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# Sums and Differences of Independent Random Variables

## Horizontal and vertical translations of the histogram

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Practice Sums and Differences of Independent Random Variables
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Transforming Random Variables

When you add or subtract a constant from the outcomes of a random variable, the mean will increase or decrease by that amount, and the standard deviation will stay the same.

Example:  This distribution is called X.

$\mu_X &=3 \\\sigma_X &=1$

If we add 2 to the distribution, it becomes X + 2.  Now the distribution has a mean of 5, but the standard deviation is still 1:

$\mu_{X+2} &=5 \\\sigma_{X+2} &=1$

When you multiply or divide the outcomes of a random variable by a constant, the mean and the standard deviation will also be multiplied or divided by that constant.

Example: This distribution is called $Y$.
$\mu_Y=3$
$\sigma_Y=1$

Let’s see what happens if we multiply each outcome by 3, and find $\mu_{3Y}$ and $\sigma_{3Y}$ :

$\mu_{3Y} = 3 \times 3=9$

$\sigma_{3Y}=1 \times 3=3$