probability distribution
{\displaystyle f(4,6,0.3)={\binom {6}{4}}0.3^{4}(1-0.3)^{6-4}=0.059535.}
{\displaystyle \Pr[Y=m]=\sum _{k=m}^{n}{\binom {n}{m}}{\binom {n-m}{k-m}}p^{k}q^{m}(1-p)^{n-k}(1-q)^{k-m}}
{\displaystyle f(k,n,p)=\Pr(X=k)={\binom {n}{k}}p^{k}(1-p)^{n-k}}
In probability theory and statistics, the binomial distribution with parameters n and p is the discrete probability distribution of the number of successes in a sequence of n independent experiments, each asking … Wikipedia
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Factsheet
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Parameters
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Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Binomial_distribution
Binomial distribution - Wikipedia
1 week ago - A Binomial distributed random variable ... p) and Y ~ B(m, p) is equivalent to the sum of n + m Bernoulli distributed random variables, which means Z = X + Y ~ B(n + m, p)....
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/learnmath › is the sum of binomial distributions itself a binomial distribution ?
r/learnmath on Reddit: Is the sum of binomial distributions itself a binomial distribution ?
March 8, 2020 -

Hi, I'm struggling with this one. Would really appreciate any help.

Suppose you and a mate (Dave) throws snowballs at a street sign. You throw 20 snowballs with a hit probability = 0.96. Dave throws 30 snowballs with a hit probability = 0.36.

We count the hits, denoted as X. Does X have a binomial distribution? Why or why not?

My thoughts
I've read (Wiki) that the sum of independent binomial random variables is itself a binomial variable, if and only if, all the components share the same success probability. That is not the case here, since Dave sucks. Therefore, it should not be bionomial.. But why is that?

Top answer
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I believe it's called the Poisson Binomial Distribution: https://math.stackexchange.com/questions/1153576/addition-of-two-binomial-distribution
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When you want to disprove something, look for a counterexample. I’ll try a simpler one: I have a 1/2 hit chance, Dave has 2/3. Then the probabilities are 1/6 for no hits, 1/2 for one hit, 1/3 for three hits. Now we have to try to find p for an n=2 binomial distribution that’s the same. p must be sqrt(1/3), so (1-p)2 = 4-2*sqrt(3), which is not equal to 1/6. Therefore no binomial distribution is the same. That doesn’t prove that the sum of two binomials with different probabilities is never a binomial, but it does prove that the sum of two binomials is not in general a binomial. I don’t have a great intuition for why this is, but I note that binomial distributions have a lot of symmetry, so it’s not too surprising that putting in a different probability breaks that symmetry. I can also try the original example with a and b instead of specific numbers. Then the probability of two hits is ab, and the probability of no hits is (1-a)(1-b). If it’s binomial, we have p2 = ab and 1 - 2p + p2 = (1-p)2 = (1-a)(1-b) = 1 - a - b + ab. Combine these and get sqrt(ab) = (a+b)/2, i.e. arithmetic and geometric means are equal. If a and b are equal, it works. If a and b are not equal, then the arithmetic mean is the midpoint, but the geometric mean is closer to the smaller number, so the equation can’t be satisfied.
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Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Binomial_sum_variance_inequality
Binomial sum variance inequality - Wikipedia
September 22, 2025 - The binomial sum variance inequality states that the variance of the sum of binomially distributed random variables will always be less than or equal to the variance of a binomial variable with the same n and p parameters. In probability theory and statistics, the sum of independent binomial ...
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Wolfram MathWorld
mathworld.wolfram.com › BinomialSums.html
Binomial Sums -- from Wolfram MathWorld
September 27, 2007 - A fascinating series of identities involving inverse central binomial coefficients times small powers are given by · (Comtet 1974, p. 89; Le Lionnais 1983, pp. 29, 30, 41, 36; Borwein et al. 1987, pp. 27-28), which follow from the beautiful formula · for , where is a generalized hypergeometric function and is the polygamma function and is the Riemann zeta function (Plouffe 1998). A nice sum ...
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Springer
link.springer.com › home › methodology and computing in applied probability › article
The Distribution of a Sum of Independent Binomial Random Variables | Methodology and Computing in Applied Probability
December 8, 2016 - The distribution of a sum S of independent binomial random variables, each with different success probabilities, is discussed. An efficient algorithm is given to calculate the exact distribution by convolution.
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DLsun
dlsun.github.io › probability › sums-discrete.html
Lesson 21 Sums of Random Variables | Introduction to Probability
Then \(T = X + Y\) follows a \(\text{Binomial}(n + m, p)\) distribution. Proof. We apply Theorem 21.1 to binomial p.m.f.s. \[\begin{align*} f_T(t) &= \sum_{x=0}^t f_X(x) \cdot f_Y(t-x) \\ &= \sum_{x=0}^t \binom{n}{x} p^x (1-p)^{n-x} \cdot \binom{m}{t-x} p^{t-x} (1-p)^{m-(t-x)} \\ &= \sum_{x=0}^t \binom{n}{x} \binom{m}{t-x} p^t (1-p)^{n+m-t} \\ &= \binom{n+m}{t} p^t (1-p)^{n+m-t}, \end{align*}\] which is the p.m.f.
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ResearchGate
researchgate.net › publication › 221932954_The_Distribution_of_a_Sum_of_Binomial_Random_Variables
(PDF) The Distribution of a Sum of Binomial Random Variables
January 1, 1993 - ... The overall distribution π(·|d i , d j ) can now be more easily obtained as the sum of (much fewer than S) binomial random variables
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MathnStuff
mathnstuff.com › math › spoken › here › 2class › 90 › binom4.htm
Sum of the Probabilities and the Mean of A Binomial Distribution
The average is the sum of the products of the event and the probability of the event. II. Binomial Distribution Explained More Slowly III. Binomial Formula Explained Combinations Compute The Number of Each Outcome in A Binomial Distribution What's the Probability of Obtaining Exactly 3 Heads ...
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ProofWiki
proofwiki.org › wiki › Sum_of_Independent_Binomial_Random_Variables
Sum of Independent Binomial Random Variables - ProofWiki
From Probability Generating Function of Poisson Distribution, we have that the probability generating functions of $X$ and $Y$ are given by: ... This is the probability generating function for a discrete random variable with a binomial distribution: ... 1986: Geoffrey Grimmett and Dominic Welsh: Probability: An Introduction ... (previous) ... (next): $\S 4.4$: Sums of independent random variables: Exercise $8$
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R Journal
journal.r-project.org › archive › 2018 › RJ-2018-011 › RJ-2018-011.pdf pdf
CONTRIBUTED RESEARCH ARTICLE 472 Approximating the Sum of Independent
to compute the exact distribution has been proposed (Butler and Stephens, 2016; Arthur Woodward ... numerically unstable due to round-off error in computing P(Sr = 0) if r is large (Eisinga et al., 2013; Yili). Therefore, approximation methods are still widely used in literature. ... Eisinga et al. (2013) applied the saddlepoint approximation to the sum of independent non-identical · binomial random variables.
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PyMC Discourse
discourse.pymc.io › questions › v5
Sum of binomial random variables with different p? - v5 - PyMC Discourse
October 1, 2023 - Suppose that we are sampling from three binomial distributions with n=2 but different p: x_i \sim \text{Binomial}(2, p_i), and then we sum those binomial realizations to create a new random variable z = x_1 + x_2 + x_3
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Quora
quora.com › What-is-the-sum-or-difference-of-two-binomial-distribution
What is the sum (or difference) of two binomial distribution? - Quora
Answer (1 of 2): If there are two binomial random variable with same probability of success same say, p . Then there sum also follow binomial distribution i.e X \sim bin(n,p) and Y \sim bin(m,p) then x+Y \sim bin(n+m,p) you can prove it easily ...
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Yale Statistics
stat.yale.edu › Courses › 1997-98 › 101 › binom.htm
The Binomial Distribution
The binomial coefficient multiplies ... The binomial distribution for a random variable X with parameters n and p represents the sum of n independent variables Z which may assume the values 0 or 1....
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MathOverflow
mathoverflow.net › questions › 271471 › sum-of-binomial-random-variable-cdf
pr.probability - Sum of Binomial random variable CDF - MathOverflow
Stack Exchange network consists of 183 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow, the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers. Visit Stack Exchange ... Suppose there are two independent Binomial random variables $$ X\sim Binomial(n,p)\\ Y\sim Binomial(n,p+\delta) $$ where $\delta$ is considered to be fixed, and $p$ can vary in $(0,1-\delta)$. Now consider the following value (sum of two probabilities): $$ \mathbb{P} \left( X\geq(p+\frac{\delta}2)\cdot n \right) +\mathbb{P} \left( Y\leq(p+\frac{\delta}2)\cdot n \right) $$
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University at Buffalo
acsu.buffalo.edu › ~adamcunn › probability › binomial.html
Probability Playground: The Binomial Distribution
Note that, since a Bernoulli random variable equals 1 for a success and 0 for a failure, then a binomial random variable is the sum of n independent Bernoulli random variables. The mean and variance are therefore n times the mean and variance of a Bernoulli random variable (which are p and ...
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Here is a (surprising) proof using Cauchy-Schwarz and "rearrangement". The following lemma will be the key. · Lemma · : Let $X,Y$ be independent integer-valued rvs, then \begin{align*} · (a)\; &\mbox{ for any } z: \;\mathbb{P}(X+Y=z)^2\leq \big(\sum_x\mathbb{P}(X=x)^2\big)\,\big(\sum_y \mathbb{P}(Y=y)^2\big)\\ · (b)\; &\sum_z\mathbb{P}(X-Y=z)^2=\sum_z\mathbb{P}(X+Y=z)^2\end{align*}Proof: (a) apply Cauchy-Schwarz to · $\mathbb{P}(X+Y=z)=\sum_x \mathbb{P}(X=x)\mathbb{P}(Y=z-x)$ · (b) let $(X^\prime,Y^\prime)$ be distributed as $(X,Y)$, and independent of . Then · \begin{align*} · \sum_z\mathbb{P}(X-Y=z)^2=\mathbb{P}(X-Y=X^\prime-Y^\prime)=\mathbb{P}(X-X^\prime=Y-Y^\prime)\\ · \sum_z\mathbb{P}(X+Y=z)^2=\mathbb{P}(X+Y=X^\prime+Y^\prime)=\mathbb{P}(X-X^\prime=Y^\prime-Y) · \end{align*} · Since $Y-Y^\prime$ and $Y^\prime-Y$ are identically distributed, and independent of $(X,X^\prime)$ the right hand sides above are equal. End Proof · Now to your question above. Let $n=2m$. We have to show that · \begin{align*} \mathbb{P}(X_k+Y_{2m-k}=\ell)\leq \mathbb{P}(X_m+Y_m=m)\end{align*}For the right hand side above we have (using 1. below) · \begin{align*} \mathbb{P}(X_m+Y_m=m)=\mathbb{P}(X_m=X_m^\prime)=\sum_l \mathbb{P}(X_m=l)^2\end{align*} · To transform the left hand side, observe that well known properties of the binomial distribution give: · \begin{align} 1.\; &Y_k \mbox{ is distributed as}\; k-X^\prime_k, \mbox{where $X_k^\prime$ is distributed as $X_k$,}\\&\mbox{ and independent of $X_k$}\\ · 2.\; &\mbox{ $X_{m+j}$ resp. $Y_{m+j}$ are distributed as $X_m+X_j$ resp. $Y_m+Y_j$, where}\\ · &\mbox{ the summands are independent} · \end{align} · Using 1. gives that $\sum_l \mathbb{P}(X_m=l)^2=\sum_l \mathbb{P}(Y_m=l)^2$ and further that · $$ \mathbb{P}(X_k+Y_{2m-k}=\ell)=\mathbb{P}(X_{2m-k}+Y_k=2m-\ell)\;,$$ so we may w.l.o.g. assume that $k\leq m$. · Using 1. and 2. we have · $$\mathbb{P}(X_k+Y_{2m-k}=\ell)=\mathbb{P}(X_k-X_{m-k}+Y_m=\ell+k-m)$$ · where $X_k,X_{m-k}$ and $Y_m$ on the right hand side are independent. · Using part (a) of the lemma (with $X=X_{k}-X_{m-k}$ and $Y=Y_m$) · gives $$\mathbb{P}(X_k+Y_{2m-k}=z)^2 \leq \big(\sum_x \mathbb{P}(X_k-X_{m-k}=x)^2\big)\big(\sum_y\mathbb{P}(Y_m=y)^2\big)$$ · Finally using part (b) of the lemma on the first factor gives · $$\sum_{x}\mathbb{P}(X_k-X_{m-k}=x)^2=\sum_x\mathbb{P}(X_k+X_{m-k}=x)^2=\sum_x\mathbb{P}(X_m=x)^2$$ · so that ultimately · $$\mathbb{P}(X_k+Y_{n-k}=z)^2\leq \big(\sum_x \mathbb{P}(X_m=x)^2\big)\big(\sum_y\mathbb{P}(Y_m=y)^2\big)=\big(\sum_x \mathbb{P}(X_m=x)^2\big)^2\;,$$ · as desired.
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Nd
academicweb.nd.edu › ~rwilliam › stats1 › x13.pdf pdf
The Binomial Distribution A.
These last two points mean that the mean and variance of the binomial · distribution are dependent on only two parameters, N and p. WARNING: The symbol X gets used many different ways in statistics. In this case, X = the · sum of all the Bernoulli trials, but in other instances it might refer to an individual Bernoulli trial.
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BYJUS
byjus.com › maths › binomial-distribution-questions
Binomial Distribution Questions
September 5, 2022 - Probability of at most r successes = P(X ≤ r) = ∑knCk pk qn – k (k = 0, 1, …, r) If in n trials, the experiment is repeated N times, the expected frequencies are N.P(r) for r = 0, 1, 2, 3, …, n. Learn more about binomial distribution.