Title: 37_1 Discrete Probability Distributions
Course: HELM Workbooks 2023-2024 > Section: HELM 37: Discrete Probability Distributions

It is often possible to model real systems by using the same or similar random experiments and their associated random variables. Numerical random variables may be classified into two broad but distinct categories called discrete random variables and continuous random variables. Often, discrete random variables are associated with counting while continuous random variables are associated with measuring.

Generally speaking, discrete random variables can take values which are separate and can be listed. Strictly speaking, the real situation is a little more complex but it is sufficient for our purposes to equate the word discrete with a finite list. In contrast, continuous random variables can take values anywhere within a specified range. This quiz will familiarize you with the idea of a discrete random variable and the associated probability distributions. This quiz focuses on the discrete distributions most commonly met in applications. These are the binomial and Poisson distributions.