11

Statistics and Probability

Third Quarter
Module 2: Probability
Distribution for a Discrete
Random Variable
 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
REGION VII-CENTRAL VISAYAS
SCHOOLS DIVISION OF SIQUIJOR
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 11
Statistics and Probability
Third Quarter
Module 2: Probability
Distribution for a Discrete
Random Variable
 Introduction
This module is written in support of the k to 12 Basic Education
Program to ensure attainment of standards expected of you as learner.

This aims to equip you with essential knowledge on a Probability

Distribution for a Discrete Random Variable.

This includes the following activities/ tasks.

• Expected Learning Outcome – This lays out the learning

outcome that you are expected to have accomplished at the end
of the module.
• Pre- test - This determines your prior learning on the particular
lesson you are about to have accomplished at the end of the
module.
• Discussion of The Lesson - This provides you with the important
knowledge, principles you have gained from the lesson and
enable you to further enhance your skills as you carry out
prescribed tasks.
• Post – test - This evaluates your overall understanding about
the module.

With different activities provided in the module, may you find

the material engaging and challenging as it develops your critical
thinking skills.
 What I Need To Know

At the end of the lesson, you will be able to:

➢ illustrate a probability distribution for a discrete random variable

and its properties.

What I Know
I.

I. Directions: Write the letter that corresponds to the correct answer in

your notebook.

1. Which of the following is a discrete probability distribution?

A. X 0 1 2 3
P(x) 1/5 2/5 1/5 4/5

a 1 3 5 7
B.
P(a) 2/7 1/7 5/7 1/7

b 4 8 8 10
C.
P (b) 0.45 0 .11 0 .29 0 .19

D c 0 1 2 3
P ( c) 0.512 0.301 0.132 0.055
.
2. Which of the following is not one of the properties of a discrete
random variable?
A. If X is a random variable with n elements, then each of the
probabilities P (x) has value range from 0 to 1.
B. If x is a random variable with n elements, the sum of the
probabilities is equal to 1.
C. It has a finite number of elements or infinite but can be
represented by whole numbers.
D. It has infinite number of elements and cannot be represented
by whole numbers.
3. How many properties must be satisfied before a distribution can be
considered a discrete probability distribution?

A. 1
B. 2
C. 3
D. 4

4. Consider the following table of values. What is the sum of all the
probabilities?
X 0 1 2 3
P (x) 0.2 0.3 0.3 02

A. 1
B. 2
C. 3
D.4

5. A random variable X has the following probability distribution.

Find P(3).

X 0 1 2 3 4
P(x) 0.05 0.25 0.4 ? 0.06
A 0. 21
B. 0.22
C. 0.23
D. 0.24

6. A random variable X has the following probability distribution.

Find P(2).

X 0 1 2 3 4
P(x) 0.06 0.23 ? 0.35 0.05

A. 0.31
B. 0.32
C. 0.33
D. 0.34

7. A random variable has a probability distribution. Find the sum.

X 0 1 2 3 4
P(x) 0.07 0.30 0,35 0.23 0.05

A.1
B. 1.2
C. 1.3
D. 1.4
 8. From the table of values in number 7,which statement is correct.
A. The sum is greater than 1
B. The sum is less than 1
C. The value of each probabilities is greater than 1
D. The value of each probabilities is less than 1 but greater than
0.

II. Directions: Given the table of values below, determine whether it is a

discrete probability distribution. If it is not a discrete
probability distribution, identify the property/ properties
that are not satisfied. (two points per number).

X 1 2 3 4
1. P(x) 0.10 0.20 0.25 0.40

2.
x 1 2 3 4 5
P(x) 0.10 0.25 0.33 0.28 0.08

3. x 1 2 3 4 5
P(x) 0.08 0.25 0.34 0.31 0.04

x 1 2 3 4 5
4. P(x) 0.05 0.27 0.34 0.28 0.06

What’s In

Directions: Write T if the statement is true and write F if the statement

false.

1. A random variable is a variable whose possible values are

determined by a chance.
2. There are 5 types of random variables.
3. A discrete random variable can only take a finite
(countable) number of distinct values.
4. The heights of selected students inside the library in
centimeters is a discrete random variables.
 What’s New

In the study of random events you should be interested not only in

determining the possible value of a random variable but also in the
probability that the variable will assume that particular value. If you have a
random variable and you know all the possible values that the variable can
take on, you can easily determine the probability that the random variable
will have a particular value.

What Is It

Consider the example below.

Toss a fair coin twice and let X be equal to the number of heads (H)
observed.

First Toss Second Toss Final outcomes Number of Heads

H HH 2
H
T HT 1

H TH 1
T
TT 0
T

The value of the random variable X, then will be the set {0,1,2}. There
are 4 possible outcomes as follows: HH, HT, TH, TT.

Since there is only one outcome that will give no head TT then the
probability of X when it assumes a value of 0 is 1/4 or 0.25. This can be
written as P(0) = 0.25. Similarly you can determine the following
probabilities: P(1)= 2/4 or 0,5, P(2) = 1/4 or 0.25.
To summarize:

Number of heads 0 1 2
Probability P(x) 0.25 0.5 0.25

This table is called a probability distribution which is also known as

probability mass function.

Probability Distribution is a table that gives a list of probability

values along with their associated value in the range of a discrete random
variable.

The discrete probability distribution can be graphed to form a

probability histogram. The values of a discrete random variable X are set on
the horizontal axis of the graph and the probabilities are set on the vertical
axis. The values of X are placed on the center of each bar when constructing
a histogram. The probabilities served as the height of each bar. The
probability histogram is shown below:

There are two properties that must be satisfied before a distribution

can be considered a probability distribution.

1. The probability of each value of a discrete random variable is

between 0 and 1 inclusive. In symbols, 0 ≤ P(x) ≤ 1.

2. The sum of all probabilities is 1. In symbols, ∑ P(x) =1.

Example 1. Consider the following table:

X 0 1 2 3
P(x) 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.2

In the table, the random variable X assumes the value 0, 1, 2 and 3.

The corresponding probabilities of these values are 0.2, 0.3, 0.3 and 0.2
respectively. These corresponding probabilities are each less than 1 but
greater than 0. Therefore, property number 1 is satisfied.

If we get the sum of all the probabilities, the sum is 1. That is

∑ P(x) = 0.2 + 0.3+0.3+0.2

=1

Therefore, property number 2 is satisfied.

Since the properties are satisfied then the table of values is a

discrete probability distribution.

Example 2. Determine whether the table below is a discrete probability

distribution.

X 1 2 3 4 5
P(x) 0.10 0.20 0.25 0.40 0.10

In the table, random variable X assumes the value 0,1,2,3,4, and 5.

the corresponding probabilities of these values are 0.10, 0.20, 0.25, 0.40,
and 0.10. These corresponding probabilities are each less than 1 but greater
than 0, then property 1 is satisfied.

If we get the sum of all the probabilities,

∑ P(x)= 0.10+0.20+ 0.25 +0.40+0.10

= 1.05.
Since the sum is not equal to 1 then property 2 is not satisfied.
Therefore, the distribution is not discrete.

Example 3. A discrete random variable X has the following probability

distribution.

X 0 1 2 3 4
P(x) 0.1 0.2 ? 0.2 0.2

1. Determine P (2).
2. Construct the histogram of the probability distribution.
Solutions:

1. Use the second property of discrete probability distribution to

determine P(2).

∑ P(x) =P(0) + P(1)+P(2) +P(3) +P(4)

1= 0.1 +0.2 +P(2) +0.2+0.2
1=0.7 +P(2)
P(2)= 1-0.7
P(2) = 0.3

2. The probability histogram is shown below:

 What’s More

Directions: Answer the activities below. Write your answers in your

notebook.

1. The spinner below is divided into four sections. Let X be the score
where arrow will stop (numbered as 1,2,3,4 in the drawing below and
answer the questions that follow.

a. Find the probability that the arrow will stop at 1, 2, 3, and 4.

b. Construct the probability distribution of the random variable X.

2. A random variable X has the following probability distribution. Find

P(2).

x 0 1 2 3
P (x) 2/5 1/5 ? 1/5

What I Have Learned

I learned that:
◼ a probability distribution, also known as probability mass
function, is a table that gives a list of probability along with their
associated value in the range of a discrete random variable.
◼ the following properties must be satisfied before a distribution can
be considered a discrete probability distribution.
1. The probability of each value of a discrete random variable
is between 0 and 1 inclusive.
0 ≤ P(x)≤1
2. The sum of all the probabilities is 1.
P(x)=1
◼ the discrete probability distribution can be presented in tabular,
graphical form.
 What I Can Do

Directions: Answer the following and do it in your notebook.

The spinner below is divided into eight sections. Let X be the score
where the arrow will stop (numbered as 1, 2, 3, and 4 in the drawing
below.

a. Find the probabilities of landing on 1, 2, 3, and 4.

b. Construct a probability distribution for the random variables.

Assessment

I. Directions: Determine whether each of the following table of values

shows a discrete probability distribution. If it is not a discrete
probability distribution, identify the property or properties that
are not satisfied, write your answers in your notebook.

x 1 2 3 4 5
1.
P(x) 0.10 0.20 0.25 0.40 0.05

2. x 1 2 3 4 5
P(x) 0.05 0.25 0.33 0.28 0.08

3. x 1 2 3 4 5
P(x) 1/10 1/5 3/10 7/20 1/20

x 1 2 3 4 5
4. P(x) 4/25 6/25 8/25 1/5 3/25

x 1 2 3 4 5
5. P(x) 0.05 0.27 0.34 0.28 0.06
 x 1 2 3 4 5
6. P(x) 0.03 0.22 1.01 0.23 0.02

x 1 2 3 4 5
7. P(x) 0.08 0.25 0.34 0.31 0.04

x 1 2 3 4 5
8. P(x) 1/10 3/10 1/5 1/4 3/10

II. Directions: Choose the letter of the correct answer. Write your answers in
your notebook.

1. Which of the following is a discrete probability distribution?

x 0 1 2 3
A.
P(x) 1/5 2/5 1/5 4/5

a 1 3 5 7
B. P(a) 2/7 1/7 5/7 1/7

b 4 8 8 10
C. P(b) 0.45 0.11 0.29 0.19

C 0 1 2 3
D. P(c) 0.512 0.301 0.132 0.055
2. What do you call the graph of a discrete probability distribution?
A. Histogram
B. Hyperbola
C. Line
D. Parabola

3. How many properties must be satisfied before a distribution can be

considered as a discrete probability distribution?

A.1
B.2
C. 3
D. 4
4. Which of the following is the property number 1 of the discrete
probability distribution?
A. 0 < P(x) < 1
B. 0 < P(x) ≤ 1
C. 0 ≤ P(x) ≤ 1
D. 0 ≤ P(x) <1

5. Which of the following is the second property of a discrete

probability distribution?

A. The sum of the values of x =1

B. The sum of P(x) = 1
C. The sum of the values of x is 2
D. The sum of all of all the probabilities is 2.

6. Find the sum of the probability distribution below.

X 1 2 3 4 5
P(x) 0.10 0.20 0.25 0.40 0.05
A. 1
B. 2
C. 3
D. 4

7. A random variable X has the following probability

distribution. Find P(3).

X 0 1 2 3 4
P(x) 0.05 0.25 0.4 ? 0.06

A. 0.21
B. 0.22
C. 0.23
D. 0.24

8. A random variable X has the following probability distribution.

Find k.

X 1 2 3 4 5
P(x) 0.1 2k 0.4 0.25 0.1
A. 0.02
B. 0.05
C. 0.065
D. 0.075
References
Mamhot Millard RPhD, Mamhot Alicia A. M.S. Statistics And Probability.
Unlimited Books Library Services And Publishing Inc

Mercado, Jesus P, Orines Fernando B. Statistics And Probability . PHOENIX

Publishing House

Calapan, Raymund C. Statistics And Probability Module, DIWA learning

System Inc 2016