Statistics and Probability Glossary
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Binomial Experiment
A binomial experiment (also known as a Bernoulli trial)
is a
statistical experiment
that has the following properties:
-
The experiment consists of n
repeated trials.
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Each trial can result in just two possible outcomes. We call one of these
outcomes a success and the other, a failure.
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The probability of success, denoted by p, is the same on every
trial.
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The trials are independent;
that is, the outcome on on trial does not affect the outcome on other trials.
Here is an example of a binomial experiment. You flip a coin 2 times and count
the number of times the coin lands on heads. This is a binomial experiment
because:
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The experiment consists of repeated trials. We flip a coin 2 times.
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Each trial can result in just two possible outcomes - heads or tails.
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The probability of success is constant - 0.5 on every trial.
-
The trials are independent; that is, getting heads on one trial does not affect
whether we get heads on other trials.
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