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CA Foundation · Quantitative Aptitude · Theoretical Distributions

Which of the following sets of statistics could describe a Poisson distribution?

Mean 4 and variance 4 could describe a Poisson distribution, because in a Poisson distribution the mean and variance are both equal to the parameter m. The other options have unequal mean and variance, which rules out Poisson.

  1. AMean 5, variance 3
  2. BMean 4, variance 4Correct
  3. CMean 3, variance 5
  4. DMean 2, variance 6

Explanation

A Poisson distribution has its mean equal to its variance, both being m. Only mean 4 and variance 4 satisfy this. The other pairs have unequal mean and variance, so they cannot be Poisson. Mean 5 and variance 3 would suit a binomial, since variance is less than mean.

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