MODULE 2: RESEARCH/STATISTIC 10

CHAPTER 1: PROBABILITY DISTRIBUTION FOR A DISCRETE RANDOM

VARIABLE
Lesson Objectives:
 finds the possible values of a random variable
 illustrates a probability distribution for a discrete random variable and
its properties
 computes probabilities corresponding to a given random variable

Probability Distribution for a Discrete Random Variable

 Consists of the values that the variable can assume and the
probabilities associated with the values.
 Can be presented by using graph, table, or notation formula.
 A discrete probability distribution, 𝑃𝑟(𝑥), must satisfy both of these
requirements:
o 0 ≤ Pr⁡(𝑥) ≤ 1. This means that the probability of each of the
events in the sample space must be from 0 to 1.
o ∑ Pr(𝑥 ) = 1. This means that the sum of the probabilities of all the
events must be equal to 1.

Example 1:
Construct a probability for tossing 2 coins.
Solution:

Sample Space (T for tail, H for head): TT, TH, HT, and HH
Event Outcome No. of Heads (x) Probability Pr(x)
1
1 TT 0
4
1
2 TH 1
4
1
3 HT 1
4
1
4 HH 2
4
∑ Pr(𝑥 ) = 1
1 2 1
Pr(0) = , Pr(1) = , Pr(2) =
4 4 4

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MODULE 2: RESEARCH/STATISTIC 10

The histogram of the probability distribution is shown below:

0.60

0.50

0.40
Probability Pr(x)

0.30

0.20

0.10

0.00
0 1 2
Number of Heads (x)

Example 2:

On a certain 6-day period, an office canteen kept records of the

number of customers it served each day from Monday to Saturday. The
number of customers was represented by x as follows:
Day No. of Customers (x)
Monday 483
Tuesday 651
Wednesday 495
Thursday 567
Friday 690
Saturday 265

Construct a probability distribution and prepare a graph for the

number of customers of the office canteen for the 6-day period.
Solution:
Day No. of Customers (x) Probability Pr(x)
Monday 483 0.15
Tuesday 651 0.21
Wednesday 495 0.16
Thursday 567 0.18
Friday 690 0.22
Saturday 265 0.08
Total 3151 1.00

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MODULE 2: RESEARCH/STATISTIC 10

Pr(x) was obtained by dividing the number of customers of that day by

the total number of customers for the entire week.
𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟⁡𝑜𝑓⁡𝑜𝑐𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑠
Pr(𝑥 ) =
𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙⁡𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟⁡𝑜𝑓⁡𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠

The histogram of the probability distribution is shown below:

0.25
0.22
0.21
0.2
0.18
0.16
Probability Pr(x)

0.15
0.15

0.1
0.08

0.05

0
Monday (483) Tuesday (651) Wednesday Thursday Friday (690) Saturday
(495) (567) (265)
Number of Customers (x)

Research/Stat 10|Chapter 1 Page 3|3