Choosing the Right Distribution

When creating a random node, you generally specify the central or most likely value, the dispersion or range of values, and the shape of the probability distribution. The shape is determined by the particular random number generator you use. The central value and dispersion are determined by parameters you supply to the random number generator.

The easiest way to make a node random is to point to Monte Carlo in the Tools menu and click Make Stochastic Input. Simply select the appropriate distribution and fill in the required parameters. Once you become more familiar with the random number generators, it will be easiest to simply type the required definition in the Formula Bar.

To help you choose the right random number generators, the following sections describe your options.

See Also

Uniform Distribution

Discrete Distribution

Triangular Distribution

Normal Distribution

Lognormal Distribution

Gamma Distribution

Exponential Distribution

Beta Distribution

Bernoulli Distribution

Binomial Distribution

Poisson Distribution

Custom Discrete Distributions

Custom Continuous Distributions