Expected Value and Variance

In summary, the lottery has an expected profit of $0.6824 per ticket. Its standard deviation of profit is $0.6824.
  • #1
koudai8
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[solved]Expected Value and Variance

Hi, I have a problem on Expected Value and Variance, and having spent hours but still couldn't figure out :(

One state lottery has 200 prizes of $1
100 prizes of $5
40 prizes of $25
13 prizes of $100
4 prizes of $350
1 prize of $1000
Assuming that 17,000 lottery tickets are issued and sold for $1


1. what is the lottery's expected profit per ticket

For this problem, I solved it two ways. First by summing the [products of all the numbers of tickets with their payouts], which is 5400 then (17000-5400)/17000 to get $0.6824
Second way by summing the [product of the payouts of tickets with their probabilities] = $0.6824

Having explained what I did for the first problem, here is the "real" problem:

2. What is the lottery's standard deviation of profit per ticket?

Since I found the answer to the expected value indirectly, I'm a blind goose in a hailstorm on number 2...
 
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  • #2


koudai8 said:
Hi, I have a problem on Expected Value and Variance, and having spent hours but still couldn't figure out :(

One state lottery has 200 prizes of $1
100 prizes of $5
40 prizes of $25
13 prizes of $100
4 prizes of $350
1 prize of $1000
Assuming that 17,000 lottery tickets are issued and sold for $1




Having explained what I did for the first problem, here is the "real" problem:



Since I found the answer to the expected value indirectly, I'm a blind goose in a hailstorm on number 2...

Hey kuodai8 and welcome to the forums.

When you are you asking questions on the forums, you need to show some working out before helping you. (It's the forum policy and it's intended to help the poster so that they progress more independently, but you will find PF is a pretty supportive place for help).

So I will start you off by asking you the following:

How do you define the random variable that represents profit?
 
  • #3


chiro said:
Hey kuodai8 and welcome to the forums.

When you are you asking questions on the forums, you need to show some working out before helping you. (It's the forum policy and it's intended to help the poster so that they progress more independently, but you will find PF is a pretty supportive place for help).

So I will start you off by asking you the following:

How do you define the random variable that represents profit?

Hi, I've solved it already. I defined profit by [(-1)+1]+[(-5)+1]+[(-25)+1]+[(-100)+1]+[(-350)+1]+[(-1000)+1]+1
 

1. What is the definition of expected value and variance?

Expected value is a measure of the average outcome of a random variable, while variance is a measure of how spread out the values of a random variable are from the expected value.

2. How is expected value and variance calculated?

Expected value is calculated by multiplying each possible outcome of a random variable by its probability of occurring and then summing all the values. Variance is calculated by taking the squared difference between each value and the expected value, multiplying it by its probability, and then summing all the values.

3. What is the importance of expected value and variance in statistics?

Expected value and variance are important in statistics because they help us understand the behavior of random variables and make predictions about future outcomes. They are also used in various statistical tests and models.

4. How is expected value and variance used in decision making?

Expected value and variance can be used in decision making to evaluate the potential outcomes and risks associated with different options. By comparing the expected values and variances of different choices, we can make more informed decisions.

5. What are some real-world applications of expected value and variance?

Expected value and variance are used in various fields such as finance, economics, and engineering. For example, they are used in financial risk management to assess the potential gains and losses of different investments, and in quality control to measure the variability of product outcomes.

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