Expected Value |
For many distributions, like the normal and the binomial, it is possible to compute the mean and variance analytically. The bad news: it is not always possible, and even if it is possible you may not know how. The good news: it is almost always possible, and easy, to compute the mean and variance of a probability distribution numerically.
The first section deals with R computations for discrete distributions, and the second section deals with S computations based on life tables, and the third with continuous distributions, ie. those with smooth density curves.