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Constructing Probability Mass
Function and Computing for
the Probability of a Random
Variable

Mrs. Maylene A. Mangurali

November 11, 2019
Objectives
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:
• construct the probability mass function of a discrete
random variable and its corresponding histogram, and
• compute probabilities corresponding to a given
random variable.
The table below shows the possible outcomes of tossing a
coin twice.

Based on the table, what is the probability of getting two

consecutive heads? What is the probability of getting two
consecutive tails?
Which is more likely to happen: getting two consecutive
heads or getting two consecutive tails?
Is the table sufficient to answer the previous questions?
Learn about it!
Construct a probability mass function and its corresponding
histogram for the number of heads when a coin is tossed twice.
Probability Mass Function
There is an easier way to know which event is more probable to
occur. It is through the use of probability mass function.
A random variable x denotes a set of values with different
probabilities. It is said to be discrete when the number of outcomes
is finite or countable. Some examples of discrete random variables
are determining whether heads or tails, dead or alive, positive or
negative, rolling a die, etc.
The probability mass function is a one-to-one mapping between
the possible values of the random variable x to their respective
probabilities of occurrence. Let the probabilities of occurrence of an
event be denoted by P(x). The value of P(x) ranges from zero to one.
The probability mass function has a corresponding graph
called histogram.
Step 1: Determine the sample space.
The sample space is {HH, HT, TH, TT}. There are four
elements in the sample space.
Step 2: Calculate the probability of the random
variable.
Identify the probability of the random variable to
occur in relation the sample space.
P(x=0)=P(0T)=P(HH)=14=0.25
P(x=1)=P(1T)=P(THorHT)=24=0.5
P(x=2)=P(2T)=P(TT)=14=0.25
Step 3: Construct a table for the probability
distribution.
Here are the steps in creating a probability mass
function and its corresponding histogram:
Step 1: Construct the table containing the random
variables. Identify all possible outcomes.

Step 2: Count the occurrence of each possible

outcome.
The experiment is concerned with the number of
heads. Thus, count the number of heads for each
possible outcome.
Step 3: Determine the probability of each outcome.
The formula for finding the probability, P(x),

In the experiment above, there are four possible

outcomes. Let x be the number of heads and P(x) be
the probability of each outcome.

Step 4: Construct a table for the expected outcomes, x,

and their corresponding probabilities, P(x).
Note: The sum of all the probabilities should be
equal to one.
Step 5: Create the corresponding histogram with
the x-axis as the expected outcome and y-axis as
the probability of each outcome.
Try it!
Find the probability mass function of throwing a pair of dice. Hence, draw its
corresponding histogram.
Try it! Solution
Step 1: Construct the table containing the random variables. Then, identify
all possible outcomes.
Group the possible outcomes in such a way that the sums of the two
numbers appearing on the dice are the same.
Step 2: Count the occurrence of each possible
outcome.
The expected outcome is the sum of the numbers
appearing on the dice.
Step 2: Count the occurrence of each possible
outcome.
The expected outcome is the sum of the numbers
appearing on the dice.
Step 3: Determine the probability of each
outcome.
Let x be the sum of the numbers appearing on the
dice and P(x) be the probability of each outcome.
The total number of possible outcomes is 36.
Step 4: Construct
a table for the
expected
outcomes, x, and
their
corresponding
probabilities, P(x).
Step 5: Create the corresponding histogram
with the x-axis as the expected outcome
and y-axis as the probability of each
outcome.