What is the difference between a random number and random variable?

Answer 1

A random number is also called a random deviate or pseudo random number. It is a value that is generated by a computer, given a probability distribution. The uniform random number is distributed according to the uniform distribution with values from 0 to 1 and is often used to generate other numbers that follow other distributions. The relative frequency plot of random numbers generated using a particular distribution may not be exactly equal to the particular distribution, due to the limited number of points. But, as the number of random deviates increases, the frequency plot will more closely approximate the given distribution. Random variable have both an intuitive and mathematical definitions. Probability theory is based on sets of events. A throw of coin will have certain outcomes. The random variable, X, links or maps these events to values. A coin can come up heads, so the mapped random variable of this outcome can be 0, and for tails, the random variable of this outcome can be 1. The mathematical definition is a bit more complex- see related links. A random variable is associated with what is considered a random process. If we know the outcome without any uncertainty, we would call it an deterministic process and the outcomes deterministic variables.