Long-term relative frequency

Definition

Long-term relative frequency is the proportion of times an event occurs over a large number of trials. It represents the event's probability based on empirical evidence.

5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test

1. It provides an empirical basis for estimating probabilities.
2. As the number of trials increases, long-term relative frequency approaches the theoretical probability.
3. It differs from short-term relative frequency, which can vary significantly with fewer trials.
4. Used in various contexts such as quality control and risk assessment to predict outcomes.
5. Mathematically calculated as the ratio of the number of successful outcomes to the total number of trials.

Review Questions

• How does long-term relative frequency differ from short-term relative frequency?
• What happens to long-term relative frequency as the number of trials increases?
• Why is long-term relative frequency important in statistical analysis?

Related terms

Probability: A measure quantifying the likelihood that events will occur, expressed as a number between 0 and 1.

Law of Large Numbers: A principle stating that as the size of a sample increases, its mean will get closer to the average of the whole population.

Empirical Probability: \text{Calculated} by dividing the number of times an event occurs by the total number of observations or trials.