Week 2
Week 2
1. Random variable: A random variable is a function with domain as the sample space
of an experiment and range as the real numbers, i.e. a function from the sample space
to the real line.
3. Range of a random variable: The range of a random variable is the set of values
taken by it. Range is a subset of the real line.
5. Probability Mass Function (PMF): The probability mass function (PMF) of a dis-
crete random variable (r.v.) X with range set T is the function fX : T → [0, 1] defined
as
fX (t) = P (X = t) for t ∈ T .
6. Properties of PMF:
• 0 ≤ fX (t) ≤ 1
•
P
t∈T fX (t) = 1
1
• Range: Finite set T
• PMF: fX (t) = 1
|T |
for all t ∈ T