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Topic 8
Random Variables and Probability Distributions

When we conduct an experiment and we are not sure of its result, this is called a random
experiment. For example, if a coin is tossed, we do not know the actual outcome. All we know is
that it is either a head (𝐻) or a tail (𝑇). Thus, the set of all possible outcomes is the sample space
𝑆 = {𝐻, 𝑇}. Suppose we let 𝑋 be the number of heads that occur in each outcome. Then 𝑋 = {1, 0}
since for the outcome 𝐻, there is only 1 head and for the outcome 𝑇, there is 0 head. 𝑋 here is
called a random variable. We can define 𝑋 as a rule or a function that tells us how to assign a real
number to every element in S. The rule here is “Count the number of heads in every outcome in S”.
We may tabulate this as

Values (𝑠) of 𝑆 𝐻 𝑇
Values (𝑥) of X 1 0

Take note of the following:

1. Random variables are denoted by capital letters of the English alphabet.

2. Small letters denote values of the random variable. For example, for the random experiment
above, we have the notation 𝑋 = {𝑥1 , 𝑥2 } where 𝑥1 = 0 and 𝑥2 = 1. In general, we have
𝑋 = {𝑥1 , 𝑥2 , … , 𝑥𝑘 }
3. Random variables are quantitative variables.
4. There may be some outcomes in 𝑆 that have the same value/s of the random variable. For
example, let us toss two coins at the same time. Let 𝑌 be the number of heads. Tabulating, we
have
𝑠 𝐻𝐻 𝐻𝑇 𝑇𝐻 𝑇𝑇
𝑦 2 1 1 0

The outcomes 𝐻𝑇 and 𝑇𝐻 both have the same value in 𝑌, that is, it is equal to 1.

We may simplify 𝑌 as: 𝒀 = {𝒚𝟏 , 𝒚𝟐 , 𝒚𝟑 } = {𝟎, 𝟏, 𝟐}

When the values of a random variable are whole numbers, then the variable is said to be a discrete
random variable. Random variables 𝑋 and 𝑌 above are discrete. A continuous random variable can
be any value within a specified interval of values assumed by the random variable and can be
obtained through measurement using some equipment. If we denote 𝑍 as the score of a student in
percent, then 𝑍 is a continuous random variable.

Practice: Identify whether the random variable is discrete or continuous.

1. Number of siblings a student has ___________
2. Volume (in cubic centimeters) of rainwater collected ____________
3. Final grade in Stat 211_____________________
4. Number of bacteria observed in a petri dish_________________

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Tips on finding the values of a random variable:

1. Find the sample space 𝑺.

2. Write the value of the random variable for each outcome in 𝑺.
3. Simplify the values of the random variable by listing the common values.

In this topic, let us focus on discrete random variables. Let us illustrate random variables in the
following examples.

Example 1

Toss two dice. Let random variable 𝑿 be the product of the outcomes. Find the values of 𝑿.

Solution:

Find 𝑺: 2nd die

1 2 3 4 5 6
1 1,1 1,2 1,3 1,4 1,5 1,6
2 2,1 2,2 2,3 2,4 2,5 2,6
3 3,1 3,2 3,3 3,4 3,5 3,6
1st die
4 4,1 4,2 4,3 4,4 4,5 4,6
5 5,1 5,2 5,3 5,4 5,5 5,6
6 6,1 6,2 6,3 6,4 6,5 6,6

𝑺 has 𝑛 = 36 elements.

Find 𝑿:
2nd die

1 2 3 4 5 6
1 1 2 3 4 5 6
2 2 4 6 8 10 12
3 3 6 9 12 15 18
1st die
4 4 8 12 16 20 24
5 5 10 15 20 25 30
6 6 12 18 24 30 36

Simplify 𝑿: 𝑿 = {𝟏, 𝟐, 𝟑, 𝟒, 𝟓, 𝟔, 𝟖, 𝟗, 𝟏𝟎, 𝟏𝟐, 𝟏𝟓, 𝟏𝟔, 𝟏𝟖, 𝟐𝟎, 𝟐𝟒, 𝟐𝟓, 𝟑𝟎, 𝟑𝟔}

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Example 2

Two face masks are selected successively from a box containing assorted-colored face masks (fm) of
which 10 pieces are blue, 10 pieces are green, and 10 pieces are pink. Let the random variable 𝑊 be
the number of pink face masks selected.

Solution:

Let B denote a blue-colored fm, G a green-colored fm, and P a pink-colored fm.

Using a tree diagram, we get 𝑺 and also the values of 𝑾:

𝑺 has 𝑛 = 9 elements.

Simplify 𝑾: 𝑾 = {𝟎, 𝟏, 𝟐}

Example 3

Suppose you are going to form two-digit numbers from the numbers 𝟑, 𝟐, 𝟓, 𝟏. Find the values of
the random variable 𝒁 which is the bigger of the two digits.

Solution:

n = no. of two − digit numbers formed = 𝑃(4,2) = 12 → no. of elements in 𝑺

𝒔 32 35 31 23 25 21 52 53 51 15 12 13
𝒛 3 5 3 3 5 2 5 5 5 5 2 3

Simplify 𝑍: 𝒁 = {𝟐, 𝟑, 𝟓}

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Probability Distributions of Discrete Random Variables

The probability distribution of a discrete random variable is the list of the values of that variable with
their corresponding probabilities. This distribution may be shown in a table, graph, or formula.

Properties of a Discrete Probability Distribution

Given the discrete random variable 𝑿 with values 𝑥1 , 𝑥2 , 𝑥3 , …, we have the following properties of
its probability distribution:

1. 𝟎 ≤ 𝑷(𝒙) ≤ 𝟏 → 𝑃(𝑥) is always between 0 and 1.

2. ∑ 𝑷(𝒙) = 𝟏, for all 𝒙 in 𝑿 → The sum of all 𝑃(𝑥) is equal to 1.

Steps in finding the probability distribution of a discrete random variable 𝑿

1. Write in one row (or column) the values of 𝑿.

2. Add one row (or column) beside the one you made in no. 1 and write the probabilities for each
value of 𝑿. Note that 𝑷(𝒙) = (𝒏(𝒙))/(𝒏(𝑺)), where 𝒙 is a particular value in 𝑿; 𝒏(𝒙) is the
number of outcomes favoring 𝒙 ; and 𝒏(𝑺) is the total number of elements in 𝑺.
3. Check if the two properties of a probability distribution hold true.

Example 4

Find the probability distribution of 𝑿 in Example 1. Verify if the two properties of probability
distributions hold true for this example.

Solution:

Each 𝑃(𝑥) > 0 and ∑ 𝑃(𝑥) = 1. All properties hold true.

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Example 5

Find the probability distribution of 𝑾 in Example 2. Verify if the two properties of probability
distributions hold true for this example.

𝒘 𝑷(𝒘)
0 4/9
1 4/9
2 1/9
∑𝑷(𝒘) = 𝟗/𝟗 = 𝟏

Each 𝑃(𝑤) > 0 and ∑ 𝑃(𝑤) = 1. All properties hold true.

Example 6

Find the probability distribution of 𝒁 in Example 3. Verify if the two properties of probability
distributions hold true for this example.

𝒛 𝑷(𝒛)
2 2/12
3 4/12
5 6/12
∑𝑷(𝒛) = 𝟏𝟐/𝟏𝟐 = 𝟏

Each 𝑃(𝑧) > 0 and ∑ 𝑃(𝑧) = 1. All properties hold true.

Example 7

Sometime in February 2022, three students were asked if they would agree (A) to Face-to-Face
classes this Second Semester 2021-2022. Let V be the random variable that counts the number of
students who disagreed (D).

Find 𝑺 and 𝑽. Verify if the two properties of probability distributions hold true for this example.

𝒔 AAA AAD ADA DAA DDA DAD ADD DDD

𝒗 0 1 1 1 2 2 2 3

Simplify V: 𝑽 = {𝟎, 𝟏, 𝟐, 𝟑}

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Construct the probability distribution of 𝑽:

𝒗 0 1 2 3 ∑𝑃(𝑣)

𝑷(𝒗) 1/8 = 0.125 3/8 = 0.375 3/8 = 0.375 1/8 = 0.125 8/8 = 1

Each 𝑃(𝑣) > 0 and ∑ 𝑃(𝑣) = 1. All properties hold true.

Example 8

Verify if the function 𝑷(𝒙) = 𝟐/𝟏𝟑 + 𝒙/𝟐𝟔 is a probability distribution for the random variable 𝑋,
where 𝑋 = {1,2,3,4}.

Solution:

𝑥 𝑃(𝑥) = 2/13 + 𝑥/26

1 5/26
2 6/26
3 7/26
4 8/26
∑𝑃(𝑥) = 26/26 = 1

Each 𝑃(𝑥) > 0 and ∑𝑃(𝑥) = 1. All properties hold true.

Graphing the Probability Distribution of the Discrete Random Variable 𝑿

1. Plot the values of the random variable 𝑋 in the 𝑥-axis.

2. Plot 𝑃(𝑥) in the 𝑦-axis.

Example 9

Graph the probability distribution of Example 7. Each 𝑃(𝑣) is converted into decimals.

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𝑷(𝒗)
0.4
0.35
0.3
0.25
0.2
0.15
0.1
0.05
0
0 1 2 3

Practice:

Construct the graphs of the probability distributions of Examples 4, 5, and 6.

Solving Probabilities using the Probability Distribution

Example 10. Refer to Example 7.

a. What is the Probability that there are 2 students who disagree to F2F classes?

𝑷(𝒗 = 𝟐) = 𝟎. 𝟑𝟕𝟓

b. What is the probability that more than 2 students disagree to F2F classes?

𝑷(𝒗 > 𝟐) = 𝟎. 𝟏𝟐𝟓

c. What is the probability that at least 2 students disagree to F2F classes?

𝑷(𝒗 ≥ 𝟐) = 𝑷(𝒗 = 𝟐) + 𝑷(𝒗 = 𝟑) = 𝟎. 𝟑𝟕𝟓 + 𝟎. 𝟏𝟐𝟓 = 𝟎. 𝟓

d. What is the probability that at most 2 students disagree to F2F classes?

𝑷(𝒗 ≤ 𝟐) = 𝑷(𝒗 = 𝟎) + 𝑷(𝒗 = 𝟏) + 𝑷(𝒗 = 𝟐) = 𝟎. 𝟏𝟐𝟓 + 𝟎. 𝟑𝟕𝟓 + 𝟎. 𝟑𝟕𝟓 = 𝟎. 𝟖𝟕𝟓

e. What is the probability that between 1 and 3 students inclusive, disagreed?

𝑷(𝟏 ≤ 𝒗 ≤ 𝟑) = 𝑷(𝒗 = 𝟏) + 𝑷(𝒗 = 𝟐) + 𝑷(𝒗 = 𝟑) = 𝟎. 𝟑𝟕𝟓 + 𝟎. 𝟑𝟕𝟓 + 𝟎. 𝟏𝟐𝟓 = 𝟎. 𝟖𝟕𝟓

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Mean and Variance of a Discrete Random Variable

Let 𝑋 be a discrete random variable with probability distribution 𝑃(𝑋). The mean and variance of 𝑋
respectively, are

𝝁 = ∑ 𝒙 𝑷(𝒙) and 𝝈𝟐 = ∑ 𝒙𝟐 𝑷(𝒙) − 𝝁𝟐

Example 11. Refer to Example 7.

𝒗 0 1 2 3 ∑𝑷(𝑽 = 𝒗)

𝑷(𝑽 = 𝒗) 0.125 0.375 0.375 0.125 1

Find the mean and variance of 𝑽.

Solution:

𝝁 = ∑ 𝒗𝑷(𝒗) = 𝟎(𝟎. 𝟏𝟐𝟓) + 𝟏(𝟎. 𝟑𝟕𝟓) + 𝟐(𝟎. 𝟑𝟕𝟓) + 𝟑(𝟎. 𝟏𝟐𝟓) = 𝟎 + 𝟎. 𝟑𝟕𝟓 + 𝟎. 𝟕𝟓 + 𝟎. 𝟑𝟕𝟓 = 𝟏. 𝟓

𝝈𝟐 = ∑ 𝒗𝟐 𝑷(𝒗) − 𝝁𝟐

Solve first the part ∑ 𝒗𝟐 𝑷(𝒗) since 𝝁𝟐 can be easily obtained.

∑ 𝒗𝟐 𝑷(𝒗) = 𝟎𝟐 (𝟎. 𝟏𝟐𝟓) + 𝟏𝟐 (𝟎. 𝟑𝟕𝟓) + 𝟐𝟐 (𝟎. 𝟑𝟕𝟓) + 𝟑𝟐 (𝟎. 𝟏𝟐𝟓) = 𝟎 + 𝟎. 𝟑𝟕𝟓 + 𝟏. 𝟓 + 𝟎. 𝟑𝟕𝟓 + 𝟏. 𝟏𝟐𝟓 = 𝟑

𝝁𝟐 = (𝟏. 𝟓)𝟐 = 𝟐. 𝟐𝟓

Therefore, the variance of 𝑽 is

𝝈𝟐 = ∑ 𝒗𝟐 𝑷(𝒗) − 𝝁𝟐 = 𝟑 − 𝟐. 𝟐𝟓 = 𝟎. 𝟕𝟓

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