11

Statistics and Probability

Quarter 3 – Module 2
Random Variables and Probability
Distribution
Learning Competencies: Illustrates the mean and variance of a discrete random
variable. (M11/12SP-IIIb-1)
Calculates the mean and the variance of a discrete random
variable. (M11/12SP-IIIb-2)
Interprets the mean and the variance of a discrete random
variable. (M11/12SP-IIIb-3)
Solves problems involving mean and variance of probability
distributions. (M11/12SP-IIIb-4)

At the end of the lesson, you are expected to:

 illustrate the mean and variance of a discrete random variable;
 calculate the mean and the variance of a discrete random variable;
 interpret the mean and the variance of a discrete random variable; and
 solve problems involving mean and variance of probability distributions.

Lesson 1: Mean and Variance of a Discrete Random Variable

What is it…
Mean and Variance of Random Variables

Just like variables from a data set, random variables are described by measures
of central tendency (like the mean) and measures of variability (like variance).

Mean of a Discrete Random Variable

The mean of a discrete random variable X is a weighted average of the possible

values that the random variable can take. Unlike the sample mean of a group of
observations, which gives each observation equal weight, the mean of a random variable
weights each outcome X1 according to its probability, P1. The common symbol for the
mean (also known as the expected value of X) is 𝜇.

Variance of a Discrete Random Variable

A measure of spread for a distribution of a random variable that determines the
degree to which the values of a random variable differ from the expected value.

For a discrete random variable the variance is calculated by summing the product
of the square of the difference between the value of the random variable and the expected
value, and the associated probability of the value of the random variable, taken over all
of the values of the random variable.

The variance is parallel to the moment of inertia in physics. What is important to

understand is that, in relative terms:

 a small variance means that the distribution of the random variable is

concentrated narrowly around the mean
 a large variance means that the distribution is spread out, with some chance of
observing values at some distance from the mean.

Remember that the variance cannot be negative, because it is an average of

squared quantities. This is appropriate, as a negative spread for a distribution does not
make sense. Hence, variance is greater than 0.
 What’s More…
Directions: Answer the following questions.

1. In 50 items test, Miss Santos, a mathematics teacher claimed that most of the
students’ scores lie closer to 40. In this situation, is score of 40 considered as
Variance or Expected Value (Mean)? Explain your answer.

2. Describe briefly the variance of a discrete random variable.

Lesson 2: Mean and Variance of a Discrete Random Variable

What is it…

Steps in finding the mean:

Step 1. Construct the probability distribution for the random variable
representing the number of spots that would appear.
Step 2. Multiply the value of the random variable X by the corresponding
probability.
Step 3. Add the result obtained in Step 2.

Example:
The probabilities that a customer Number of Items Probability
will buy 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 items in a X P(X)
grocery store are 3⁄10, 1⁄10,1⁄10, 1 3⁄
10
2⁄ , and 3⁄ , respectively. What is 2 1⁄
10 10 10
the average number of items that a 3 1⁄
customer will buy? 10
4 2⁄
10
5 3⁄
10

Solution:

Number of Items Probability X ∙ P(X)

X P(X)
1 3⁄ 1 X 3⁄10 = 3⁄10
10
2 1⁄ 2 X 1⁄10 = 2⁄10
10
3 1⁄ 3 X 1⁄10 = 3⁄10
10
4 2⁄ 4 X 2⁄10 = 8⁄10
10
5 3⁄ 5 X 3⁄10 = 15⁄10
10
𝜇 = Σ X ∙ P(X) = 31⁄10= 3.1

So the mean of the probability distribution is 3.1. This implies that the average
number of items that a customer will buy is 3.1.

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Steps in Finding the Variance and Standard Deviation
1. Find the mean of the probability distribution.
2. Subtract the mean from each value of the random variable X.
3. Square the results obtained in Step 2.
4. Multiply the result obtained in Step 3 by the corresponding probability.
5. Get the sum of the results obtained in Step 4.

Formula for the Variance of a Discrete Probability distribution

𝜎 2 = Σ(X − 𝜇)2 ∙ 𝑃(𝑋)

Formula for the Standard Deviation of a Discrete Probability distribution

𝜎 = √Σ(X − 𝜇)2 ∙ 𝑃(𝑋)

Where: X = value of the random variable

𝑃(𝑋) = probability of the random variable
𝜇 = mean of the probability distribution
Example:
The probabilities that a customer will Number of Probability
buy 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 items in a grocery Items X P(X)
store are 3⁄10, 1⁄10 ,1⁄10, 2⁄10, and 1 3⁄
10
3⁄ , respectively. What is the average 2 1⁄
10 10
number of items that a customer will 3 1⁄
buy? 10
4 2⁄
10
5 3⁄
10

Solution:
Number 𝑋 ∙ 𝑃(𝑋) 𝑋− 𝜇 (𝑋 − 𝜇)2 (X − 𝜇)2 ∙ 𝑃(𝑋)
Probability
of Cars
𝑃(𝑋)
Sold 𝑋
1 3⁄ 1 X 3⁄10 = 3⁄10 1 – 3.1 = -2.1 (−2.1)2 = 4.41 4.41 ∙ 3⁄10 = 1.323
10
2 1⁄10 2 X 1⁄10 = 2⁄10 2 – 3.1 = -1.1 (−1.1)2 = 1.21 1.21 ∙ 1⁄10 = 0.121

3 1⁄ 3 X 1⁄10 = 3⁄10 3 – 3.1 = -0.1 (−0.1)2 = 0.01 0.01 ∙ 1⁄10 = 0.001

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4 2⁄10 4 X 2⁄10 = 8⁄10 4 – 3.1 = 0.9 (0.9)2 = 0.81 0.81 ∙ 2⁄10 = 0.162

5 3⁄ 5 X 3⁄10 = 15⁄10 5 – 3.1 = 1.9 (1.9)2 = 3.61 3.61 ∙ 3⁄10 = 1.083

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𝜇 = Σ X ∙ P(X) = 31⁄10= 3.1 𝜎 2 = Σ(X − 𝜇)2 ∙ 𝑃(𝑋) = 𝟐. 𝟔𝟗

Therefore, the variance of the probability distribution is 2.69.The standard deviation is

𝜎 = √2.69
𝝈 = 𝟏. 𝟔𝟒

What’s More…
Directions: Compute the mean and variance of the probability distribution. Show your
solution on the separate sheets.
When three coins are tossed, Probability
Number of Heads X
the probability distribution for P(X)
the random variable X 0 1⁄
representing the number of 8
1 3⁄
heads occur is given below. 8
Compute the variance of the 2 3⁄8
probability distribution. 3 1⁄8

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 Lesson 3: Discrete Probability distribution

What is it…
This lesson will teach us how to compute and interpret mean and variance of a
discrete probability distribution.

Example:
Consider rolling a die. What is Number of
Probability P(X)
the average number of spots Spots X
that would appear? 1 1⁄
6
2 1⁄
6
3 1⁄
6
4 1⁄
6
5 1⁄
6
6 1⁄
6
Solution:

Number of Probability X ∙ P(X) 𝑋− 𝜇 (𝑋 − 𝜇)2 (X − 𝜇)2 ∙ 𝑃(𝑋)

Spots X P(X)
1 1⁄ 1 X 1⁄6 = 1⁄6 1 – 3.5 = -2.5 (−2.5)2 = 6.25 6.25 ∙ 1⁄6 = 1.042
6
2 1⁄ 2 X 1⁄6 = 2⁄6 2 – 3.5 = -1.5 (−1.5)2 = 2.25 2.25 ∙ 1⁄6 = 0.375
6
3 1⁄ 3 X 1⁄6 = 3⁄6 3 – 3.5 = -0.5 (−0.5)2 = 0.25 0.25 ∙ 1⁄6 = 0.042
6
4 1⁄ 4 X 1⁄6 = 4⁄6 4 – 3.5 = 0.5 (0.5)2 = 0.25 0.25 ∙ 1⁄6 = 0.042
6
5 1⁄ 5 X 1⁄6 = 5⁄6 5 – 3.5 = 1.5 (1.5)2 = 2.25 2.25 ∙ 1⁄6 = 0.375
6
6 1⁄ 6 X 1⁄6 = 6⁄6 6 – 3.5 = 2.5 (2.5)2 = 6.25 6.25 ∙ 1⁄6 = 1.042
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𝜇 = Σ X ∙ P(X) = 21⁄6= 3.5 𝜎 2 = Σ(X − 𝜇)2 ∙ 𝑃(𝑋)= 2.92

Mean is equal to 3.5. This is called the mean of the random variable X or the mean
of the probability distribution of X. The mean tells us the average number of spots that
would appear in a roll of die. So, the average number of spots that would appear is 3.5.
Although the die will never show a number, which is 3.5, this implies that rolling the
die many times, the theoretical mean would be 3.5. On the other hand, variance is equal
to 2.92. Variance gives a measure of how far the values of X are from the mean. The
variance is a measure of how much the probability mass is spread out around this
center.

What’s More…
Directions: Solve for the mean and variance of the following probability distribution.
Interpret the result. Show your solution on the separate sheets.
The number of cars sold per day Number of
Probability P(X)
at a local car dealership, along Cars Sold X
with its corresponding 0 1⁄
probabilities, is shown in the 10
1 2⁄10
succeeding table. Compute the
variance of the probability 2 3⁄10
distribution by following the 3 2⁄
given steps. 10
4 2⁄
10

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 Assessment
Directions: Choose the letter that corresponds to the correct answer. Write your answer in
the answer sheet provided.
1. Which of the following statements is TRUE about the interpretation of the values of
variance and standard deviation?
A. A small value of variance or standard deviation indicates that the distribution
of the discrete random variable is closer about the mean.
B. A large value of variance or standard deviation indicates that the distribution
of the discrete random variable is closer about the mean.
C. A small value of variance or standard deviation indicates that the distribution
of the discrete random variable takes some distance from the mean.
D. All of the above.

2. In 50 items test, Miss Santos, a mathematics teacher claimed that most of the
students’ scores lie closer to 35. In this situation, score of 35 is considered as,
A. Variance C. Expected Value or Mean
B. Standard Deviation D. Median

3. Which of the following statement describes variance of a discrete random variable?

A. It is a weighted average of the possible values that the random variable can
take.
B. It is the product of mean and the square of the probability distribution of a
discrete random variables.
C. It is obtained by getting the summation of the product of the square of the
difference between the value of X and the expected value times its
corresponding probability
D. All of the above

𝑋
4. If P(X) = , what are the possible values of X for it to be a probability distribution?
6
A. 0, 2, 3 C. 2, 3, 4
B. 1, 2, 3 D. 1, 1, 2

For numbers 5-6, refer to the probability distribution shown below.

X 0 1 2 3
P(X) 1⁄ 3⁄ 3⁄ 1⁄
8 8 8 8

5. What is the mean of the probability distribution?

A. 1.2 C. 1.6
B. 1.5 D. 1.8

6. What is the variance of the probability distribution?

A. 0.50 C. 1.00
B. 0.75 D. 1.25

7. Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE about variance?

A. cannot be negative
B. greater than 0
C. less than 0
D. a measure of spread for a distribution of a random variable

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8. It is a weighted average of the possible values that the random variable can take.
A. Mean C. Standard Deviation
B. Variance D. Probability Distribution

9. The appropriate formula in finding the mean of discrete random variable is

A. E(x) = μx = ∑ x ∙ p (x) C. E(x) = μx = ∑ x − p (x)
B. E(x) = μx = ∑ x + p (x) D. E(x) = μx = ∑ x ∙ p (x)2

10. What formula is used to find the variance of discrete random variable?

A. 𝜎𝑥2 = ∑(𝑥 + 𝜇)2 ∙ 𝑝(𝑥); for all possible values of x

B. 𝜎𝑥2 = ∑(𝑥 − 𝜇)2 ∙ 𝑝(𝑥); for all possible values of X
C. 𝜎𝑥2 = ∑ 𝑥 ∙ 𝑝(𝑥); for all possible values of x
D. 𝜎𝑥2 = ∑(𝑃(𝑥) + 𝜇)2 ∙ 𝑥 ; for all possible values of x

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 Answer Sheet
Name:
Grade & Section: Score:

Quarter 3 – Module 2 (Statistics and Probability)

Lesson 1
What’s More
1.

2.

Lesson 2
What’s More

Number 𝑋 ∙ 𝑃(𝑋) 𝑋− 𝜇 (𝑋 − 𝜇)2 (X − 𝜇)2 ∙ 𝑃(𝑋)

Probability
of
P(X)
Heads X
0 1⁄
8
1 3⁄8

2 3⁄
8
3 1⁄8

𝜇= 𝜎2 =

Lesson 3
What’s More

Number 𝑋 ∙ 𝑃(𝑋) 𝑋− 𝜇 (𝑋 − 𝜇)2 (X − 𝜇)2 ∙ 𝑃(𝑋)

Probability
of Cars
P(X)
Sold X
0 1⁄
10
1 2⁄10
2 3⁄
10
3 2⁄
10
4 2⁄10

𝜇= 𝜎2 =

Assessment
1. 6.
2. 7.
3. 8.
4. 9.
5. 10.

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 1
Incorporated.
Belecina, R. 2016. Statistics and Probability. Manila: Rex Book Store,
Reference
Quarter 3 - Module 2
Lesson 1
1. Expected Value or Mean.
2. Student’s answer may vary.
Lesson 2
𝜇 = 1.5
𝜎 2 = 𝟎. 𝟕𝟓
Lesson 3
𝜇 = 2.2
𝜎 2 = 𝟏. 𝟓𝟔
Assessment
1. A
2. C
3. C
4. B
5. B
6. B
7. C
8. A
9. A
10. B
Answer Key
2