Conditioning a normal on the radius squared
Question
Take two independent standard normal variables and . Given the value of , what is the conditional expectation of ? That is, find .
Short answer
. Replacing by leaves the joint law of and the value of unchanged, so the conditional mean of must equal the conditional mean of . A quantity equal to its own negative is zero.
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Open the worked solutionLessons behind this question
- Conditional Expectation and Variance Revisited
- Conditional Probability, Total Probability, and Bayes' Rule
- Worked Examples — Probability Trees, Monty Hall, and Bayesian Updating
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