Do Natural Phenomena Follow a Normal Distribution?

Many natural phenomena in real life can be approximated by a bell-shaped frequency distribution known as the normal distribution or the Gaussian distribution. ... Last but not least, since the normal distribution is symmetric around its mean, extreme values in both tails of the distribution are equivalently unlikely.

Does everything follow a normal distribution?

Many everyday data sets typically follow a normal distribution: for example, the heights of adult humans, the scores on a test given to a large class, errors in measurements. The normal distribution is always symmetrical about the mean.

How do you know if something follows a normal distribution?

In order to be considered a normal distribution, a data set (when graphed) must follow a bell-shaped symmetrical curve centered around the mean. It must also adhere to the empirical rule that indicates the percentage of the data set that falls within (plus or minus) 1, 2 and 3 standard deviations of the mean.