Normal Distribution – Transformations | Grade 11

Normal Distribution

Transformations and Asymmetric Distributions

🔧 Transformations on a Normal Distribution

What happens when we add, subtract, multiply, or divide all values in the distribution?

➕ Adding or Subtracting a Constant

+k
Parameter What happens?
Mean Changes (increases/decreases by k)
Standard deviation Unchanged!
Bell shape Stays the same (only shifts)

✏️ Example: All employees receive a ₪1,000 bonus

  • The mean increases by ₪1,000
  • The standard deviation remains unchanged

✖️ Multiplying or Dividing by a Constant

×k: wider original
Parameter What happens?
Mean Multiplied/divided by k
Standard deviation Multiplied/divided by k!
Bell shape Changes (wider/narrower)

✏️ Example: All employees get a 10% raise (multiply by 1.1)

  • The mean is multiplied by 1.1
  • The standard deviation is multiplied by 1.1

💡 Why does the height change?

The total area must remain 100%. If the width increases, the height must decrease!

📋 Transformation Summary

Operation Mean Standard deviation
+k +k Unchanged
-k -k Unchanged
×k ×k ×k
÷k ÷k ÷k

📊 Asymmetric Distributions

Not every distribution is normal! In an asymmetric distribution the mean, median, and mode are not at the same point.

Right-skewed distribution

Mode Median Mean

mode < median < mean

Left-skewed distribution

Mean Median Mode

mean < median < mode

💡 Rule of thumb: The mean is "pulled" toward the tail!

Right tail → mean > median

Left tail → mean < median

📍 Location of Central Tendency Measures

1️⃣ Mode – always at the highest point

2️⃣ Median – divides the area 50%-50%

3️⃣ Mean – "pulled" toward extreme values

✏️ Example: Salary distribution with median ₪8,500

If the distribution is right-skewed (due to managers with high salaries):

  • The mode will be below ₪8,500
  • The mean will be above ₪8,500

⚖️ Comparing Distributions

Property Normal Distribution Asymmetric distribution
Shape Symmetric bell Tail to one side
Central tendency Mean = median = mode Different from each other
Z-table Can be used Cannot be used

📝 Summary

Addition/subtraction → only mean changes

Multiplication/division → mean and SD both change

In asymmetric distributions: mean is pulled toward the tail