Exercise · ZW-PROBABILITY-MASS-FUNCTION-007 · ★★☆ Intermediate
Which statement about a probability mass function is correct?
Choose one option.
A Each mass is between 0 and 1 and all of them add up to 1 B Each mass can exceed 1 if there are few values C The masses must be equal to each other D The masses must add up to the number of possible values
Show answer A. Each mass is between 0 and 1 and all of them add up to 1
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Explanation The masses are probabilities (between 0 and 1) and, since they cover all possible values, add up to 1. They need not be equal.
The probability mass function \(p_X\) of a discrete random variable \(X\) gives, for each value \(x\) it can take, the probability \(P\) that it takes it.
\[p_X(x)=P(X=x)\]
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