column under .00 we take the entry opposite 1.0, namely 3413.

This figure means that 3413 cases in 10,000; or 34.13 percent of the
entire area of the curve lies between the mean and la. Similarly, if
we have to find the percentage of the distribution between the mean
and 1.56 σ, say, we go down the x/σ column to 1.5, then across
horizontally to the column headed by .06, and note the entry 44.06.
This is the percentage of the total area that lies between the mean
and 1.56σ.
We have so far considered only a distances measured in the positive
direction from the mean. For this we have taken into account only
the right half of the normal curve. Since the curve is symmetrical
about the mean, the entries in Table-A apply to distances measured
in the negative direction (to the left) as well as to those measured in
the positive direction.

If we have to find the percentage of the distribution between mean

and —1.28 σ, for instance, we take entry 3997 in the column .08,
opposite 1.2 in the x/σ column. This entry means that 39.97 of the
cases in the normal distribution fall between the mean and -1.28σ.

For practical purposes we take the curve to end at points -3σ and
+3σ distant from the mean as the normal curve does not actually
meet the base line. Table of area under normal probability curve
shows that 4986.5 cases lie between mean and ordinate at +3σ.

Thus, 99 .73 percent of the entire distribution, would lie within the
limits -3σ and +3σ. The rest 0.27 percent of the distribution beyond
±3σ is considered too small or negligible except where N is very
large.

Points to be kept in mind while consulting Table of Area

under Normal Probability Curve:
The following points are to be kept in mind to avoid
errors, while consulting the N.P.C. Table:
1. Every given score or observation must be converted into
standard measure i.e. Z score, by using the following
formula:
Z = X-M/σ
2. The mean of the curve is always the reference point, and all the
values of areas are given in terms of distances from mean which is
zero.
3. The area in terms of proportion can be converted into percentage
and,
4. While consulting the table, absolute values of Z should be taken.
However, a negative value of Z shows the scores and the area lie
below the mean and this fact should be kept in mind while doing
further calculation on the area. A positive value of Z shows that the
score lies above the mean i.e. right side.
Practical Problems Related to Application of the Normal
Probability Curve:
(a) To determine the percentage of cases in a Normal Distribution
within given limits or scores.

Example 1:
Given a normal distribution of 500 scores with M = 40 and σ= 8,
what percentage of cases lie between 36 and 48.
Solution:
Z score for raw score 36. Z = X-M/σ 36-40/8 = -4/8

or Z = -05. σ

Z score for raw score 48. Z = 48-40/8 = 8/8 = +1.00

or Z = +1σ

According to table area under N.P.C. (Table -A) the total percentage
of cases that lie between the Mean and -,5σ is 19.15. The percentage
of cases between the Mean and +1σ is 34.13. Therefore, total
percentage of cases that fall between the scores 36 and 48 is 19.15 +
34.13 = 53.28.

(b) To determine the percentile rank of a student in his

own group:
The percentile rank is defined as the percentage of scores
below a given score:
Example 2:
The raw score of a student of class X on an achievement test is 60.
The mean of the whole class is 50 with standard deviation 5. Find
the percentile rank of the student.

Solution:
First we convert raw score 60 to Z score by using the formula.

According to the table of area under N.P.C. (Table-A) the area of the
curve that lie between M and + 2σ is 47.72%. The total percentage of
cases below the score 60 is 50 + 47.72 = 97.72% or 98%.
Thus, the percentile rank of a student who secured 60 marks in an
achievement test in the class is 98.

(c) To determine the percentile value of a student whose percentile

rank is known.

Example 3:
In a class Amit’s percentile rank in the mathematics class is 75. The
mean of the class in mathematics is 60 with standard deviation 10.
Find out Amit’s marks in mathematics achievement test.

Solution:
According to definition of percentile rank the position of Amit on
the N.P.C. scale is 25% scores above the mean.

According to the N.P.C. Table the σ score of 25% cases from the
Mean is +.67σ.

Thus, by using the formula:

Amit’s marks in mathematics are 67.

(d) Dividing a group into sub-groups according to the level of ability

Example 4:
Given a group of 500 college students who have been administered
a general mental ability test. The teacher wishes to classify the
group in five categories and assign them the grades A, B, C, D, E
according to ability. Assuming the general mental ability is normally
distributed in the population; calculate the number of students that
can be placed in groups A, B, C, D and E.
Solution:
We know that the total area of the Normal Curve extends from -3σ
to + 3σ that is over a range of 6σ.

Dividing this range by 5, we get the σ distance of each category =

6σ/5 = 1.2σ. Thus, each category is spread over a distance of 1.2σ.
The category C will lie in the middle. Half of its area will be below
the mean, and the other half above the mean.

The σ distance of each category is shown in the figure.

According to N.P.C. table the total percentage of cases from mean to
.6σ is 22.57.

The total cases in between -,6σ to + .6σ is 22.57 + 22.57 = 45.14%.

Hence, in category C, the total percentage of students is = 45.14.

Similarly according to N.P.C. Table the total percentage of cases

from Mean to 1.8σa is 46.41.

The total percentage of eases in category B is 46.41 – 22.57 =

23.84%.

In category A the total percentage of cases will be 50 – 46.41 =

3.59%.

Similarly in category D and E the total percentage of the students

will be 23.84% and 3.59 respectively.
Applications of Normal Distribution

Reasoning based on normal distributions is an important skill that goes throughout the rest of the
course. In this lecture, we will look at a few problems that illustrate what you can do with normal
distributions. One of the variables that we know do follow normal distributions is the height of
people. For all these problems, we’re going to assume that women’s heights are normally
distributed with a mean of 65 inches and a standard deviation of 3 inches. In the textbook’s
notation, we can also state .

Finding Probabilities from Given Values of Random Variable

1) What is the probability that a woman is between 64 inches and 69 inches tall (5’4” to 5’9”)?
Put another way, what fraction of women’s heights are in this range? Using the notation of
random variables, we would write this as P(64 < X < 69).

First, draw a horizontal axis and label it x, write the units (inches) below it, and draw a normal pdf
centered over the mean of 65 inches. Then mark and label 65 on the axis, mark and label 64 to the
left of it and 69 to the right of it, draw vertical lines from the 64 and the 69 to the curve and shade
the part between them, above the x-axis, and under the curve:
If you are using GeoGebra, then you will immediately see that the software tells you P(64 < X <69)
=0.5393. If you are using the calculator, then you need to find the normalcdf (not normalpdf)
function. Enter the number on the left where the shading begins, the number on the right where it
ends, the mean of the distribution, and its standard deviation, all separated by commas, normalcdf
(64, 69, 65, 3), and you will get 0.539347. Round this to the nearest ten-thousandth (four places
after the decimal point), or equivalently to the nearest hundredth of a percent, and you come up
with the correct answer: 0.5393, or 53.93%.

In the last lecture, we mentioned that in the old days, everyone has to learn how to look up a Z-
table, the table the shows the relationship between area and Z-score for the standard normal. Then
how does GeoGebra and normalcdf do it? Well, it’s no magic. The software simply converts any
normal distribution to a standard normal, using the familiar relationship of Z-score:

So our example above will be converted to:

, which gives you exactly the

same area, just under a different scale:

It’s not necessary that you always convert all normal distributions to Z, but it’s useful to recognize
how it is handled by the software, since we will be doing the same later in inferential statistics.

2) What is the probability that a woman is taller than 5 feet, 10 inches, or 70 inches? Put
another way, what fraction of women are taller than 70 inches? This would be written as P(X
> 70).

Start the same way as in Problem 1, but you have to mark and label only one number besides the
mean, the 70. Then shade to the right of the 70, because that’s where the taller heights are:
GeoGebra is fairly self-explanatory here. With the calculator, the only complication using normalcdf
is that there is no number on the right where the shading ends, so put in a big one, and if you’re not
sure if it’s big enough put in a bigger one and see if it changes your answer, at least to the nearest
ten-thousandth. normalcdf ( 70, 1000, 65, 3)=0.04779, so the rounded answer is 0.0478, or 4.78%.

Find Cut-Off Values of the Random Variable from Probability

In the problems above, we found the probability that the random variable falls within a certain
range. Now we’re going to reverse the process. We’ll start with the probability of a certain range,
and then we’ll have to find the values of the random variable that determine that range. I’ll call
these values cut-offs. Sometimes they are also called “inverse probability” problems.

In these three problems, we’ll use the same situation as above: Women’s heights are normally
distributed with a mean of 65 inches and a standard deviation of 3 inches.

1) How short does a woman have to be to be in the shortest 10% of women? If we call this cut-
off c, this could be written as finding c such that P(X < c) = 0.10.

We’ll do the same kind of diagram as before, but this time we’ll label the known probability, 10%,
and we do this above the shaded area, definitely not on the x-axis, because it’s an area, not a height.
The hardest part of the diagram is deciding which side of the mean to put the c on and which side of
the c to shade.
You really have to think about it. In this case, since by definition 50% of women are shorter than the
mean, the cut-off for 10% has to be less than the mean.

The picture here shows that how GeoGebra can be used to find the cut-off values: instead of
entering the cut-off values, you can enter 0.10 as the probability, and GeoGebra will solve for the
cut-off value (61.1553).

Using the calculator, you will need to resort to the invNorm function, followed by the percent of
data under the normal curve to the left of (always to the left of, no matter which side of c the
shading is on) the cut-off, then the mean and standard deviation, separated by commas.

So in our example, we will do invNorm (0.10, 65, 3), or, to the nearest inch, like the mean and
standard deviation, 61 inches. So about 10% of women are shorter than 61 inches. You can check
this using normalcdf, and you might as well use more of the cut-off than we rounded to, for greater
assurance that your check shows you got the right answer. You get normalcdf (0, 61.1553, 65, 3),
which come to 0.0999997, or 10%.

2) How tall does a woman have to be to be in the tallest fourth of women? (What is the cut-off
for the tallest 25% of women?) If we call this height c, we want to find the value of c such
that P(X > c) = 0.25. Here’s the diagram:
In GeoGebra it’s quite simple: you will just have to switch the left to the right tail.

In the calculator, when we use invNorm we must put in 0.75, because the calculator finds cut-offs
for areas to the left only: invNorm (0.75, 65, 3). Here 0.75 comes from the fact that the total area
must be equal to 1. When we subtract the area to the right, we are getting the area to the left of the
cut-off.

Again, either GeoGebra or invNorm rely on the standard normal Z table to compute these values. To
see how this is done, you will first need to first the cut-off value for the 25% area to the right:

$P(Z > 0.67) = 0.25$

Then using the relationship between the Z score and X, we can solve for x as the unknown:

Using the algebra you have learned, you will find x = 3*0.67 + 65 = 67.0, which is how the software
arrived at the answer. You won’t have to do it this way every time, but it’s helpful to keep in mind,
since this relation is used later on in finding the margin of error for confidence intervals.

3) What if we’re interested in finding cut-offs for a middle group of women’s heights, say the
middle 40%? Obviously, we’re looking for two numbers here, one on either side of the
mean, with the same distance to the mean. Call them and . Then we are looking for
these values so that
You probably noticed that the normal calculator in GeoGebra can’t really find two cut-offs at
once in fact, the figure above was drawn using a different tool. But and are not two
independent values, since they are equally far from 65, the mean. To use the normal calculator, we
must find out how much area is under the curve to the left of . Well, if 100% of area is under the
entire curve, then what’s left over after taking away the middle 40% is 1-0.40=0.60, and since that
60% is split evenly between the two tails (the parts at the sides), that gives 30% for each tail. So is
the number such that .