LESSON 1.2.
PROBABILITY
DISTRIBUTION OF
DISCRETE
RANDOM VARIABLE
MELC:
Illustrates a probability distribution for
a discrete random variable.
PROBABILITY DISTRIBUTION
is a statistical function that
describes all the possible values
and likelihoods that a
random variable can take within a
given range.
Example:
In the experiment of tossing a coin
twice, there are four possible
outcomes namely:
•HH
•HT
•TH
•TT
Example:
In the experiment of tossing a coin twice,
there are four possible outcomes namely:
•HH, HT, TH ,TT
If X is a random variable representing the
number of tails in the outcomes, then:
X= {0,1,2}
(from the outcome)
Therefore,
the probability that 0 tails will come
out P(0)
1/4is
The probability that 1 tail will come
out P(1)
2/4isor 1/2
The probability that 2 tails will come
out P(2)
1/4is
Writing these in a table would give us
x 0 1 2
P(x) 1/4 1/2 1/4
The table above is called
PROBABILITY DISTRIBUTION,
specifically
Discrete Probability Distribution
Discrete Probability Distribution
is a table showing all
the possible values of a
discrete random
variable together with
their corresponding
probabilities.
The values of the
probability range
from 0 through 1,
(0 ≤P(x)≤1)
Properties
Discrete Probability Distribution
If X is a random variable with n elements, then
1. Each of the probability, P(x), has value which
range from 0 through 1
2. The sum of the probabilities,
P(
Example 1
Is the distribution below a discrete probability distribution?
y 1 3 5
P(y) 0.12 0.82 0.06
Answer:
The distribution must satisfy that :
Each probability value P(Y=y) must be from 0 through 1,
and
The sum of the probabilities P(Y=y) is 1.
A. All probability values are between 0 and 1
B. The sum of the probability values 0.12 + 0.82 + 0.06 =
Example 2 (Practice Exercise)
Write the probability distribution of a random variable R
representing the number of red balls when 3 balls are drawn in
succession without replacement from a jar containing 4 red and 5
blue balls.
Answer:
From Fundamental Principle of Counting (FPC), there could be 8
possible outcomes in the experiment, 2⦁2⦁2, listing them all would be
give us RBB
BBB
RBR
BBR RRB
BRB RRR
BRR
Therefore, we can say that P(0)=1/8, P(1)=3/8,
P(2)=3/8 and
P(3)=1/8. Thus, the probability distribution of the
random variable R is:
0 1 2 3
r
1/8 3/8 3/8 1/8
P( r )
Activity 2
Write the probability distribution of a random
variable V representing the number of violet balls
when two balls are drawn in succession without
replacement from an urn containing 5 orange balls
and 6 violet balls.
Quiz #3
A. Determine if each probability distribution is a Discrete Probability
Distribution or NOT.
x 0 1 2 3
1. P(x) 1/5 2/5 1/5 1/5
Y 1 2 3 4 5
2. P(y) 0.2 0.1 0.6 0.05 0.05
A 1 3 5 7
3. P(a) 2/7 1/7 5/7 1/7
A 1 3 5 7
4. P(a) 2/7 1/7 5/7 1/7
C 0 1 2 3
5. P(c) 0.512 0.301 0.132 0.055
B. ) Answer the following using the given Discrete Probability
Distribution
X 1 2 3 4
P(x) 1/7 3/7 1/7 2/7
Find:
1. P(3)
2. P(1) + P(4)
3. P(2) ⦁ P(3)
4. The probability that X assumes a value greater than 1, P(x>1)
5. The probability that x assumes a value between 2 and 4, P(2<x<4)
Probability Mass Function
Example:
If X is a random variable defined by the number
of heads in three tosses of a coin, the sample
space (S) would be:
S = {HHH, HHT, HTH,HTT, THH, THT, TTH,
TTT}
Therefore, X= {0,1,2,3 }
