Expected value and variance of profit

In summary, the man is playing a game against a machine where the machine chooses two numbers randomly from the set 1,2,3,4,5 and if the multiplication of the two numbers is even, the man wins 5 dollars. The probability of winning is 16/25 and the expected value and variance of the profit after 100 games is 160 and 108.8 respectively. However, when taking into account the cost of playing 100 games, the overall expected profit is negative.
  • #1
Yankel
395
0
Hello all, I have this question, which I think I partially knows how to solve, but need some completion.

"A man is playing versus a machine in the following way: The machine chooses 2 numbers randomly from the set of numbers 1,2,3,4,5, where a number can be chosen twice (with replacement). If the multiplication of the 2 chosen numbers is even, the man gets 5 dollars Calculate the expected value (mean) and variance of the profit after 100 games, if for every game he pays 2 dollars to play."

What I did to start with, is to calculate the probability of having an even multiplication and I got p=16/25. Now I know I can calculate the profit for a single game, get a probability function with 2 values, and find E(X), and multiply it by 100. To be more specific, if X is the profit in 1 game, then it can get the values 3 and -2 only. The matching probabilities are 16/25 and 9/25 respectively. Therefore it's easy to find E(X) and V(X). However I need the expected value and variance after 100 games. I know that for E it's 100*E(X), what about V ?

Thank you
 
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  • #2
Your calculations are correct in my opinion if you assume that the order of picking two random numbers in the set $\{1,2,3,4,5\}$ does matter.

If you denote $\{X_1,\ldots,X_{100}\}$ as the sequence of profits of the first $100$ games then I think you can assume this random variables are independent and Bernoulli distributed. Hence their sum $S_{100} = \sum_{j=1}^{100} X_j$ represents the pay-off after the $100$th game which has a Binomial distribution.
 
  • #3
Yankel said:
Hello all, I have this question, which I think I partially knows how to solve, but need some completion.

"A man is playing versus a machine in the following way: The machine chooses 2 numbers randomly from the set of numbers 1,2,3,4,5, where a number can be chosen twice (with replacement). If the multiplication of the 2 chosen numbers is even, the man gets 5 dollars Calculate the expected value (mean) and variance of the profit after 100 games, if for every game he pays 2 dollars to play."

What I did to start with, is to calculate the probability of having an even multiplication and I got p=16/25. Now I know I can calculate the profit for a single game, get a probability function with 2 values, and find E(X), and multiply it by 100. To be more specific, if X is the profit in 1 game, then it can get the values 3 and -2 only. The matching probabilities are 16/25 and 9/25 respectively. Therefore it's easy to find E(X) and V(X). However I need the expected value and variance after 100 games. I know that for E it's 100*E(X), what about V ?

Thank you

At each game the probability of winning is...

$\displaystyle p = \frac{1}{5}\ \frac{2}{5} + \frac{1}{5} + \frac{1}{5}\ \frac{2}{5} + \frac{1}{5} + \frac{1}{5}\ \frac{2}{5} = \frac{8}{25}\ (1)$

For a binomial distribution the expected number of successes in n games is...

$\displaystyle \mu = n\ p\ (2)$

... and the variance...

$\displaystyle \sigma= n\ p\ (1-p)\ (3)$

In your case is $n=100$ and $p = \frac{8}{25}$, so that the expected profit is $E = 32\ 5 = 160$ with variance $V= 32\ \frac{17}{25}\ 5 = \frac{1088}{5} = 108.8$ ... taking into account that if You want to play 100 games You have to pay 200 dollars, the global expected profit is negative...

Kind regards

$\chi$ $\sigma$
 

Related to Expected value and variance of profit

What is expected value?

Expected value is a measure of the average outcome of a random event. It is calculated by multiplying each possible outcome by its probability and then summing all of the values.

How is expected value used in profit analysis?

Expected value is used in profit analysis to predict the average profit that a business or individual can expect to make from a certain decision or investment. It takes into account both the potential gains and losses of the decision.

What is variance in relation to profit?

Variance is a measure of how much the actual outcomes of a random event differ from the expected value. In terms of profit, it shows the amount of risk involved in a decision or investment.

How is variance calculated?

Variance is calculated by taking the difference between each possible outcome and the expected value, squaring those differences, and then multiplying them by their respective probabilities. The sum of these values gives the variance.

Why is it important to consider both expected value and variance in profit analysis?

Considering both expected value and variance allows for a more comprehensive understanding of the potential outcomes of a decision. While expected value shows the average profit, variance shows the level of risk involved. Together, they provide a more accurate picture of the potential success of a decision or investment.

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