Lesson Three Computing the Mean of a Discrete Probability Distribution

Lesson Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:
 Illustrate and calculate the mean of a discrete random variable;
 Interpret the mean of a discrete random variable; and
 Solve problems involving mean of probability distributions.

Starting Point

In this lesson, you will learn how to compute the mean and variance of a discrete probability distribution. To find out if
you are ready to learn this new lesson, do the following activities.
ENTRY CARD
A. Given the values of the variables X and Y, evaluate the following summations.
X1 = 4 X2 = 2 X3 = 5 X4 = 1
Y1 = 2 Y2 = 1 Y3 = 0 Y4 = 2

1. ∑X
2. ∑Y
3. ∑ XY
4. ∑ ( X +Y )
5. ∑ 4 XY
B. The following are the scores of 40 students in a test. Compute the mean score.
Score Number of Students
42 8
50 12
53 9
38 7
46 4

Getting Ready
 Mathematicians usually consider the outcomes of a coin toss as a random event.
 During World War II, a South African mathematician named John Kerrich tossed a coin 10,000 times
while he was interned in a German prison camp.
 In this lesson you will learn how to determine the likeliness of the happening of an event.

In-class Activity 1 Number of Spots

Consider rolling a die. What is the average number of spots that would appear? The following activity will help you
answer this question.
Step 1. Construct the probability distribution for the random variable X representing the number of spots that would
appear.
Step 2. Multiply the value of the random variable X by the corresponding probabilities.
Step 3. Add the results obtained in Step 2.
Solution:
Steps Solution
1. Construct the probability Number of Spots X Probability P(X)
distribution for the random
variable X representing the
number of spots that would
appear.
 2. Multiply the value of the Number of Spots Probability P(X) X . P(x)
random variable X by the
corresponding probability.

3. Add the results obtained in Number of Spots Probability P(X) X . P(x)

Step 2

The value obtained in Step 3 is called the mean of the random variable X or the mean of the probability
distribution of X. What does the mean tell us? __________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Formula for the Mean of the Probability Distribution
The mean of a random variable with a discrete probability distribution is:
μ = X1 . P(X1) + X2 . P(X2) + X3 . P(X3) +…, + Xn . P(Xn) or

μ= ∑ X . P( X )
Where:
X1, X2, X3,…, Xn are the values of the random variable X; and
P(X1), P(X2), P(X3),…, P(Xn) are the corresponding probabilities.

In-class Activity 2 Grocery Items

The probabilities that a customer will buy 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 items in a grocery store are 3/10, 1/10, 1/10, 2/10, and 3/10,
respectively. What is the average number of items that a customer will buy?
Solution:
Steps Solution
1. Construct the probability distribution for the Number of Items Probability
random variable X representing the number of X P(X)
items that the customer will buy.

2. Multiply the value of the random variable X by Number of Items Probability X . P(X)
the corresponding probability. X P(X)
 3. Add the results obtained in Step 2. Number of Items Probability X . P(X)
X P(X)

So, the mean of the probability distribution is _____. What does it imply? ______________________________________

In-class Activity 3 Surgery Patients

The probabilities that a surgeon operates on 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7 patients in any day are 0.15, 0.10, 0.20, 0.25, and 0.30,
respectively. Find the average number of patients that a surgeon operates on a day.

Solution:
Number of Patients Probability X . P(X)
X P(X)

So, ___________________________________________________________________________________________.

Mathematical Journal
 What does the mean of a probability distribution tell us? _____________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
 How do you interpret the mean of a probability distribution? __________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
 Why is it that the values of a discrete random variable expressed in whole numbers but the mean of its
probability distribution are most of the time expressed in decimal numbers? _____________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________

Name: ________________________________________________________ Date: ___________________

Worksheet # 3
A. Complete the table below and find the mean of the following probability distribution.
X P( X ) X⋅P ( X ) X P( X ) X⋅P ( X )
1.
1 1/7 1 3/10
6 1/7 2 1/10
11 3/7 3 2/10
16 1/7 4 2/10
21 1/7 5 2/10

2. X P( X ) X⋅P ( X ) X P( X ) X⋅P ( X )
1 4/9 3 0.15
3 2/9 6 0.35
5 1/9 8 0.40
7 2/9 10 0.10

3.

X P( X ) X⋅P ( X )
2 0.10
4 0.23
6 0.25
8 0.36
10 0.06

B. Do the following:
1. Find the mean of the probability distribution of the random variable X, which can take only the values 1, 2, and
3, given that P(1) = 10/33, P(2) = 1/3, and P(3) = 12/33.

2. Find the mean of the probability distribution of the random variable X, which can take only the values 3, 5, and
7, given that P(3) = 7/30, P(5) = 1/3, and P(3) = 13/30.

3. Find the mean of the probability distribution of the random variable X, which can take only the values 2, 4, 5,
and 9, given that P(2) = 9/20, P(4) = 1/20, P(5) = 1/5, and P(9) = 3/10.

4. Find the mean of the probability distribution of the random variable X if P(X) = 1/10, for X = 1, 2, 3, …, 10.

x+1
5. Find the mean of the probability distribution of the random variable X if P(X) = 20 for X = 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.

C. Solve the following problems.

1. The probabilities of a machine manufacturing 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 defective parts in one day are 0.75, 0.17, 0.04,
0.025, 0.01, and 0.005, respectively. Find the mean of the probability distribution.
 2. A bakeshop owner determines the number of boxes of pandesal that are delivered each day. Find the mean of
the probability distribution shown. If the manager stated that 35 boxes of pandesal were delivered in one day,
do you think that this is a believable claim?
Number of boxes (X) Probability P(X)
35 0.10
36 0.20
37 0.30
38 0.30
39 0.10

3. The following table gives the probabilities that a probation officer will receive 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 reports of
probation violations on any given day.
Number of Violations (X) Probability P(X)
0 0.15
1 0.25
2 0.36
3 0.18
4 0.04
5 0.02

Look Back and Reflect

Think about the answers to the questions below. Discuss your ideas with other students.
 What are the steps in computing the mean of a probability distribution of a random variable?_______________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
How is it similar to the procedure in finding the mean of a frequency distribution? ________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
 Compare the formulas for finding the mean of a frequency distribution and that of a probability distribution.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________