STATISTICS -160

The Binomial Probability Distribution

 Tchebysheff’s Theorem

Given a number k greater than or equal to 1 and a set

of n measurements, at least 1-(1/k2) of the
measurement will lie within k standard deviations of
the mean
 The Empirical Rule
• Given a distribution of measurements that is
approximately mound-shaped:
– The interval μ ± σ contains approximately 68%
of the measurements
– The interval μ ± 2σ contains approximately 95%
of the measurements
– The interval μ ± 3σ contains approximately
99.7% of the measurements
 Measures of Relative Standing
o How many standard deviations away from the
mean does the measurement lie?

o This is measured by the z-score

x-x
z-score =
s
z-Scores

From Tchebysheff’s Theorem and

the Empirical Rule:

 Atleast 3/4 and more likely 95% of

measurements lie within 2 standard deviations of
the mean

 Atleast 8/9 and more likely 99.7% of

measurements lie within 3 standard deviations of
the mean
 Z-SCORES
 z-Scores between –2 and 2 are not unusual

 z-Scores should not be more than 3 in absolute value

 z-Scoreslarger than 3 in absolute value would

indicate a possible outlier

Outlier Not unusual Outlier

z
-3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3
Somewhat unusual
Random Variables
 A quantitative variable x is a random variable if the value that it
assumes, corresponding to the outcome of an experiment. is a chance or
random event

 Random variables can be discrete or continuous

Probability Distributions
 Shape: Symmetric, skewed, mound-shaped…

 Outliers: unusual or unlikely measurements

 Centre and spread: mean and standard deviation

◼ A population mean is called m and a population standard deviation is called s
Discrete Probability Distributions
 Discrete random variables take on only a finite or
countable infinite number of values

 Three discrete probability distributions serve as

models for a large number of practical applications:
– The binomial random variable
– The Poisson random variable
– The hypergeometric random variable
The Binomial Random Variable
 The coin-tossing experiment is a simple example
of a binomial random variable

 Toss a fair coin n = 2 times and record x =

number of heads
x p(x)
0 1/4
1 1/2
2 1/4
The Binomial Experiment
1. Consists of n identical trials

2. Each trial results in one of two outcomes, success (S)

or failure (F)

3. The probability of success on a single trial is p and

remains constant from trial to trial; the probability
of failure is q = 1 – p

4. The trials are independent

5. We are interested in x, the number of successes in

n trials
 The Binomial Probability Distribution
For a binomial experiment with n trials and probability p of success on a
given trial, the probability of k successes in n trials is:

n −k n!
P( x = k ) = C p q
n k
= p k q n−k for k = 0,1,2,...n.
k!(n − k )!
k

n!
Recall C = n

k!(n − k )!
k

with n!= n(n − 1)(n − 2)...(2)1 and 0! 1.

 The Mean and Standard Deviation

For a binomial experiment with n trials and probability p of success on a

given trial, the measures of center and spread are:

Mean :  = np
Variance:  = npq
2

Standarddeviation :  = npq