Question

The probability distribution below shows the likelihood that people were absent 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 days last month. The number of Days Absent Probability 0 0.60 1 0.20 2 0.12 3 0.04 4 0.04 5 0.00

Based on this information, what is the mean number of days absent?

Answer 1

the mean number of days absent is 0.72 days ( since 0.72 is not an integer, we can say that is the average number of days absent is close to 1 day)

Explanation:

given a random variable X= number of days absent , the mean is calculated as:

mean = ∑ x * p(x) , for all the x possible

where x = number of days absent and p(x) the probability of "x" number of days absent

therefore

mean = 0 * 0.60 + 1 * 0.20 + 2*0.12 + 3*0.04 + 4* 0.04 + 5* 0.00 = 0.72 days