Getting

Started
with
Statistics
and
R A N D O M
Exploring
Random
Variables
Discussion Points
Consider a random experiment of rolling two
dice, there are 36 different outcomes. The
results are shown below:
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 1,1 1,2 1,3 1,4 1,5 1,6

2 2,1 2,2 2,3 2,4 2,5 2,6

3 3,1 3,2 3,3 3,4 3,5 3,6

4 4,1 4,2 4,3 4,4 4,5 4,6

5 5,1 5,2 5,3 5,4 5,5 5,6

6 6,1 6,2 6,3 6,4 6,5 6,6

 What can be assigned to
the sum of the numbers of
the dots that appear?
Sum of the Number of Dots Outcomes
2 (1,1)
3 (1,2), (2,1)
4 (1,3),(2,2),(3,1)
5 (1,4),(2,3),(3,2),(4,1)
6 (1,5),(2,4),(3,3),(4,2),(5,1)
7 (1,6),(2,5),(3,4),(4,3),(5,2),(6,1)
8 (2,6),(3,5),(4,4),(5,3),(6,2)
9 (3,6),(4,5),(5,4),(6,3)
10 (4,6),(5,5),(6,4)
11 (5,6),(6,5)
12 (6,6)

It can be seen that the sum of the number of dots

appearing on the rolling of pair of dice are
2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12. These are the values of the
random variables.
Discussion Points

A random variable is defined as a special kind of

function that associates a real number to each
element in the sample space.

The set of all possible outcomes of an

experiment is called the sample space.
 Example 1
Tossing Three Coins
Suppose three coins are tossed. Let Y be the
random variable representing the number of
tails that occur. Find the values of the random
variable Y. Complete the table below.
Solution to Example 1

The possible values of the random variable Y are

0, 1, 2, and 3.
Discussion Points
A random variable is a discrete
random variable if its set of
possible outcomes is countable.
It is a random variable whose
possible values form a finite or
countable set of numbers.
Discussion Points
Examples of Discrete Random
Variable
*number of pencils in the box
*number of soldiers in the troop
*number of rotten tomatoes in
the basket
*number of defective flashlights
Discussion Points
A random variable is a continuous
random variable if it takes on
values on a continuous scale.
Often, continuous random
variables represent measured data,
such as heights, weights, and
temperatures.
Discussion Points

Examples of Continuous Random Variable

*amount of antibiotics in the vial
*lifetime of light bulbs in minutes
*length of wire ropes
*voltage of radio batteries
Exercise 1
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 dropout in a school district
for a period of 10 years