Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • February 2021
  • Technical Note
  • HBS Case Collection

Probability Distributions

By: Michael Parzen and Paul Hamilton
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:9
ShareBar

Abstract

This technical note introduces students to the concept of random variables, and from there the normal and binomial distributions. After a brief introduction to random variables, the note describes the standard properties of the normal distribution: a single peak, and a symmetric, bell-shaped curve. Students observe the 68-95-99.7 rule, and see how the distribution changes with different values of the mean and standard deviation parameters. Finally, the note demonstrates how probability calculations based on the normal distribution can be done in the R programming language, and how random data can be simulated from a normal curve in R. The note then describes the standard properties of the binomial distribution, and similarly shows how binomial calculations can be performed in R.

Keywords

Analysis; Risk and Uncertainty; Theory; Analytics and Data Science

Citation

Parzen, Michael, and Paul Hamilton. "Probability Distributions." Harvard Business School Technical Note 621-704, February 2021.
  • Educators
  • Purchase

About The Author

Michael I. Parzen

Technology and Operations Management
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • August 2023
    • Faculty Research

    Arla Foods: Data-Driven Decarbonization (A)

    By: Michael Parzen, Michael W. Toffel, Amram Migdal and Susan Pinckney
    • August 2023
    • Faculty Research

    Arla Foods: Data-Driven Decarbonization (A)

    By: Michael Parzen, Michael W. Toffel, Susan Pinckney and Amram Migdal
    • August 2023 (Revised August 2023)
    • Faculty Research

    Sparking Innovation in the U.S. Air Force

    By: Michael Parzen, Alexander Farrow, Paul Hamilton and Jessie Li
More from the Authors
  • Arla Foods: Data-Driven Decarbonization (A) By: Michael Parzen, Michael W. Toffel, Amram Migdal and Susan Pinckney
  • Arla Foods: Data-Driven Decarbonization (A) By: Michael Parzen, Michael W. Toffel, Susan Pinckney and Amram Migdal
  • Sparking Innovation in the U.S. Air Force By: Michael Parzen, Alexander Farrow, Paul Hamilton and Jessie Li
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College