Statistics and

Probability
Quarter 3 – Module 1:
Random Variables and
Probability Distributions
 What I Need to Know

After going through this module, you are expected to:

1. Illustrate a random variable (discrete or continuous). M11/12SP-IIIa-1
2. Distinguish between a discrete and continuous random variable. M11/12SP- IIIa-2
3. Find possible values of a random variable. M11/12SP-IIIa-3
4. Illustrate a probability distribution for a discrete random variable and its properties.
M11/12SP-IIIa-4
5. Compute probabilities corresponding to a given random variable. M11/12SP- IIIa-6

What I Know

DIRECTION: Write your answer on a separate sheet of paper.

A. Read the statements carefully and choose the letter of the best
answer.

1. If two coins are tossed once, which is NOT a possible value of the random variable for
the number of heads?
A. 0
B. 1
C. 2
D. 3

2. Which of the following is a discrete random variable?

A. Length of wire ropes
B. Number of soldiers in the troop
C. Amount of paint used in repainting the building
D. Voltage of car batteries

3. Which formula gives the probability distribution shown by the table?

X 3 4 5
P(X) 1/3 1/4 1/5

A. P(X) = X
B. P(X) = 1/X
C. P(X) = X/3
D. P(X) = X/5

4. How many ways are there in tossing two coins once?

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

5. It is a numerical quantity that is assigned to the outcome of an experiment.

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 A. random variable
B. variable
C. probability
D. probability distribution
B. Classify the following random variables as discrete or continuous.

1. The weight of the professional wrestlers

2. The number of winners in lotto for each day
3. The area of lots in an exclusive subdivision
4. The speed of a car
5. The number of dropouts in a school per district

C. Determine the values of the random variables in each of the

following distributions.

1. Two coins are tossed. Let T be the number of tails that occur. Determine the values of the
random variable T.

2. A meeting of envoys was attended by 4 Koreans and 2 Filipinos. If three envoys were
selected at random one after the other, determine the values of the random variable F
representing the number of Filipinos.

Lesson Random Variables and

Probability Distribution
1
You have learned in your past lessons in junior high school Mathematics that an experiment
or trial is any procedure or activity that can be done repeatedly under similar conditions. The set of all
possible outcomes in an experiment is called the sample space. The concept of probability distribution
is very important in analyzing statistical data especially in hypothesis testing.
In this lesson, you will explore and understand the random variable.
Before we discuss probability distribution, it is necessary to study first the concept of random
variable. Try to do the next activity to prepare you for this lesson. Stay focused.

What’s In

A. Identify the term being described in each of the following:

1. Any activity which can be done repeatedly under similar conditions
2. The set of all possible outcomes in an experiment
3. A subset of a sample space
4. The elements in a sample space
5. The ratio of the number of favorable outcomes to the number of possible outcomes
B. Answer the following questions.
1. In how many ways can two coins fall?
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 2. If three coins are tossed, in how many ways can they fall?
3. In how many ways can a die fall?
4. In how many ways can two dice fall?
5. How many ways are there in tossing one coin and rolling a die?

Notes to the Teacher

This part aims to assess if the students have prior knowledge about the topic. Also, it
prepares the students to absorb the lesson.

What’s New

Mary Ann, Hazel, and Analyn want to know what numbers can be assigned for the frequency of heads that will occur

The answer in this question requires an understanding of random variables.

You can do it! Aja!

Definitions of Random Variable

A random variable is a result of chance event, that you can measure or count.
A random variable is a numerical quantity that is assigned to the outcome of an experiment. It is a vari
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A random variable is a quantitative variable which values depends on change.
 NOTE:

We use capital letters to represent a random variable.

Example 1
Suppose two coins are tossed and we are interested to determine the number of tails that will
come out. Let us use T to represent the number of tails that will come out. Determine the values of the
random variable T.

Solution:

Steps Solution
1. List the sample space S = {HH, HT, TH, TT}

2. Count the number of tails in each

outcome and assign this number Outcome Number of Tails
to this outcome. (Value of T)
HH 0
HT 1
TH 1
TT 2

3. Conclusion The values of the random variable T (number of tails) in

this experiment are 0, 1 and 2.

Example 2
Two balls are drawn in succession without replacement from an urn containing 5 orange balls
and 6 violet balls. Let V be the random variable representing the number of violet balls. Find the
values of the random variable V.

Solution:

Steps Solution
1. List the sample space S = {OO, OV, VO, VV}

2. Count the number of violet balls

in each outcome and assign this Outcome Number of Violet
number to this outcome. balls
(Value of V)

OO 0
OV 1
VO 1
VV 2
3. Conclusion The values of the random variable V (number of violet
balls) in this experiment are 0, 1, and 2.

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Example 3
A basket contains 10 red balls and 4 white balls. If three balls are taken from the basket one
after the other, determine the possible values of the random variable R representing the number of red
balls.

Solution:

Steps Solution
1. List the sample space S = {RRR, RRW, RWR, WRR, WWR, WRW,
RWW, WWW}

2. Count the number of red balls in

each outcome and assign this Outcome Number of Red balls
number to this outcome.
(Value of R)

RRR 3
RRW 2
RWR 2
WRR 2
WWR 1
WRW 1
RWW 1
WWW 0
3. Conclusion The values of the random variable R (number of red balls)
in this experiment are 0, 1, 2, and 3.

Example 4
Four coins are tossed. Let T be the random variable representing the number of tails that
occur. Find the values of the random variable T.

Solution:

Steps Solution
1. List the sample space S = {HHHH, HHHT, HHTH, HHTT, HTHH,
HTHT, HTTH, HTTT, THHH, THHT, THTH,
THTT, TTHH, TTHT, TTTH, TTTT}

2. Count the number of tails in each

outcome and assign this number Outcome Number of tails
to this outcome.
(Value of T)

HHHH 0
HHHT 1

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 HHTH 1
HHTT 2
HTHH 1
HTHT 2
HTTH 2
HTTT 3
THHH 1
THHT 2
THTH 2
THTT 3
TTHH 2
TTHT 3
TTTH 3
TTTT 4
3. Conclusion The values of the random variable T (number of tails) in
this experiment are 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4.

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Example 5
A pair of dice is rolled. Let X be the random variable representing the sum of the number of
dots on the top faces. Find the values of the random variable X.

Solution:

Steps Solution
1. List the sample space S=
{(1, 1), (1, 2), (1, 3), (1, 4), (1, 5), (1, 6),
(2, 1), (2, 2), (2, 3), (2, 4), (2, 5), (2, 6),
(3, 1), (3, 2), (3, 3), (3, 4), (3, 5), (3, 6),
(4, 1), (4, 2), (4, 3), (4, 4), (4, 5), (4, 6),
(5, 1), (5, 2), (5, 3), (5, 4), (5, 5), (5, 6),
(6, 1), (6, 2), (6, 3), (6, 4), (6, 5), (6, 6)}

2. Count the sum of the number of

dots in each outcome and Outcome Sum of the number of
assign this number to this dots
outcome.
(Value of X)

(1, 1) 2
(1, 2), (2, 1) 3
(1, 3), (3, 1), (2, 2) 4
(1, 4), (4, 1), (2, 5
3), (3, 2)
(1, 5), (5, 1), (2, 6
4), (4, 2), (3, 3)
(1, 6), (6, 1), (2, 7
5), (5, 2), (4, 3),
(3, 4)

(3, 5), (5, 3), (2, 8

6), (6, 2), (4, 4)
(5, 4), (4, 5), (6, 9
3), (3, 6)
(6, 4), (4, 6), (5, 5) 10
(5, 6), (6, 5) 11
(6, 6) 12

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 3. Conclusion The values of the random variable X (sum of the number
of dots) in this experiment are 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11,
and 12.

Discrete and Continuous Random Variable

A random variable may be classified as discrete and continuous. A discrete random
variable has a countable number of possible values. A continuous random variable can assume
an infinite number of values in one or more intervals.
Examples:
Discrete Random Variable Continuous Random Variable
Number of pens in a box Amount of antibiotics in the vial
Number of ants in a colony Length of electric wires
Number of ripe bananas in a basket Voltage of car batteries
Number of COVID 19 positive cases in Weight of newborn in the hospital
Hermosa, Bataan
Number of defective batteries Amount of sugar in a cup of coffee

What is It

In the previous grade levels in studying Mathematics, we have learned how to make a
frequency distribution table given a set of raw data. In this part, you will learn how to construct a
probability distribution.
In the previous part of this module, you already learned how to determine the values of
discrete random variable. Constructing a probability distribution is just a continuation of the previous
part. We just need to include an additional step to illustrate and compute the probabilities
corresponding to a given random variable.
Using Example 1 in the previous page,

Steps Solution
1. List the sample space S = {HH, HT, TH, TT}

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2. Count the number of tails in each
outcome and assign this number Outcome Number of Tails
to this outcome. (Value of T)
HH 0
HT 1
TH 1
TT 2
The values of the random variable T (number of tails) in
this experiment are 0, 1, and 2.

3. Construct the frequency

distribution of the values of the Number of Tails Number of
random variable T. Occurrence
(Value of T)
(Frequency)

0 1
1 2
2 1
Total 4
4. Construct the probability
distribution of the random Number of Number of Probability
variable T by getting the Tails Occurrence P(T)
probability of occurrence of each
(Value of T) (Frequency)
value of the random variable.
0 1 1/4
1 2 2/4 or 1/2
2 1 1/4
Total 4 1
The probability distribution of the random variable T can be
written as follows:

T 2 1 0
P(T) 1/4 1/2 1/4

10
 5. Construct the probability histogram. 4

P(T) 2

0
0 1 2
T

Using Example 2 in the previous page,

Steps Solution
1. List the sample space S = {OO, OV, VO, VV}

2. Count the number of violet balls

in each outcome and assign this Outcome Number of Violet
number to this outcome. Balls
(Value of V)
OO 0
OV 1
VO 1
VV 2
The values of the random variable V (number of violet
balls) in this experiment are 0, 1, and 2.

3. Construct the frequency

distribution of the values of the Number of Violet Number of
random variable V. Balls Occurrence
(Value of V) (Frequency)

0 1
1 2
2 1

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 Total 4
4. Construct the probability
distribution of the random Number of Number of Probability
variable V by getting the Violet balls Occurrence P(V)
probability of occurrence of each
(Value of V) (Frequency)
value of the random variable.
0 1 1/4
1 2 2/4 or 1/2
2 1 1/4
Total 4 1
The probability distribution of the random variable V can
be written as follows:

V 2 1 0
P(V) 1/4 1/2 1/4
5. Construct the probability 4
histogram.
3

P(V) 2

0 1 2
V

Using Example 4 in the previous page,

Steps Solution
1. List the sample space S = {HHHH, HHHT, HHTH, HHTT, HTHH,
HTHT, HTTH, HTTT, THHH, THHT, THTH,
THTT, TTHH, TTHT, TTTH, TTTT}

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2. Count the number of tails in each
outcome and assign this number Outcome Number of tails
to this outcome. (Value of T)
HHHH 0
HHHT 1
HHTH 1
HHTT 2
HTHH 1
HTHT 2
HTTH 2
HTTT 3
THHH 1
THHT 2
THTH 2
THTT 3
TTHH 2
TTHT 3
TTTH 3
TTTT 4
The values of the random variable T (number of tails) in
this experiment are 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4.

3. Construct the frequency

distribution of the values of the Number of Tails Number of
random variable T. Occurrence
(Value of T)
(Frequency)

0 1
1 4
2 6
3 4
4 1
Total 16

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4. Construct the probability
distribution of the random Number of Number of Probability
variable T by getting the Tails Occurrence P(T)
probability of occurrence of each
(Value of T) (Frequency)
value of the random variable.
0 1 1/16
1 4 4/16 or
1/4
2 6 6/16 or
3/8
3 4 4/16 or
1/4
4 1 1/16
Total 16 1
The probability distribution of the random variable T can be
written as follows:

T 0 1 2 3 4
P(T) 1/16 1/4 3/8 1/4 1/16

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 5. Construct the probability histogram. 16

14

12

10

P(T) 8

0 1 2 3 4

Using Example 5 in the previous page,

Steps Solution
1. List the sample space S=
{(1, 1), (1, 2), (1, 3), (1, 4), (1, 5), (1, 6),
(2, 1), (2, 2), (2, 3), (2, 4), (2, 5), (2, 6),
(3, 1), (3, 2), (3, 3), (3, 4), (3, 5), (3, 6),
(4, 1), (4, 2), (4, 3), (4, 4), (4, 5), (4, 6),
(5, 1), (5, 2), (5, 3), (5, 4), (5, 5), (5, 6),
(6, 1), (6, 2), (6, 3), (6, 4), (6, 5), (6, 6)}

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2. Count the sum of the
number of dots in each Outcome Sum of the
outcome and assign number of
this number to this dots
outcome.
(Value of
X)
(1, 1) 2
(1, 2), (2, 1) 3
(1, 3), (3, 1), (2, 2) 4
(1, 4), (4, 1), (2, 3), (3, 2) 5
(1, 5), (5, 1), (2, 4), (4, 2), (3, 3) 6

(1, 6), (6, 1), (2, 5), (5, 2), (4, 3), 7
(3, 4)
(3, 5), (5, 3), (2, 6), (6, 2), (4, 4) 8
(5, 4), (4, 5), (6, 3), (3, 6) 9
(6, 4), (4, 6), (5, 5) 10
(5, 6), (6, 5) 11
(6, 6) 12

The values of the random variable X (sum of the

number of dots) in this experiment are 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,
7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12.
3. Construct the
frequency distribution Sum of the Number of
of the values of the number of dots Occurrence
random variable X.
(Value of X) (Frequency)
2 1
3 2
4 3
5 4
6 5
7 6
8 5
9 4
10 3
11 2

16
 12 1
Total 36
4. Construct the probability
distribution of the random Sum of the Number of Probability P(X)
variable X by getting the number of Occurrence
probability of occurrence of dots
each value of the random (Frequency)
variable. (Value of X)
2 1 1/36
3 2 2/36 or 1/18
4 3 3/36 or 1/12
5 4 4/36 or 1/9
6 5 5/36
7 6 6/36 or 1/6
8 5 5/36
9 4 4/36 or 1/9
10 3 3/36 or 1/12
11 2 2/36 or 1/18
12 1 1/36
Total 36 1

The probability distribution of the random variable X can be

written as follows:

X 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
P(X) 1 1 1 1 5 1 5 1 1 1 1
36 18 12 9 36 6 36 9 12 18 36

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5. Construct the 36
probability histogram.

27

P(X)

18

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

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 What’s More

Direction: Complete the table below by constructing and illustrating the

probability distribution of Example 3 (refer to page 7).

Steps Solution
1. List the sample space
2. Count the number of tails in each
outcome and assign this number
to this outcome.

3. Construct the frequency

distribution of the values of the
given random variable.

4. Construct the probability

distribution of the given random
variable by getting the
probability of occurrence of each
value of the random variable.

5. Construct the probability histogram.

What I Have Learned

Direction: Write your answer on a separate sheet of paper.

Answer the following in 2-3 sentences only.

1. How do you describe a discrete random variable?

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2. How do you describe a continuous random variable?

3. Give three examples of discrete random variable.

4. Give three examples of continuous random variable.

5. What do you notice about the probability values of random variable in each probability
distribution?

6. What is the sum of the probabilities of a random variable?

7. Why should the sum of the probabilities in a probability distribution is always equal to 1?

8. What is the shape of most probability distributions? Why do you think so?

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 Scoring Rubric

0 1 2 3 4
No answer at Correct Correct answer Correct answer Correct answer
all answer but written in a written in a written in a
not in a sentence form sentence form sentence form
sentence but no with 1 supporting with 2 or more
form. supporting detail from the supporting detail
details. text. from the text.

Used
Used capitalization
Did not use capitalization and
capitalization and punctuation.
and punctuation.
punctuation. All words
1-2 spelling spelled
3 or more mistakes. correctly.
spelling
mistakes.

What I Can Do

Number of Defective COVID-19 Rapid Antibody Test Kit

Suppose three test kits are tested at random. Let D represent the defective test kit and let N
represent the non-defective test kit. If we let X be the random variable for the number of defective test
kits, construct the probability distribution of the random variable X.

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 Assessment

DIRECTION: Write your answer on a separate sheet of paper.

A. Multiple Choice. Choose the letter of the best answer.

1. If three coins are tossed, which is NOT a possible value of the random variable for
the number of tails?
A. 1
B. 2
C. 3
D. 4

2. Which of the following is a discrete random variable?

A. Length of electrical wires
B. Number of pencils in a box
C. Amount of sugar used in a cup of coffee
D. Voltage of car batteries

3. Which formula gives the probability distribution shown by the table?

X 3 4 5
P(X) 1/3 ¼ 1/5

A. P(X) = X
B. P(X) = 1/X
C. P(X) = X/3
D. P(X) = X/5

4. How many ways can a "double" come out when you roll two dice?
A. 2
B. 4
C. 6
D. 8

5. It is a numerical quantity that is assigned to the outcome of an experiment.

A. random variable
B. variable
C. probability
D. probability distribution

B. Classify the following random variables as discrete or continuous.

1. The weight of the professional boxers

2. The number of defective COVID-19 Rapid Antibody Test Kit

22
 3. The area of lots in an exclusive subdivision
4. The number of recovered patients of COVID-19 per province
5. The number of students with Academic Excellence in a school per district

C. Determine the values of the random variables in each of the

following distributions.

1. Two coins are tossed. Let H be the number of tails that occur. Determine the values of the
random variable H.
2. A meeting of envoys was attended by 4 Koreans and 2 Filipinos. If three envoys were
selected at random one after the other, determine the values of the random variable K
representing the number of Koreans.

D. Construct the probability distribution of the situation below:

Two balls are drawn in succession without replacement from an urn containing 5 white balls
and 6 black balls. Let B be the random variable representing the number of black balls.
Construct the probability distribution of the random variable B.

Additional Activities

Grace Ann wants to determine if the formula below describes a probability

distribution. Solve the following:

𝑃(𝑋) = 𝑋 +1 where X = 0, 1, 2. If it is, find the following:

6

1. P(X = 2)
2. P(X ≥ 1)

3. P(X ≤ 1)

23
Answer Key

24
25
References

Books
Belecina, R. R., Baccay, E. S., & Mateo, E. B. (2016).
Statistics and Probability. Rex Book Store.
Ocampo, J. J., & Marquez, W. G. (2016). Senior High Conceptual Math & Beyond
Statistics and Probability. Brilliant Creations Publishing, Inc.

Website
britannica.com. (2021). Retrieved from Britannica:
https://www.britannica.com/science/statistics/Random-variables-and- probability-
distributions
courses.lumenlearning.com. (n.d.). Retrieved from lumen Boundless Statistics:
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-statistics/chapter/discrete- random-variable

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