EXPECTED OUTCOMES

• At the end of the session, the learners are expected to;

1. Illustrate a probability distribution for a discrete random
variable and its properties.
2. Construct the probability mass function of a discrete
random variable and its corresponding histogram.
3. Compute probabilities of a given random variable.
 LESSON 3:
PROBABILITY DISTRIBUTION
STAT PEAKS, STATISTICS AND PROBABILITY FOR 21ST
CENTURY LEARNERS
M.B.TIZON & H.Y. MESA
PG. 16 – 26

PREPARED: MRS. BEVERLY ANNE R. TIMONIO

“If a student doesn’t want to learn, HE
WILL NOT – even in spite of GOOD
TEACHING, if a student wants to learn,
HE WILL – even in spite of BAD
TEACHING.”
PROBABILITY DISTRIBUTION
• refers to the arrangement of the values of a
random variable and the probabilities assigned
to them.
• can be presented in a table, graph or function.
PROBABILITY DISTRIBUTION

The values of the random variable

are denoted as X and the
probabilities are denoted as P(X).
PROPERTIES OF A
PROBABILITY DISTRIBUTION
The total probability of all values should be equal to
1.
The probability of each value should be greater than
or equal to 0 and less than or equal to 1.
That is 𝟎 ≤ 𝑷(𝑿) ≤ 𝟏.
PROPERTIES OF A PROBABILITY
DISTRIBUTION
TRIAL:
GIVEN THE FOLLOWING EXAMPLES,
IDENTIFY IF THE GIVEN IS A
PROBABILITY DISTRIBUTION OR NOT.
A store that sells candy recorded how
many packs of candy it sold per
customer. This record was used to create
a probability distribution of the number
of packs of candy sold per customer.
0 1 2 3 4
Number of pack sold per
customer, X
0.1 0.2 0.4 0.2 0.1
Probability, P(X)
A store that sells candy recorded how
many packs of candy it sold per
customer. This record was used to create
a probability distribution of the number
of packs of candy sold per customer.
6 8 10 12 14
Number of pack sold per
customer, X
0.2 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.4
Probability, P(X)
A store that sells candy recorded how
many packs of candy it sold per
customer. This record was used to create
a probability distribution of the number
of packs of candy sold per customer.
2 3 4 5 6
Number of pack sold per
customer, X
0.2 0.3 0.3 0.3 -0.1
Probability, P(X)
A store that sells candy recorded how
many packs of candy it sold per
customer. This record was used to create
a probability distribution of the number
of packs of candy sold per customer.
2 3 4 5 6
Number of pack sold per
customer, X
0.2 0.1 0.3 0.3 0.1
Probability, P(X)
DISTRIBUTION FOR PROBABILITIES INTERPRETED CLASICALLY

SOLVING CLASSICAL PROBABILITY

𝒔
𝑷 𝑿 =
𝒏
where:
P(X) = probability that an experiment will yield an X
random variable
s = number of outcomes that will yield an X
random variable
n = total number of outcomes
EXAMPLE #1

A raffle with 50 entries is drawn. Of the 50 entries, 10

are assigned to Monica, 14 are assigned to Rachel,
and 26 are assigned to Phoebe. If a numerical value is
assigned to each person so that “0” is Monica, “1” is
Rachel, and “2” is Phoebe, create a probability
distribution to determine the probabilities assigned to 0,
1, and 2.

DISTRIBUTION FOR PROBABILITIES INTERPRETED CLASICALLY

EXAMPLE #1

A raffle with 50 entries is drawn. Of the 50 entries, 10 are

assigned to Monica, 14 are assigned to Rachel, and 26 are
assigned to Phoebe. If a numerical value is assigned to each
person so that “0” is Monica, “1” is Rachel, and “2” is Phoebe,
create a probability distribution to determine the probabilities
assigned to 0, 1, and 2.

X 0 1 2

P(X) 𝟏 𝟕 𝟏𝟑
𝟓 𝟐𝟓 𝟐𝟓
NOTE:
In some instances, the outcomes and the
sample space are hard to determine. This is
true for probability experiments with more than
one trial. Examples of these are tossing two
coins, determining the sexes of two or more
babies, and rolling two or more dice. In such
situations, it is helpful to use TREE DIAGRAM.
 EXAMPLE #2
Let us use a tree diagram to answer the problem below.
The Dela Cruz family has three children. Construct a
probability distribution of the number of boys in their
family.
In order to do this, the sample space for the sexes of the
children has to be determined. This can be done using a tree
diagram. In the diagram, “B” means boy and “G” means girl.

DISTRIBUTION FOR PROBABILITIES INTERPRETED CLASICALLY

The Dela Cruz family has three children. Construct a probability
distribution of the number of boys in their family.

NUMBER OF OUTCOMES NUMBER OF PROBABILITY

BOYS OUTCOMES
0 GGG 1 1
8
1 BGG, GBG, 3 3
GGB 8
2 BBG, BGB, GBB 3 3
8
3 BBB 1 1
8
Here is the probability distribution for the
number of boys in the Dela Cruz family.

Number of 0 1 2 3
Boys, X
Probability, 𝟏 𝟑 𝟑 𝟏
P(X) 𝟖 𝟖 𝟖 𝟖
YOUR TURN!
Construct the probability distribution of the
following experiments
1.A coin is tossed twice. The random variable is
the number of heads.
2.A die is rolled three times. The random
variable is the number of 2s
ILLUSTRATING PROBABILITY
DISTRIBUTIONS THROUGH HISTOGRAM
A Histogram is away of presenting a probability
distribution using vertical bars placed side by side,
where the height of each bar represents the probability
assigned to a value of a random variable. As stated
before, the x-axis represents the possible values of the
random variable, while the y-axis represents the
probability assigned to them.
HISTOGRAM
• A graphical display of data using bars of
different heights.
• A graphic representation of a continuous
frequency distribution through special kind of
vertical bar charts.
HOW TO DRAW A HISTOGRAM?

• Draw X and Y axis

• Mark the class intervals in X axis and frequencies in Y axis
• Plot the corresponding X and Y values in the graph
• Draw bars for each corresponding values
A store that sells candy recorded how many packs
of candy it sold per customer. This record was
used to create a probability distribution of the
number of packs of candy sold per customer.
Using the data below, create a histogram showing the
probability assigned to each value.
0 1 2 3 4
Number of pack sold per
customer, X
0.1 0.2 0.4 0.2 0.1
Probability, P(X)
Three coins are tossed at the same
time. Create a histogram showing
the probability that the tosses will
result 0, 1, 2, and 3 heads.
Three coins are tossed at the same time. Construct a probability
distribution that the tosses coins will result 0, 1, 2, & 3 heads.

NUMBER OF OUTCOMES NUMBER OF PROBABILITY

HEADS OUTCOMES
0 TTT 1 1
8
1 HTT, THT, TTH 3 3
8
2 HHT, HTH, THH 3 3
8
3 HHH 1 1
8
“Life is too short to wake up in the morning with
regrets.
So, love the people who treat you right and forget the
ones who don’t.
And believe that everything happens for a reason…
if you get a chance – take it;
if it changes your life – let it.
Nobody said that it would be easy…
They just promised it would be worth it.”