teach me about Random

Variable for statistics class

A random variable is a variable whose value is determined by a random process or a probability

distribution. In statistics, random variables are used to model random phenomena, such as the

outcome of a coin flip or the results of a survey. There are two types of random variables: discrete

and continuous.

A discrete random variable can only take on a finite or countable number of values, such as the

number of heads in a series of coin flips. The probability distribution of a discrete random variable is

represented by a probability mass function (PMF), which assigns a probability to each possible value

of the random variable.

A continuous random variable can take on any value within a range, such as the weight of a person.

The probability distribution of a continuous random variable is represented by a probability density

function (PDF), which describes the probability of the random variable taking on a value within a

certain range.

The mean of a random variable is a measure of central tendency, also known as expected value and

denoted as E(X). The variance of a random variable is a measure of the spread of the distribution

and denoted as Var(X). The standard deviation is the square root of the variance.

In statistics, we use random variables to model real-world phenomena and make predictions about

future events. We use probability distributions to describe the likelihood of different outcomes and

make inferences about populations based on sample data. Understanding random variables is

essential for statistical analysis and decision making.

Situation: You are going to roll
2 fair die at the same time.
1.List down all the possible outcomes
of the experiment.

The possible outcomes of the experiment are:

(1,1), (1,2), (1,3), (1,4), (1,5), (1,6), (2,1), (2,2), (2,3), (2,4), (2,5), (2,6), (3,1), (3,2), (3,3), (3,4), (3,5), (3,6),

(4,1), (4,2), (4,3), (4,4), (4,5), (4,6), (5,1), (5,2), (5,3), (5,4), (5,5), (5,6), (6,1), (6,2), (6,3), (6,4), (6,5), (6,6)

Note that there are 36 possible outcomes of this experiment because each die has 6 possible

outcomes (1-6), and since we are rolling 2 dice at the same time, we multiply 6 x 6 = 36.

What is Discrete vs. Continuous Random

Variable give 2 examples each
A discrete random variable is a random variable that can take on a countable number of distinct

values, such as integers. Examples of discrete random variables include:

1. The number of heads in a coin flip

2. The number of children in a family

A continuous random variable is a random variable that can take on any value within a given range,

such as real numbers. Examples of continuous random variables include:

1. The weight of a person

2. The temperature in a room

solve this and teach me Example 1

The given spinner is divided into four sections. Let X be
the score where the arrow will stop.( refer on the fig.
on pg.5 of the book).
a) Find the probability that the arrow will stop at
1,2,3,4.
b) Construct the discrete probability distribution of the
random variable X.
Example 1:

The given spinner is divided into four sections, with each section representing a score of 1, 2, 3, or 4.
a) To find the probability that the arrow will stop at 1, 2, 3, or 4, we need to first determine the total

number of possible outcomes. Since the spinner is divided into 4 equal sections, each with a score

of 1, 2, 3, or 4, the total number of possible outcomes is 4.

Next, we need to determine the probability of getting each score. Since the spinner is fair, and each

section is of equal size, the probability of getting each score is 1/4 or 0.25.

Therefore, the probability that the arrow will stop at 1 is 0.25, the probability that the arrow will stop

at 2 is 0.25, the probability that the arrow will stop at 3 is 0.25, and the probability that the arrow will

stop at 4 is 0.25.

b) To construct the discrete probability distribution of the random variable X, we will use the

following table:

X (score) P(X) (probability)

1 0.25

2 0.25

3 0.25

4 0.25
We can also represent the discrete probability distribution of the random variable X using a

histogram, where the x-axis represents the possible values of X (1, 2, 3, 4) and the y-axis represents

the probability of each value (0.25).

In this example, the discrete random variable X is the score where the arrow stops, and it can take on

the values of 1, 2, 3, or 4. The probability of each value is 0.25, and the sum of all the probabilities is

Example 2:

List all the outcomes and illustrate using a tree diagram:

Outcomes:

H = Heads

1. T = Tails

Tree Diagram:

Toss 1 Toss 2 Toss 3

|||

|||

HHH

|||

|||
HHT

|||

|||

HTH

|||

|||

HTT

|||

|||

THH

|||

|||

THT

|||

|||

TTH
|||

|||

TTT

Outcomes: {HHH, HHT, HTH, HTT, THH, THT, TTH, TTT}

Find the probability of getting:

a) 0 heads: P(X=0) = P(TTT) = 1/8

b) 1 head: P(X=1) = P(HHT) + P(HTH) + P(THH) = 3/8

c) 2 heads: P(X=2) = P(HHT) + P(HTH) = 2/8

2. d) 3 heads: P(X=3) = P(HHH) = 1/8

3. Construct the discrete probability distribution of the random variable X

X|0|1|2|3

P(X) | 1/8 | 3/8 | 2/8 | ⅛

 4. Make an histogram showing the discrete probability distribution

X|0|1|2|3

P(X) | | | |

|---|---|---|---

||||

The histogram shows that the probability of getting 0 heads is 1/8, the probability of

getting 1 head is 3/8, the probability of getting 2 heads is 2/8, and the probability of

getting 3 heads is 1/8.