Why is this not a valid probability mass function
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Why is this not a valid probability mass function

[From: ] [author: ] [Date: 11-05-07] [Hit: ]
am I using the wrong method??Thanks if anyone can explain this!-I agreed with Elizabeth,The first one is valid PMF and the second is not valid.PMF have criteria,......
*Corrected post*

p(x) = 1/6 ( 3 - x ) for x = 0,1,2

I thought this was valid since 3/6 + 2/6 + 1/6 = 6/6 = 1 but the answers say it's wrong. Annoyingly the answers don't say why?

The question also had

p(x) = 1/10 ( 3x - 2 ) for x = 0,1,2,3

I used the reasoning that -2/10 + 1/10 + 4/10 + 7/10 = 1 (similar to above) and this p(x) was indeed valid.

So why is the first one not valid? am I using the wrong method??

Thanks if anyone can explain this!

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I agreed with Elizabeth,
The first one is valid PMF and the second is not valid.

PMF have criteria, which all the values of all the function must be non-negative and sum up to 1. The first question is non-negative and sum up to 1, so this probability is valid as PMF. The second question has negative value, which means not valid as PMF.

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The answers are transposed. The first one is correct. All probs are
non-negative and add to 1.
In the second case, although they add to one, the first prob is negative,
so not OK.
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