Statistics

Random Variables and

Probability Distributions
 At the end of this lesson, you are expected to:

1. Illustrate a random variable (discrete or continuous).

M11/12SP-IIIa-1
2. Distinguish between a discrete and continuous random
variable. M11/12SP-IIIa-2
3. Find possible values of a random variable. M11/12SP-IIIa-3
4. Illustrate a probability distribution for a discrete random
variable and its properties. M11/12SP-IIIa-4
5. Compute probabilities corresponding to a given random
variable. M11/12SP-IIIa-6
What I Know
DIRECTION: Write your answer on a separate sheet of paper.

A. Read the statements carefully and choose the letter

of the best answer.

1. What term refers to a function whose value is real number

determined by each element in the sample space?
A) Statistics C) Random Variable
B) Probability D) Experiment
2. What term refers to a random variable where its set of
possible outcomes is countable.
A) parameter C) discrete
B) statistic D) continuous

3. What term refers to a random variable where its set

of possible outcomes is measurable.
A) parameter C) discrete
B) statistic D) continuous
4. If two coins are tossed once, which is NOT a
possible value of the random variable for the number
of heads?
A. 0 B. 1 C. 2 D. 3

5. Which of the following is a discrete random

variable?
A. Length of wire ropes
B. Number of soldiers in the troop
C. Amount of paint used in repainting the building
D. Voltage of car batteries
6. What is the sum of the probabilities of all values of
the random variable?

A) 0 B) 1/10 C) 1 D) 10

7. Which of the following cannot be the value of

probability of the random variable?

A) 0 B) 0.25 C) 0.5 D) 1.01

8. Which formula gives the probability distribution
shown by the table?
X 3 4 5
P(X) 1/3 1/4 1/5

A. P(X) = X
B. P(X) = 1/X
C. P(X) = X/3
D. P(X) = X/5
B. Classify the following random variables as
discrete or continuous.
1. The weight of the professional wrestlers
Continuous
2. The number of winners in lotto for each day
Discrete
3. The area of lots in an exclusive subdivision
Continuous
4. The speed of a car
Continuous
5. The number of dropouts in a school per district
Discrete
 Definitions of Random Variable

 A random variable is a result of chance event, that you can

measure or count.
 A random variable is a numerical quantity that is assigned
to the outcome of an experiment. It is a
variable that assumes numerical values associated with
the events of an experiment.
 A random variable is a quantitative variable which values
depends on change.

NOTE:
We use capital letters to represent a random variable.
 Two Types of Random Variables

 A Discrete Random Variable can assume a

countable number of values
 A continuous random variable is a
random variable that can assume any value on a
continuum. Measurement is required to
determine the value for a continuous random
variable.
Examples of a discrete random variable are
the following:
1. The number of heads obtained when
tossing a coin thrice
2. The number of siblings a person has
3. The number of students present in virtual

classroom at a given time

4. The number of hours spent in watching TV
from 7PM to 11PM
Examples of a continuous random variable
are the following:
1. The time you can hold your breath
2. The height or weight or BMI of a person
3. The time it takes for a person to bathe
4. The circumference of skulls used by
Medical Schools in the Philippines
5. The total pounds of fish caught on a
fishing trip
Sample Space is the set of all possible outcomes
of an experiment.
The term statistical experiment has been used to
describe any process by which one or more chance
measurements are obtained. Often, we are not
interested in the details associated with each
sample point but only in some numerical description
of the outcome. For example, the sample space
giving a detailed description of each possible
outcome when one tosses a coin 3 times may be
written
 S = {HHH, HHT, HTH, THH, HTT, THT, TTH, TTT}.

If one is concerned only with the number of heads

that fall, then a numerical value of 0, 1, 2, or 3 will
be assigned to each sample point.
The numbers 0, 1, 2, and 3 are random quantities
determined by the outcome of an experiment. They
may be thought of as the values assumed by some
random variable X, which in this case represents
the number of heads when a coin is tossed 3 times.
Example 1

Suppose two coins are tossed and we

are interested to determine the
number of tails that will come out. Let
us use T to represent the number of
tails that will come out. Determine the
values of the random variable T.
Solution:
Steps Solution
1. List the sample space S = {HH, HT, TH, TT}

2. Count the number of tails in Outcome Number of Tails

each outcome and assign this (Value of T)
number to this outcome.
HH 0
HT 1
TH 1
TT 2
The values of the random variable T (number
3. Conclusion of tails) in this experiment are 0, 1 and 2.
Example 2

Two balls are drawn in succession

without replacement from an urn
containing 5 orange balls and 6 violet
balls. Let V be the random variable
representing the number of violet
balls. Find the values of the random
variable V.
Solution:
Steps Solution

1. List the sample space S = {OO, OV, VO, VV}

Outcome No. of Violet balls
2. Count the number of violet
oo 0
balls in each outcome and assign
this number to this outcome. ov 1
vo 1
vv 2

The values of the random variable V

3. Conclusion (number of violet balls) in this experiment
are 0, 1, and 2.
Example 3

A basket contains 10 red balls and 4

white balls. If three balls are taken
from the basket one after the other,
determine the possible values of the
random variable R representing the
number of red balls.
Solution:
1. List the sample space

S = {RRR, RRW, RWR, WRR, WWR, WRW,

RWW, WWW}
 2. Count the number of red balls in each outcome
and assign this number to this outcome.
Outcome No. of Red Balls (Value of R)
RRR 3
RRW 2
RWR 2
WRR 2
WWR 1
WRW 1
RWW 1
WWW 0

3. Conclusion:
The values of the random variable R (number of red balls) in this experiment are 0, 1, 2, and 3.
Example 4

A pair of dice is rolled. Let X be

the random variable
representing the sum of the
number of dots on the top
faces. Find the values of the
random variable X.
Solution:

Steps Solution
1. List the S= (1,1) , (1,2) , ( 1,3), ( 1,4) , (1,5 ) ,( 1,6 )
sample ( 2,1) , (2,2) ,(2,3) ,(2,4) ,( 2,5) , ( 2,6)
space (3,1) ,(3,2) ,(3,3) ,(3,4) ,(3,5) , ( 3,6)
( 4,1) , (4,2) , (4,3) ,(4,4) ,(4 ,5) ,(4,6)
(5,1 ) ,(5,2) ,(5 ,3) , (5,4) ,(5,5) ,(5,6)
(6,1) ,(6,2) ,(6,3 ),(6,4) ,(6,5) ,(6,6)
2. Count the sum of Outcomes Sum of the number of dots
(Value of X)
the number of dots (1,1) 2
in each outcome (1,2) , (2,1) 3
and assign this (1,3)(3,1),(2,2) 4
number to this (1, 4), (4, 1), (2, 3), (3, 2) 5

outcome. (1, 5), (5, 1), (2, 4), (4, 2), (3,
3)
6

(1, 6), (6, 1), (2, 5), (5, 2), (4, 7

3), (3, 4)
(3, 5), (5, 3), (2, 6), (6, 2), (4, 8
4)
(5, 4), (4, 5), (6, 3), (3, 6) 9
(6, 4), (4, 6), (5, 5) 10
(5, 6), (6, 5) 11
(6, 6) 12
3. Conclusion The values of the
random variable X (sum
of the number of dots)
in this experiment are
2,3 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10,
11, and 12.
Activity 1

Four coins are tossed. Let T

be the random variable
representing the number of
tails that occur. Find the
values of the random
variable T.
Activity 2

Suppose three coins are tossed. Let Y

be the random variable representing
the number of tails that occur. Find
the values of the random variable Y.
Assignment

Directions: List the sample space of the following experiments.

Experiment Sample Space
1. Tossing a coin 2 times
2. Rolling a die
3. Drawing a diamond from a deck of card
4. Finding out the number of defective
cellphones that occur given three cellphones
to be tested at random
5. Drawing two balls in succession without
replacement from urn containing 4 red balls
and 3 black balls
Lesson 2

Illustrating a Probability Distribution for

a Discrete Random Variable and Its
Properties
Definition:

The probability of an event

is a number between 0 and
1, where 0 indicates
impossibility of the event
and 1 indicates certainty.
Using Example 1
Construct a probability distribution.

1. List the sample space

S = {HH, HT, TH, TT}

2. Count the number of tails in each outcome
and assign this number to this outcome.
Outcomes No. of tails
(Value of T)
HH 0
HT 1
TH 1
TT 2
The values of the random variable T (number of tails) in this experiment are 0,
1, and 2.
3. Construct the frequency distribution of the
values of the random variable T.
Number of Tails Number of Occurrence
(Value of T) (Frequency)
0 1
1 2
2 1
Total 4
4. Construct the probability distribution of the random
variable T by getting the probability of occurrence of
each value of the random variable.

Number of Tails Number of Occurrence Probability P(T)

(Value of T) (Frequency)
0 1 1/4
1 2 2/4
2 1 1/4
Total 4 1
The probability distribution of the random
variable T can be written as follows:

T 2 1 0
P(T) 1/4 2/4 or 1/4
1/2
5. Construct a probability histogram.
Example 2
Four coins are tossed. Let T be the random variable
representing the number of tails that occur. Find the
values of the random variable T.
Construct a probability distribution and a histogram.
Solution:
1. List the sample space
S = {HHHH, HHHT, HHTH, HHTT, HTHH, HTHT,
HTTH, HTTT, THHH, THHT, THTH, THTT,
TTHH, TTHT, TTTH, TTTT}
2. Count the number of tails in each outcome and
assign this number to this outcome.
Outcome Number of tails
(Value of T)
HHHH 0
HHHT 1
HHTH 1
HHTT 2
HTHH 1
HTHT 2
HTTH 2
 HTTT 3
THHH 1
THHT 2
THTH 2
THTT 3
TTHH 2
TTHT 3
TTTH 3
4
TTTT

The values of the random variable T (number of tails) in this

experiment are 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4.
3. Construct the frequency distribution of the values of the
random variable T.
Number of Tails Number of Occurrence
(Value of T) (Frequency)
0 1
1 4
2 6
3 4
4 1
Total 16
4. Construct the probability distribution of the
random variable T by getting the probability of
occurrence of each value of the random variable.
Number of Tails Number of Occurrence Probability P(T)
(Value of T) (Frequency
0 1 1/16
1 4 4/16
2 6 6/16
3 4 4/16
4 1 1/16
Total 16 1
The probability distribution of the random
variable T can be written as follows:

T 0 1 2 3 4
P(T) 1/16 4/16 6/16 4/16 1/16
or 1/4 or 3/8 or 1/4
5. Construct the
probability
histogram.
Activity 3

Directions: Determine whether the distribution

represents a probability distribution. Explain
your answer
1.
X 1 2 3 4 5
P(X) 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2
2. X 1 3 5 7 9
P(X) 1/5 1/5 1/5 1/5 1/5

3.
X 2 4 5 6 8
P(X) 0.11 0.29 0.22 0.17 0.21
4.
X 1 4 7 10 13
P(X) 0.07 0.07 0.09 0.08 0.69

5. X 2 5 8 11 14
P(X) 0 1 -1 0.99 1/2
6. Construct a probability distribution for rolling a
single die.
SOLUTION:
The sample space is 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6
Each outcome has a probability of 1/6
Outcome ,X 1 2 3 4 5 6
Probability , 1/6 1/6 1/6 1/6 1/6 1/6
P(X)
The probability distribution
can be constructed by listing
the outcomes and assigning
the probability of each
outcome.
PROPERTIES OF A PROBABILITY DISTRIBUTION
Example: Determine whether the distribution
is a probability distribution
X 3 6 8
P(X) -0.3 0.6 0.7

Solution: No, it is not a probability distribution

because P(X) cannot be -0.3.
Example: Determine whether the distribution is a
probability distribution.

X 1 2 3 4 5
P(X) 3/10 1/10 1/10 2/10 3/10
Solution: Yes, it is a probability distribution because
Seatwork:
A pair of dice rolled .Let X be the sum of the
number of dots on top faces.
a)Construct a probability distribution.
b)Create a probability histogram.
c)Find the P( ≥ 9 )
d)Find the probability that X takes an even
value.
a.) Construct a probability distribution.
Experiment: Rolling of dice.
X = the sum of the number on top faces
1 1 1 2 1 3 1 4 1 5 1 6
X = ( 2 ,3 ,4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ,
2 1 2 2 2 3 2 4 2 5 2 6
3 1 3 2 3 3 3 4 3 5 3 6 8 , 9, 10 , 11 ,12 )
4 1 4 2 4 3 4 4 4 5 4 6
5 1 5 2 5 3 5 4 5 5 5 6
6 1 6 2 6 3 6 4 6 5 6 6
Probability Distribution:

X 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
P(X) 1 2 3 4 5 6 5 4 3 2 1
36 36 36 36 36 36 36 36 36 36 36

= = 1
 b) Create
Probability
Histogram

6/36

5/36

4/36
P(X)
3/36

2/36

1/36

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
X
c) Find P(X ≥ 9)
X = sum of the number of top faces
X = (9 ,10 , 11 , 12)

∑ 𝑷 ( 𝑿 ≥=𝟗)
P(9 )+ P(10) + P(11) + P(12)
10
= + + + =
36

P(X ≥ 9) = 5/18
d) Find the probability that X takes an even number.
X = sum of the number of the top faces.
X = ( 2,4,6,8,10,12)

X
∑ 𝑷(𝑿𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏)
2 4 6 8 10 12
P(X) 1 3 5 5 3 1 18
36 36 36 36 36 36
= = 1/2
36
P(X is even) = 1/2
Seatwork:
Couple plan to have three children. Let
X be the number of girls the couple
may have.
a. Construct a probability distribution.
b. Find P( X > 1)
c. Create probability histogram.
 PROBABILITY - is a field of mathematics that
deals with chance.
 EXPERIMENT – is an experiment in which
results cannot be predicted with certainty.
 TRIAL - each repetition of an experiment.
 OUTCOME - is a result of an experiment.
 EVENT – is any collection of outcomes.
 SAMPLE SPACE - contains all possible outcomes
of an experiment.
Probability of an Event
 EVENT ( E ) P(E)

1. Getting an even number in a single roll of a

die.
2. Getting a sum of 6 when two dice are rolled.
3. Getting an ace when a card is drawn.
4. The probability that all children are boys if a
couple has three children
5. Getting a tail in tossing a coin.