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7.2 Power Point

This document discusses key concepts related to means, variances, and normal distributions for random variables. It provides examples of calculating the mean and variance of outcomes from dice rolls, coin tosses, and other probabilistic scenarios. It also explains that the sum or difference of independent normal random variables is normally distributed, and presents a word problem asking to calculate the probability one golfer will beat another based on their normal score distributions.

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67 views17 pages

7.2 Power Point

This document discusses key concepts related to means, variances, and normal distributions for random variables. It provides examples of calculating the mean and variance of outcomes from dice rolls, coin tosses, and other probabilistic scenarios. It also explains that the sum or difference of independent normal random variables is normally distributed, and presents a word problem asking to calculate the probability one golfer will beat another based on their normal score distributions.

Uploaded by

krothroc
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Means and Variances

Section 7.2
The Mean of a Random Variable
 Let’s find the mean of a die roll:

 Will this same calculation work for the mean


of the sum of 2 die rolls? Why?
What’s the Mean Number of Tails in
4 Coin Tosses?
 Remember from yesterday:
Number of Tails:

Probability:

 Find the mean:


Do You Really Mean That?
What Did You Expect?
 The mean of a random variable is frequently
referred to as the expected value of X. Hence
why your formulas sheet says:
E (X ) = μ X = Σ xi p i
The Variance of a Discrete Random
Variable

On your formulas sheet: Var(X) = σX2 = Σ (xi - μX )2pi


What’s the Variance of the Number
of Tails in 4 Coin Tosses?
 Find the Variance:
The Law of Large Numbers
 Lost this info. Redo.
 Lost this info. Redo.
The “Law of Small Numbers”
 Lost this info. Redo.
How Long Until I Can Retire?
 Suppose you earn $12 an hour for tutoring but
spend $8 an hour for guitar lessons. You save
the difference between what you earn and the
cost of your lessons. The numbers of hours you
spend on each activity in a week varies
independently according to the probability
distributions below:

Hours of Hours of
0 1 2 1 2 3 4
Lessons Tutoring
Probability 0.4 0.3 0.3 Probability 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.2
Do the Math!
 Let’s find your expected weekly savings and
the standard deviation of your weekly savings.
Is There a Rule?
Rules for Variances
I Think I’ll Take My Chances
 You decide to buy two scratch-off lotto tickets,
one for $1 and the other for $. Assuming that
the lotto tickets win or lose independently of
each other, find the expected value and standard
deviation of your total gain.

Payoff for Payoff for


$0 $1 $2 $3 $0 $2 $4
$1 Game $2 Game
Probability 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 Probability 0.7 0.2 0.1
Why Be Normal?
 Any linear combination of independent
Normal random variables is also Normally
distributed. In particular, the sum or difference
of independent Normal random variables has a
Normal distribution.
Fore!
 Tom and George are playing in a golf
tournament. They have both played the course
repeatedly and have found that their scores are
normally distributed with mean 110 and 100,
respectively. They also know that the standard
deviation of their scores are 10 and 8,
respectively. If they play independently, what is
the probability that Tom will win the
tournament (Tom’s score is less than George’s)?

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