This document discusses the normal distribution and its key properties. It explains that a normal distribution is a continuous, bell-shaped curve that is symmetrical about the mean. It also describes some important characteristics of the normal curve, such as being asymptotic to the x-axis, having its highest point at the mean, and satisfying the 68-95-99.7% rule regarding how much of the distribution falls within a given number of standard deviations of the mean. The document then introduces the standard normal distribution and the z-score, explaining how to look up areas under the normal curve using the z-table.