Likewise, trapezoidal distributions also roughly resemble mesas or plateaus.

In addition, there are two sharp bending points (non-differentiable discontinuities) within the probability distribution, which we will call b and c, which occur between a and d, such that a ≤ b ≤ c ≤ d. The image to the right shows a perfectly linear trapezoidal distribution.

In the standard case, where the middle part of the trapezoid is completely flat, and the side ramps are perfectly linear, all of the values between c and d will occur with equal frequency, and therefore all such points will be modes (local frequency maxima) of the distribution.

On the other hand, though, if the middle part of the trapezoid is not completely flat, or if one or both of the side ramps are not perfectly linear, then the trapezoidal distribution in question is a generalized trapezoidal distribution,[1][2] and more complicated and context-dependent rules may apply.

The side ramps of a trapezoidal distribution are not required to be symmetric in the general case, just as the sides of trapezoids in geometry are not required to be symmetric.

The uniform, triangular, Irwin-Hall, Bates, Poisson, normal, bimodal, and multimodal distributions are all more frequently discussed in the literature.

The normal distribution in particular is especially common in nature, just as one would expect from the central limit theorem.