What role does the normal distribution play in hypothesis testing?
Hypothesis testing, a cornerstone of statistical analysis, often relies on the normal distribution, also known as the Gaussian distribution. This bell-shaped curve is fundamental because it describes how data points are expected to disperse around a mean (average) value. Most natural phenomena follow this pattern, assuming a symmetrical distribution of data. In hypothesis testing, you'll frequently assume that your sample data follows a normal distribution, particularly when working with large sample sizes due to the Central Limit Theorem, which states that the means of samples from a population will approximate a normal distribution, regardless of the population's distribution.