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Probability Distributions

The document covers probability distributions, focusing on normal, binomial, and Poisson distributions, along with the central limit theorem. It explains how to read and apply these distributions in practical scenarios, including examples involving coin tossing and customer arrivals. Students are expected to develop an understanding of these concepts and their applications in statistics.

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Probability Distributions Anthony J. Evans Professor of Economics, ESCP Europe www.anthonyjevans.com (cc) Anthony J. Evans 2019 | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/
Objectives After attending this lecture, students will be able to: • Develop an intuitive grasp of probability distributions and be able to read tables • Distinguish between the Normal, Binomial and Poisson distributions • Understand the Central Limit Theorem, and the conditions under which it holds 2
Outline • The Normal Distribution – The Standard Normal Distribution – The Central Limit Theorem • The Binomial Distribution • The Poisson Distribution 3
A coin tossing distribution • Let’s assume we toss a coin 5 times and note how many heads we observe • We know the distribution – it will range from 0 to 5, and we can calculate the probabilities • If we toss the coin more than 20 times there is more uncertainty about how many heads we’ll see, but we still have a fully specified probability distribution 4
Tossing 5 coins 5
Tossing 10 coins 6
Tossing more than 20 coins 7
A quiz on distributions • The average NFL player is about 25 years old, just over 6'2" in height, weighs a little more than 244lbs and makes slightly less than $1.5M in salary per year. • Can you tell which distribution goes with which trait? 8Credit: Ben Jones https://twitter.com/DataRemixed/status/1022553248375304193 Height Weight Age Salary
Self-reported gender pay gap 9Source: https://twitter.com/krfabian/status/977558928384053249?s=11 The grey bar is companies who report a gap of 0! Reasonably curved distribution below 0 Very odd distribution above. Lots of small gaps reported
Number of sexual partners age 35-39 10Source: https://twitter.com/Noahpinion/status/998239807485558786/photo/1
Number of sexual partners age 35-39 11Source: https://twitter.com/Noahpinion/status/998239807485558786/photo/1 Lots of rounding
Ages of first time mothers 12Source: https://twitter.com/mims/status/1047582967701237765?s=11
Ages of first time mothers 13Source: https://twitter.com/mims/status/1047582967701237765?s=11 Increasingly bi-modal
Distributions 14
The Normal Distribution • Normal distributions have the same general shape – Symmetrical about the mean – Concentrated more in the middle than the tails • Mean = mode = median • The area under the curve is always the same • The position depends upon – the mean (µ) – the standard deviation (σ) Carl Gauss on the 10 Deutsch Mark 15
Outline • The Normal Distribution – The Standard Normal Distribution – The Central Limit Theorem • The Binomial Distribution • The Poisson Distribution 16
The Standard Normal Distribution • The standard normal distribution is a particular normal distribution defined as: – the mean (µ) = 0 – the variance (σ^2) = 1 • Ties into a Z test (used for calculating outliers) – We can convert any normal distribution to a standard normal distribution by calculating each z value s µ- = ix Z Example A test has a mean of 50 and a standard deviation of 10. If Albert’s test score is 70, what is his z score? 17 € X ~ N(0,12 ) Remember, StDev = σ; VAR = σ^2
Normal distribution Standard deviations from the mean s -4 -3 -2 -1 mean 1 2 3 4 Basic properties •Mean = mode = median •68.2% of the data (area under the curve) lie between -s and +s •95.4% of the data (area under the curve) lie between -2s and +2s •99.7% of the data (area under the curve) lie between -3s and +3s •These ± s ranges are called confidence intervals, e.g., the 95% confidence interval is ± 2s around the mean. For population and large sample data, these confidence intervals generally work even if the population is non-normally distributed(m) The Standard Normal Distribution 18 € X ~ N(0,12 )
0 Normal distribution Standard normal distribution x - m sx - mm - 25 25 - 2,5 2,5 25 0 50 m = 25 s = 10 19 The Standard Normal Distribution € X ~ N(0,12 )
68% of values are within 1σ of µ 99.7% of values are within 3σ of µ 95% of values are within 2σ of µ The normal distribution and the 68-95-99.7 rule 20
Why are 95% of values within 2SE of the mean? 21
Why are 95% of values within 2SE of the mean? 22 2 0.02275 0.02275 - 2 0.954
More precision – what is the Z score associated with 95%? 23 0.025 0.025 0.950
Looking for 0.025 24
More precision – what is the Z score associated with 95%? 25 0.025 0.025 0.950 - 1.96 1.96
Outline • The Normal Distribution – The Standard Normal Distribution – The Central Limit Theorem • The Binomial Distribution • The Poisson Distribution 26
The Central Limit Theorem • As the sample size increases the distribution of the mean of a random sample approaches a normal distribution with mean µ and standard deviation σ/√n • For large enough samples (n>30), we can use the Normal distribution to analyse the results ),( N x ributionNormalDist s µ» 27
As we acquire more data i.e. as n increases •… the sample mean gets closer to the original population mean •…the distribution of sample means remains a normal distribution •…the variance of the distribution decreases Consequences The Central Limit Theorem 28
Outline • The Normal Distribution – The Standard Normal Distribution – The Central Limit Theorem • The Binomial Distribution • The Poisson Distribution 29
Binomial Distribution Two possible outcomes Independent events Binomial distribution 30 Used when there are two possible outcomes and are independent events
The Binomial Distribution • The discrete probability distribution of the number of successes in a sequence of n independent yes/no experiments, each of which yields success with probability p P(r,n) = n r " # $ % & 'pr q(n−r) n = the number of events p = the probability of event A q = the probability of event B r = the number of times that the event occurs 31 )!(! ! knk n k n Ck n - =÷ ø ö ç è æ =
The Binomial Distribution: Example • If one-in-five items coming off a machine are defective, what is the probability of three defectives in a sample of 10 items? • For P(3,10) = 120*(0.203)*(0.807) = 20.13% n = 10 p = 0.20 q = 0.80 r = the number of times that the event occurs p, n, and r can be put into a Binomial Table 32 € P(r,n) = n r " # $ % & 'pr q(n−r) 10 3 " # $ % & ' = 10! 3!7!
33 0.3222-0.1209=0.2013
The Binomial Distribution: Example • If one-in-five items coming off a machine are defective, what is the probability of three or more defectives in a sample of 10 items? • For P(0,10) = 1*(0.200)*(0.8010) = 0.1073 • For P(1,10) = 10*(0.201)*(0.809) • For P(2,10) = 45*(0.202)*(0.808) • P(>=3) = 1 – [P(2)+P(1)+P(0)] = 1 – 0.678 = 32.2% n = 10 p = 0.20 q = 0.80 r = the number of times that the event occurs p, n, and r can be put into a Binomial Table 34 € P(r,n) = n r " # $ % & 'pr q(n−r)
35 0.3222
Outline • The Normal Distribution – The Standard Normal Distribution – The Central Limit Theorem • The Binomial Distribution • The Poisson Distribution 36
Poisson distribution Fixed period of time Recurring interval Poisson distribution 37 Used to find the probability of a given event occurring in a fixed interval of time
The Poisson Distribution • “expresses the probability of a number of events occurring in a fixed period of time if these events occur with a known average rate, and are independent of the time since the last event” • The probability of their being k occurrences is given as: • e is a constant (the base of the natural logarithm) = 2.71828 • k! is a factorial of k* • λ is the expected number of occurrences that occur during a given interval * n! is the product of all +ve integers less than or equal to n. e.g. 5! = 5*4*3*2*1 38 € f (k;λ) = e−λ λk k!
λ: ” Lamda” • λ is the expected number of occurrences that occur during a given interval • Example: the event occurs every 5 minutes, and you’re interested in how often they’d occur over 20 minutes • What’s λ? λ = 20/5 = 4 39
Poisson Distribution: Example • Suppose a bank knows that on average 60 customers arrive between 10 A.M. and 11 A.M. daily. Thus 1 customer arrives per minute. Find the probability that exactly two customers arrive in a given one-minute time interval between 10 and 11 A.M. • k = 2 • λ = 1 • 0.18 • = 18% λ : average number of times a characteristic occurs k : number of occurrences of interest 40 € f (k;λ) = e−λ λk k!
Poisson Distribution: Example • A company receives an average of three calls per 5 minute period of the working day • What is the probability of answering 2 calls in any given 5- minute interval? • k = 2 • λ = 3 • 0.22 • = 22% λ : average number of times a characteristic occurs k : number of occurrences of interest λ, and k can be put into a Poisson Table 41Also referred to as ‘Queuing Theory’ € f (k;λ) = e−λ λk k!
42 0.8009-0.5768=0.2241
Poisson Distribution: Example • A company receives an average of three calls per 5 minute period of the working day • What is the probability of answering 5 calls or more in any given 5-minute interval? 43
44 0.1847
Poisson vs. Binomial • If the probability of a fault in a piece of precision equipment is 0.0001 and each completed machine has 10,000 components, what is the probability of their being 2 or more faults? 45 Poisson P(0) = e-1 = 0.3679 P(1) = e-1 = 0.3679 P(0)+P(1) = 0.7358 P(>1 )= 1-0.7358 =0.2642 Binomial P(0) = 1*0.000010*0.999910,000 = 0.3679 P(1) = 10,000*0.000011*0.99999,999 = 0.3679 P(0)+P(1) = 0.7358 P(>1) = 1-0.7358 =0.2642 Source: CS, p.242
Summary • Probability distributions are the basis for inferential statistics since they demonstrate the characteristics of a dataset • It’s easy to practice textbook examples (which is highly recommended) but also important to put into a practical setting 46
Solutions 47
The Standard Normal Distribution • The standard normal distribution is a particular normal distribution defined as: – the mean (µ) = 0 – the variance (σ^2) = 1 • Ties into a Z test (used for calculating outliers) – We can convert any normal distribution to a standard normal distribution by calculating each z value s µ- = ix Z Example A test has a mean of 50 and a standard deviation of 10. If Albert’s test score is 70, what is his z score? 48 € X ~ N(0,12 ) Remember, StDev = σ; VAR = σ^2
The Binomial Distribution: Example • If one-in-five items coming off a machine are defective, what is the probability of three defectives in a sample of 10 items? • For P(3,10) = 120*(0.203)*(0.807) = 20.13% n = 10 p = 0.20 q = 0.80 r = the number of times that the event occurs p, n, and r can be put into a Binomial Table 49 € P(r,n) = n r " # $ % & 'pr q(n−r) 10 3 " # $ % & ' = 10! 3!7!
The Binomial Distribution: Example • If one-in-five items coming off a machine are defective, what is the probability of three or more defectives in a sample of 10 items? • For P(0,10) = 1*(0.200)*(0.8010) = 0.1073 • For P(1,10) = 10*(0.201)*(0.809) • For P(2,10) = 45*(0.202)*(0.808) • P(>=3) = 1 – [P(2)+P(1)+P(0)] = 1 – 0.678 = 32.2% n = 10 p = 0.20 q = 0.80 r = the number of times that the event occurs p, n, and r can be put into a Binomial Table 50 € P(r,n) = n r " # $ % & 'pr q(n−r)
λ: ” Lamda” • λ is the expected number of occurrences that occur during a given interval • Example: the event occurs every 5 minutes, and you’re interested in how often they’d occur over 20 minutes • What’s λ? λ = 20/5 = 4 51
Poisson Distribution: Example • Suppose a bank knows that on average 60 customers arrive between 10 A.M. and 11 A.M. daily. Thus 1 customer arrives per minute. Find the probability that exactly two customers arrive in a given one-minute time interval between 10 and 11 A.M. • k = 2 • λ = 1 • 0.18 • = 18% λ : average number of times a characteristic occurs k : number of occurrences of interest 52 € f (k;λ) = e−λ λk k!
Poisson Distribution: Example • A company receives an average of three calls per 5 minute period of the working day • What is the probability of answering 2 calls in any given 5- minute interval? • k = 2 • λ = 3 • 0.22 • = 22% λ : average number of times a characteristic occurs k : number of occurrences of interest λ, and k can be put into a Poisson Table 53Also referred to as ‘Queuing Theory’ € f (k;λ) = e−λ λk k!
Poisson vs. Binomial • If the probability of a fault in a piece of precision equipment is 0.0001 and each completed machine has 10,000 components, what is the probability of their being 2 or more faults? 54Source: CS, p.242 Poisson P(0) = e-1 = 0.3679 P(1) = e-1 = 0.3679 P(0)+P(1) = 0.7358 P(>1 )= 1-0.7358 =0.2642 Binomial P(0) = 1*0.000010*0.999910,000 = 0.3679 P(1) = 10,000*0.000011*0.99999,999 = 0.3679 P(0)+P(1) = 0.7358 P(>1) = 1-0.7358 =0.2642
Appendix
Binomial probabilities 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 Number of "successes" 0,00 0,02 0,04 0,06 0,08 0,10 0,12 0,14 0,16 0,18 Remark: The normal distribution is a good approximation of a binomial distribution when n is large and p is not too small or too large, typically np>5 and nq>5 PROBABILITY OF THE RESULT OF A COIN TOSS (HEAD OR FACE) Binomial Distribution: Graph
Poisson probabilities 0,00 0,02 0,04 0,06 0,08 0,10 0,12 0,14 0,16 0,18 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 Number of "successes" Remark: The Poisson distribution is a good approximation of a binomial distribution when the number of trials is large, typically n>20 and p is small, typically p<0.05 Poisson Distribution: Graph PROBABILITY OF THE RESULT OF A COIN TOSS (HEAD OR FACE)
• This presentation forms part of a free, online course on analytics • http://econ.anthonyjevans.com/courses/analytics/ 58

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Probability Distributions

  • 1.
    Probability Distributions Anthony J.Evans Professor of Economics, ESCP Europe www.anthonyjevans.com (cc) Anthony J. Evans 2019 | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/
  • 2.
    Objectives After attending thislecture, students will be able to: • Develop an intuitive grasp of probability distributions and be able to read tables • Distinguish between the Normal, Binomial and Poisson distributions • Understand the Central Limit Theorem, and the conditions under which it holds 2
  • 3.
    Outline • The NormalDistribution – The Standard Normal Distribution – The Central Limit Theorem • The Binomial Distribution • The Poisson Distribution 3
  • 4.
    A coin tossingdistribution • Let’s assume we toss a coin 5 times and note how many heads we observe • We know the distribution – it will range from 0 to 5, and we can calculate the probabilities • If we toss the coin more than 20 times there is more uncertainty about how many heads we’ll see, but we still have a fully specified probability distribution 4
  • 5.
  • 6.
  • 7.
  • 8.
    A quiz ondistributions • The average NFL player is about 25 years old, just over 6'2" in height, weighs a little more than 244lbs and makes slightly less than $1.5M in salary per year. • Can you tell which distribution goes with which trait? 8Credit: Ben Jones https://twitter.com/DataRemixed/status/1022553248375304193 Height Weight Age Salary
  • 9.
    Self-reported gender paygap 9Source: https://twitter.com/krfabian/status/977558928384053249?s=11 The grey bar is companies who report a gap of 0! Reasonably curved distribution below 0 Very odd distribution above. Lots of small gaps reported
  • 10.
    Number of sexualpartners age 35-39 10Source: https://twitter.com/Noahpinion/status/998239807485558786/photo/1
  • 11.
    Number of sexualpartners age 35-39 11Source: https://twitter.com/Noahpinion/status/998239807485558786/photo/1 Lots of rounding
  • 12.
    Ages of firsttime mothers 12Source: https://twitter.com/mims/status/1047582967701237765?s=11
  • 13.
    Ages of firsttime mothers 13Source: https://twitter.com/mims/status/1047582967701237765?s=11 Increasingly bi-modal
  • 14.
  • 15.
    The Normal Distribution •Normal distributions have the same general shape – Symmetrical about the mean – Concentrated more in the middle than the tails • Mean = mode = median • The area under the curve is always the same • The position depends upon – the mean (µ) – the standard deviation (σ) Carl Gauss on the 10 Deutsch Mark 15
  • 16.
    Outline • The NormalDistribution – The Standard Normal Distribution – The Central Limit Theorem • The Binomial Distribution • The Poisson Distribution 16
  • 17.
    The Standard NormalDistribution • The standard normal distribution is a particular normal distribution defined as: – the mean (µ) = 0 – the variance (σ^2) = 1 • Ties into a Z test (used for calculating outliers) – We can convert any normal distribution to a standard normal distribution by calculating each z value s µ- = ix Z Example A test has a mean of 50 and a standard deviation of 10. If Albert’s test score is 70, what is his z score? 17 € X ~ N(0,12 ) Remember, StDev = σ; VAR = σ^2
  • 18.
    Normal distribution Standard deviationsfrom the mean s -4 -3 -2 -1 mean 1 2 3 4 Basic properties •Mean = mode = median •68.2% of the data (area under the curve) lie between -s and +s •95.4% of the data (area under the curve) lie between -2s and +2s •99.7% of the data (area under the curve) lie between -3s and +3s •These ± s ranges are called confidence intervals, e.g., the 95% confidence interval is ± 2s around the mean. For population and large sample data, these confidence intervals generally work even if the population is non-normally distributed(m) The Standard Normal Distribution 18 € X ~ N(0,12 )
  • 19.
    0 Normal distribution Standardnormal distribution x - m sx - mm - 25 25 - 2,5 2,5 25 0 50 m = 25 s = 10 19 The Standard Normal Distribution € X ~ N(0,12 )
  • 20.
    68% of valuesare within 1σ of µ 99.7% of values are within 3σ of µ 95% of values are within 2σ of µ The normal distribution and the 68-95-99.7 rule 20
  • 21.
    Why are 95%of values within 2SE of the mean? 21
  • 22.
    Why are 95%of values within 2SE of the mean? 22 2 0.02275 0.02275 - 2 0.954
  • 23.
    More precision –what is the Z score associated with 95%? 23 0.025 0.025 0.950
  • 24.
  • 25.
    More precision –what is the Z score associated with 95%? 25 0.025 0.025 0.950 - 1.96 1.96
  • 26.
    Outline • The NormalDistribution – The Standard Normal Distribution – The Central Limit Theorem • The Binomial Distribution • The Poisson Distribution 26
  • 27.
    The Central LimitTheorem • As the sample size increases the distribution of the mean of a random sample approaches a normal distribution with mean µ and standard deviation σ/√n • For large enough samples (n>30), we can use the Normal distribution to analyse the results ),( N x ributionNormalDist s µ» 27
  • 28.
    As we acquire moredata i.e. as n increases •… the sample mean gets closer to the original population mean •…the distribution of sample means remains a normal distribution •…the variance of the distribution decreases Consequences The Central Limit Theorem 28
  • 29.
    Outline • The NormalDistribution – The Standard Normal Distribution – The Central Limit Theorem • The Binomial Distribution • The Poisson Distribution 29
  • 30.
    Binomial Distribution Two possible outcomes Independent events Binomial distribution 30 Usedwhen there are two possible outcomes and are independent events
  • 31.
    The Binomial Distribution •The discrete probability distribution of the number of successes in a sequence of n independent yes/no experiments, each of which yields success with probability p P(r,n) = n r " # $ % & 'pr q(n−r) n = the number of events p = the probability of event A q = the probability of event B r = the number of times that the event occurs 31 )!(! ! knk n k n Ck n - =÷ ø ö ç è æ =
  • 32.
    The Binomial Distribution:Example • If one-in-five items coming off a machine are defective, what is the probability of three defectives in a sample of 10 items? • For P(3,10) = 120*(0.203)*(0.807) = 20.13% n = 10 p = 0.20 q = 0.80 r = the number of times that the event occurs p, n, and r can be put into a Binomial Table 32 € P(r,n) = n r " # $ % & 'pr q(n−r) 10 3 " # $ % & ' = 10! 3!7!
  • 33.
  • 34.
    The Binomial Distribution:Example • If one-in-five items coming off a machine are defective, what is the probability of three or more defectives in a sample of 10 items? • For P(0,10) = 1*(0.200)*(0.8010) = 0.1073 • For P(1,10) = 10*(0.201)*(0.809) • For P(2,10) = 45*(0.202)*(0.808) • P(>=3) = 1 – [P(2)+P(1)+P(0)] = 1 – 0.678 = 32.2% n = 10 p = 0.20 q = 0.80 r = the number of times that the event occurs p, n, and r can be put into a Binomial Table 34 € P(r,n) = n r " # $ % & 'pr q(n−r)
  • 35.
  • 36.
    Outline • The NormalDistribution – The Standard Normal Distribution – The Central Limit Theorem • The Binomial Distribution • The Poisson Distribution 36
  • 37.
    Poisson distribution Fixed period of time Recurring interval Poisson distribution 37 Usedto find the probability of a given event occurring in a fixed interval of time
  • 38.
    The Poisson Distribution •“expresses the probability of a number of events occurring in a fixed period of time if these events occur with a known average rate, and are independent of the time since the last event” • The probability of their being k occurrences is given as: • e is a constant (the base of the natural logarithm) = 2.71828 • k! is a factorial of k* • λ is the expected number of occurrences that occur during a given interval * n! is the product of all +ve integers less than or equal to n. e.g. 5! = 5*4*3*2*1 38 € f (k;λ) = e−λ λk k!
  • 39.
    λ: ” Lamda” •λ is the expected number of occurrences that occur during a given interval • Example: the event occurs every 5 minutes, and you’re interested in how often they’d occur over 20 minutes • What’s λ? λ = 20/5 = 4 39
  • 40.
    Poisson Distribution: Example •Suppose a bank knows that on average 60 customers arrive between 10 A.M. and 11 A.M. daily. Thus 1 customer arrives per minute. Find the probability that exactly two customers arrive in a given one-minute time interval between 10 and 11 A.M. • k = 2 • λ = 1 • 0.18 • = 18% λ : average number of times a characteristic occurs k : number of occurrences of interest 40 € f (k;λ) = e−λ λk k!
  • 41.
    Poisson Distribution: Example •A company receives an average of three calls per 5 minute period of the working day • What is the probability of answering 2 calls in any given 5- minute interval? • k = 2 • λ = 3 • 0.22 • = 22% λ : average number of times a characteristic occurs k : number of occurrences of interest λ, and k can be put into a Poisson Table 41Also referred to as ‘Queuing Theory’ € f (k;λ) = e−λ λk k!
  • 42.
  • 43.
    Poisson Distribution: Example •A company receives an average of three calls per 5 minute period of the working day • What is the probability of answering 5 calls or more in any given 5-minute interval? 43
  • 44.
  • 45.
    Poisson vs. Binomial •If the probability of a fault in a piece of precision equipment is 0.0001 and each completed machine has 10,000 components, what is the probability of their being 2 or more faults? 45 Poisson P(0) = e-1 = 0.3679 P(1) = e-1 = 0.3679 P(0)+P(1) = 0.7358 P(>1 )= 1-0.7358 =0.2642 Binomial P(0) = 1*0.000010*0.999910,000 = 0.3679 P(1) = 10,000*0.000011*0.99999,999 = 0.3679 P(0)+P(1) = 0.7358 P(>1) = 1-0.7358 =0.2642 Source: CS, p.242
  • 46.
    Summary • Probability distributionsare the basis for inferential statistics since they demonstrate the characteristics of a dataset • It’s easy to practice textbook examples (which is highly recommended) but also important to put into a practical setting 46
  • 47.
  • 48.
    The Standard NormalDistribution • The standard normal distribution is a particular normal distribution defined as: – the mean (µ) = 0 – the variance (σ^2) = 1 • Ties into a Z test (used for calculating outliers) – We can convert any normal distribution to a standard normal distribution by calculating each z value s µ- = ix Z Example A test has a mean of 50 and a standard deviation of 10. If Albert’s test score is 70, what is his z score? 48 € X ~ N(0,12 ) Remember, StDev = σ; VAR = σ^2
  • 49.
    The Binomial Distribution:Example • If one-in-five items coming off a machine are defective, what is the probability of three defectives in a sample of 10 items? • For P(3,10) = 120*(0.203)*(0.807) = 20.13% n = 10 p = 0.20 q = 0.80 r = the number of times that the event occurs p, n, and r can be put into a Binomial Table 49 € P(r,n) = n r " # $ % & 'pr q(n−r) 10 3 " # $ % & ' = 10! 3!7!
  • 50.
    The Binomial Distribution:Example • If one-in-five items coming off a machine are defective, what is the probability of three or more defectives in a sample of 10 items? • For P(0,10) = 1*(0.200)*(0.8010) = 0.1073 • For P(1,10) = 10*(0.201)*(0.809) • For P(2,10) = 45*(0.202)*(0.808) • P(>=3) = 1 – [P(2)+P(1)+P(0)] = 1 – 0.678 = 32.2% n = 10 p = 0.20 q = 0.80 r = the number of times that the event occurs p, n, and r can be put into a Binomial Table 50 € P(r,n) = n r " # $ % & 'pr q(n−r)
  • 51.
    λ: ” Lamda” •λ is the expected number of occurrences that occur during a given interval • Example: the event occurs every 5 minutes, and you’re interested in how often they’d occur over 20 minutes • What’s λ? λ = 20/5 = 4 51
  • 52.
    Poisson Distribution: Example •Suppose a bank knows that on average 60 customers arrive between 10 A.M. and 11 A.M. daily. Thus 1 customer arrives per minute. Find the probability that exactly two customers arrive in a given one-minute time interval between 10 and 11 A.M. • k = 2 • λ = 1 • 0.18 • = 18% λ : average number of times a characteristic occurs k : number of occurrences of interest 52 € f (k;λ) = e−λ λk k!
  • 53.
    Poisson Distribution: Example •A company receives an average of three calls per 5 minute period of the working day • What is the probability of answering 2 calls in any given 5- minute interval? • k = 2 • λ = 3 • 0.22 • = 22% λ : average number of times a characteristic occurs k : number of occurrences of interest λ, and k can be put into a Poisson Table 53Also referred to as ‘Queuing Theory’ € f (k;λ) = e−λ λk k!
  • 54.
    Poisson vs. Binomial •If the probability of a fault in a piece of precision equipment is 0.0001 and each completed machine has 10,000 components, what is the probability of their being 2 or more faults? 54Source: CS, p.242 Poisson P(0) = e-1 = 0.3679 P(1) = e-1 = 0.3679 P(0)+P(1) = 0.7358 P(>1 )= 1-0.7358 =0.2642 Binomial P(0) = 1*0.000010*0.999910,000 = 0.3679 P(1) = 10,000*0.000011*0.99999,999 = 0.3679 P(0)+P(1) = 0.7358 P(>1) = 1-0.7358 =0.2642
  • 55.
  • 56.
    Binomial probabilities 1 35 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 Number of "successes" 0,00 0,02 0,04 0,06 0,08 0,10 0,12 0,14 0,16 0,18 Remark: The normal distribution is a good approximation of a binomial distribution when n is large and p is not too small or too large, typically np>5 and nq>5 PROBABILITY OF THE RESULT OF A COIN TOSS (HEAD OR FACE) Binomial Distribution: Graph
  • 57.
    Poisson probabilities 0,00 0,02 0,04 0,06 0,08 0,10 0,12 0,14 0,16 0,18 1 35 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 Number of "successes" Remark: The Poisson distribution is a good approximation of a binomial distribution when the number of trials is large, typically n>20 and p is small, typically p<0.05 Poisson Distribution: Graph PROBABILITY OF THE RESULT OF A COIN TOSS (HEAD OR FACE)
  • 58.
    • This presentationforms part of a free, online course on analytics • http://econ.anthonyjevans.com/courses/analytics/ 58