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uni/year2/semester1/logseq-stuff/pages/Random Variables.md

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- #[[ST2001 - Statistics in Data Science I]]
- **Previous Topic:** [[Probability]]
- **Next Topic:** [[Discrete Probability Distributions: Binomial & Poisson]]
- **Relevant Slides:** ![Topic 5 - Random Variables.pdf](../assets/Topic_5_-_Random_Variables_1665050186799_0.pdf)
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- # Random Variables
- What is a **random variable**? #card
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- A **random variable** is a function that associates a real number with each element in the sample space.
- The probability distribution of a random variable $X$ gives the probability for each value of $X$.
- A random variable takes a **numeric** value based on the outcome of a random event.
- Random variables are denoted by a capital letter - $X$, $Y$, $Z$, etc.
- A particular value of a random variable will be denoted with a lower case letter - $x$, $y$, $z$, etc.
- What are the two types of random variables? #card
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- There are two types of random variables:
- **Discrete** random variables can take one of a finite number of distinct outcomes.
- **Continuous** random variables can take any numeric value within a range of values.
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- # Probability Distributions
- ## Discrete Probability Distributions
- What is the **probability distribution** of some discrete random variable $X$? #card
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- The set of ordered pairs $(x, f(x))$ is a **probability function**, **probability mass function** (pmf), or **probability distribution** of the discrete random variable $X$ if, for each possible outcome $x$:
- 1. $f(x) \geq 0$,
- 2. $\displaystyle \sum_n f(x) = 1$,
- 3. $P(X = x) = f(x)$.
- What is the **cumulative distribution function** of a discrete random variable $X$? #card
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- The **cumulative distribution function** is the probability that a random variable $X$ with a given probability distribution will be ^^found at a value less than or equal to^^ $x$.
- The **cumulative distribution function** $F(x)$ of a discrete random variable $X$ with probability distribution $f(x)$ is:
- $$F(x) = P(X \leq x) = \sum_{t \leq x} f(t), \text{ for } - \infty < x < \infty$$
- ## Continuous Probability Distributions
- What is the **probability distribution function** for a continuous random variable? #card
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- The function $f(x)$ is a **probability distribution function** (pdf) for a continuous random variable $X$, defined over a set of real numbers, if:
- 1. $f(x) \geq 0, \text{ for all } x \in R$,
- 2. $\int^{\infty}_{- \infty} f(x) dx = 1$,
- 3. $P(a < X < b) = \int^{b}_{a} f(x)dx$.
- **Note:** $P(X = x) = 0$, i.e., there is no area exactly at $x$.
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- # Expected Value - Location
- What is **expected value** for a **discrete** random variable? #card
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- The average, or **expected value** of a random variable is denoted by $E[X]$ & $\mu$.
- It can be found by summing the products of each possible value multiplied by the probability that it occurs:
- $$\mu = E[X] = \sum_x xP(X = x)$$
- What is the **expected value** for a **continuous** random variable? #card
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- A useful summary of interest is the average, or **expected value** of a random variable.
- The **expected value** is denoted by $E[X]$ & $\mu$.
- The **expected value** of a ***continuous*** random variable can be found by:
- $$\mu = E(X) = \int_{-\infty}^{\infty} xf(x)dx$$
- # Variance, Standard Deviation - Spread
- What is the **variance** & hence the **standard deviation** of a discrete random variable? #card
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- The **variance** of a **discrete** random variable measures the squared deviation from the mean:
- $$\sigma^2 = \text{Var}(X) = E[(X - \mu)^2] = \sum_x (x - \mu)^2 P(X =x)$$
- Alternatively, variance can be calculated by:
- $$\text{Var}(X) = E(X^2) - E^2(X)$$
- Where
- $$E(X^2) = \sum x^2P(X = x)$$
- Or, more usefully, the **standard deviation** is:
- $$\sigma = \text{sd}(X) = \sqrt{\text{Var}(X)}$$
- The standard deviation has the advantage of being in the same units as $X$ (& $\mu$).
- What is the **variance** of a ***continuous*** random variable? #card
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- The **variance** of a **continuous** random variable is:
- $$\text{var}(X) = \int_{-\infty}^{\infty} (x - \mu)^2 f(x)dx$$
- # Means & Variances
- Adding or subtracting a constant from data shifts the mean, but does not change the variance or the standard deviation.
- $$E[X +c] = E[X] +c, \ \ \text{Var}(X+c) = \text{Var}(X), \ \ \text{sd}(X + c) = sd(X)$$
- $$E[X -c] = E[X] -c,\ \ \text{Var}(X -c) = \text{Var}(X), \ \ \text{sd}(X - c) = \text{sd}(X)$$
- Multiplying a random variable by a constant multiplies the mean by that constant, and the variance by the *square* of that constant.
- $$E[aX] = aE[X], \ \ \text{Var}(aX) = a^2 \text{Var}(X), \ \ \text{sd}(aX) = |a|\text{sd}(X)$$