Compute the mean and standard deviation of the random variable with the given discrete probability distribution.

x| -4 -1 6 8 9
p(x)| .24 .14 .27 .26 .09

(a) Find the mean. Round the answer to three decimal places, if necessary.

(b) Find the standard deviation. Round the answer to three decimal places, if necessary.

1 answer

To compute the mean and standard deviation for the discrete probability distribution, we will follow these steps:

(a) Finding the Mean (Expected value)

The mean (expected value) of a discrete random variable can be calculated using the formula:

\[ \mu = E(X) = \sum (x_i \cdot p(x_i)) \]

where \(x_i\) are the values of the random variable and \(p(x_i)\) are the corresponding probabilities.

Given the values:

  • \( x = -4, -1, 6, 8, 9 \)
  • \( p(x) = 0.24, 0.14, 0.27, 0.26, 0.09 \)

Now we will calculate \(E(X)\):

\[ E(X) = (-4 \cdot 0.24) + (-1 \cdot 0.14) + (6 \cdot 0.27) + (8 \cdot 0.26) + (9 \cdot 0.09) \]

Calculating each term:

  • \(-4 \cdot 0.24 = -0.96\)
  • \(-1 \cdot 0.14 = -0.14\)
  • \(6 \cdot 0.27 = 1.62\)
  • \(8 \cdot 0.26 = 2.08\)
  • \(9 \cdot 0.09 = 0.81\)

Now sum these values:

\[ E(X) = -0.96 - 0.14 + 1.62 + 2.08 + 0.81 = 3.41 \]

Thus, the mean is:

\[ \mu = 3.41 \]

(b) Finding the Standard Deviation

The standard deviation can be calculated using the formula:

\[ \sigma = \sqrt{E(X^2) - (E(X))^2} \]

First, we need to calculate \(E(X^2)\):

\[ E(X^2) = \sum (x_i^2 \cdot p(x_i)) \]

Calculating \(x_i^2\) values:

  • \((-4)^2 = 16\)
  • \((-1)^2 = 1\)
  • \(6^2 = 36\)
  • \(8^2 = 64\)
  • \(9^2 = 81\)

Now we calculate \(E(X^2)\):

\[ E(X^2) = (16 \cdot 0.24) + (1 \cdot 0.14) + (36 \cdot 0.27) + (64 \cdot 0.26) + (81 \cdot 0.09) \]

Calculating each term:

  • \(16 \cdot 0.24 = 3.84\)
  • \(1 \cdot 0.14 = 0.14\)
  • \(36 \cdot 0.27 = 9.72\)
  • \(64 \cdot 0.26 = 16.64\)
  • \(81 \cdot 0.09 = 7.29\)

Now sum these values:

\[ E(X^2) = 3.84 + 0.14 + 9.72 + 16.64 + 7.29 = 37.63 \]

Now we can calculate the variance:

\[ \sigma^2 = E(X^2) - (E(X))^2 = 37.63 - (3.41)^2 = 37.63 - 11.6281 = 25.9999 \]

Now, take the square root to find the standard deviation:

\[ \sigma = \sqrt{25.9999} \approx 5.099 \]

So rounded to three decimal places, the standard deviation is:

\[ \sigma \approx 5.099 \]

The final answers are:

  • (a) Mean: \(3.410\)
  • (b) Standard Deviation: \(5.099\)