Expected frequency ($E_j=n{p}_j$)

The expected value of the number of observations in a category under a specified statistical model. For $n$ observations with common category probability $p_j$, linearity of expectation gives $E_j=n{p}_j$; the calculation does not itself require independence. In a contingency table, fitting independence gives $E_{ij}=n_{i+}{n}_{+j}/n$. These are model-based counts, which may be fractional, rather than an additional set of observed responses. Pearson's chi-squared test compares observed counts with their corresponding expected frequencies.