RANDOM

VARIABLE
DEFINE AND ILLUSTRATE A RANDOM VARIABLE.
The most important characteristics of any probability
distribution are the following:

 1. The mean (Expected value).

The mean of a discrete random variable X is called the expected value of X. It is
the weighted average of all the values that the random variable X would assume in
the long run. A common symbol for the mean is μ (mu), the lowercase m of the Greek
alphabet. The discrete random variable X would assume values or outcomes in every
trial of an experiment with their corresponding probabilities.
2. The variance (a measure of how spread
out the values are)
It means the larger the variance, the farther are the values of
X from the mean. Variance of a random variable X is denoted
by 𝜎 2 . 𝐼𝑡 can likewise be written as Var (X). The variable of
a random variable is the expected value of the square of the
difference between the assumed value of random variable
and the mean.
3. The standard deviation

The standard deviation of discrete random variable X

is written as 𝝈. It is the square root of the variance.
Discrete probability distribution

A listing of all possible values of a

discrete random variable along
with their corresponding
probabilities
Mean, Variance, and standard deviation of Discrete Random Variable

CALCULATE THE EXPECTED VALUE, VARIANCE AND STANDARD

DEVIATION
MEAN

 The mean of a discrete random variable X is called

the expected value of X. It is the weighted average
of all the values that the random variable X would
assume in the long run. The discrete random
variable X would assumes a values or outcomes in
every trial of an experiment with their
corresponding probabilities.
The Mean or expected value of discrete random
variable X is computed using the formula:
  

Where X= Discrete random variable

x= outcome or value of the random variable
P(x)=probability of the outcome x
Variance and Standard
Deviation of a Discrete
Variable
Variance

  
Variance of a random variable X is denoted by can likewise be written as Var (X).
The variable of a random variable is expected value of the square of the difference
between the assumed value of random variable and the mean. The variance of X
is:
Var(X)=
Or = where:
x= outcome
=population mean
P(x)= probability of the outcome
Standard Deviation:

The  larger the value of variance, the farther are the values of X from


the mean. The variance is tricky to interpret since it uses the square of
the unit of measure of X. So, it is easier to interpret the value of the
standard deviation because it uses the same unit of measure of X. The
standard deviation of discrete random variable X is written as . It is
square root of the variance. The Standard deviation is computed as:
 Steps
1. Find the expected value from each outcome. Square the difference.
2. Subtract the expected value from each outcome. Square each
difference.
3. Multiply each difference by the corresponding probability.
4. Sum up all the figures obtained in Step3.
1. A security guard recorded the number of people entering the bank
every hour during one working day. The random variable X
represents the number of people who entered the entered the bank.
The probability distribution of X is shown below. What is expected
number of people who enters the bank hour?
 

x 0 1 2 3 4 5
P(x) 0 0.1 0.2 0.4 0.2 0.1
Mean (Expected Value)

0 0 0
1 0.1 0.1
2 0.2 0.4
3 0.4 1.2
4 0.2 0.8
5 0.1 0.5
   

So, E(X)= 3.0

 
Therefore, the average number of people entering the
bank every hour during that working day is three.
 
      

0 0
0 0

0.1 0.4
1 0.1

0.4 0.2
2 0.2

1.2 0 0
3 0.4

0.8 1 0.2
4 0.2

0.5 4 0.4
5 0.1

       
   =

Therefore, the expected value is

Variance is and,
Standard deviation is
ALTERNATIVE METHOD

  
ALTERNATIVE METHOD
 
The variance of a discrete random variable can also be
determined by subtracting the square of its mean from the
summation of the products of the squares of the outcomes and
their corresponding probabilities.
Hence, the following formula:
=
    

0 0
0 0

0.1 0.1
1 0.1

0.4 0.8
2 0.2

1.2 9 3.6
3 0.4

0.8 16 3.2
4 0.2

0.5 25 2.5
5 0.1

     
   = 1.2

=1.2

Therefore, the average number of people entering the bank every hour during that
working day is 3.0 with the variance of 1.2 and standard deviation of 1.0954 or
approximately 1.01.
 
EXAMPLE 2
Determine mean(expected value), variance and the standard
deviation of the following mass function.

x P(x)

1 0.15

2 0.25

3 0.3

4 0.15

5 0.1

6 0.05
ALTERNATIVE METHOD
 

   

1 0.15 0.15 1 0.15

2 0.25 0.5 4 1

3 0.3 0.9 9 2.7

4 0.15 0.6 16 2.4

5 0.1 0.5 25 2.5

6 0.05 0.3 36 1.8

   
   =

=1.8475

Therefore, the expected value 2.95 with the variance of 1.8475 and standard
deviation of 1.36 or approximately
Example 3

Determine the variance and standard deviation of the following probability mass
function:

x 0 1 2 3

P(x) 0.1 0.45 0.25 0.20

 A store selling boxes of chocolate candles found that the probabilities of customer
will buy 0, 1, 2, or 3 boxes of chocolate candies are shown below. Determine the
mean, variance and standard deviation.

Number of Boxes 0 1 2 3
(x)
Probability 1/18 1/2 1/3 1/9
Solution:

x P(x) xP(x)

0 0.25 :0

1 0.50
:0.5
2 0.25
:0.5

∑ 𝑥𝑃 ( 𝑥 )=1  
 
Example 2

2.)A random variable X has this probability distribution:

x 1 2 3 4

P(x) 0.10 0.20 0.45 0.25

Calculated the expected values.

Solution:

X P(x) xP(x)

1 0.10 :0.10
2 0.20 :0.40
3 0.45
:1.35
4 0.25
:1
 

∑ 𝑥𝑃 ( 𝑥 )=2.85
Variance and Standard
Deviation of a Discrete
Variable
Variance

  
Variance of a random variable X is denoted by can likewise be written as Var (X).
The variable of a random variable is expected value of the square of the difference
between the assumed value of random variable and the mean. The variance of X
is:
Var(X)=
Or = where:
x= outcome
=population mean
P(x)= probability of the outcome
Standard Deviation:

The  larger the value of variance, the farther are the values of X from


the mean. The variance is tricky to interpret since it uses the square of
the unit of measure of X. So, it is easier to interpret the value of the
standard deviation because it uses the same unit of measure of X. The
standard deviation of discrete random variable X is written as . It is
square root of the variance. The Standard deviation is computed as:
   = 1.2
 
=1.2

Therefore, the average number of people entering the bank every hour during that
working day is 3.0 with the variance of 1.2 and standard deviation of 1.0954 or
approximately 1.01.