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The logarithm of such a function is a sum of products, again easier to differentiate than the original function. An exponential family is one whose probability density function is of the form (for some functions, writing − , − {\textstyle \langle -,-\rangle } for the inner product ):
Cumulative distribution function for the exponential distribution Cumulative distribution function for the normal distribution. In probability theory and statistics, the cumulative distribution function (CDF) of a real-valued random variable, or just distribution function of , evaluated at , is the probability that will take a value less than or equal to .
Median: the value such that the set of values less than the median, and the set greater than the median, each have probabilities no greater than one-half. Mode: for a discrete random variable, the value with highest probability; for an absolutely continuous random variable, a location at which the probability density function has a local peak.
The probability distribution of the sum of two or more independent random variables is the convolution of their individual distributions. The term is motivated by the fact that the probability mass function or probability density function of a sum of independent random variables is the convolution of their corresponding probability mass functions or probability density functions respectively.
In probability theory, a probability density function (PDF), density function, or density of an absolutely continuous random variable, is a function whose value at any given sample (or point) in the sample space (the set of possible values taken by the random variable) can be interpreted as providing a relative likelihood that the value of the ...
The book extended the concept of expectation by adding rules for how to calculate expectations in more complicated situations than the original problem (e.g., for three or more players), and can be seen as the first successful attempt at laying down the foundations of the theory of probability. In the foreword to his treatise, Huygens wrote:
This means that the sum of two independent normally distributed random variables is normal, with its mean being the sum of the two means, and its variance being the sum of the two variances (i.e., the square of the standard deviation is the sum of the squares of the standard deviations). [1]
In many applications, an analysis may start with a given collection of random variables, then first extend the set by defining new ones (such as the sum of the original random variables) and finally reduce the number by placing interest in the marginal distribution of a subset (such as the sum).