EE250

Probability, Random
Variables and
Stochastic Processes
Instructor: Dr. Juzi Zhao
Spring 2024

Lecture 7

2/27/2024 EE250: Lecture 7 1

Important Discrete Random Variables

2/27/2024 EE250: Lecture 7 2

The Binomial Random Variable

2/27/2024 EE250: Lecture 7 3

n A deck of 52 cards, 4 of them are Aces.
n Experiment: choose a card randomly from
the deck, check whether it is an Ace, then
replace it
n Repeat the experiment 4 times
n X denoted as the number of Aces got in the 4
repeations
n X is a binomal random variable?

2/27/2024 EE250: Lecture 7 4

n A deck of 52 cards, 4 of them are Aces.
n Experiment: choose a card randomly from
the deck, check whether it is an Ace, then
discard it
n Repeat the experiment 4 times
n X denoted as the number of Aces got in the 4
repeations
n X is a binomal random variable?

2/27/2024 EE250: Lecture 7 5

Example
n Let k be the number of active (nonsilent) speakers in a
group of eight noninteracting (i.e., independent)
speakers. Suppose that a speaker is active with
probability 1/3. Find the probability that the number of
active speakers is greater than six.

2/27/2024 EE250: Lecture 7 6

Example
n A communication system transmits binary information over a
channel that introduces random bit errors with probability e. The
transmitter transmits each information bit three times, and a decoder
takes a majority vote of the received bits to decide on what the
transmitted bit was. Find the probability that the receiver will make
an incorrect decision.

2/27/2024 EE250: Lecture 7 7

The Geometric Random Variable

2/27/2024 EE250: Lecture 7 8

Example
n Computer A sends a message to computer B over an unreliable
radio link. The message is encoded so that B can detect when
errors have been introduced into the message during transmission.
If B detects an error, it requests A to retransmit it. If the probability of
a message transmission error is 0.1, what is the probability that a
message needs to be transmitted more than two times?

2/27/2024 EE250: Lecture 7 9

The Poisson Random Variable

2/27/2024 EE250: Lecture 7 10

Example

2/27/2024 EE250: Lecture 7 11

The Uniform Random Variable

2/27/2024 EE250: Lecture 7 12