Chapter 5: Problem 1
Determine the covariance and correlation for the following joint probability distribution: $$ \begin{array}{lllll} x & 1 & 1 & 2 & 4 \\ y & 3 & 4 & 5 & 6 \\ f_{x y}(x, y) & 1 / 8 & 1 / 4 & 1 / 2 & 1 / 8 \end{array} $$
Short Answer
Expert verified
Covariance is \(\frac{1}{4}\) and correlation is approximately \(0.227\).
Step by step solution
01
Calculate Expected Values
First, we need to calculate the expected values of the random variables \( X \) and \( Y \). The expected value of \( X \) is:\[ E(X) = \sum_{i=1}^{n} x_i \cdot f_{x,y}(x_i, y_i) = 1 \cdot \frac{1}{8} + 1 \cdot \frac{1}{4} + 2 \cdot \frac{1}{2} + 4 \cdot \frac{1}{8} = \frac{1}{8} + \frac{2}{8} + \frac{8}{8} + \frac{4}{8} = \frac{15}{8} \]. Similarly, for \( Y \), \[ E(Y) = 3 \cdot \frac{1}{8} + 4 \cdot \frac{1}{4} + 5 \cdot \frac{1}{2} + 6 \cdot \frac{1}{8} = \frac{3}{8} + \frac{4}{8} + \frac{10}{8} + \frac{6}{8} = \frac{23}{8} \].
02
Calculate Covariance
The covariance \( \text{Cov}(X,Y) \) is computed as \[ \text{Cov}(X,Y) = \sum_{i=1}^{n} (x_i - E(X))(y_i - E(Y))f_{x, y}(x_i, y_i) \]. Applying this formula, we find \( \text{Cov}(X,Y) = (1 - \frac{15}{8})(3 - \frac{23}{8})\frac{1}{8} + (1 - \frac{15}{8})(4 - \frac{23}{8})\frac{1}{4} + (2 - \frac{15}{8})(5 - \frac{23}{8})\frac{1}{2} + (4 - \frac{15}{8})(6 - \frac{23}{8})\frac{1}{8} \). Solving this gives \( \text{Cov}(X,Y) = \frac{1}{4} \).
03
Calculate Variance of X and Y
We calculate \( \, \text{Var}(X) \, \) as \[ \text{Var}(X) = \sum_{i=1}^{n} (x_i - E(X))^2 f_{x, y}(x_i, y_i) \]. Substitute the values: \( \text{Var}(X) = (1 - \frac{15}{8})^2\frac{1}{8} + (1 - \frac{15}{8})^2\frac{1}{4} + (2 - \frac{15}{8})^2\frac{1}{2} + (4 - \frac{15}{8})^2\frac{1}{8} \) gives \( \frac{23}{32} \). Similarly, calculate \( \text{Var}(Y) = \frac{15}{32} \).
04
Calculate Correlation
The correlation coefficient \( \rho(X,Y) \) is \( \frac{\text{Cov}(X,Y)}{\sqrt{\text{Var}(X) \cdot \text{Var}(Y)}} \). Substitute the values: \[ \rho(X,Y) = \frac{\frac{1}{4}}{\sqrt{\frac{23}{32} \cdot \frac{15}{32}}} = \frac{1}{4} \cdot \frac{32}{\sqrt{345}} \approx 0.227 \].
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Key Concepts
These are the key concepts you need to understand to accurately answer the question.
Joint Probability Distribution
Joint probability distribution is a crucial concept in statistics and probability which describes the simultaneous distribution of two random variables. Consider the example of variables \( X \) and \( Y \), where the distribution is given as pairs of \( x \) and \( y \) values along with their corresponding probabilities, as outlined in our exercise. The joint probability distribution helps us understand how the combination of these variables behave collectively.
Key aspects include:
Key aspects include:
- The sum of all joint probabilities must equal 1, which reflects the certainty of one of the potential outcomes occurring.
- Each pair \( (x,y) \) has an associated probability \( f_{x,y}(x, y) \), indicating the probability of \( X \) taking a value \( x \), while \( Y \) takes value \( y \).
Expected Value
Expected value is an essential concept when working with probability distributions. For a random variable, the expected value, often referred to as the mean, provides a measure of the center or average of the distribution.
In the context of our joint probability distribution:
In the context of our joint probability distribution:
- For X: The formula to calculate the expected value is \( E(X) = \sum_{i=1}^{n} x_i \cdot f_{x,y}(x_i, y_i) \). We plug in our values to determine \( E(X) = \frac{15}{8} \).
- For Y: Similarly, \( E(Y) = \sum_{i=1}^{n} y_i \cdot f_{x,y}(x_i, y_i) \), resulting in \( E(Y) = \frac{23}{8} \).
Variance
Variance is a key measure in statistics that provides insight into the spread or dispersion of a set of data points. It helps to determine how much the values of the random variable deviate from the expected value.
When calculating the variance from a joint probability distribution:
When calculating the variance from a joint probability distribution:
- Variance of X, \( \text{Var}(X) \), is computed using \( \text{Var}(X) = \sum_{i=1}^{n} (x_i - E(X))^2 f_{x, y}(x_i, y_i) \) resulting in \( \frac{23}{32} \).
- Variance of Y, \( \text{Var}(Y) \), follows a similar approach providing \( \frac{15}{32} \) as the result.
Correlation Coefficient
Correlation coefficient, denoted as \( \rho(X,Y) \), is a statistical indicator that measures the degree to which two variables move in relation to one another. Ranging between -1 and 1, this measure shows the strength and direction of a linear relationship between variables.
Calculation in our exercise involves:
Calculation in our exercise involves:
- The formula \( \rho(X,Y) = \frac{\text{Cov}(X,Y)}{\sqrt{\text{Var}(X) \cdot \text{Var}(Y)}} \).
- Applying values gives \( \rho(X,Y) \approx 0.227 \).