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The normal distribution and the t-distribution are both symmetric bell-shaped continuous probability distribution functions. The t-distribution has heavier tails: the probability of observations further from the mean is greater than for the normal distribution. There are other differences in terms of when it is appropriate to use them. Finally, the standard normal distribution is a special case of a normal distribution such that the mean is 0 and the standard deviation is 1.
The normal distribution has two parameters, the mean and the standard deviation Once we know these parameters, we know everything we need to know about a particular normal distribution. This is a very nice feature for a distribution to have. Also, the mean, median and mode are all the same in the normal distribution. Also, the normal distribution is important in the central limit theorem. These and many other facts make the normal distribution a nice distribution to have in statistics.
Because very many variables tend to have the Gaussian distribution. Furthermore, even if the underlying distribution is non-Gaussian, the distribution of the means of repeated samples will be Gaussian. As a result, the Gaussian distributions are also referred to as Normal.
No, the normal distribution is strictly unimodal.
Yes. When we refer to the normal distribution, we are referring to a probability distribution. When we specify the equation of a continuous distribution, such as the normal distribution, we refer to the equation as a probability density function.