Probability Mass Function

What is Probability Mass Function?

Probability of the discrete random variables that equals to some value is called as the probability mass function.

What is PMF and PDF?

PMF gives the probability of discrete random variables whereas the PDF is the probability of continuous random variables.

What are Properties of Probability Mass Function?

Properties of probability mass function are:

  • f(x) = P (X = x) > 0 i.e., probability is always positive.
  • x∈ S f(x) = 1 i.e., sum of all probabilities equals to 1.
  • P (X ∈ E) = ∑x∈ E f(x) i.e., probability of event E is given by sum of probabilities of values of x in E.

Can Probability Mass Function be Greater Than 1?

Probability mass function cannot be greater than 1 because probability lies between 0 and 1.

Can PMF be Negative?

No, PMF cannot be negative as probability cannot be negative.



Probability Mass Function

Probability mass function i.e., PMF is the probability of discrete random variables with fixed values. In this article we will see the probability mass function along with the PMF definition, probability mass function examples, properties of probability mass function and probability mass function formulas.

We will also discuss the probability mass function table and graph, the difference between the probability mass function and probability density function and solve some examples related to the probability mass function. Let’s start our learning on the topic “Probability Mass Function”.

Table of Content

  • What is Probability Mass Function?
    • Probability Mass Function Definition
    • Probability Mass Function Example
  • Probability Mass Function Formulas
    • Probability Mass Function Formula in Binomial Distribution
    • Probability Mass Function Formula in Poisson Distribution
  • Probability Mass Function Table and Graph
  • Properties of Probability Mass Function
  • Difference Between Probability Mass Function and Probability Density Function

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What is Probability Mass Function?

Probability function that gives discrete random variables probability equal to an exact value is called the probability mass function. The probability mass function is abbreviated as PMF. The different distribution has different formulas to calculate the probability mass function....

Probability Mass Function Formulas

The probability mass function for a discrete variable X with its value x is written as: f(x) = P (X = x). The formula for the probability mass function for different distributions are listed below....

Probability Mass Function Table and Graph

Table that represents the probability mass function with the value of the random variables is called the probability mass function. Let a coin is tossed two times and X be the random variable representing the number of tails then, the probability mass function table for above event is given below....

Properties of Probability Mass Function

Some properties of the probability mass function are listed below....

Difference Between Probability Mass Function and Probability Density Function

Differences between the PMF and PDF is explained in the table below:...

Uses of Probability Mass Function

Probability Mass Function (PMF) is a fundamental concept in probability theory and statistics, particularly when dealing with discrete random variables. Some uses of the PMF are:...

Solved Examples on Probability Mass Function

Example 1: Probability mass function is given by: f(x) = ax2 for x = 0, 1, 2 then, find the value of a....

Practice Questions on Probability Mass Function

Q1. Find the value of q if the PMF is P(x) = 2x2 + 5x – 1 with values of x = 0, 1 and 2....

FAQs on Probability Mass Function

What is Probability Mass Function?...

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