Chapter 3

Discrete Random Variables and Probability Distributions

Part 1: Discrete Random Variables

Section 2.8 Random Variables

Section 3.1 Discrete Random Variables
Section 3.2 Probability Distributions and Probability Mass Functions
Section 3.3 Cumulative Distribution Functions

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Random Variables

Consider tossing a coin two times. We can think of the following

ordered sample space: S = {(T, T ), (T, H), (H, T ), (H, H)}
NOTE: for a fair coin, each of these are equally likely.

The outcome of a random experiment need not be a number, but we

are often interested in some (numerical) measurement of the outcome.

For example, the Number of Heads obtained is numeric in nature can

be 0, 1, or 2 and is a random variable.

Definition (Random Variable)

A random variable is a function that assigns a real number to each
outcome in the sample space of a random experiment.

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Random Variables
Definition (Random Variable)
A random variable is a function that assigns a real number to each
outcome in the sample space of a random experiment.

Example (Random Variable)

For a fair coin flipped twice, the probability of each of the possible values
for Number of Heads can be tabulated as shown:

Number of Heads 0 1 2
Probability 1/4 2/4 1/4

Let X ≡ # of heads observed. X is a random variable.

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Discrete Random Variables
Definition (Discrete Random Variable)
A discrete random variable is a variable which can only take-on a
countable number of values (finite or countably infinite)

Example (Discrete Random Variable)

Flipping a coin twice, the random variable Number of Heads
∈ {0, 1, 2} is a discrete random variable.
Number of flaws found on a randomly chosen part ∈ {0, 1, 2, . . .}.
Proportion of defects among 100 tested parts
∈ {0/100, 1/100,. . . , 100/100}.
Weight measured to the nearest pound.∗
∗ Because the possible values are discrete and countable, this random variable is discrete,
but it might be a more convenient, simple approximation to assume that the
measurements are values on a continuous random variable as ‘weight’ is theoretically
continuous.
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Continuous Random Variables

Definition (Continuous Random Variable)

A continuous random variable is a random variable with an interval
(either finite or infinite) of real numbers for its range.

Example (Continuous Random Variable)

Time of a reaction.
Electrical current.
Weight.

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Discrete Random Variables
We often omit the discussion of the underlying sample space for a random
experiment and directly describe the distribution of a particular random
variable.

Example (Production of prosthetic legs)

Consider the experiment in which prosthetic legs are being assembled until
a defect is produced. Stating the sample space...

S = {d, gd, ggd, gggd, . . .}

Let X be the trial number at which the experiment terminates (i.e. the
sample at which the first defect is found).

The possible values for the random variable X are in the set {1, 2, 3, . . .}

We may skip a formal description of the sample space S and move right
into the random variable of interest X.
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Probability Distributions and Probability Mass Functions
Definition (Probability Distribution)
A probability distribution of a random variable X is a description of the
probabilities associated with the possible values of X.

Example (Number of heads)

Let X ≡ # of heads observed when a coin is flipped twice.
Number of Heads 0 1 2
Probability 1/4 2/4 1/4

Probability distributions for discrete random variables are often given as a

table or as a function of X...
Example (Probability defined by function f (x))
x 1 2 3 4
Table:
P(X = x) = f (x) 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4

1
Function of X: f (x) = 10 x for x ∈ {1, 2, 3, 4}
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Probability Distributions and Probability Mass Functions

Example (Transmitted bits, example 3-4 p.68)

There is a chance that a bit transmitted through a digital transmission
channel is received in error.

Let X equal the number of bits in error in the next four bits transmitted.
The possible values for X are {0, 1, 2, 3, 4}.

Suppose that the probabilities are...

x P (X = x)
0 0.6561
1 0.2916
2 0.0486
3 0.0036
4 0.0001

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Probability Distributions and Probability Mass Functions
Example (Transmitted bits, example 3-4 p.68, cont.)
The probability distribution shown graphically:

Notice that the sum of the probabilities of the possible random variable
values is equal to 1. 9 / 23
Probability Mass Function (PMF)

Definition (Probability Mass Function (PMF))

For a discrete random variable X with possible values x1 , x2 , x3 , . . . , xn , a
probability mass function f (xi ) is a function such that
1 f (xi ) ≥ 0
Pn
i=1 f (xi ) = 1
2

3 f (xi ) = P (X = xi )

Example (Probability Mass Function (PMF))

For the transmitted bit example,
fP(0) = 0.6561, f (1) = 0.2916, ..., f (4) = 0.0001
n
i=1 f (xi ) = 0.6561 + 0.2916 + · · · + 0.0001 = 1

The probability distribution for a discrete random variable is described

with a probability mass function (probability distributions for continuous
random variables will use different terminology).
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Probability Mass Function (PMF)
Example (Probability Mass Function (PMF))
Toss a coin 3 times.
Let X be the number of heads tossed.
Write down the probability mass function (PMF) for X:
{Use a table...}

Show the PMF graphically:

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Probability Mass Function (PMF)
Example (Probability Mass Function (PMF))
A box contains 7 balls numbered 1,2,3,4,5,6,7. Three balls are drawn at
random and without replacement.
Let X be the number of 2’s drawn in the experiment.

Write down the probability mass function (PMF) for X:

{Use your counting techniques}

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Cumulative Distribution Function (CDF)
Sometimes it’s useful to quickly calculate a cumulative probability, or
P (X ≤ x), denoted as F (x), which is the probability that X is less than
or equal to some specific x.
Example (Widgets, PMF and CDF)
Let X equal the number of widgets that are defective when 3 widgets are
randomly chosen and observed. The possible values for X are {0, 1, 2, 3}.

The probability mass function for X:

x P (X = x) or f (x)
0 0.550
1 0.250
2 0.175
3 0.025

Suppose we’re interested in the probability of getting 2 or less errors

(i.e. either 0, or 1, or 2). We wish to calculate P (X ≤ 2). 13 / 23
Cumulative Distribution Function (CDF)
Example (Widgets, PMF and CDF, cont.)
P (X ≤ 2) = P (X = 0) + P (X = 1) + P (X = 2)
= 0.550 + 0.250 + 0.175 = 0.975

Below we see a table showing P (X ≤ x) for each possible x.

Cumulative
Probabilities...
z }| {
x P (X = x) P (X ≤ x) = F (x)
0 0.550 0.550 P (X ≤ 0) = F (0)
1 0.250 0.800 P (X ≤ 1) = F (1)
2 0.175 0.975 P (X ≤ 2) = F (2)
3 0.025 1.000 P (X ≤ 3) = F (3)

As x increases across the possible values for x, the cumulative probability increases,
eventually getting 1, as you accumulate all the probability. 14 / 23
Cumulative Distribution Function (CDF)
Example (Widgets, PMF and CDF, cont.)
The cumulative probabilities are shown below as a function of x or
F (x) = P (X ≤ x).
Cumulative distribution function
1.0
cumulative distribution function F(x)

0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0.0

-1 0 1 2 3 4

random variable value or x

The above cumulative distribution function F (x) is associated with the

probability mass function f (x) below:
1.0
0.8
0.6
probability

0.4
0.2
0.0

-1 0 1 2 3 4

random variable value

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Connecting the PMF and the CDF

Connecting the PMF and the CDF

We can get the PMF (i.e. the probabilities for P (X = xi )) from the
CDF by determining the height of the jumps.

Specifically, because a CDF for a discrete random variable is a

step-function with left-closed and right-open intervals, we have

P (X = xi ) = F (xi ) − limx ↑ xi F (xi )

and this expression calculates the difference between F (xi ) and the
limit as x increases to xi .

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Cumulative Distribution Function (CDF)

Definition (CDF for a discrete random variable)

The cumulative distribution function of a discrete random variable X,
denoted as F (x), is P
F (x) = P (X ≤ x) = xi ≤x f (xi )

Definition (CDF for a discrete random variable)

For a discrete random variable X, F (x) satisfies the following properties:
P
1 F (x) = P (X ≤ x) =
xi ≤x f (xi )
2 0 ≤ F (x) ≤ 1
3 If x ≤ y, then F (x) ≤ F (y)

The CDF is defined on the real number line.

The CDF is a non-decreasing function of X (i.e. increases or stays
constant as x → ∞).
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Cumulative Distribution Function (CDF)
For each probability mass function (PMF), there is an associated
CDF.
If you’re given a CDF, you can come-up with the PMF and vice versa
(know how to do this).
Even if the random variable is discrete, the CDF is defined between
the discrete values (i.e. you can state P (X ≤ x) for any x ∈ <).
The CDF ‘step function’ for a discrete random variable is composed
of left-closed and right-open intervals with steps occurring at the
values which have positive probability (or ‘mass’).
Cumulative distribution function
1.0
0.8
cumulative distribution function F(x)

0.6
0.4
0.2
0.0

-1 0 1 2 3 4

random variable value or x

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Cumulative Distribution Function (CDF)
The cumulative distribution function F (x) for a discrete random
variable is a step-function.

Example (Widgets, PMF and CDF, cont.)

In the widget example, the range of X is {0, 1, 2, 3}. There is no chance
of a getting value outside of this set, e.g. f (1.8) = P (X = 1.8) = 0.
But F (1.8) = P (X ≤ 1.8) 6= 0. Specifically...
F (1.8) = P (X ≤ 1.8) = P (X ≤ 1)
= P (X = 0) + P (X = 1) = 0.800.
So, if f (x) = 0, it does not necessarily mean F (x) = 0.

Here is F(x) for the widget example:


 0 if x < 0
 0.550 if 0 ≤ x < 1


F (x) = 0.800 if 1 ≤ x < 2
0.975 if 2 ≤ x < 3




1.0000 if x ≥ 3

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Cumulative Distribution Function (CDF)
Example (Monitoring a chemical process)
The output of a chemical process is continually monitored to ensure that
the concentration remains within acceptable limits. Whenever the
concentration drifts outside the limits, the process is shut down and
recalibrated. Let X be the number of times in a given week that the
process is recalibrated. The following table presents values of the
cumulative distribution function F (x) of X.


 0 if x < 0
 0.17


 if 0≤x<1
0.53 if 1 ≤ x < 2

F (x) =

 0.84 if 2 ≤ x < 3
0.97 if 3 ≤ x < 4




if x ≥ 4

1.0000

From the values in the far right column, I know that X ∈ {0, 1, 2, 3, 4}.
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Cumulative Distribution Function (CDF)
Example (Monitoring a chemical process, cont.)
(1) Graph the cumulative distribution function.
1.0
0.8
cumulative distribution function F(x)

0.6
0.4
0.2
0.0

-2 0 2 4 6

random variable value

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Cumulative Distribution Function (CDF)

Example (Monitoring a chemical process, cont.)

(2) What is the probability that the process is recalibrated fewer than 2
times during a week?

(3) What is the probability that the process is recalibrated more than
three times during a week?

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Cumulative Distribution Function (CDF)

Example (Monitoring a chemical process, cont.)

(4) What is the probability mass function (PMF) for X?

(5) What is the most probable number of recalibrations in a week? (I’m

not asking for an expected value here, just the one most likely).

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