STATISTICS AND PROBABILITY

Illustrating Probability Distribution of a

Discrete Random Variable (MODULE 4)
Competency: Illustrate a probability distribution for a discrete random variable and its
properties (M11/12SP-IIIa-4)

Probability Distribution of a Discrete Random Variable

 It is a table, graph, or formula that lists all the possible values of the random variable
and the corresponding probability for each value, also called a probability mass
function.

Properties of Probability Distributions of Discrete Random Variables

 Probabilities should be confined between zero (0) and 1 (inclusive of both ends)

 The sum of all the probabilities should be 1 (i.e. 100%)

Example of a probability distribution

A class of 50 students was asked how many siblings they have. This will be our
random variable which is represented by W. The result was shown in the table below.

The first column for the table lists the possible values of W, the number of siblings (0,
1, 2, 3, etc.). The second column lists the frequencies (how many students have the
corresponding siblings for the first column). The third column lists the relative (or
percentage) frequencies, i.e. the entries on the second column divided by the number of
learners expressed as a percentage.

Number of Siblings Relative Frequency

Frequency
W (Percentage)

0 2 (2/50)x100% = 4%

1 10 (10/50)x100% = 20%

2 28 (28/50)x100% = 56%

3 5 (5/50)x100% = 10%

4 3 (3/50)x100% = 6%

5 1 (1/50)x100% = 2%

6 0 (0/50)x100% = 0%

7 1 (1/50)x100% = 2%

Total 50 100%

That is an illustration of a probability distribution of a discrete random variable.

A probability distribution can also be presented like this:

Probability Distribution of the Discrete Random Variable W

W 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

P(W) 4% 20% 56% 10% 6% 2% 0% 2%

Activity Card No. 1

Books on Sale

The owner of a bookstore records the number of books bought by customers. The results
are shown below.

Solve for the relative frequency and check if the result represents a probability distribution
by checking on its properties.

Number of Books Relative Frequency

No. of Customers
Sold S (Percentage)

1 21

2 15

3 5

4 4

5 2

6 3

Total

Activity Card No. 2

I. Determine whether the given values can serve as the values of a probability
distribution of the random variable X. Write PD if yes and write NPD if not.

_____1. P(1) = 0.08 P(2) = 0.12 P(3) = 1.03

_____2. P(1) = P(2) = P(3) =

_____3. P(1) = 0.42 P(2) = 0.31 P(3) = 0.37

_____4. P(1) = P(2) = P(3) =

_____5. P(1) = 0 P(2) = 0.71 P(3) = 0.39

 Answer Card

Activity Card No.1

Number of Books Relative Frequency

No. of Customers
Sold S (Percentage)

1 21 (21/50)x100% = 42%

2 15 (15/50)x100% = 30%

3 5 (5/50)x100% = 10%

4 4 (4/50)x100% = 8%

5 2 (2/50)x100% = 4%

6 3 (3/50)x100% = 6%

Total 50 100%

Activity Card No.2

1. NPD

2. PD

3. NPD

4. PD

5. NPD
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QUIZ 2
Competencies: Find the possible values of a random variable (M11/12SP-IIIa-3)

Illustrate a probability distribution for a discrete random variable and its properties (M11/12SP-IIIa-4)

WRITE YOUR ANSWER IN A WHOLE SHEET OF PAPER OR YELLOW PAPER. (15 POINTS)

I. The owner of a bookstore records the number of magazines bought by

customers. The results are shown below. Solve for the relative frequency
and check if the result represents a probability distribution by checking on
its properties.

Show your solutions.

Number of Relative Frequency

No. of Customers
Magazine Sold S (Percentage)

1 27

2 15

3 6

4 9

5 3

Total

II. Determine whether the given values can serve as the values of a probability
distribution of the random variable. Write PD if yes and write NPD if not.

_____1. P(1) = P(2) = P(3) = P(4) =

_____2. P(1) = 0.25 P(2) = 0.75 P(3) = 0.25 P(4) = – 0.25

_____3. P(1) = 0.15 P(2) = 0.27 P(3) = 0.29 P(4) = 0.29

_____4. P(1) = 0 P(2) = 0.45 P(3) = 0.25 P(4) = 0.35

_____5. P(1) = P(2) = P(3) = P(4) =