PSUnit I Lesson 2 Constructing Probability Distributions
PSUnit I Lesson 2 Constructing Probability Distributions
DISTRIBUTIONS
Lesson Objectives
Recap: P E
n E
nS
Pre-Assessment B
Recap:
Evaluating an algebraic expression means finding the value
of an expression when the variables take on certain values.
Lesson Introduction
Decision-making is an important aspect in business,
education, insurance, and other real-life situations.
Many decisions are made by assigning probabilities to
all possible outcomes pertaining to the situation and
then evaluating the results.
Number of Tails
Suppose three coins are tossed. Let Y be the
random variable representing the number of
tails that occur. Find the probability of each of
the values of the random variable Y.
Discussion Points
Step 1:
Determine the sample space. Let H represent head
and T represent tail.
Step 3:
There are four possible values of the random
variable Y representing the number of tails. These
are 0, 1, 2, and 3. Assign probability values P(Y) to
each value of the random variable.
Discussion Points
Continuation Step 3
Step 1:
Determine the sample space. Let B represent the blue
ball and R represent the red ball.
Step 3:
There are three possible values of the random
variable Z representing the number of blue balls.
These are 0, 1, and 2. Assign probability values P(Z)
to each value of the random variable.
Solution to Example 1
Continuation Step 3
Step 1:
Determine the sample space. Let D represent the
defective cell phone and N represent the non-
defective cell phone.
Step 3:
There are four possible values of the random
variable X representing the number of defective
cell phones. These are 0, 1, 2, and 3. Assign
probability values P(X), to each value of the
random variable.
Solution to Example 2
Continuation Step 3