Probability Mass Function Report

GRADUATE STUDIES
Presenter:
Subject: Math 825 (STATISTICAL ANALYSIS I)
Topic: PROBABILITY MASS FUNCTION
Course:
Professor:
A probabibility distribution describes the probability of each specific value in a random variable. The
probability distribution of a discrete random variable is called probability mass function (pmf). The pmf of x is
denoted by f(x) and satisfies the following two basic properties.
a. f (x) = P(X = x) ≥ 0 if x ∈ the Support S

b. ∑ f ( x )= ∑ P ( X =x )=1
X∈ S x ∈S
According to the first property, for every element x in the Support S, all the probabilities must be positive
and according to the second property, the sum of all the probabilities for all possible x values in the Support
S must be equal to 1. The values of the discrete random variable X where f (x) ¿ 0 are called its mass points.
The Support S of a random variable is the set of values that the random variable can take. It
contains countably infinite number of possible values. This means that the elements of S can be put
into one-to-one correspondence with the set of natural numbers.
EXAMPLE 1 Suppose a random variable X can only take the four values (0, 1, 2, and 3). If each
value has equal probability, then its probability mass function is:
{
1
if x=0
4
1
if x=1
4
f (x) = 1
if x=2
4
1
if x=3
4
0 , otherwise
In simplified form, the above pmf can be represented as:
{
1
,if x =0 ,1 , 2 ,∨3
f (x) = 4
0 ,otherwise .
Here the Support, denoted by S, is S = { 0 , 1 ,2 ,∨3 }.
EXAMPLE 2 Let f (x) = kx for x = 1, 2, 3, 4. Find k so that f(x) satisfies the two properties of being a
probability mass function.
SOLUTION
4
∑ f ( x )=∑ kx=1
x∈ S x=1
1 = k(1) + k(2) + k(3) + k(4)

1 = 1k + 2k + 3k + 4k
1 = 10k
1
k=
10
1
a. For x∈ { 1 , 2, 3 , 4 }, P(X = x) = x >0.
10
For x ∉ { 1 , 2, 3 , 4 } , P(X = x) = 0.
In simplified form,
{
1
x , if x=1 , 2, 3 ,∨4
f(x) = 10
0 , otherwise .
By substitution,
1
P(X = 1) =
10
2
P(X = 2) =
10
3
P(X = 3) =
10
4
P(X = 4) =
10
Therefore, P(X) ≥ 0
b. To check the sum of the probabilities is 1, we have:

1 2 3 4
∑ P ( X =x )=¿ ¿ 10 + 10 + 10 + 10
10
=
10
=1
1
Both properties of a probability mass function are satisfied. So, k = .
10
The above probabilities can be presented in tabular form:

x 1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
P(X = x)
10 10 10 10
P(x)
4
10 A probability mass function may also be presented
in graphical form. The probability histogram for the
3 probability mass function above is shown at the left. The
10 values of the random variable are plotted on the x-axis,
2 while their associated probabilities are plotted on the y-axis.
10 Rectangles with equal width are drawn and centered on
each mass points. The heights of the rectangle are equal to
1 the probabilities.
10
x
1 2 3 4
EXAMPLE 3 Find the probability of boys and girls in families with 3 children, assuming equal
probabilities for boys and girls.
SOLUTION
Let B = event “boy in the family,” and G = event “girl in the family.” Then according to the assumption
1
of equal probabilities, P(B) = P(G) = .
2
In families of 3 children, the following mutually exclusive events can occur with the corresponding
indicated probabilities.
1 1 1 1
a. 3 boys = P(BBB) = P(B) ∙ P(B) ∙ P(B) = ∙ ∙ =
2 2 2 8
1 1 1 1
b. 3 girls = P(GGG) = P(G) ∙ P(G) ∙ P(G) = ∙ ∙ =
2 2 2 8
c. 2 boys and 1 girl P(BBG) + P(BGB) + P(GBB). Then P(BBG + BGB + GBB)
1 1 1 3
= P(B) P(B) P(G) + P(B) P(G) P(B) + P(G) P(B) P(B) = 8 + 8 + 8 = 8 .
3
d. 2 girls and 1 boy = P(GGB + GBG + BGG). As in (c) or by symmetry, probability is .
8
If we call X the random variable showing the number of boys in the families with 3 children, the
probability distribution is shown in the table.
Number of Boys X 0 1 2 3
Probability P(X) 1 3 3 1
8 8 8 8
EXAMPLE 4 Empirical data can be used to estimate the probability mass function. Consider,
for example, the number of TVs in a household. . .
No. of TVs No. of Households x P(x)

0 1,218 0 0.012
1 32,379 1 0.319
2 37,961 2 0.374
3 19,387 3 0.191
4 7,714 4 0.076
5 2,842 5 0.028
101,501 1.000
For x = 0, the probability 0.012 comes from 1,218/101,501. Other probabilities are estimated similarly.
REFERENCES:
Books:
Altares et al. Elementary Statistics with Computer Applications, Rex Book Store, Inc., Second Edition
Orines, Fernando B., Next Century Mathematics, Pre-Calculus, Phoenix Publishing House, 2016
Online Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Probability_mass_function
https://www.calculushowto.com/probability-mass-function-pmf-definition-examples/
https://www.math.arizona.edu/~jwatkins/e-massdensity.pdf
http://www2.econ.iastate.edu/classes/econ500/hallam/documents/RV_Prob_Distributions.pdf
https://www.probabilitycourse.com/chapter3/3_1_3_pmf.php
https://www.britannica.com/science/statistics/Random-variables-and-probability-distributions
https://byjus.com/maths/probability-mass-function/#:~:text=Applications%20of%20Probability%20Mass
%20Functions&text=It%20is%20used%20to%20calculate,where%20it%20uses%20discrete%20values.

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GRADUATE STUDIES

a. f (x) = P(X = x) ≥ 0 if x ∈ the Support S

In simplified form, the above pmf can be represented as:

1 = k(1) + k(2) + k(3) + k(4)

b. To check the sum of the probabilities is 1, we have:

The above probabilities can be presented in tabular form:

No. of TVs No. of Households x P(x)

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