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Y is an exponential random variable with variance var[Y] = 25. (a) What is the probability density function (pdf) of Y? (b) What is E[Y²]? (c) What is P[Y > 5]?

User Eien
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Final answer:

Given the variance of the exponential random variable Y, its probability density function (pdf) is determined, then E[Y²] is calculated using the properties of exponential distribution, and the probability P[Y > 5] is found using the survival function.

Step-by-step explanation:

The variance of an exponential random variable Y is equal to the square of its mean (μ2).

Therefore, given that var[Y] = 25, we can deduce that μ = √25 = 5.

This leads us to the probability density function (pdf) of Y, which, for an exponential distribution, is given by

f(y) = (1/μ)e-y/μ for y ≥ 0.

Hence, the pdf of Y is f(y) = (1/5)e-y/5 for y ≥ 0.

To find E[Y2], we use the fact that for an exponential random variable, E[Y2] = 2μ2.

Thus, E[Y2] = 2(5)2 = 50.

For the probability that Y > 5, P[Y > 5], we integrate the pdf from 5 to infinity: P[Y > 5] = ∫5∞ f(y)dy which equals e-5/5. This is simply the exponential survival function evaluated at 5, which gives us P[Y > 5] = e-1 ≈ 0.3679.

User Anil Sivadas
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