Prepared by Jirish Rivera
Mathematics 102
Random Variables & Probability Outcomes
 Sample Space- the set of all possible
outcomes in an experiment
 Sample outcome- each possible outcome in
an experiment
 Values- determined by chance, denoted by
capital letters
I. Random Variables
- A variable whose possible values are outcomes of a
random phenomenon/experiment (Chan Shio and
Reyes, 2017)
- A function that assigns a real number to each
element in the sample space.
 Random Process => Outcome
=> Quantify => Numerical Value
A. Two types of Random Variable:
1. Discrete- value is obtained by counting
2. Continuous- value is obtained by measuring
II. Probability Distribution
- A mapping or list of all values of a random
variable to their corresponding probabilities
for a given sample space.
Discrete Probability Distribution
- Consists of the values a random variable can
assume and the corresponding probabilities of
the values
- a.k.a. Probability Mass Function or PMF.
A. Properties of a PMF:
1. The probability outcome is between 0 and
1, and it has no negative outcome.
2. The sum of all probability outcomes is 1.
3. The listing is exhaustive. Should consider
all the possibilities.
4. The outcomes are mutually exclusive.
They should not occur at the same time.
12 ALENIO B – OFFICIAL CLASS REVIEWER
III. Mean and Variance of a PMF
A. Measures of Central Tendency- are summary
statistics that represents the center point or typical
value of a data set
B. Central Tendency- average tendency of data to
cluster around a middle value
C. 3 common measures of central tendency:
1. Mean
2. Median
3. Mode
D. Measures of Validity- are summary statistics that
represents the amount of dispersion in a dataset
- it defines how far away the data points tend
to fall from the center
 Low dispersion indicates the datapoints tend
to cluster tightly to the center. Higher
dispersion indicates they fall further away
from the center.
 In statistics, variability, dispersion, and spread are
synonyms; they denote the width of a
distribution, it tells the width gaps of the values.
Mean (Expected Value)- the theoretical average of
the variable. Its expected value is the long run average
value of X.
- Represented as “µ”, read as “myu”
μ=∑ [¿ X∗P(X )]=x 1∗P( x1 )+ … x n∗P(x n) ¿
Variance- average of the difference of the means
- represented as “ σ 2”, read as “sigma squared”
σ 2=∑ [ x 2+ P ( x ) ]−μ2
Standard Deviation- measures the dispersion of a
dataset relative to its mean and is calculated as the
square root of the variance
- Bigger SD means larger gaps in data, and vice
versa.
- represented as “σ ”, read as “sigma”
σ =√∑ ¿ ¿ ¿
 Prepared by Jirish Rivera
Coefficent of Variation- relative standard deviation
- a measure of relative dispersion that
expresses the standard deviation as a
percentage of the mean
- indicates the consistency of a dataset
σ
COV= ∗100=n %
μ
IV. Normal Distribution
- A probability distribution of a continuous
random variable.
- a.k.a. Gaussian distribution, after the german
mathematician, Carl Friedrich Gauss.
- Determined by two parameters: the mean µ
and the standard deviation σ.
A. Properties of ND
1. Its graph is a bell-shaped curve.
2. Its curve is symmetrical about its center/
the y-axis.
3. The mean, median, and mode coincide at
the center of the distribution.
4. The distribution is uni-model—only 1
hump.
5. The curve is asymptotic with respect to
the x-axis. It does not intersect with the x-
axis.
6. The total area under the curve is 1.
B. Empirical Rule of ND
- In statistics, the ER determines the
proportion of values that fall within certain
distances from the mean.
- It specifies that approximately 68% of the
values lie in the interval; 95% of the values
like in the interval; and 99.7% of the values lie
in the interval
 A value that has a z-score lower than -3 or larger
than 3 is considered an outlier.
 Outlier- an observation that is unusually different
from the rest of the observation
12 ALENIO B – OFFICIAL CLASS REVIEWER
Standard Normal distribution
- A normal distribution whose mean is 0 ( µ=0 )
and whose standard deviation is 1 ( σ =1 ).
- Useful when it comes to comparing different
data sets that have different values of its
mean and standard deviation.
- To convert ND to standard ND, calculate the
probability of a normal random variable by
calculating the are under the curve:
x −μ
Z=
σ
Areas under the Normal Curve
- Can be found using the z-table
 z-value (z-score)- a measure of relative standing
with respect to the random variable X
- it represents the distance between a given
measurement X and the mean, expressed in
standard deviations.
 Steps in finding the areas under the normal curve
with respect to a z-value:
1. Express the given z-value into a three-digit
form (up to hundredths place).
2. Find the first two digits on the left column of
the z-table.
3. Match the third digit with the appropriate
column on the right.
4. Find the intersection of the row and the
column.
 Note: There are several types of z-table. In this
lesson, we will be using the cumulative
distribution of the z-table. The cumulative
distribution is denoted by φ(𝑧) = 𝑃(𝑍 < 𝑧).
 To find the area (probability) of a z-score, there
are 4 cases to consider:
1. 𝑃(𝑍 < 𝑧) = ϕ(𝑧)
2. 𝑃(𝑍 > 𝑧) = 1 − ϕ(𝑧)
3. 𝑃 ( z 1 < 𝑍 < z 2)= ϕ ( z 2 )−ϕ( z 1 )
 Remember that the area should be
positive, so input first the bigger value
when subtracting two ϕ of a z-score.
4. 𝑃 (𝑍 < z 1 ¿ 𝑜𝑟 𝑍 > z 2 ¿ =
= ϕ ( z ¿¿ 1) ¿+ [1 − ϕ ( z 2 )
 Prepared by Jirish Rivera

(Good luck sa f2f exams!)

V. Application of Normal Distribution Mock tests with answer keys for practice:

(For any set of measurements, a percentile is a point Random variables:

in the distribution such that the given number of
cases is below it. It is a descriptive measure of the
relationship of a measurement to the rest of the
data.)
Given that the random variable X has a normal
distribution with a mean of 3.25 and a standard
Probability Distribution:
deviation of 0.6, find:
a. The 48th percentile, 𝑃 48.
b. The 95th percentile, 𝑃 95.
a. Step 1: Express the given percentage as a
probability.
Mean and Variance of a PMF
48% = 0. 4800
Step 2: Find the z-score that corresponds to the given
probability.
Since there is no exact z-score with an area of 0.4800,
you will select -0.05 with an area of 0.4801. (If the
Normal Distributions
given probability has no exact corresponding z-score,
select a z-score with an area closest to the given
probability.)
Therefore, the 48th percentile is at 𝑧 =− 0. 05.
b. Step 1: 95% = 0. 9500
Step 2: Since there is no exact z-score with an area of
0.9500, you will select 1.64 and 1.65 with an area of
0.9495 and 0.9505, respectively.
- https://itfeature.com/random-variables/
random-variables-quiz-3
- https://www.sanfoundry.com/mathematics-
online-quiz-class-12/
- https://www.murrieta.k12.ca.us/cms/lib5/
CA01000508/Centricity/ModuleInstance/
8805/Chapter_6-
8_Probability_Review_Multiple_Choice.pdf
- https://faculty.fiu.edu/~and/STA2122/
practice/practice-CH4.pdf
- https://www.mathsisfun.com/data/random-
variables-mean-variance.html (reviewer)
- https://sites.calvin.edu/scofield/courses/
m143/F09/worksheets/w03-
normalDistWithAnswers.pdf
- https://www.csusm.edu/stemsc/
worksheets/project1/
m101_data_presentation_normaldistribution.
pdf
- https://faculty.fiu.edu/~and/STA2122/
practice/practice-CH5.pdf

(It happens that the given probability is located in the

middle (or has the same distances) of areas located in
z-table, you will compute for the average of the
corresponding z-scores of those areas.)

𝑧 − 𝑠𝑐𝑜𝑟𝑒 = 1.64+1.65 2 = 1. 645

Therefore, the 95th percentile is at 𝑧 = 1. 645.

Fin…

12 ALENIO B – OFFICIAL CLASS REVIEWER