18.
440: Lecture 18
Uniform random variables
Scott Sheffield
MIT
18.440 Lecture 18
1
Outline
Uniform random variable on [0, 1]
Uniform random variable on [α, β]
Motivation and examples
18.440 Lecture 18
2
Outline
Uniform random variable on [0, 1]
Uniform random variable on [α, β]
Motivation and examples
18.440 Lecture 18
3
Recall continuous random variable definitions
� Say X is a continuous random variable if there exists a
probability density function f = fX on R such that
P{X ∈ B} = B f (x)dx := 1B (x)f (x)dx.
∞
� We may assume R f (x)dx = −∞ f (x)dx = 1 and f is
non-negative.
b
� Probability of interval [a, b] is given by a f (x)dx, the area
under f between a and b.
� Probability of any single point is zero.
� Define cumulative distribution function
a
F (a) = FX (a) := P{X < a} = P{X ≤ a} = −∞ f (x)dx.
18.440 Lecture 18
4
Uniform random variables on [0, 1]
�
I Suppose X is a random
r variable with probability density
1 x ∈ [0, 1]
function f (x) =
0 x ∈ [0, 1].
�
I Then for any 0 ≤ a ≤ b ≤ 1 we have P{X ∈ [a, b]} = b − a.
�
I Intuition: all locations along the interval [0, 1] equally likely.
�
I Say that X is a uniform random variable on [0, 1] or that X
is sampled uniformly from [0, 1].
18.440 Lecture 18
5
Properties of uniform random variable on [0, 1]
�
I Suppose X is a random
r variable with probability density
1 x ∈ [0, 1]
function f (x) =
0 x ∈ [0, 1].
�
I What is E [X ]?
�
I Guess 1/2 (since 1/2 is, you know, in the middle).
R∞ R1 2 1
I
� Indeed, −∞ f (x)xdx = 0 xdx = x2 = 1/2.
0
�
I What would you guess the variance is? Expected square of
distance from 1/2?
�
I It’s obviously less than 1/4, but how much less?
R∞ R1 3 1
I
� E [X 2 ] = −∞ f (x)x 2 dx = 0 x 2 dx = x3 = 1/3.
0
�
I So Var[X ] = E [X 2 ] − (E [X ])2 = 1/3 − 1/4 = 1/12.
18.440 Lecture 18
6
Properties of uniform random variable on [0, 1]
�
I Suppose X is a random
r variable with probability density
1 x ∈ [0, 1]
function f (x) =
0 x ∈ [0, 1].
�
I What is the cumulative distribution function
FX (a) = P{X < a}?
⎧
⎨0 a < 0
⎪
�
I FX (a) = a a ∈ [0, 1] .
⎪
1 a>1
⎩
�
I What is the general moment E [X k ] for k ≥ 0?
18.440 Lecture 18
7
Outline
Uniform random variable on [0, 1]
Uniform random variable on [α, β]
Motivation and examples
18.440 Lecture 18
8
Outline
Uniform random variable on [0, 1]
Uniform random variable on [α, β]
Motivation and examples
18.440 Lecture 18
9
Uniform random variables on [α, β]
�
I Fix α < β and suppose X is a random r variable with
1
x ∈ [α, β]
probability density function f (x) = β−α
0 x ∈ [α, β].
b−a
I
� Then for any α ≤ a ≤ b ≤ β we have P{X ∈ [a, b]} = β−α .
I
� Intuition: all locations along the interval [α, β] are equally
likely.
�
I Say that X is a uniform random variable on [α, β] or that
X is sampled uniformly from [α, β].
18.440 Lecture 18
10
Properties of uniform random variable on [0, 1]
�
I Suppose X is a random
r variable with probability density
1
x ∈ [α, β]
function f (x) = β−α
0 x ∈ [α, β].
�
I What is E [X ]?
α+β
�
I Intuitively, we’d guess the midpoint 2 .
�
I What’s the cleanest way to prove this?
�
I One approach: let Y be uniform on [0, 1] and try to show that
X = (β − α)Y + α is uniform on [α, β].
�
I Then linearity of
α+β
E [X ] = (β − α)E [Y ] + α = (1/2)(β − α) + α = 2 .
�
I Using similar logic, what is the variance Var[X ]?
�
I Answer: Var[X ] = Var[(β − α)Y + α] = Var[(β − α)Y ] =
(β − α)2 Var[Y ] = (β − α)2 /12.
18.440 Lecture 18
11
Outline
Uniform random variable on [0, 1]
Uniform random variable on [α, β]
Motivation and examples
18.440 Lecture 18
12
Outline
Uniform random variable on [0, 1]
Uniform random variable on [α, β]
Motivation and examples
18.440 Lecture 18
13
Uniform random variables and percentiles
�
I Toss n = 300 million Americans into a hat and pull one out
uniformly at random.
�
I Is the height of the person you choose a uniform random
variable?
�
I Maybe in an approximate sense?
�
I No.
�
I Is the percentile of the person I choose uniformly random? In
other words, let p be the fraction of people left in the hat
whose heights are less than that of the person I choose. Is p,
in some approximate sense, a uniform random variable on
[0, 1]?
�
I The way I defined it, p is uniform from the set
{0, 1/(n − 1), 2/(n − 1), . . . , (n − 2)/(n − 1), 1}. When n is
large, this is kind of like a uniform random variable on [0, 1].
18.440 Lecture 18
14
Approximately uniform random variables
�
I Intuition: which of the following should give approximately
uniform random variables?
�
I 1. Toss n = 300 million Americans into a hat, pull one out
uniformly at random, and consider that person’s height (in
centimeters) modulo one.
�
I 2. The location of the first raindrop to land on a telephone
wire stretched taut between two poles.
�
I 3. The amount of time you have to wait until the next subway
train come (assuming trains come promptly every six minutes
and you show up at kind of a random time).
�
I 4. The amount of time you have to wait until the next subway
train (without the parenthetical assumption above).
18.440 Lecture 18
15
Approximately uniform random variables
�
I 5. How about the location of the jump between times 0 and 1
of λ-Poisson point process (which we condition to have
exactly one jump between [0, 1])?
�
I 6. The location of the ace of spades within a shuffled deck of
52 cards.
18.440 Lecture 18
16
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18.440 Probability and Random Variables
Spring 2014
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