Formula Review
4.2 Mean or Expected Value and Standard Deviation
Mean or Expected Value:
Standard Deviation:
4.3 Binomial Distribution (Optional)
X ~ B(n, p) means that the discrete random variable X has a binomial probability distribution with n trials and probability of success p.
X = the number of successes in n independent trials
n = the number of independent trials
X takes on the values x = 0, 1, 2, 3, . . . , n
p = the probability of a success for any trial
q = the probability of a failure for any trial
p + q = 1; q = 1 – p
The mean of X is μ = np. The standard deviation of X is σ = .
4.4 Geometric Distribution (Optional)
X ~ G(p) means that the discrete random variable X has a geometric probability distribution with probability of success in a single trial p.
X = the number of independent trials until the first success
X takes on the values x = 1, 2, 3, . . .
p = the probability of a success for any trial
q = the probability of a failure for any trial p + q = 1
The mean is μ = .
The standard deviation is σ = = .
4.5 Hypergeometric Distribution (Optional)
X ~ H(r, b, n) means that the discrete random variable X has a hypergeometric probability distribution with r = the size of the group of interest (first group), b = the size of the second group, and n = the size of the chosen sample.
X = the number of items from the group of interest that are in the chosen sample, and X may take on the values x = 0, 1, . . . , up to the size of the group of interest. The minimum value for X may be larger than zero in some instances.
n ≤ r + b
The mean of X is given by the formula μ = and the standard deviation is = .
4.6 Poisson Distribution (Optional)
X ~ P(μ) means that X has a Poisson probability distribution where X = the number of occurrences in the interval of interest.
X takes on the values x = 0, 1, 2, 3, . . .
The mean μ is typically given.
The variance is σ2 = μ, and the standard deviation is
.When P(μ) is used to approximate a binomial distribution, μ = np where n represents the number of independent trials and p represents the probability of success in a single trial.