Help with STATISTICS, how do I do these problems?

Question

I just started Statistics and I think that I wasn't paying enough attention. Here are the problems I can't figure out:

Many random number generators allow users to specify the range of the random numbers to be produced. Suppose that you specify that the random number Y can take any value between 0 and 2. Then teh density curve of the outcomes has constant height between 0 and 2, and height 0 elsewhere.

(a) is the random variable Y discrete or continuous? Why?

(b) what is the height of the density curbe between 0 and 2? Draw a graph of the density curve,

(c) use your graphy from (b) and the fact that probability is area under the curve to find P(Y<1).

then the next problem says

find tehse probabilies as areas under the density curve you sketched in problem 48.

(a) P (0.5 (b) P (Y>0.8)

HELP me please, I am really stuck and don't want to bomb my first homework assignment :)

Thanks bunches

Elizabeth

Answer 1

1.
a) continuous. Discrete means that you can count each value within an interval. However, since Y can take *any* value, Y could potentially take a value with an infinite decimal, this makes it continuous.

b) .5
All probability curves have a total area of 1.
(my attempt to draw the probability curve:)
.5_____________
...|____________|
...0.........1........2

c) (1-0)/2 = .5
You know that the total area of the curve must be 1, and that this curve is of a uniform density, so you can use the fact that this probability curve is a rectangle to find these areas

2.
a) (1.3 - .5)/2 = .4
b) (2 - .8)/2 = .6

Answer 2

How's this for probability:

Having someone else do your first homework assignment increases the probability of doing poorly on subsequent assignments.