Introduction to Probability Distributions Worksheet

1. Identify whether the following are discrete or continuous random variables:

a) The number of job applications received each week by a restaurant

Discrete random variable. Because you can't have a fraction or decimal number of job applications. Each week, the
restaurant may receive a specific count of job applications, and there are gaps between the possible values

b) The time it takes a student to complete his or her math homework

Continuous random variable. The reason is that the time it takes can vary across a wide
range and can include fractions or decimals.

c) The number of defective parts in a sample taken from a factory

Discrete random variable. Since the number of defective parts can only be counted
as a whole number not a fraction of a part.

d) The life span of a light bulb observed during a quality control test
Continuous random variable. The reason is that the life span of a light bulb can take on any value within a certain range,
including fractions and decimals like 2.5 years or 4.5 years.

e) The total amount of money earned at a movie theatre during a day

Discrete random variable. Let's say the movie theatre is earning money by selling tickets.
Only a whole number of tickets can be sold.

2. Which of the following are valid probability distributions? Explain

a) P(X)
X Probability For a probability distribution to be valid, the sum
of the probabilities (P(X)) must equal to 1. In
0 0.5 this case the only two probability distributions
1 0.25 that fit this category is option b) and option d).

2 0.25
3 0.25

b) P(X)
X Probability
0 0.2
1 0.3
2 0.4
3 0.1
Total = 1

c) P(X)
X Probability
0 0.2
1 0.1
2 0.25
3 0.15
 d) P(X)
X Probability
Note to self for languages learned:
0 0.1 - Symmetric or Nonsymmetric
1 0.1 - Binomial or Hypergeometric
- Continuous or Discrete
2 0.8 - Central tendency
- Must include three descriptions for each graph
Total = 1

3. Describe the following distributions using the language you learned in lesson 1.
a) Number of Smarties in Mini-boxes Histogram b) Test Scores Histogram
0.24

Relative Frequency
Relative Frequency

0.20
0.20
0.16
0.16
0.12 0.12
0.08 0.08
0.04 0.04

7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 0 2 4 6 8 10 12
X X

c) d) Player Stats Histogram

Test Scores Histogram 0.016
Relative Frequency

0.014
Relative Frequency

0.08 0.012
0.010
0.06 0.008
0.04 0.006
0.004
0.02 0.002

0 2 4 6 8
25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 Goals
X

4. Fill in the following probability distributions.

a) One card is drawn from a standard deck of 52 cards:
Suit Clubs Diamonds Hearts Spades
Probability 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25

1
What is the sum of all the probabilities? _______
b) A card is drawn and a coin is flipped:
Outcome Clubs & Heads Not-Clubs & Heads Clubs & Tails Not-Clubs & Tails
Probability 1
3/8 1/8 3/8
8

P(C lub s & Heads ) = P(C lub s ) × P(Heads )

1 1
= ×
4 2
1
=
8

1
What is the sum of all the probabilities? _______

c) Two cards are drawn from a standard deck of 52 cards WITHOUT replacement:
Suit Two Clubs One Club No clubs
Probability 1
17

C
P(Two C lub s ) = 13 2
52 C 2
78
=
1326
1
=
17

1
What is the sum of all the probabilities? _______
5. Samuel thinks the die for his game is not “fair”. He conducted 1000 trials to determine
the experimental probability of the different outcomes for his die. He recorded the
outcomes in the table below.

Outcome 1 2 3 4 5 6
Probability 0.2 0.25 0.1 0.1 0.15 0.2

a) What is the probability of rolling a 1 on Samuel’s die?

1/5

b) What is the probability of rolling an even number on Samuel’s die?

1/4 + 1/10 + 1/5 = 11/20

c) Determine P(roll < 5)

1/5 + 1/4 + 1/10 + 1/10 = 13/20

d) Determine P(roll = 5)′ Probability of NOT rolling a 5

P(roll = 5)' = 1 - 3/20

= 17/20
= 0.85
e) Sketch a graph of this probability distribution.

Drawing done on paper next page.

f) What type of distribution is this?

This is a discrete probability distribution. Meaning that our probabilities

g) Is Samuel right? Do you agree that his die is not “fair”?

Samuel is correct that it is unfair because it doesn't guarantee fairness. Fairness is
determined by whether the assigned probabilities are equal to the expected
probabilities. In this case the recorded probabilities are not uniformly distributed,
deviating from the expected probabilities for a fair.