SAINT VINCENT COLLEGE OF CABUYAO

Mamatid, City of Cabuyao Laguna

SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT

I. Module Number: 5 Topic: DISCRETE PROBABILITY DISTRIBUTIONS

Reference: Statistics and Probability pp. 36 – 45

II. Objectives:
1. Distinguish between a discrete and a continuous random variable.
2. Find the possible values of a random variable.
3. Construct the probability mass function of a discrete random variable and its corresponding histogram.
4. Solve problems involving mean, variance and standard deviation of probability distribution.

III. Key Concepts (Summary of the Lesson)

Random Variables – also called a stochastic variable, is a rule that assigns a numerical value or characteristic to an
outcome of an experiment.
It is essentially a variable, usually denoted as X or any capital letter of the alphabet, because its value is not a constant – it
assumes different values due to chance or depending on the outcome of each trial.
Now, the set of all possible values possible for a given random variable is called range space.
For example, when two coins are tossed and the random variable X is defined as the number of heads that appear, the
range space is the set {0,1,2}
Generally, there are two categories of random variables: Discrete and Continuous Random Variables.
1. Discrete Random Variables – countable numbers of distinct values, which are whole numbers. (counts)
2. Continuous Random Variables – infinite number of possible values including the decimals between two numbers.
(measurements)
Example 1: Consider the random event of tossing four coins and the variable X gives you the number of heads that appear.
Your range space, then, will be the set {0,1,2,3,4}.
There are 16 possible outcomes as follows:
HHHH HTHH THHH TTHH
HHHT HTHT THHT TTHT
HHTH HTTH THTH TTTH
HHTT HTTT THTT TTTT

Number of Heads (X) 0 1 2 3 4

Probability (P(X)) 0.0625 0.25 0.375 0.25 0.0625

This table is called a probability distribution, which is also known as probability mass function.
- This gives a list of probability values along with their associated value in the range of a discrete random variable.

Also, note that like any other statistical distribution, a probability mass function maybe graph using a histogram in which the
horizontal axis represents the value of the random variable X and the vertical axis gives the corresponding probabilities,
P(X).
Mean of a Discrete Random Variable
The mean µ is the central value or average of its corresponding mass function. It is computed using the formula.

Like for example 1, find the mean of a random variable Y defined as the number of heads appear in tossing four coins.

Interpretation of the mean: The average value of the variable is 2, which means that in a tossing four coins, it will most
likely show 2 heads.

Variance and Standard Deviation

These are measures of variability, which means that they describe the degree of homogeneity and heterogeneity of a given
set data. Mostly, mean is not enough to describe a random variable because there are instances when to probability
distributions have the same mean but are entirely different.
Consider the following probability distributions:
X 2 4 6 8
P(X) 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25
µ = (2) (0.25) + (4) (0.25) + (6) (0.25) + (8) (0.25)
µ = 0.5 + 1 + 1.5 + 2
µ=5
X 2 4 6 8
P(X) 0.4 0.1 0.1 0.4
µ = (2) (0.4) + (4) (0.1) + (6) (0.1) + (8) (0.4)
µ = 0.8 + 0.4 + 0.6 + 3.2
µ=5
Both has the same mean and it’s hard to compare the difference between the two set of data. Therefore, variance and
standard deviation can help you describe how different these two distributions are.

Formula of Variance:
2

Formula of Standard Deviation:

2
2
Let’s compare the two probability distributions.

x 2 4 6 8
p(x) 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25
(x - µ) -3 -1 1 3
(x - µ)2 9 1 1 9
4
σ2 ¿ ∑ ( x¿¿ i−µ) p ( x i ) ¿
n=1

σ2 = 9(0.25) + 1 (0.25) + 1(0.25) + 9(0.25)

σ2 = 5
σ = √ 5 ≈ 2.24

x 2 4 6 8
p(x) 0.4 0.1 0.1 0.4
(x - µ) -3 -1 1 3
(x - µ)2 9 1 1 9

4
σ ¿ ∑ ( x¿¿ i−µ) p ( x i ) ¿
2

n=1

σ2 = 9(0.4) + 1 (0.1) + 1(0.1) + 9(0.4)

σ2 = 7.4
σ = √ 7.4 ≈ 2.72
Take note: The higher the standard deviation from the mean, the more spread out.
Interpretation: The second probability distribution is more spread out or heterogeneous from the mean than the first
probability distribution.

A: ACTIVITY # 3: ANSWER THE FOLLOWING.

1. A card is drawn from a deck of 20 cards (i.e., all the cards numbered 1 to 5 in a standard deck) and the
random variable W gives the number on the card. Construct the probability mass function. Then get the mean,
variance and standard deviation.

2. Three coins are tossed and the random variable Z gives the number of tails. Determine the ff.
a. Z (HHT) b. Z (TTH) c. Z (HTH) d. Z (TTT) e. RANGE SPACE

3. Let “T“ be a random variable giving the number of heads plus the number of tails in three tosses of a coin.
List the elements of the sample space S for the three tosses of the coin and assign a value to each sample point.

4. The probabilities that a printer produces 0, 1, 2, and 3 misprints are 42%, 28%, 18%, and 12%, respectively.
Construct a probability mass function and then compute the mean value of the random variable, variance and
standard deviation of the random variable.

B: Classify the following random variables as discrete or continuous.

a. the number of defective computers produced by a manufacturer
b. the weight of newborns each year in a hospital
c. the number of siblings in a family of a region
d. the amount of paint utilized in a building project
e. the number of dropouts in a school district for a period of 10 years
f. the results of rolling 2 dice
g. the number of students in a class
h. the length of a leaf
i. a dog's weight or a person's height
V. EVALUATION:

QUIZ # 3:
A: SOLVE THE FOLLOWING.
1. A pair of dice is thrown and the random variable M is defined such that M gives the sum of the two numbers
that appear. Find the following.
a. possible outcome
b. range spaces
c. table / probability mass function
d. mean
e. variance
f. standard deviation

2. Three coins are tossed. Let Y be the random variable representing the number of tails that occur. Find the
following.
a. possible outcome
b. range spaces
c. table / probability mass function
d. mean
e. variance
f. standard deviation

Prepared by: Checked by:

JOVIE NICOLE C. MENDOZA DANIEL S. FALLE, LPT, MAEd – CAR

Statistics and Probability Teacher SHS Academic coordinator

Approved by:

TEOFILO H. ORIO JR., LPT, MAEd

SHS Department Head