STATISTICS AND PROBABILITY
LESSON 1:
RANDOM VARIABLE
Objectives:
1. Define random variable
2. Illustrate random variable
3. Distinguish between a discrete and continuous random
variable
4. Find possible values of a random Variable
GUESS ME RIGHT!
• Discrete • Continuous
▪ the thickness of a book
▪ mistakes per page
your
▪ the height
depth
▪ ▪thePeople
number ofofbottled
queuing the water
▪ number
waterin the
inofaocean
words
box
in the essay
✓ Discrete – can assume a countable number of values
✓ Continuous – have an infinite continuum of possible values
• STATISTICS AND PROBABILITY
RANDOM VARIABLE
• is a variable that assumes numerical values associated with the
random outcomes of an experiment, where one (and only one)
numerical value is assigned to each sample point.
• is a result of chance event, that you can measure or count.
• Uppercase letter is used to denote a random variable.
Examples:
1 if it rains 𝑌 = 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑔𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑛 0 𝑎𝑛𝑑 5
X=ቊ
0 if no rain 𝑌 = 1, 2, 3, 4
𝑍 = 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑘𝑔 𝑜𝑓 𝑎 𝑛𝑒𝑤 𝑏𝑜𝑟𝑛 𝑏𝑎𝑏𝑦
𝑍 = 2.5 ≤ 𝑍 ≤ 4.5
• STATISTICS AND PROBABILITY
ODD ONE OUT
Let’s exercise!
the number of number of days
push ups you can in a week you
do in five minutes exercise
amount of calories
number of steps for
burned after an
a 15-minute walk
exercise
• STATISTICS AND PROBABILITY
ODD ONE OUT
Science Matters
How long does
How fast can a
the virus that
sneeze spread
germs? causes COVID-19
last on surfaces?
Stay at least 1
number of ways a
meter distance to
virus may be
avoid contact with
transmitted
droplets
• STATISTICS AND PROBABILITY
ODD ONE OUT
ICT Version
time before you Distance reach
receive an email
from your
by Wi-Fi
colleague connection
length of cable
number of emails
from the server to
sent in a day
working station
• STATISTICS AND PROBABILITY
ODD ONE OUT
Road Trip
The volume of The number of
gasoline in a
Honda Beat
motorists that
motorcycle. gas up today.
The distance The length of time
travelled with a between motorists
full tank in a gasoline
motorcycle. station.
• STATISTICS AND PROBABILITY
LET’S CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING!
A. Classify the following as discrete random variable (DRV) or
continuous random variable (CRV).
1. number of pencils in a box
2. number of defective flashlights
3. voltage of radio batteries
4. amount of antibiotic in a vial
5. number of soldiers in a troop
6. length of wire ropes
• Find meaning in every uncertainty, that’s STATISTICS AND PROBABILITY - Anonymous
LET’S CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING!
A. Classify the following as discrete random variable (DRV) or
continuous random variable (CRV).
1. number of pencils in a box DRV
2. number of defective flashlights DRV
3. voltage of radio batteries CRV
4. amount of antibiotic in a vial CRV
5. number of soldiers in a troop DRV
6. length of wire ropes CRV
• Find meaning in every uncertainty, that’s STATISTICS AND PROBABILITY - Anonymous
POSSIBLE VALUES OF A RANDOM VARIABLE
Examples
1. Tossing a coin. Name a 2. Rolling a die.
random variable T. D = the number shown on the top
face.
𝑺 = 𝑯, 𝑻
𝑺 = 𝟏, 𝟐, 𝟑, 𝟒, 𝟓, 𝟔
0 if ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑑
T=ቊ
1 if 𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑙
𝑫 = 𝟏, 𝟐, 𝟑, 𝟒, 𝟓, 𝟔
𝑻 = 𝟎, 𝟏
• Find meaning in every uncertainty, that’s STATISTICS AND PROBABILITY - Anonymous
POSSIBLE VALUES OF A RANDOM VARIABLE
Example 3: Suppose two coins are tossed and we are interested to
determine the number of tails that will come out. Let us use T to represent
the number of tails that will come out. Determine the values of the random
variable T.
𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝟏: 𝑳𝒊𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒆
𝑺 = 𝑯𝑯, 𝑯𝑻, 𝑻𝑯, 𝑻𝑻 𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝟑: 𝑾𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒍𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏.
𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝟐: 𝑪𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒔 𝒊𝒏
𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓
∴ The values of the random
𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 variable T (number of tails) in this
Number of Tails experiment is are 0, 1, and 2
Outcome
(Value of T)
HH 0
HT 1 𝑻 = 𝟎, 𝟏, 𝟐
TH 1
TT 2
• Find meaning in every uncertainty, that’s STATISTICS AND PROBABILITY - Anonymous
POSSIBLE VALUES OF A RANDOM VARIABLE
Example 4 : Two balls are drawn in succession without replacement from
an urn containing 5 orange balls and 6 violet balls. Let V be the random
variable representing the number of violet balls. Find the values of the
random variable V.
𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝟏: 𝑳𝒊𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒆
𝑺 = 𝑶𝑶, 𝑶𝑽, 𝑽𝑶, 𝑽𝑽 𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝟑: 𝑾𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒍𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏.
𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝟐: 𝑪𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒗𝒊𝒐𝒍𝒆𝒕 𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒔 𝒊𝒏
𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓
∴ The values of the random
𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 variable V (number of violet
Outcome
Number of Tails balls) in this experiment is are 0,
(Value of T) 1, and 2
OO 0
OV 1 𝑽 = 𝟎, 𝟏, 𝟐
VO 1
VV 2
• Find meaning in every uncertainty, that’s STATISTICS AND PROBABILITY - Anonymous
POSSIBLE VALUES OF A RANDOM VARIABLE
Example 5: A basket contains 10 red balls and 4 white balls. If three balls are
taken from the basket one after the other, determine the possible values of the
random variable R representing the number of red balls.
𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝟏: 𝑳𝒊𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝑺 = 𝑹𝑹𝑹, 𝑹𝑹𝑾, 𝑹𝑾𝑹, 𝑾𝑹𝑹, 𝑾𝑾𝑹, 𝑾𝑹𝑾, 𝑹𝑾𝑾, 𝑾𝑾𝑾
𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝟐: 𝑪𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆
Number of Tails
Outcome
(Value of T)
𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝟑: 𝑾𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒍𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏.
RRR 3
RRW 2 ∴ The values of the random variable R
RWR 2 (number of red balls) in this experiment
WRR 2
is are 0, 1, 2, and 3
WWR 1
WRW 1 𝑹 = 𝟎, 𝟏, 𝟐, 𝟑
RWW 1
WWW 0
• Find meaning in every uncertainty, that’s STATISTICS AND PROBABILITY - Anonymous
LET’S CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING!
1. A box contains 4 green and 2 blue dice. Three dice are chosen one after
the other. Determine the values of the random variable G representing the
number of green dice.
𝒂. 𝑳𝒊𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒆
𝑺 = ____________________________________________
c. 𝑾𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒍𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏.
𝒃. 𝑪𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉
𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆
∴ The values of the random variable are
Outcome
Number of Green die _____________________
(Value of G)
𝑮 = _________
• Find meaning in every uncertainty, that’s STATISTICS AND PROBABILITY - Anonymous
LET’S CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING!
2. A coin is flipped four times. Let T be the number of tails that
come out. Determine the values of the random variable T.
𝒂. 𝑳𝒊𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒆
𝑺 = ____________________________________________
c. 𝑾𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒍𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏.
𝒃. 𝑪𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉
𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆
∴ The values of the random variable are
Outcome
Number of Tails _____________________
(Value of T)
𝑻 = _________
• Find meaning in every uncertainty, that’s STATISTICS AND PROBABILITY - Anonymous
LET’S CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING!
2. A coin is flipped four times. Let T be the number of tails that
come out. Determine the values of the random variable T.
𝒂. 𝑳𝒊𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒆
𝑺 = ____________________________________________
c. 𝑾𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒍𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏.
𝒃. 𝑪𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉
𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆
∴ The values of the random variable are
Outcome
Number of Tails _____________________
(Value of T)
𝑻 = _________
• Find meaning in every uncertainty, that’s STATISTICS AND PROBABILITY - Anonymous
LET’S CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING!
Value of the Random
Given Random Variable
Variable
A coin is tossed three times, and
the number of heads is Number of heads in 3 tosses H = {0, 1, 2, 3}
recorded.
It is observed whether a traffic Whether the light is green (Green = 1,
G = {0, 1}
light is green or not. Not green = 0)
The number of correct answers
Number of correct answers C = {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5}
in a 5-item quiz is recorded.
You check if a customer buys a Whether a customer buys (Yes = 1,
Y = {0, 1}
product or not. No = 0)
A basketball player attempts
two free throws, and the number Number of successful free throws F = {0, 1, 2}
of successful shots is noted.
• Find meaning in every uncertainty, that’s STATISTICS AND PROBABILITY - Anonymous
LET’S CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING!
A. Classify each random variable as either discrete or continuous.
[Link] number of arrivals at an emergency room between
midnight and 6:00 a.m.
[Link] weight of a box of cereal labeled 18 ounces.
[Link] duration of the next outgoing telephone call from a
business office.
[Link] number of kernels of popcorn in a 1-pound container.
[Link] number of applicants for a job.
• Find meaning in every uncertainty, that’s STATISTICS AND PROBABILITY - Anonymous
LET’S CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING!
[Link] each random variable as either discrete or continuous.
6. The number of boys in a randomly selected three-child
family.
7. The temperature of a cup of coffee served at a restaurant.
8. The number of no-shows for every 100 reservations made
with a commercial airline.
9. The number of vehicles owned by a randomly selected
household.
10. The average amount spent on electricity each July by a
randomly selected household in a certain state.
• Find meaning in every uncertainty, that’s STATISTICS AND PROBABILITY - Anonymous
LET’S CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING!
B. Read each situation carefully. List the possible values of a random variable
1. A coin is tossed three times, and the number of heads is recorded.
2. It is observed whether a traffic light is green or not.
3. The number of correct answers in a 5-item quiz is recorded.
4. You check if a customer buys a product or not.
5. A basketball player attempts two free throws, and the number of successful
shots is noted.
• Find meaning in every uncertainty, that’s STATISTICS AND PROBABILITY - Anonymous
REFERENCES
• [Link]
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