Question

How does a t distribution differ from a normal curve?

Answer 1

t distribution and normal curve are symmetric, uni-modal, bell shaped and have the mean of zero. The difference is that t-curve is has a higher variance, so it is more spread out. This spread depends on the degrees of freedom, `\nu`. For smaller value of `\nu`, t-distribution is more spread out, but as `\nu` increases, the t-curve approaches normal curve asymptotically.