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Learning Activity Sheets

STATISTICS AND PROBABILITY

Random Variables and Probability

Distribution

Quarter 3 | LAS 1
 Random Variable
Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the lessons, you should be able to:

1. Illustrate a random variable (discrete and continuous). (M11/12SP-IIIa-1)

2. Distinguish between a discrete and a continuous random variable. (M11/12SP-IIIa-2)
3. Find the 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)

Lesson CONCEPT OF A RANDOM VARIABLE

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Introduction
Statistics is concerned with making inferences about populations and population
characteristics. Experiments are conducted with results that are subject to chance. 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 written

𝑆𝑆 = {𝐻𝐻𝐻𝐻𝐻𝐻, 𝐻𝐻𝐻𝐻𝐻𝐻, 𝐻𝐻𝐻𝐻𝐻𝐻, 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇, 𝐻𝐻𝐻𝐻𝐻𝐻, 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇, 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇, 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇}

If one is concerned only with the number of heads that fall, then a numerical value
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 𝑿𝑿, which is in this case the number of heads
when a coin is tossed 3 times.

Definition 1.1 A random variable is a variable that associates a real number with each
element in the sample space.

We shall use a capital letter, say 𝑋𝑋, to denote a random variable and its corresponding
small letter, 𝑥𝑥 in this case, for one of its values.

Example 1. Two balls are drawn in succession without replacement from an urn
containing 4 red balls and 3 black balls. The possible outcomes and the values 𝑥𝑥 of the
random variable 𝑋𝑋, where 𝑋𝑋 is the number of red balls, are

Sample 𝑥𝑥
Space
𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅 2
𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅 1
𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵 1
𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵 0

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Example 2. Suppose three cellphones are tested at random. Let 𝐷𝐷 represents the
defective cellphone and 𝑁𝑁 represents the non-defective cellphone. Let 𝑋𝑋 be the random
variable representing the number of defective cellphones, complete the table below to show
the values of the random variable.

Sample 𝑥𝑥
Space

Solution The completed table should look like this.

Sample 𝑥𝑥
Space
NNN 0
NND 1
NDN 1
DNN 1
NDD 2
DND 2
DDN 2
DDD 3

Example 3. Statisticians use sampling plans to either accept or reject batches or lots of
material. Suppose one of these sampling plans involves sampling independently 10 items
from a lot of 100 items in which 12 are defective.
Let 𝑋𝑋 be the random defined as the number of items found defective in the sample
of 10. In this case, the random variable takes in the values 0, 1, 2, … , 9, 10.

Definition 1.2 If a sample space contains a finite number of possibilities or an unending

sequence with as many elements as there are whole numbers, it is called a discrete
sample space.

Definition 1.3 If a sample space contains an infinite number of possibilities equal to the
number of points on a line segment, it is called a continuous sample space.

A random variable is called a discrete random variable if its set of possible

outcomes is countable. A continuous random variable has infinitely many values, and
those values can be associated with measurements on a continuous scale without gaps or
interruptions.

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Example 4. The following are examples of discrete and continuous random variables.

1. Discrete Let 𝑋𝑋 = the number of eggs that a hen lays in a day. This is discrete
random variable because its only possible values are 0, or 1, or 2, and so on.

2. Discrete The count of the number of statistics students present in class in a

given day is a whole number and is therefore a discrete random variable.

3. Continuous Let 𝑋𝑋 = amount of milk a cow produces in one day. This is a

continuous random variable because it can have any value over a continuous span.

4. Continuous The measure of a voltage for a particular smoke detector battery can
be any value between 0 volts and 0 volts. It is therefore a continuous random
variable.

(Note: Please use a separate sheet of paper (long bond paper) in answering the activities.)

Practice Exercises 1

Read and answer the following questions.

1. Classify the following random variables as a discrete or continuous. Write D for discrete
and C for continuous.
a. number of defective computers produced by a manufacturer
b. weight of a newborns each year in a hospital
c. number of siblings in a family of a region
d. amount of paint utilized in a building project
e. speed of a car

2. Four coins are tossed. Let 𝑋𝑋 be the random variable representing the number of heads
that occur. Find the values of the random variable 𝑥𝑥.

Possible Outcomes Value of the Random

Variable 𝒙𝒙

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Lesson DISCRETE PROBABILITY DISTRIBUTIONS
2

Introduction
A discrete random variable assumes each of its values with a certain probability. In
the case of tossing a coin 3 times, the variable 𝑥𝑥, representing the number of heads,
3
assumes the value 2 with probability , since 3 of the equally likely sample points result
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in 2 heads and 1 tail.
Frequently, it is convenient to represent all the probabilities of a random variable 𝒙𝒙
by a formula. Such a formula would necessarily be a function of the numerical values 𝑥𝑥
that we shall denote by 𝑓𝑓 (𝑥𝑥 ), 𝑔𝑔(𝑥𝑥 ), 𝑟𝑟(𝑥𝑥) and so forth. Therefore, we write 𝑓𝑓 (𝑥𝑥 ) = 𝑃𝑃(𝑋𝑋 = 𝑥𝑥 );
that is, 𝑓𝑓 (3) = 𝑃𝑃(𝑋𝑋 = 3).

Definition 2.1 The set of ordered pairs (𝑥𝑥, 𝑓𝑓(𝑥𝑥)) is a probability function, probability
mass function, or probability distribution of the discrete random variable 𝑋𝑋, if for each
possible outcome 𝑥𝑥,

1. 𝑓𝑓(𝑥𝑥) ≥ 0,

2. ∑ 𝑓𝑓(𝑥𝑥 ) = 1,

3. 𝑃𝑃(𝑋𝑋 = 𝑥𝑥 ) = 𝑓𝑓(𝑥𝑥).

Example 5. Number of Defective Cell Phones. Suppose three cell phones are tested at
random. Let 𝐷𝐷 represent the defective cell phone and let 𝑁𝑁 represent the non-defective cell
phone. If we let 𝑋𝑋 be the random variable for the number of defective cell phones, construct
the probability distribution of 𝑋𝑋.

Solution:
Steps Solution
1. Determine the sample space. Let
D represent the defective cell
𝑆𝑆 = {𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁, 𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁, 𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁, 𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷, , 𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁, 𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷, 𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷, 𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷}
phone and N represent the non-
defective cell phone
Possible Value of the
Outcomes Random
Variable 𝑋𝑋
(number of
defective cell
2. Count the number of defective phones, 𝑥𝑥)
cell phones in each outcome in 𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁 0
the sample space and assign this NND 1
number to this outcome. NDN 1
DNN 1
NDD 2
DND 2
DDN 2
DDD 3
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 3. There are four possible values of Probability Distribution or Probability Mass
the random variable 𝑥𝑥 Function of Discrete Random Variable 𝑥𝑥
representing the number of
defective cell phones. These are 0, 𝑥𝑥 0 1 2 3
1, 2, and 3. Assign probability 𝑃𝑃(𝑋𝑋 = 𝑥𝑥) 1 3 3 1
values 𝑃𝑃(𝑥𝑥) to each value of the 8 8 8 8
random variable.

It is often helpful to look at probability distribution graphically in the form of a probability

histogram, as demonstrated below.

0.4

0.2

0
0 1 2 3 More

Example 6. Find the probability distribution of the sum of the numbers when a pair of
dice is tossed.

Solution. Let 𝑋𝑋 be a random variable whose values are the possible totals. Then 𝑥𝑥 can be
any integer from 2 to 12. The probability distributions are the following:

𝑥𝑥 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
1 2 3 4 5 6 5 4 3 2 1
𝑃𝑃(𝑋𝑋 = 𝑥𝑥)
36 36 36 36 36 36 36 36 36 36 36

Practice Exercises No. 2

Perform as stated.

1. Determine whether the distribution represents a probability distribution. Explain your

answer.

a. 𝑥𝑥 1 5 8 7 9
𝑃𝑃(𝑋𝑋 = 𝑥𝑥) 1 1 1 1 1
3 3 3 3 3

b.
𝑥𝑥 0 2 4 6 8
𝑃𝑃(𝑋𝑋 = 𝑥𝑥) 1 1 1 1 1
6 6 3 6 6

2. Construct a probability distribution for the data and draw a histogram of the
distribution.

a. The probabilities that a surgeon operates on 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7 patients in any one day

are 0.15, 0.20, 0.25, 0.20, and 0.20, respectively.
b. The probabilities that a student will borrow 1, 2, 3, or 4 books are 0.45, 0.30, 0.15,
and 0.10, respectively.
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 Formative Assessment

Perform as indicated.

1. Classify the following random variables as discrete or continuous.

a. number of dropout in a school district for a period of 10 years
b. number of female athletes
c. amount of sugar in a cup of coffee
d. number of people who are playing LOTTO each day
e. average amount of electricity consumed per household per month

2. Determine whether the distribution represents a probability distribution. Explain

your answer.

a. 𝑥𝑥 1 2 3 5
𝑃𝑃(𝑋𝑋 = 𝑥𝑥) 1 1 1 1
4 8 4 8
b.
𝑥𝑥 1 3 5 7
𝑃𝑃(𝑋𝑋 = 𝑥𝑥) 0.35 0.25 0.22 0.12

3. Let 𝑋𝑋 be a random variable representing the number of heads in three tosses of a

coin. List the elements of the sample space S for the three tosses of the coin and
assign a value to each sample point. Construct a probability distribution of 𝑋𝑋 and
draw a histogram.

References

Walpole, Ronald E., et. al, Essentials of Probability & Statistics for Engineers & Scientists,
Pearson Education, Inc., 2013

Belecina, Rene R., et. al, Statistics and Probability, REX Bookstore, Inc., 2016