discrete mass function
nounUK /dɪˈskriːt mæs ˈfʌŋkʃən/
US /dɪˈskriːt mæs ˈfʌŋkʃən/
A math rule that gives the chance of each separate, countable result, like rolling a certain number on a die.
The discrete mass function told us there was a one-in-six chance of rolling a three.
RELATED WORDS
OTHER MEANINGS
2. A function that assigns a probability to each individual value a discrete random variable can take.
For a fair coin, the discrete mass function gives 0.5 to heads and 0.5 to tails.
3. A way to describe how likely each separate outcome is when the outcomes can be listed one by one.
The teacher drew the discrete mass function as a bar chart showing each score's chance.
4. In statistics, the rule that sums to one across all possible separate outcomes.
All the probabilities in the discrete mass function add up to exactly one.