In functional analysis, this noun denotes linear functionals that act on compactly-supported test functions, which define a namesake generalized derivative. Methods that are “[this noun]-free” are also called “nonparametric” and include the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test. A letter that stands for this noun appears above the arrow in the central limit theorem, which concerns “convergence in [this word].” This noun appears in the name of a class of increasing, right-continuous functions that converge to zero and one at minus and plus infinity. Those functions, which are found by integrating probability density functions, are written capital F and preface this noun with “cumulative.” For 10 points, give this word for the spread of probabilities taken by a random variable, such as the Poisson or binomial. ■END■
ANSWER: distribution [or word forms like distributional or distributed; accept distributional derivative; accept distribution-free; accept convergence in distribution; accept cumulative distribution function]
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