The Equation
The probability of getting
k successes in
n trials is:
\[\begin{aligned}
p(k) &= {n \choose k} p^k (1-p)^{n-k}
\end{aligned}\]
The VariablesVariable | Meaning |
---|
$n$ | total number of trials |
$k$ | number of successful trials |
$p(k)$ | probability of $k$ successes |
$n-k$ | the number of failures |
$p$ | probability of success for a single trial |
$1-p$ | probability of failure for a single trial |
${n \choose k}$ | number of permutations with $k$ successes |
Calculating $n$ choose $k$
\[\begin{aligned}
{n \choose k} &= \frac{n!}{k!(n - k)!}
\end{aligned}\]Inequalities
To find the probability of less than $y$ successes, sum the probabilities from $k=0$ to $k=y-1$:
\[\begin{aligned}
p(k < y) &= \sum_{i=1}^{y-1} p(k_i)
\end{aligned}\]
To find the probability of getting greater than $y$ successes, sum the probabilities from $k=y+1$ to $k=n$:
\[\begin{aligned}
p(k > y) &= \sum_{i=y+1}^{n} p(k_i)
\end{aligned}\]
To find the probability of getting $y$ or fewer successes, sum the probabilities from $k=0$ to $k=y$:
\[\begin{aligned}
p(k \leq y) &= \sum_{i=1}^{y} p(k_i)
\end{aligned}\]
To find the probability of getting $y$ or more successes, sum the probabilities from $k=y$ to $k=n$:
\[\begin{aligned}
p(k \geq y) &= \sum_{i=y}^{n} p(k_i)
\end{aligned}\]
To find the probability of from $y$ to $z$ successes, sum the probabilities from $k=y$ to $k=z$:
\[\begin{aligned}
p(y \leq k \leq z) &= \sum_{i=y}^{z} p(k_i)
\end{aligned}\]Mean and Standard Deviation
The mean and Standard Deviation of a Binomial Distribution are:
\[\begin{aligned}
\mu &= np\\
\sigma &= \sqrt{np(1-p)}
\end{aligned}\]
Source: Statistics For Dummies, 2nd edition