CONSTRUCTING PROBABILITY DISTRIBUTIONS

Lesson Objectives

At the end of this lesson, you are expected to:

• illustrate a probability distribution for a

discrete random variable and its properties;
• compute probabilities corresponding to a
given random variable; and
• construct the probability mass function of a
discrete random variable and its
corresponding histogram.
DISCRETE PROBABILITY DISTRIBUTION
A discrete probability distribution consists of the
values a random variable can assume and the
corresponding probabilities.
Example: If two coins are tossed, the possible
outcomes are HH, HT, TH, or TT. If X is the
random variable for the number of head,
Possible Value of the No Heads One Head Two Heads
outcomes random
variable X 1/4 2/4 or 1/2 1/4
(number of
heads)
Number of
HH 2 0 1 2
Heads, X
HT 1 Probability
1/4 1/2 1/4
P(X)
TH 1
TT 0
Example 1: Construct a probability distribution
for rolling a single die.
Sample space (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
Each outcome has a probability of

Outcome,
X 1 2 3 4 5 6
P(X)
Properties of Discrete Probability
Distribution

1. Each probability P(X) must be between or

equal to 0 and 1; that is 0 ≤ P(x)≤ 1.
2. The sum of all the probabilities is 1. P(X) = 1
Number of
Heads, X 0 1 2
Probability
P(X) 1/4 1/2 1/4

P(X) = 1/4 + 1/2 + 1/4 = 1

Example 2: Determine whether the distributions
is a discrete probability distribution.
0 ≤ P(x)≤ 1 P(X) = 1
a)
X 3 6 8
P(X) -0.3 0.6 0.7
b)
X 1 2 3 4 5
P(X) 3/10 1/10 1/10 2/10 3/10
Example 3: Suppose three coins are tossed. Let Y
be a random variable representing the number of
tails. Construct the probability distribution and
draw the histogram.
Possible Value of a
Outcomes random
variable Y
(number of
tails) Numb
er of 0 1 2 3
HHH 0 tail, Y
HHT 1
Proba
HTH 1 bility, 1/8 3/8 3/8 1/8
HTT 2 P(Y)
THH 1
THT 2
TTH 2
TTT 3
Histogram
Example 4: Box A and Box B contain 1, 2, 3, 4. Write the
probability mass function and draw the histogram of the
sum when one number from each box is taken at a time,
with replacement.
Exercise 1 Determine whether the distribution represents
a probability distribution. Explain your answer.
Exercise 2 Construct the probability distribution for the random
variables described in each of the following situations. Draw the
corresponding histogram for each probability distribution.

Four coins are tossed. Let Z be the random variable

representing the number of heads that occur. Find the values
of the random variable Z.
Summary

A discrete probability distribution or a

probability mass function consists of the
values a random variable can assume and the
corresponding probabilities of the values.
Summary
Properties of a Probability Distribution
– The probability of each value of the random
variable must be between or equal to 0 and 1. In
symbol, we write it as 0 ≤ P(X) ≤ 1.

– The sum of the probabilities of all values of the

random variable must be equal to 1. In symbol,
we write it as ∑P(X) = 1.