S TAT I S T I C S

&
PROBABILITY
Prepared by:
VIRGINIA CAJANO, LPT
Mathematics & Statistics Teacher

Reference: Essentials of statistics & probability

grade 11.
TOPIC: Computing
probabilities to a
given random
variable.

𝒇 𝒙𝒊
𝑷 𝒙𝒊 =
𝒏
 Objectives:

Compute probabilities corresponding

to a given random variable..
Construct a histogram of Probability
Mass Function.
LESSON PROPER
Definition:
A random variable (stochastic variable) is a
numerical quantity that is derived from the outcomes
of random experiments.
PROBABILITY DISTRIBUTION
Refers to the list of values of the random
variable and their corresponding probability in
an experiment. Probability is defined as the
numerical likelihood that a certain event will
happen.
 PROBABILITY DISTRIBUTION - continuous

Probability distribution is classified

according to the type of random variable.

If the random variable is continuous,

the probability distribution in function is
called probability density function.
 PROBABILITY DISTRIBUTION- discrete

If the random variable is discrete,

the function is called probability mass
function (pmf). Probability mass
function is also known as frequency
function. Hence, it is denoted by P(x)
of f(x).
 PROBABILITIES CORRESPONDING TO
A G I V E N V A R I A B L E .
To compute the probability of each of the value
of the random variable, the formula is
𝒇𝒙𝒊
𝑷 𝒙𝒊 =
𝒏
Where 𝒇𝒙𝒊 is the frequency of the random
variable and n is the total number of sample
outcomes.
 Two balls are drawn Example 1
in succession without
replacement from an
urn containing 5
orange balls and 6
violet balls. Let V be
the random variable
representing the
number of violet
balls. Find the values
of the random variable
V.
 Two balls are drawn Steps Example 1
in succession without 1. List the sample space
replacement from an S = {OO, OV, VO, VV}
urn containing 5 2. Count the number of violet
orange balls and 6 balls in each outcome and assign
violet balls. Let V be this number to this outcome.
the random variable
representing the
OO 0
number of violet OV 1
balls. Find the values VO 1
of the random variable VV 2

V.
 Two balls are drawn Steps Example 1
in succession without 3. Construct the frequency
replacement from an distribution of the values of the
random variable V.
urn containing 5
Number of Violet Number of
orange balls and 6 Balls (Value of V) Occurrence
violet balls. Let V be (Frequency)

the random variable 0 1

representing the
number of violet 1 2
balls. Find the values 2 1
of the random variable
V. Total : 4
 Example 1
Steps
4. Construct the
probability distribution
Table (tabular) of the
random variable V by
getting the probability 0.25
of occurrence of each 0.5
value of the random
variable. 0.25

𝒇𝒙𝒊
𝑷 𝒙𝒊 =
𝒏
𝒏=𝟒 0 1 2
0.25 0.5 0.25
5. Construct the 1
probability histogram.
What does Probability 0.75
Mass Function tell you?
A probability mass
function (pmf) is a 0.5
function over the
sample space of a
discrete random 0.25
variable X
which gives the
probability that X is
equal to a certain
value.
How do you draw a graph of PMF?
The histogram is just a graph of a PMF.
On the x-axis are the discrete random
variables; On the y-axis are the
probabilities for each discrete variable.
The area under a curve of a probability
mass function is 100% (i.e. the
probability of all events, when added
together, is 100%).
 Example 1 Example 2
A basket contains 10 Suppose three coins
red balls and 4 white are tossed and we are
balls. If three balls are interested to determine
taken from the basket the number of tails that
one after the other, will come out. Let us
determine the possible use T to represent the
values of the random number of tails that will
variable R representing come out. Determine
the number of red the values of the
balls. random variable T.
1.sample space 2. Count the number of red balls in each outcome
and assign this number to this outcome.

S = {RRR,
RRW,
RWR,
WRR,
WWR,
WRW,
RWW,
WWW}
Number of Number of
occurrence of red Probability
(red balls)
balls P(R)
(Value of R)
frequency

0 1 𝑷 𝟎
𝟏
= = 𝟎. 𝟏𝟐
𝟖
1 3 𝑷 𝟏
𝟑
= = 𝟎. 𝟑𝟕
𝟖
2 3 𝑷 𝟐
𝟑
= = 𝟎. 𝟑𝟕
𝟖
3 1 𝑷 𝟑
𝟏
= = 𝟎. 𝟏𝟐
𝟖
TOTAL
8 0.98
 HISTOGRAM
0.4

0.35

0.3

0.25
P(R)

0.2

0.15

0.1

0.05

0
0 1 2 3
R – random variables
Figure 1. The probability distribution of randomly selected red balls.
Suppose three coins are tossed and
we are interested to determine the
number of tails that will come out. Let
us use T to represent the number of
tails that will come out. Determine the
values of the random variable T.
 GROUP-2 2. Count the number of Tails in each outcome and
assign this number to this outcome.

1.sample space OUTCOMES NUMBER OF TAILS

(value of T)

HHH 0
S = {HHH,
HHT, HHT 1
HTT, HTT 1
THT, THT 1
TTH, TTH 2
TTT, TTT 3
THH,
THH 2
HTH}
HTH 2
GROUP-2 ANSWER KEY
Number of Number of
occurrence of Tail Probability
tails
(Value of T) P(T)
frequency

0 1 𝑷 𝟎
𝟏
= = 𝟎. 𝟏𝟐
𝟖
1 3 𝑷 𝟏
𝟑
= = 𝟎. 𝟑𝟕
𝟖
2 3 𝑷 𝟐
𝟑
= = 𝟎. 𝟑𝟕
𝟖
3 1 𝑷 𝟑
𝟏
= = 𝟎. 𝟏𝟐
𝟖
TOTAL
8 0.98
 HISTOGRAM
0.4

0.35

0.3

0.25
P(T)

0.2

0.15

0.1

0.05

0
0 1 2 3
R – random variables
Figure 1. The probability distribution of random variable T (tails) variables
 Questions:
How do you find the random variable in the
given situation?
Step 1: List all simple events in sample space
Step 2: Find probability for each simple event.
Step 3: List possible values for random variable
X and identify the value for each simple event.
Step 4: Find all simple events for which X = k,
for each possible value k.
 What are the steps in doing probability
distribution?
Step 1: List out all possible outcomes
of the experiment.
Step 2: Count the total number of outcomes
and calculate the probability of each
outcome.
Step 3: Display the information in a histogram
with probabilities on the vertical axis and
outcomes on the horizontal axis.
 What do you notice about the
probability values of random
variable in each probability
distribution?

The sum of all probability values is

equal to 1. The value of each
probability is within 0 and 1 inclusive
What is the sum of the probabilities of
a random variable?
1
The probabilities in the probability
distribution of a random variable X must
satisfy the following two conditions: Each
probability P(x) must be between 0 and
1: 0≤P(x)≤1. The sum of all the
probabilities is 1: ΣP(x)=1.
 Why should the sum of the
probabilities in a probability
distribution is always equal to 1?

So that all possible values of the

random variable are included in the
probability distribution, the sum of the
probabilities is 1.
What is the shape of most probability
distributions? Why do you think so?

Bell shaped distributions are what is

known in math and science as a
normal (or Gaussian) distribution;
they are the most important
probability distribution shape since it
is usually the product of a sufficiently
large data set from random variables
found in nature.
Problems in PROBABILITY DISTRIBUTION.
Considering the given problems, present the
probability distribution based on the following:
a. Probability Mass Function
b. Tabular form
c. Graphical form/histogram
d. Interpret the result.