Multimedia links

Click on the following links - please note these will open in a new window
Chapter 6: Probability, Normal Distributions, and z Scores
 
Video Clips
 
This video provides a visual and audio description of the normal curve. This is discussed in simplified terms with drawings (4:33).
 
Describes z scores and how to find the z score of a data point.  (2:06).
 
This video describes the normal distribution and important key points (5:26).
 
Audio Clips
 
New research suggests that rather than describe how humans perform, the bell curve may actually be constraining how people perform (4:33)
 
A Scientific Approach to Helping the Homeless                                                                 
New York writer Malcolm Gladwell discusses  how the homeless problem could be solved if assistance were provided to a small number of permanently homeless people (7:21).
 
BBC podcast that gives a historical overview of the Gaussian, or bell-shaped, distribution and how it is used today (13:49).
 
Web Resources
 
This website illustrates the normal curve and discusses the meaning behind it. Also discusses scores (T-scores, z-scores, scaled scores) and percentiles.
 
This article describes the normal curve and how to find the area under the normal curve.  
 
This article and calculator describe how to convert a z score to a raw score.
 
This article and calculator describe how to convert a raw score to a z score.
 
A description of the relationship between the normal distribution and the binomial distribution and how to use the normal distribution to approximate the binomial distribution are provided.