Discrete and Continuous Random

Variables
Section 7.1
 Sample Spaces
• Sample space do not always consist of
numbers. In statistics, however, we are most
interested in numerical outcomes. Let’s
examine a family with three children. Because
of the Multiplication Rule we know there
should be __ outcomes:
• The sample space of gender is:
 Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
• Suppose we are
interested in the
number of girls in
the family. We let
X be the number of
girls. The possible
values of X are 0,
1, 2, and 3.
 A Random Variable
•Looking at one family with three children will
give us a value for X. Looking at a different family
of three would probably give us different value.
We call X a random variable because its values
vary for each family we look at.
 One Probability Model
• List out all possible outcomes and assign a
probability to each. We call such random
variables discrete.
The Probability Distribution of a
Die Roll:
Outcome:

Probability:

Probability Histogram:
 The Probability Distribution of the
Number of Heads in 4 Coin Tosses
• Number of Heads:

• Probability:

sum =
Probability Histogram for the # of Heads in
Four Coin Tosses
 Calculate the Probability…

• P(X ≤ 3) =

• P(X ≥ 1) =

• P(X < 2) =
 Another Probability Model
• Probability as area under a density curve is a
second way of assigning probabilities to
events.
• Remember from Chapter 2:
Some Density Curves
 Another Kind of Random Variable
• A random variable that does not take discrete
values, but is instead an entire interval of
numbers, is called a continuous random
variable.
 Area of a Line?
• The probability model for a continuous
random variable assigns probabilities to
intervals of outcomes rather than to individual
outcomes.

• In fact, all continuous probability distributions

assign probability 0 to every individual
outcome. (So for continuous random variables,
there is no distinction between > and ≥.)
 The Uniform Distribution
• Let the random variable X have a uniform distribution.
Find the probabilities:

• P(X ≤ 0.24) =

• P(X > 0.39) =

• P(0.3 ≤ X < 0.7) =