Some Terms Related to Statistics and Probability

1. Statistics - science of collecting, organizing, presenting, analyzing, and interpreting

quantitative data.
2. Descriptive Stat. - science of collecting, organizing, and presenting quantitative data.
3. Inferential Stat. - science of analyzing and interpreting quantitative data.
4. Population - the totality of observation with which we are concerned.
5. Sample - part or subset of a population; can represent the population.
6. Parameter - characteristic or attribute of a population; any numerical value the describes
a population.
7. Statistic - characteristic or attribute of a sample; any numerical value the describes a
sample.
8. Variable - any numerical data.
9. Probability - it is the measure of the likelihood that an event will happen.
10. Experiment - activity or process which results to an outcome.
11. Sample Space (S) - set of all possible outcomes. Since it is a set, the outcomes must be
unique or distinct.
12. Event - set of possible outcomes.
13. Permutation - orderly arrangement of all or a part of the set of observations obtained
through an experiment.

Exercises

1. In the word MISSISSIPPI, find 𝑆 concerned with the letters of the said word.
𝑆 = {𝑀, 𝐼, 𝑆, 𝑃}
2. In the word BEIJING, find 𝑆.
𝑆 = {𝐵, 𝐸, 𝐼, 𝐽, 𝑁, 𝐺}
3. In the word CARBOCISTEINE, find 𝑆.
𝑆=
4. In the word HYPERGEOMETRIC, find 𝑆.
𝑆=
5. In the word PHILIPPINES, find 𝑆.
𝑆=
6. Find the possible outcomes of set 𝑆 = {𝑥 ∈ ℝ|𝑥 2 + 3𝑥 + 2 = 0}
Just solve for 𝑥 in the equation by either of the following: i) Quadratic Formula; ii)
Completing the Square; iii) Factoring
𝑥 2 + 3𝑥 + 2 = 0
By factoring,
(𝑥 + 2)(𝑥 + 1) = 0
𝑥 + 2 = 0 𝑜𝑟 𝑥 + 1 = 0
𝑥 = −2 𝑜𝑟 𝑥 = −1
Hence,
𝑆 = {−2, −1}
7. Find the possible outcomes of set 𝑆 = {𝑦 ∈ ℝ|𝑦 2 − 𝑦 − 12 = 0}
By quadratic formula,
−𝑏 ± √𝑏 2 − 4𝑎𝑐
𝑦=
2𝑎
Let 𝑎 = 1, 𝑏 = −1, 𝑐 = −12. Then,
−(−1) ± √(−1)2 − 4(1)(−12)
𝑦=
2(1)
 1 ± √1 + 48
𝑦=
2(1)
1 ± √49
𝑦=
2
1±7
𝑦=
2
1+7 8 1−7 6
𝑦= = = 4; 𝑜𝑟 𝑦 = = − = −3
2 2 2 2
Hence,
𝑆 = {4, −3}

8. Find the possible outcomes of set 𝑆 = {𝑧 ∈ ℝ|𝑧 2 + 5𝑧 − 204 = 0}

9. Find the possible outcomes of set 𝑆 = {𝑎 ∈ ℝ|𝑎2 + 2𝑎 + 1 = 0}

10. In the senior year of a high school graduating class of 100 students, 42 studied
mathematics, 68 studied psychology, 54 studied history. If a student is selected at random,
find the probability that the student study
a. Mathematics?
𝑛(𝑀𝑎𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑠)
𝑃(𝑀𝑎𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑠) =
𝑛(𝑆𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠)
42 21
𝑃(𝑀𝑎𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑠) = = = 42%
100 50

b. Psychology?

c. History?
11. A card is drawn from a standard deck of cards. Find the probability that you will not pick
a. a heart.
Since there are 52 cards in a standard deck, then 𝑛(𝑆) = 52. Also, the number of cards
with hearts are 13, then, 𝑛(𝐻𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑠) = 13. Then, 𝑛(𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝐻𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑠) = 52 − 13 = 39.
𝑛(𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝐻𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑠)
𝑃(𝑛𝑜𝑡 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑠) =
𝑛(𝑆)
39 3
𝑃(𝑛𝑜𝑡 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑠) = = = 75%
52 4
b. a face card.

c. an ace.

12. Find the mean of 𝑥, 𝑦, and 𝑧.

a. 𝑥 − 𝑦 = 5𝑤, 𝑧 + 2𝑦 = 10𝑤
What you need to do is to just add the equations, first to form the sum of 𝑥, 𝑦, and 𝑧.
𝑥−𝑦 = 5𝑤
+ 2𝑦 + 𝑧 = 10𝑤
𝑥 + 𝑦 + 𝑧 = 15𝑤
Then, since it has three, it will suffice on finding the mean by dividing 15𝑤 by 3.
Since there three observations,
15𝑤
𝜇= = 5𝑤
3
b. 3𝑧 + 𝑥 = 25𝑠, 2𝑧 − 𝑦 = 3𝑠

13. 6 coins are tossed simultaneously. Find 𝑛(𝑆).

Since every coin has 2 outcomes: Head and Tail. Then,
𝑛(𝑆) = 2 ∙ 2 ∙ 2 ∙ 2 ∙ 2 ∙ 2 = 26 = 64
14. 4 coins are tossed simultaneously. Find 𝑛(𝑆).

15. 10 coins are tossed simultaneously. Find 𝑛(𝑆).

16. 3 dice are rolled. Find 𝑛(𝑆).

Since every die has 6 outcomes, then
𝑛(𝑆) = 6 ∙ 6 ∙ 6 = 63 = 216
17. 5 dice are rolled. Find 𝑛(𝑆).
18. 2 dice are rolled. Find 𝑛(𝑆).

19. A spinner is divided into six sectors, numbered 1-6. If a point is randomly selected, the
3
probability that the spinner stops at 1 is and the probability that the spinner stops at an
10
6
even number is each.
50
a. Form a proportion of an even number with respect to 𝑥. Find 𝑥.
6
Observe that 𝑃(𝑎𝑛𝑦 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟) = . Also, the measure of one revolution is
50
360𝑜 . Thus,
6 𝑥
=
50 360
Then,
6(360) = 50𝑥
2160 = 50𝑥
Dividing both sides by 50,
2160
𝑥=
50
216
𝑥=
5
𝑥 = 43.2.
b. Form a proportion for the outcome 1 in terms of 𝑏 and solve for 𝑏.

c. Form an equation of outcome 1 and any even number.

3
Since 𝑃(1) = , then the angle that the said sector covered depends on value 𝑥 of
10
b., and the angle covered by any even number is 43.2𝑜 . Also, there are 3 even
numbers there, thus,
3𝑥 + 𝑏 = 3(43.2) + 𝑏
3𝑥 + 𝑏 = 129.6 + 𝑏
Just add 𝑏 on the right side.

d. Form an equation of odd numbers, if the 3 and 5 have equal probabilities.

Random Variable

A random variable (r. v.) is a numerical description of the outcome of an experiment. It is a function
that assigns a real number called the value of 𝑋 (capital letters are used to represent r. v.) to each
possible outcomes of the sample space. Often, random variables must assume random numerical
values 𝑥 (small letters are used to represent the possible values of r. v.).

To further understand this, let’s have examples.

20. Let 𝑋: 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑡𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎 𝑐𝑜𝑖𝑛.

Solution:
First, list all the possible outcomes of the experiment tossing a coin.
𝑆 = {𝐻, 𝑇}
Then, assign a numerical value for each outcome. Here, we might define r. v. 𝑋 as:
1, 𝑖𝑓 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑑
𝑋={ .
0, 𝑖𝑓 𝑛𝑜𝑡 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑑

21. Let 𝑌: 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑟𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎 𝑑𝑖𝑒.

Solution:
The possible outcomes of the experiment of rolling a die is
𝑆 = {1,2,3,4,5,6}
Since 𝑌 is concerned with the outcome of rolling a die, then
1, 𝑖𝑓 𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑖𝑠 1
2, 𝑖𝑓 𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑖𝑠 2
3, 𝑖𝑓 𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑖𝑠 3
𝑌=
4. 𝑖𝑓 𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑖𝑠 4
5, 𝑖𝑓 𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑖𝑠 5
{6, 𝑖𝑓 𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑖𝑠 6

22. Let 𝑍: 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑡𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 2 𝑐𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑠.

Solution:
The possible outcomes of the experiment of tossing 2 coins is
𝑆=
Then, 𝑍 will be

23. Let 𝐴: 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑙𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑡𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 3 𝑐𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑠.

Solution:
The possible outcomes of the experiment of tossing 3 coins is
𝑆=
Then, 𝐴 will be
24. Let 𝐵: 𝑠𝑢𝑚 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑟𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑤𝑜 𝑑𝑖𝑐𝑒.
Solution:

Types of Random Variables

We have two types of r. v. namely: discrete r. v. and continuous r. v.

1. Discrete Random Variable
The values are represented by whole numbers (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, …).
E.g.: Hair, Books, Number of Students in AMA.
2. Continuous Random Variable
The values are represented by rational number or within an interval.
E.g.: Height, Weight, Length of Time, Distance of a Car having 10 L, Filling a soft drink can.

NOTE: All examples that we have are all discrete random variables.

Classify each random variable as discrete or continuous.

25. 𝑋: 𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛 𝑎𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑔 10 𝑛𝑒𝑤𝑙𝑦 ℎ𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑠 (Discrete)
26. 𝑌: 𝐻𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑖𝑛𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑎 𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑜𝑑𝑚𝑙𝑦 𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑑𝑢𝑙𝑡 𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑒 (Continuous)
27. 𝑍; 𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑎𝑟 𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑎𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑔 8 𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑒𝑠
28. 𝐴: 𝐴𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑓𝑎𝑙𝑙 (𝑖𝑛 𝑚𝑚)𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑀𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑜 𝑀𝑎𝑛𝑖𝑙𝑎
29. 𝐵: 𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑔𝑖𝑓𝑡𝑠 𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑒𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 20 𝑠𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑑𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐶ℎ𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑚𝑚𝑎𝑠 𝑠𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑜𝑛
30. 𝐶: 𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 (𝑖𝑛 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑚𝑠)𝑜𝑓 𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑜𝑚𝑙𝑦 𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑀𝑎𝑡ℎ 𝑏𝑜𝑜𝑘𝑠.
31. Consider the probability distribution. Solve the following.
𝒂 0 1 2 3
𝑷(𝒂) 7 1 2 3
25 5 5 25

a. 𝑃(𝐴 > 1).

Since 𝐴 can be 2 or 3, then
𝑃(𝐴 > 1) = 𝑃(𝐴 = 2) + 𝑃(𝐴 = 3)
2 3
𝑃(𝐴 > 1) = +
5 25
10 + 3
𝑃(𝐴 > 1) =
25
13
𝑃(𝐴 > 1) =
25
b. 𝑃(𝐴 < 2)

c. 𝑃(1 ≤ 𝐴 < 3)
Discrete Probability Distributions

From the previous observations, we can state the definition a discrete probability distribution and
its properties.

The set of ordered pairs (𝑥, 𝑓(𝑥)) is a probability function, probability mass function or probability
distribution of the discrete random variable 𝑋 if for each possible outcome 𝑥,
1. 𝑃(𝑋 = 𝑥) = 𝑓(𝑥);
2. 0 ≤ 𝑓(𝑥) ≤ 1; and
3. ∑𝑥 𝑓(𝑥) = 1.

32. Determine if each probability distribution is a Discrete Probability Distribution or not. Write D
if it is a discrete probability distribution, and N if not.
a.
𝒙 0 1 2 3 4
𝑷(𝒙) 1 2 1 1 2
5 5 5 5 5

Observe that when you add the probabilities, the sum is greater than 1. Therefore, it is not
a discrete probability distribution, so N.
b.
𝒂 1 3 5 7
𝑷(𝒂) 2 1 5 1
7 7 7 7

c.
𝒅 4 8 8 10
𝑷(𝒅) 0.42 0.11 −0.28 0.19

Observe that there is a negative probability and repetitiveness of values in 𝑑. Therefore,

it is not a function and not a discrete probability distribution, so N.
d.
𝒇 3 5 7 9 12
𝑷(𝒇) 12% 10% 40% 36% 2%

𝑦
e. 𝑃(𝑦) = , 𝑦 = 0, 1, 2, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 3 (Find the probability of each 𝑦)
5
Mean of a Random Variable

The mean or also known as the expected value of a random variable is a weighted average of
the values the random variable may assume, wherein the weights are the probabilities itself. This
mean provides the long-run average of the variable, or the expected average outcome over many
observations. The mean can be denoted by either 𝜇 or 𝐸(𝑥) which stands for expected value of a
random variable also. The mean of a random variable is the sum of all the products of the possible
values of the r. v. and their corresponding probabilities. In symbols,

𝝁 = 𝑬(𝑿) = ∑𝒙 𝒙 ∙ 𝒇(𝒙).

NOTE: The expected value does not have to be a value the random variable can assume.

Variance of a Random Variable

The variance of a random variable is a weighted average of the squared deviations of a random
variable from its mean. The weights are the probabilities. It actually measures how much a
probability mass is spread out around the mean. If 𝐸(𝑋) = 𝜇, then the variance is defined by:

𝑽𝒂𝒓(𝑿) = 𝑬(𝒙 − 𝝁)𝟐 = 𝝈𝟐 = ∑𝒙(𝒙 − 𝝁)𝟐 ∙ 𝒇(𝒙), where 𝝈 is the standard deviation.

Also, to determine the Standard Deviation (𝜎),

𝝈 = √𝑽𝒂𝒓(𝑿).

To further understand this, let’s have examples.

33. Let 𝑋: 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑡𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎 𝑐𝑜𝑖𝑛.

Solution:
Then, its probability distribution is as follows:
𝑥 0 1

1 1
𝑃(𝑋 = 𝑥) = 𝑓(𝑥)
2 2

Then, its mean will be:

𝜇 = 𝐸(𝑋) = ∑ 𝑥 ∙ 𝑓(𝑥)
𝑥
1 1
= 0( ) +1( )
2 2
1
=0+
2
1
= ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑠/𝑡𝑜𝑠𝑠.
2

CAUTION: Its unit will also depend on what does each random variable represents.

Then,
𝑉𝑎𝑟(𝑥) = ∑(𝑥 − 𝜇)2 ∙ 𝑓(𝑥)
𝑥
 1 2 1 1 2 1
𝑉𝑎𝑟(𝑥) = (0 − ) ( ) + (1 − ) ( )
2 2 2 2
1 2 1 1 2 1
𝑉𝑎𝑟(𝑥) = (− ) ( ) + ( ) ( )
2 2 2 2
1 1 1 1
𝑉𝑎𝑟(𝑥) = ( ) + ( ) ( )
4 2 4 2
1 1
𝑉𝑎𝑟(𝑥) = +
8 8
2 1
𝑉𝑎𝑟(𝑥) = = ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑠2
8 4

Thus,
1 1
𝜎 = √ = ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑠
4 2

34. Let 𝑌: 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑟𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎 𝑑𝑖𝑒.

Solution:

35. A volunteer ambulance service handles 0 to 5 service calls on any given day. The probability
distribution for the number of service calls is as follows:

Number of Service Calls Probability (𝑷(𝒙))

0 0.10

1 0.15

2 0.30

3 0.20

4 0.15

5 0.10

a. What is the expected number of service calls?

 5

𝜇 = ∑ 𝑥 ∙ 𝑓(𝑥)
0
𝜇 = 0(0.10) + 1(0.15) + 2(0.30) + 3(0.20) + 4(0.15) + 5(0.10)
𝜇 = 0 + 0.15 + 0.60 + 0.60 + 0.60 + 0.50
𝜇 = 2.45

b. Find the variance and standard deviation.

5

𝑉𝑎𝑟(𝑥) = ∑(𝑥 − 𝜇)2 ∙ 𝑓(𝑥)

0
𝑉𝑎𝑟(𝑥) = (0 − 2.45)2 (0.10) + (1 − 2.45)2 (0.15) + (2 − 2.45)2 (0.30) + (3 − 2.45)2 (0.20)
+ (4 − 2.45)2 (0.15) + (5 − 2.45)2 (0.10)
𝑉𝑎𝑟(𝑥) = (−2.45)2 (0.10) + (−1.45)2 (0.15) + (−0.45)2 (0.30) + (0.55)2 (0.20)
+ (1.55)2 (0.15) + (2.55)2 (0.10)
𝑉𝑎𝑟(𝑥) = 6.0025(0.10) + 3.9(0.15) + 0.2025(0.30) + 0.3025(0.20) + 2.4025(0.15)
+ 6.5025(0.10)
𝑉𝑎𝑟(𝑥) = 0.60025 + 0.585 + 0.06075 + 0.0605 + 0.360375 + 0.65025
𝑉𝑎𝑟(𝑥) = 2.317125

Also,
𝜎 = √𝑉𝑎𝑟(𝑥)
𝜎 = √2.317125
𝜎 = 1.522

36. The probability distribution for damage claims paid by the Newton Automobile Insurance
Company on collision insurance follows.
Payment ($) 0 400 1000 2000 4000 6000
Probability 0.90 0.04 0.03 0.01 0.01 0.01
a. Find the expected value.
b. Determine the variance and the standard deviation.
37. There are two money games in the Perya. Your objective is to earn more than on what you
have. The first game is rolling a die. You will be paid Php 100.00 if the resulting number of
spots is an even. If not, you will pay Php 50.00. On the second game is tossing of two coins.
You will be paid Php 200.00 if the outcome is both heads but pays Php 100.00 if not both
heads.
a. What is the expected value in a dice game?
b. What is the expected value in coin game?
c. Which of the two games will you choose better?