SOLUTION: Describe the characteristics of a normal distribution

Algebra ->  Coordinate Systems and Linear Equations -> SOLUTION: Describe the characteristics of a normal distribution      Log On


   



Question 881649: Describe the characteristics of a normal distribution
Answer by jim_thompson5910(35256) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
It is symmetric about the mean mu (pronounced "myoo", it's a greek letter). So the mean mu is the center of the distribution.

It is bell shaped. The center of the bell, or the peak of the bell, is where the mean is. This represents the idea that most of the values lie around the mean.

The normal distribution looks like this


(Image Source: http://www.philender.com/courses/multivariate/notes2/norm-1a.gif)

The standard deviation sigma (the greek letter sigma) tells you how spread out the normal distribution is. So it determines if the distribution is tall/narrow or wide/flat or somewhere in between.