Define and Illustrate A Random Variable
Define and Illustrate A Random Variable
VARIABLE
DEFINE AND ILLUSTRATE A RANDOM VARIABLE.
The most important characteristics of any probability
distribution are the following:
Variance of a random variable X is denoted by can likewise be written as Var (X).
The variable of a random variable is expected value of the square of the difference
between the assumed value of random variable and the mean. The variance of X
is:
Var(X)=
Or = where:
x= outcome
=population mean
P(x)= probability of the outcome
Standard Deviation:
The larger the value of variance, the farther are the values of X from
the mean. The variance is tricky to interpret since it uses the square of
the unit of measure of X. So, it is easier to interpret the value of the
standard deviation because it uses the same unit of measure of X. The
standard deviation of discrete random variable X is written as . It is
square root of the variance. The Standard deviation is computed as:
Steps
1. Find the expected value from each outcome. Square the difference.
2. Subtract the expected value from each outcome. Square each
difference.
3. Multiply each difference by the corresponding probability.
4. Sum up all the figures obtained in Step3.
1. A security guard recorded the number of people entering the bank
every hour during one working day. The random variable X
represents the number of people who entered the entered the bank.
The probability distribution of X is shown below. What is expected
number of people who enters the bank hour?
x 0 1 2 3 4 5
P(x) 0 0.1 0.2 0.4 0.2 0.1
Mean (Expected Value)
0 0 0
1 0.1 0.1
2 0.2 0.4
3 0.4 1.2
4 0.2 0.8
5 0.1 0.5
0 0
0 0
0.1 0.4
1 0.1
0.4 0.2
2 0.2
1.2 0 0
3 0.4
0.8 1 0.2
4 0.2
0.5 4 0.4
5 0.1
=
ALTERNATIVE METHOD
The variance of a discrete random variable can also be
determined by subtracting the square of its mean from the
summation of the products of the squares of the outcomes and
their corresponding probabilities.
Hence, the following formula:
=
0 0
0 0
0.1 0.1
1 0.1
0.4 0.8
2 0.2
1.2 9 3.6
3 0.4
0.8 16 3.2
4 0.2
0.5 25 2.5
5 0.1
= 1.2
=1.2
Therefore, the average number of people entering the bank every hour during that
working day is 3.0 with the variance of 1.2 and standard deviation of 1.0954 or
approximately 1.01.
EXAMPLE 2
Determine mean(expected value), variance and the standard
deviation of the following mass function.
x P(x)
1 0.15
2 0.25
3 0.3
4 0.15
5 0.1
6 0.05
ALTERNATIVE METHOD
2 0.25 0.5 4 1
=
=1.8475
Therefore, the expected value 2.95 with the variance of 1.8475 and standard
deviation of 1.36 or approximately
Example 3
Determine the variance and standard deviation of the following probability mass
function:
x 0 1 2 3
Number of Boxes 0 1 2 3
(x)
Probability 1/18 1/2 1/3 1/9
Solution:
x P(x) xP(x)
0 0.25 :0
1 0.50
:0.5
2 0.25
:0.5
∑ 𝑥𝑃 ( 𝑥 )=1
Example 2
x 1 2 3 4
X P(x) xP(x)
1 0.10 :0.10
2 0.20 :0.40
3 0.45
:1.35
4 0.25
:1
∑ 𝑥𝑃 ( 𝑥 )=2.85
Variance and Standard
Deviation of a Discrete
Variable
Variance
Variance of a random variable X is denoted by can likewise be written as Var (X).
The variable of a random variable is expected value of the square of the difference
between the assumed value of random variable and the mean. The variance of X
is:
Var(X)=
Or = where:
x= outcome
=population mean
P(x)= probability of the outcome
Standard Deviation:
The larger the value of variance, the farther are the values of X from
the mean. The variance is tricky to interpret since it uses the square of
the unit of measure of X. So, it is easier to interpret the value of the
standard deviation because it uses the same unit of measure of X. The
standard deviation of discrete random variable X is written as . It is
square root of the variance. The Standard deviation is computed as:
= 1.2
=1.2
Therefore, the average number of people entering the bank every hour during that
working day is 3.0 with the variance of 1.2 and standard deviation of 1.0954 or
approximately 1.01.