CHAPTER 1:

Lesson 1:
CONSTRUCTING PROBABILIT
DISTRIBUTIONS
Review:
Find the probability of the
following
1. Getting events.
an even number in a
2. Getting
single a sum
roll of of 6 when two dice
a die.
3. Getting
are rolled. an ace when a card is
drawn
4. from a deck.
The probability that all children are
boys if a couple has three children.
5. Getting a sum 11 when two dice
6. Getting an odd number and a tail
when a die is rolled and a coin is
7. Getting
tossed a black card and a 10 when
simultaneuosly.
a card is drawn from a deck.
8. Getting a red queen when a card is
drawn from a deck.
9. Getting doubles when two dice are
rolled.
10. Getting a red ball from a box
containing 3 red and 6 black balls.
Getting
ready:
Decision-making is an important
aspect in business, education,
insurance and other real-life
situations. Many decisions aspects are
made by assigning probabilities to all
possible outcomes pertaining to the
situation and then evaluating the
Getting
ready:
For instance, an insurance company
might be able to assign probabilities
to the number of vehicles a family
owns. This information will help the
company in making decisions
regarding future financial situations.
This situation requires the use of
DISCRETE PROBABILITY DISTRIBUTION Or
PROBABILITY MASS FUNCTION

- Consists of the values a random

variable can assume and the
corresponding probabilities of the
values.
 PROPERTIES OF A PROBABILITY
DISTRIBUTION
1. The probability of each of the
random variable must be between
or equal to 0 and 1. In symbol, we
write it as 0 ≤ P(X) ≤ 1.
2. The sum of the probabilities of all
values of the random variable must
be equal to 1. In symbol we write it
Activity #1:
Suppose three coins are tossed.
Let Y be the random variable
representing the number of
heads that occur. Find the
probability of each of the values
of the random variable Y.
Example:
POSSIBLE OUTCOME
VALUE OF THE RANDOM
VARIABLE (Y)
(Number of heads)
Therefore,
HH 3 the possible
values of
H
TTT 0
TT 1
H
TH 1 the random
T
TH
H
2
variable Y
HH 2
T
HT 2 are 0, 1, and
H
HT 1 3
The Probability Distribution or the
Probability Mass Function of Discrete
Random Variable Y
NUMBER OF HEADS (Y) PROBABILITY
P(Y)

0 1/8

1 3/8

2 3/8

3 1/8
Activity #2:
Suppose three cell phones tested at
random. Let D represent the defective
cell phone and N represent the non-
defective cell phone. If we let X be the
random variable for the number of
defective cell phones, construct the
probability distribution of the random
Example:
VALUE OF THE RANDOM
Therefore,
the possible
POSSIBLE OUTCOME VARIABLE (X)
(Number of defective cell
phones)
NN 0
N
NN
D
1 values of
the random
ND 1
N
DN 1
N
ND
D
2
variable X
DN 2
D
DD 2 are 0, 1, 2
N
DD
D
3
and 3
The Probability Distribution or the
Probability Mass Function of Discrete
Random Variable X
NUMBER OF DEFECTIVE CELL PHONES PROBABILITY
(X) P(X)

0 1/8

1 3/8

2 3/8

3 1/8
1 WHOLE SHEET OF
INTERMEDIATE PAD
QUIZ:
Two balls are drawn in succession
without replacement from an urn
containing 5 red balls and 6 blues
balls. Let Z be the random variable
representing the number of blue
balls, Find the values of the
Example:
POSSIBLE OUTCOME VALUE OF THE RANDOM VARIABLE (Z)
(Number of blue balls)

RR 0

RB 1

BR 1

BB 2

Therefore, the possible values of the

random variable X are 0, 1, and 2
The Probability Distribution or the
Probability Mass Function of Discrete
Random Variable Z
NUMBER OF BLUE BALLS (Z) PROBABILITY
P(Z)

0 1/4

1 1/2

2 1/4

3 1/8