Final answer:
The distribution where most scores are at the middle and few at the extremes is termed a normal distribution or bell curve. It's commonly seen in a variety of natural and social phenomena, including the distribution of height in humans, and is characterized by its mean, median, and mode at the same point.
Step-by-step explanation:
The type of distribution where the majority of scores fall in the middle, with fewer extreme scores is called a normal distribution, also known as a bell curve. This is because when graphed, the distribution assumes a shape that is symmetrically bell-shaped. A normal distribution is characterized by the mean, median, and mode being located at the same point. This distribution is frequently observed in natural and social sciences, including psychology, economics, and of course, mathematics. Many human characteristics, such as height and intelligence, naturally follow the normal distribution pattern, particularly when considering large sample sizes that are representative of the population.
In the context of human height, if a large and representative sample is taken, for example, the heights of all women or men in a population, it is likely that their distribution will form a bell curve. The graph will show most individuals clustering around the average height, with progressively fewer individuals at the extremes of very short or very tall. It's important to note that a normal distribution is also defined by its parameters, the mean (μ) and standard deviation (σ), which determine its specific shape and spread. A special case of the normal distribution is the standard normal distribution, which has a mean of zero and a standard deviation of one.