How choose random number within range, but weighted toward one part of that range? (in Java)

Question

I want to choose random numbers within a range of numbers, but with weighting towards part of that range. For example:

1. Choose random number between 1-10
2. Weight it so that 1-5 is maybe 20% more likely than 6-10

Is this possible? How would I do this?

Answer 1

It depends on how you want your probability distribution to look like.

For example:

Pick a random number between 1-10
If it is <= 6
    Return a random number between 1-5
Else
    Return a random number between 6-10
EndIf

Picks a number in 1-5 60% of the time and a number in 6-10 40% of the time.