# What are examples of authentic Bell Curves

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-examples-of-authentic-bell-curves/991098>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 4, 2023, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-examples-of-authentic-bell-curves/991098 "2023-10-04T14:38:45Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
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**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\
**Post date:** [October 4, 2023, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-examples-of-authentic-bell-curves/991098/32 "2023-10-04T23:06:34Z")

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> [@Whack-a-Mole](#):
>
> ACT/SAT scores (since they are students)…hell…your class tests are probably on a bell curve

Classroom scores tend to be bimodal, with one peak from students who studied and another from students who didn’t.

> [@Crafter\_Man](#):
>
> So let’s say the distribution for a large population is _not_ Gaussian - it’s some weird shape. I grab a random sample. It is also not Gaussian. I calculate the mean of the sample. Lather, rinse, repeat. All of the means (from all of the samples) will have a Gaussian distribution, correct?

If the actual distribution meets certain requirements. Not all do. If you try that with something on a Lorentzian distribution, for instance, you’ll get another Lorentzian distribution.

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