Random Variable
A random variable is a measurable function from a probability space into a measurable
space known as the state space (Doob 1996). Papoulis (1984, p. 88) gives the slightly
different definition of a random variable as a real function whose domain is the probability
space and such that:
1. The set is an event for any real number .
2. The probability of the events and equals zero.
The abbreviation "r.v." is sometimes used to denote a random variable.
([Link]
World English Dictionary
random variable
—n
statistics rv a quantity that may take any of a range of values, either continuous or discrete,
which cannot be predicted with certainty but only described probabilistically
([Link]
Random variable Pdf 1.4
[Link]
Continuous Random Variables
A continuous random variable is one which takes an infinite number of possible values. Continuous
random variables are usually measurements. Examples include height, weight, the amount of sugar in an
orange, the time required to run a mile.
(Definition taken from Valerie J. Easton and John H. McColl's Statistics Glossary v1.1)
A continuous random variable is not defined at specific values. Instead, it is defined over an
interval of values, and is represented by the area under a curve (in advanced mathematics, this
is known as an integral). The probability of observing any single value is equal to 0, since the
number of values which may be assumed by the random variable is infinite.
Suppose a random variable X may take all values over an interval of real numbers. Then the
probability that X is in the set of outcomes A, P(A), is defined to be the area above A and under a
curve. The curve, which represents a function p(x), must satisfy the following:
1: The curve has no negative values (p(x) > 0 for all x)
2: The total area under the curve is equal to 1.
A curve meeting these requirements is known as a density curve.
Discrete Random Variables
A discrete random variable is one which may take on only a countable number of distinct values such as
0,1,2,3,4,........ Discrete random variables are usually (but not necessarily) counts. If a random variable
can take only a finite number of distinct values, then it must be discrete. Examples of discrete random
variables include the number of children in a family, the Friday night attendance at a cinema, the
number of patients in a doctor's surgery, the number of defective light bulbs in a box of ten.
The probability distribution of a discrete random variable is a list of probabilities associated with
each of its possible values. It is also sometimes called the probability function or the probability
mass function.
(Definitions taken from Valerie J. Easton and John H. McColl's Statistics Glossary v1.1)
Suppose a random variable X may take k different values, with the probability that X = xi defined
to be P(X = xi) = pi. The probabilities pi must satisfy the following:
1: 0 < pi < 1 for each i
2: p1 + p2 + ... + pk = 1.
Discrete Uniform Distribution
The discrete uniform distribution is also known as the "equally likely outcomes" distribution.
Letting a set have elements, each of them having the same probability, then
(
1
)
(
2
)
(
3
)
(
4
)
so using gives
(
5
)
Restricting the set to the set of positive integers 1, 2, ..., , the probability distribution function
and cumulative distributions function for this discrete uniform distribution are therefore
(
6
)
(
7
)
for , ..., .
The discrete uniform distribution is implemented in Mathematica as
DiscreteUniformDistribution[n].
Its moment-generating function is
(8)
(9)
(1
0)
(1
1)
The moments about 0 are
(1
2)
so
(1
3)
(1
4)
(1
5)
(1
6)
and the moments about the mean are
(1
7)
(1
8)
(1
9)
The mean, variance, skewness, and kurtosis excess are
(2
0)
(2
1)
(2
2)
(2
3)
The mean deviation for a uniform distribution on elements is given by
(2
4)
To do the sum, consider separately the cases of odd and even. For odd,
(2
5)
(2
6)
(2
7)
(2
8)
Similarly, for even,
(2
9)
(3
0)
(3
1)
(3
2)
The complete solution is therefore
(3
3)
For , 2, ..., the first few values are 0, 1/2, 2/3, 1, 6/5, 3/2, 12/7, ... (Sloane's A086111 and
A086112).