11

Republic of the Philippines

Department of Education
NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION
Misamis Street, Bago-Bantay, Quezon City

UNIFIED SUPPLEMENTARY LEARNING MATERIALS

(USLeM)

STATISTICS AND PROBABILITY

Module 1
DEVELOPMENT & EDITORIAL TEAM:
Writer: Vilma C. Escal SDO EPS (Math): Mirasol I. Rongavilla
SDS: Margarito B. Materum SDO LR: Daisy L. Mataac
CID Chief: Ellery G. Quintia

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LESSON 1: Random Variables

EXPECTATIONS
After exploring this supplementary learning material, you should be able to:
• illustrate a random variable (discrete and continuous);
• distinguish between a discrete and a continuous random variable; and
• find the possible values of a random variable.

PRETEST

Directions: Answer each item accurately. Write only the letter of your choice.
1. Which of the following represents a discrete random variable?
A. The weight in kilograms of randomly selected Senior High School students.
B. The time it takes a student to finish answering the midterm exams.
C. The number of patients who experience side effects after taking antibiotics.
D. A patient’s body temperature reading in 0C.

2. Which of the following random variables is continuous?

A. The number of defective cellular phones in a box of 20.
B. The number of raffle tickets sold for a particular event.
C. The number of correct answers in 20-item multiple choice test.
D. The time required to finish a certain job.

3. Let X be the number of typographical errors found per page in certain books.
The table below shows a probability distribution of X.
X 0 1 2 3 4
P(X) 0.70 0.15 0.10 0.01
What is P ( X=3)?
A. 0.02 B. 0.04 C. 0.10 D. 0.09

4. Let be the number of boys in a family with four children. The probability
distribution is presented below.
X 0 1 2 3 4
P(X) 1 6 4 4
16 16 16 16
What is P(X= 1)?
A ¼ B . 1/16 C. 5/16 D. ¾

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5. Which of the following can be a probability distribution for a discrete
random variable ?
A.
X 0 1 2 3 4
P(X) 0.10 0.25 0.30 0.40 0.15

B. X 2 4 6 8 10
P(X) 0.05 1.15 0.15 0.55 0.15
C. X -1 1 3 5 7
P(X) 0.30 0.10 0.10 0.10 0.20
D.
X 0 1 2 3 4
P(X) 0.40 0.15 0.15 0.20 0.10

6. An urn contains 5 balls. Each ball is labeled with numbers 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4. A person
randomly draws one ball. Let be the random variable for the number on the ball.
A. = {1, 2, 3, 4} C. = {0, 1, 2, 3, 4}
B. = {0, 2, 4} D. = {0, 1, 3, 5}
7. Suppose that there are four colored candies in a box, two red and two blue, what is
the probability that you will get a red candy in one random picking?

a. ¼ b. 1/2 C. 1/6 D. 2/3

4 2 6 3

8. Let X be the number of accidents in a particular intersection in a week. The

table below shows a probability distribution of .
X 0 1 2 3 4
P(X) 0.45 0.25 0.15 0.10 0.05
What is the probability that at most two accidents happen in a particular week?
A. 0.35 B. 0.25 C. 0.85 D. 0.15

LOOKING BACK
You might recall that a statistical experiment is any process by which
observations are made and data are collected. The result of an experiment is known as
outcome. Statistical experiments can have finite or infinite number of outcomes. The
collection of all possible outcomes is known as the sample space which is typically
denoted by an S. When one or more outcomes in the sample space is considered, this is
referred to as an event.
In simple experiments involving a small number of outcomes, it is convenient to
list the set of all possible outcomes.

Example 1: Tossing a fair coin once

When we toss a fair coin once, we only get two possible outcomes: it will land as either
“tails” (T) or “heads” (H). In other words, there is a 50% chance that the coin will land
heads and a 50% chance that the coin will land tails.

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In this experiment, the sample space is:

S = {H, T} =

Example 2: Rolling a die

A die is a cube with six sides. Each side contains one to six dots called pips. If
we roll a die and record the number of dots that appear, there will be six possible
outcomes.
The possible outcomes are, or the sample space is:

S = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6} =
Example 3: A person is chosen at random for an experiment in which the gender is
recorded. In this experiment, there are only two possible outcomes which can be male
or female, so the sample space is:
S = {male, female}

BRIEF INTRODUCTION
A variable whose assigned value is determined by the outcome of a random
experiment or procedure is known as random variable. Understanding the concepts of
sample space and random variables is important in the study of probability. In the next
activity, we will focus on random variables.

Illustrative Example 1.1

A salesperson has three tables left in the store to sell. We want to know how
many tables will be sold in the next five days. Since there are only three tables to be
sold, it is possible that one, two, or all the items will be purchased. It is also likely that
no table will be sold at all.
If we define our random variable as the number of tables sold in the next five days, the random variable X may
take on the values 0, 1, 2, or 3. In this case, the random variable has specific values: x= 0; x= 1; x= 2; and x= 3

Classification of Random Variables

a. Discrete Random Variables are random variables that can take on a finite or
countable infinite number of distinct values. Each value can be described by an integer
value.
b. Continuous Random Variables are random variables that take an uncountably
infinite number of possible values, typically measurable quantities. The values are
obtained by measurement and may assume all values in the interval between any two
given values along a number line.

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Illustrative Example 1.2
A study on the number of customers served by a restaurant on a particular day
was conducted. If the random variable denotes the number of customers served on that
day, then X can take one of the values X = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 ….
In this case the number of customers may increase indefinitely, and each number
represents distinct specific values. We call it a discrete random variable.

Illustrative Example 1.3

Suppose we are interested in looking at statistics test scores from a sample of 40
students. The random variable would be the test scores which would range from 0% to
100%. In this case we will use intervals to denote the various values of the random
variable.
When we use intervals for our random variable, all values in the interval are
possible values of the random variable. We call this kind of variable continuous random
variable.

Activity 1.1
Accomplish each task by following the directions indicated in each number.
1. List the sample space for each of the following statistical experiments.
a. A coin is tossed at the start of a basketball match.
b. A customer selects a table from tables numbered 1 to 10 at a restaurant.

2. In each case below, identify the random variable and classify it as discrete or
continuous.
a. Ben has two sisters.
b. Roberto jumped 1.85 meters in the high jump.

Activity 1.2
Consider the chance experiment of randomly selecting one of the ten apartments in
a small building in which they are numbered from 1 to 10. Information about the
features of each apartment includes the number of bedrooms, the floor number, the size
of the apartment, and the distance to the elevator.
a. List the sample space for this experiment.
b. Which 2 features are discrete random variables?
c. Which 2 features are continuous random variables?

LESSON 2: Probability Distributions of Discrete Random Variables

EXPECTATIONS
After going through this module, you are expected to illustrate a
probability distribution for a discrete random variable and its properties.

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LOOKING BACK
In the previous lesson about random variables, you learned that there are two
kinds of random variables namely discrete and continuous. Discrete random variables
can take one of a countable list of distinct values, while continuous random variables
can take any value in an interval or collection of intervals. In finding their probabilities,
discrete and continuous random variables are separately considered because
probabilities are specified differently for each. For discrete random variables,
probabilities for exact outcomes can be found.

Probability Notation for a Discrete Random Variable

The probability of an event (E) denoted by P(E) is the chance or likelihood of that event
occurring. To be more precise and consistent when describing the probability of an event, a
numerical measure is applied.
The numerical systems used to describe probability assign values ranging from
zero (0) for impossible events up to one (1) for those events that are certain to occur.
The probability of all other events lies between these two extreme values. In any
experiment, the probability that an event E occurs is given by
P (E) = number of times E occurs
number of possible outcomes
If E is certain to occur, P(E) = 1.
If E is impossible to occur, P(E) = 0.

Properties of the Probabilities of Discrete Random Variables

1. The probability of each value is between 0 and 1.
2. The sum of all the probabilities is equal to 1.

BRIEF INTRODUCTION
Probability Distribution of a Discrete Random Variable
For a discrete random variable, we may either create a table or use a formula to
give probabilities for each possible value. The correspondence between each possible
value and probability is known as the probability distribution function (pdf) for the
variable.
In other words, for a discrete random variable X, the probability distribution
function can be illustrated as a table or rule that assigns a probability to each possible
value of the variable X.
Illustrative Example 2.1
Let X = sum obtained from rolling two fair dice. Here is the chart representation showing the
sample space for the sum of two dots facing up when we roll two fair dice. In this case, the random variable
could take on integer values from 2 to 12. The chart shows the 36-point sample space. There are 36 equally
likely simple events in the sample space, so each simple event has the probability of 1/36.

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2nd Die
Sum 1 2 3 4 5 6
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1st Die 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
4 5 6 7 8 9 10
5 6 7 8 9 10 11
6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Using the sample space to find the probabilities of discrete random variable, the
sample space for tossing two dice is shown below.
Sample Space (S) = {2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12}

We can find the probability for each value of by adding the probabilities of the
simple events that have that value. So, in this case, the rule that assigns probabilities
for the possible values of X are:

𝒏𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒎 𝟐 𝒐𝒄𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒔 𝟏

1) P (2) = =
𝒏𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝟑𝟔
𝒏𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒎 𝟑 𝒐𝒄𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒔 𝟐
2) P(3) = =
𝒏𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝟑𝟔

Using the sample space above, the probability distribution table for the tossing
two dice are as follows:
Let X be the result of tossing 2 dice:

X 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
P(X) 1/36 2/36 3/36 4/36 5/36 6/36 5/36 4/36 3/36 2/36 1/36
or or or or or or or
2/18 1/12 1/9 1/6 1/9 1/12 2/18

Illustrative Example 2.2

A pack of playing cards contains 52 cards. These 52 cards consist of four suits:
hearts, diamonds, clubs, and spades. Hearts and diamonds are red cards while clubs
and spades are black cards. Each suit contains 13 cards, namely 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9,
10, jack, queen, king, and ace. The jack, queen, and king are also known as face cards
(since there is a face drawn on them).

a. Suppose a card is drawn at random from a pack of 52 playing cards. Find the
probability of events A, B, and C.
i. Let A be the event that an ace is drawn from the pack of cards.
Answer: There are 4 aces in a pack of 52 playing cards. The probability of
drawing an ace is P(ace) = 4/52 = 1/3

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ii. Let B be the event that the card drawn is red.
Answer: Since half of the cards are red and the other half is black, the probability of
drawing a red card is P(red) = 26/52 = 1/2
iii. Let C be the event that the card drawn is a face card.
Answer: The face cards are 4 jacks, 4 queens, and 4 kings. The probability of
drawing a face card is P(face card) = 12/52 = 3/13

b. A hand of 5 cards is drawn from a pack of playing cards. Let E be the event that the
hand contains five aces.
Answer: Since there are only 4 aces in a pack, event E cannot occur. Therefore, E is an
impossible event. Hence, P (E) = 0

Activity 2.1
We toss a fair coin three times into the air and observe the outcomes.
a. List the sample space S.
S ={HHH , HHT , HTH , _____ , _____ , _____ , _____ , _____ }
b. What is the probability that three tosses of a fair coin will result in:
i. 3 heads? ii. 2 heads? iii. 1 head? iv. 0 head?

Activity 2.2
A company staff consists of 20 accountants, 12 economists, and 4 secretaries. A
staff is chosen at random. Find the probability that the staff is an accountant.

Remember
A random variable is a variable whose value is determined by the outcome of a
random event.
Discrete Random Variables are random variables that can take on a finite or
countable infinite number of distinct values. The values can each be described by an
integer value.
Continuous Random Variables are random variables that take an uncountably
infinite number of possible values, typically measurable quantities. The values need to
be measured and involve intervals along a number line.
A probability distribution is a distribution of the probabilities associated with
each possible values of a random variable.

The two basic properties of probability are:

1. the probability assigned to each value of the random variable must be
between 0 and 1, inclusively; and
2. the sum of the probabilities assigned to all the values of the random
variable must be equal to 1.

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CHECKING YOUR UNDERSTANDING

1. You experimented and conducted a survey of families with two children. You are
interested in counting the number of boys (out of two children) in each family.
Suppose the random variable x denotes the number of boys,
a) What possible values can we assign to the variable X?
b) Is the random variable discrete or continuous?
2. In each case below, identify the random variable and classify it as discrete
or continuous.
a. Juan has 15 siblings.
b. Duration (in minutes) of long-distance call

3. If one card is drawn at random from a standard 52 playing cards, what is the
probability that the card drawn is:
a. an ace? b. a red king? c. a queen? d. a spade? e. a face card?

POST TEST
Directions: Answer each item accurately. Write only the letter of your choice.
1. Which of the following is NOT a continuous random variable?
A. The height in meters of randomly selected group of students.
B. The number of students attended in the online class per day.
C. The time taken to complete the game.
D. The amount of rainfall in Taguig City in a year
2. The following are discrete random variables except:
A. The number of girls in a three-child family.
B. The number of calls received in a day by a company.
C. The amount of time a customer spends waiting to serve.
D. The number of defective items in a sample of 10 boxes.

For numbers 3-5.

Let X be the number of encoding errors a student makes on a given page.
The table below shows a probability distribution of X.

X 0 1 2 3 4
P(X) 0.55 0.25 0.08 0.02

3. What is P(X = 3)?

A. 0.02 B. 0.04 C. 0.10 D. 0.09

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4. What is the probability that the student commits at least 2 mistakes?
A. 0.50 B. 0.20 C. 0.15 D. 0.08
5. What is the probability that the student commits exactly 1 error?
A. 0.55 B. 0.80 C. 0.20 D. 0.25
6. Which of the following can be a probability distribution for a discrete
random variable ?
A.
X 0 1 2 3 4
P(X) 0.20 0.15 0.40 0.20 0.15

B. X 2 4 6 8 10
P(X) 0.15 0.15 0.15 0.35 0.20
C. X -1 1 3 5 7
P (X) 0.30 0.20 0.10 0.10 0.10
D.
X 0 1 2 3 4
P(X) 0.45 0.15 0.25 0.20 0.10

7. A box contains 4 colored balls. Each ball is labeled with numbers 1, 2, 3, 4. A person
randomly draws one ball. Let be the random variable for the number on the ball. What
are the possible values for the random variable ?
A. X = {1, 2, 3, 4} C. X = {0, 1, 2, 3, 4}
C. X= {0, 2, 4} D. X= {0, 1, 3, 5}

8. In tossing three coins, what is the probability of getting no heads?

A. ¼ B. 1/8 C. ½ D. ¾

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