Random Variables

Melvin Hausner
Additional contact information
Melvin Hausner: New York University, Washington Square and University College

Chapter Chapter 5 in Elementary Probability Theory, 1995, pp 153-205 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract Roughly speaking, a random variable is a number whose value is determined by the outcome of an experiment. It is a variable because it can be one of several numbers; it is random because the actual number depends on a probability experiment. Random variables have been part of probability theory since its beginnings, because they are invariably part of a gambling situation. For example, consider the following game in which 2 dice are tossed. The player wins $10 if both dice are 6 and he wins $1.00 if only 1 of the dice is 6. But he loses $1.00 if no 6 appears. Here the amount W of winnings in dollars is a random variable. The value of W can be 10, 1, or −1, depending on the outcome of the experiment.

Keywords: Sample Point; Probability Space; Joint Distribution; Tree Diagram; Conditional Expectation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1995
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-1-4615-1753-5_5

Ordering information: This item can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/9781461517535

DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4615-1753-5_5

Access Statistics for this chapter

More chapters in Springer Books from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().