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How do I generate distribution of positive numbers only with min, max and mean?


Calculating distribution from min, mean, and maxHow to perform goodness of fit test and how to assign probability with uniform distribution?How to generate a non-normal correlated bivariate distributionHow do I test for a symmetric distribution?Truncate lognormal distribution with excelAre there any inverse distribution graph that looks like this?Generate data with skewed distribution and known percentiles, mean and medianCalculating distribution minimum and maximum values from known p5/mode/p95 valuesSimulating data from an unknown distribution given min and max valuesEstimating gamma distribution parameters using sample mean and stdSample from a distribution if only mean median max etc. are given






.everyoneloves__top-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__mid-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__bot-mid-leaderboard:empty margin-bottom:0;








4












$begingroup$


I am trying to generate a sample of 2000 rows. I have the following values
min = 80
max = 12000
mean = 500



I want to generate only positive numbers. I tried using triangular distribution and range rule(sd = max-min/4). The values were negative.



Is there anyway I can generate only positive numbers?










share|cite|improve this question











$endgroup$









  • 2




    $begingroup$
    What kind of distribution of values do you want?
    $endgroup$
    – Dave
    Jul 26 at 17:35










  • $begingroup$
    as long as they are positive and has mean = 500, min = 80 and max = 12000
    $endgroup$
    – user3437212
    Jul 26 at 17:36










  • $begingroup$
    min and max is fine but the mean is way too off in triangular distribution, do you have any other suggestion?
    $endgroup$
    – user3437212
    Jul 26 at 17:37










  • $begingroup$
    Strongly related: stats.stackexchange.com/q/236449/35989
    $endgroup$
    – Tim
    Jul 26 at 18:44

















4












$begingroup$


I am trying to generate a sample of 2000 rows. I have the following values
min = 80
max = 12000
mean = 500



I want to generate only positive numbers. I tried using triangular distribution and range rule(sd = max-min/4). The values were negative.



Is there anyway I can generate only positive numbers?










share|cite|improve this question











$endgroup$









  • 2




    $begingroup$
    What kind of distribution of values do you want?
    $endgroup$
    – Dave
    Jul 26 at 17:35










  • $begingroup$
    as long as they are positive and has mean = 500, min = 80 and max = 12000
    $endgroup$
    – user3437212
    Jul 26 at 17:36










  • $begingroup$
    min and max is fine but the mean is way too off in triangular distribution, do you have any other suggestion?
    $endgroup$
    – user3437212
    Jul 26 at 17:37










  • $begingroup$
    Strongly related: stats.stackexchange.com/q/236449/35989
    $endgroup$
    – Tim
    Jul 26 at 18:44













4












4








4


0



$begingroup$


I am trying to generate a sample of 2000 rows. I have the following values
min = 80
max = 12000
mean = 500



I want to generate only positive numbers. I tried using triangular distribution and range rule(sd = max-min/4). The values were negative.



Is there anyway I can generate only positive numbers?










share|cite|improve this question











$endgroup$




I am trying to generate a sample of 2000 rows. I have the following values
min = 80
max = 12000
mean = 500



I want to generate only positive numbers. I tried using triangular distribution and range rule(sd = max-min/4). The values were negative.



Is there anyway I can generate only positive numbers?







distributions simulation






share|cite|improve this question















share|cite|improve this question













share|cite|improve this question




share|cite|improve this question








edited Jul 28 at 2:59









Aaron Hall

4002 silver badges15 bronze badges




4002 silver badges15 bronze badges










asked Jul 26 at 17:22









user3437212user3437212

474 bronze badges




474 bronze badges










  • 2




    $begingroup$
    What kind of distribution of values do you want?
    $endgroup$
    – Dave
    Jul 26 at 17:35










  • $begingroup$
    as long as they are positive and has mean = 500, min = 80 and max = 12000
    $endgroup$
    – user3437212
    Jul 26 at 17:36










  • $begingroup$
    min and max is fine but the mean is way too off in triangular distribution, do you have any other suggestion?
    $endgroup$
    – user3437212
    Jul 26 at 17:37










  • $begingroup$
    Strongly related: stats.stackexchange.com/q/236449/35989
    $endgroup$
    – Tim
    Jul 26 at 18:44












  • 2




    $begingroup$
    What kind of distribution of values do you want?
    $endgroup$
    – Dave
    Jul 26 at 17:35










  • $begingroup$
    as long as they are positive and has mean = 500, min = 80 and max = 12000
    $endgroup$
    – user3437212
    Jul 26 at 17:36










  • $begingroup$
    min and max is fine but the mean is way too off in triangular distribution, do you have any other suggestion?
    $endgroup$
    – user3437212
    Jul 26 at 17:37










  • $begingroup$
    Strongly related: stats.stackexchange.com/q/236449/35989
    $endgroup$
    – Tim
    Jul 26 at 18:44







2




2




$begingroup$
What kind of distribution of values do you want?
$endgroup$
– Dave
Jul 26 at 17:35




$begingroup$
What kind of distribution of values do you want?
$endgroup$
– Dave
Jul 26 at 17:35












$begingroup$
as long as they are positive and has mean = 500, min = 80 and max = 12000
$endgroup$
– user3437212
Jul 26 at 17:36




$begingroup$
as long as they are positive and has mean = 500, min = 80 and max = 12000
$endgroup$
– user3437212
Jul 26 at 17:36












$begingroup$
min and max is fine but the mean is way too off in triangular distribution, do you have any other suggestion?
$endgroup$
– user3437212
Jul 26 at 17:37




$begingroup$
min and max is fine but the mean is way too off in triangular distribution, do you have any other suggestion?
$endgroup$
– user3437212
Jul 26 at 17:37












$begingroup$
Strongly related: stats.stackexchange.com/q/236449/35989
$endgroup$
– Tim
Jul 26 at 18:44




$begingroup$
Strongly related: stats.stackexchange.com/q/236449/35989
$endgroup$
– Tim
Jul 26 at 18:44










3 Answers
3






active

oldest

votes


















10












$begingroup$

While the problem is very much ill-posed, since there is an infinite range of distributions satisfying these constraints, a possible solution is to find the maximum entropy distribution under the constraint of a support of $(80,12000)$ [thus using the uniform measure on that interval as the reference measure] and a mean of $mathbb E[X]=500$ is of the form
$$p(x)=expalpha+beta x,mathbb I_(80,1200)(x)$$
with
$$int_80^12000 expalpha+beta x,text dx=1qquadtextandqquad
int_80^12000 xexpalpha+beta x,text dx=500$$

which leads to
$$exp-alpha=beta^-1[exp12000beta-exp80beta]$$
and$$beta^-1expalpha[12000exp12000beta-80exp80beta]-beta^-1=500$$which can be solved numerically in $beta$. Leading to
$$beta^*=-.00238quadtextandquadalpha^*=-5.850$$which can be easily simulated as a truncated exponential distribution, by inversion of the cdf, e.g., using qexp() in R. For instance,



function(n=1)
return(qexp(pexp(80,.00238)+runif(n)*
(pexp(12000,.00238)-pexp(80,.00238)),.00238))


If the question is instead about simulating a sample $X_1:2000$ such that $$min(X_1:2000)=80,quadmax(X_1:2000)=1200,quadbar X_1:2000=500$$
there is again an infinite range of solutions, the simplest being a uniform Multinomial distribution constrained by its minimum $X_(1)$ being 80 and its maximum $X_(2000)$ being 12000 since
$$underbraceX_(1)_80+cdots+underbraceX_(2000)_12000 = 80 + 987920 + 12000= underbrace2000_ptimes 500=underbrace10^6_n$$
namely proportional to
$$nchoose 80,n_2,cdots,n_p-1,12000mathbb I_80le n_1leldotsle n_p-1le 1200$$
This is equivalent to simulate a Multinomial
$$mathcal M_1998(987920,1/1998,ldots,1/1998)$$
constrained to $(80,1200)^1998$, ie



x=rmultinom(1,987920,rep(1,1998))
while (min(x)<80||max(x)>12000)
x=rmultinom(1,987920,rep(1,1998))


As an additional remark, let me add that observing a range of (80,12000) for a Multinomial $mathcal M(10⁶;2000)$ is extremely unlikely (in the above simulation, the first attempt is always successful) and a more satisfactory approach would be to infer first about the probability vector of a Multinomial $mathcal M(10⁶;2000;p)$ before predicting the remaining 1998 categories.






share|cite|improve this answer











$endgroup$














  • $begingroup$
    Is your comment about $X_1:2000$ about ensuring that the sample (not the population) has a mean of 500? Also, two clarifications would be helpful. 1) Why do something in the form of $expalpha + beta X$? 2) Once we solve for $alpha$ and $beta$, how do to simulate draws from that PDF?
    $endgroup$
    – Dave
    Jul 26 at 18:31











  • $begingroup$
    @Xi'an Thank you this helps!
    $endgroup$
    – user3437212
    Jul 26 at 19:38


















8












$begingroup$

If you don't care about the distribution aside from min, max, and mean, then there is a simple answer.



Take 96.476510067114100 percent of draws as 80 and 3.523489932885910 percent of draws as 12000. On average, you get 500, and you have your min and max. I calculated the percentages by solving a system of equations



$$a + b =1$$ $$80a + 12000b = 500$$



The first equation establishes the the values must sum to one, making sure that we are dealing with probabilities. The second equation get us our average of 500.



D <- rep(NA,2000) # define a vector of NAs to hold your sampled values
for (i in 1:2000)
X <- rbinom(1,1,0.96476510067114100) # determine which value you'll take, 80 or 12000
if (X==0)D[i] <- 12000 # declare observation i as 12000
if (X==1)D[i] <- 80 # declare observation i as 80






share|cite|improve this answer











$endgroup$














  • $begingroup$
    Thanks Dave! But I don't want only 80s and 12000s in my distribution. I would like a range of values but all positive
    $endgroup$
    – user3437212
    Jul 26 at 18:03










  • $begingroup$
    I'm sorry I was not clear earlier
    $endgroup$
    – user3437212
    Jul 26 at 18:04






  • 2




    $begingroup$
    We can construct a different distribution, but what requirements do you have?
    $endgroup$
    – Dave
    Jul 26 at 18:05











  • $begingroup$
    normal or a poisson but no negative values
    $endgroup$
    – user3437212
    Jul 26 at 18:07






  • 8




    $begingroup$
    Normal is out, since it can take all real values. More helpful, though, would be to know what you're considering either of those distributions. So...why normal or Poisson?
    $endgroup$
    – Dave
    Jul 26 at 18:11


















1












$begingroup$

Use for example a beta distribution, shifted and rescaled to your min and max.



The beta is easy to use here since it is bounded to the interval [0;1], but the mean can be placed by parameterization.



You have mean=alpha/(alpha+beta) and hence beta=alpha/mean - alpha, or in the rescaled version beta=alpha*(max-min)/(mean-min) - alpha. With the parameter alpha you can control the shape, whether you want more values in the extremes or not.



You can also consider a truncated normal distribution. This works quite similar. Again you have to decide for a shape by choosing the standard deviation. This is straight forward to use - fix min, max, mean, and sigma. Compute the resulting mu and you have your data distribution. But the shape of this distribution will look truncated, and not as elegant as a beta distribution.



Beta distributions are smooth. If you want something simpler consider simply using two uniform distributions. Without loss of generality, assume min=0 and max=1 by rescaling and shifting.
Split the interval at the (rescaled) mean. Sampling uniformly from [0;mean] with probability p has E[X]=mean/2 and from [mean;1] with 1-p has E[X]=(mean+1)/2. Combining these two and the desired outcome yields p*mean/2+(1-p)(mean+1)/2= mean and solving for p Yields p=1-mean.



Hence a simple strategy is to uniformly sample from [min;mean] with probability 1-(mean-min)/(max-min) and from [mean;max] otherwise. The drawback is the non-smooth (stepwise) CDF.



Ultimately, you could also design the CDF directly. This would be easy if you had fixed the median, but with the mean you'll need to take the values into account. The idea is that you might want to enforce a stepwise linear or polynomial CDF, and choose the function parameters such that the resulting mean is as desired. Please do the math for this yourself.



Last but not least: you are probably asking for a skewed distribution. I would rather fix the median, not the mean. This makes above constructions a lot easier and more meaningful. The mean of a skewed distribution is not too reliable.






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    3 Answers
    3






    active

    oldest

    votes








    3 Answers
    3






    active

    oldest

    votes









    active

    oldest

    votes






    active

    oldest

    votes









    10












    $begingroup$

    While the problem is very much ill-posed, since there is an infinite range of distributions satisfying these constraints, a possible solution is to find the maximum entropy distribution under the constraint of a support of $(80,12000)$ [thus using the uniform measure on that interval as the reference measure] and a mean of $mathbb E[X]=500$ is of the form
    $$p(x)=expalpha+beta x,mathbb I_(80,1200)(x)$$
    with
    $$int_80^12000 expalpha+beta x,text dx=1qquadtextandqquad
    int_80^12000 xexpalpha+beta x,text dx=500$$

    which leads to
    $$exp-alpha=beta^-1[exp12000beta-exp80beta]$$
    and$$beta^-1expalpha[12000exp12000beta-80exp80beta]-beta^-1=500$$which can be solved numerically in $beta$. Leading to
    $$beta^*=-.00238quadtextandquadalpha^*=-5.850$$which can be easily simulated as a truncated exponential distribution, by inversion of the cdf, e.g., using qexp() in R. For instance,



    function(n=1)
    return(qexp(pexp(80,.00238)+runif(n)*
    (pexp(12000,.00238)-pexp(80,.00238)),.00238))


    If the question is instead about simulating a sample $X_1:2000$ such that $$min(X_1:2000)=80,quadmax(X_1:2000)=1200,quadbar X_1:2000=500$$
    there is again an infinite range of solutions, the simplest being a uniform Multinomial distribution constrained by its minimum $X_(1)$ being 80 and its maximum $X_(2000)$ being 12000 since
    $$underbraceX_(1)_80+cdots+underbraceX_(2000)_12000 = 80 + 987920 + 12000= underbrace2000_ptimes 500=underbrace10^6_n$$
    namely proportional to
    $$nchoose 80,n_2,cdots,n_p-1,12000mathbb I_80le n_1leldotsle n_p-1le 1200$$
    This is equivalent to simulate a Multinomial
    $$mathcal M_1998(987920,1/1998,ldots,1/1998)$$
    constrained to $(80,1200)^1998$, ie



    x=rmultinom(1,987920,rep(1,1998))
    while (min(x)<80||max(x)>12000)
    x=rmultinom(1,987920,rep(1,1998))


    As an additional remark, let me add that observing a range of (80,12000) for a Multinomial $mathcal M(10⁶;2000)$ is extremely unlikely (in the above simulation, the first attempt is always successful) and a more satisfactory approach would be to infer first about the probability vector of a Multinomial $mathcal M(10⁶;2000;p)$ before predicting the remaining 1998 categories.






    share|cite|improve this answer











    $endgroup$














    • $begingroup$
      Is your comment about $X_1:2000$ about ensuring that the sample (not the population) has a mean of 500? Also, two clarifications would be helpful. 1) Why do something in the form of $expalpha + beta X$? 2) Once we solve for $alpha$ and $beta$, how do to simulate draws from that PDF?
      $endgroup$
      – Dave
      Jul 26 at 18:31











    • $begingroup$
      @Xi'an Thank you this helps!
      $endgroup$
      – user3437212
      Jul 26 at 19:38















    10












    $begingroup$

    While the problem is very much ill-posed, since there is an infinite range of distributions satisfying these constraints, a possible solution is to find the maximum entropy distribution under the constraint of a support of $(80,12000)$ [thus using the uniform measure on that interval as the reference measure] and a mean of $mathbb E[X]=500$ is of the form
    $$p(x)=expalpha+beta x,mathbb I_(80,1200)(x)$$
    with
    $$int_80^12000 expalpha+beta x,text dx=1qquadtextandqquad
    int_80^12000 xexpalpha+beta x,text dx=500$$

    which leads to
    $$exp-alpha=beta^-1[exp12000beta-exp80beta]$$
    and$$beta^-1expalpha[12000exp12000beta-80exp80beta]-beta^-1=500$$which can be solved numerically in $beta$. Leading to
    $$beta^*=-.00238quadtextandquadalpha^*=-5.850$$which can be easily simulated as a truncated exponential distribution, by inversion of the cdf, e.g., using qexp() in R. For instance,



    function(n=1)
    return(qexp(pexp(80,.00238)+runif(n)*
    (pexp(12000,.00238)-pexp(80,.00238)),.00238))


    If the question is instead about simulating a sample $X_1:2000$ such that $$min(X_1:2000)=80,quadmax(X_1:2000)=1200,quadbar X_1:2000=500$$
    there is again an infinite range of solutions, the simplest being a uniform Multinomial distribution constrained by its minimum $X_(1)$ being 80 and its maximum $X_(2000)$ being 12000 since
    $$underbraceX_(1)_80+cdots+underbraceX_(2000)_12000 = 80 + 987920 + 12000= underbrace2000_ptimes 500=underbrace10^6_n$$
    namely proportional to
    $$nchoose 80,n_2,cdots,n_p-1,12000mathbb I_80le n_1leldotsle n_p-1le 1200$$
    This is equivalent to simulate a Multinomial
    $$mathcal M_1998(987920,1/1998,ldots,1/1998)$$
    constrained to $(80,1200)^1998$, ie



    x=rmultinom(1,987920,rep(1,1998))
    while (min(x)<80||max(x)>12000)
    x=rmultinom(1,987920,rep(1,1998))


    As an additional remark, let me add that observing a range of (80,12000) for a Multinomial $mathcal M(10⁶;2000)$ is extremely unlikely (in the above simulation, the first attempt is always successful) and a more satisfactory approach would be to infer first about the probability vector of a Multinomial $mathcal M(10⁶;2000;p)$ before predicting the remaining 1998 categories.






    share|cite|improve this answer











    $endgroup$














    • $begingroup$
      Is your comment about $X_1:2000$ about ensuring that the sample (not the population) has a mean of 500? Also, two clarifications would be helpful. 1) Why do something in the form of $expalpha + beta X$? 2) Once we solve for $alpha$ and $beta$, how do to simulate draws from that PDF?
      $endgroup$
      – Dave
      Jul 26 at 18:31











    • $begingroup$
      @Xi'an Thank you this helps!
      $endgroup$
      – user3437212
      Jul 26 at 19:38













    10












    10








    10





    $begingroup$

    While the problem is very much ill-posed, since there is an infinite range of distributions satisfying these constraints, a possible solution is to find the maximum entropy distribution under the constraint of a support of $(80,12000)$ [thus using the uniform measure on that interval as the reference measure] and a mean of $mathbb E[X]=500$ is of the form
    $$p(x)=expalpha+beta x,mathbb I_(80,1200)(x)$$
    with
    $$int_80^12000 expalpha+beta x,text dx=1qquadtextandqquad
    int_80^12000 xexpalpha+beta x,text dx=500$$

    which leads to
    $$exp-alpha=beta^-1[exp12000beta-exp80beta]$$
    and$$beta^-1expalpha[12000exp12000beta-80exp80beta]-beta^-1=500$$which can be solved numerically in $beta$. Leading to
    $$beta^*=-.00238quadtextandquadalpha^*=-5.850$$which can be easily simulated as a truncated exponential distribution, by inversion of the cdf, e.g., using qexp() in R. For instance,



    function(n=1)
    return(qexp(pexp(80,.00238)+runif(n)*
    (pexp(12000,.00238)-pexp(80,.00238)),.00238))


    If the question is instead about simulating a sample $X_1:2000$ such that $$min(X_1:2000)=80,quadmax(X_1:2000)=1200,quadbar X_1:2000=500$$
    there is again an infinite range of solutions, the simplest being a uniform Multinomial distribution constrained by its minimum $X_(1)$ being 80 and its maximum $X_(2000)$ being 12000 since
    $$underbraceX_(1)_80+cdots+underbraceX_(2000)_12000 = 80 + 987920 + 12000= underbrace2000_ptimes 500=underbrace10^6_n$$
    namely proportional to
    $$nchoose 80,n_2,cdots,n_p-1,12000mathbb I_80le n_1leldotsle n_p-1le 1200$$
    This is equivalent to simulate a Multinomial
    $$mathcal M_1998(987920,1/1998,ldots,1/1998)$$
    constrained to $(80,1200)^1998$, ie



    x=rmultinom(1,987920,rep(1,1998))
    while (min(x)<80||max(x)>12000)
    x=rmultinom(1,987920,rep(1,1998))


    As an additional remark, let me add that observing a range of (80,12000) for a Multinomial $mathcal M(10⁶;2000)$ is extremely unlikely (in the above simulation, the first attempt is always successful) and a more satisfactory approach would be to infer first about the probability vector of a Multinomial $mathcal M(10⁶;2000;p)$ before predicting the remaining 1998 categories.






    share|cite|improve this answer











    $endgroup$



    While the problem is very much ill-posed, since there is an infinite range of distributions satisfying these constraints, a possible solution is to find the maximum entropy distribution under the constraint of a support of $(80,12000)$ [thus using the uniform measure on that interval as the reference measure] and a mean of $mathbb E[X]=500$ is of the form
    $$p(x)=expalpha+beta x,mathbb I_(80,1200)(x)$$
    with
    $$int_80^12000 expalpha+beta x,text dx=1qquadtextandqquad
    int_80^12000 xexpalpha+beta x,text dx=500$$

    which leads to
    $$exp-alpha=beta^-1[exp12000beta-exp80beta]$$
    and$$beta^-1expalpha[12000exp12000beta-80exp80beta]-beta^-1=500$$which can be solved numerically in $beta$. Leading to
    $$beta^*=-.00238quadtextandquadalpha^*=-5.850$$which can be easily simulated as a truncated exponential distribution, by inversion of the cdf, e.g., using qexp() in R. For instance,



    function(n=1)
    return(qexp(pexp(80,.00238)+runif(n)*
    (pexp(12000,.00238)-pexp(80,.00238)),.00238))


    If the question is instead about simulating a sample $X_1:2000$ such that $$min(X_1:2000)=80,quadmax(X_1:2000)=1200,quadbar X_1:2000=500$$
    there is again an infinite range of solutions, the simplest being a uniform Multinomial distribution constrained by its minimum $X_(1)$ being 80 and its maximum $X_(2000)$ being 12000 since
    $$underbraceX_(1)_80+cdots+underbraceX_(2000)_12000 = 80 + 987920 + 12000= underbrace2000_ptimes 500=underbrace10^6_n$$
    namely proportional to
    $$nchoose 80,n_2,cdots,n_p-1,12000mathbb I_80le n_1leldotsle n_p-1le 1200$$
    This is equivalent to simulate a Multinomial
    $$mathcal M_1998(987920,1/1998,ldots,1/1998)$$
    constrained to $(80,1200)^1998$, ie



    x=rmultinom(1,987920,rep(1,1998))
    while (min(x)<80||max(x)>12000)
    x=rmultinom(1,987920,rep(1,1998))


    As an additional remark, let me add that observing a range of (80,12000) for a Multinomial $mathcal M(10⁶;2000)$ is extremely unlikely (in the above simulation, the first attempt is always successful) and a more satisfactory approach would be to infer first about the probability vector of a Multinomial $mathcal M(10⁶;2000;p)$ before predicting the remaining 1998 categories.







    share|cite|improve this answer














    share|cite|improve this answer



    share|cite|improve this answer








    edited Jul 29 at 10:16

























    answered Jul 26 at 18:10









    Xi'anXi'an

    62k8 gold badges99 silver badges378 bronze badges




    62k8 gold badges99 silver badges378 bronze badges














    • $begingroup$
      Is your comment about $X_1:2000$ about ensuring that the sample (not the population) has a mean of 500? Also, two clarifications would be helpful. 1) Why do something in the form of $expalpha + beta X$? 2) Once we solve for $alpha$ and $beta$, how do to simulate draws from that PDF?
      $endgroup$
      – Dave
      Jul 26 at 18:31











    • $begingroup$
      @Xi'an Thank you this helps!
      $endgroup$
      – user3437212
      Jul 26 at 19:38
















    • $begingroup$
      Is your comment about $X_1:2000$ about ensuring that the sample (not the population) has a mean of 500? Also, two clarifications would be helpful. 1) Why do something in the form of $expalpha + beta X$? 2) Once we solve for $alpha$ and $beta$, how do to simulate draws from that PDF?
      $endgroup$
      – Dave
      Jul 26 at 18:31











    • $begingroup$
      @Xi'an Thank you this helps!
      $endgroup$
      – user3437212
      Jul 26 at 19:38















    $begingroup$
    Is your comment about $X_1:2000$ about ensuring that the sample (not the population) has a mean of 500? Also, two clarifications would be helpful. 1) Why do something in the form of $expalpha + beta X$? 2) Once we solve for $alpha$ and $beta$, how do to simulate draws from that PDF?
    $endgroup$
    – Dave
    Jul 26 at 18:31





    $begingroup$
    Is your comment about $X_1:2000$ about ensuring that the sample (not the population) has a mean of 500? Also, two clarifications would be helpful. 1) Why do something in the form of $expalpha + beta X$? 2) Once we solve for $alpha$ and $beta$, how do to simulate draws from that PDF?
    $endgroup$
    – Dave
    Jul 26 at 18:31













    $begingroup$
    @Xi'an Thank you this helps!
    $endgroup$
    – user3437212
    Jul 26 at 19:38




    $begingroup$
    @Xi'an Thank you this helps!
    $endgroup$
    – user3437212
    Jul 26 at 19:38













    8












    $begingroup$

    If you don't care about the distribution aside from min, max, and mean, then there is a simple answer.



    Take 96.476510067114100 percent of draws as 80 and 3.523489932885910 percent of draws as 12000. On average, you get 500, and you have your min and max. I calculated the percentages by solving a system of equations



    $$a + b =1$$ $$80a + 12000b = 500$$



    The first equation establishes the the values must sum to one, making sure that we are dealing with probabilities. The second equation get us our average of 500.



    D <- rep(NA,2000) # define a vector of NAs to hold your sampled values
    for (i in 1:2000)
    X <- rbinom(1,1,0.96476510067114100) # determine which value you'll take, 80 or 12000
    if (X==0)D[i] <- 12000 # declare observation i as 12000
    if (X==1)D[i] <- 80 # declare observation i as 80






    share|cite|improve this answer











    $endgroup$














    • $begingroup$
      Thanks Dave! But I don't want only 80s and 12000s in my distribution. I would like a range of values but all positive
      $endgroup$
      – user3437212
      Jul 26 at 18:03










    • $begingroup$
      I'm sorry I was not clear earlier
      $endgroup$
      – user3437212
      Jul 26 at 18:04






    • 2




      $begingroup$
      We can construct a different distribution, but what requirements do you have?
      $endgroup$
      – Dave
      Jul 26 at 18:05











    • $begingroup$
      normal or a poisson but no negative values
      $endgroup$
      – user3437212
      Jul 26 at 18:07






    • 8




      $begingroup$
      Normal is out, since it can take all real values. More helpful, though, would be to know what you're considering either of those distributions. So...why normal or Poisson?
      $endgroup$
      – Dave
      Jul 26 at 18:11















    8












    $begingroup$

    If you don't care about the distribution aside from min, max, and mean, then there is a simple answer.



    Take 96.476510067114100 percent of draws as 80 and 3.523489932885910 percent of draws as 12000. On average, you get 500, and you have your min and max. I calculated the percentages by solving a system of equations



    $$a + b =1$$ $$80a + 12000b = 500$$



    The first equation establishes the the values must sum to one, making sure that we are dealing with probabilities. The second equation get us our average of 500.



    D <- rep(NA,2000) # define a vector of NAs to hold your sampled values
    for (i in 1:2000)
    X <- rbinom(1,1,0.96476510067114100) # determine which value you'll take, 80 or 12000
    if (X==0)D[i] <- 12000 # declare observation i as 12000
    if (X==1)D[i] <- 80 # declare observation i as 80






    share|cite|improve this answer











    $endgroup$














    • $begingroup$
      Thanks Dave! But I don't want only 80s and 12000s in my distribution. I would like a range of values but all positive
      $endgroup$
      – user3437212
      Jul 26 at 18:03










    • $begingroup$
      I'm sorry I was not clear earlier
      $endgroup$
      – user3437212
      Jul 26 at 18:04






    • 2




      $begingroup$
      We can construct a different distribution, but what requirements do you have?
      $endgroup$
      – Dave
      Jul 26 at 18:05











    • $begingroup$
      normal or a poisson but no negative values
      $endgroup$
      – user3437212
      Jul 26 at 18:07






    • 8




      $begingroup$
      Normal is out, since it can take all real values. More helpful, though, would be to know what you're considering either of those distributions. So...why normal or Poisson?
      $endgroup$
      – Dave
      Jul 26 at 18:11













    8












    8








    8





    $begingroup$

    If you don't care about the distribution aside from min, max, and mean, then there is a simple answer.



    Take 96.476510067114100 percent of draws as 80 and 3.523489932885910 percent of draws as 12000. On average, you get 500, and you have your min and max. I calculated the percentages by solving a system of equations



    $$a + b =1$$ $$80a + 12000b = 500$$



    The first equation establishes the the values must sum to one, making sure that we are dealing with probabilities. The second equation get us our average of 500.



    D <- rep(NA,2000) # define a vector of NAs to hold your sampled values
    for (i in 1:2000)
    X <- rbinom(1,1,0.96476510067114100) # determine which value you'll take, 80 or 12000
    if (X==0)D[i] <- 12000 # declare observation i as 12000
    if (X==1)D[i] <- 80 # declare observation i as 80






    share|cite|improve this answer











    $endgroup$



    If you don't care about the distribution aside from min, max, and mean, then there is a simple answer.



    Take 96.476510067114100 percent of draws as 80 and 3.523489932885910 percent of draws as 12000. On average, you get 500, and you have your min and max. I calculated the percentages by solving a system of equations



    $$a + b =1$$ $$80a + 12000b = 500$$



    The first equation establishes the the values must sum to one, making sure that we are dealing with probabilities. The second equation get us our average of 500.



    D <- rep(NA,2000) # define a vector of NAs to hold your sampled values
    for (i in 1:2000)
    X <- rbinom(1,1,0.96476510067114100) # determine which value you'll take, 80 or 12000
    if (X==0)D[i] <- 12000 # declare observation i as 12000
    if (X==1)D[i] <- 80 # declare observation i as 80







    share|cite|improve this answer














    share|cite|improve this answer



    share|cite|improve this answer








    edited Jul 26 at 21:04

























    answered Jul 26 at 18:00









    DaveDave

    96110 bronze badges




    96110 bronze badges














    • $begingroup$
      Thanks Dave! But I don't want only 80s and 12000s in my distribution. I would like a range of values but all positive
      $endgroup$
      – user3437212
      Jul 26 at 18:03










    • $begingroup$
      I'm sorry I was not clear earlier
      $endgroup$
      – user3437212
      Jul 26 at 18:04






    • 2




      $begingroup$
      We can construct a different distribution, but what requirements do you have?
      $endgroup$
      – Dave
      Jul 26 at 18:05











    • $begingroup$
      normal or a poisson but no negative values
      $endgroup$
      – user3437212
      Jul 26 at 18:07






    • 8




      $begingroup$
      Normal is out, since it can take all real values. More helpful, though, would be to know what you're considering either of those distributions. So...why normal or Poisson?
      $endgroup$
      – Dave
      Jul 26 at 18:11
















    • $begingroup$
      Thanks Dave! But I don't want only 80s and 12000s in my distribution. I would like a range of values but all positive
      $endgroup$
      – user3437212
      Jul 26 at 18:03










    • $begingroup$
      I'm sorry I was not clear earlier
      $endgroup$
      – user3437212
      Jul 26 at 18:04






    • 2




      $begingroup$
      We can construct a different distribution, but what requirements do you have?
      $endgroup$
      – Dave
      Jul 26 at 18:05











    • $begingroup$
      normal or a poisson but no negative values
      $endgroup$
      – user3437212
      Jul 26 at 18:07






    • 8




      $begingroup$
      Normal is out, since it can take all real values. More helpful, though, would be to know what you're considering either of those distributions. So...why normal or Poisson?
      $endgroup$
      – Dave
      Jul 26 at 18:11















    $begingroup$
    Thanks Dave! But I don't want only 80s and 12000s in my distribution. I would like a range of values but all positive
    $endgroup$
    – user3437212
    Jul 26 at 18:03




    $begingroup$
    Thanks Dave! But I don't want only 80s and 12000s in my distribution. I would like a range of values but all positive
    $endgroup$
    – user3437212
    Jul 26 at 18:03












    $begingroup$
    I'm sorry I was not clear earlier
    $endgroup$
    – user3437212
    Jul 26 at 18:04




    $begingroup$
    I'm sorry I was not clear earlier
    $endgroup$
    – user3437212
    Jul 26 at 18:04




    2




    2




    $begingroup$
    We can construct a different distribution, but what requirements do you have?
    $endgroup$
    – Dave
    Jul 26 at 18:05





    $begingroup$
    We can construct a different distribution, but what requirements do you have?
    $endgroup$
    – Dave
    Jul 26 at 18:05













    $begingroup$
    normal or a poisson but no negative values
    $endgroup$
    – user3437212
    Jul 26 at 18:07




    $begingroup$
    normal or a poisson but no negative values
    $endgroup$
    – user3437212
    Jul 26 at 18:07




    8




    8




    $begingroup$
    Normal is out, since it can take all real values. More helpful, though, would be to know what you're considering either of those distributions. So...why normal or Poisson?
    $endgroup$
    – Dave
    Jul 26 at 18:11




    $begingroup$
    Normal is out, since it can take all real values. More helpful, though, would be to know what you're considering either of those distributions. So...why normal or Poisson?
    $endgroup$
    – Dave
    Jul 26 at 18:11











    1












    $begingroup$

    Use for example a beta distribution, shifted and rescaled to your min and max.



    The beta is easy to use here since it is bounded to the interval [0;1], but the mean can be placed by parameterization.



    You have mean=alpha/(alpha+beta) and hence beta=alpha/mean - alpha, or in the rescaled version beta=alpha*(max-min)/(mean-min) - alpha. With the parameter alpha you can control the shape, whether you want more values in the extremes or not.



    You can also consider a truncated normal distribution. This works quite similar. Again you have to decide for a shape by choosing the standard deviation. This is straight forward to use - fix min, max, mean, and sigma. Compute the resulting mu and you have your data distribution. But the shape of this distribution will look truncated, and not as elegant as a beta distribution.



    Beta distributions are smooth. If you want something simpler consider simply using two uniform distributions. Without loss of generality, assume min=0 and max=1 by rescaling and shifting.
    Split the interval at the (rescaled) mean. Sampling uniformly from [0;mean] with probability p has E[X]=mean/2 and from [mean;1] with 1-p has E[X]=(mean+1)/2. Combining these two and the desired outcome yields p*mean/2+(1-p)(mean+1)/2= mean and solving for p Yields p=1-mean.



    Hence a simple strategy is to uniformly sample from [min;mean] with probability 1-(mean-min)/(max-min) and from [mean;max] otherwise. The drawback is the non-smooth (stepwise) CDF.



    Ultimately, you could also design the CDF directly. This would be easy if you had fixed the median, but with the mean you'll need to take the values into account. The idea is that you might want to enforce a stepwise linear or polynomial CDF, and choose the function parameters such that the resulting mean is as desired. Please do the math for this yourself.



    Last but not least: you are probably asking for a skewed distribution. I would rather fix the median, not the mean. This makes above constructions a lot easier and more meaningful. The mean of a skewed distribution is not too reliable.






    share|cite|improve this answer











    $endgroup$



















      1












      $begingroup$

      Use for example a beta distribution, shifted and rescaled to your min and max.



      The beta is easy to use here since it is bounded to the interval [0;1], but the mean can be placed by parameterization.



      You have mean=alpha/(alpha+beta) and hence beta=alpha/mean - alpha, or in the rescaled version beta=alpha*(max-min)/(mean-min) - alpha. With the parameter alpha you can control the shape, whether you want more values in the extremes or not.



      You can also consider a truncated normal distribution. This works quite similar. Again you have to decide for a shape by choosing the standard deviation. This is straight forward to use - fix min, max, mean, and sigma. Compute the resulting mu and you have your data distribution. But the shape of this distribution will look truncated, and not as elegant as a beta distribution.



      Beta distributions are smooth. If you want something simpler consider simply using two uniform distributions. Without loss of generality, assume min=0 and max=1 by rescaling and shifting.
      Split the interval at the (rescaled) mean. Sampling uniformly from [0;mean] with probability p has E[X]=mean/2 and from [mean;1] with 1-p has E[X]=(mean+1)/2. Combining these two and the desired outcome yields p*mean/2+(1-p)(mean+1)/2= mean and solving for p Yields p=1-mean.



      Hence a simple strategy is to uniformly sample from [min;mean] with probability 1-(mean-min)/(max-min) and from [mean;max] otherwise. The drawback is the non-smooth (stepwise) CDF.



      Ultimately, you could also design the CDF directly. This would be easy if you had fixed the median, but with the mean you'll need to take the values into account. The idea is that you might want to enforce a stepwise linear or polynomial CDF, and choose the function parameters such that the resulting mean is as desired. Please do the math for this yourself.



      Last but not least: you are probably asking for a skewed distribution. I would rather fix the median, not the mean. This makes above constructions a lot easier and more meaningful. The mean of a skewed distribution is not too reliable.






      share|cite|improve this answer











      $endgroup$

















        1












        1








        1





        $begingroup$

        Use for example a beta distribution, shifted and rescaled to your min and max.



        The beta is easy to use here since it is bounded to the interval [0;1], but the mean can be placed by parameterization.



        You have mean=alpha/(alpha+beta) and hence beta=alpha/mean - alpha, or in the rescaled version beta=alpha*(max-min)/(mean-min) - alpha. With the parameter alpha you can control the shape, whether you want more values in the extremes or not.



        You can also consider a truncated normal distribution. This works quite similar. Again you have to decide for a shape by choosing the standard deviation. This is straight forward to use - fix min, max, mean, and sigma. Compute the resulting mu and you have your data distribution. But the shape of this distribution will look truncated, and not as elegant as a beta distribution.



        Beta distributions are smooth. If you want something simpler consider simply using two uniform distributions. Without loss of generality, assume min=0 and max=1 by rescaling and shifting.
        Split the interval at the (rescaled) mean. Sampling uniformly from [0;mean] with probability p has E[X]=mean/2 and from [mean;1] with 1-p has E[X]=(mean+1)/2. Combining these two and the desired outcome yields p*mean/2+(1-p)(mean+1)/2= mean and solving for p Yields p=1-mean.



        Hence a simple strategy is to uniformly sample from [min;mean] with probability 1-(mean-min)/(max-min) and from [mean;max] otherwise. The drawback is the non-smooth (stepwise) CDF.



        Ultimately, you could also design the CDF directly. This would be easy if you had fixed the median, but with the mean you'll need to take the values into account. The idea is that you might want to enforce a stepwise linear or polynomial CDF, and choose the function parameters such that the resulting mean is as desired. Please do the math for this yourself.



        Last but not least: you are probably asking for a skewed distribution. I would rather fix the median, not the mean. This makes above constructions a lot easier and more meaningful. The mean of a skewed distribution is not too reliable.






        share|cite|improve this answer











        $endgroup$



        Use for example a beta distribution, shifted and rescaled to your min and max.



        The beta is easy to use here since it is bounded to the interval [0;1], but the mean can be placed by parameterization.



        You have mean=alpha/(alpha+beta) and hence beta=alpha/mean - alpha, or in the rescaled version beta=alpha*(max-min)/(mean-min) - alpha. With the parameter alpha you can control the shape, whether you want more values in the extremes or not.



        You can also consider a truncated normal distribution. This works quite similar. Again you have to decide for a shape by choosing the standard deviation. This is straight forward to use - fix min, max, mean, and sigma. Compute the resulting mu and you have your data distribution. But the shape of this distribution will look truncated, and not as elegant as a beta distribution.



        Beta distributions are smooth. If you want something simpler consider simply using two uniform distributions. Without loss of generality, assume min=0 and max=1 by rescaling and shifting.
        Split the interval at the (rescaled) mean. Sampling uniformly from [0;mean] with probability p has E[X]=mean/2 and from [mean;1] with 1-p has E[X]=(mean+1)/2. Combining these two and the desired outcome yields p*mean/2+(1-p)(mean+1)/2= mean and solving for p Yields p=1-mean.



        Hence a simple strategy is to uniformly sample from [min;mean] with probability 1-(mean-min)/(max-min) and from [mean;max] otherwise. The drawback is the non-smooth (stepwise) CDF.



        Ultimately, you could also design the CDF directly. This would be easy if you had fixed the median, but with the mean you'll need to take the values into account. The idea is that you might want to enforce a stepwise linear or polynomial CDF, and choose the function parameters such that the resulting mean is as desired. Please do the math for this yourself.



        Last but not least: you are probably asking for a skewed distribution. I would rather fix the median, not the mean. This makes above constructions a lot easier and more meaningful. The mean of a skewed distribution is not too reliable.







        share|cite|improve this answer














        share|cite|improve this answer



        share|cite|improve this answer








        edited Jul 27 at 5:52

























        answered Jul 27 at 5:23









        Anony-MousseAnony-Mousse

        32.4k6 gold badges44 silver badges85 bronze badges




        32.4k6 gold badges44 silver badges85 bronze badges






























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