Random numbers may be used to simulate continuous distributions.

As a simple example, assume that fixed cost equals $300, profit contribution equals $10 per item sold, and you expect an equally likely chance of 0 to 99 units to be sold. That is, profit equals −$300 + $10X, where X is the number sold. The mean amount you expect to sell is 49.5 units.

a) Calculate the expected value.

b) Simulate the sale of 5 items, using the following double-digit randomly-selected numbers of items sold:

37 77 13 10 85

c) Calculate the expected value of

(b) and compare with the results of (a).