The MEAN, VARIANCE and

STANDARD DEVIATION
of RANDOM VARIABLES
By: nbmanasan
Recap
A random variable is a function that associates
a real number with each element in the sample
space. It is a variable whose values are
determined by chance. Thus in simple words,
random variable is a numerical quantity that is
derived from the outcomes of a random
experiment.
MEAN:
is considered as the “expected value” of any
random variables.

Mean obtain estimates of the probability that a

certain event may occur, or estimate the
variability of occurrence. They are a common
way to describe, and possibly predict, the
probability of an event.
VARIANCE:
refers to a statistical measurement of the
spread between numbers in a data set. More
specifically, variance measures how far each
number in the set is from the mean (average),
and thus from every other number in the set.

It quantifies the spread of the outcomes of a

probability distribution.
STANDARD DEVIATION
The degree of dispersion or the scatter of the
probability distribution relative to its mean. It is
the measure of the variation in the probability
distribution from the mean. The standard
deviation of a probability distribution is the
square root of its variance.

Used to measure the variability of possible

outcomes.
FORMULA:

μ = Σx p(x)

Var (x) = σ2 = Σ[(x-μ)2 P(x)]

Standard Deviation is the square root of the variance.

EXAMPLE #1:
Var (x) = σ2 = Σ[(x-μ)2 P(x)]

Find the mean, variance, and standard deviation of the

discrete random variable X with the following
probability distribution:
x P(x) P(x)
1 0 0
2 1/36 0.03
3 2/36 0.06
4 3/36 0.08
5 4/36 0.11
6 5/36 0.14
7 6/36 0.17
EXAMPLE #1:
Var (x) = σ2 = Σ[(x-μ)2 P(x)]

x P(x) P(x) x p(x) x-μ (x-μ)2 (x-μ)2 P(x)

1 0 0 0 -2.14 4.5796 0
2 1/36 0.03 0.06 -1.14 1.2996 0.038988
3 2/36 0.06 0.18 -0.14 0.0196 0.001176
4 3/36 0.08 0.32 0.86 0.7396 0.059168
5 4/36 0.11 0.55 1.86 3.4596 0.380556
6 5/36 0.14 0.84 2.86 8.1796 1.145144
7 6/36 0.17 1.19 3.86 14.8996 2.532932
μ = 3.14 σ2 = 4.157964 or 4.16
σ = 2.04
EXAMPLE #2:
Var (x) = σ2 = Σ[(x-μ)2 P(x)]

Find the mean, variance, and standard deviation of the

discrete random variable X with the following
probability distribution:
x P(x)
1 0.15
2 0.25
3 0.30
4 0.15
5 0.10
6 0.05
EXAMPLE:
μ = Σx p(x)
Var (x) = σ2 = Σ[(x-μ)2 P(x)}]

x P(x) x p(x)
1 0.15 0.15
2 0.25 0.50
3 0.30 0.90
4 0.15 0.60
5 0.10 0.50
6 0.05 0.30

μ = 2.95
EXAMPLE:
μ = Σx p(x)
Var (x) = σ2 = Σ[(x-μ)2 P(x)}]

x P(x) x p(x) x-μ

1 0.15 0.15 -1.95
2 0.25 0.50 -0.95
3 0.30 0.90 0.05
4 0.15 0.60 1.05
5 0.10 0.50 2.05
6 0.05 0.30 3.05

μ = 2.95
EXAMPLE:
μ = Σx p(x)
Var (x) = σ2 = Σ[(x-μ)2 P(x)}]

x P(x) x p(x) x-μ (x-μ) 2

1 0.15 0.15 -1.95 3.8025
2 0.25 0.50 -0.95 0.9025
3 0.30 0.90 0.05 0.0025
4 0.15 0.60 1.05 1.1025
5 0.10 0.50 2.05 4.2025
6 0.05 0.30 3.05 9.3025

μ = 2.95
EXAMPLE:
Var (x) = σ2 = Σ[(x-μ)2 P(x)]

x P(x) x p(x) x-μ (x-μ) 2 (x-μ)2 P(x)

1 0.15 0.15 -1.95 3.8025 0.570375

2 0.25 0.50 -0.95 0.9025 0.225625
3 0.30 0.90 0.05 0.0025 0.00075
4 0.15 0.60 1.05 1.1025 0.165375
5 0.10 0.50 2.05 4.2025 0.420250
6 0.05 0.30 3.05 9.3025 0.465125

μ = 2.95 σ2 = 1.8475 or 1.85

σ = 1.36
ACTIVITY #1:
Var (x) = σ2 = Σ[(x-μ)2 P(x)]

Find the mean, variance, and standard deviation of the

discrete random variable X with the following
probability distribution:
x P(x)
1 1/8
2 2/8
3 3/8
4 4/8