S2 Chapter 4: Continuous

Uniform Distribution
Dr J Frost (jfrost@tiffin.kingston.sch.uk)
www.drfrostmaths.com

Last modified: 30th August 2015

RECAP: Discrete Uniform Distribution
 
The Discrete Uniform Distribution is used for things like the roll of a fair die, or
spinning a fair spinner. The expected value and variance formulae are based on
the outcomes being 1 to , but it’s easy to modify so that the outcomes can be
between any two values.

These are all based on the parameters we set.

Description Params Outcomes Prob Func
Each discrete Number of
outcome is outcomes
equally likely to
happen. ? ? ? ? ?
Continuous Uniform Distribution
  might naturally want to extend this to continuous numbers, i.e. randomly choosing
We
a real number between and .

𝑓  ( 𝑥 )  
The probability (density) is the
same for all values between
and . So what must this
probability density be?
 1
𝑏−?𝑎

!  If then we have a continuous

uniform (rectangular) distribution.
 𝑥
 𝑎  𝑏
Examples
 
a) Write down the distribution of
If we were randomly getting a number between 3 and 5, and if all the values are
multiplied by 5 and 4 subtracted, we do the same with limits:
?
b) Find
We just need the rectangular area under the graph. 𝑓  ( 𝑥 )
Height of rectangle
Area
0.5
 
?
 𝑥
 3 3.2 4.35

𝑓  ( 𝑥 )  
Given the random variable has the p.d.f indicated
in the diagram, calculate , and hence find
0.4
 

 𝑥 ?
  𝑘 4
Test Your Understanding
S2 Edexcel Jan 2013

 
?

as the number can’t be greater than 6.

?
 
and
𝑓  ( 𝑥 )
Clearly by inspection/symmetry…

  𝑎 +𝑏
𝐸 ( 𝑋 )= ?2  1
𝑏− 𝑎
(e.g. if I think of a number
randomly between 2 and 6, the
mean number will be 4!)
 𝑥
 𝑎  𝑏
  ( 𝑏 − 𝑎 )2 Click for
𝑉𝑎𝑟 ( 𝑋 ) = ?
12 Proof
I remember as “a twelfth of the squared width”
 Quickfire (in your head)

  ? ?
? ?
? ?
?

  Exam Tip: They’ve asked the value of in

Bro
exams a few times before.
 
𝐹 (𝑥 )
  know
We
By thinking about areas, what 𝑓  ( 𝑥 )
is if ?

 ! 0 𝑥< 𝑎  1
𝐹 ( 𝑥 )=
𝑥−𝑎
𝑏−𝑎
1
{, ?𝑎≤ 𝑥≤𝑏
𝑥> 𝑏
𝑏− 𝑎

It’s just the width of the rectangle times the

height. However, you are expected to know (it  𝑎  𝑥  𝑏
was once an exam question!) how also to do it by
integration, as you did in the previous chapter:

𝑥 𝑥
  1 𝑥 𝑥 −𝑎
∫
𝑎 𝑏 −𝑎
𝑑𝑥 =
[ ?−𝑎
𝑏 ]
𝑎
=
𝑏 −𝑎
Test Your Understanding
1   Find:
?
?

2  . Given that and , find and .

Solving simultaneously (by substitution), or . But so the former option.

?
Q1 Past paper questions on provided sheet.

?
Q2

?
Q3

?
Q4

?
Q5

?
Q6

?
 
Proof that << Return

 I’ve used the usual rather than the way presented in the textbook.

 
Hint: A useful factorisation to
know is the difference of two
cubes:
?