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Statistics and Probability Module 1: Random Variables & Time to Finish:

– Grade 11 Probability Distributions 8hrs

Most Essential Learning Competencies

After going through this module, you are expected to:
1. illustrates a random variable (discrete and continuous).
2. distinguishes between a discrete and a continuous random variable.
3. finds the possible values of a random variable.
4. illustrates a probability distribution for a discrete random variable and its
properties.
5. computes probabilities corresponding to a given random variable
6. illustrates the mean and variance of a discrete random variable.
7. calculates the mean and the variance of a discrete random variable
8. interprets the mean and the variance of a discrete random variable
9. solves problems involving mean and variance of probability distributions.

General Directions
To achieve the competencies of this module, complete the following:
1. Take your time reading and practicing the examples in every lesson diligently.
2. Understand and follow the steps or procedures of the solutions of the given
problem carefully.
3. The answers for the activities are given at the last part of this module for you to
check the knowledge you gained after reding the module. Your answers for the
Pre-test, Post-test and other activities (Activity 1, Activity 2, etc.) will still be
recorded under Performance Task (60% of your grade).
4. Take the self-test to the lessons to assess your understanding of the topics, this
will be recorded as one of your Written Task (40% of your grade).

Lesson 1 THE CONCEPT OF RANDOM VARIABLES

LEARNING CONCEPT
Let’s begin with the idea of a random variable. A random variable may be
confusing to you at first especially if you associate it with the common variables that
we use in algebra. Let us differentiate:
Variable Random Variable
➢ written in small letter ➢ written in capital letter
➢ give value to equations ➢ a random variable could be 𝑋 = the number of
like 𝑥 + 2 = 9 dots facing up after rolling a die
➢ In this case 𝑥 can only ➢ Notice how the random process of rolling a die
take on a distinct value gives you a random outcome each time you
and that is 7 perform the experiment. Rolling once may give
you 5, and rolling again may give you 6, and
again 4; I think you see the point here. Hence it
is called a “random” variable.
➢ Additionally, we also consider 𝑋 as a numerical
type of data because the outcomes of the said
random variable are numerical in nature.

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 A random variable may also be used to quantify unquantifiable processes. For
example, in the random variable 𝑌 =Sex of college student’s applicants.
Possible outcomes: male or female
Characteristic: categorical (non-numerical)
It would be very difficult to perform mathematical operations on such kinds of
data so we have to find a way to convert these data into numbers. We could assign
the value 0 for male and 1 for female.
Note: The values “0 and 1” are just models/examples. You may use other values
like 10, 500, and even 2,020. Still, the values 0 and 1 are most commonly used in
statistics.

Below are some more examples of random variables:

➢ Number of defective cell phones produced in a manufacturing
factory daily
➢ Amount of paint needed to repaint a room
➢ Amount of time needed to walk from home to school
➢ Gender of students taking up BS Criminology
➢ Height of applicants for the Miss Universe pageant

There are two varieties of random variables that are numerical in nature:

DISCRETE RANDOM CONTINUOUS RANDOM

VARIABLE VS VARIABLE

Let us differentiate.
Discrete Random Variable Continuous Random Variable
its values are obtained through counting its values are obtained through measurement
Examples: Examples:
✓ number of rotten ✓ growth of tomato seedlings per
bananas in a bunch of week,
bananas, ✓ time needed to finish an exam,
✓ number of honor and
students in a class, and
✓ number of tiles needed to
cover a floor.

✓ weight of pigs after 3 months

the sample space is finite (can be there are infinite elements in the sample
counted) because each sample has a space wherein each sample are so closely
space between them packed such that infinite number of elements
can fit throughout the sample space

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Note: A sample space is the set of all possible outcomes in a random experiment.

Here are some more examples of discrete and continuous random variables.

Discrete Random Variable Continuous Random Variable

Total number of spots in rolling two dice Power consumption of an appliance

Number of pages in a chapter of a book Body temperature of a person

Number of appliances in a household Cloth needed to make a dress

Total number of all animals in a farm Length of a piece of chalk

Number of cards drawn pH level of an acid

Activity 1
Classify the following random variables as DISCRETE or CONTINUOUS.

1. Length of a cell phone charger ____________________

2. Number of gadgets in a household ____________________
3. Count of words encoded per minute ____________________
4. Amount of water consumed per day ____________________
5. Sum of burgers sold in a day ____________________
6. Amount of time needed to boil a liquid ____________________
7. Number of channels in a cable TV ____________________
8. Daily count of visitors in a mall ____________________
9. Distance between two barangays ____________________
10. Total area of a rice field ____________________
11. Growth of a child per year ____________________
12. Temperature needed to bake bread ____________________
13. Number of babies born per day ____________________
14. Yearly death due to cancer ____________________
15. Number of mistakes in a test ____________________

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Lesson 2 PROBABILITY DISTRIBUTION OF DISCRETE RANDOM VARIABLES
LEARNING CONCEPT

Again, the purpose of using random variable is so that we could measure

observations and process data to make a conclusion about the population. So, what
are the possible values of a random variable, you might ask? Below are some
random variables with their corresponding possible values.
Random
Description Set of Possible Values
Variable
V marital status of teachers single, married, widow, …
W number of dots after rolling a die 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
X tossing a coin Heads, Tails
Y tossing two coins HT, HH, TH, TT
Z household pet being raised dog, cat, mouse, snake, rabbit, …
As a statistician, you must be able to identify the set of possible values of your
random variable even before conducting your survey.
Example 1. Suppose you are to test three random eggplants from a harvest to see if
there are worms in it. You want to find out the number of eggplants attacked by
worms. Use W to represent if there is a worm attack in an eggplant and N if there is
none.
Note: The letters W and N are not random variables but are used to
represent the possible outcome upon checking an eggplant. X is the random
variable representing the number of eggplants attacked by worms.

Again, you are sampling three eggplants. The table below has been filled out to
illustrate and demonstrate the possible outcomes of this experiment. Try to
understand the values therein.

Value of Random Variable X

The possible values of
Possible Outcomes (number of eggplants with
the random variable X
worm attacks)
are 0, 1, 2, and 3
NNN 0
NNW 1
NWN 1
NWW 2
WNN 1
WNW 2
WWN 2
WWW 3

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Example 2. Suppose that four coins are tossed. Let Y be the random variable
representing the number of heads that occur. Complete the table below to find the
possible values of Y.
Value of Random Variable Y
Possible Outcomes
(number of heads)
HHHH 4
HHHT 3
HHTH 3
HHTT 2
HTHH 3
HTHT
HTTH
HTTT
THHH
THHT
THTH
THTT
TTHH
TTHT
TTTH
TTTT
. The possible values of the random variable Y are 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4.
Now that we already have the possible values of the random variable, we can
now construct the probability distribution. Looking back at example 1, the random
variable X represents the number of damaged eggplants in a harvest. We have
defined the sample space and their corresponding values in the table below.
Value of Random Variable X (number of
Possible Outcomes eggplants with worm attacks)

NNN 0
NNW 1
NWN 1
NWW 2
WNN 1
WNW 2
WWN 2
WWW 3
There is a total of 8 possible outcomes with 4 distinct possible values of X.
We now assign the probability values of each.

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 Number of eggplants Probability
with worm attacks X P(X)
 There are 8 possible outcomes and
1 only 1 of them had no worm at all.
0 So, the probability that we shall
8
1
assign is .
8
 There are 8 possible outcomes and
3 3 of them have exactly 1 eggplant
1 attacked by worms. So, the
8
3
probability that we shall assign is 8.
 There are 8 possible outcomes and
3 3 of them have 2 eggplants attacked
2 by worms. So, the probability that
8
3
we shall assign is 8.
 There are 8 possible outcomes and
1 only 1 of them had all 3 eggplants
3 attacked by worms. So, the
8
1
probability that we shall assign is 8.

You have to remember that the sum of all probabilities in the distribution must
always be equal to 1, no more and no less. If the sum is either more than 1 or less
than 1, then the distribution is not a valid probability distribution. Let us try to add all
1 3 3 1 8
probabilities in the distribution. We get + +8 +8 = 8 or 1. Therefore, the distribution
8 8
is valid.

The table shown on the previous page is what we call the probability
distribution or probability mass function of the random variable 𝑌𝑌. We can graph the
distribution in the form of a histogram as presented below.

3/8 What is a histogram?

A histogram is like a bar graph
2/8 but has no spaces in between the
3/8 3/8 bars.
1/8 Investigate the heights of the bars
1/8 1/8 and compare it with the
0 probabilities written in the table
0 1 2 3 above.
Number of eggplants with worm attacks X
What have you noticed?

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 In example 2, the random variable Y represents the number of heads that occur
when tossing four coins. We have defined the sample space and their corresponding
values as shown in the table below.

Value of Random Variable Y

Possible Outcomes (number of heads)
HHHH 4
HHHT 3
HHTH 3
HHTT 2
HTHH 3
HTHT 2
HTTH 2
HTTT 1
THHH 3
THHT 2
THTH 2
THTT 1
TTHH 2
TTHT 1
TTTH 1
TTTT 0
There are 5 distinct possible values of 𝑌𝑌 which are 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4. We now
assign the probability values of each, as shown below.

Number of heads Y Probability P(Y) Let’s stop and think for a moment.

1 Can you explain why the

0 16 probability values P(Y) are like
that? Where did the denominator
4 1 16 come from? How about the
1 or 4
16 numerator values 1, 4, 6, 4, and
1? Where did they come from?
6 3
2 or 8
16 Getting the sum of all probabilities
in
4 1
3 or 4 the distribution we get + +
16
4 1 16
+16+16 = 16 or 1
1
4 The histogram of the distribution is
16
shown below.

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 6/16
Remember this!
The sum of all probabilities in
4/16 a discrete probability
6/16 distribution should always be
2/16 4/16 4/16 equal to 1, no more no less.
Otherwise, the distribution
1/16 1/16 becomes invalid or incorrect!
0
0 1 2 3 4
Number of heads Y

Lesson 3
SOLVING FOR THE MEAN, VARIANCE, AND STANDARD DEVIATION
OFDISCRETE PROBABILITY DISTRIBUTIONS
LEARNING CONCEPT
Any discrete probability distribution has a mean, a variance, and a standard
deviation. The mean is the average of all possible outcomes. It is otherwise referred
to as the “expected value” of a probability distribution. When we say expected value,
it means that if we repeat any given experiment infinite times, the theoretical mean
would be the “expected value”. For instance, the mean of rolling a die is theoretically
3.5. You will never roll a 3.5 no matter how many times you roll the die because
there’s only 3 and 4. However, if you take the average of all outcomes, you should
get 3.5 or at least close to that value. You will have a better understanding about this
concept with more examples given underneath.
The variance and standard deviation are measures of spread or variability.

LOW
HIGH

If the variance and standard deviation are

If the values of the variance and standard
low, that means that the individual
deviation are high, that means that the
outcomes of the experiment are closely
individual outcomes of the experiment are
spaced with each other. In other words,
far relative to each other. In other words,
the values are almost the same values or
the values differ greatly.
if they do differ, the difference is small.

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Example 3. In a 5-item test, the probabilities that a student gets 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5
mistakes are , , , , , and , respectively. What is the average number of
mistakes that a student makes in this class? What is the variance and standard
deviation of this discrete probability distribution?

To solve this problem, all you we have to do is arrange the

given entries which are the random variable values and their
corresponding probabilities in the first two columns of a three-column
table. So, in this particular example, our random variable which we are
going to call X is the number of mistakes a student gets in a 5-item
quiz. You may use your calculator in solving for the unknown values.

The symbol for mean is the Greek letter 𝜇 (read as “myu”). To solve for the
mean, all we have to do is add up all the entries of the 3 rd column.
Equation 1. 𝜇 = ∑ 𝑋 ∙ 𝑃(𝑋)
So, the value of the mean in the example above is just the sum of all entries
in the third column,

𝜇 = ∑ 𝑋 ∙ 𝑃(𝑋) = 0 + + + + + = = 1.85

Therefore, the mean or expected value on the number of mistakes a student

may have in a 5-item quiz is 1.85. Again, we emphasize that none of the students
actually got 1.85 mistakes. However, if we are to take the average of the total
mistakes done by each one of the students, we should get an average value of 1.85.
Now that we have found the mean of the discrete probability distribution, we can
now try and solve for the variance. You cannot solve for the variance without finding

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first the mean. To solve for the variance, you need to add more columns in the table
made a while ago.
The table below shall discuss how you can solve the variance of a discrete
probability distribution. A sample value was used for demonstration purposes. A brief
explanation is shown below each entry for your guidance.

After performing all calculations, the completed table would look something
like this. Try and solve for yourself to see how these values were obtained.

The symbol for variance is 2. To solve for the variance, all we have to do is
add up all entries on the last column.
Equation 2. 𝜎2 = ∑ (𝑋 − 𝜇)2 ∙ 𝑃(𝑋)
So, the value of the variance of the discrete probability distribution shown
above is just the sum of all entries in the last column.
𝜎2 = ∑ (𝑋 − 𝜇)2 ∙ 𝑃(𝑋)
= 0.513375 + 0.180625 + 0.007875 + 0.198375 + 0.231125 + 0.496125
= 1.6275
The variance of the probability distribution is 1.6275. Now that the value of the
variance is found, we can now solve for the standard deviation. The symbol for
standard deviation is 𝜎.

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 Equation 3. 𝜎
So, the value of the standard deviation is solved by getting the square root of
the variance. Again, you cannot solve for the value of the standard deviation without
finding first the variance and mean.
𝜎
The standard deviation is approximately equal to 1.28. We say “approximately
equal to” because we already rounded off the value from 1.2757350822 to 1.28.
Now that we have completed solving example 3, let us now summarize the
steps in solving for the mean, variance, and standard deviation.

Example 4. In a seafood restaurant, the manager wants to know if their

customers like their new raw large oysters. According to their sales representative,
in the past 4 months, the number of oysters consumed by a customer, along with its
corresponding probabilities, is shown in the succeeding table. Compute the mean,
variance and standard deviation.
Number of oysters consumed Probability
X P(X)

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Example 5. The probabilities that 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 accidents happen in Northern
Mindanao High Way in a year is 0.45, 0.22, 0.15, 0.10, 0.05, 0.02, and 0.01,
respectively. Find the average number of accidents that occur in the said high way
each year.

What is the variance?

𝜎2 = ∑ (𝑋 − 𝜇)2 ∙ 𝑃(𝑋)
= 0.62658 + 0.007128 + 0.10086 + 0.33124 + 0.39762 +
0.291848+ 0.232324
= 1.9876

What is the standard deviation?

𝜎
Based on the given data, the expected number of accidents that will happen
in the Northern Mindanao High Way is 5.18 with a standard deviation of
approximately 1.41.

Activity 2
Find the mean, variance, and standard deviation of the following probability
distribution by completing the tables below.

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 SUMMARY
This is a summary of all that we’ve learned so far.

• A random variable is a function that links a specific numerical value to each

element in the sample space of any given experiment or situation.
• A discrete random variable is a random variable whose set of possible
outcomes is finite. Values of each sample are separated with a finite gap or
space. Values of this variable may be obtained through counting.
• A continuous random variable is a random variable whose set of possible
outcomes is infinite. This type of variable may take on a continuous stream of
values. Its values can only be obtained through measurement.
• A discrete probability distribution, otherwise known as a probability mass
function, is made up of the values that a random variable can take with their
corresponding probabilities. A valid probability distribution must have a sum of
exactly equal to 1, no more no less.
• Formulas for Mean, Variance, and Standard Deviation.
Equation 1. 𝜇 = ∑ 𝑋 ∙ 𝑃(𝑋)
Equation 2. 𝜎2 = ∑ (𝑋 − 𝜇)2 ∙ 𝑃(𝑋)
Equation 3. 𝜎

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 POST TEST
A. Directions: Read the following questions comprehensively. Write your answer on
a separate sheet of paper.

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 For numbers 7-11, refer to the probability distribution below. A birthing home
recorded the number of live births that materialize in their birthing home in the past 2
years.
Live births per month Y 0 1 2 3 4 5
Probability P(Y) 0.11 0.15 0.23 0.25 0.13 0.13
. 7. What is the probability that exactly 2 babies will be born in the home
in any month?
a. 0.11 b. 0.15 c. 0.23 d. 0.25
8. What is the probability that less than 2 babies will be born in the home
in any month?
a. 0.26 b. 0.38 c. 0.48 d. 0.36
9. What is the probability that more than 2 babies will be born in the
home in any month?
a. 0.26 b. 0.51 c. 0.74 d. 0.89
10.What is the probability that at least 2 babies will be born in the home
in any month?
a.0.26 b. 0.51 c. 0.74 d. 0.89
11.What is the probability that at most 2 babies will be born in the home
in any month?
a.0.26 b. 0.49 c. 0.74 d. 0.87
12.Tossing a die has the following probability distribution. Find the
standard deviation of the number of spots that will appear when a die is tossed.
Number of spots (Y) 1 2 3 4 5 6
Probability P(Y) 1/6 1/6 1/6 1/6 1/6 1/6
a.0.167 b. 1.667 c. 1.7 d. 2.9
For numbers 13-15, refer to the probability distribution below.
Y 0 1 2 3 4 5
P(Y) 0.11 0.15 0.23 0.25 0.13 0.13
13.What is the mean of the probability distribution?
a.2.23 b. 2.33 c. 2.43 d. 2.53
14. What is the variance of the probability distribution?
a.2.25 b. 2.50 c. 2.75 d. 3.00
15.What is the standard deviation of the probability distribution?
a.1.25 b. 1.50 c. 1.75 d. 2.00

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 B. Identify weather the given variable is discrete or continuous. Write your
answer on a separate sheet of paper.
__________________ 1. number of cars in a parking lot
__________________ 2. time it takes to finish a bowl of noodles
__________________ 3. number of visitors in a resort each day
__________________ 4. temperature needed to melt a metal
__________________ 5. weight of one whole watermelon

Prepared by:
MRS. GIRLIE ANN M. DATO-FRIGILLANA
Subject Teacher

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