I've seen a lot of questions about cumulative distribution function (CDF) when you already have the PDF, but I was wondering how you find it when you're not given the PDF?
E.g., Let X:([0,1],B([0,1])→R be a random variable, and let P=λ, where λ is the lebesgue measure (λ([a,b])=b−a.
X is defined by:
X(ω)={2ω, if ω∈[0,1/2)1, if ω∈[1/2,1]
By eye, I think the CDF is given by
FX(x)={0,if x<012x, if x∈[0,1)1, if x≥1
However, I don't know any standard technique to find it and I was hoping someone could point me to a source which explains how to find this.
Once I have the CDF, I want to use this to find E[X]. I know E[X]=∫[0,1]X(ω)dP(ω)=∫RxdFX(x).
Clearly,
dFX(x)={1/2dx, if x∈[0,1)0dx, otherwise
So using the above formula, I would get:
E[X]=∫RxdFX(x)=∫10x12dx=1/4
But this seems wrong, because isn't this the expectation value we'd get if X was uniformuly distributed between 0 and 1/2, and didn't include the extra part between 1/2 and 1?
Please let me know if I've misunderstood how to calculate CDFs or expected values, and if possible give me a constructive way to find them in general situations.
Thanks!
Answer
X(ω)=2ω1ω∈[0;1/2)+1ω∈[1/2;1)
P{ω:X(ω)≤x} =λ[0;x/2)1x∈[0;1)+1x∈[1;∞)={0:x<0x/2:x∈[0;1)1:x∈[1;∞)
Either include the point mass from the step discontinuity
E(X)=∫10x∂x2/2∂xdx+1/2=3/4
Or use the alternative definition:
E(X)=∫10P(X>x)dx=∫10(1−x/2)dx=[x−x2/4]x=1x=0=3/4
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