Again, all numbers are equally likely.
When each number in a range of numbers is equally likely, the numbers are uniformly distributed. Many random number generators, such as a single die or a spinner, produce a uniform distribution.
However, some random number generators are not uniform. For example, when two dice are thrown and the outcome is the sum of the spots, the range of possible outcomes is 2 through 12, but 7 is the most likely outcome since there are 6 combinations that sum to 7, more than any other number. Six and 8 are the second most likely outcomes, since there are 5 combinations each that sum to those numbers.
Die 1 | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | ||
Die 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | |
3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | |
4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | |
5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | |
6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
What are the least likely outcomes from a pair of dice? (Hint: study the table.)