WEEKS 1 – 2 ACTIVITIES

Topic: Random Variables and Probability Distribution

A. Classify the following random variables as discrete or continuous.

1. The speed of the car
2. The number of voters favoring a candidate
3. The time needed to finish the test
4. The weight of newborns each year in a hospital
5. The amount of sugar in a cup of coffee
6. The number of deaths per year attributed to lung cancer
7. The average amount of electricity consumed per household per month
8. The number of patient arrivals per hour at a medical clinic
9. The number of dropouts in a school district for 10 years
10. The number of female athletes

B. Draw and complete the table shown below by writing the possible outcomes of tossing
four fair coins and the value of the random variable A denoting the number of head/s.
You may add more rows if needed.

Value of the Random Variable A

Possible Outcomes
(Number of Heads)

C. Construct the probability distribution for the random variables described in each of
the following situations.
1. Two dice are tossed. Let X be the random variable representing the sum of two dice.
Give all possible outcomes and find the values of the random variable X.

2. Four coins are tossed. Let Y be the random variable representing the number of
heads. Give all possible outcomes and find the values of the random variable Y.

D. Solve the following problems. Show your solutions.

1. The following data show the probabilities for the number of cars sold in a given day
at a car dealer store.
Number
of Cars 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
X
P(X=x) 0.10 0.15 0.25 0.15 0.08 0.08 0.06 0.05 0.04 0.02 0.02
a. Find 𝑃(𝑋 ≤ 2)
b. Find 𝑃(𝑋 ≥ 7)
c. Find 𝑃(1 ≤ 𝑋 ≤ 5)

2. The daily demand for copies of a movie magazine at a variety store has the
probability distribution as follows.
Number
of
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Copies
X
𝑷(𝑿 = 0.06 0.14 0.16 0.14 0.12 0.10 0.08 0.07 0.06 0.04 0.03
𝒙)
a. What is the probability that 3 or more copies will be demanded on a particular
day?
b. What is the probability that the demand will be at least 2 but not more than 6?
c. Draw the histogram of the probability distribution.
Topic: Mean and Variance of a Discrete Probability Distribution

Solve the following problems. Show your solutions.

A. In a school canteen, the number of ballpens (X) sold every recess time varies from
day to day. Past records indicate that the probability distribution of X is as follows:

No. of Ballpens Probability

X P(X)
0 0.029
1 0.049
2 0.078
3 0.155
4 0.212
5 0.262
6 0.215
Questions:
1. What is the probability that exactly four ballpens are sold?
2. What is the probability that at least two ballpens are sold?
3. What is the probability that at least two but fewer than five ballpens are sold?
4. What is the mean of the probability distribution? Use the given formula and solve.

B. The number of computers sold per day at a local computer store, along with its
corresponding probabilities, is shown in the table. Find the variance and standard
deviation of the distribution.
Number of
Computers Probability
Sold X P(X) 𝑿 (𝑿 − 𝝁) (𝑿 − 𝝁)𝟐

0 0.1

1 0.2

2 0.3

3 0.2

4 0.2

_________ __________
The variance of the probability distribution is _________________.
The standard deviation of the probability distribution is ____________.