GRADE 11

ABM/STEM LA CONSOLACION COLLEGE

(Formerly: Sacred Heart Academy)
PACUCOA ACCREDITED LEVEL II
Bais City, Negros Oriental
Telefax No. (035) 541-5097 email: lccbaiscity@yahoo.com/www.lccb.edu.ph

THIRD
QUARTER
STATISTICS
AND
PROBABILITY
1 MODULE
ST

RANDOM VARIABLES AND

PROBABILITY DISTRIBUTIONS
Prepared by:

CHRISTIE U. DALLEDA

Lesson 1. Random Variable and Probability  Distributions

Random Variable- A variable whose function of value at a random experiment determined by the outcome
of a probable occurrence is called a random variable.

Similarly, it is inferred that a random variable is an operation in mathematics defined over the sample space
of a statistical experiment and generally assumes diverse values with a definite probability linked with a
piece value.
  Let us presume that two coins are tossed and the sample space is    S= {HH, HT, TH, TT}
Suppose that X represent the number of heads and with each sample point we can associate a number for X
as shown in the table below:

Outcome X P(x)

HH 2 ¼

HT 1 ¼

TH 1 ¼

TT 0 ¼

Hence; random variable X takes the values 0, 1, 2 for this random experiment.
As shown in the table, the above example takes only a finite number of values and the association of
probability for each random value.
Example 1.
          In tossing a fair coin three times, what are the possible outcomes that two heads will fall?
Solution:
The random variable (X) head of a coin, we may assign values of 0, 1, 2, 3
S = {HHH, HHT,HTH,HTT,THH,THT,TTH,TTT}
x 0 1 2 3

P(X) = 1/
3/8 3/8 1/8
x 8

P(X) = 3/8

Two Types of Random Variable

1. Discrete Random Variable - It refers to random variable which takes only a limited or a countable
number of values. For instance, when 3 coins are tossed, the number of heads taken is the random
variable X assumes the values 0,1,2,3 and create a countable set. Such variable is a discrete random
variable.

2. Continuous Random Variable- It deals with random variable X which take any value between certain
intervals. Notice that the probability of any single value at x, value of X is zero. i.e P(X = x) = 0. Thus
continuous random variable takes value only between two given limits. For example, the temperature of
the patients in a particular clinic lies between  37ᵒC to 40ᵒC.We write this as X = {x|37 ≤ x ≤ 40}

Discrete vs. Continuous Random Variable

Discrete random variables as it is defined are the finite or countable variables unlike continuous
random variables are infinite or they have lots of possible values to consider or to count and/or
they can be quantified to a high level of accuracy.
Probability Distribution of Discrete Random Variable
Probability Distribution is a table, graph, formula or notation which supplies the probability of a
given outcome's occurrence. Let X be a discrete random variable and suppose that the possible
values that it can assume are given by x1, x2, x3,in and organize in some order. Supposed also that
these values are assumed with by:
                P(X = xk) = f(xk)  where k = 1, 2, 3, ….
The probability function is also brought up as probability distribution given by
                P(X = x) = f(x)
Example 2
We throw two dice and the corresponding sum listed below:

s2
s1
1 2 3 4 5 6

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

2 3 4 5 6 7 8
 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

4 5 6 7 8 9 10

5 6 7 8 9 10 11

6 7 8 9 10 11 12

S (s1, s2) = (s1+s2)   for (s1, s2) Є S

Sample space = 6x6 = 36
We denote the probability event {X = x}
                P(X = x)
P(X=2) = P {(1,1)} =1/36
P(X=3) = P {(1,2), (2,1)} =2/36 or 1/18
P(X = 4) = P {(1,3), (3,1), (2,2)} =3/36 or 1/12
P(X = 5) = P {(2,3), (3,2), (4,1), (1,4),} =4/36 or 1/9
P(X = 6) = P {(3,3), (2,4), (4,2), (5,1), (1,5)} = 5/36
P(X = 7) = P {(4,3), (3,4), (5,2), (5,2), (6,1). (1,6)} = 6/36 or 1/6
P(X = 8) = P {(4,4), (3,5), (5,3), (6,2), (2,6),} = 5/36
P(X = 9) = P {(6,3), (3,6), (5,4), (4,5)} = 4/36 or 1/9
P(X = 10) = P {(5,5), (6,4), (4,6)} =3/36 or 1/12
P(X = 11) = P {(6,5), (5,6)} = 2/36 or 1/18
P(X = 12) = P {(6,6)} = 1/36
P(X=13) = P {(ø)} = 0, because 13 is an “impossible outcome.”

Figure 1.1
Probability Histogram
In figure 1.1, it shows the base of the unit width, P(X = 2), P(X = 3),.. P (X = 12) and the
corresponding odds result.  As shown in the bar’s height is determined by the magnitude of the
probability associated with the outcome of the bar. For example P(X=2) = 1/36 and P(X=7) = 1/6. 
The height of the two probabilities corresponds to the result of the outcome.
Probability Mass Function

Suppose X be a discrete random variable, takes the values x 1, x2, ...xn with each of these values
and we can represent number called the probability        Pi= P(X=xi), i = 1,2,3…n This is called
probability of xi satisfying the succeeding conditions.

 Pi≥ 0 for all i, ie Pi’ s are all non-negative

 ∑pi = p1 + p2 + …pn =1

i.e the total probability is one. This function p i or p(xi) known as the probability mass function of
the discrete random variable X.
The set of all possible ordered pairs (x, p(x)) identified as the probability distribution of the random
variable X.
Example 3.
Refer to example 1,        
A fair coin tossed three times. What are the possible outcomes that two heads will appear?
Solution:
The random variable (X) head of a coin, we may assign values of 0, 1, 2, 3
S = {HHH,HHT,HTH,HTT,THH,THT,TTH,TTT}

x 0 1 2 3

P(X) = x 1/8 3/8 3/8 1/8

P(X) =3/8
For the sample space {HHH, HHT, HTH, HTT, THH, THT, TTH, TTT}, and each outcome is
equally alike. The event X = 1, for instance, when written as a set of outcomes, is equal to {HHT,
HTH, THH}, and has probability 3/8.
Two random variables X and Y are said to have the same distribution if the values taken and their
probability mass functions are equal. We write X_Y for this case. In the above example, if Y is the
number of tails recorded during the experiment, then X and Y have the same dissemination, even
though their actual values are different (indeed, Y = 3−X).

Mean and Variance of Discrete Random Variable

Let an X be a discrete random variable which takes the value of x1, … xn. The estimated value or
mean  is the number of E(X) given the formula.

To solve for the variance, the formula as follows

In example no. 1, in tossing a coin three times, find the mean and variance

x 0 1 2 3

P(X) = x 1/8 3/8 3/8 1/8

In tossing a coin the chances of having a head or a tail is 1.5.

The variance in each toss of a coin having a head or a tail is 3/4

Practical Activity 1

1. Members of the class will toss the coin four times. After completing the experiment, fill in the
chart below. Let X = the number of heads in four tosses of the coin.

Outcome X P(x)

HHHH 4 1/16

1. Which values of X occurred most? 2