So we have a random variable x which can give values from 1 to 5. The probability of getting a 2 is 2 times the probability of getting 1. The probability of getting a 3 is 3 times the probability of getting 1, and so on, up to five.
The sum
k + 2k + 3k + 4k + 5k = 1
because one of these five outcomes must result from every trial. If we add all the terms we get:
15k = 1
so,
k = 1/15
The distribution (x,p) is
1,1/15
2,2/15
3,1/5
4,4/15
5,1/3
We can get the mean by multiplying each outcome by its probability and then adding them together:
x(bar) = 1(1/15) + 2(2/15) + 3(1/5) + 4(4/15) + 5(1/3) = 3 2/3
The variance is the sum of:
(x-x(bar))^2/n
for each outcome.
1(1-3 2/3)^2/15 + 2(2-3 2/3)^2/15 + 3(3-3/2/3)^2/15 + 4(4-3 2/3)^2/15 + 5(5-3 2/3)^2/15 = 1 5/9
Take the square root of this and you have the standard deviation. I get 1.247
They want to know the probability of getting 6 when 2 of these variables are added. The following outcomes can lead to a sum of 6.
1+5
5+1
2+4
4+2
3+3
We need to add together the probability of all the above outcomes:
2(p1)(p5) + 2(p2)(p4) + (p3)(p3) =
2(1/15(1/3) + 2(2/15)(4/15) + (3/15)^2 = 7/45