If we take a sample of "n" observations from a normal distribution, then the "t"-distribution with "ν = n−1" degrees of freedom can be defined as the distribution of the location of the sample mean formula_6, relative to the true mean formula_7, divided by the sample standard deviation formula_8 over the normalizing term formula_9 (that is, formula_10). In this way, the "t"-distribution can be used to estimate how likely it is that the true mean lies in any given range.