Math 2274 - Lecture 13

Standard Normal distribution (continued) Percentages of the area under the standard
normal curve.

A graph of the standardized normal curve is shown where Z~N(0,1).

P(-1 Z 1) = 68.27% i.e. 68.27% of the scores lie within 1 standard deviation of the
mean.

P( -2 Z 2) = 95.45% i.e. 95.45% of the scores lie within 2 standard deviations of the
mean.

P(-3 Z 3) = 99.73% i.e. 99.73% of the scores lie within 3 standard deviations of the
mean.

Note: See examples 3.3, 3.4 and 3.5 (Lecture notes)

Normal Approximation to the Binomial (See Theorem 3.8, pg 79 Lecture notes)

If X~B(n,p) where n is large (e.g. n> 30) and np, nq >5 (or 0.2<p<0.8) then:

X N(np, np(1-p)
Continuity Correction (C.C.):

Binomial is DISCRETE and Normal is CONTINUOUS.

Approximating from discrete to continuous means that the probability of a particular
event is altered.
E.g. The binomial event X=8 can be approximated with the normal interval (7.5,8.5)
or 7.5<X<8.5.
P(X=8) P(7.5<X<8.5)
This is called a Continuity Correction Factor.
After this is applied, the r.v. X can be standardized as before.

Summary of C.C. Factor:

o Either add or subtract 0.5 of a unit from each discrete x-value.

o It fills the gaps to make the value continuous.
o Discrete o Continuous
o X=6 o 5.5<X<6.5
o X>6 o X>6.5
o X6 o X>5.5
o X<6 o X<5.5
o X6 o X<6.5
o N.B. : The equal to makes the difference when used in the discrete distribution (i.e. <,
> , ,) but it does not change the continuous distribution i.e. > , are considered the
same as well as < , .

Steps: Normal approximation to the Binomial Distribution

1) Identify the probability of success, p; no. of trials, n; desired no. of successes, X so X ~

B(n,p).

2) If n is large and np and nq are both greater than 5 (or 0.2<p<0.5), use a normal
approximation to the binomial. X N(np,np(1-p) )

3) Convert the discrete r.v. X to a continuous r.v. X.

4) Compute the Z-score where Z= .

5) Calculate the desired probability using tables.

Note: See example 3.6, pg 80 - Lecture notes.