Lesson 1 What Is Normal? Develop Understanding
Jump Start
Which One Doesn’t Belong?
Look at each representation of data and determine which one you believe does not belong. Be prepared to justify your choice.
Learning Focus
Understand features of a normal distribution.
Identify the effect of changing the mean or standard deviation in a normal distribution.
What is a “normal” distribution? How are normal distributions related to bell curves?
Open Up the Math: Launch, Explore, Discuss
One very important type of data distribution is called a “normal distribution.” In this case, the word “normal” has a special meaning for statistical distributions. In this task, you will be given a pair of data distributions represented with histograms and distribution curves. In each pair, one distribution is normal, and one is not. Your job is to compare each of the distributions given and come up with a list of features for normal distributions.
1.
This is approximately normal:
This is not normal:
What differences do you see between these distributions?
2.
This is normal:
This is not normal:
What differences do you see between these distributions?
3.
This is approximately normal:
This is not normal:
What differences do you see between these distributions?
4.
This is normal:
This is not normal:
What differences do you see between these distributions?
5.
This is approximately normal:
This is not normal:
What differences do you see between these distributions?
6.
This is approximately normal:
This is not normal:
What differences do you see between these distributions?
7.
This is normal:
This is not normal:
What differences do you see between these distributions?
8.
Based upon the examples you have seen in problems 1-7, what are the features of a normal distribution?
Pause and Reflect
9.
Mean =
Mean =
Mean =
a.
What does the standard deviation tell us about a distribution?
b.
Use the three normal distributions provided to answer the questions, “How does changing the standard deviation affect a normal curve? Why does it have this effect?”
10.
Mean =
Mean =
Mean =
a.
What does the mean tell us about a distribution?
b.
Use the three normal distributions provided to answer the questions, “How does changing the mean affect a normal curve? Why does it have this effect?”
11.
Now that you have figured out some of the features of a normal distribution, determine if the following statements are true or false. In each case, explain your answer.
a.
A normal distribution depends on the mean and the standard deviation.
Is this statement true or false? Explain your answer.
b.
The mean, median, and mode are equal in a normal distribution.
Is this statement true or false? Explain your answer.
c.
A normal distribution is bimodal.
Is this statement true or false? Explain your answer.
d.
In a normal distribution, exactly
Is this statement true or false? Explain your answer.
Ready for More?
An automatic radar camera is used to measure the speed of cars on a freeway. The speeds are normally distributed with a mean of
Takeaways
Features of a normal distribution:
Adding Notation, Vocabulary, and Conventions
Point of inflection:
On a normal distribution:
Vocabulary
Lesson Summary
In this lesson, we learned about features of a normal distribution. We learned a normal distribution is defined by the mean, which is the center of the distribution and the standard deviation, which determines the spread of the distribution. Normal distributions are represented with the
1.
DeAndre scored a
2.
DeAndre’s score was very high. If his score was removed from the data set, would the standard deviation increase or decrease?
3.
Find the inverse of