Third Quarter

STATISTICS AND
PROBABILITY

Quarter 3 – Module 2:
Random Variables and Statistical
Experiments

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 What I need to know?

Math primarily includes a deterministic way of thinking and the way

in which math is taught in schools leads students to a deterministic way of
analyzing the world around them. On the other hand, statistics deal, by and large,
with uncertainty. Statistics uses inductive thinking, while Math uses deduction
(from specifies to generalities) (from the general to the specific).

This module was designed and written to expand the learning

opportunities in the field of Mathematics, specifically the Statistics and Probability.
It was made for you to understand the basic concepts and formulas in Statistics
and Probability that you can use not only in research, but also in making real – life
decisions. It will also be useful in different real – life situations.

The module is divided into three main lessons namely:

• Random Variables and Probability Distribution

• The Normal Distribution
• Sampling Distribution

After going through this module, you are expected to:

1. apply an appropriate random variable for a given real-life problem (such as

decision making and games of chance);
2. accurately formulate and solve real-life problems in different disciplines
involving normal distribution; and
3. apply suitable sampling and sampling distributions of the sample mean to
solve real-life problems in different disciplines.

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 Lesson Random Variables and
3 Statistical Experiments

Destiny is variable, not fixed; it is forever changing depending upon your free
will to make choices for what you want your life to be.

- Steven Redhead

What’s In?

Toss a coin 10 times. Record the results in proper sequence then count the number
of heads.

Coin Toss Experiment

Round 1

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

H or T

No. of Heads: ______________

Round 2

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

H or T

No. of Heads: ______________

Round 3

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

H or T

No. of Heads: ______________

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 Round 4

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

H or T

No. of Heads: ______________

Round 5

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

H or T

No. of Heads: ______________

What’s New?

Inferential statistics is concerned with making inferences about the

population and its characteristics. To make these inferences, statistical experiments
like the one above are conducted to generate results, and each result is subject to
chance. All statistical experiments have three things in common:

1. The experiment can have more than one possible outcome.

2. Each possible outcome can be specified in advance.
3. The outcome of the experiment depends on chance.

3.1 RANDOM VARIABLE

In many experiments, the sample points are not necessarily numbers. For
example, in coin tossing experiment,

𝑆 = {𝐻𝑒𝑎𝑑, 𝑇𝑎𝑖𝑙}

We need to quantify each sample point in the sample space. This

quantification is achieved through the notion of random variables.

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 A random variable (𝑿) is a function that associates a real number with each
sample point in the sample space (𝑺). It is a rule that maps each element of the
sample space to one and only one real number. Random variable is not a variable.
Also, it is not random. So, why is it called random variable?

A capital letter will be used to denote the random variable (𝑿) and its
corresponding value (𝒙). The set

𝑅𝑥 = {𝑥 ∈ ℝ|𝑥 = 𝑋(𝑠), 𝑠 ∈ 𝑆}

is called the space of the random variable X. It is actually the range of the function
𝑋 ∶ 𝑆 → ℝ.

Example: In tossing a coin thrice,

𝑆 = {𝐻𝐻𝐻, 𝐻𝐻𝑇, 𝐻𝑇𝐻, 𝐻𝑇𝑇, 𝑇𝐻𝐻, 𝑇𝐻𝑇, 𝑇𝑇𝐻, 𝑇𝑇𝑇}

Solution: The value which variable X may assume is determined by

the outcomes that is involved in a situation of chance. We call X a
chance variable or a random variable because the value it assumes is
the result of a chance. Random variable is used to denote the outcomes
of a probability experiment.

Head
Head
Tail
Head
Head
Tail
Tail
Tossing a coin
thrice
Head
Head
Tail

Tail
Head
Tail
Tail

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 Random Variable for Tossing a Coin Thrice

Possible Outcomes Head (𝑋)

TTT 0

TTH, THT, HTT 1

THH, HTH, HHT 2

HHH 3

3.2 TYPES OF RANDOM VARIABLES

Study the examples of random variables illustrated below.

1. Toss a coin four times and observe how many times the tails will occur. The
random variable X is the number of times the tails occurred and it may take on any
integer value from 0 to 4.

2. Cast a pair of dice and observe the number of dots on the upturned faces. Let
the random variable X be the total number of dots on the upturned faces.

3. Let the total number of phone calls per hour by a call center agent be the
random variable X. The integers from 0 to some numbers are the possible values of
X.

4. Let the IQ level of Grade 11 students be the random variable X. The values of X
can be a numerical value between 90 to 120.

5. Let the length of the electrical wiring on electrical appliances be the random
variable X. The values of X range from 1 to 6 feet for most appliances.

Based from the examples, let us clarify the variables into discrete and continuous.

Discrete random variable is a quantitative random variable that can assume

a countable number of outcomes. Hence, a random variable is discrete if its
possible values are counting numbers. Examples 1, 2, and 3 illustrate discrete
random variables.

Continuous random variable is a quantitative random variable that can

assume an uncountable number of values. If a random variable will take on values
with an interval or continuous scale, then it is a continuous random variable.
Examples 4 and 5 illustrate continuous random variable.

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 What’s More?

A. Consider an experiment in which two coins are tossed.

1. What is the sample space of this experiment?

_________________________________________________________________

2. How many elements are there in the sample space?

_________________________________________________________________

3. Map each sequence to a real number if 𝑋(𝑠) is the number of head in the
sequence.

a. HH ______________________________________________________________

b. HT _______________________________________________________________

c. TT ________________________________________________________________

d. TH _______________________________________________________________

B. Identify whether each variable is discrete or continuous.

__________________1. Electricity consumption in kilowatts.

__________________2. Speed of a car.

__________________3. Number of blue marbles in a bowl.

__________________4. Number of tails when tossing a coin five times.

__________________5. Weights of the professors in a college.

__________________6. Weekly allowances of grade 11 students.

__________________7. Heights of grade 11 students.

__________________8. Length of a rope in meters used by mountain climbers.

__________________9. Daily tonnage produced by a mining company.

_________________10. Number of hours a programmer develops a program in JAVA.

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 What I have learned?

Identify whether each variable as discrete or continuous.

________________1. The number of the telephone calls received.

________________2. The length of a piece of ribbon.

________________3. Speed of a train.

________________4. Number of flaws in a bolt of fabric.

________________5. A person’s age.

________________6. The weight of a bag of apples.

________________7. The number of felony arrests in a town.

________________8. The population of the Philippines,

________________9. The weight, in the nearest whole number, of a grade 11 student.

________________10. The number of goals in a soccer match.

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 Lesson Levels of Measurement
4

If you cannot measure it, you cannot improve it.

- Lord Kelvin

What’s New?

To perform statistical analysis of data, it is important to first understand

variables and what should be measured using these variables. There are different
levels of measurement in statistics and data measured using them can be broadly
classified into qualitative and quantitative data.

The level of measurement of a variable decides the statistical test type to be

used. The mathematical nature of a variable or in other words, how a variable is
measured is considered as the level of measurement.

TYPES OF DATA

QUALITATIVE QUANTITATIVE

NOMINAL ORDINAL INTERVAL RATIO

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4.1 LEVELS OF MEASUREMENT

What are the four levels of

measurement? Come on let us
see the difference between each
level!

Nominal Level – this level of measurement arises when we have variables that are
categorical and non-numeric or where the numbers have no sense of ordering.

Ex. Consider the numbers on the uniforms of basketball players. Is the player
number 7 a worst player than the player wearing number 10? Maybe, or maybe
not, but the number on the uniform does not have anything to do with their
performance.
Another Examples of the variable measured at the nominal level include sex,
marital status, religious affiliation.

Ordinal Level – also deals with categorical variables like the nominal level, but in
this level ordering is important, that is the values of the variable could be ranked.
Ex. Educational attainment
Surveys (Very Satisfied, Satisfied, Neutral, Unsatisfied, Very Unsatisfied)
Academic Rank

Interval Level – in this level of measurement, the distance between attributes does
have meaning. Or in other words, “zero has no meaning”
Ex. Temperature
IQ level

Raio Level – “zero has meaning”. The ratio level possesses a meaningful absolute,
fixed zero point and allows all arithmetic operations.
Ex. Mass
Height
Weight

In summary, we have the following levels of measurement:

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 Basic Empirical
Level Property
Operation
Determination of
Nominal No order, distance, or origin
equivalence

Has order but no distance or unique Determination of greater

Ordinal
origin or lesser values

Both with order and distance but no Determination of equality

Interval
unique origin of intervals or difference

Has order, distance, and unique Determination of equality

Ratio
origin of ratios or means

EXAMPLES:

Variables Level of Measurement

Class Student Number Nominal

Sex Nominal

Number of siblings Ratio

Weight (in kgs) Ratio

Height (in cm) Ratio

Age of mother Ratio

Usual daily allowance in school

Ratio
(in pesos)

Usual daily food expenditure in

Ratio
school (in pesos)

Usual number of text messages

Ratio
sent in a day

Usual sleeping time Nominal

Most preferred color Nominal

Happiness index for the day Ordinal

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4.2 METHODS OF DATA COLLECTION

Objective method

Primary Data

Subjective method
Methods of Data
Collection

Use of existing
Secondary Data
records

How do we collect data or

responses?

Variables were observed or measured using any of the three methods of data
collection.

Objective Method – in this method, data can be collected using any or a combination
of our five senses (sense of sight, touch, hearing, taste, and smell).

Subjective Method – the data can be obtained using this method through
questionnaires.

Use of existing records – in this method, data are collected using different reliable
sources such as the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). Other data sources include
administrative records, news articles, internet, etc.

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 What’s More?

Using the data of the teachers in a particular school gathered by a market researcher
company, identify the level of measurement for each of the following variable.

__________________1. Highest educational attainment

__________________2. Predominant hair color

__________________3. Body temperature

__________________4. Civil status

__________________5. Brand of laundry soap being used

__________________6. Total household expenditures last month in pesos

__________________7. Number of children in a household

__________________8. Amount spent on a rice last week by a household

__________________9. Distance travelled by a teacher in going to school

__________________10. Time (in hours) consumed on Facebook on a particular day

What I have learned?

Identify the data collection method used and the type of resulting data for the
following. Ex. (Primary data; Subjective Method)

__________________1. The website of Philippine Airlines provides a questionnaire

that can be answered electronically.

__________________2. The latest series of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) generated
by the Philippine Statistics Authority was downloaded from PSA website.

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__________________3. A reporter recorded the number of minutes to travel from one
end to another of the Metro Manila Rail Transit (MRT) during peak and off-peak
hours.

__________________4. Students getting the height of the plants using a meter stick.

__________________5. PSA enumerator conducting the Labor Force Survey goes

around the country to interview household head on employment-related variables.

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