Suppose Y equals a sum of 20
independent random variables. One is U(–10, 10). The
rest are U(–1, 1). Is Y approximately normal?
Solution
The U(–10,10) random variable has a standard
deviation that is 10 times that of the other random variables. It so
dominates the sum that Y does not approximate a normal distribution.
The PDF of Y is shown in the following exhibit.