normal distribution curve


Normal distribution curveFig. 231 Normal distribution curve .

normal distribution curve

or

Gaussian curve

the bell-like shape produced when a ‘normal’ population is sampled for a continuously varying character (e.g. height in humans) and the FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION plotted on a graph. The curve is theoretically exactly symmetrical, so that the shape on each side of the mean is the mirror image of the other, with an equal area. See Fig. 231 . Thus the MODE, MEDIAN, and ARITHMETIC MEAN are all at the centre of the distribution. The curve shows the frequency of recorded height in a ‘normal’ population of humans.