Question 1165740: Let y denote the number of people known personally who were victims of homicide within the past 12
months. According to results from recent General Social Surveys, for a randomly chosen person in the United
States the probability distribution of y is approximately P(0) = 0.91, P(1) = 0.06, P(2) = 0.02, and P(3) = 0.01.
(a) Explain why it is not valid to find the mean of this probability distribution as (0 + 1 + 2 + 3)/4 = 1.5.
(b) Find the correct mean of the probability distribution.
Answer by Boreal(15235)   (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website! It is not correct because some values are larger than others, and calculating the mean requires that probabilities be taken into account. Zero is much more likely than 1, 2, or 3.
multiply the number of victims by the probability and add those results up
0*.91=0
1*0.06=0.06
2*0.02=0.10
3*0.01=0.03
the total is 0.19 and that is the mean.
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