Statistics & Probability

Random Variable
and Probability
Distributions
 RANDOM VARIABLE
A random variable x represents a numerical value
associated with each outcome of a probability
distribution.
A random variable is discrete if it has a finite or
countable number of possible outcomes that can be
listed.
x
0 2 4 6 8 10
A random variable is continuous if it has an uncountable
number or possible outcomes, represented by the
intervals on a number line.
x
0 2 4 6 8 10
 RANDOM VARIABLE

Decide if the random variable x is discrete or continuous.

a.) The distance your car travels on a tank of gas

The distance your car travels is a continuous
random variable because it is a measurement that
cannot be counted. (All measurements are
continuous random variables.)

b.) The number of students in a statistics class

The number of students is a discrete random
variable because it can be counted.
 RANDOM VARIABLE

A. Classify the following random variables as discrete

or continuous.

1. X: the number of automobile accidents each year

in Manila
2. Y: the length of time to play 18 holes at golf
3. M: the amount of milk produced yearly by a
particular cow
4. N: the number of eggs laid each month by 1 hen
5. P: the number of building permits issued each
month in a certain city
 RANDOM VARIABLE

6. Let x represent the number of books in a

university library.
7. Let x represent the length of time it takes to get
to work.
8. Let x represent the volume of blood drawn for a
blood test.
9. Let x represent the number of tornadoes in the
month of June in Oklahoma.
10. Let x represent the number of messages posted
each month on a social networking website.
 DISCRETE PROBABILITY
DISTRIBUTIONS
A discrete probability distribution lists each possible
value the random variable can assume, together with its
probability. A probability distribution must satisfy the
following conditions.
In Words In Symbols
1. The probability of each value
of the discrete random 0  P (x)  1
variable is between 0 and 1,
inclusive.
2. The sum of all the probabilities ΣP (x) = 1
is 1.
 CONSTRUCTING DISCRETE
PROBABILITY DISTRIBUTION
Guidelines
Let x be a discrete random variable with possible outcomes
x1, x2, … , xn.
1. Make a frequency distribution for the possible
outcomes.
2. Find the sum of the frequencies.
3. Find the probability of each possible outcome by
dividing its frequency by the sum of the frequencies.
4. Check that each probability is between 0 and 1 and
that the sum is 1.
 CONSTRUCTING DISCRETE
PROBABILITY DISTRIBUTION
The spinner below is divided into two sections. The
probability of landing on the 1 is 0.25. The probability of
landing on the 2 is 0.75. Let x be the number the
spinner lands on. Construct a probability distribution for
the random variable x.

1 x P (x)
1 0.25 Each probability is
2 between 0 and 1.
2 0.75
The sum of the probabilities is 1.
 CONSTRUCTING DISCRETE
PROBABILITY DISTRIBUTION
The spinner below is spun two times. The probability of
landing on the 1 is 0.25. The probability of landing on
the 2 is 0.75. Let x be the sum of the two spins.
Construct a probability distribution for the random
variable x.
The possible sums are 2, 3, and 4.

1 P (sum of 2) = 0.25  0.25 = 0.0625

2 Spin a 1 on “and” Spin a 1 on the

the first spin. second spin.
 CONSTRUCTING DISCRETE
PROBABILITY DISTRIBUTION
P (sum of 3) = 0.25  0.75 = 0.1875
1
Spin a 1 on “and” Spin a 2 on the
2 the first spin. second spin.
“or”

P (sum of 3) = 0.75  0.25 = 0.1875

Sum of Spin a 2 on “and” Spin a 1 on the

P ( x)
spins, x the first spin. second spin.
2 0.0625
3 0.375
4
0.1875 + 0.1875
 CONSTRUCTING DISCRETE
PROBABILITY DISTRIBUTION

1
P (sum of 4) = 0.75  0.75 = 0.5625
2 Spin a 2 on “and” Spin a 2 on the
the first spin. second spin.

Sum of
P ( x)
spins, x
2 0.0625 Each probability is between
3 0.375 0 and 1, and the sum of the
4 0.5625
probabilities is 1.
 GRAPHING DISCRETE PROBABILITY
DISTRIBUTION
Graph the following probability distribution using a
histogram.
P(x)
Sum of Sum of Two Spins
P (x) 0.6
spins, x
2 0.0625 0.5

3 0.375 0.4
Probability

4 0.5625 0.3

0.2

0.1
0 x
2 3 4
Sum
 DISCRETE PROBABILITY
DISTRIBUTION
A. Construct the probability distribution and graph the
probability histogram.
1. The number of televisions per household in a small
town.

2. The number of overtime hours worked in one week

per employee.
 DISCRETE PROBABILITY
DISTRIBUTION
B. Construct the probability distribution and graph the
probability histogram.
1. A shipment of 7 television sets contains 2 defective
sets. A hotel makes a random purchase of 3 of the
sets. If X is the number of defective sets purchased
by the hotel, find the probability distribution of X.
2. Three cards are drawn in succession from a deck
without replacement. Find the probability
distribution for the number of spades.
 DISCRETE PROBABILITY
DISTRIBUTION
B. Construct the probability distribution and graph the
probability histogram.
3. Find the probability distribution for the number of
jazz records when 4 records are selected at random
from a collection consisting of 5 jazz records, 2
classical records, and 3 polka records.
4. From a box containing 4 black balls and 2 green balls,
3 balls are drawn in succession, each ball is being
replaced in the box before the next draw is made.
Find the probability distribution for the number of
green balls.
 MEAN OF DISCRETE PROBABILITY
DISTRIBUTION
The mean of a discrete random variable is given by
μ = ΣxP(x).
Each value of x is multiplied by its corresponding
probability and the products are added.
Example:
Find the mean of the probability distribution for the sum
of the two spins.
x P (x) xP (x)
2 0.0625 2(0.0625) = 0.125 ΣxP(x) = 3.5
3 0.375 3(0.375) = 1.125 The mean for the
4 0.5625 4(0.5625) = 2.25 two spins is 3.5.
 VARIANCE OF DISCRETE
PROBABILITY DISTRIBUTION
The variance of a discrete random variable is given by
2 = Σ(x – μ)2P (x).
Example:
Find the variance of the probability distribution for the
sum of the two spins. The mean is 3.5.
x P (x) x–μ μ)2
(x – P (x)(x – μ)2 ΣP(x)(x – 2)2
2 0.0625 –1.5 2.25  0.141  0.376
3 0.375 –0.5 0.25  0.094 The variance for the
4 0.5625 0.5 0.25  0.141 two spins is
approximately 0.376
 STANDARD DEVIATION OF DISCRETE
PROBABILITY DISTRIBUTION
The standard deviation of a discrete random variable is
given by 2
σ= σ .
Example:
Find the standard deviation of the probability distribution
for the sum of the two spins. The variance is 0.376.
x P (x) x–μ μ)2
(x – P (x)(x – μ)2 σ  σ2
2 0.0625 –1.5 2.25 0.141  0.376  0.613
Most of the sums
3 0.375 –0.5 0.25 0.094
differ from the mean
4 0.5625 0.5 0.25 0.141 by no more than 0.6
points.
 EXPECTED VALUE OF A DISCRETE
RANDOM VARIABLE
The expected value of a discrete random variable is equal
to the mean of the random variable.
Expected Value = E(x) = μ = ΣxP(x).
Example:
At a raffle, 500 tickets are sold for $1 each for two prizes
of $100 and $50. What is the expected value of your
gain?
Your gain for the $100 prize is $100 – $1 = $99.
Your gain for the $50 prize is $50 – $1 = $49.
Write a probability distribution for the possible
gains (or outcomes).
 EXPECTED VALUE OF A DISCRETE
RANDOM VARIABLE
At a raffle, 500 tickets are sold for $1 each for two prizes
of $100 and $50. What is the expected value of your
gain?
Gain, x P (x) E(x) = ΣxP(x).
1
$99 500 1 1 498
 $99   $49   ($1) 
500 500 500
1
$49 500  $0.70
–$1 498
500 Because the expected value is
Winning negative, you can expect to lose
no prize $0.70 for each ticket you buy.
 EXPECTED VALUE AND VARIANCE OF
DISCRETE PROBABILITY DISTRIBUTION
1. The number of messages sent per hour over a
computer network has the following distribution:

Determine the mean of the number of messages

sent per hour.

2. A fair six-sided die is tossed. You win P5.0 if the

result is a “3”, you win P10.0 if the result is a “6”, but
otherwise you lose P3.0. Determine the expected
amount that you will gain/lose in the game.
 EXPECTED VALUE AND VARIANCE OF
DISCRETE PROBABILITY DISTRIBUTION
3. You pick three different numbers from 1 and 12.
If you pick all the numbers correctly you win
P500.00. What are your expected earnings if it costs
P10.00 to play?

4. A TV network holds a fund-raiser. It sells 100

raffle tickets for P200 apiece. Suppose you purchase
4 tickets. The prize is 2 passes to a concert worth a
total of P10,000. If this fund-raiser is repeated often
and you always purchase 4 tickets, what would be
your expected average winnings per game?
 EXPECTED VALUE AND VARIANCE OF
DISCRETE PROBABILITY DISTRIBUTION
5. The distribution for X where X is the number of
rooms in an owned house in Sampaloc, Manila has
mean 𝜇𝑥 = 6.284 and is as follows

Compute the variance and the standard deviation.

 EXPECTED VALUE AND VARIANCE OF
DISCRETE PROBABILITY DISTRIBUTION
6. The following table gives the probability
distribution of the number of camcorder sold on a
given day at an electronic store.

Compute the standard deviation.

 EXPECTED VALUE AND VARIANCE OF
DISCRETE PROBABILITY DISTRIBUTION
7. An instant lottery ticket costs $2. Out of a total of
10,000 tickets printed for this lottery, 1000 tickets
contain a price of $5 each, 100 tickets have a price of
$10 each, and 5 tickets have a price of $1000 each,
and 1 ticket has a price of $5000. Let x be the
random variable that denotes the net amount a
player wins by playing this lottery. Write the
probability distribution of x. Determine the mean
and standard deviation of x. How will you interpret
the values of the mean and standard deviation.