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Topic 07 Computing Percentiles Under The Normal Curve

1. The document discusses computing percentiles under the normal curve by finding the corresponding z-score given a probability or percentile value. 2. It provides examples of finding the 90th, 95th percentiles and the upper 2% of the normal curve by locating the given probability on the z-table and determining the z-score. 3. Activities are included to apply the concepts to word problems involving converting scores to z-scores and determining percentile ranks.

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Princess Verniece
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226 views

Topic 07 Computing Percentiles Under The Normal Curve

1. The document discusses computing percentiles under the normal curve by finding the corresponding z-score given a probability or percentile value. 2. It provides examples of finding the 90th, 95th percentiles and the upper 2% of the normal curve by locating the given probability on the z-table and determining the z-score. 3. Activities are included to apply the concepts to word problems involving converting scores to z-scores and determining percentile ranks.

Uploaded by

Princess Verniece
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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SAN AGUSTIN INTEGRATED SCHOOL

LEARNING ACTIVITY SHEET


San Agustin Libon, Albay STATISTICS AND PROBABILITY

Topic 7: Computing Percentiles Under the Normal Curve

You have learned about computing probabilities under the normal curve. You further learned that a probability
value corresponds to an area under the normal curve. You have determined areas or probabilities given the z-scores or
you have computed the z-score given the raw score, mean and standard deviation and looked for the area in the z-Table
or However, in this lesson the area or probability is given and you are going to find the corresponding z-score. This is what
you do when you want to determine percentiles and locate them under the normal curve.

What’s New
Often the units for raw test scores are not informative. You might know that you scored 76 out of 100 on a test
but it doesn’t give you much information of what your score means. Scores are more meaningful if percentile rank is given.
What do you mean by a percentile? If your teacher told you that your score in test is in the 90 th percentile. What does it
mean?

What is a percentile?
Percentile is a measure of relative standing. It is the percent of cases that are at or below a score. It tells you how
a value compares to other values. If your teacher tells you that you scored 90th percentile, it means that 90% of the grades
were lower than yours and 10% were higher.
In the previous lesson, you learned on how to find the area or probability under the normal curve given a z-value.
Suppose, you know the area or probability this time, how would you find the corresponding z-score?
When you are given with the area or probability and you want to know the corresponding z-score, locate the area at the
body of the table. If the exact area is not available, take the nearest area. Then, look up the corresponding z-value.

Study the examples below.


Example 1: Find the 90th percentile of a normal curve.
Finding 90thpercentile means locating an area below the point. To begin, find the z-value located at this point.
Solution:
Express the 90th percentile to decimal so that you can easily find it in the z – table, that is, 0.9000. We know that
0.9000 occupies more than half of the curve. Then, locate the z – value corresponding to the area 0.9000. The z – value
corresponding to the area 0.9000 is not available, so take the nearest area. The nearest area is 0.9000 which correspond
to z = 1.28. So, the 90th percentile is z=1.28.
To illustrate, draw the normal curve. Draw a line through 𝑧 = 1.28 and shade the region below it. The shaded region
is 90% of the distribution.

Example 2: Find the 95th percentile of a normal curve.


Finding 95thpercentile means locating an area below the point. To begin, find the z-value located at this point.
Solution:
Express the 95th percentile to decimal so that you can easily find it in the z – table, that is, 0.9500. We know that
0.9500 occupies more than half of the curve. Then, locate the z-value corresponding to the area 0.9500. The z – value
corresponding to the area 0.9500 is not available, so take the nearest area. The nearest areas are 0.9495 and 0.9505. Find
the z – value corresponding to 0.9495 and 0.9505. These are 𝑧 = 1.64 and 𝑧 = 1.65.We get the average of the two
1.64+1.65
z – value: 𝑧 = 2
= 1. 645. Thus, the 95th percentile is 𝒛 = 𝟏. 𝟔𝟒𝟓.
To illustrate, draw the normal curve. Draw a line through 𝑧 = 1.645 and shade the region below it. The shaded
region is 95% of the distribution.
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2ND SEMESTER | princessverniecesianobleza


Example 3: Find the upper 2% of the normal curve.
Finding the upper 2% of the normal curve means locating an area above the point. To begin, find the z-value
located at this point.
Solution:
Express the given percent to decimal so that you can easily find it in the z – table, that is, 0.0200. The upper @%
or 0.0200 means to the right of a z-value above the mean. Find the remaining area, using the lower side of the mean
(1 − 0.0200 = 0.9800). Then, locate the z-value corresponding to the area 0.9800. The z – value corresponding to the
area 0.9800 is not available, so take the nearest area. The nearest area is 0.9798 which corresponds to 𝑧 = 2.05. Thus,
the upper 2% is above 𝒛 = 𝟐. 𝟎𝟓.
To illustrate, draw the appropriate normal curve. Draw a line through 𝑧 = 2.05 and shade the region above it. The
shaded region is 2% of the distribution.

Solving the problems does not follow a uniform procedure. You have to analyze the problem carefully and
apply what you have learned about the concepts involving normal curve.

Activity 1
Let’s extend your learning by applying the concept to a word problem. The steps and the final answer are provided
for you, please supply the solutions.
Problem:
The results of the final exam in General Mathematics of the 12 sections of Grade 11 are normally distributed with
𝜇 = 82 and 𝜎 = 13. What is the percentile rank of a score of 85?

A percentile rank of 85 means you have to find the percentage of scores below 85. To find the required area in the
z-table, transform 85 to a z-score.
Steps Solution
1. Convert the raw score of 85 to a zscore.

2. Draw the normal curve showing the zscore.


3. Draw a line through the z-score and shade the
required region.
(Note: In the problem, the required region is
below the computed z-score since you are
looking for the
percentile rank)
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4. Use the table and find the area that corresponds
to the computed z-score.

5. Examine the shaded region and make an


appropriate operation to apply.

6. Compute the percentile rank of the score. (Hint:


Multiply the probability in decimal by 100 to
get the desired percentage)

The percentile rank of the score 85 in a test is


7. Make a concluding statement. 59.10.

Activity 2. Answer the questions in no less than three sentences.


1. How is a percentile rank used in real life? Cite examples.
2. How important is its use in the interpretation of figures or numbers?

Activity 3. Find each of the following percentile points and draw the appropriate normal curve. Complete your procedures.
1. Find the 99th percentile of the normal curve.
2. Find the upper 5% of the normal curve.
3. The results of the entrance examination for freshmen are normally distributed with 𝑥̅ = 85 and 𝑠 = 12.5. What is
the percentile rank of a score of 92?

Activity 4. Consider the shaded region in the diagram below and answer the following questions.

1. If the unshaded region is 0.10, what is the area to the left of 𝑧?


2. What does 𝑧 represent?
3. What is the value of 𝑧?

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