SQQS1013 Elementary Statistics

DISTRIBUTION OF
RANDOM
VARIABLES
4.1 RANDOM VARIABLE

Definition:
A random variable is a variable whose value is determined by the
outcome of a random experiment.

Suppose one family is randomly selected from the population. The process of
random selection is called random or chance experiment.

Let X be the number of vehicles owned by the selected family (0, 1, 2, , n).
Therefore the first column represents five possible values (0, 1, 2, 3 and 4) of
vehicles owned by the selected family.

This table shows that 30 families do not have vehicle, 470 families have
1 vehicle, 850 families have 2 vehicles, 490 families have 3 vehicles and
160 families have 4 vehicles.

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 SQQS1013 Elementary Statistics

In general, a random variable is denoted by X or Y.

4.2 DISCRETE RANDOM VARIABLE

Definition:
A random variable that assumes countable values is called
discrete random variable.

Example of Discrete
Random Variables
Number of houses sold by a developer in a given month.
Number of cars rented at a rental shop during a given month.
Number of reports received at the police station on a given day.
Number of fish caught on a fishing trip.

4.2 PROBABILITY DISTRIBUTION OF A DISCRETE RANDOM

VARIABLE

Definition:
The probability distribution of a discrete random variable lists
all the possible values that the random variable can assume and
their corresponding probabilities.

It is used to represent a population.

The probability distribution can be presented in the form of a
mathematical formula, a table or a graph.

Example
1
Consider the table below. Let X be the number of vehicles owned by a randomly
selected family. Write the probability distribution of X and graph for the data.

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 SQQS1013 Elementary Statistics

Solution:

X 0 1 2 3 4
P(X) 0.015 0.235 0.425 0.245 0.080
P(X)
0.45
0.40
0.35
0.30
0.25
0.20
0.15
0.10
0.05
X
0 1 2 3 4

Example
2During the summer months, a rental agency keeps track of the number of cars it rents
each day during a period of 90 days and X denotes the number of cars rented per
day. Construct a probability distribution and graph for the data.

X Number of days
0 45
1 30
2 15
Total 90

Solution:
When ,

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 SQQS1013 Elementary Statistics

Hence, the probability distribution for X:

X 0 1 2
P(X) 0.5 0.33 0.17
Whereas the graph is shown below:

Example
3
A small farm has 10 cows where 6 of them are males and the rest are females. A
veterinary in country XY wants to study about the foot and mouth disease which attacks
the cows. Therefore, she randomly selects without replacement, two cows as a
sample from the farm. Based on the study, construct a probability distribution where X
is the random variable representing the number of male cows being selected. (Use a
tree diagram to illustrate the above event).

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 SQQS1013 Elementary Statistics

Conditions for probabilities for discrete random variable.

i) The probability assigned to each value of a random variable x must be

between 0 and 1.

0 P(X) 1,for each value of x

ii) The sum of the probabilities assigned to all possible values of x is equal
to 1.

P(X) = 1

Example
4
The following table lists the probability distribution of car sales per day in a used car
shop based on past data.

Car Sales per day, X 0 1 2 3

P(X) 0.10 0.25 0.30 0.35

Find the probability that the number of car sales per day is,
a) none

b) exactly 1

c) 1 to 3

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 SQQS1013 Elementary Statistics

d) more than 1

e) at most 2

4.3.1 Mean of a Discrete Random Variables

Definition:
The mean of a discrete random variable X is the value that is
expected to occur repetition, on average, if an experiment is
repeated a large number of times.

It is denoted by and calculated as:

The mean of a discrete random variable X is also called its expected value
and is denoted by E(X),

E(X) =

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 SQQS1013 Elementary Statistics

4.3.2 Standard Deviation of a Discrete Random Variable

Definition:
The standard deviation of a discrete random variable X which
measures the spread of its probability distribution.

It is denoted by and calculated as:

FORMULA

A higher value for the standard deviation of a discrete random variable

indicates that X can assume values over a large range about the mean.

In contrast, a smaller value for the standard deviation indicates that most of
the values that X can assume cluster closely around the mean.

Example
5
The following table lists the probability distribution of car sales per day in a used car
dealer based on past data. P(X) is the probability of the corresponding value of X = x.
Calculate the expected number of sales per day and followed by its standard deviation.

X P(X)
0 0.1
1 0.25
2 0.3
3 0.35
Total 1.00
Solution:

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 SQQS1013 Elementary Statistics

Example
6
During the summer months, a rental agency keeps track of the number of chain
saws it rents each day during a period of 90 days and X denotes the number of
saws rented per day. What is the expected number of saws rented per day? Then,
find the standard deviation.

X 0 1 2
P(X) 0.5 0.33 0.17

Solution:

Mean

Standard Deviation

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 SQQS1013 Elementary Statistics

4.4 CUMULATIVE DISTRIBUTION FUNCTION

Definition:
The cumulative distribution function (CDF) for a random variable X
is a rule or table that provides the probabilities for any real
number x.

Generally the term cumulative probability refers to the probabilities that X is

less than or greater than or equal to, a particular value.

For a discrete random variable, the cumulative probability is a

function :

FORMULA

and
FORMULA

where; is the probability distribution function for X.

Example
7
A discrete random variable X has the following probability distribution.

X 0 1 2 3

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 SQQS1013 Elementary Statistics

Construct the cumulative distribution of X.

Chapter 4: Distribution of Random Variables 10

Solution:

X 0 1 2 3
P(X)

F(X)

Example
8
A discrete random variable X has the following cumulative distribution.

a) Construct the probability distribution of X.

X 0 1 2 3 4 5

P(X)

F(X)
 b) Construct the graph of the:
i. probability distribution of X

ii. cumulative distribution of X

 Example 9 (Overall
Example)
During school holiday, the manager of Victory Hotel records the number of room
bookings being cancelled each day during a period of 50 days; the results are
shown below and Y denotes the number of room bookings being cancelled per
day.

Number of room bookings being cancelled per day, Y Number of days

0 2
1 4
2 7
3 8
4 13
5 10
6 3
7 3

a) Construct the probability distribution of X.

Y
P(y
)

b) Then, draw a bar chart for the probability distribution.

 c) The manager expects that five room bookings were cancelled for a day. Is
the manager expectation true? Explain.

d) Find the probability that at most three room bookings were cancelled.

e) Find the standard deviation for the number of room bookings being
cancelled.

P(Y)
Y2.P(Y
)
 4.5 CONTINUOUS RANDOM VARIABLE

Definition:
A random variable that can assume any value contained in one or
more intervals is called a continuous random variable.

Examples of continuous random variables,

The weight of a person.

The time taken to complete a 100 meter dash.
The duration of a battery.
The height of a building.
 EXERCISE 4:

1. The following table gives the probability distribution of a discrete random

variable X.
x 0 1 2 3 4 5
P(X) 0.03 0.17 0.22 0.31 0.15 0.12
Find the probability of getting:
a) exactly 1.
b) at most 1.
c) at least 3.
d) 2 to 5.
e) more than 3.

2. The following table lists the frequency distribution of data collected by a local
research agency. Let X denote the number of television sets owned by a
randomly selected family from this town.
Number of TV sets
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
owned
Number of families 110 891 329 340 151 76 103

a) Construct the probability distribution table.

b) Find the probability:
i. exactly 3.
ii. more than 2.
iii. at most 2.
iv. 1 to 3.
v. at least 4.

3. According to a survey, 65% university students smoke. Three students are

randomly selected from this university and let X denote the number of
students in this sample who do not smoke.

a) Draw a tree diagram for this problem.

b) Construct a probability distribution table.
c) Find the probability:
i. at most 1.
ii. 1 to 2.
iii. at least 2.
iv. more than 1.

4. The following table gives the probability distribution of the number of

camcorders sold on a given day at an electronic store.
 Camcorder sold 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Probability 0.05 0.12 0.19 0.30 0.18 0.10 0.06

Calculate the mean and standard deviation for this probability distribution.

5. According to a survey, 30% of adults are against using animals for research.
Assume that this result holds true for the current population of all adults. In a
random sample of three adults, let X be the number of adults who agree
using animals for research. Obtain:

a) the probability distribution of X.

b) mean.
b) standard deviation.

6. In a genetics investigation, cat litters with ten kittens of which three are
males, are studied. The scientist selects three kittens randomly. Let X be the
number of female kittens being selected and construct probability distribution
for X (you may use tree diagram to represent the above event). Based on the
probability distribution obtained, find the:

a) mean.
b) standard deviation.

7. A box holds 5 whites and 3 black marbles. If two marbles are drawn
randomly without replacement and X denoted the number of white marbles,

a) Find the probability distribution of X.

b) Plot the cumulative frequency distribution (CFD) of X.

8. The following table is the probability distribution for the number of traffic
accidents which occur daily in a small city.

Number of
0 1 2 3 4 5
accidents (Y)
P(Y) 0.10 0.20 9a 3a a a

a) Find the probability of:

i. exactly three accidents occur daily.
ii. between one and four accidents occur daily.
iii. at least three accidents occur daily.
iv. more than five accidents occur daily and explain your answer.
b) Traffic Department of that small city expects that 5 accidents occur
daily. Do you agree? Justify your opinion.
c) Compute the standard deviation.
 9. The manager of large computer network has developed the following
probability distribution of the number of interruptions per day:

Interruptions(Y) 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
P(Y) 0.32 0.35 0.18 0.08 0.04 0.02 0.01

a) Find the probability of:

i. more than three interruptions per day.
ii. from one to five interruptions per day.
iii. at least an interruption per day.
b) Compute the expected value.
c) Compute the standard deviation.

10. You are trying to develop a strategy for investing in two different stocks. The
anticipated annual return for a RM1,000 investment in each stock has the
following probability distribution.

Returns (RM), X
Stock A Stock B P(X)
-100 50 0.1
0 150 0.3
80 -20 0.3
150 -100 a

a) Find the value of a.

b) Compute
i. the expected return for Stock A and Stock B.
ii. the standard deviation for both stocks.
c) Would you invest in Stock A or Stock B? Explain.

11. Classify each of the following random variables as discrete or continuous.

a) The time left on a parking meter.

b) The number of goals scored by a football player.
c) The total pounds of fish caught on a fishing trip.
d) The number of cans in a vending machine.
e) The time spent by a doctor examining a patient.
f) The amount of petrol filled in the car.
g) The price of a concert ticket.
Matric. No.:________________ Group: _________

TUTORIAL CHAPTER 4

The random variable X represents the number of children per family in a rural
area in Ohio, with the probability distribution: p(x) = 0.05x, x = 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6.

1. Express the probability distribution in a tabular form.

X 2 3 4 5 6
P(X)

2. Find the expected number of children per family.

3. Find the variance and standard deviation of X.

Chapter 4: Distribution of Random Variables 19

Tutorial
4. Find the following probabilities:
a. P(X 4)

b. P(X > 4)

c. P(3 X 5)

d. P(2 < X < 4)

e. P(X = 4.5)

Chapter 4: Distribution of Random Variables 20

Tutorial