SY 2021 - 2022

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STATISTICS AND
PROBABILITY
Quarter 3

Unit 1
Random Variables and Probability
Distributions
Name: _______________________________________________________________

Grade & Strand: _______________________________________________________

Prepared by:

Tr. CARLITO A. DORINGO

GRADE 11/12 | STATISTICS & PROBABILITY

UNIT 1

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Random Variables and Probability Distributions
In algebra, we knew a variable as any quantity that is
unknown that varies within the context of a mathematical
problem or experiment. In statistics, a variable is any
characteristic or attribute of a population or sample under
study. Examples of this include the height, weight,
temperature, age, ranking, and many more.

Oftentimes, these variables may

appear “random.” The word random describes something that
is without definite aim, direction, rule, or method. In statistics,
when we say random, it has something to do with probability
or chances. Examples of this may include the number of
students in a classroom with an attention span of 40 minutes
or less, salaries of female employees in a certain locale,
number of customers in a certain
coffee shop in a given time of the day, and many more.

In this unit, we are about to explore on random variables and see the applications of this
in real-life situations.

Objectives

At the end of this unit, you should be able to

• illustrate a random variable (discrete and random);
• distinguish between a discrete and a continuous random variable;
• find the possible values of a random variable; and
• illustrate a probability distribution for a discrete random variable and its
properties.

LESSON 1: RANDOM VARIABLES

Learn about It!

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Definition 1.1: A random variable is a function that associates a numerical value with
every outcome of an experiment. Its domain is a sample space and its
range is some set of real numbers.

An uppercase letter, commonly X, is used to denote a random variable, while the

corresponding lowercase letter x is used to denote one of the values of a random
variable. A random variable has either a probability distribution for a discrete random
variable or a probability density function for a continuous random variable.

Random Experiment – an experiment that can be repeated numerous times under the
same conditions. Its result must be independent of one
another.

Example: Tossing a coin is a random experiment.

Outcome – the result of a random experiment

Example: A possible outcome of tossing a coin is a head or a tail.

Sample Space – the set of possible outcomes of a random experiment; denoted by a

capital letter, usually S

Example: The sample space of tossing a coin is S = {H, T}.

Random Variable – a function that associates a numerical value to every outcome of a

random experiment; denoted by a capital letter, usually X. The
domain is the sample space, and the range is some set of real
numbers.
Example: Say that X represents the number of heads that appear in tossing a coin.
The possible values of the random variable X are 0 and 1.

Let’s Practice!

Example 1: Let be a random variable that denotes the number of students inside a
cafeteria in a specific hour. What are the possible values of the random
variable, X?

Solution: The number of students is a random variable that can take numbers that are
whole. Therefore, x = 0, 1, 2, 3, …

Try It Yourself! Let X be a random variable that denotes the number of teachers
inside the faculty room of a university. What are the possible values
of the random variable X?

Example 2: Two coins are tossed at the same time. If X denotes the number of heads
that may appear, what are the possible values of X?

Solution: When two coins are tossed at the same time, the possible outcomes are

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S = {HH, HT, TH, TT}

where H represents the heads, and T represents the tails.

From the outcomes above, we can observe the following:

HH = 2 heads
HT = 1 head
TH = 1 head
TT = no heads

From this observation, we can say that the random variable can take on the
values 0, 1, and 2.

Try It Yourself! Three coins are tossed at the same time. If X denotes the number of
heads that may appear when the coins are tossed, what are the
possible values of X?

Example 3: Two fair dice are rolled at the same time. If a random variable X denotes the
sum of the numbers in the dice, what are the possible values of X?

Solution: When two fair dice are rolled at the same time, the possible outcomes are
S = {(1,1), (1,2), (1,3), (1,4), …, (6,6)}

There are 36 elements in the sample space S. If the numbers in each pair are
added, the possible sums {2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12} are which are also
the possible values of the random variable X.

Try It Yourself! Three fair dice are rolled at the same time. If a random variable X
denotes the sum of the numbers in the dice, what are the possible
values of X?

Example 4: A researcher is conducting a study about the shows regular employees

watch at night before they rest. The researcher asked 50 employees about
the number of shows they watch every night before they rest. If X is a
random variable that denotes the number of shows they watch every night
before they rest, what are the possible values of X?

Solution: The number of TV shows can be described using whole numbers. That is, X
can take on the values 0, 1, 2, 3, and so on.

Try It Yourself! A researcher is conducting a study about the TV shows regular

employees watch at night before they rest. The researcher asked 50
employees about how long they watch TV shows every night before
they rest. If X is a random variable that denotes the length of time the
employees watch TV shows at night before they rest, what are the
possible values of X?
Lesson 2: Discrete and Continuous Random Variables

Learn about It!

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Definition 2.1: A discrete random variable has a finite number of possible values or an
infinite number of values that can be counted, while a continuous
random variable can assume an infinite number of values that can take
decimal or fractional values.

The word discrete means separate and different from one another. Thus, discrete
random variables are those that take on integral values only.

Consider a random variable X that denotes the number of pets a particular household
has. A household can have no pets, one pet, or more. Thus, the random variable X can
take on values equal to 0, 1, 2, or more. In this particular example, the random variable
takes on values that are whole numbers. It cannot take on values that are decimals or
fractions. We can say that the random variable X is a discrete random variable.

Categorical variables can also be considered as discrete variables. Consider taking the
gender of a person. You may assign a number one (1) as the value for a female and a
number two (2) as the value for a male. This can also be done with variables that take
on multiple categories.

Furthermore, consider taking the heights of 30 students in a classroom. By doing this,

we can have a possible height measurements of 150.5 cm, 165.8 cm, and 177.1 cm as
examples. Observe that the measurements take on decimal numbers. From here, we
can say that the random variable that pertains to the height of the students is a
continuous random variable.

Let’s Practice!

Example 1: A random variable takes on the following values: 4, 7, 9, 11, 13, and 14. Is
the random variable discrete or continuous?

Solution: Since the random variable takes on whole number values, the random variable
is classified as a discrete random variable.

Try It Yourself! A random variable takes on the values as follows:

1.25, 2.34, 3.11, 6.13, 9.13, 12.14
Is the random variable discrete or continuous?

Example 2: Identify whether the amount of money a person pays for grocery goods a
discrete or a continuous random variable.

Solution: The amount of money that a person pays for grocery goods varies depending
on the quantity of goods, a person buys. This variable takes on values that are
decimal in form, like ₱255.65. Thus, it is a continuous random variable.

Try It Yourself! Identify whether the weight of a food item in a supermarket represents
a discrete or continuous random variable.

Example 3: Jose’s wallet contains a ₱10, a ₱20, a ₱50, and a ₱100 bill. If Jose is going
to pick two bills from his wallet, and represents a random variable that

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denotes the sum of the two bills, identify if the random variable X is a
discrete or a continuous random variable.

Solution: The given amount of bills is written as whole numbers. When we add any two
bills, the sum will still be a whole number. Thus, the random variable X is a
discrete random variable.

Try It Yourself! If two students will be picked from a pool of students and W is a
random variable that pertains to the sum of the weights of the two
students, identify if W is a discrete or continuous random variable.

Example 4: The head engineer of a construction firm wanted to check the progress of
their current project. Upon his checking, he figured out that the project still
needs a number of steel materials, sacks of cement, and hollow blocks. The
current project also needs a certain length of electrical wires and pipes.
Identify the random variables in the given situation and classify each.

Solution: The random variables in the problem are the following:

a. number of steel materials
The number of steel materials can be counted using whole
numbers. Thus, it is a discrete random variable.
b. sacks of cement
The sacks of cement can be counted using whole numbers. Thus, it
is a discrete random variable.
c. hollow blocks
The number of hollow blocks can be counted using whole numbers.
Thus, it is a discrete random variable.
d. length of electrical wires
Decimals can be used to describe the length of an electrical wire
such as 75.4 meters or 97.9 meters. Thus, it is a continuous
random variable.
e. length of pipes
This is similar to the length of electrical wires. It is a continuous
random variable.

Try It Yourself! Eliza is going to bake some cookies for the weekend. She checked
what she has in her kitchen and figured out that she needs more
ingredients to bake her cookies. She then made a list, so she can
buy what she still needs. On her list, a number of eggs, sugar, flour,
and baking soda are included. Identify the random variables in the
given situation, and classify each.

Lesson 3: Probability Distribution

Learn about It!

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Definition 3.1: The probability distribution of a discrete random variable is a list, a

table, a graph, or a formula of probabilities associated with each of its
possible values. It is also sometimes called the probability distribution
function or the probability mass function.

The probability of a discrete random variable X is a function which gives the probability
notation P (X =xi) = P(xi). This notation denotes the probability that the random variable
X is equal to some values x.

Consider the random experiment of tossing two coins at the same time. The possible
outcomes of this experiment are S = {HH, HT, TH, TT} —a total of 4 elements. If X is a
random variable that denotes the number of heads when you toss two coins at the
same time, then X = 0, 1, 2. To calculate the probability of occurrence of each outcome,
let us take each value of one at a time:

 X = 0 corresponds to TT, which has 1 occurrence out of 4 possible outcomes.

 X = 1 corresponds to HT and TH, which accounts to 2 out of 4 possible outcomes.
 X = 2 corresponds to HH, which has 1 occurrence out of 4 possible outcomes.

Hence, we have the following probability distribution for the discrete random variable X:

Based on the probability distribution, we can observe that the probability that the
random variable is equal to 0 is 1/4, which, in symbols, is P(X=0) = 1/4. We can also
observe that the probability that the random variable is equal to 1 is 1/2; that is, P(X=1)
= 1/2. Lastly, P(X=2) = 1/4, which means that the probability of the random variable is
equal to 1/4.

From this example, we can observe the following properties:

1. The probability of each outcome is between 0 and 1, inclusive.

That is, 0 ≤ P (X = xi) ≤ 1.

2. The sum of all the probabilities of the random variable is equal to 1 or 100%.
That is Σ P (X = xi) = 1.

These properties must be satisfied in constructing a probability distribution. In the

previous example about the random experiment of tossing two coins at the same time,
the probabilities 2/4 and ¼ are both between 0 and 1, and ¼ + 2/4 + ¼ = 4/4 = 1.

Let’s Practice!
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Example 1: Identify if the following distribution is a valid probability distribution for a

discrete random variable X.

Solution: To determine if the distribution is a valid probability distribution, we must

satisfy the two properties for the probability distribution of a discrete random
variable which are as follows: (1) the probability of each outcome is between 0
and 1, and (2) the sum of all the probabilities is equal to 1.

In the above distribution, the probabilities 0.23, 0.11, 0.6, and 0.06 are all
between 0 and 1, and when we check the sum of the probabilities, we could
observe that the sum is 1. Thus, the above distribution is a valid probability
distribution for the discrete random variable X.

Try It Yourself! Identify if the following distribution is a valid probability distribution for
a discrete random variable X.

Example 2: Construct the probability distribution for the random variable X which
pertains to the number of female offsprings in a family of three children.

Solution: If a family has three children, the possible combinations of the gender of the
three children are S = {MMM, MMF, MFM, MFF, FMM, FFM, FMF, FFF} where
M represents a male offspring and F represents a female offspring. From the
outcomes, we can have the following:

Based on the table above, it is clear that the random variable can take on the
values 0, 1, 2, and 3. Thus, the probability distribution for the discrete random
variable is shown as follows:

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Try It Yourself! Construct the probability distribution for the random variable X which
pertains to the number of heads when you toss three coins at the
same time.

Example 3: Consider the random experiment of rolling a pair of fair dice. Construct a
probability distribution for a random variable X that denotes the sum of the
numbers in the two dice.

Solution: When two dice are rolled, the outcomes are S = {(1,1), (1,2), …, (5,6), (6,6)}.
From these outcomes, we can have the following:

Based on the table above, the random variable can take on the values 2, 3, 4,
5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12. The probability distribution for the discrete random
variable is shown below.

Try It Yourself! A wooden box contains 5 cards. Each card has a number written on
it. The numbers are 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11. If two cards are to be drawn
successively from the box, and X is a random variable that
represents the sum of the two numbered cards, construct a
probability distribution for the random variable X.

Example 4: A radiologist records the number of patients waiting in queue every 8 a.m.
for X-ray in a certain hospital for 20 consecutive days. The following are his
observations:

If X is a random variable that pertains to the number of patients waiting in

queue for X-ray every 8 a.m. in a certain hospital, construct a probability
distribution for the random variable X.
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Solution: Based on the above observations, the random variable can take on the values
0, 1, 2, 3, and 4. Using the relative frequency approach in assigning
probabilities, we can have the following probability distribution for the random
variable X.

Try It Yourself! The shop manager of a coffee shop records the number of students
visiting the shop every 3 p.m. on 30 consecutive days. The following
distribution shows the observations of the manager.

If is a random variable that represents the number of students visiting

the shop every 3 p.m., construct a probability distribution for the
random variable X.

Lesson 4: Solving Random Variables

Learn about It!

In the previous lesson, we discussed about probability distributions for a random

variable. For any probability distribution the probabilities of each outcome for the
random variable should be between 0 and 1, inclusive and that the sum of all the
probabilities is equal to 1.

In this lesson, we are going to explore solving for the random variables with missing
probabilities.

Let’s Practice!

Example 1: Given the probability distribution of a discrete random variable X below, find
P(X=1).

Solution: In a probability distribution for a discrete random variable, the sum of all the
probabilities of the outcomes should be equal to 1. That is, Σ P(X)=1. When
we add all the probabilities and equate it to 1, we have the following:

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Try It Yourself! Given the probability distribution of a discrete random variable X

below, find P(X=7).

Example 2: Given the probability distribution of a discrete random variable X below, find
P (X < 10).

Solution:

Try It Yourself!

Example 3:

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Solution:

Try It Yourself!

Example 4: The number of students in the library in any given hour is a random variable
represented by X. The following is the probability distribution for X.

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Find the probability that in a given hour,

a. at least 12 students are in the library?
b. at most 11 students are in the library?

Solution:

Try It Yourself!

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