DOM501

Session 4-5
Reference: SfM Ch.5
Probability distribution of a discrete variable
 A discrete variable is a variable that takes only discrete values. These values may
not be integer, but they do not form a continuous function.
 It is a mutually exclusive list of all possible numerical outcomes along with the
probability of each outcome occurring.
 Eg: The number of possible absentees in an office:
No. of absentees Probability
0 0.15
1 0.35
2 0.2
3 0.15
4 0.1
5 0.05
Expected value of a discrete variable
 The expected value of a discrete variable is the weighted average of all the
outcomes, the weights being the probability scores.

 µ= 𝐸 𝑋 = σ𝑁
𝑖=1 𝑥𝑖 𝑃(𝑋 = 𝑥𝑖 )

 In the previous example, µ = 0.15(0)+0.35(1)+0.2(2)+0.15(3)+0.1(4)+0.05(5)

 Variance = σ𝑁 𝑥
𝑖=1 𝑖 − 𝐸 𝑋 2 𝑃(𝑋 = 𝑥 )
𝑖

 The standard deviation is the square root of the variance.

 σ= 𝑉𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒= σ𝑁
𝑖=1 𝑥𝑖 − 𝐸 𝑋 2 𝑃(𝑋 = 𝑥 )
𝑖
Covariance of a probability distribution
 Covariance measures the strength of a relationship between the probability
distribution of two numerical variables.

 A negative covariance indicates a negative relationship, a positive covariance

 Covariance 𝜎𝑥𝑦 = σ𝑁
𝑖=1 𝑥𝑖 − 𝐸 𝑋 𝑦𝑖 − 𝐸 𝑌 𝑃(𝑥𝑖 𝑦𝑖 )

 𝑃(𝑥𝑖 𝑦𝑖 ) is the probability of both 𝑥𝑖 and 𝑦𝑖 occurring.

 Variance of the sum of two variables:

 Standard deviation:
𝜎𝑋+𝑌 = 𝑉𝑎𝑟(𝑋 + 𝑌)
 A variable X has the following distribution:
X(i) P(i)
10 0.2
12 0.1
15 0.4
20 0.3
 E(X)=10*0.2+12*0.1+15*0.4+20*0.3=15.2
 Variance = (10 − 15.2)2 ∗ 0.2 + 12 − 15.2 2 ∗ 0.1 + 15 − 15.2 2 ∗ 0.4 +
20 − 15.2 2 ∗ 0.3 = 5.408 + 1.024 + 0.016 + 6.912 = 13.36
 Stdev=3.655
 If there is a second variable Y with E(Y)=21.4, Stdev(Y)=4.22, and covariance = -1.56
E(X+Y)=15.2+21.4=36.6
Variance(X+Y)=13.36+4.22^2+2*-1.56=28.05
Stdev(X+Y)=5.296
The Uniform Distribution
 Also called rectangular dist. Has the same chance of occurrence anywhere in its
range.

1
𝑓 𝑋 = 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑏 𝑖𝑠 𝑀𝑎𝑥 𝑋 , 𝑎 𝑖𝑠 𝑀𝑖𝑛(𝑋)
𝑏−𝑎+1
𝑎+𝑏
Mean: 𝜇 =
2
(𝑏−𝑎)2
Variance: 𝜎 2 =
12
Standard Deviation: 𝜎
The Binomial Distribution
 A discrete random variable distribution created by a Bernoulli Process, which has
the following properties –
 It is a series of trials, each trial has only two outcomes, with probabilities p and 1-p
 The value of p stays fixed over the course of the process
 The trials are statistically independent
 If there are n trials, the chances of obtaining exactly r successes (r<=n) is given by
the binomial formula (let q = 1-p):
𝑛!
𝑝𝑟 𝑞 𝑛−𝑟
𝑟! (𝑛 − 𝑟!)
 A roulette table has 18 black numbers, 18 red, and 1 green. A person is betting on
either red or black. What is his chance of getting more than 3 wins in 5 games?
p=18/37, q=1 – 18/37=19/37
n=5, P(x>3)=P(x=4)+ P(x=5)
P(x=4)=5C4*(18/37)^4*19/37
P(x=5)=5C5*(18/37)^5
Graphical results of the binomial distribution
 When p is small (around 0.1) the distribution is right-skewed
 As p increases, the skewness is less noticeable until it is
symmetrical at p=0.5
 As p increases beyond 0.5, the distribution starts being skewed to
the left.
 The probability for each outcome at a certain value p are the same
as the outcomes for q, except in reverse order.
 Q: In 10 tosses of an honest coin, what are the chances of a)
Exactly 7 heads b) Less than 5 heads?
Central Tendency of the Binomial Distribution
 Mean: np
 Variance: npq
 Standard deviation: 𝑛𝑝𝑞
 On a 6-sided die, there is 1/6 chance of rolling 6.
 Over 10 trials, mean = np = 10/6, Variance = npq = 50/36
 Stdev = (50/36)^0.5
 Final note: To apply the binomial distribution, we must first ensure that
the process meets the conditions for a Bernoulli Process.
 Excel command: binom.dist(x,n,p,cumulative) or
binom.dist.range(n,p,x1,x2)
Hypergeometric Distribution
 Where the binomial distribution the sample data are selected with replacement
from a finite pool (or without from an infinite pool) the hypergeometric
distribution is found when the samples are taken from a finite pool without
replacement.
 If n samples are taken from population N, and out of the population A members are
of interest, then the probability of exactly x successes out of n samples is:
𝐶𝑥𝐴 𝐶𝑛−𝑥
𝑁−𝐴
𝑃 𝑋 = 𝑥 𝑛, 𝑁, 𝐴 =
𝐶𝑛𝑁
𝑛𝐴(𝑁−𝐴) 𝑁−𝑛
 Mean = 𝑛𝐴/𝑁 Std. dev. 𝜎 =
𝑁2 𝑁−1
 Excel command: hypgeom.dist(x,n,A,N,cumulative)
Poisson Distribution
 Characteristics of the Poisson Process:
 The process is applied to a discrete random variable that takes integer values
 The average value of the random variable over the given time period is already
known or can be calculated given past data
 At any one second, the possibility of a positive outcome is very small, and a fixed
value.
 At any one second, the possibility of two or more positive outcomes is so small we
can assign it a value of zero.
 The probability of a positive outcome at any given second is not only fixed, but
independent of the actual time as well as the result in any other second.
The Poisson Formula
 Let λ be the mean number of occurrences in the interval of time under study.
 e is the base of the natural logarithm system, approx. 2.71828
 Poisson probability of x number of incidents occurring
𝜆𝑥 𝑒 −𝜆
𝑃 𝑥 =
𝑥!
 If a binomial process has a large number of trials (n>20) and a small probability of
success (p<0.05), we can use the Poisson formula after substituting the binomial
mean np.
(𝑛𝑝)𝑥 𝑒 −𝑛𝑝
𝑃 𝑥 =
𝑥!
 Excel command: poisson.dist(x, mean, cumulative)
 A lawyer receives average 6 clients a day. What is his chance of getting at least 3
clients? Clients arrive following a Poisson distribution.
λ= 6, P(x>=3)= P(x=3)+P(x=4)+…. = 1-[P(x=0)+P(x=1)+P(x=2)]
P(x=0)=𝑒 −6
P(x=1)=6𝑒 −6
62 𝑒 −6 −6
P(x=2)= = 18𝑒
2!
 Ans: 1 − 25𝑒 −6
The Exponential Distribution
 Right-skewed, ranges from zero to +infinity. Defined by the mean number of
occurrences per unit time, 1/λ.

 Mean = 1 /λ= standard deviation = ave. no. of occurrences over time

 P(X)=λ𝑒 −𝜆𝑥

 P(x<=X)=1-𝑒 −𝜆𝑥
 Excel command: expon.dist(x, lambda, cumulative)
 A lawyer receives 6 clients a day. What is his chance of getting at least 3 clients?
Clients arrive following a exponential distribution.
1/λ=6, λ=1/6
P(x>=3)=1 – P(x<=2)
2
−6
P(x<=2) = 1 − 𝑒
2
−6
 Ans: 1 – P(x<=2)=𝑒 =0.7165
Problem
 On average, 5 candidates selected out of 50. Probability of there being between 3
and 5 selections?
 Binom.dist.range(50,(5/50),3,5)=0.5044
The normal distribution
 It is a continuous probability distribution. Also called Gaussian distribution.
 Can be used to approximate discrete distributions, with sufficiently large samples.
Can approximate Binomial distribution if np,nq>5
 It is symmetrical, bell-shaped in appearance, its interquartile range is from -0.67
standard deviations to +0.67 std.devs.
 All continuous functions have a probability density function which is the likelihood of
the variable taking a particular value.
 Integrating between two values X1, X2, gives us the probability of the variable
falling between those two values.
Normal Distribution from Z-score
 For a normal distribution, we can find thee probability of the variable being below a
certain value by using the Z-table.
𝑋−𝜇
 Calculate Z= , the corresponding value in the table shows the probability of the
𝜎
variable being less than or equal to that value.
 To find the probability of the variable being between X1 and X2, P(X1<X<X2)=
P(Z(X2))-P(Z(X1)).
 P(X<X1)=P(Z(X1)
 P(X>X1)= 1-P(Z(X1)
 If mean is 200, 50, Z(168)=-0.64, P(Z(168))=0.2611 =P(X<168)
 P(X>168)=1-P(X<168)=0.7389
 P(168<X<250)=P(X<250) - P(X<168) = 0.8413 - 0.2611=0.5802
 Excel commands for Normal Distribution
 NORM.DIST(x, Mean, stdev, 1): Returns the probability of a random variable being
less than or equal to x, for a given Mean and Stdev.
 NORM.INV(p, Mean, Stdev): Finds the value x for which (PX<=x)=p, for a given
mean and stdev.
 NORM.S.DIST(z,1): Returns the corresponding probability value for a certain Z-score
(can act as substitute for Z-table)
 NORM.S.INV(p): Returns the Z-score for a certain probability (can act as substitute
for Z-table)