Tag Archives: normal distribution
Surveying Statistics
The t Distribution, Part 2 In the previous article (July 2015), I introduce the concept of sampling distributions and the need to use these distributions to analyze small samples of data. In surveying, observing small samples is typical where angles are often observed only two or four times, and repeated distance observations simply means pushing...
Surveying Statistics
The t Distribution, Part 1 In my previous article I discuss the normal distribution and how its properties can be used to isolate blunders in observations. Recall that the normal distribution is based on an infinite number of observations. However, in practice we never collect a population of data but rather a small sample from...
The Normal Distribution, Part 1
Errors in observations can be classified as systematic or random. Systematic errors are errors that follow physical laws and can be mathematically corrected or removed by following proper field procedures with instruments. For example, the expansion or contraction of a steel tape caused by temperatures that differ from the tape’s standard temperature is a systematic...
