Geometric Distribution

These functions give you access to the geometric distribution. For more information about Fathom's distribution functions, click here.

geometricProbability(x, p, scale, min)

geometricCumulative(x, p, scale, min)

geometricQuantile(x, p, scale, min)

 p = probability of a "catch" [0,1]
scale
= a scale factor
min
= minimum

The probability, cumulative, and quantile functions for the geometric distribution. The probability distribution is the number of trials before you get a success, with a probability p of a success on each trial.

Only the independent variable x is required. The probability parameter p can vary from 0 to 1. The other parameters scale and min provide dilation and translation, respectively.

defaults: p = 0.5, min = 0, scale = 1.

You may also draw random values from this distribution:

randomGeometric(p, scale, min)

A random value drawn from that distribution.

Here is a graph to help you understand the meaning of the relationshp between the geometric and exponential distributions. The geometric is like the exponential distribution in that it declines monotonically. This distribution's p is like the reciprocal of the exponential mu.

See also statistical functions (for mean( ) and its cousins).