Original practice · fully worked
Original variant: variance ratio after squaring a symmetric reading
A calibration reading X is uniformly distributed from -1 to 1. A diagnostic display records Y=X². Calculate the ratio Var(Y)/Var(X).
- A
0.0889 - B
0.2667 - C
0.3333 - D
0.6000 - E
1.0000
Answer and calculation
For symmetric Uniform(-1,1), Var(X)=1/3. Since Y=X squared, E[Y]=1/3 and E[Y squared]=1/5, giving Var(Y)=4/45. The ratio is 4/15=0.2667, choice B.
Setup
Setup
Use symmetry to obtain the first two moments of the original reading.
E[X]=0 E[X2]=31 Var(X)=31 Model
Model
Translate the display moments into even raw moments of X.
E[Y]=E[X2]=31 E[Y2]=E[X4]=51 Compute
Compute
Form the display variance and divide by the reading variance.
Var(Y)=51−(31)2=454 Var(X)Var(Y)=1/34/45=154=0.2666667 Answer
Answer
The variance ratio is approximately 0.2667.
0.2667(B)